High-Level Project Summary
Fun and Educational, How is that possible? The idea our team formed is to program a game that would map out the journey of the sun in three levels, during the launch, from Earth to Venus, and from Venus to the Sun. The game would include the challenges that the probe faced on its journey to the sun, added to the info it gained. Using a game felt like an out of the box idea and a fun way to deliver the knowledge to the players while keeping them entertained
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
1.Introduction:
In 2018, the parker solar probe was launched with the goal of exploring certain mysteries of the sun. The main challenge of such a project is how to present it in a fun, interactive way. The “Star Dust” team has decided to tackle such a challenge by developing a visual novel simulating three notable instances, when the probe was launched from earth, during the fourth flyby next to Venus, and finally when Parker solar entered the corona of the sun. In addition, our team developed a website that contains the info regarding the probe and its journey
2.What does our project do and how it works?
The game, called “Journey to the Sun” would simulate three key events in the solar probe’s flight:
I.Stage1: The day of launch: On August 12th 2018, in Delta IV heavy rocket, Parker solar probe was launched from earth. The first stage of the visual novel would include the brief moments before, during, and after the launch with dialogue.
II.Stage2: The fourth flyby to Venus: On February 20th 2021, solar probe would enter its fourth flyby with Venus. During this flyby, new discoveries related to potential minerals and temperature distribution were found, and new possible research to be investigated in future NASA missions. This
III.Stage3: Reaching the Corona of the Sun: On April 28th 2021, Parker Solar probe “Touched the Sun” meaning it entered the corona of the sun. In this third stage, the solar probe model will be adjusted to face the sun via its carbon shield. It will enter the corona of the sun, record the solar wind and then rotate and launch itself away from the sun, back towards the orbit of Venus.
Each stage comprises of a cut scene depicting the mentioned events in a narrowed down version of the real event. With dialogue and visual cues, it explains part of the journey and events and actions as well as commands given to the probe all in a simplified easy to digest way.
3.The Benefits?
The project offers a revolutionary way of explaining and teaching mostly ignored by educational institutions, the gaming way. In recent years, games, be they AAA games or indie games, have become a central part of daily life where millions around the world play some sort of game. This would highlight the potential of a game as an educative tool, since games are very visual, interactive in their nature, and most importantly fun. Fun is a very important feature of any successful learning tool since. So in short, making the experience a visual novel is a fun way to educate all audiences of all ages about the journey and the hardship faced during it.
4.Goals?
I.To narrate crucial parts of the journey.
II.To educate audiences in a very fun and engaging manner the journey to the sun.
III.To push the boundaries of education by using unconventional means (a.k.a gaming).
5.Tools?
a.The game was developed using the unity engine.
b.It was coded using C# language.
c.Assets were made in blender.
d.Multiple photos taken by the probe itself were used in the demo video as well as the game.
e.Adobe Photoshop for editing the videos.
Space Agency Data
Most of the research material and pictures were taken from various Nasa websites as well as Nasa owned YouTube channels. In addition, a few data from JHU Applied Physics Laboratory (The makers of the solar probe) as well as a few interview based videos were used (Smarter every day and SciNews are good examples). The data was very important since it helped the team form a narrative and coherent story for the visual novel as well as help provide a basis for the trajectory of the probe. The design of the probe though simplified due to limitations was inspired by the actual design of the probe as made by JHU.
Hackathon Journey
Our journey started when Houssam El dine Khaled ,the main researcher, formed a team consisting of Ali Abbani and Sarah Sleiman. Where the team met up at LAU (Lebanese American University) and chose a name for the team along with deciding which challenge appealed to them the most. At first the team seemed to be complete, but members kept coming and leaving. Until the team finally settled with the current members. The team completed the research while going through all the hardships. Having to deal with all those barriers did not waver us, for despite the changes, not only where we able to come up with the method of presenting the solution, we also built the game despite the limited time we had. Going through this, regardless of all the hardships, was a remarkable, and a non-forgettable experience, and we are grateful for it.
References
The following references were written using API style 6th and 7th edition:
Parker Solar Probe: The mission. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/The-Mission/index.php#Science-Objectives
Frazier, S. (2022). Parker Solar Probe answers burning questions about physics of the sun. Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://hub.jhu.edu/2019/12/05/parker-solar-probe-sun/
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe explained in detail. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJo0tIxNLxU&t=640s
How Will the Parker Solar Probe Get to the Sun?. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OeiGw9EZVo
The Parker Solar Probe: Firing Sensors into the Sun. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqwDbV4oBgc
Traveling to the Sun: Why Won’t Parker Solar Probe Melt?. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/traveling-to-the-sun-why-won-t-parker-solar-probe-melt
Amazing achievements from the Parker Solar Probe. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-amazing-parker-solar-probe.html#:~:text=Parker%20Solar%20Probe%20has%20also,tell%20what%20new%20discoveries%20await.solar Tour Pit Stop #8: Venus – The Sun Spot. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/2021/12/10/solar-tour-pit-stop-8-venus/
NASA's Parker Solar Probe Sheds New Light on the Sun. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasas-parker-solar-probe-sheds-new-light-on-the-sun/
Online Gaming and Neurodiversity: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Danny van Deurzen-Smith. Sashasmithcoaching.com. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://sashasmithcoaching.com/articles/online-gaming-and-neurodiversity-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.
This poignant quote from Stephen Hawking sums up his life. Mashable. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://mashable.com/article/stephen-hawking-quote.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe Spacecraft 'Touches' the Sun First Time in History. News18. (2022). Retrieved 2 October 2022, from https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/nasas-parker-solar-probe-spacecraft-touches-the-sun-in-first-ever-instance-4556213.html.
Tags
#GAMEDEVELOPMENT #VISUALNOVELGAME