Hello Games Managing Director Sean Murray recently talked about the multiplayer aspect of No Man’s Sky and said that it will be very similar to Journey and Dark Souls. This is not particularly surprising, as what we’ve heard of the game does indeed point a multiplayer element similar to those games, but it’s always nice to have concrete namedropping.
Rather than focusing on full-on shared experiences, No Man’s Sky will have traces of other people: such as the names of the creatures and items left behind by passing players. This is quite in line with say, the bloodstains in Dark Souls games, that reveal a brief animation of death. According to Murray, players being in the same place at the same time will be “incredibly rare”. Murray dodges the question of whether players will be able to meet other players in the game, so whether or not there will be any kind of player interaction is currently unknown.
It is unclear about the motives behind the move towards indirect multiplayer experiences: and indeed, designers each have their own reasons for taking the path. In Dark Souls, for instance, messages and bloodstains hint at the trials and failures suffered by other players of the game, which might give some company to the lonesome player.
No Man’s Sky is coming out on June 21st for the PC and PS4. Have a look at the interview below.