No Man’s Sky had a lot of flaws at launch, but I really liked how it focused on the sense of discovery.
The first few dozen hours of naming planets, scanning strange tentacle horses, and cataloging obscure rocks were so much fun that Bethesda developed something similar in Starfield, an epic space RPG. Being inside is not surprising. After all, we’ve been doing this sort of thing for a very long time, snapping Dugon in Pokémon Snap or scanning Shadow Moses as a Solid Snake.
However, I was a little surprised that scanning Starfield’s version of the creature not only reminded me of No Man’s Sky, which came out seven years ago, but that it looks nearly identical.
I got a glimpse of Starfield scanning in action at Starfield Direct last month, but I didn’t realize how close it was until Bethesda tweeted it out. this short clip Yesterday’s planetary scan. The way the binocular interface looks, the way objects glow while scanning, the way you learn about things by scanning, the mostly useless but fun peripheral trivia, the little XP you get for cataloging, all perfectly mimic the data experience. doing. Gather at No Man’s Sky. In Starfield, it seems that a creature’s likelihood of attacking you can be determined by the ‘temperament’ listed. In No Man’s Sky, this same information is labeled Behavior.
Surveying isn’t the most exciting way to spend your time in Starfield, but it seems like a lucrative one. As the tweet points out, if you complete a planetary survey in Starfield, you can sell that information for credit, like in No Man’s Sky.
I don’t know if I’m happy or frustrated about this. I enjoy scanning things with his No Man’s Sky, and probably just as much, if not more, with Starfield. Because among the procedurally generated flora and fauna are his hand-drawn RPG cities and fully voiced characters. Scans have a lot to do with Space Frontier fantasies, especially for those who prefer to be celebrated for their prowess of exploration rather than meeting deadlines. At the same time, it’s a little disappointing that Bethesda’s vision for gamified discovery is basically “do exactly what Hello Games did and don’t mention it.”
As a member of the Constellation, your mission is to unlock the mysteries of the galaxy. Use your scanner to discover the planet’s flora, fauna, and resources. Once you’ve fully scanned a planet, you can sell that information for credit. # Starfield pic.twitter.com/BkLF2vNA2kJuly 10, 2023
Games are constantly stealing smart ideas from each other, but what bothers me is that developers (especially big-budget games) often ignore it or resist admitting it. I think. Bethesda does this just like any other big studio, but the more famous the game they borrow, the more awkward it looks.or mining laser Looking at last year’s gameplay showcase, it certainly resembles No Man’s Sky’s multi-tool.
Part of it is practical. Developers commonly speak when promoting their games. Because to explicitly say “this part works exactly like he did in No Man’s Sky” doesn’t help anyone who hasn’t played the game. Never mind the awkwardness of being an Xbox-owned studio (he came to Xbox about two years after No Man’s Sky released on PC and PlayStation 4). The most likely reason developers don’t politely acknowledge copied ideas is that they can be seen as offensive to the game.
It’s probably true, according to a well-researched marketing deck, but being candid about the obvious imitation would score quite a few points for me.
