Lunar Legacy

Lunar Legacy is a single-player, first-person shooter strategy game that serves as a spin on the Space Race. This game includes entertaining fictional aspects while providing an educational experience about this historical event, along with the Cold War era. To give the game educational value, our group has developed a game that plays around with the idea of using aliens, asteroids, and battles with the Soviet Union’s spaceships and leaders–all while including cut-scenes with dialogue that teaches gameplayers about the historical context of the time. While playing this game, you will be able to play as the United States and battle NPCs, including Soviet leader Nikia Khrushchev, while progressing through levels throughout the vastness of Space.

 

While creating this game, we were tasked with making a video game that connects to a historical event of our interest within a 3-week time frame. Within that time frame, we collectively put in as much effort as we could to develop an interactive, entertaining, historical-based game based on our book sources regarding the Space Race and the Cold War.

 

Guide:  

Characters

• Main Character: Neil Armstrong
  • Neil Armstrong was the commander of the Apollo 11 mission and became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969. 
• NPCs:
  • Nikita Khrushchev, Final Boss, Level 4
    • This is the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He sponsored the early Soviet space program.
  • Aliens, Level 2
    • Fictional characters included for entertainment purposes.
  • Sputnik 1/Missiles, Level 3
    • The first satellite launched into space by Russia.
  • Asteroids Level 1
    • Fictional scenario included for entertainment purposes.

 

   

PREVIEW TO INTRODUCTION

The opening page of Lunar Legacy will act as an introduction to the theme of our game, giving the player specific information about the time and setting, the Space Race. This will come from the game’s main character, Neil Armstrong.

 

Neil Armstrong: “The Space Race is more than a competition—it’s a matter of national pride. But space isn’t just about beating the Soviets. There are asteroids out here, too. These rock fragments remind us how much we still have to learn about our solar system. We can’t afford to be careless. Just as JFK pushed us to aim for the moon, we must navigate this perilous space with precision."

 

HOW TO PLAY→

 

• This game will be based on a point system, where the player must gain a certain amount of points in order to advance to the next level.
• Each level will increase in difficulty, introducing new characters will act as the player’s enemy.
• Players can use the spacebar to shoot at enemies in each level and the arrow keys or WASD for movement.

 

[LEVEL 1]  USA vs. Asteroids

The first level follows the US and Neil Armstrong, as he navigates through various asteroids in space. In this level, players must move around various asteroids while shooting them down to make it to the next level.                  

[LEVEL 2]

Following the first level, the US Spaceships now face off against alien spaceships. The goal is to make it pass by shooting down the alien’s spaceships.                  

[LEVEL 3]

The third level increases in difficulty as you are now fighting against the Russian satellite, Sputnik I. This was the first satellite to be launched into space which caused citizens of the US to worry about the Soviets sending nukes through space. Your goal is to take down the Sputnik I satellite to move forward to the next level.              

[LEVEL 4]- SURPRISE  

No information about the 4th level of Lunar Legacy will be released, as it is a surprise for new players of the game!

 

SOURCES USED  

The following sources were primary and secondary sources used in the creation of our game to ensure historical accuracy and cultivate an immersive experience, as seen through dialogue, graphics, audio, and more:

 

• Brzezinski, Matthew. Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries That Ignited the Space Age. New York Times: Times Books, 2007.

• Griffith, William E. Cold War and Coexistence. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962.

• McWilliams, Wayne C., and Harry Piotrowski. The World since 1945: A History of International Relations. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2023.

• Immerman, H. and Petra Geodde. The Oxford Handbook of The Cold War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

• We also utilized https://www.nasa.gov/ for specific facts relating to asteroids, satellites, spaceships, and other aspects of the Space Race.

• Music for this game derives from a no-copyright via several artists by searching keywords like “boss fight” and “space,” which can be found here: https://pixabay.com/.

• We used a Soviet Cosmonaut Song from YouTube for the final battle against the Soviet Leader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Vdyed9wVw.

   

GAME CREATORS

 

This game was created by the producers of StarStudios.  
 

Luca Andrews  

Kennia Hernandez  

Presley Swiney  

Kathryn Stirzel  

Nate Barnhardt