Greetings Citizens,

There’s a new universe in the works! Last week, a project called Dual Universe kicked off a crowd funding campaign and the team behind it, Novaquark, is aiming to do something massive: create a single-shard, persistent universe that won’t just be played… it will be inhabited. To make this possible, they’re aiming to give the player as much freedom as possible to have a real impact on their surroundings. Players will have control over everything from the world’s economy to the designs of their bases and spacecraft. The preliminary work they’ve done looks fantastic, and I think it has the potential to be truly outstanding.

The customization systems in Dual Universe look to be very impressive, an example of the old ‘minutes to play, lifetime to master’ aspect that rules game design. Creating a simple ship or station in their system is quick… but you also have full control over everything from the 3D appearance to the under-the-hood LUA scripts that control how the actual parts function and work together. Think Minecraft in a science fiction world you help to define.

Dual Universe is a perfect example of why crowdfunding is important. It’s something big and bold that I am pretty sure a traditional publisher wouldn’t feel comfortable greenlighting. If you are interested in massive space games (and I have reason to believe that many reading this are!) then I encourage you to check out Dual Universe’s trailer below and their Kickstarter site here. There is certainly quite a few similarities between what Dual Universe and Star Citizen are both aiming to achieve, but that’s not a bad thing! Space games are not a zero sum game. Different games, even with similar feature sets can have wildly different sensibilities and play experiences. Choice and a little friendly competition is always a good thing.

It’s a great time for space games, and I look forward to welcoming Dual Universe to the growing brotherhood.