Bethesda Aims For A 'NASA-Punk' Look For 'Starfield'

Bethesda is deep in the process of developing "Starfield," especially since the game's release date of Nov. 11 is mere months away.

If you're one of those who are excited for the legendary "Skyrim" maker's first new IP in 25 years, you now have an idea of what it's going to look like: "NASA Punk," writes TechRadar.

The NASA punk aesthetic is described by "Starfield" lead artist Istvan Pely in a post on the Xbox newswire. According to him, the term is something they coined deep into the development of the space RPG to describe their target atmosphere for the game: a realistic sci-fi universe that is "a little more grounded and relatable."

As such, you likely can't expect ships that look like they'll fit right in with more futuristic universes like those of "Star Wars" or "Mass Effect." Pely's colleague Rick Vicens, who works as lead animator, says that NASA-Punk was an aesthetic that "just clicked" and was a critical thing that helped guide the team through the game's development.

If you're curious about what this visual style might look like, there are already a few "Starfield" trailers posted by Bethesda on their official YouTube channel. Here is the first teaser trailer, for instance, which likely confirms the visual style the developers are aiming for:

You can clearly see the hints of NASA-Punk in the trailer alone, as the cinematic teaser trailer looks both fantastical and grounded in reality at the same time. But since it's a cinematic trailer, it might not be representative of the in-game graphics once the game actually releases.

For now, what you should know is that Bethesda is pulling out all the stops for their next big RPG. "Starfield" has been confirmed to be only available on next-gen, meaning the Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC. Sorry, PlayStation fans, but Microsoft owns Bethesda now.

Why The NASA-Punk Style For 'Starfield?'

It's impossible to tell what the developers' reasons are for going with such a visual style for "Starfield." But maybe this has already been hinted at early on aside from what was officially shown from the game so far.

Tech Times reported last year that SpaceX founder Elon Musk apparently advised on the game during the course of its development (via TweakTown). Long-time Bethesda dev Todd Howard talked to the multi-billionaire himself in a panel at E3 2019, where he picked Musk's brain in front of a live audience.

Here is a video of the panel:

According to Howard, one of the best things about the SpaceX founder is his ability to keep finding alternative ways to solve a problem. As such, his space exploration company is now perhaps the most famous one on the market today, beating the likes of Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

If Musk really did advise on the development of "Starfield," then the so-called "realistic" NASA-Punk aesthetic is well-founded.

Story posted on GameNGuide

Written by RJ Pierce