SpaceStationSim News

Spread in Spinoff 2006 - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Affordable Space Tourism: SpaceStationSim. Read the whole article here

Small developer shares the story of its out-of-the-world space game and its experience collaborating with NASA during development. A report from the Serious Games Summit in DC.

WASHINGTON, DC--While most presentations yesterday at the Serious Games Summit addressed the challenges associated with managing the relationship between serious game clients and game developers, with a focus on what not to do, two individuals took a different tack--taking the stage to explain what they did right and how a successful collaboration with NASA on an educational game opened the door to performing development work for the space agency. (see entire article)

By Dan Tochen

G4's Electronic Playground invades Vision Videogames
Posted 7/7/2004

The Sims meets NASA is the best way to describe Space Station: SIM, an upcoming Windows PC and Sony PlayStation 2 title that lets players build and manage the International Space Station (ISS) and its crewmembers.

The 3-D simulation challenges players to make both short-term and long-term decisions about the ISS, such as handling mission-critical situations including boosting altitude. Players also must deal with less-serious "inconveniences," including space tourists.

Gamers can build thousands of different configurations of the ISS, but they also must manage the personal and professional needs of individual astronauts (pilots, scientists, engineers and so on). Similar to The Sims, each character has his or her own unique personality and desires.

According to the developers at GRS Games (www.grsgames.com), NASA is providing assistance and support to create the simulation.

Space Station:SIM coming to PS2 in December
by VGLN.COM Staff, Thursday, February 12, 2004

GRS Games, an independent development company based in Towson, Maryland is nearing completion of SpaceStation:SIM, a PS2/PC video game due for initial release for the Christmas 2004 season. In Space Station:SIM, the player assumes the roll of the Chief Administrator of NASA, creating astronaut crewmembers with unique needs, abilities and personalities while managing their activities and personal relationships similar to games like Will Wright's "The Sims." Astronauts will face mission critical situations, including boosting altitude while conducting micro gravity experiments and dealing with hilarious but troublesome space tourists shipped aboard by the Russians. Space Station SIM is a true 3-D construction SIM that encourages a player to use their imagination and build thousands of different configurations of the International Space Station (ISS). The Space Act Agreement allows GRS Games a flow of information from, and access to, NASA personnel so the company can gather information to build their game. "The assistance and support we are getting from NASA is invaluable and the enthusiasm of NASA personnel has been great. There are lots of game players at NASA and they are eager to help us. Many have asked to be beta testers," says Bill Mueller, president of GRS Games. "We believe that one real day at NASA is more exciting than an imaginary day anywhere else, we intend to bring to a whole generation of young people, a sense of ownership and connection with NASA". --- Kit

NASA is giving a Towson video-game designer the technical assistance it needs to create a three-dimensional space station simulator, which the company will begin selling during the 2004 Christmas shopping season.
- Chet Dembeck

Let poor Lance Bass serve as verification that you, as musical artists, will probably never make it into the NASA program. If you’re unsigned, however, your music now has hope of reaching orbit – even if it is only a virtual one. Software developer GRS Games is currently building its newest simulation-based video game, Space Station: SIM, and the company is holding a competition with the goal of licensing not buying out – the songs of 12 unsigned artists for its soundtrack. With Space Station expected to sell at least 500,000 copies after its Fall 2004 PlayStation 2 release (with a PC release the following year), that means a potentially astronomical amount of exposure for the winners. All genres are covered, with submissions being accepted in 11 different categories and while there is a $25 entry fee per song in addition to the potential audience, the Grand Prize will net you $500, while the First Place winner in each category will receive $250. The contest ends on Dec. 31, when a board of judges will decide which bands kick the most asteroid. Detailed information is available at www.grsgames.com. — Vicki Slobs

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