“Starfield Is A Game, But It Still Has Authenticity” – Todd Howard

It’s going to be a while yet before we hear or see anything substantial of Starfield. Bethesda didn’t bring their upcoming science fiction RPG to E3 this year- but we did get to hear some interesting snippets about it. In an E3 Coliseum panel with game director Todd Howard and Tesla chief Elon Musk in attendance, and hosted by Geoff Keighley, Howard was asked about Starfield, and he said some interesting things about it.

Before re-iterating that fans are going to have to be patient with more news about the game, Howard went on to talk about the processes with which the developers are looking at the title, saying that though Starfield is, of course, a game, it still has a level of authenticity to it. Certain aspects are “gamified” so as not to make things too punishing in the name of authenticity, but the authenticity is still there, especially in things like space travel, which Howard says feels “dangerous” in the title.

“What I can say is, how we approach it so it feels… it’s a game, but it still has authenticity to ‘okay, this could happen,'” said Howard. “Like, what kind of fuel do the ships use? We’re using Helium-3, which we can debate whether that’s a good power source for spaceships. Or how do the physics work in space, and gravity, and those kind of things.

“And that’s where you get into- we have to gamify it some, so that it’s not as punishing as actual space travel. But it still feels like travelling in space in our game is like flight in the forties, it’s dangerous. It’s still dangerous to go and explore, even though lots of people do it.”

Starfield currently has no release date (or even release platforms), but there’s a good chance it ends up being a next-gen title. You can view the E3 Coliseum panel in question below. Stay tuned for more updates.