Sean Murray Writes Personal Letter to Australian Reviewers

A Twitter picture revealed that Sean Murray had sent a letter to Australian game reviewers, alongside review copies of his game No Man's Sky. In the letter, Murray talks about his hopes and feelings regarding the game itself, as well as its potential impact on game design.

Sean Murray's letter to an Australian reviewer at GameSpot
When reviewers receive a press kit from game developers, there are certain expectations of what will be contained within – review copies, concept art, behind-the-scenes documentation.  What many reviewers in Australia likely didn't expect from No Man's Sky press kits was a letter, written by the game's director, Sean Murray.

The letter in question sent alongside review copies of No Man's Sky, acts as an expression of Murray's feelings of gratefulness for people playing the game, with some of his personal fears and observations regarding gaming woven in.  The text reads:

"I feel sick writing this. You are about to play No Man's Sky and I don't know what you'll think. I know I'm proud of it, I'm incredibly proud of the tiny team that is making a game at a scale that's never been done before. At times I can squint my eyes and see that we're generating entire planets, solar systems, galaxies on a PS4, and see that maybe that could be a part of how games are made in the future.

At times I can let myself feel proud that our indie game is going to be in shops. That we have a media kit!  That you are even taking the time to play our game, when our previous titles might not have.

I know I've watched playtesters get totally consumed in our universe… but I've also seen people feel lost. I've seen kids weaned on Minecraft lose themselves, and I've seen some others feel lost.  I don't know how you'll feel. I don't know if we can ever live up to the hype we've generated, sometimes knowingly, often not.

I know my strongest memory growing up in the outback of Australia, seeing the stars at night, and feeling overwhelmed. Reading sci-fi and wishing I could escape into those worlds. If for one small moment I can make some people feel that they have stepped through a science fiction book cover, or to think briefly about the size of our universe… then I'll be happy with that.

Thank you so much for taking the time to play. I appreciate it. Hope you enjoy."

No Man's Sky releases today for PlayStation 4, with its PC launch set for August 12th.  

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