Video Transcript
the past decade or so has seen at the development of an unusual or gaming Obsession the idea of the everything game and it’s an obsession that that just might have been the bane of Starfield no man’s sky and even Star Citizen this is an issue that has caused a lot of problems for both Gamers and developers and it’s also the reason you’re never going to get that perfect game now it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when this Obsession had merged but one thing is for certain it’s led to both developers over promising and players having unrealistic expectations result has frequently led to a mass disappointment now before we go any further with this what exactly do I mean that when I say the everything game well put simply it’s the idea of a yet to be created game a hypothetical game that allows players to take on any role they can imagine in a world that reacts in realistic and meaningful ways so here’s a few examples of games that actually come close to this but don’t quite reach that everything gamer status the GTA series is famous for its richly detailed world and these games are full of reactive and believable characters more importantly these games are feature cities that not only feel alive but also a responder to the players in meaningful ways another example of well games like this is bethesda’s titles these games such as the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout series and these games offer a highly reactive worlds where players can the deeply immerse themselves you’re not restricted to plan these games in a linear fashion but instead you play in a way that suits you you can get as creative as you like and in many ways you can even be what you like that then is the essence of the everything game it’s a hypothetical game design for a gamer yet to be invented in this ideal game you could be an entrepreneur a cop a criminal an engineer or a manufacturer or indeed anything else you can imagine what’s more the game will respond and react to cool dinner to these roles in believable and engaging ways Additionally the environment is very likely to be at large to absolutely massive in short it’s about creating a game world so deeply immersive that players can live a life there it’s a concept that is massively appealing to Gamers all over the world and I can completely understand why after all they show me a gamer that doesn’t want to be heavily immersed in a game world so where’s the problem why is this actually led to any field issues both for gamers and um well developers and more specifically what has this got to do with these Space games I mentioned at the start of the video but here’s the thing a few genres of open World Games offer as much Freedom as Space Games the ability to travel the cosmos in spaceships to move from planet to planet and delve into the mysteries of the universe opens up infinite possibilities doesn’t it this vast level of Freedom makes it the same a game genre the perfect candidate for realizing at this everything game basically it all comes down to the expensive environments and the freedom of Earth movement as well as the sheer abundance of options it turns out then that this idea has been extremely appealing to both developers and players one of the most infamous of these games is perhaps Star Citizen a game that literally monetized this entire concept during its early crowdfunding period here backers of the game could contribute more money ever more money actually to unlock the development of additional Game World features yet today more than 11 years after Star Citizen began development the game still languishes in a pre-release state with a vast number of these features still miss in and then there’s no man’s Sky another notorious example during the marketing period the players were enticed with all manner of possibilities for this game some of these expectations were fueled by Hello Games whilst others from players own unrealistic or false expectations today though no man’s sky is quite rightly seen as one of the most ambitious games out there it gives players more activities to do more content and perhaps even more freedom than almost any other game yet it lacks a few distinct qualities notably there’s an absence of vast cities deep in Connected economies believable multi-layered NPCs and a lack of a truly distinct and deep roles for the player bottom line no man’s Sky features a lot of gameplay and a lot of options but it’s still not quite the everything game so at this point in history it’s obvious that the Allure of the everything game is one that’s very appealing but it’s also extremely difficult and maybe it’s a goal that could prove to be impossible to achieve despite a number of developers out there continuing to try now the latest attempt comes from a Bethesda with Starfield a game which the studio has described as being its most ambitious yet however it’s also a title which has led to many unmet player expectations now I’m not going to dive into all those expectations that were heaped on Starfield what am I going to talk about my thoughts on this great game I’ve done that elsewhere and there are other videos on this channel if you want to check them out ultimately though what I really want to talk about is regardless of whether like me you’re enjoying Starfield or if you don’t like the game at all one thing is clear it’s not the game and that’s going to deliver that everything game experience it’s not a huge seamless Universe in which you can experience absolutely everything although perhaps in some ways it does come close to this it’s a bold attempt now when it comes to this everything game concept Starfield does a lot right it contains a rich game world that reacts to players it has a wealth of NPCs many of which are shallow for some that do have plenty of depth it enables the players to pursue their goals in a variety of games in a variety of different ways for example some players will pursue the main story others will ignore that in favor of living a life within these settled systems others still will choose to focus on building the perfect spaceship or even the perfect Outpost yet as much as Starfield offers it lacks a vital aspect inherent to many space games and that is full of freedom of movement now of course this is one of the biggest criticisms that Starfield has received and that is aimed at the lack of seamless travel the inability to leave a planet or move from one area to another without a transition or a loading screen now I’ve argued in past videos that the star filter this feature doesn’t actually matter at least in my opinion however for other people that want to know this a so-called every game this concept this imaginary idea it does indeed matter and it matters a lot this thought in mind then this idea of seamless traveled I