By Delcan Hertel Staff Writer
The relatively recent explosion of independent video game development has given the world many great games that AAA developers like Activision and Microsoft Studios wouldn’t spend their time and money on making. Some of these indie passion projects have become beloved, critically lauded favorites among gamers, such as “Braid,” “Super Meat Boy,” and the best-selling PC game of all time, Markus Persson’s “Minecraft.”
With this freedom of expression, many indie developers create games that fill specific, obscure niches. One of these niche-filling games is Squad’s “Kerbal Space Program,” which officially left Early Access after over four years and released version 1.0 early this week. “KSP” is a game where the player runs a NASA-like space program, constructing spacecraft to be manned by little green men called Kerbals and launching them into orbit, or the far reaches of the solar system.
While the concept is a simple one, the game itself is anything but. The piecing together of a space-worthy vessel is a daunting task: you are given a huge menu of pieces and parts that you must assemble into a vehicle that will not only leave the ground, but break through the atmosphere and reach the stars.
Many players never get past this stage (either for frustration, or they’re like me and just like to watch things explode), but those that do are in for a greater challenge: flying the thing. Squad has spent years perfecting their physics simulation, from air resistance to gravity and even the nitty-gritty bits I can’t pretend to understand. All the realities of space travel are working against you as you reach for the stars. And it’s really difficult to get there.
So how has the game captured the imagination and acclaim of so many gamers? For one, the game is very scientifically accurate. While Squad does not pretend that the game is 100 percent faithful to reality, it is very close.
But more so than that, it’s because success is an incredible feeling. The first time you successfully orbit Kerbin (the “Earth” of the game), it’s a huge victory. Then it becomes second nature, so you reach further to the Mun, then even further, to the red sands of Duna, or to the cavern at Moho’s north pole, each time knowing that you are earning these victories.
Every inch gained is a massive achievement. Sometimes even failures result in great gameplay challenges: didn’t have enough fuel to return home from Duna? Mount a rescue mission!
While the base game itself has a great deal of content, a huge modding community offers many additions like highly customizable interfaces, mining capabilities, more planets, and a giant banana to attach to your ship for some reason.
“Kerbal Space Program” has become huge since it first appeared in 2011. Its massive, dedicated player base even includes Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, who said in a Reddit AMA, “Kerbal is awesome.”
If you have even a passing interest in space travel, pick up the demo. If you like the demo, grab the full game, and boldly go where no Kerbal has gone before.
