Bern-based studio Asteroid Lab and Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier took part in a public discussion last Sunday about the studio’s game «Terraformers» at the eSpace Arlaud. The venue was home to a special two-week event celebrating videogame culture during the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games.

Claude Nicollier was one of the first supporters of «Terraformers» as it was in its early stages. In a fascinating situation of reality meeting fiction, they used the game – a colony management simulation on a planetary scale taking place in a realistic near-future – to discuss the prospect of colonizing and terraforming Mars. The hour-long talk was organised under the theme “Meet the Devs” who invited the astronaute to share anecdotes about his real-life space exploration and discuss how popular media can serve as an inspiration to learn more about science and space.

Asteroid Lab, who won the second spot of the Indie Audience Choice Awards at HeroFest last year, will be busy in the next few weeks: the studio is part of the GDC 2020 SwissGames delegation in San Francisco where the latest version of «Terraformers» will be showcased.