Historically Accurate Game Jam 13

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A jam submission

The Space RaceView game page

A strategy and space program management game set against the political rivalry between the USA and the URSS.

Submitted by STARBORN INTERACTIVE — 1 day, 3 hours before the deadline

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The Space Race's itch.io page

Results

Criteria	Rank	Score*	Raw Score
Accuracy & Authenticity	#3	4.300	4.300
Thematic Relevance	#5	4.500	4.500
Visuals	#7	3.800	3.800
Overall	#11	3.000	3.000
Audio	#12	2.800	2.800
Gameplay	#13	2.600	2.600

Ranked from 10 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Historical Accuracy
The Space Race was inspired by the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The game incorporates space programs, rocket development, scientific research, manned and unmanned missions, as well as the political and technological competition between the two superpowers. The setting makes extensive use of historical references, and although it features fictional elements and simplifications to enhance gameplay, it seeks to reproduce the economic and strategic challenges of space exploration.

Thematic Relevance
The player takes control of the space program of either the United States or the Soviet Union. The game explores the relationship between science, politics, propaganda, and international competition, allowing players to experience different paths toward space exploration.

Disclaimers
All headline images used in the game were sourced from Wikimedia under a Creative Commons license. The cover image was found on the internet under the same license. Translation tools such as Google Translate were used to improve the English texts (as English is not my native language).

Comments

Alex ChichesterSubmitted5 days ago

Loved the design! Curious what engine you used that let you use CSS directly like that -- if you were using that CSS file and not just referencing it's design. Very in depth, well done!

Submitted

Laika

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ArkasaurSubmitted6 days ago

Seemed really intimidating at first, but once I started it was less difficult than I expected. Managing the research teams felt good and like my decisions had a real impact on outcomes.

Submitted

Broadcast to the Moon

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CoarsecurveSubmitted7 days ago (3 edits)

Loved the victory objective choice!

The admin sim concept is demanding but very compelling (and I would love it as a board game). Do push that Manual higher up the menu to ease on-boarding.

Echoing others, the breadth of this game is very ambitious, but the gameplay piques curiousity at a leisurely pace (I assume this is why you have the Save buttons – to pause and come back later, like a book). Dry but very enjoyable. Thank you!

Submitted

Broadcast to the Moon

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jonathanmccSubmitted8 days ago

My first impression was that this looks like an old Mac game. Macs came out 1-20 years after the space race, depending on whether you count the start or finish. So the 'retro' look didn't really work for me even though it is implemented fantastically well. Full disclosure - I have never liked Macs so maybe a bit of bias going on here.

There is so much detail here that I found it totally overwhelming. I parked the game for a couple of days and am playing it now as it's one of the last ones I have left to rate.

It's like being made head of NASA with no prior experience and being asked to micro-manage the entire space program.

Submitted

The Great Space Race

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besedaSubmitted8 days ago (4 edits)

Very interesting take on the theme!

It is ambitious that you decided to recreate all layers of the organisation. However if you do that then is this game about the space research? Or about finance? Or about astro/cosmonauts? If a player wants to focus on one of them they may find it too shallow/unsatisfying.

It depends how authentic you want your product to be. If you go too far on the simulation side then is it a game?

Besides - were the two unions (USSR and USA) comparable and/or equivalent? For example - the USSR space program was underfunded (which ultimately led to its failure). Moreover there was horrible bureaucracy because even with official budget approval the money still didn't get transferred. Korolev had to push all the time for this. While these finances are important for the history, it is difficult to put it inside a product other than as a friction which causes frustration OR not represent it authentically which is incoherent with the rest of the product.

The more systems and layers of interactions between them there are the more steep the learning curve. This simulation seems complex and instead of one wall of tutorial text it would be better to create a smaller linear tutorial which explains the core mechanics in their simplest version.

In addition to a simpler linear tutorial developers of strategy games often include advisors. This is really a diagetic way for the developers to assist the player while they learn and prevent some mistakes which have game breaking consequences later when the cost for the player to start over outweighs the desire to play.

Submitted

Space Pioneers

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STARBORN INTERACTIVEDeveloper8 days ago(+1)

Thank you for such a thoughtful and constructive comment!

You raise some very good points. My intention with Space Race was never to create a highly detailed simulation of every aspect of the space program, but rather to give players the experience of managing a national space program during the Cold War. Research, engineering, finances, personnel, and missions are interconnected because I wanted players to face the same kinds of competing priorities that shaped the historical space race. Of course, the challenge is making these systems meaningful without making each one unnecessarily complicated.

I completely agree about the differences between the American and Soviet programs. They were certainly not equivalent in their organization, resources, or political circumstances. At this stage, I've simplified some of these differences for gameplay purposes, but I would like to introduce more historical asymmetry in future versions. The challenge, as you correctly pointed out, is representing historical difficulties without turning them into frustrating mechanics.

Regarding the balance between simulation and game, I think this is probably the central challenge of the project. I want historical authenticity to influence strategic decisions, but I also want players to have fun and feel that their decisions matter. Sometimes that means sacrificing a little realism.

Your suggestions about the tutorial and advisors are particularly interesting. The current manual is admittedly quite extensive, and a more gradual introduction to the mechanics would certainly make the game more accessible. An advisor system also fits the theme very well, especially considering the importance of scientists, engineers, and political officials in the actual space programs.

Space Race is still evolving, and feedback like yours is extremely valuable in deciding where to take it next. Thank you again for taking the time to play and share such detailed observations!

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besedaSubmitted8 days ago

You're welcome! And good luck - it is a challenging genre and it has lots of potential.

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besedaSubmitted7 days ago

I thought some more about this and if I were in your place I would prioritise making an advisor (or two - one for each side). This would take care of two things at once: make the project feel more like a game rather than a web application AND make the game easier to learn.

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January DeskSubmitted9 days ago (1 edit)

The UI looks great and really captures the atmosphere of the era. I really love the classic UI. The modeling is detailed. The manual is a bit too lengthy. The screen refresh effect looks nice at first, but having it play after almost every UI interaction makes things feel a bit sluggish. I played as the US until 1960 and found the difficulty a little too low. The refresh effects and the repetitive dialogs showing my own results during turn transitions also disrupt the flow of the game a bit.

Submitted

Leaving Earth

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STARBORN INTERACTIVEDeveloper9 days ago(+1)

Thank you so much for playing and for taking the time to share such detailed feedback! I'm really glad you enjoyed the classic Macintosh interface and the historical atmosphere.

You make some excellent points. I may have gone a little overboard with the screen refresh effects in my enthusiasm for recreating the experience of old computers! I'll definitely look into making them less frequent and improving the overall flow, especially during turn transitions.

Your comments about the difficulty are also very helpful. Balancing the AI and making the Space Race more challenging are among my priorities for future updates. I'll also consider streamlining the repetitive dialogs and making the manual more accessible.

Thanks again for giving the game a try and sharing your experience. Feedback like this is incredibly valuable, especially for a project that is still evolving!

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Historically Accurate Game Jam 13

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