On July 29th, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s virtual reality-enhanced video game Space Odyssey reached its crowd-funding targets on both Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Announced during this year’s E3 and promoted by Dr. Tyson at Comic-Con, Space Odyssey will feature “real science” and physics “accurate to what we know.” It also promises to let players create their own solar system, and explore systems made by their friends and featured world-builders, including George R.R. Martin and Bill Nye. This marks the second entry in the Space Odyssey series after last year’s Space Odyssey VR Experience.
Space Odyssey will include elements playable on VR, AR, console, PC, and mobile. The Kickstarter described the VR aspect of the project, but only in the vaguest of terms: “Space Odyssey will bring exciting, immersive virtual reality special missions to the game.”
7,207 backers pledged $357,866 on Kickstarter, while the Indiegogo campaign brought in $364,621. Backers will have access to Space Odyssey’s beta, scheduled on the Kickstarter page for December 2018.
Helmed by Naughty Dog veteran Bob Rafei (Uncharted, Jak series), developer Big Red Button is currently working on this ambitious project. Len Wein, famous for his work on DC’s Swamp Thing and Marvel’s Wolverine, will lead story development. Finally, Section Studios, a company founded by former God of War III and Final Fantasy artist Cecil Kim, will oversee Space Odyssey’s concept art and user interface.
