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But seriously: all I read is SF, being able to enter a whole space opera universe and make my own story. Not roleplay a character. But be me. That's cool.
I reached the center last night, and after that.....
It got very deep and existential where I'm there with a broken multitool and need iron to fix it.
There is a choice. Do I put down the controller and say I'm done, or do I fight on and melee the ♥♥♥♥ outta that iron with my busted multitool like a caveman with a club .
It's a metaphor for life. As in life in a force in the universe sense, not some speck of nothing individual being. All of the people who have gone before, all who will come after and battle to the end and protect their young.
It was one of those whoa, sit back and ponder for a while. I've only had that feeling a few times from a couple of books where it makes you question your place in the universe so deeply. You know where you finish it, put it down and stare at the wall for half an hour processing.
The most profound moment I've had in games, and close to several amazing books.
Feel free to skip it all together, but you did ask about meaning.
And meaning is no simple thing to talk about, without reverting to the standard ‘42’.
Ever since I found out, as a very little kid, that the universe contained everything that there is, was, and will ever be, I’ve asked the question, ‘But how can that be possible? The universe must be inside something else, so what’s outside it?’ My head really hurt thinking about that. Even now, contemplating it, it’s like my mind folds over on itself, unable to process the whole problem from beginning to end, especially as I have since found out that there is apparently some edge to the universe – so what’s on the other side of that edge????
And when I found out there was something called The Big Bang, and it was how the universe began, and that the thing that went Bang, the thing that contained before it banged, everything there is, was, and will ever be, that thing was impossibly small, a tiny speck, I’ve thought: How is that possible? Logically, I mean. It’s NOT possible, that the entire universe was once contained in something smaller than my little fingernail. But nevertheless…
And when I discovered how atoms work, and where they come from, and how cells work and what they look like, I’ve thought, ‘What if Atoms are, in themselves, little universes? What if cells are? What if our own body contains a billion cosmoses wrapped around each other?’…
And THEN when I found out that there is a theory out there that, according to some respected physicists, it is almost mathematically certain that we, all of us, aren’t actually real, but are, instead just part of a simulation programmed by people in the future, my mind folded in on itself in that same familiar way.
And along comes No Man’s Sky, which, whatever else you think about it, DOES contain within itself an entire universe. From the perspective of the player, I mean. It’s not a universe which works quite the way our own does, it’s not as complex and doesn’t follow the same physical laws, but it IS a universe, in the sense of it being a near infinite array of planets which can be explored and travelled to. It is, in many ways, a very shallow version of that, but it IS a version of that.
And it is so tiny, this universe, that it can be transported as bits of data through the internet.
And it has a creator.
I’ve been brought up to believe that the idea of a creator is a silly thing, a story told to children to give them comfort – but now No Man’s Sky comes along and makes me question that. Not in a way which makes me feel like going to church, but in a way that deeply excites me.
And this universe didn’t exist even five years ago, and then the creator wove with pure mathematics, a magic spell of sorts, and BANG, there it was.
And here I am, in this universe, or actually in two universes at the same time. And there is no character creation screen, because I’ve already been created, that happened many years ago and then I was born, and I don’t get to choose my body type, my race, or even my name, I’m just here, in two universes at the same time.
And what do I DO here?
What do I DO in either of these universes that has any meaning?
And what makes something have meaning, anyway?
And, before the patch, I couldn’t scan those damn birds, so I shot one, just so that I could NAME it, just so that I could claim ownership of it in some way, and that made me feel completely dreadful: This game, a bloody computer game, had made me feel completely dreadful just by killing a thing that isn’t, in any meaningful sense, even alive.
And I travel to planets and aliens are there, but they’re ALIEN, so that doesn’t matter, I still get to name all the places, because I’m more real than them, more important than them. Just the way it’s always been done throughout the ages of human discovery. And one day it’s possible, it really is, that some as yet unknown alien people will find my discoveries within this false No Man’s Sky universe and come to know the planets that I travelled to by the names that I gave them.
And I’ve collected all the multi-tool upgrades, but I still try to get more, and I still get disappointed when I don’t learn anything new, that I don’t get some reward simply because I held down my E button for a couple of seconds- WHY DON’T I GET A REWARD FOR THAT???!!! And it makes me think about how we humans work, the way we are stimulated, the way tiny little rewards can make life seem worth living, even if those rewards are, in themselves, as meaningless as anything else.
