By: Ashton Newton Staff Writer
During E3 2014, I watched a live stream of the Sony press conference with hope that I’d see something breathtaking.
My wish was granted when I saw a space ship lift off of an orange planet lush with grass, trees, and dinosaurs, and blast off into space. The ship flew into battle; colorful ships zoomed by, followed by explosions and asteroids hurtling around.
A reddish planet appeared in the distance and the ship moved closer, right into the planet’s atmosphere, ready to touch down. This was my first glimpse at “No Man’s Sky” (NMS), and I was hooked. I became “No Man’s Sky’s” biggest fan.
Hello Games, a small British developer known for the iPhone game “Joe Danger,” is developing NMS.
At its core, “No Man’s Sky” is a game about exploration. The vast universe contains 18 quintillion procedurally generated planets for players to explore, some containing life and some not; “procedurally generated” meaning that not one planet is the same as another; each planet is unique and ready to be explored.
All life in the game is procedurally generated too, and when players make discoveries, it’s their duty to name the planets, creatures, and plants they find.
The overall goal of NMS is to reach the center of universe, and the closer to the center players get, the more difficult it gets to stay alive. No one knows what happens there, but Head Developer Sean Murray promises something amazing.
“No Man’s Sky” is officially due to be released in June 2016 on Playstation 4 and PC.
Hello Games has kept the majority of gameplay features and lore under wraps to make the experience for the player more enjoyable.
I’m eagerly waiting for June; NMS is looking to be the biggest and most ambitious game ever created.