"Starry Sky" developer: Part of the planet empty is deliberately designed not boring

Although there are many procedurally generated planets and galaxies in Starry Sky, many of them are very empty, which has sparked discussion and criticism from many players. But a recent B Club developer responding to player criticism defended the lack of content on the game's planets, saying that some of them are deliberately empty.

Steam user Soso called the game "a major step back not only for the game industry as a whole and for the RPG genre, but also for Bethesda." He logged 93 hours of play, and criticized the game's characters, combat, and "extremely empty" planets.

Steam verified developer Bethesda_FalcoYamaoka then weighed in, defending the game: "Some of the planets in Starry Night are designed to be empty - but it's not boring." Strolling through unfamiliar landscapes should evoke feelings of "smallness," he continued, and is designed to "make you feel overwhelmed by the vastness of the space."

The developer also gave some advice on how to maximize the player's experience in Starry Night, including building outposts early and trying to build your own ships. However, the main criticism in user reviews was directed at enemy level synchronization and powerful creatures with high repeatability.

The developer replied, "If you want to feel like an 'OP', we suggest you consider completing characters that give you special powers. If you don't feel overwhelming, we're not sure you'll feel that way in any other game."

This dialogue is interesting because it demonstrates that sometimes designers can go wrong when trying to communicate certain intentions to the player. While it's true that landing on a strange planet for the first time can evoke loneliness and confusion, as well as a fear of your own insignificance, will players continue to feel that way when the game constantly asks you to scan plants and animals and repeat the process on thousands of planets?