I am going to create a playable planet simulator, that will allow users to explore the surface of each of the different planets in our solar system. Each environment will be geographically and scientifically accurate to the planet it mimics, with important points of interest noted.
The simulator could be used practically for education and leisure purposes. In a classroom, it could be used to help learning, as a teacher could pull up the virtual environment, and let their students visually explore the planet themselves.
It is unlikely our generation will ever walk around the actual surface of these planets and so a simulation becomes the only way we will ever experience it. Referencing Aristotle’s view of mimesis, in this example, the simulation can be seen as a positive thing that mimics a reality we cannot otherwise experience.
The simulator will be simple to use, laid out similar to most popular FPS games, allowing younger audiences to feel comfortable and familiar with the technology.
In terms of leisure and entertainment, gaming has become so prevalent within our society, that by tapping into our sense of aspiration, anyone who wishes too, could procrastinate on the simulation and spend hours exploring it in their own time.
There are a number of planet simulations that exist already.
Maid Marian’s Moonbase allows users to log on and roam around the surface of the moon. It features usable vehicles and has several objects you can interact with, however the main focus of the game is directed towards meeting and chatting to other users across the world like a chat room.
Midways Mars Simulator is directed solely towards exploration and the simulation allows you to land as the mars rover and roam unrestricted about the red planet.
NASA themselves even released a simulation called Moonbase Alpha, available on Steam. It is a time based education game where players must help to restore the life support of your moon settlement, rather than explore the moon.
I’m going to build the simulation on Unity and make any models in Cinema 4D. Unity has a first person controller asset, that allows you to create a player and run about a 3D scene. These scenes can be made using the terrain tool and publicly available scientific data such as google moon and google mars.
NASA has also made available several 3D models from past lunar missions I can use.