Starfield world exclusive: E3 2021 trailer secrets revealed by legendary director Todd Howard

Everything you missed in Starfield's big reveal, from around-the-world sailors to the significance of space cheese
By Dan Silver 13 June 2021 • 7:33pm
Starfield: boldly going where no RPG has gone before
Starfield: boldly going where no RPG has gone before



“They say the wonder is not that the field of stars is vast but that we have measured it… This is what we’ve been working toward. We’ve come to the beginning of humanity’s final journey.”

By now you will have watched and, likely, re-watched the reveal trailer for Starfield – a brand new universe “25 years in the making” from the RPG OG's behind The Elder Scrolls series of games and the latter day world-swallowing instalments of the Fallout franchise.

The two-minute teaser, debuted at Xbox’s E3 virtual showcase, gives nothing and everything away all at once. The short and superficially simple vignette of an unidentified astronaut prepping a ship to blast off into the great unknown contains a constellation - or Constellation, if you will - of meticulously-placed clues to help curious gamers start piecing together the game’s world and lore.
REKLAMA

To give you a head start, the Telegraph sat down with Starfield’s legendary director, Todd Howard, to get some pointers.
Placeholder image for youtube video: B-LlfIXT8to

Firstly, there are a lot of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them incidental details in the clip. Is this a deliberate ploy to get a guessing game going?

Todd Howard: “Well, yes, it's two things. One is to show you that even though this is a game set in space, it still has a lot of lived-in character and things that you would expect from our games. We like all this stuff. We start with the world and questions like, what do they eat? What do they write with? How do they order their books?

“If you look at the world around us, people think landscapes – and there's a lot of landscape [in Starfield]. But if you walk into a place where there’s stuff everywhere, we sweat the details there. We want to know what all the buttons do – we model all the buttons. What do they eat?”

Salami and cheese sandwiches, by the look of it.

TH: “Right? We spent a lot of time on that cheese sandwich, getting the right sheen on a piece of space cheese. We like that stuff, we geek out on it. Every button, I think, is labelled in the ship.”
What do they eat in space? Space cheese, apparently
What do they eat in space? Space cheese, apparently

Let’s start with the obvious questions: Who are we? Where are we? And what is Constellation?

TH: “Well, the game is set about 300 plus years in our own future. And Constellation is this kind of last group of space explorers. It's like NASA meets Indiana Jones meets the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a group of people that are still searching for answers. There are a lot of factions in the game but that's the main one that you'll become a part of. It’s kind of like Skyrim in terms of the structure of the game, where you're going to be who you want to be, and then there's different factions that you can join, and really carve your own path.

“So we have one story that we're telling, and then we have a lot of other ones, like we love to do. And our hope is that each player feels like they could say, here's who I want to be in this universe – and then we're giving them an outlet to express that.”

The voiceover is very dramatic. At one point the narrator reveals, ‘What you found is the key to unlocking everything’. What have we found? What are we unlocking?

TH: “I can't tell you. But we ask some big questions in the game – the kind that people have asked when they look to the sky, you know? ‘What's out there?’ Why are we here? How do we get here?’ And we get into science, we get into religion. I really enjoy thinking about those big questions. I see them in other [forms of] entertainment and I think we have a unique way of presenting it with a game like this, where maybe we don't have all the answers but I think it's good to get people thinking.”

The gun placed on the table confirms there will be combat in the game but what can we read into the blueprint of what appears to be an alien structure stuck on the wall? Does that allude to some sort of settlement or base building functionality?

TH:  [cagey] “I don't want to interpret that as a blueprint... I wouldn't say that's a blueprint.”

If not a blueprint then what was it?

TH: “That's part of the mystery. And people will freeze frame that and start [speculating]…”
Definitely not a blueprint...
Definitely not a blueprint...

Ok, well at least we can agree on the ladder – which presumably means that, unlike in Skyrim, we can climb things?

TH: “Well... climbing is not... don't read too much into the ladder. It’s a ladder to get you in and out of the spaceship. That’s about it. We may have to clarify that. Exciting video game features - they're a pain in the ass! [laughs]”

Having had the opportunity to watch the trailer a few times before our call, I did notice a copy of real-world historical memoir Sailing Alone Around the World on the astronaut’s bookshelf. Author/explorer Joshua Slocum published the best-seller in 1900 after becoming the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. Is that a big hint at Starfield’s narrative?

