What Bethesdas Starfield RPG Could Learn From Other Sci-Fi Games – Screen Rant

Bethesda's upcomingIP, theStarfieldscience-fiction RPG,is set to brave the same interstellar frontier as titles like Mass Effect, The Outer Worlds, and No Man's Sky.To carve out its own niche as an epic space opera, the developers of Starfield will need to learn from the triumphs and shortcomings of thesesimilar "space opera" RPGs while creating their own combat, exploration, and space travel mechanics.

Most ofthe publicly availableinformation on Starfield comes from developer interviews and some early cinematic trailers. Bethesda Director Todd Howard has gone on record saying thatthey want tocreate a world where space travel is realistic and perilous (albeit simplified for ease of gameplay). The footage from the most recentStarfield trailers supports this claim in some respects,showcasing brief snapshots of rovers, landing shuttles, and strange, drifting satellites.

Related: Top 10 Female Protagonists in Science Fiction Movies

At the same time,there are gameplay imageswhich depictanti-gravity starships, space distortions, and mysterious alien-looking fleets, which impliesa more fantasticalelement toStarfield's storywhere realistic space flight like that seen in The Martian gives way to advanced technology like that seen in Star Trek. To equal and surpass similar science fictionRPGs,the world-building of Starfieldwill need tostrike a balance between real-life physics andimpossible technology that works by consistent rules.Most importantly...

Space, per the iconic slogan of Star Trek, is the "Final Frontier," a sea of starstheoretically filled with limitlessnumbers of life forms,worlds, and civilizations. No current simulation can replicate the size and detail of our universe, but Starfield's gameplayneeds to convey thissense of an endless frontier in order to stir the hearts of space opera fans. Developers could draw from theexploration gameNo Man's Sky, which used procedural generation to create unique worlds and eco-systems that players could fly to. Alternately, they could take a page from the Mass Effect playbook, using fictional culture, commerce, and history to bring an interconnected space civilization to life.

Without life, consciousness, or feeling,our universe is just a bunch of dust and pretty lights. For that same reason,Starfieldwill need interesting, vibrant characters to fillits single-play campaignand bring it to life.Besides previous Bethesda games like The Elder Scrollsand Fallout 4, games like the Mass Effect franchise and The Outer Worlds offer great examples of vibrant supporting characters, "party members" that players can banter with, support,and cultivate. If the player character in Starfield winds up being a blank slate like in previous Bethesda titles, it's doubly important that the supporting characters have their own stories to tell and quests tocomplete.

Many players felt cheated by theclimax of Mass Effect 3, which presented players with the same three endingoptions regardless ofwhat choices they made earlier in the game. Similarly, the initial release of No Man's Sky drew criticism for having minimal plot and the lack of any payoff when players finally reached the center of the galaxy. There's two morals the developers of Starfield can draw from these stories: first, don't promiseanything which can't be delivered. Second, a science fictionRPG set in a vast universe should haveseveral interesting endgame scenarios,conclusions that reward the player for making choices and committing to certain paths.After all, what's the point of a game set in the vastness of outer space if the player is alwaysconfined to a single fixed path?

In the wake of the controversysurroundingFallout 76, which released with numerous glitches and unpopular transactions, it's all the more important that Bethesda Softworks takes the time and puts in the effort needed tomake the StarfieldRPG an exciting experience for players, a saga of mystery, wonder, and perilous travel among the stars. The current dearth of news and information about Starfield maythus be a good thing, a sign that Bethesda is keeping their cards close to their chest until the core concept of Starfield is properly refined.

Next: Bethesda Cancels Plans For Digital Showcase In June

Source: PC Gamer

Doctor Who: Every Doctor's TRUE Companion

A Chicago-based Writer, Author and freelance translator. Looking to prep his readers for the next renaissance or apocalypse, whichever comes first.Write and publishes web fiction under the pseudonym Aldo Salt on Inkshares.com.

Read the original post:

What Bethesdas Starfield RPG Could Learn From Other Sci-Fi Games - Screen Rant