Desperate for new details about Skyrim publisher Bethesda’s upcoming RPG Starfield? Well, today’s your lucky day.
As part of a multi-part YouTube series called Into the Starfield, which has already touched on how the game will fit into the studio’s vision for its future and what players will be able to do in it, Bethesda has just released a first glimpse at what Starfield will sound like.
Given the importance of the soundtracks in previous Bethesda games, from the orchestral fantasy harmonies of The Elder Scrolls to Fallout’s retro jazz tunes, this is a pretty big reveal.
Bethesda Teases What Starfield Sounds Like
The video, which you can watch in full below, features a conversation between Bethesda Game Studios audio director Mark Lampert and Starfield composer Inon Zur, who begin by explaining how important a game’s music is, not just to the eventual release but also to setting a tone for the game’s development.
The pair agree that crafting a game’s main theme is the hardest part, audio-wise, with Lampert saying: “I relax a lot once we feel good about the main theme because the rest is going to, it’ll be work in iteration, but it’s going to write itself.”
Zur reveals that for Starfield in particular, he is seeking a somewhat circular sound design, which will help signify the journeys that players will be going on, saying: “We will find something, we will discover something, we’ll take it with us and we will go back home with it.”
Beyond this, Zur also speaks about using woodwind instruments to convey the idea of particles in space, along with strings and brass instruments to create a soundtrack that lies somewhere between organic and synthetic.
Lampert follows this up by talking about integrating music into the game’s sound design, saying: “I’ll take any of that music and turn it into ambience somewhere”, allowing the music to serve as a “companion to the player”.
He also touches on how soundtracking a game set in space is different from doing so for a game set on one fixed planet, explaining: “It is a blank canvas and a massive playground”.
The video ends with Zur saying: “my wish is that specifically the music will be present in a way that is going to magnify the entire experience”.
Throughout the video, snippets of what will likely be Starfield’s soundtrack can be heard in the background of the conversation, mostly conveying a sense of wonder and scale.
Make sure to follow us if you’re looking for info on The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Starfield and Gaming News page.