hizlik- LookingOutwards02

[Sorry for being late]

I’ve always been inspired by large-scale projects and artworks, especially in the realm of video games/3D models. For example, I am fascinated by sprawling Minecraft creations and super-detailed, vast landscapes and cityscapes created for games like Grand Theft Auto. In movies like Star Wars, detailed 3D renderings of cities that go as far as the eye can see (like Coruscant) have also inspired me (which just resulted in using them as computer wallpapers). I’ve also in the past dabbled in Google Earth model-ripping software that allowed you to export real-world 3D cities into 3DS Max to work with.

The latest in the world of large-scale projects is perhaps the largest of them all, No Mans Sky. It is a space exploration game where you can visit planets, starships, and space stations by flying around in a ship, collecting minerals and materials to trade and craft with. What makes this game so unique is the complex mathematical algorithms and logic used to randomly generate planets, creatures, plant life, atmosphere, and “properties” (gravity, toxicity, etc). The team developed this in-house, with the help of a team of mathematicians and a graphic designer. Although randomly generated biology existed before, applying them to such a variety of 3D model applications on such a large-scale, and public, project has never been done before.

Details about the game’s creation, the methods used and about the team are available in this interview on Kotaku.