From the seminal 1961 title SpaceWar – one of the first games ever made – to modern science fiction odysseys like Mass Effect and Halo, the idea of exploring distant galaxies has proved incredibly seductive.īut authentic space simulators, offering a purer, more complex and authentic interactive experience, are much rarer. Video games are obsessed with space travel. And there’s always another spacecraft to build and crash. I am on a computer playing a game called Kerbal Space Program. The fortunate part is that, actually, I am at home. The reward for me is to stay alive – and to get home. In space, there is always risk and reward. I progress forward anyway, nudging the thrusters with just enough vigour to connect with the airlock, but not enough to cause a mid-flight collision that will end the lives of my crew. I have built the craft myself, out of myriad components, and I don’t know if it’ll hold up out here in the vast indifferent nothingness.
To dock, our orbits have to align precisely, but the variables are terrifying. In the cold vacuum of space, miles above the planet surface, I am guiding my tiny space ship toward the airlock of another vessel.
