Astrodelia arises from the proposal of an intimate connection between videogames and Science Fiction whose link is established through technology understood as an artistic concept. Its inspiration comes from the iconic power, the ability to create worlds, environments and images, that Science Fiction has had since its origin.
The general philosophy is based on the concept of fusion. This idea permeates not only the Sci-fi imagery: narrative, music, aesthetics, graphic design, etc..., but also the design of the game itself, mixing several mechanics in a coherent way.
The story is built from some plot prototypes of Science Fiction literature of all time: black holes, mysteriously disappeared crews, robot heroes, etc...
All this fusion of iconic references is carried out from the beginning of integration, achieving a solid and finished product, with its own unique style. Astrodelia is designed for entertainment, while the game takes place through suggestive and evocative sidereal environments.
Astrodelia is based on 3 essential pillars: game mechanics, graphic aesthetics and musical evocation.
Game mechanics
The player will be able to guide his avatar (Major Tom) through 30 different scenarios with the aim of collapsing a black hole that threatens to destroy the Solar System. The hero of the story, Major Tom, is a state-of-the-art android considered the best expert in the interplanetary fleet in exploration and rescue missions.
The scenarios are concatenated in a linear way (except for 3 that are bidirectional) to form a narrative structure of the "graphic adventure" type. To some extent the concept of "role playing" is applied by using an avatar and an inventory of objects that are collected and used as tools. The use of the avatar is the majority, although there are 4 scenarios that take place in "first person" mode
Although the main mechanic is the graphic adventure, which serves as the common thread, each scenario is a minigame in itself that Tom will have to overcome to achieve his goal. These minigames are tests or challenges of different kinds integrated into the overall narrative structure. Some of these challenges are:
Astrodelia is designed to amuse and entertain, so it tries to provide active fun for the player by solving problems and overcoming obstacles in order to achieve a final goal. For this reason the challenges must have a certain difficulty, the player must concentrate and make an effort to solve them. However, the game has a multi-level help to avoid possible frustration by not being able to advance in case of a difficulty mismatch.
In addition, there is a parallel challenge to search for hidden objects that does not directly participate in the main plot and that is supported by external resources. This element is added for those who want to go "beyond", as an "extra bonus" to satisfy the most pertinacious explorers.
Graphic and musical aesthetics
The visual aesthetic introduces elements and styles inspired by different works, trends and movements of the genre. The influences come from both the Space Age, the golden age of science fiction (50s-60s, 20th century), as well as Space Opera, Cyberpunk or Futurism.
The soundtrack is built within the ambient electronic music subgenre. Electronics is chosen for its technological nature following the conceptual guidelines of the game and the ambiental branch for its evocative power that immerses us in the visual Astrodelia's world.
Initial Premise
In 2068 a fracture in the space-time fabric was discovered near Saturn, scientists predicted that in less than a decade the singularity would destroy the Solar System. The only way to avoid it was to launch a dark matter block (DMB) into the event horizon. The recently discovered dark matter would collapse the fracture, sealing it forever.
A scientific mission was sent into the orbit of Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, to build a laboratory on its surface. On a thermal pipe of the satellite exotic life forms had been detected with organic compounds necessary for the DMB manufacture. Everything was going well, the DMB was ready, but inexplicably the crew stopped communicating, something strange had happened to them.
There was no more time, the fracture was reaching a point of no return. Ground Control decided to send Major Tom, a lastest generation android and the best expert in the fleet, to find out what happened, recover the DMB, and finally shut down the dreadful vortex.
Synopsis
When Major Tom arrives at the Saturn One space station in orbit of Enceladus, he finds an uninhabited but operational location. He quickly begins the search for the DMB through the ducts, corridors and rooms of the station overcoming various obstacles.
In the EVA room he gets extra-vehicular equipment that allows him to travel to the scientific base located near a thermal vent on Enceladus. Within the surface complex he will once again have to face multiple challenges. He too will discover some clue about the disappearance of the crew and finally find the DMB, but he must return to the station without delay.
After a quick space flight back Tom will travel to amazing places through Saturn One solving riddles and challenges. He finally finds a small scout ship and without hesitation he heads towards the abominable singularity to fire the DMB, but is plunged into an incredible experience beyond the limits of physics.
Astrodelia's graphic and musical proposals are original works, however the fan will find multiple winks to classic and cult works of all types and formats, which have been included as a tribute to the great creators of the genre of all ages. These are some of the most significant:
The game's tagline "AN AMAZING VIDEOGAME" winks to the popular "pulp" magazine Amazing Stories (1926). It was the first publication devoted entirely to Science Fiction, a true founder of the genre.
Ground Control sends our hero, Major Tom, to Saturn to save the Solar System from extinction. The phrase Ground Control to Major Tom appears in the beautiful song Space Oddity by David Bowie (1969).
The "Simulated Gravity" stage pays homage to the Science Fiction masterpiece of all time: 2001: A Space Odyssey, created by Stanley Kubrick (1968). It is based on the circular centrifuge room of Discovery 1.
The impressive illustrations that Kilian Eng did for the movie The Black Hole (Disney - 1979), inspire designs and visual concepts throughout the game.
Other set designs take the avant-garde TRON (1982) as an aesthetic reference, which is also a pioneer in introducing the world of video games and CGI animation in the cinema.
