Starfieldfans' excitement continues to grow regularly as the new year approaches. While no confirmed release date has been announced, the fact thatStarfieldis scheduled for the first half of 2023 creates more anticipation among fans of Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years. Even though essential story details have been kept under wraps, players know there will be many star systems and planets to explore. Despite that no sentient alien species have been mentioned yet, the game can explore and embrace the themes associated with first contact.
First contact is often used in science fiction to detail humanity’s encounter with extraterrestrial life. While that usually is portrayed as a conscious or sentient life form, this does not always have to be the case. Themes that first contact often explores are rooted in xenophobia, transcendentalism, and linguistics, though there are other elements such as weaponization and destruction and an “us vs. them” mentality. Bethesda has explored such themes as xenophobia even inSkyrimwith the Stormcloak capital of Windhelm’s fight for independence embracing these prejudices.
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First Contact Themes and Why They Could Appear in Starfield
While many themes are explored in science fiction, primarily involving first contact elements, common ones usually at the forefront, as mentioned, are issues such as xenophobia, which is generally described as the fear or dislike of anything foreign or strange. This theme isn’t isolated to science fiction alone, though. Many real-world issues today involve this mentality, aiming at different ethnic or national groups. In science fiction, even inStarfield’s possible alien races, this can extend to sentient extraterrestrials and alien creatures in general, which humans lack an understanding of due to unknown nature, biology, and evolution.
Transcendentalism developed in the 1820s and 1830s, focusing on a core belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature while society corrupted the individual’s purity. Transcendentalism further posits that people are at their best with independence and self-reliance. Linguistics is generally seen as the philosophy of language and natural or ordinary language that has developed or evolved naturally. “Us vs. them” typically grows from an isolationist view where building off xenophobia is either us and our survival or them and theirs.
Lastly, weaponization and destruction see the idea that every new technology or species could be used as a weapon for defeat against the native species or another force. While technology strives to make life better for people and creatures, there’s an inherent belief that all new technology is first seen as a weapon. Combined with xenophobia and “us vs. them,“Starfieldmay explore sci-fi ideaslike this philosophy to broader conflicts as humans often feel there’s a justification for killing first and ask questions later, especially in matters that they don’t understand, which may appear dangerous at first.
How Starfield Can Explore First Contact Themes
Starfieldhas recently revealed that players will discover what happened to Earth and Mars, indicating that our Solar System is mainly uninhabited. Whether this is because of alien contact or the reduction of resources that forced us among the stars has yet to be revealed. However, Bethesda has shown fans that different groups of people, factions, governments, and corporations have their ideals and agendas. Players may see these conflicts explode narratively depending onwhat happened toStarfield’s Earth and Mars.
Starfield’s space explorationcan quickly call the themes of xenophobia as it exists today, even if the game is devoid of sentient alien life. Further exploration into technology and weapons can enhance the thematic narrative of what’s to come. Nevertheless, players have already seen planets teeming with extraterrestrial creatures, some friendly and some dangerous, which can open the broader can of worms on the themes of xenophobia, “us vs. them,” and even technology if the attributes or biology of alien creatures have any significant purpose for humanity.
Starfieldreleases in 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
