Concept and Structure

Let us introduce our conceptual structure of SimMars standard edition.
 

[Plot]

Each sequential release will have a starting date based on true events. For example, version 1.0 standard edition will start on December 2003, when Mars Express is planned to arrive at Mars. Likewise, following releases will coincide with each mission date. Setting for each release also reflects the featuring mission. For example, version 1.0 assumes following background information:

* The player will learn that natural resource is draining, population is growing rapidly, and global warming is at critical level. Furthermore, he/she will learn that political gap between countries has grown so much that it cannot be handled anymore. Bottom line: Worldwide crisis has grown to a point in which Earth alone is no longer sufficient enough to support our needs. * ISS (International Space Station) is close to completion. In the beginning of the game, there will be 3 astronauts from the US and Russia. (The people on board will change as the game proceeds and there will be astronauts from Canada, Japan, and Europe.)

And list of events given to a player includes:

* NASA announces the Mars Exploration Programs. The player will be named as the director of NASA Mars Exploration missions and they will be responsible for the decision making in the Mars exploration/development. Standard edition version 1.0 features Mars Express, so a player is given a task to lead Mars Express team to mission success and plan for the next mission. * Mars Express is working to gather information on Mars' surface, and a player will be asked for reasonable decision-making.

[Initial Setting]

A player can set the difficulty of the simulation. Basically budget differs according to the difficulty level.
 

[Simulation Engine]

Here are possible variables used by the computer to carry out the actual simulation.

1. Command from the player
• The player can give out 2 commands per month.
• Command includes crew nomination, training prompt for astronauts, construction/assembly, etc.
2. Astronauts/Crews
• Astronauts in the game will have the same identity as real world astronauts.
• The player can also train imaginary astronauts. The player is responsible for providing financial support for their training and education.
• The quality of each astronaut becomes an important factor in the mission. Thus the player's allocation of financial assets is crucial.
• Crew choice is an important factor that determines team capability. (e.g. If there is no doctor on board, medical problem cannot be treated.)
3. Spacecraft
• Initially, a player is provided with a small spacecraft with maximum occupancy of 6 crews.
• As time passes, there will be larger spacecraft capable of transporting greater number of astronauts.
• Again, the financial resource allocation becomes the key factor for development/construction of better spacecraft.
4. Budget
• Initially, the player has support from countries involved in ISS development (e.g. US, Russia, Canada, Japan, Europe, etc.).
• As the game proceeds, various countries will join the project and thus budgets increase.
• The player is responsible for making deals with different countries, so to raise more money.
5. Construction/Assembly
• The player is responsible for ordering the construction/assembly components of Mars exploration spacecrafts (standard and educational edition) and different units on the Mars base units (online edition).
• Spacecraft components include power systems, communication aid, remote control system, etc. (standard and educational edition) Martian base units include habitat, farming unit, oxygen generator unit, air controller unit, etc. (online edition)
6. Resource control
• The player is responsible for controlling the construction of infrastructure necessary for population growth, such as various pipelines, power generator, etc. (online edition)
7. Teamwork
• The player experiences relationship problems with his/her teammate. Sometimes a player is asked for an opinion or to take an action.

[Game screen and window prompts]

1. Planets' coordination window
• The coordination between Earth and Mars.
• Relative travel time depending on their orbital distance from each other.
2. City overview window
• The two dimensional representation of a Martian city (Only available from version 2.0)
3. Astronaut and crew information window
• Information about active/training astronauts and/or crew
4. Budget window
• Budgets/spending related information
5. Command window
• Input prompt for command (appears twice a month)
6. Timeline
• Mission timeline
• Control timeline (standard time on Earth)
7. Unit components window
• Available component choices (e.g. roofing, power generator system, communication system, etc.) with price
8. Information window
• Events happening on Earth (available on demand)
9. Parameter window
• Population, demand and supply, industrial growth, etc.
• Energy supply, regulation system condition, etc.

[Editions]

There are three editions of software to be released: standard, educational and online. Standard is the basic software for elementary school children (third grade or higher recommended) to adults for simple enjoyment as an ordinary simulation game.

Educational edition is modified for possible school use, in addition to the basic features in the standard edition. This edition has emphasis on international (political) relations and collaborations with people of different background. Teachers are encouraged for teachers to use SimMars in the class in middle-high school and high school level. Teachers' manual would be released for use in the school curriculum.

The online edition allows multiple users to participate in the simulation simultaneously. Several online users can form a team to work on the same mission. Each user can set his/her own personal information, such as specialty (occupation), nationality, gender, name, age, and role in the mission. Targeted age group starts at 16 years old.

As a motivation factor, for online edition only, certification would be awarded from NASA if the party successfully accomplishes the mission to build a Mars colony with a population of 10,000.
 

[Releases]

There will be new releases for each Mars mission. For each release, we will have different editions including standard edition, educational edition, and online edition.

For now, the plan is to have version 1 through 3 of the game. Each one will be created based on JPL mission timetable. Here is the table for the tentative contents of each version:

Table 1: Game versions and their features

	Ver. 1	Ver. 2	Ver. 3
Available nationality	USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, ESA	All countries involved in the space development	All countries involved in the space development
Available occupations	10 different jobs including pilot, doctor, geologist, biologist, cook, etc.	15 additional jobs including psychologist, comedian, musician, lawyer, etc.	20 additional jobs including priest, teacher, business man, journalist, poet, and gynecologist
Perspective	2 dimensional	2 and 3 dimensional	2 and 3 dimensional
Mars geologic information	What we already know	What we already know plus the result gathered by Mars Express and Mars Exploration rovers.	Information from ver. 1/2 and satellite information from 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, etc.
Objective (Online version only)	Populate the Mars with 10,000 people	Populate the Mars with 100,000 people	Populate the Mars with 1 million people
Prizes upon completion of the game (for the online edition)	An official certificate from NASA. The player's city will be published on the web.	The city will be published on the web.	An actual Martian rock from sample return mission schedules to be launched in 2011. The city will be published on the web.