took a look at space engine perhaps the single the best piece of space focused software in existence space engine allows you to seamlessly and smoothly traveled through not just one entire galaxy but over 100 billion galaxies you can move around the surface of planets travel to distant moons at nebula and black holes and then traveled even faster to reach distant galaxies the entire experience happens seamlessly and without loading screens now this is a well it’s a pretty impressive feat isn’t it so I reached out to the space engine development team to ask them why they feel that the experience of seamless travel is so important and this is how they’ve replied the first quote comes from Vladimir the owner of cosmographic software who is the lead programmer and original author of space engine and this is to do with how the idea how the actual technology is executed he said the main idea behind a seamless experience is that distant objects appear small and you don’t need to render everything or anything if it’s smaller than one pixel also the universities hierarchical if the Galaxy is not visible then all of its stars are not visible if star system is smaller than one pixel then all its planets are invisible so basically the idea seems to be here that there’s things that are too small to see simply don’t render them just render them when they are needed and this is seemingly allowed in her cosmographic allowing the development team to build this massive seamless engine now the next quote comes from Alexander long who is the president and the CEO of cosmographic software he said I feel like when you’re talking about having realism as your main priority you can’t really justify having a loading screen or transition sequence however subtle it takes something away and in that moment reminds you that it’s not real this is our gold with space engine is to be as accurate as possible having a seamless experience for our users is ultimately fundamental to the nature of the program it couldn’t be what it is without it I feel like it’s part of the enjoyment you get to explore the Universe on your own terms without interruption and I think there’s something very unique and special about that so yeah this is something um well I completely agree with and it’s also one of the reasons why I’ve been so impressed with space engine over the years and my space engine isn’t a game by any means it does serve as a singular example for the concept of full freedom of travel indeed in my opinion any future hypothetical everything game would need to offer the same ad freedom of travel as space engine at the very minimum and whilst that game wouldn’t necessarily need to simulate the entire universe or even the entire galaxy it would need to simulate very accurately the region it is set within and allow players to seamlessly explore that all of this then leads me to one very specific question it seems pretty obvious at this point that both players and developers very clearly want to experience and create this dream game this ideal game this life simulation again and again developers imply they’re building of this Holy Ground again and again players imagine the Holy Ground is going to be found in the next big release ultimately it tends to lead to well various Devils of disappointment so why hasn’t any of this happened yet is it a matter of technological limitations or is it the ever expanding scope of our Collective imagination that keeps moving the goal posts further away or maybe the true Everything game exists not as a single title but as an evolving concept that continues to inspire and challenge us all inshault just maybe it’s well it’s all down to the moving goal pose as technology continues to improve we keep our eyes on the horizon and talk about what might be possible next year and the decade after and as games get bigger we continue to want ever bigger games so just maybe it’s going to be impossible to achieve this perfect game because no matter how good the games are that we ultimately get where it’s going to want something a bit better let me know what you think about all this in the comment section below I’d love to hear your thoughts as always thanks for watching catch you guys and girls next time
Over the past decade, there has been a growing obsession with the concept of the "everything game" in the gaming industry. This is the idea of a hypothetical game that allows players to take on any role in a realistic and immersive world. Games like the GTA series and Bethesda’s titles, such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, have come close to this concept, but none have truly achieved it. Space games, like Starfield, No Man’s Sky, and Star Citizen, have been particularly appealing for this idea due to their expansive environments and freedom of movement.
However, the pursuit of the everything game has led to several issues for both players and developers. Developers have often overpromised and players have had unrealistic expectations, resulting in mass disappointment. Games like Star Citizen and No Man’s Sky have faced backlash due to unmet expectations. The latest attempt at the everything game comes from Bethesda with Starfield, which is described as their most ambitious project yet. While Starfield offers a rich game world, reactive NPCs, and various gameplay options, it lacks full freedom of movement, a crucial aspect in many space games.
Seamless travel, the ability to move smoothly through vast game worlds without loading screens or transitions, is a highly desired feature in the everything game concept. Space Engine, a simulation software, exemplifies this idea by allowing seamless and uninterrupted exploration across billions of galaxies. The developers emphasize that this experience adds to the realism and immersiveness of the program, eliminating any reminder that it is not real. However, achieving full freedom of movement is a technological challenge that few games have managed.
The question arises as to why the everything game has not become a reality yet. It may be a combination of technological limitations and our ever-expanding imagination that keeps raising the bar for what an ideal game should be. As technology improves, our hopes for bigger and better games continue to grow, making it increasingly difficult to attain the perfection we envision. It is possible that the everything game exists as an evolving concept rather than a single title, constantly inspiring and challenging both players and developers.
Despite the challenges, the appeal of the everything game endures. Players and developers alike strive to create and experience this dream game, even if they are met with varying degrees of disappointment along the way. Ultimately, the pursuit of the perfect game may be an endless endeavor as our expectations constantly evolve.