The sky isn’t the limit in Starfield, as Skyrim developer Bethesda seems to be giving players unprecedented freedom. We’re approaching the Starfield release date soon, but before we explore every one of the Starfield planets, Will Shen and Emil Pagliarulo of Bethesda detail how Starfield quests are aided by the filmography of Heat actor Al Pacino.
In a recent Q&A session with the two Bethesda development team members, one fan asks “Can you be a double agent in the game?” It may seem like a complicated journey to embark upon, but Pagliarulo (studio design director) explains “Ha! That is exactly what you can do – infiltrate the Crimson Fleet for UC SysDef! It’s specific to that questline.”
It’s actually part of an in-depth quest, but the inspiration for it lies directly in Pagliarulo’s love for cinema. “In the studio, I have been (half-jokingly) accused of referencing movies that some folks have never seen, because I’m old. So with this particular plotline, the inspiration was very much the movie Donnie Brasco, which is the true story of an FBI agent who infiltrates the mafia.”
Before Al Pacino promoted the chocolate blend of the Dunkaccino, he starred in the Mike Newell crime opus Donnie Brasco. The titular role, played by Johnny Depp, sees an FBI agent infiltrate the mob underworld, with hitman Lefty Ruggiero (Pacino) taking him under his wing. It’s an exceptional crime movie, as well as one of the best thriller movies to check out.
On the quest itself, Shen, the game’s lead quest designer, adds that “all of the playable factions can be completed independently.”
To become the ultimate space spy, Shen specifies players will go deep undercover to steal information from the game’s key figures: “The Crimson Fleet storyline does feature you being an undercover agent inside the Fleet on behalf of UC SysDef (a specific military branch of the United Colonies), but whether you betray the Fleet or UC SysDef is a choice you will get to make.”
The prospect of being the most ruthless double agent in the galaxy is enthralling, but it’ll likely end up with our character meeting a grizzly end. Put together a study Starfield crew and you might make it out unscathed.