European Space Agency praises Starfield's NASA-Punk aesthetic
Last year, Bethesda described Starfield as having a "NASA-Punk" aesthetic. This term was coined by the development team to describe «a sci-fi universe that's a little more grounded and relatable». Essentially, Bethesda wants its game to have a sense of realism meets grit, and it is doing this by combining the practicality of real-life space technology with the aesthetics of Punk culture.
Now, this design decision has got the European Space Agency's approval, with its head of branding and partnerships Emmet Fletcher telling me he believes Starfield's NASA-Punk aesthetic «humanises» the game.
«This is the aesthetic where you basically have worn and loved futuretech? Actually, if you look at some of the things we have, it's a little bit like that already,» he told me from his office in Paris earlier this week. «We have things that if it works, it carries on working. And there's no need to change it. It's about reliability, and if it's reliable, it carries on.»
Fletcher reflected on ESA's Rosetta mission, a mission that saw the agency follow a comet on its orbit around the Sun, among other feats. Rosetta was 10 years in development, and it then took another 10 years for the satellite to actually get to the comet.
«You're looking at least 20 years of development. So you can see that a lot of the things that were used will look quite out of date, but in fact, they're the things that worked, that get us there,» he said. «So I think 'NASA-Punk' — or that should be ESA-Punk? Space-Punk? — that kind of thing actually humanises it a bit.»
Fletcher said this design is a «different take on the Star Treks» of this world, where everything often looks «squeaky clean» or like it's «self-healing».
«I think the reality is probably
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