TH: “I don't know how big it is... but good catch!”

Slocum famously disappeared while sailing aboard his boat, the Spray, in 1909, never to be seen again...

TH: “That is true.”

Is that of any relevance to the narrative of Starfield?

TH [shifting in his seat]: “It all has relevance... I’ll just say that.”
Starfield's bookshelf offers a great opportunity to read between the lines
Starfield's bookshelf offers a great opportunity to read between the lines

The trailer ends with the astronaut inputting the coordinates 11-11-22 into the ship’s computer – which also happens to be Starfield’s release date. Is there more significance to the number?

TH: “For the trailer, that is one that's breaking the fourth wall. That is there to reveal the release date, it does not have any in-world meaning. I can tell you that.”

What else in the trailer did I miss?

TH: “How many times did you watch it?”

Four.

TH: “You still got a lot from four. That was pretty good. Good job!”

Thank you. Are there any other big details you’d like to draw fans’ attention to?

TH: “Not that I want to call attention to. They're smaller [ones]. They will [find them] though, eventually – eventually meaning probably in a few hours when you can stop every frame and look at it in 4k. There's a lot there.”
Starfield launches on November 11, 2022. Mark your diary now...
Starfield launches on November 11, 2022. Mark your diary now...

Howard also spoke about the fan-fuelled rumours and speculation which have circulated around the internet in lieu of any official information since Starfield's name-only reveal at E3 2018. If that initial tease, accompanied by a similar embryonic nod to the still-untitled Elder Scrolls 6 game, seemed premature then that's because it was – a deliberate signal to fans that despite the then focus on the massively multiplayer experiment Fallout 76, back at base it was very much business as usual.

“There's enough stuff out there, people are going to get some things right," says Howard of the community guessing game. "There’s a lot more wrong, but it's okay. It's good!”

One rumour that really seemed to capture the imagination is that Tom Cruise stars in the game.

TH: “I did see that one.”

Is that true?

TH: “Er… No! [laughs] Sorry - no, as of today!”

Aha! You've got another year of development to go, right?

“Right. No, I really like Tom Cruise... I'll say that.”

Now read Todd Howard discussing how Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda and the ongoing pandemic have affected Starfield's development.

And come back to Telegraph Gaming on Monday for our in-depth exclusive interview with Todd Howard in which he explains Starfield’s genesis, how it compares to the likes of Skyrim and Fallout 4, and answers the question: what do you actually do in the game?







Starfield E3 2021 reveal exclusive: How Todd Howard spent 25 years creating his 'NASA-punk' space RPG

Pen-and-paper RPGs, around the world explorers, and Elon Musk have all played in a role in shaping in 2022's most anticipated game
By Dan Silver 14 June 2021 • 9:01am
Starfield: to infinity and beyond...
Starfield: to infinity and beyond...

In any normal year, E3 interviews with industry leaders like Todd Howard on show-stopping reveals like Starfield would take place in grey Los Angeles conference rooms or jerry built cubicles on the show floor, soundtracked by the background hum of chatter and chiptunes.

2021 is about as far from being a normal year as you could hope to find, though, and so The Telegraph’s exclusive conversation with the steward of such seminal series as the Elder Scrolls and Fallout, takes place via video call between Maryland and London with the backdrop of – of course! – a Biblical plague of cicadas.

“We have an infestation right now,” reveals Howard, safely ensconced in a home office decorated with all manner of toys, props and ephemera that handily denote a man approaching his third decade working in the video game industry.

“You can look it up. This is the 17-year brood. And it's pretty epic. It shows up on radar. It looks like a big storm cloud – but it's insects.”
Todd Howard: director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios and all-round industry legend
Todd Howard: director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios and all-round industry legend

Howard is one of gaming’s greats, the creative genius responsible for groundbreaking fantasy role playing games like Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, and equally influential post-apocalyptic adventures Fallout 3 and 4. He might not have quite the rock star profile of Hideo Kojima, or the auteur aura of Tim Schafer, but his body of work is easily their equal.
REKLAMA

As such a new Todd Howard game is a big deal. And they don’t come much bigger than Starfield, a sprawling and completely new IP set in space and which, save for an announcement at E3 2018 comprising of little more than its name, we know absolutely nothing about – until now.

