TheWhy

https://github.com/aymen-ghemam/space-apps-challenge

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uOhrhzH-LPYV4hDdAvJo_beCaLR0CTya6IfAF8VGOPU/edit?usp=sharing

Introduction

Parker: Become Probe is a 3D "Bullet Hell" style video game that allows players to explore the Parker Solar Probe and its journey as the first spacecraft to reach the sun's atmosphere.

Objective

Parker: Become Probe is a game that aims to teach young audiences about space exploration in an interactive manner that grabs their attention.

Game Design Document

Within this section we will describe how the Parker: Become Probe game was conceived, starting with the story, followed by the character, then the levels, gameplay, art, sound and music, and UI and controls.

Story

The story of Parker: Become Probe revolves around the Parker solar probe that, in itself, is on a journey to revolve around the sun to be the first spacecraft in history to reach the sun's atmosphere.

The player will be greeted with a prologue cinematic that briefly describes the objective of the probe's mission, the development of the spacecraft, and its launch. 

After that, the player gets to control the probe on its journey, to reach its destination which is the sun's atmosphere (the Corona).

Characters

The main character in our game (although not a character in a literal sense) is the Parker Solar Probe. Side characters do appear such as the narrator in the prologue and epilogue, and the scientist on the radio during the gameplay.

Levels

There are five levels in total.

In the first level, the probe encounters basic patterns of asteroids in order to get used to the mechanics of the game.

The following levels gradually increase the difficulty by introducing more complex patterns of asteroids, and gradually increasing the probe's speed to simulate the gravity effect of Venus.

In the final level, as the probe finally approaches the sun's atmosphere, they have to be careful not to get caught by the solar winds, all while avoiding the asteroids.

Gameplay

Our game falls under the "Bullet Hell" category of games, as the main objective is to dodge projectiles while gradually increasing the difficulty.

Art

As our game is hosted on a website, it maintains a simplistic low-poly art style.

Our game further adapts the retro style by implementing a bird's eye camera angle.

Sound and Music

AM radio effects are applied to the voice of the scientist on the radio that appears during the gameplay to make the experience more immersive.

For the choice of music, we went with royalty-free orchestra style music that greatly resembles the style of music used by Star Wars, this makes it a perfect choice as it suits the space theme.

UI/Controls

The game further adapts the retro style by allowing the player to only move in two axes, unlike most 3D games.

UI elements allow the player to navigate the game and inform them about their progress.

Tools, Software, and Coding Languages

The following is the list of tools, software, and programming languages that we have used to realize this project:

• Spline 3D
• Blender
• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• Three JS
• React
• Git

Perspectives

• The game could benefit from a customization system that allows the player to upgrade the spacecraft to provide more longevity to the game.
• The game could also implement more levels that cover the remaining revolutions that await the Parker probe.

All the data that we have used in this project is provided by NASA, in the form of articles, blogs, and videos.

The data was crucial to the development of our project as it was greatly inspiring in every aspect, from the writing of the story to the creation of the 3D models.

As the Parker Solar Probe mission is held by NASA, the data that NASA provided was more than sufficient for the development of our project.

The information that we required included:

• General information about the sun
• Development history of the Parker solar probe
• The objective behind the Parker solar probe mission
• The journey that awaits the Parker solar probe
• The achievements acquired by the Parker
• The general shape of the Parker solar probe

The Nasa Space Apps hackathon experience was phenomenal, as there was a lot to learn about space exploration and the immense efforts being put into it.

This hackathon has allowed our team to approach things differently due to the variety of the skills of the team members and the unique challenges provided by this hackathon that makes it exceptional, unlike our previous hackathons.

The skills of our team varied from web development to game development, which allowed us to take an interesting approach to develop our project: making a video game on a website.

Working together as a team has allowed us to cooperate to tackle tasks faster and resolve setbacks quite efficiently. All while having lots of fun! We greatly thank Micro Club for their excellent organization of the On-Site hackathon here in Algiers.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-enters-the-solar-atmosphere-for-the-first-time-bringing-new-discoveries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=XBudjihQKsw&feature=youtu.be

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/traveling-to-the-sun-why-won-t-parker-solar-probe-melt

https://blogs.nasa.gov/parkersolarprobe/2021/11/10/space-dust-presents-opportunities-challenges-as-parker-solar-probe-speeds-back-toward-the-sun/

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/nasas-parker-solar-probe-sheds-new-light-on-the-sun/

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/parkersolarprobe_presskit_august2018_final.pdf

#3D #GameDev #WebDev #Game #Web #OnTheWayToTheSun #ParkerBecomeProbe