Space Apps Challenge 2018

Background

The challenge we came up with is how to help ordinary people understand NASA data. Our solution is to create a game that will put people in the shoes of polar researchers to empathize them with the harsh conditions researchers endure in the cold, the critical decisions they have to make to survive, and the effect of changing landscapes to expeditions which are all based on data from NASA.

Summary of the Game Plot

You are one of the four researchers assigned to be the lead explorer of an expedition. Before going to the polar region, you are given materials from the first expedition that occured during 1979 and a current map that will help you throughout your journey. During the exploration, the lead explorer must learn how to manage resources such as food and water. Even though armed with a detailed plan, the player will encounter random events that can throw them off track. A fellow researcher contacting hypothermia and dysentery to a polar bear rummaging to your supplies, the player will experience what it feels like to be a real researcher. There will also be consequences if the player fails to manages his resources. Sled dogs considered as mode of transportation will be now available as a food option. The player will be forced not to distibute food to others because it is diminishing. If the player was able to survive all of these ordeals and will be able to report on the endpoint, which is a research station, then the player wins the game.

Sources

• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-most-te...