Awards & Nominations
Icarus: The Last Frontier has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!
Global Finalists Honorable Mentions
Icarus: The Last Frontier
High-Level Project Summary
We developed a game that features the Parker Solar Probe on its mission to collect data from the sun. Throughout its journey, it faces obstacles that may disrupt it from collecting data, such as solar flares and other forms of solar weather. This game is based on a Player versus Environment (PvE) format that teaches and tests players about how the probe attains its information and what it does when it reaches its destination. Essentially, players will learn about what happens during the probe’s sun exploration missions. This game is important because it will improve the public’s understanding of the sun.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
The goal of our game is to inform people about what the Parker solar probe does. First, the game introduces what the probe does for NASA and explains how the probe reaches the sun. It then tests the player with an easy question about the Parker Solar Probe’s parts. The player will begin with 100 health points (hp) and will either decrease or increase their points as they play the game. The question will be multiple choice and if the player answers correctly they will receive another question and gain 10-20 hp. If the player keeps answering correctly they will advance until they beat the game. If a player doesn’t answer correctly, they will receive a random amount of hp reduction. After they get the hp reduction they will be given another chance to answer. If they lose all of their hp they will lose the game and have to start over. There would be a total of 3 levels with the last level being the boss level. In testing players about their knowledge of the space probe, the game will benefit the public with information about these solar missions and encourage people of all ages to become more informed. Our team hopes to make learning about the Parker solar probe and solar weather more entertaining. We used Code.org app lab to make the game.
Space Agency Data
To create our project, we made extensive use of NASA’s data on the probe’s instruments, their functions, and the equipment necessary for the probe to be able to survive the trip to the sun. We looked at descriptions of the Parker Solar Probe and its instruments and formulated our questions from that. It was very helpful and provided the information for the questions in the game, and allowed us to see what problems NASA's engineers faced while building them. For instance, we used Nasa.gov's website on solar storms and space weather to truly understand the negative effects they had, and how they affected us as humans. Using the source, we found how vital the information was to improve technology in the future and know what lies in the final undiscovered frontier of our sun. We were in awe at all the advanced tools that the probe used to measure data in the Sun’s corona. Sources can be found in the references section.
Hackathon Journey
Our Space App experience was rough because one of our members couldn’t code and the others used different coding languages. Because of this difficulty, most of the team designed the game and researched the information about the probe while two members wrote the code. We employed the basic coding blocks of code.org to incorporate each of our unique skill sets in the most effective way. We sought to utilize code to help others learn about the importance of the Parker Space Probe through a fun and engaging game. Initially, we sought to create a dynamic game. Still, it proved more difficult to code than we had envisioned, and we decided to simplify the game to prioritize its informational and graphic quality within the given time limit. Throughout our experience, we continued to learn new things about the coding platform as well as the subject of our game: the Parker Solar Probe and the solar weather it encounters. Indeed, we experienced a few setbacks such as the remote situation of one of our members who lives in Northern California, our different levels of coding experience, and our relatively minimal experience with designing a game through code.org. We would like to thank the Starbucks on Rosemead Boulevard for allowing us to stay long hours in their cafe so that we could finish our game.
References
Works Cited
Darling, Susannah. “Traveling to the Sun: Why won’t Parker Solar Probe Melt?” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, edited by Rob Garner, 26 July 2018, https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/traveling-to-the-sun-why-won-t-parker-solar-probe-melt.
Dunbar, Brian. “Parker Solar Probe Instruments.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, edited by Rob Garner, 8 February 2021, https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/parker-solar-probe-instruments.
---. “Solar Storm and Space Weather - Frequently Asked Questions.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, edited by Rob Garner, 22 May 2020, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html.
“Parker Solar Probe: The Mission.” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2019, https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html.
“Solar Wind.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 14 February 2019, https://www.britannica.com/science/solar-wind.
Tomer, Shaurya. “Astonishing! NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to Fly Through a Solar Flare!” Hindustan Times, 12 September 2022, https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/astonishing-nasa-s-parker-solar-probe-to-fly-through-a-solar-flare-71662982855354.html.
Tags
#icarus #bestgame #parkerprobe #game #quiz #rng #nasa #coding #code.org #sun