“No Man’s Sky”, a video games launched in US recently, is built using a technique known as “procedural generation” essentially an algorithm that creates the game’s world as a player moves through it. Traditionally a game studio would have to draw intricate designs in order to create a fixed number of virtual worlds, a labor-intensive process that could take hundreds of designers.
But the world in “No Man’s Sky” creates itself and even Murray hasn’t seen what the entire universe has to hold for the player.
The universe of “No Man’s Sky” is gigantic with over 18 quintillion or 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 possible planets to visit. People can travel through the universe, upgrading weapons and spaceships, discovering new plant species, animals or even planets then naming them. This is then added to the game’s server and the user’s name is forever etched in “No Man’s Sky” history.
Users can also trade minerals or items they find and fight or loot native creatures on planets they discover. Players need to survive and keep their character alive.
The game might sound pointless, but Murray said that players looking for an end can get one by travelling to the center of the universe. There they will get a reward.
“That journey to the center, as you make that, you will find the universe you are in becomes more and more strange and difficult to progress, like any normal game ,there is a linear pattern you can take,” Murray told CNBC.
With “No Man’s Sky” now available to PlayStation users in the U.S. and Europe and a PC version to come on Friday, Murray is looking to the future of the game. Continuous updates are likely to happen Murray said which could be crucial for keeping this game fresh.
But could this game also be coming in a virtual reality (VR) form? PlayStation is launching a VR headset, slated for release later this year. Murray said VR is an interesting game form, but did not confirm if there would be a VR version of “No Man’s Sky”.###
