I recently started reading The Martian by Andy Weir. It tells the story of an astronaut that gets stranded on Mars and has to do whatever he can to survive. So far it’s a pretty fascinating reading, especially the technical aspects of it. As I’ve been making my way through the book I keep wishing for a straight up Mars survival game. No tricks or off the wall story twists, no zombies or other players; just me versus a hostile environment.
It looks like a trio of recent Full Sail graduates might be trying to fill that particular niche for me with their game PeriAreion. In PeriAreion players direct a small crew of their choosing to one of three distinct landing zones where a self sustainable Martian base must be built using a variety of different modules. Modules can be upgraded to make them larger and more efficient as a result of various research advancements that are unlocked via tech tree advancement. Starting to sound a little like SimMars? I agree, except hopefully PeriAreion will get released. If it does we’ll get a chance to explore the red planet, find water, perform research, and overcome various environmental hazards.
Sure, it’s not exactly “The Martian: The Game,” but it’s the closest I’ve seen so far.
Funding for PeriAreion is taking place through Kickstarter and has a $3,000 target to meet by April 9th.
