A math of dreams

Players will begin at the outer edges of a galaxy containing 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 unique planets... 

Every player will begin on a randomly chosen planet at the outer perimeter of a galaxy. The goal is to head toward the center, to uncover a fundamental mystery, but how players do that, or even whether they choose to do so, is open to them. People can mine, trade, fight, or merely explore. As planets are discovered, information about them (including the names of their discoverers) is loaded onto a galactic map that is updated through the Internet. But, because of the game’s near-limitless proportions, players will rarely encounter one another by chance. As they move toward the center, the game will get harder, and the worlds—the terrain, the fauna and flora—will become more alien, more surreal.

from Word without end - creating a full scale digital cosmos by Raffi Khatchadourian


Image: Messier 82 NASA, ESA