'Astroneer' and 'No Man's Sky'

For my 11,111th post, I'm going to show some trailers for two up coming games that I'm very excited for, and I NEVER get excited for new video games, so this is rare!

I'm not too big on the whole game console games thing, the last one I had purchased for myself was Journey, and before that I think it was Guitar Hero... yes, I'm serious.

I had to try Journey, simply because it was a nice, fresh and new concept to me. The fantasy-based, mystical, world-exploration and puzzle/mystery-solving aspect of it really intrigued me. Even all the Grand Theft Auto games and for the Red Dead Redemption game, I found myself exploring the world more than playing any missions within the world.

Whether it's a grand city or out in the wilderness, I loved games where I can just live in it and explore through them and find things. Playing those Rock Star games would often make me wonder if an endless space-exploration game would even be possible, and how exciting it could be.

I remember playing Wing Commander: Privateer in 1994, the basic gameplay consisted of flying and fighting with the ship in a star system, jumping from system to system via jump points, landing on bases or planets, interacting with people (mainly talking) and buying or selling equipment or commodities. The Gemini sector is divided into quadrants, each contains several star systems, most of them with planets or bases that may be visited.

Unlike other games in the series, the gameplay was primarily in the sandbox style of play. When flying, the main view is a first-person-look from inside the cockpit onto the cockpit screens and the space before the ship. On planets and bases a static overview (first-person-view) was used to show the rooms and interact with people. When buying or selling and taking missions from the mission computer, in-game menus were used.

The player could conduct his own business as a merchant or fight in combat for non-plot missions provided by the above factions. If playing as a merchant, the player had to make a profit from price differences of commodities on different planets or stations. Alternatively, the player could choose from randomly generated non-plot missions from a mission computer. Successful completion of missions results in monetary award, which allows better ship weapons and equipment to be purchased.

I'm not too aware of any games that expanded upon this sort of concept to larger degrees, I'm aware of a few Star Wars games than had a large universe for you to explore and had options for you to be a merchant or bounty hunter and had you exploring the galaxy with lots of treasure, characters, worlds, cities, and crazy stuff to uncover. But like I said, I'm not much of a gamer and I haven't had the chance to play any games that have expanded upon this concept.

Here's two new games that I feel have taken the concept of Journey (and those old Wing Commander games) to a more massive and sci-fi level, and I'm very interested in this new sub-genre of video games.

Astroneer





The sudden development of technology for rapid space travel enables fast and inexpensive journeys to the stars. Exo Dynamics, the dominant conglomerate in the new field, has opened flights to daring citizens of Earth. Like the Yukon gold rush of old, waves of adventurers sign up to launch themselves into a new frontier, risking everything to seek their fortune in the far reaches of the galaxy. These are the Astroneers.

As an Astroneer, you must find a way to dig out a life on one of a multitude of harsh new worlds. Blast through the terrain to uncover precious artifacts and materials you can use to fuel your quest to become a wealthy baron in the stars. Along the way, discover oddities, raise questions, and uncover mysteries. Perhaps not all is as it seems.


No Man's Sky















I'm insanely excited for this one. It seems too good to be true!

A truly open universe if you can see it, you can go there. You can fly seamlessly from the surface of a planet to another, and every star in the sky is a sun that you can visit.

The main focus is exploration, it all relies on seeing things that no-one else has ever seen before every creature, geological formation, plant and spaceship is unique. Survive on a dangerous frontier you are alone and vulnerable, and will face threat everywhere, from deep space to thick forests, barren deserts to dark oceans.

Build for an epic journey collect precious materials and trade them for better spacecraft and upgrades for your suit and equipment and prepare for your journey to the centre of the galaxy.

In this shared universe you choose to share with other players your discoveries on a map of the galaxy. Discover unexplored frontiers or build your strengths in known space.

65daysofstatic, has produced a soundtrack album especially for No Man's Sky, which will be featured in the game as a procedurally generated soundscape.