BioConvergence

https://sharemygame.com/@balancedslate/zygote-nasa-space-app-challenge

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10kIAvh-3J9WAYV6E2dfK6MpxeLlPAwdbPupLgGtPqag/edit?usp=sharing

WHAT :

• A 2D Space Adventure filled with realistic educational tid-bits of what it means to be a Space Biology Superhero! Players will interact with their environment to gain skill points in SPACE, each categorized within their respective application, the goal is to obtain new skills at each location to "Converge" to a better biological specimen!

HOW:

• Zygote is primarily programmed in C#, using the Unity game engine. The player is introduced to a series of minigames that incorporate more "SPACE", an acronym for the in-game skill points. These are categorized into Strength, Perception, Agility, Convergence, and Energy. The player must gain skill points in each of these categories before advancing to the next planet. In each mini-game, the player may receive these points through that planetary challenge involving educational pop-ups and information while interacting with the environment.

BENEFITS:

• Easy to access, simple game maneuvering with infinite scalability. Can easily be built into a much more scientifically accurate and entertaining gaming experience,

GOALS:

• Create a fun series of mini-games that provide educational insight and experience of modern biological challenges in Space Travel.

TOOLS:

• Game Assets on Itch.io

LANGUAGES:

• C#

SOFTWARE:

• Unity

HARDWARE:

• Two laptops. MacBook Pro 2019, HP Spectre X360 2018

For this game, we utilized information and data found on:

1. GenelabRepo: NASA, DOI: 10.26030/z80v-wn96
2. Planetary Data: NASA
3. Mars: NASA
4. Moon: NASA
5. Jupiter: NASA
6. Europa: NASA

To be Continued, Incorporating into the mini-games, research notes/info blobs intended for the mini-games:

GRAVITY NOTES ———///

Gravity is a HUGE struggle of modern Space Exploration. Changes in gravity can be fun, even known to reduce physical exertion compared to here on Earth! However, prolonged time under different gravity conditions can have biological consequences. These include changes in: muscle mass, circadian rhythm, blood volume, physical height, growth, etc. Modern space travel will require a way to work around this!

RES GRAB NOTES ——////

In an ideal world, Space Travel will be incredibly efficient and inexpensive through the use of In-Situ Resources. This means that you utilize resources locally, rather than having to load-up heavily at the beginning. Scientists are particularly interested in Volatiles, resources that are prone to vaporize at relatively low temperatures. These can be gases, water-ice, metals, and more. Luckily for us, most terrestrial planets have plenty of resources! Our biggest blockade is how to process these resources without hauling extra heavy equipment around. 

Fun fact: Water is already present on many planetary objects in Space! It just typically exists in the form of water-ice. Space is cold.

ISOLATION NOTES —///

You’re also far, far, far away from home. Communications between Mars and Earth may even see 20 minute delays over voice! Missions to other planets take a few years. You’ll have to be able to handle the loneliness! On top of that, members on the ISS see a sunrise/sunset every 90 minutes. Be sure to pack away your eye-masks and a couple of books! 

LUNAR NOTES ——— /////

The Lunar surface is covered in Regolith, the Moon’s “dirt”. This Regolith has extraordinary potential, but can be very harmful! Grains of Regolith can be much larger than a grain of dirt on Earth. If inhaled, these could cause major problems for your lungs! Be sure to clean yourself off before you return to the inside of your station.

Gardening in Regolith has been an ideal study, Research has found that Thale Cress will grow in the Lunar Regolith through lab experiments. Currently, the Regolith has an inconsistent amount of Carbon, insufficient for farming at a large scale without modified techniques. Discovering a way to optimize this will be crucial before farming on the moon!

Lunar Lava Tubes are a hot-topic for In-Situ Shelter. They’re like pre-made Lunar Air-BnB’s! Lava Tubes are tunnels formed from former lava-flow when the Moon was active. If they are intact, these remain unexplored by current Exploration technology, which is rather mysterious. They are also theorized to the ideal shelter from radiation and the extreme temperature fluctuations on the Lunar surface. 

Regolith also contains metals such as Iron, Titanium, Aluminum, Silicon and Magnesium! Many of these can be used as alloys for Aerospace building, some even for Rocket Fuel if processed correctly! Water-ice exists in many shadowed locations on the Moon, and even within the Regolith. Got any ideas on a way to process water-ice? 

We chose this challenge because of our experience and our love for games and space. Specifically, the way that video games tend to be a fun thing that enables the user to understand space concepts "firsthand" in a practical, accessible way. We learned a great deal along the way, mostly through our external research into biological effects on the body from various perspectives and hazards, eg. radiation, blood volumes, etc.

In developing this project, we recognized a great deal of science that has been done could easily be reflected in in-game content. With more time even, concepts of biology can be conveyed in such a game style to help communicate more modern-biological findings. For the time being, we must neglect a great bit of detail, though the game will still serve the same purpose: inspiring and creating more space for curious minds.

We broke down development as such:

Began by creating a game plan and mock outline of the game. Each of us split into our specialties. Levi was responsible for most of the game development, and Erika primarily did research and helped find game assets and light UI development.

Luckily, our team is quite optimistic when it came to setbacks. We both recognize we're doing the most we can for fun and to contribute to Space Apps, we've both been pretty excited and we're just happy to be here. Most of our issues have been minor, and if we couldn't find a way to make it work, we found a way to incorporate them in a new way.

With time constraints, we have found ourselves implementing a trial model, but fluid world for you to experience. You will be able to experience 8 different scenes and hopefully, see the bare-bones mini-game ideas we had in mind and the potential they have for general education.

Levi & Erika would like to thank the NASA Space Apps crew and its many partners for hosting such a wonderful event. Additionally, special thanks to the free Game Asset and Content creators that have permitted the use of their creations (with attribution) to make this game come to life.

MEDIA & TOOLS:

1. Team Icon Image: Fossil icons created by Smashicons - Flaticon
2. In-game Music: DOS-88 Synthwave Music Library
3. Planet Generator: Deepfold
4. UI Assets: Wenrexa
5. Tiny Heros: Free Game Assets
6. Spaceships: Gisha
7. Planets Art Pack: Norma-2D
8. Game Engine: Unity
9. Remove.bg
10. Scene Backgrounds: Intro,Moon, Mars, Europa: Artist Upklyak on FreePik for planetary backgrounds.
11. Scene Backgrounds cont.: Purple Planet, Spaceship with Earth view, Personal Cabin, Control Center, Secret Lab
12. Mineral Assets: itch.io

DATA & RESEARCH:

1. Effects of Space on the Body, Canadian Space Agency: Concerns
2. Effects of Space on the Body, Canadian Space Agency: Space Medicine/DCS
3. Living in Space, Canadian Space Agency: Various Topics
4. GenelabRepo: NASA
5. Planetary Data: NASA
6. Mars: NASA
7. Moon: NASA
8. Jupiter: NASA
9. Europa: NASA

#game #biology #scifi #unity #planets #adventure #2D