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No Man's Sky Death Screen Quotes Wishlist

As you've probably heard, when you die in No Man's Sky, a quote from a famous sci-fi author or scientist displays on the screen. Or, as you've also probably heard, a potentially wacky Jaden Smith quote. Actually, more than one Jaden Smith quote.

via reddit

I will admit, at first I didn't like this development AT ALL. Sean Murray's reasoning, we're told, is that he thought a bunch of quotes from dusty old books and highfalutin scientists would be too pretentious. Possibly, yes, though I would have preferred that.

However, we're talking about Sean, here. I just can't stay mad at him, you know? So I've come around to the idea, and indeed, now that it's a known thing in the community, imagine being the first one to actually catch it? That's going to be fun. So, OK.

But if we're going to open up the door to a wider variety of quote sources, there's a lot of potential here. So I gave it a solid 5 minutes' thought, and I'd like to present my list of people/quotes I would really love to see in No Man's Sky:
  1. Leonard Nimoy. Many from him.
  2. Carl Sagan, clearly, and we know of at least one.
  3. Something from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  4. Gene Roddenberry
  5. "You're gonna need a bigger boat..." (I know, it's irrelevant, unless you just died from a shark...or some giant carnivorous sand worm)
  6. Steven Spielberg and Elon Musk (we've learned they're fans of the game, and both are worthy, in my opinion)
  7. Actual astronauts, including the Challenger crew
  8. Neil deGrasse Tyson (I know, he's a bit controversial, but he did get Cosmos back for a bit)
  9. "My God, it's full of stars" (I'd be bummed if that's NOT in there)
  10. George Lucas (MAYBE. I don't know if he deserves it after what he did to my original Star Wars, but then again, he did MAKE my original Star Wars, so...)
  11. Matt Taylor, aka "Hawaiian shirt guy" from the Philae landing. Don't know if he's said anything quotable for this, but I think he was unfairly attacked for frivolous reasons. He seemed like a SUPER nice guy, and this would be a nice nod to what that team did. Also, the woman who discovered that comet, let's include her!
  12. Bobak Ferdowsi, aka NASA's "Mohawk Guy". I almost left him off this list, figuring he might not have any published quotes that'd work. But yesterday, Fast Company solved that problem.  "Every day, even when you fail, you get to learn something new," he says. Come on, Hello Games, that's perfect for this!
  13. David Bowie (Major Tom)
  14. William Shatner (Major Tom)
  15. Spaceballs
  16. Morgan Freeman
  17. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Hamlet (1.5.167-8)

Honestly? Add to this list anyone who has been featured in any Symphony of Science video (especially Brian Cox):

I could probably come up with 100 of these easily, given time. Sky's the limit, guys... literally. I'd love to hear your own quote ideas, or names of people you feel should be honored with a spot in the No Man's Sky quote rotation! Post in the comments below, and may the force be with you... always.


  1. Thanks for the entertaining article. I enjoyed reading/watching it. The "death screen quotes" is the first NMS feature that does not appeal to me. Getting quotes from personalities or celebrities will break the immersion of the game. What happened to Hello Games' wish to convey the isolation and vastness of space when a quote from Jaden Smith comes up? This seems to be a Sony idea I am afraid. The less that Sony gets involved with the game itself, the better NMS will be. I wish that Hello Games stands its ground.

    1. I agree as far as the Jaden Smith quote. I am not crazy about that one as far as keeping to the vibe of classic scifi. But if Sean wants to have fun with it, I would say he's earned it, and if that amuses him, then I've decided to be OK with it. But there is SO much potential with the quotes, and I am hoping they take advantage of that.

  2. Hi Cobra. If everything is destructible as he says it "Should" be possible to destroy a whole planet over time right? If that's the case and you die doing it, then there is only one quote for that. (And maybe an achievement) J. Robert Oppenheimer: "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

    -Gregory Campbell

    1. Thanks for commenting, and I love the quote. Sean has said we can't destroy planets, but it'd be cool if they fit that in somehow, because the nuclear era was very much the era of classic scifi.

  3. "When the way comes to an end, then change... Having changed, you pass through."
    -I, Ching


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