Starfield’s developers are aiming for a ‘NASA-Punk’ aesthetic

techradar.com:

Bethesda has a particular look in mind when it comes to its upcoming space RPG, Starfield, and that look is “NASA-Punk”.

As described by the game’s lead artist, Istvan Pely, in a recent Xbox newswire post, NASA-Punk is a term coined by Starfield’s development team “to describe a sci-fi universe that’s a little more grounded and relatable”. Pely explains the team “wanted a very realistic take,” adding, “You can draw a line from current-day space technology and extrapolate from there into the future so it’s believable and relatable.”

The game’s lead animator, Rick Vicens, explains that the term proved to be incredibly useful when creating an aesthetically consistent world. “What’s really interesting is how much we all latched onto that concept," Vicens says. 

«When you said NASA-Punk, the Art team could instantly take those two words and make them work. It was just the perfect term for our art direction and keeping everyone in the same flow and working with a consistent style. For me, it just clicked. At the start of the project, I think that term was critical for us.”

The interview was accompanied by a brief video titled “Painting a Journey Through Space” which offers a behind-the-scenes look at artist, Mike Butkus, creating Starfield’s “Journey Through Space” art.

Through the Xbox Wire post, Microsoft is offering two fans a chance to win one of the prints seen in the video, signed by Mike Butkus and Game Director Todd Howard. According to the post, all you need to do to enter is join the game’s Constellation community by March 31, 2022. Those already in the group have already been entered, with the rules stating the winner will be drawn after this period. 

If the brief video that accompanied this interview wasn’t quite enough