Science-lovers rejoice, Neil Degrasse Tyson is making a personal appearance at this year's E3 Convention in Los Angeles. This physicist-slash-astronomist once complained about there being sound in popular movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, despite the vacuum of space making that literally impossible.
Now, he has taken his desire for scientific accuracy in modern pop culture to the next level and created his own video game, and no surprise, it is titled Space Odyssey. His appearance will be during the E3 Coliseum event on June 13th and 14th, for those lucky enough to attend this summer.
Care to join @neiltyson for a discussion about world building & the cosmos? Hear about his new video game project at #E3COLISEUM. pic.twitter.com/jlx1Pw5lhB
— E3 (@E3) May 25, 2017
Space Odyssey: the next best thing to going into space
This real-time strategy game appears to be similar in structure to the blockbuster game franchise, Civilization I-VI. However, instead of populating and civilizing a fledgling earth, Tyson takes the player deep into space, where they can create their own system of planets, mine resources, care for species, colonize new worlds, build robots, and eventually fully develop entire planets across the galaxy.
This game is richly based in science, using our most current knowledge of space to inform the details and capabilities of the player.
There are no loud explosions in space in this game, but perhaps the strategic gameplay coupled with Tyson's warm voice while he guides you as the official game's Space Advisor will make up for it. The most exciting part is the optional virtual reality (VR) missions, where the player explores planet surfaces like true modern explorers.
Game sounds cool, but who is Neil deGrasse Tyson?
For gamers who are less interested in either space or popular culture, Tyson can be described as a more caustic and sharp-tongued version of Bill Nye, the famous Science Guy from a kids television show in the 1990's.
He is a punctilious Twitter user, and a champion of science, especially science that concerns astrology, physics, and outer space.
He is most well-known for making science that might be boring or complicated, simple and accessible to the layman. He has even written a novel published just this year entitled Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, designed to teach anyone, even if they don't have much time.
The game's official website has a countdown to the beta release, which may occur around the same time as the E3 Coliseum event.
The game Space Odyssey is due to be available on Mac, Windows, Linus, and even mobile and VR devices.
