Developer Sean Murray talks about exploration, survival and the downside of being a space jerk.
A new slice of the No Man's Sky sci-fi exploration experience has been released by PlayStation, with the PS4 and Windows PC title headed for release the week of June 21.
With an exclusive console launch on PlayStation 4, one keynote presentation at June's Electronic Entertainment Expo is expected to contain a spectacular showcase for the sci-fi homage No Man's Sky. The ambitious game is the unlikely product of a small team from Guildford, UK, Hello Games, having previously worked on entries to its cute, chaotic motorcycle stunt racing franchise "Joe Danger."
Scaling the difference
But No Man's Sky is operating on a different scale altogether, a theme that co-founder Sean Murray returns to during a 15-minute demonstration video released April 18. The game takes place within a procedurally generated universe, and players are encouraged to explore its varied planets.
Exploration is a concept most people understand, Murray explains, but what it means in No Man's Sky is "really different to any other game." Through their actions, players gravitate towards one of two different exploration styles, Murray implies. It has combat, exploration, survival, and trading. But above all, it has scale.
Space Jerks
Players can name discovered animals and planets, learn new languages from engraved monuments and conversations with alien explorers, and discover underground cave networks with a self-made mining tool. Various factors work against players who conform to an archetype Murray calls the "Space Jerk": airborne droids investigate a felled animal and, while up in space, hulking freighters fight back against his ill-equipped vessel.
The light fantastic
And in space is where scale comes in again. "You can just hop into your spaceship, and just like that we've already flown over that entire area we've just played in. We were on this planet playing with a couple of hundred meters squared. Now we're out in space, we're dealing with hundreds of thousands of kilometers. If I pop out into the map, we're dealing in light years."
The 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) takes place June 13-16, with PlayStation expected to present on June 13, and No Man's Sky launching the following week.
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