The company remains tight-lipped about much of Starfield, but what fans do know tells a story of exploration and hints at a romp that may be entirely unlike what players experienced in Skyrim and the Fallout series of games. It’s hard to know exactly what kind of tales these games will tell, and only a glimpse of gameplay has appeared thus far, but there are a few sources that would make excellent inspiration for the quests, and even the systems, of Starfield.
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Starfield and Cinema’s Sci-Fi Classics
The Martian (2015) may be a bit too new to be considered a classic, but the film’s depiction of space survival makes it a wonderful jumping off point for Starfield. Scrounging for components, breaking down existing equipment to create new tools, and setting up a home base from only a few minor components are all major parts of survival and exploration games. Starfield seeks to improve on the outposts of earlier Bethesda series, while the Martian knocks these elements out of the park by explaining in layman’s terms how a botanist in space figures out food, shelter, and safety on a deserted planet. The film gets bonus points for creating an isolationist feel without becoming devoid of hope or relying on arcane elements like quantum physics to resolve its complications.
Serenity (2005) seems to bear much in common with the few details released so far about Starfield’s setting. A great war, segmentation of the populace, and the scattering of humanity far beyond a few core worlds are all shared elements that require careful handling. Inspiration from Serenity and its accompanying television series should include the highly colorful and memorable character interactions, how each carries themselves and comes to the choices they make, and how they evolve over the course of the story. It’s in these relationships that the series really shines, and the companion system of Starfield would only be enhanced by this level of interpersonal support. This is true even if some players aim to misbehave.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Arrival (2016) remind viewers that things beyond their knowledge can be truly alien, but they may also be reasonable in their own way. Unlike many space horror films featuring laser guns and armored marines, it’s normal human beings that shine in these two films. There’s little word on whether humans have truly established first contact in Starfield, but if they do, a bit of the struggles to communicate and a need for intergalactic cooperation (or domination) taken from these examples could spice things up quite a bit.
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The Silver Screen and Bethesda’s New Space Exploration Game
Star Trek may sometimes blur the line between hard and soft sci-fi, but it is important to remember that they were there when the tropes were written. Indeed, Gene Roddenberry’s amazing setting and the adventures of the various Enterprise ships directly developed a great many of the most common hard sci-fi conventions seen today. Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, and the other organizations make wonderful examples for designers crafting the various factions of Starfield, fitting nicely with the Kardashev Scale.
Westworld delivers a brilliant blend of classic storytelling with a hard sci-fi edge. For at least two of its four seasons, viewers were kept guessing about the next revelation or twist around the corner. Starfield needs anticipation to drive the story, and it may be a reason fans haven’t heard too much about the setting and storylines to date. By keeping the plot moving with innovative twists and creative new elements, and allowing players to fill in the blanks as they go, the new Bethesda game should do quite well.
Babylon 5 also tiptoes around hard and soft science-fiction conventions, but it is the way the series weaves hard science into its storylines that makes it a smart choice for Starfield’s overall plot and story design. Regardless of whether playable aliens are a part of Bethesda’s new game, there will certainly be someone navigating those various government-style organizations and defining loyalties for entire civilizations. There are also entities older than mankind out there, and the question of if it is wise to awaken them is as crucial to Babylon 5 as it is to some modern, hard sci-fi games, like Stellaris.
Hard Sci-Fi Video Games to Inspire Starfield
The Elite Dangerous series is more than a space flight and hazardous docking simulator; it’s also a great model for space navigation and material gathering that could provide some further technical finesse to the mechanics of the game. The size of the planets in Starfield may well dwarf most of those in Elite Dangerous, but they should remain accessible and offer many excellent reasons for exploration.
Stellaris is the king of balancing alien life forms, empires, and resources in a huge galactic setting. Starfield would do well to include at least some of the depth of diplomacy and resource management found in this galactic sim. The concept of things that exist beyond the knowledge of current sentient races is also a heavy element of the Stellaris setting, one explored with awe or terror just like in Babylon 5. It appears that Starfield may feature similar philosophical conundrums.
Eve Online kept its aliens under wraps for years, and the space battles, economics, and social interactions of the game remain virtually unparalleled in video games. While Starfield’s single-player design may limit some of these aspects, inspiration drawn from Eve could help keep things moving along and ensure unique and innovative gameplay that draws from space sims as much as from some of the genre’s greatest storytelling efforts.
Space combat with various weapon types and resistances, the ability to heavily modify and even build entire vessels, and the integration of system-wide or even galactic economies may well help tip the scales, turning the game into something less like space-themed Skyrim while delivering something no less enduring. At the least, players know they won’t run out of gas exploring Starfield. Eve players understand that risk.
Starfield releases in 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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