For those who’ve not been following the development of No Man’s Sky, it’s a game about exploration and survival set in an infinite and procedurally generated universe. The game relies on set of complicated mathematical algorithms to create each of huge array of planets in the universe. At the latest count Hello Games estimated that there were over a quintillion planets in the game so far. The player will have a ship with which to traverse this spectacularly massive universe, upgrading it, mining for resources fighting off pirates and whatever else takes their fancy.
The video released on July 6th is the longest continuous showing of No Man’s Sky’s game play. Up until this point eager fans have had to make do with the several five minute trailers released at previous E3’s. The new video is around 18 minutes long.
Sean Murray, creator of No Man’s Sky and founder of Hello Games, takes us on a scenic tour of one of the millions of worlds in the universe, suggesting some of the paths players may take when the game is finally released.
Beyond the scope of this game, the interest it’s drawn from some charismatic personalities (Elon Musk for one) No Man’s Sky is about player freedom. There will be loose objectives players can work towards but the point of the game, is exploration and boundlessness. If you want to be a pirate, raid the stars and never touch down on a planet you can do that. If you’re looking to wander empty worlds and discover fantastic new species of fish and beast, you can do that. If you’re more interested in economy, the cornering of markets and trade you can travel from Solar System to Solar System and make a fortune as you buy low and sell high. It’s up to you.
