Starfield, despite having fallen short of lodging itself as firmly in the bit of humanity’s collective psyche labelled ‘the good shit’ in comparison to its Bethesda-made siblings, will still achieve something akin to that at some point. Eventually, the man who composed the space RPG’s soundtrack reckons, it’ll “become something that will be legendary”. Why? Because Todd Howard’s big visionary brain cannot be stopped.
“Todd is one, if not the most creative and invigorating human beings in the industry,” Starfield and Fallout 4 composer Inon Zur said in recent interview with RPGSite that’s especially worth readiing if you’re interested in how game soundtracks come together. “He knows how to allow freedom of creativity on one hand, but also how to steer it to his own vision. He is a visionary. He sees things that people will start to find out years later.”
Zur reckons there’s no reason that won’t apply to Starfield, the Elder Scrolls and Fallout headman’s NASA-looking baby. “When Starfield released, I believe people were just not ready for it,” the composer said. “It’s a different way of looking at it, but Todd is really strong, and he said very, very lightly, ‘Look, if you don’t like it, then you don’t like it, but this is the new thing that we’re doing, and we’re sticking to it.’ He believes in his way, and it just has proven time and time again that eventually people will understand his vision.
“It just takes time and this is a common thing for all the big visionaries. Sometimes people really don’t understand them correctly, but they were strong enough to stay on course, and Todd will stay on course on Starfield. Starfield will eventually become something that will be legendary. I have no doubt. It’s just a matter of time.”
As much as it’s nice to see someone go to bat for a boss who they believe is great at bringing the best out of people and ideas when making games, given Starfield’s well-documented falling short of the studio’s previous high watermarks throughout its lifespan to this point. Those high watermarks in terms at least of attracting lots of people and staying relevant for a long time – your Skyrims and Fallout 4s – are undeniably very high, but at the same time, Starfield’s undeniably fallen short of getting close to them despite the Shattered Space DLC attempting to draw on the same Bethesda worldbuilding magic that long seemed a panacea for the studio’s games.
With all of that context, Zur’s assertion that Starfield has to prove to be something exceptional solely because of the man leading the studio who made it wills that to be so reads a bit like the sort of religious screed you might find Starfield’s cult-like House Va’ruun writing of the great serpent they believe in. It could still turn out to be true given the future’s unknowable, but to be so dogmatic about that based solely on your faith in one visionary being right feels like shows off the sheer bloody-minded stubbornness in the face of a clear reality that can take over perceptions of projects helmed by those seen as gifted auteurs.
It’s not a matter of dissecting the thing you’ve made to understand why people might not dig it or how it could be improved. It’s just a matter of waiting for them to realise your genius. Who knows, maybe that day’s just around the corner.
