The Next Big Gaming Trend: Space Simulations

The past few years, ever since the release and subsequent re-release of DayZ, we have had an explosion of Zombie survival MMOs. In fact, I am surprised when there is a month when I don’t see news about a new one. However, it has become quite tiring, since there are only so many times I can wake up on an abandoned beach. It seems that most of the gaming market is coming to this conclusion, as we have reached a saturation point. Looking at upcoming releases, I feel that the next big gaming will be the open world Space Sim.

Being an astronaut is a dream that most kids have, and I can promise you I was one of them. However, given that most of us enjoy a pint or two/don’t have a pilot’s license or enjoy 20/20 vision it is not really that likely. Furthermore, the kind of space travel as repeated in the science fiction novels is not really the kind stuff you will be getting up to. Therefore at this given time the only way to experience space and everything beyond is through your computer.

However, up until just a few years ago the computing power to galaxies, solar systems and even planets was not really in the hands of the average Joe. Therefore the games that allowed you to truly feel like you were cruising out in space, in terms of raw computing power as well as virtual reality accessories, weren’t being created. The dreams just didn’t have the tools to become reality.

Until now. The ability to procedurally generate billions of planets, each one of them unique is one of the key features of the game No Man’s Sky which will be released in 2015. However, this isn’t even the entire story. In addition to planets, suns, black holes the entire surface of the planet, with oceans, mountains, plants and animals will always be created in your computer. This is only ONE of many games coming out in the next few years.

Others in the list include _Elite: Dangerous _and Star Citizen, both games that were funded on Kickstarter. In fact, _Star Citizen _managed to garner of $60,000,000. That if anything shows that there is interest out there for an immersive, almost infinite universe that you can explore in your own spaceship.

Both these games will feature a pervasive multiplayer galaxy that is much larger than anything you could ever explore. Furthermore, they focus on realism so that the orbits of the objects you will fly around will be as close to real data as possible. You have the ability to play the game the way you want, as a smuggler, pirate or trader with hyper realistic game mechanics and come the closest to living out your dream of being an astronaut.

We were all born too early/ too late to really have any part in any large explorations. We cannot rediscover America or be the first to see things on Pluto that no one ever has. This need for curiosity to see new things and be places no one has ever been is an inherent trait of each human, and the only way we can satisfy this need is through the simulations of these games.