Mars Odyssey taught me more about the red planet in less than an hour than I learned about it during four years of high school and more than a decade of personal curiosity since. Steel Wool Studios’ Mars experience should be mandatory curriculum.
The company’s Mars Odyssey is a part game, part educational experience. It starts off like any other game, with a quick tutorial that runs you through the basic mechanics that you’ll rely on throughout the experience. The controls are simple: Pull the trigger to grab or use, and press up on the touchpad to teleport.
Once you have the mechanics down pat, you’ll carry on to a holodeck room and start a simulation that will teach you all about the red planet. The presentation blew my mind. I thought I knew a thing or two about Mars, but I had no idea. Did you know that Mars is home to Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system? Its peak is nearly three times as tall as Mount Everest, and its diameter makes dwarfs that of Earth’s tallest mountain. Mars is also home to Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system. On Earth, the Grand Canyon is something to behold, but it compared to Valles Marineris, it might as well be a pothole. Read More…