Well, -ish. The E3 2021 reveal, given the opening slot at Xbox’s virtual showcase, comprised a two-minute teaser trailer which, while packed with easter eggs and obscure clues to the wider Starfield world (handily explained by Howard himself, here), gives very little away about the actual game itself.

Watching it, I was very reminded of interviewing Hideo Kojima at 2016’s E3 following his equally opaque unveiling of Death Stranding. The arty trailer starring a naked Norman Reedus and a bunch of dead whales was all well and good but the main question everyone wanted to know was: what do you do in the game?

So, Todd Howard, what do you do in the game?

“Well it's coming out next year so there'll be a lot of time to show actual gameplay – and we'll do that closer to release, like we usually do,” he explains with impeccably practiced patience. “But I will say this: it is a first person and third person game, like our other ones. We like that style of gameplay. First person for us is still our prime way of playing. So you can see the world and touch all those things.

“It's also a bit more hardcore of a role playing game than we've done. It's got some really great character systems – choosing your background, things like that. We’re going back to some things that we used to do in games long ago that we felt have really let players express the character they want to be. So I think when you see it being played, you would recognise it as something we made.”

Previously Howard has spoken about Starfield being infused with Bethesda Game Studios’ DNA. What does that mean to him, and how has it informed this game specifically?

“Well, we like to put you in a world where we're not dragging you by the nose and saying you must do X, Y and Z, and that it's okay for you to want to test the [game’s boundaries]. You know, can I read this book? Can I pick this up? Can I do this? What if I do this? What if I do this? And the game is saying ‘yes’ a lot.

“And it has large scale goals and storytelling, but that minute-to-minute feels rewarding for you. And if you just want to pass the time and go watch the sunset and pick flowers it's rewarding in that way too. The quiet moments feel really really good.”

With no gameplay to go on, our conversation gravitates towards Starfield’s tone and themes. The trailer’s visual aesthetic is grittier and more grounded than the more familiar high camp vibe of big budget space operas, with retro-styled equipment and nods to olde worlde explorers like around-the-world sailor Joshua Slocum. Howard’s long-time artistic foil Istvan Pely coined the game’s unique visual approach as ‘NASA-punk’.

“This isn’t Star Wars, or Star Trek, it's kind of its own thing – and I think as we show more, hopefully, it'll carve out its own niche,” says Howard. “It's still a game but it does like to give you this sense of, ‘I buy the reality of it’, right?

“So if you look at the ship – you can probably design a much sleeker ship 300 years in the future, right? But this has touchstones back to the current space programme. So in your mind, you can draw this line between them. Like there's various guns the player has, and other weapons and things like that… but the more exotic ones feel exotic in the reality of the game versus not.”
Howard describes Starfield's retro-future visual style as 'NASA-punk'
Howard describes Starfield's retro-future visual style as 'NASA-punk'

Howard is at pains to stress Starfield is very much a game rather than a simulation but its grounding in scientific reality sounds a solar system or two away from the sci-fi fantasy of say, the Mass Effect series. During the course of development Howard even dropped in on his old pal Elon Musk’s Space X organisation to carry out some field research – ”to talk to people who could see further than what I was seeing right now”. Intriguingly Howard reveals this approach has infused not just Starfield’s look and feel, but also its gameplay too.

“It's being able to play with something where the technology level and the logic of how humankind got to where they are. You know, how do the people live? How does the equipment work? What are the rules of communication? You take it for granted in the game that you could communicate from one planet to another, or some other remote thing. But we have the rules. No, they can't – that's going to take years! And then once you realise, you can be, like ‘okay…’, you can use that to your advantage.”

Realistic sci-fi at last! No more lasers in a vacuum!

