I've just read through the three new articles and interviews with Sean Murray and at this point, the way he just presents himself and Hello Games and the wording he's using, it's never going to satisfy anyone that's criticizing the game and the studio, and that's kind of a shame.
So the vibe I'm getting from these interviews is something myself and I'm sure many others have been saying is that Hello Games bit off waaay more than they could chew, and they handled their exposure in a very inexperienced and I'd say irresponsible manner, which Sean sort of now admits in hindsight, but he's still keeping this defensive stance about the state of the game (them being "naive" and him not really accepting it fully valid to call the release version "an early access" thing) which I think doesn't help anyone at this point and it doesn't help one bit in relieving some of the vitriol that's still present surrounding the game's release. I don't doubt in their inability to communicate and their naiveté, and I never thought that they were scheming to scam everyone, but even their best intentions ended up doing that anyway, to an extent.
I just mean to say that fans of the game (including myself) shouldn't expect the criticism to stop, because frankly it shouldn't, and these kinds of situations should always be discussed more openly and by people that have a lot more insight into the inner workings of the industry but are also more objective and not chained to overly defensive opinions or nonconstructive criticisms and even harmful attacks, which is hardly something that will happen on forums or social media.
In those months prior to release, Sean talked to the press and even go on a talk show like he'd talk to an acquaintance he'd just met and spoke about stuff and features the team's been working on, while it all being their only major form of communication with the world (as it is for most devs), so it was really irresponsible to present himself, the team and their game in such a nonchalant way. And I don't say this lightly, because there have been such small teams well before and after the release of No Man's Sky. Hello Games aren't the only small indie dev team (or even single authors) in the world that's developed an interesting, weird and unique game (they are though a rare example of a small dev team taking such a gargantuan and incredibly complex project head on), but they are definitely the ones that have done a terrible job at communication and marketing, as if they've lived inside a bubble outside the games industry and media, which frankly isn't the fault of the people that bought their game.
It sounds like I'm being the devil's advocate here, so after saying all that, I will add that I, like many others, followed the development of the game very closely, made efforts to figure out what the game actually was, tried to help clearing up any misconceptions with elaborate summaries (which HG eventually linked to at the time of release as one of the sources of clarification on the "what do you do" question), did a bunch of fan art and have been following playing the game with all of its updates with coming close to 200 hours of play time at this point. I think it's safe to say I'm a fan.
But as such, I think the release of NMS is a cautionary tale, completely open to constructive criticism and should not be necessarily defended by anyone, because shit like that hurts consumers as well as developers, so as we all try to get into the industry, we should be aware that it's the entire world we're throwing ourselves into.
Spitting venom and stubborn, uninformed criticism and insults at Sean and Hello Games or defending to the point of almost censorship or being blind to actual issues, both extremes are not very constructive and will not help in resolving such discussions, ever. So I'd say, instead of clinging to semantics or nitpicky details, or trying to justify certain issues, maybe we should accept that the criticisms will never stop, it's probably naive to think otherwise, and we should focus on asking for more honest communication from developers, publishers and platform holders. Also, the people bringing death threats, harassment and abuse, that is some vile, juvenile and horrific shit that's dragging everyone down for no good reason but fear and insecurity and I think it's just another broader aspect of miscommunication on many sides, which needs to change.
With all of that, No Man's Sky is a slow realization of one of the big "dream game" concepts out there, and even as a "tech demo" should be applauded because games like those help move progress forward. Even if the actual game is far from perfect, it sets a foundation for the future of the idea, the "dos and don'ts", and Hello Games are still committed to that dream of building on those foundations, which is a commendable thing in any respect. I hope they keep on working on it for as long as their hearts are into it.