And I load up my game after having a break and I think to myself, ‘I can’t remember what I was doing – what’s the next thing I was supposed to be doing?’ And then I realise, there is no next thing, there was no last thing, it’s just one foot in front of another, just being, not doing, and the more I try to DO the more I want rewards to come thicker and faster and the further away those rewards seem, suddenly when I’m mining for money, money means so much more and seems so much harder to obtain, and then I ask myself: What do I need all this money for if everything is meaningless?
And I crave companionship. I yearn for some human connection through No Man’s Sky, so I come on these forums.
Even though I have ample human companionship in the real universe, I crave companionship in this Other place, too, and the forum is my best option… And it’s as flawed a place as my real universe, and it exists, in its way, as a bridge between the two universes, which is weird. The whole internet is a very weird place: both real and not real.
And when I’m standing on a hill, my feet lapped by long, vividly coloured blades of grass, overlooking a deep blue ocean, shaded by a large, weirdly twisted tree from that enormous sun that’s on the rise, my breath catches in my throat in both realities and I think to myself: Is this what existence, is, ultimately? The joy in appreciating something truly beautiful.
Oh, and as serious and weighty as this post might seem, what I love, more than anything, is how often No Man’s Sky makes me laugh. It’s so silly, in so many ways.
1) Your journey in life is what you make of it, and that journey matters more than your destination. You're free and it's up to you to choose what you want to do of this freedom.
2) The diversity of nature (biomes, animals, plants) is what makes it beautiful, it's a treasure we must cherish and protect.
3) The universe is huge and we're nothing. Embrace it and let it go with all the things you don't need, you'll find joy and peace of mind.
I suppose if my journey had a deeper meaning, it would be that abandoning comfort and stability makes for an entertaining way to spend a few hours. Instead of grinding away for hours trying to get what I want, I casually collect what little I really need to keep flying. Turns out the NMS universe usually provides the rest.
#1: Exactly. Or in layman's terms, you get back what you put in. A more concise explanation of the confusion and outrage around NMS I have not heard.
This is a 1 hour analysis of the plot from a literary perspective. It explains why people feel the way they do, and basically says you need to make your own deeper meaning for the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bywVzpi10iM
Made me realise why I'm putting effort into getting all of the steam achievements in the game, they give me direction.
To enjoy this game the most you need to do your inventory progression just so, not outpace the narrative which is what I did.
130 hours, one achievement and about 500 words left to learn.
It really is Desert Bus in space.
But in all seriousness you might actually find a couple of books I've read in the past, very interesting. They both delve into hypothetical two dimensional universes. Though one if I recall correctly actually touches on the whole simulated reality hypothesis. I believe the title to that one is "The Planiverse." While the other is called "Flatland." The later is a satyrical piece written by Edwin A. Abbot, circa 1884. As for the former; it is actually a lot more recent. Published in 1984 oddly enough and authored by Alexander Dewdney.
And it excites me to no end that even if I manage to visit ten or more worlds in NMS everyday for the rest of my natural life there is still the very real possibility that in visiting just one more; I might find something unlike anything else I have ever seen.
So in summary my deeper meaning is the fulfillment of the desire to be by definition; truly free to exist how and where I please. To put it in philosophical terms: the realization of pure Existentialism. This is oddly enough in stark contrast to my largely Nihilistic world view in regards to the here and now. I am a being of emotion; but also one of sterile logic. My rational mind shows me a universe of no inherent value. My irrational mind posits that meaning, even if artificial; can and does in fact exist. So in a way NMS is the perfect metaphor of this duality. It is a game that objectively has no inherent value or meaning to its existence; thus it requires a certain level of self determination to give it any. In simple terms it is a game with no clear point and it requires one to make their own point for it to exist; and thus be worthwhile.
So I liken myself as being able to peek into that universe, and can't wait to see whats around the corner, for the chances are very very good, that no one else has ever seen it, but by a stumbled upon chance, another user just some day may see those worlds, animals, or systems. That makes them very real to me, and well worth the exploration. If I could do that in our real touchable universe, I would. Dancing throughout God's universe, exploring and discovering, would be amazing. And that's an understatement.
This game has successfully, and quite efficiently, slam dunk nailed a near perfect infinity, but randomly generated, explorable universe, with no known end to even its developers. There is always room for improvement, but with an unending universe, the developers can never, and will never, be able to fill such a universe.
I miss the fella.
Is that quote from Deepak Chopra or Richard Feynman, I can't remember :)