Feats of flexibility, agility and strength, as seen in shows such as Cirque de Soleil, are impressive primarily due to their defiance of gravity. What will those shows look like in space? More to the point of this project, where will they be held?

A pun on the phrase, Space Opera draws inspiration from the Battleroom of Ender's Game, and visualizations of space travel from Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Space Opera is designed as a level from a game about 0G locomotion.

 

 

This is an interactive environment, and as such needs to operate within the bounds of believability. In order to implement this kind of gravitational system in a game engine, I am developing a new Player Movement system which allows for directional, radial and spherical gravity directions. In a game world, this affects everything from the way objects are oriented to walkable-slope calculations.

Much of my work is inspired by Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke. In my opinion, they are excellent examples of how fiction can be used to enhance our understanding of the human condition. This project in particular is a response to "Rendezvous with Rama" by Clarke, and "Kaleidoscope" by Bradbury. Creating a space on the scale of Rama is a little beyond both myself and the processing power of my laptop, however, I do want to use similar ideas to introduce people to a new way of perceiving the world.

 

I am tired of interesting science fiction ideas going to waste. I was excited by Halo's interpretation of Ringworld until I realized that they failed to utilize it in any way meaningful to gameplay. The Crucible of Mass Effect was similarly underused. By contrast, this space explores the full ramifications of a spinning, extra-terrestrial structure, and explores the possibility of play in a realistic zero-G environment.