The EST videogame is making good progress. All characters and scenarios have already been implemented. Now the solar puzzles are being programmed, for a release in the first half of 2021.
Spot getting ready to perform observations in his telescope, as part of Solar Mission EST.
The EST videogame is making good progress. The development has reached a point where the first tests of the gameplay will begin soon. The tasks to be accomplished by the players in the different scenarios have been defined, along with the general script and structure of the whole story.
Now is the time to turn the words into an adventure. All the programming elements have been compiled for one of the scenarios to check different aspects: menus, movements, dynamics, dialogue systems, combats, puzzles... This phase will allow us to detect errors, helping us improve the gameplay through the user experience. The results of these tests will be applied to the other scenarios.
“Solar Mission EST” is based on a fantasy story where solar magnetic fields go crazy and affect all electronic systems on Earth (such that the machines rise against humans). A team of solar astronomers will be in charge of completing the construction of the European Solar Telescope. EST is the last hope of finding out what is happening on the Sun. The team will have to build or test devices and pieces for EST in different observatories. The scenarios are inspired by real locations. In that way we want to make solar telescopes known among a broad audience, to the highest degree of realism possible. However, for the sake of a funny and entertaining dynamics, players will come across situations that would never happen in any real telescope (or any other place on Earth, for that matter!).
But beyond the fantasy licenses, science is also present all over the game, especially in the puzzles that players will have to solve. They cover a wide range of concepts of solar research and observations: the features that can be observed in the Sun, the importance of multi-wavelenght measurements, the use of adaptive optics systems, the need to control local seeing, etc.
Following the current test phase, several beta versions will be produced over the next few months. The idea is to release the final version of the videogame in the first half of 2021 and distribute it through the App Store and Google Play. The videogame will be offered in English and Spanish, with the possibility of adding other languages depending on the availability of resources.
The EST videogame has a dedicated section on the EST website at https://est-east.eu/solar-mission-est.
Between July and August 2020, the characters of “Solar Mission EST” have been introduced to the public through a series of 7 short posts on the EST social media channels, to raise interest on the videogame. They have been very well received, reaching a total audience of 31,883 people so far.