Topic

Space exploration

Leaving the planet, at enormous cost, for contested reasons.

11: in games
10:00: average
110 min: in total
84: across the network

Space exploration across the network →

All briefs11

9:20

Flashback (1992 video game)

Delphine Software · 1992

Flashback is a cinematic platformer whose gameplay resembles Prince of Persia and Another World. Each level spans many non-scrolling screens, nearly all of which feature multiple levels of altitude. Conrad exhibits realistic human running speed and jumping ability, and realistic weakness. He dies if he falls from a great height. Conrad carries a pistol with unlimited ammunition; a force shield, which absorbs a certain number of shots before needing recharging, acting as Conrad's health; and a portable force field with unlimited use, which can act as a temporary barrier to block enemies' shots. As Conrad progresses through the game's seven levels, he is increasingly presented with spatial puzzles, requiring the player to discover how to guide him toward his destination. Late in the game, Conrad receives a teleportation device, and is able to progress by throwing the device and teleporting into otherwise unreachable areas.

9:51

Lunar Lander (1979 video game)

Atari · 1979

Lunar Lander (1979) is a vector-based arcade game by Atari, Inc. that reduces piloting to rotation, thrust, and fuel. It offers no story, no characters, no world—only a side-view landscape, a fragile module, and the unblinking arithmetic of descent.

10:48

Prey (2017 video game)

Arkane Studios · 2017

Prey (2017) is a first-person immersive sim set aboard the Talos I space station. You play as Morgan Yu, a scientist surviving a Typhon outbreak. You begin with a wrench and gradually unlock weapons, Neuromod abilities, and environmental tools. Talos I opens in stages—from linear missions to free exploration—and supports multiple solutions via systemic interactions: oil spills, turrets, explosive canisters, and the Gloo Cannon. It draws inspiration from System Shock and Arx Fatalis. It shares only its name with Human Head Studios’ earlier Prey series. It was developed by Arkane Austin under Raphaël Colantonio’s leadership.

11:14

Spore (2008 video game)

Maxis · 2008

Spore is a Maxis-developed simulation game released in 2008 where players guide a species from single-cell origins through five evolutionary phases toward spacefaring capability, with defined goals including spaceship construction and reaching the galactic core.

10:09

The Dig (video game)

LucasArts · 1995

The Dig is a 1995 LucasArts point-and-click adventure game for PC and Macintosh. It casts the player as Commander Boston Low, stranded on an alien world after a failed lunar mission, investigating ancient ruins to understand a vanished civilisation and find a way home.

10:31

Elite Dangerous

Frontier Developments · 2014

Elite Dangerous is a persistent-galaxy space sim built on scale, synchronicity, and player-driven consequence. It offers unparalleled scope but minimal scaffolding. Its ambition is structural, not narrative. Its cost is time, not money.

10:10

No Man's Sky

Hello Games · 2016

No Man's Sky is a lean, deterministic simulation of scale — not story, not society, not persistence. It asks you to verify reality, not inhabit it.

9:38

Sinistar

Williams Electronics · 1982

Sinistar is a 1982 Williams Electronics arcade shooter where the player collects crystals from planetoids to build Sinibombs, using them to destroy Sinistar — a demonic skull-faced spacecraft constructed by red worker ships and guarded by warrior ships. It was not widely ported to home systems. It followed Defender (1981) and Stargate (1981), and sits alongside Joust and Robotron: 2084 as one of Williams’ popular and influential titles.

8:29

Space Hawk

Orca · 1982

Space Hawk is a 1982 Intellivision multidirectional shooter where survival in drifting outer space is the sole objective.

10:14

Tekken 3

Namco · 1997

Tekken 3 is a 3D fighting game developed by Namco, launched in arcades in March 1997. It refines the series’ combat with universal sidestepping, lower jumps, universal reversals, faster knockdown recovery, expanded juggling, and new combo throws. It adds two minigames—Tekken Force (a side-scrolling beat 'em up) and Tekken Ball (a volleyball-style combat mode)—and implements a PlayStation-specific unlock system where only 10 of 24 fighters are initially available.

9:39

Zaxxon

Sega · 1982

Zaxxon is a 1982 Sega arcade shooter that pioneered isometric projection to create a pseudo-3D environment where altitude management—indicated by shadow and altimeter—is central to navigating fortress walls and obstacles. Movement is constrained to constant forward speed with vertical control only via joystick, requiring players to learn and internalise altitude-based spatial reasoning. Its design demanded new interface cues (joystick illustrations) due to unfamiliar control logic.