Todd Howard, the mastermind behind Starfield and some of the most iconic RPGs, has always had a deep fascination with space. Growing up, space exploration was more than just a distant dream for him.
As shared by him in an interview, his brother was born on the day Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and his grandfather lived near Cape Canaveral. These influences increased Howard’s curiosity about the universe, and it’s no surprise that this fascination eventually inspired Starfield, Bethesda’s once highly anticipated space exploration game.
Starfield, Todd Howard, and Space Exploration
In an interview with GQ from August of last year, shortly before the release of the game, Todd Howard shared a lot about his space influences, and what draws him towards it.
However, despite his deep interest in the cosmos, Howard himself is not rushing to explore space personally. He revealed that while he has been offered opportunities to go to space, he feels it’s something he might consider later in life. Responding to a question in the interview about going to space himself, he said:
I’ve been offered in the past, I think it would be amazing, but… maybe when I’m older.
It’s clear that while Howard enjoys exploring space through his creations, the idea of doing it in real life is still something he’s hesitant about, and understandably so. It’s a massive undertaking.
Howard’s perspective also shows a broader trend among successful figures who are often asked whether they would like to engage in the very activities their work celebrates. Howard’s refusal to leap into the unknown of space travel shows that creating and experiencing are two different things, for him at least.
For now, Howard seems to be happy to let his imagination do the exploring, crafting vast, intricate worlds that others can dive into and explore.
The Journey of Starfield’s Development
Creating Starfield has been an unpredictable journey for both him and the team, much like the uncertain nature of space exploration itself. The game represented Bethesda’s first new universe and IP in over 25 years, a massive game that had been in development for nearly a decade, and in conceptualization stages for far longer.
Howard and his team at Bethesda Game Studios faced immense pressure to deliver a game that not only meets but exceeds the high expectations set by their previous successes, such as Skyrim and Fallout 4.
The challenges were all different, ranging from the technical difficulties of generating entire explorable planets to ensuring that the game’s narrative and gameplay were engaging and cohesive. The jury’s still out on that one.
The stakes were particularly high for Starfield, especially after the rocky launch of Fallout 76, which left a dent in Bethesda’s otherwise mostly positive reputation. The team has dedicated an entire year to polishing the game, making sure not to repeat past mistakes of a botched launch.
Howard himself admitted that the game only truly started to feel fun to play about a year before its release, indicating just how complex and challenging the development process has been, and how it all really came together at the last moment.
Did Starfield live up to your expectations? Let us know in the comments.
