For those who aren’t familiar, “STEM” is a particularly hot-button acronym in the professional space education community these days that stands for, “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.”
These are the college degrees and professions that ultimately keep the economy, innovation, and space exploration in particular going.
These are also the fields that have been suffering from declining numbers during the last couple of decades. (Consequently, projects with heavy STEM education components are often bumped to the top of the funding pile…)
In response, there appears to be a waxing tide of development of vaguely (or overtly) educational space-centered video games. This seems to be a new push during the past couple of years, distinct from the open-source processing endeavors such as SETI@home and MilkyWay@home.
In this light, I’d like to take a moment to review and highlight a few of many excellent spaceflight software options out there, historical and contemporary, that are worth checking out for yourself (and some of which may even need your help!)
Starlight: Inception
Based solely on personal bias, I must begin with the lost genre of the spaceflight simulator. Or, more specifically, the spaceflight combat simulator.
Much like a conventional flight simulator, spaceflight simulators provide exactly what they sound like they do: the in-cockpit experience of flying a spacecraft or space “fighter.”
While many of these as games are related to sci-fi franchises, (e.g., X-Wing, Tie-Fighter, Wing Commander,) and contain much scientifically-apocryphal content, such as sounds in space or apparent aerodynamic/non-Newtonian movements in a vacuum, I don’t think the impact of these games can be overstated. I myself was in part inspired to a career in aerospace by games like these as a kid.
(More accurate but less-adrenaline-pumped simulators without a “game” component include Kerbal Space Program, Orbiter and Microsoft Space Simulator.)
So, this brings me to the present day. It’s been many years since the last spaceflight combat simulator was released, (e.g., Descent: Freespace, Tachyon,) and in an attempt to restart the genre, Escape Hatch Entertainment LLC has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their proposed game, Starlight: Inception.
Evoking design elements of classic Star Wars, Wing Commander, and even some of James Cameron’s “Aliens,” the game looks to hit all the right notes to inspire a new generation of impressionable gameplayers toward a future amongst the stars.
Frankly, I feel like having games like this out there contributing to the social fabric is critical. Plus, being a privately-funded campaign, the project team is very receptive to the suggestion of its backers – the more people call for enhanced realism and technical accuracy, the more will be incorporated!
Check them out and offer your support if you feel so inclined – the game won’t be “launched” unless they reach their fundraising goals. Future generations of inspired spacefarers (or other STEM professionals) may thank you!
NetworKing
From the fantastic to the strategic, I’d like to mention a free game developed by the technology office at NASA Ames Research Center called, “NetworKing.”
The objective of this educational Real-Time-Strategy game is very grounded: to build and maintain three separate space communications networks, (Near, Space, and Deep-Space,) and evolve them to the point of being unified into a single space communications network.
The equivalent of experience points are earned as NASA missions are successfully enabled by the network, and money for upgrades is earned as time on the network is leased to commercial satellites.
In all, an innovative way to communicate what it takes to run a communications network in space and definitely worth checking out. -Playable now online or via free download.
Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond
On another side of the spectrum is the concept of the MMO, or Massively-Multiplayer Online game.
NASA recently experimented with the MMO concept as a means of education outreach and STEM inspiration with a project called Moonbase Alpha.
Evolving the success of Alpha a little further, NASA and Project Whitecard Inc. initiated another ultimately-successful Kickstarter campaign that kicked off the creation of a full-fledged, NASA-sanctioned MMO entitled, “Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond”
The game aims to incorporate real locations, hardware, and mission profiles, leveraging the full support of NASA to create a tool to engage thousands of people simultaneously in realistic space exploration role-playing.
A beta-test version is expected this year, with the game to be released in 2013.
-So, in short, there’s lots of activity on the space-meets-video-games front, and much of it is being self-directed with the support of NASA itself. Check it out and/or show your support! (Even if only to point someone else in their direction.)
The astronauts of tomorrow will likely get their first space exploration thrills on games like these. Let’s help make sure they have the opportunity.
Chronicles of an Atomic Astrowright 
As the publisher of a space combat simulation that doesn’t require a computer(!) but covers nearly all the hard science you could ask for, from fuel fractions and increasing acceleration as your tanks run dry to the thermodynamic aspects of your onboard power plant, I’m saddened, but not surprised, that Attack Vector: Tactical did not make your list.
Attack Vector: Tactical is fully 3-D, fully Newtonian and completely manual. It teaches players the math and physics underlying the space combat genre, rather than having players click buttons.
If you REALLY want a game that encourages STEM students, there’s nothing that comes close to it. It even handles accurate pilot perspective orbital mechanics and kinetic weapon damage scaling at the square of the impact velocity.
And it’s available now.
Ken: I’m quite excited to be made aware of the game! While I was emphasizing computer-based game platforms in my post, I’ll definitely have to investigate Attack Vector: Tactical – I appreciate your taking the time to reply, and thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Ben
If you’re still in Las Vegas as your profile says, I’ll see if I can find someone to demo the game for you. By any chance are you going to PenguiCon the weekend after next?