Starfield, Bethesda's Next Big RPG, Has Survival Elements Without All The Stress - Kotaku

Inspired by fictional themes and “tone” moreso than hardcore realism, the game aims to preserve fun while also giving a convincing simulation of space exploration, based on recent comments from director and executive producer Todd Howard.

Director and executive producer Todd Howard recently gave an interview with Lex Fridman discussing Howard’s career, and a variety of mechanics, concepts, and insights into the development process of Starfield.

Bringing space to life, Howard said, was a question of how Bethesda could “have a system to generate these planets and make them look [...] reasonable, as opposed to [...] fractally goop,” referring to rendering and modeling techniques that are far more random and have less intentional artistic design.

The interview covers a bunch of topics regarding science fiction, and “tone,” described broadly as the way the game immerses you in its world, its overall feel, and how that expectation guides the various systems the studio developed