NASA wants to put you in space–sort of–and they’re willing to build an MMO to prove it. With Astronaut: Mars, Moon and Beyond, the folks behind the American space program hope to produce a game that will be to space what America’s Army was to, uh… American’s actual Army.
Just as America’s Army was developed to simulate the Army experience without all that pesky paperwork and obedience, NASA’s game is set so simulate the astronaut experience. Astronaut‘s aim is to expose a new generation to the intelligence and technology that the space program is built upon, and perhaps in doing so, recruit tomorrow’s engineers and astronauts.
The game is designed around mission-based play that promises to expose gamers to all the challenges of space exploration, just without the floating around. Personally, I could do without that anyway… but that may mean I’m not the target demographic!
