SPACE        EXPLORERS

You start your journey on Earth with a small fleet of spaceships, but you will end it on the fringes of the galaxy. As admiral of Earth’s exploratory space fleet, your goal is to expand your fleet, collect space gems, and explore the galaxy. Be careful: the further you venture into deep space, the more treacherous your expedition becomes.

You will complete your journey in stages, one solar system at a time. From your starting planet, you must reach the goal planet to progress to the next solar system. Your first decision as admiral is to choose the proper fleet to reach your goal. The ships are color-coded, and the path you can take depends on the colors and combination of ships. Your fleet moves from planet to planet, one planet at a time. Planets are connected by colored paths, indicating what colored ships can travel along that path. When picking a fleet, you must pick the order of ships are used in. The leading ship determines what path you can take; once the ship is used, it has to return to the starting planet to refuel. The next ship then assumes leading position. If you run out of ships or reach a planet without a possible departing path, you are stranded and have to restart the level.

For some levels, you have to collect a specified number of gems before you are allowed entrance to the goal planet. Planets containing gems can be found along your path. Reaching certain planets unlocks new colored ships to add to your fleet. New ships unlock new paths, making it possible to reach new, more complex solar systems. You should be looking to collect gems and new ships whenever possible.

Example of color-coded paths between the Moon and Jupiter

Above is an example of a potential level from Space Explorers. We have yet to complete our artwork, but this example contains the essence of the gameplay. The colored squares at the top of the screen represent the ship types you have at your disposal. Click on a square to add a ship of that color to your fleet. The bar directly below contains the ships you have picked for your fleet, with red being the first, blue the second, yellow the third, etc.

Once you are content with your choices, it’s time to journey through the solar system with your fleet. In our picture above, the connected oval nodes represent planets and moons, the yellow stars within the nodes represent space gems, and the colored arrowed lines represent the paths between planets. Try tracing the path of the fleet in the example above. This fleet would pick up both gems in the solar system and reach the goal planet, which requires two space gems to enter, with no ships to spare. From there, you would move on and pick an all new fleet for the next solar system.

We are looking to expand the game for subsequent versions: new ships, new solar systems, and even new galaxies and game modes. New game modes could include mini-games between solar systems and the ability to design your own levels to play yourself or submit for public use.

Collect treasure and avoid obstacles as you journey into the stars. Good luck, Admiral. Your voyage awaits you.