“Erm… I think you might see some lasers in a vacuum,” laughs Howard sheepishly. “It is a game, let's make no mistake. But when you build those things, you can then lean in on them and they create their own vibe. There's a case in the trailer – it's a watch case, actually. You’re part of Constellation so you get this explorer’s watch. And that's part of the identity of... you know, how does this thing work? What does it do? What does it not do? Tone. A lot of it is tone.”

This is all obviously some way removed from the naturalistic environs of Tamriel, the high fantasy setting for the Elder Scrolls series of games, and I’m curious about the different challenges presented by the two genres. You can’t just make ‘Skyrim in space’, right?

“Well, the main thing is when you're doing a game, it's good to have some conceit you can use for giving the player power beyond equipment. Or you have equipment or items that you want to have some sort of power,” Howard explains. “It's much easier in a fantasy game, right? Magic! Fallout has radiation and crazy tech.

“I won't go too deep into it but we did find ways to do that where you believed it in the reality of Starfield. So, yes, we have lasers. We have lasers in a vacuum [laughs]. And there is sound in a vacuum as well. So we found some ways that I won't go into right now to make it so the player and us have the ability to do those things. But that took a little time.”
Howard promises Starfield is big - as in 100s-of-hours-of-gameplay big.
Howard promises Starfield is big - as in 100s-of-hours-of-gameplay big.

There are alien races too – although Howard won’t disclose how they tie in to the game’s realistic grounding (“There is a way we approach it, I will say that”) – and planets to explore. How challenging is it to design an open universe versus an open world? The worlds of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout are large but relatively self-contained. The universe is, by its very nature, infinite.

“Not necessarily…” counters Howard. “I don't want to set any crazy expectations for that. You know, we have cities and we build them like we built the cities we've built before. And we have lots of locations that we're building like we've built before. And we want that experience of you exploring those to be, you know, as rewarding as we've done before.

“There are some different spins on that given the subject matter, but we like that about games. We want to point in a direction and walk and have our curiosity be piqued, and hopefully rewarded.”

The nuts and bolts of planetary exploration are off-limits for now but Howard is quick to reassure that Starfield is an enormous game designed to be explored.

“It's very big, yeah. People are still playing Skyrim and we have learned from that. We spent more time building [Starfield] to be played for a long time, if you so chose that you just wanted to keep playing it. It's got some more hooks in it for that, that we added later to a game like Skyrim… while still making sure that somebody who just wants to play it, and go through the main quests and “win”, or feel they've accomplished something large is doable.”
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – still played by millions some 10 years after its release
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – still played by millions some 10 years after its release

Starfield’s teaser trailer declares it to be set in a universe ‘25 years in the making’ and for once this is no mere marketeer’s hyperbole. The game’s concepts have been ruminating in Howard’s head for decades but it’s only now that he feels both video game technology and also his own development expertise are sufficiently advanced to realise it.

In fact, Howard has wanted to make a full-on science-fiction game ever since falling in love with Games Workshop’s pen-and-paper role playing game Traveller as a teenager. In fact one of the very first games he ever started writing was a version of Traveller on his Apple II home computer – although he didn’t get very far with it. “I had an awesome title screen!” he remembers with a wistful smile.

And perhaps that final analogue reference is the biggest clue of all as to what Starfield might offer when it finally takes flight in November 2022. For this feels like a flight of fantastic fantasy bound not by the limitations of graphics processors, or memory cards, or hardware generations, but instead imagination itself. And, who knows, perhaps the culmination of one man’s personal odyssey too.

I wonder if, after all these years, Todd Howard still feels nervous when revealing a new game for the first time?

“That’s a great question…” he ponders, before admitting, “yeah, the old nerves start. It's one thing when you're working on it. Yeah, there's some problems but you’re kind of like, well, we'll deal with that later. We'll get it there. But then when you're putting something out there, even like this teaser trailer, and it's new, it's not a sequel to something we've done, there's still this [question], how are people going to react?

“Though I would summarise it by saying we're, we're really excited to put something out there that people can at least start getting a sense of. That's what the game looks like and feels like.”

As Starfield’s narrator says in the teaser trailer, “This is what we’ve been working toward…”.

Starfield will be released on PC and Xbox Series X and S in November 2022. You can also read Todd Howard's guide to the E3 trailer and also his thoughts on Microsoft console exclusivity.