Solarium Game - The Desert Module. Image credit: Sunfleck
Solarium is a free, adventure
Serious Game about Plant Science research and innovation developed by Sunfleck, an indie game studio
based in Sidney BC, Canada, with the aspiration of turning science into fun.
Sunfleck is formed by David Ehret, PhD - THE
SCIENTIST, with tons of experience in plant science research and a passion for
building games with the Unity3D engine; Nathan Ehret - THE ARTIST/GAMER, gifted
artist and also educated in classical history; and Don Ehret – THE MUSICIAN, a
virtuoso guitar player and composer.
Their first game, Solarium, available for Windows and Mac, raises awareness of the
importance of plant science in our world in the context of a futuristic game
environment.
The future of global agriculture, the ability
of plants to adapt to a changing climate, the health of ecosystems, and the
management of a sustainable biosphere are only some examples of Plant Science
strategic reach.
The bestselling sci-fi novel and movie The Martian, where astronaut and
botanist Mark Watney survives on Mars for over a year, largely thanks to his
ingenious potato crop, has recently drawn a lot of attention to Plant Biology.
In fact, NASA has already grown food in soil
designed to mimic what we know so far about the pH and chemical makeup of real
Martian dirt. Scientists have successfully grown over a dozen kinds of crops in
the simulated grit. And crops on Mars would have other uses beyond
food. Mars' thin atmosphere has a lot of carbon dioxide, which plants use to
store energy from the sun. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, so
crops could be critical if humans ever attempt to transform Mars into a more
hospitable planet — one with a breathable atmosphere.
The Martian – Matt
Damon, as the botanist and NASA astronaut Mark Watney, survives on Mars thanks
to his potato crop
“I can tell you with absolute certainty that
our survival on Earth is as dependent on plants as was Mark's survival on
Mars,” says David Ehret, the botanist developer of Solarium.
In the sci-fi game, you are in a distant future
in a distant galaxy.
A race of aliens in collaboration with
earthlings, has taken it upon themselves to explore the galaxies and document
all forms of life for preservation, in case their home worlds are destroyed.
This is called the Solarium Initiative.
The DNA is taken to an intergalactic botanical
study center and used to reconstruct the different environments they’ve
encountered, each environment housed in a different module.
Solarium Game - Teleporter Room. Image credit: Sunfleck
Solarium Game - The Alpine Module. Image credit: Sunfleck
Gameplay
The player is a botanist-in-training who must
visit each module to learn about plants before setting out on an actual
expedition.
Each module has theme-based questions that the
player must answer in order to earn points. In the process, amazing facts about
plants are revealed. Hints to help the player with the questions must also be
found.
When enough points have been earned, the players
may obtain plant components to create their own custom plants in the Solarium.
Solarium also includes a mini-game where common
parts of plants must be correctly associated with their botanical structure.
If you have Windows
8, 8.1, or 10, get Solarium on the Windows
App Store for free - Download and install (80 MB)
Or if you don’t want to install it, just download, unzip - click on Solarium.exe to start
playing (95 MB)
For Mac OS X (10.6 or
higher), download, unzip, and you’re good to go (105 MB)