Interview | NASA astrophysicist talks about his work on Brazilian game Universus

NASA astrophysicist has acted as advisor to Take4Games, a games and technology startup that develops blockchain businesses, in the development of "Universus", a series of Play-to-earn mobile games that have space exploration as a backdrop.

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The gaming industry grows at a breakneck pace each year, which has made it one of the most profitable since. But its growth was not so easy. Since the release of its first game, consoles, to its near destruction in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the market has had many changes and facets.

One of them was to have helped in the technology industry, such as CD, DVD (in its popularization), hardware and of course, with the greater popularization of cell phones thanks to the incredible amount of games that are released for the device. In addition, we can still highlight that companies in the sector and their players also played an important role during the beginning of the War in Ukraine with humanitarian aid.

Of course, the sector as a whole also has its problems, such as toxicity in some companies and among players. But this is all something that is being fought on several fronts and, fortunately, it will come to an end. Another fascinating aspect is that the most diverse people are entering the game industry in some way, as in the case of Dr. Slava G. Turyshev, astrophysicist at the jet propulsion laboratory at NASA (JPL), California Institute of Technology and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Since April of this year, the NASA astrophysicist has been acting as an advisor to the Take4Games, a Games and technology startup that develops businesses in blockchain, in the development of “universus“, a series of Play-to-earn mobile games that uses a robust economic system, through NFTs and Tokens and has space exploration as a backdrop.

The series aims to achieve all GameFi concepts, mainly focusing on financial decentralization and balance between fun and rewards in games. The main role of Dr. Slava is to advise the creative team by validating the narrative and contributing with indication of resources and real challenges, so that the game experience is as real as possible, educational and interesting about space exploration. There are weekly or biweekly meetings with the team, in addition to the daily production of documents.

Check out the interview with Dr. Slava G. Turyshev, who spoke about his work on the game and how he sees the game market.

1. How a scientist at NASA ended up becoming an advisor for the creation of a game with Brazilians.

Space has been my passion from an early age. I am currently involved in many exciting projects that will take humanity to the next level of understanding our place in the Universe. To do that, we need to educate the new generation of scientists, engineers and the public. I realize that Universus will have a large educational component related to the dissemination of knowledge about space. So when I was asked to help make the content a little more realistic and engaging, clearly my answer was – yes!

2. How has this new challenge been?

Very exciting! I'm happy to be part of the team that designs new worlds for players to explore. As you may know, in the last 25 years we have discovered more than 8,000 planets orbiting in neighboring constellations. While we've never seen their surfaces and never been there, it's a lot of fun to think about what these worlds might look like. It is also interesting to think about how to exploit them. You see, visiting these planets is out of the question: in the next few centuries we still won't have the propulsion and energy technologies necessary to enable interstellar travel. So it's exciting to work on the game as it allows us to imagine what life on these faraway planets might be like. That's exactly what we do at Universus!

3. Since the last century, video games have gone from being just entertainment for kids to something for all ages as well as a billion-dollar industry. How do you see this growth and your responsibility in advising the creation of the Universus game?

In fact, the gaming industry has experienced great growth. It will soon be able to be even more integrated into our daily lives, providing an important virtual component. Digital assistants, virtual presence, creative design tools, remote collaboration – these are examples of synergistic technologies that already affect our personal lives, workplaces and entertainment. Indeed, the presence of this component and its social implications will take humanity to the next level of evolution.

The gaming industry plays an important role in this process. In creating new worlds, we also create a set of ethical norms and moral codes that govern these imagined societies. Players are challenged not only by the environment their avatar experiences, but also face a variety of moral choices. As game creators, we must be very sensitive to these powerful aspects of a game, trying to encourage players to make good ethical choices, consistent with those they would make in real life.

Universus is a game that brings a lot of exciting content. In addition, the game has a significant educational component. It is designed to provide a lot of valuable information to the player in a gaming environment. I am excited to be a part of this development as it gives us the chance to train a new generation of explorers capable of being role models by setting positive examples.

4. You have been with NASA since 1993 working on major projects and missions. In addition, he advised famous companies such as SpaceX. What is it like to deal with different researches, projects and people from different areas and still keep your focus?

Life is so multifaceted! Doing just one thing professionally can become routine. Having multiple projects at a given time allows us to evolve, expanding our capabilities. I enjoy being involved in a variety of projects so life never gets boring! It allows me to meet a lot of interesting people and learn from them or help them in some way. This is an interesting process that I like a lot.

5. Science is no longer just something for a niche and over the decades it has gained pop culture, mainly thanks to names like Carl Sagan with his Cosmos program. Did you ever work with the scientist? If so, what values do you highlight that he left as a legacy for science and also for the entertainment industry?

No, I never met Carl, but I know a lot of people who knew him very well. Being a scientist is a privilege that comes with responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is being able to communicate the excitement of learning about Nature and the Universe. Making science more accessible to the public is fundamental to the evolution of humanity.

As we become increasingly reliant on technology, we must ensure that there will be more scientists and technologists capable of inventing exciting new products and capabilities. There has always been a demand for a qualified person to explain natural phenomena to the public.

Carl Sagan became one of the first scientists to gain celebrity status by doing so. Over the years, many scientists have followed him to become public advisers in various scientific aspects (i.e., Neil DeGrass Tyson, Michio Kaku, Sean M. Carroll, etc. and of course the deceased Stephen Hawking).

6. Returning to the Universus game, how was your first contact with Take4Games and what led you to accept this job?

A colleague introduced me to the game's creators a few months ago. When I first met the Universus team, the group's energy and enthusiasm were palpable! Upon hearing about the game's plot, its educational components, and the ethical aspects of creating the game, I was immediately excited!

7. Do you think we will have more partnerships like this in the near future?

It is now standard practice in the entertainment industry when writers, filmmakers, and actors look to academia for advice on how to better communicate some aspects of a creative story (Hollywood films like Interstellar, Avatar, Contact, Terminator, and many others). I absolutely see the need for more similar partnerships in the gaming industry.

Dr. Slava G. Turyshev

Entrevista | Astrofísico da NASA fala sobre seu trabalho em jogo brasileiro Universus 1
Image: Stephanie Diani/WPN

Dr. Slava G. Turyshev is an astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology and a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Since joining JPL in 1993, Slava has worked on numerous missions and space projects, including Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1, Cassini, Galileo, New Horizons, Curiosity and others.

His main areas of research include astrophysics, relativistic gravitation, cosmology and exoplanets. Over the years, he has developed and managed programs and projects valued at over US$ 1 billion. In various roles, he has advised Fortune 500 companies on key funding decisions in the areas of technology, risk management, operations and corporate development, working in particular with Avaya, AMD, Amgen, Ball Aerospace, Corning, Cisco, Disney and recently with SpaceX, BlueOrigin and Virgin Galactic among others.

Slava holds a DSc and PhD in astrophysics from Moscow State University, Russia, and an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management. He has published more than 240 articles, two books. Dr. Turyshev is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

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