Mars Horizon
The Mars Games Panel
Mars is often featured in both videogames and board games. But why are we fascinated with the red planet, and landing humans on it? How long until this is a reality and how do games represent the challenges of getting to, landing on, and living on Mars? Find out all about games and Mars with four incredible experts from different areas of gaming and space;
[speaker name="Sue Horne" title="Head of Space Exploration" company="UK Space Agency & ESA ExoMars Team" photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/32764963/d941548fc8f3dec6051fa9116f66f10b303941cc.png"]
[speaker name="Dr. Jacob Fryxelius" title="Creator & Designer" company="FryxGames " photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/32764963/53b1518d036eaddacc11463f28f8ba6ab6f873ff.png"]Creator & Designer of Terraforming Mars[/speaker]
[speaker name="Dr. Sian Proctor" title="Professor, Geoscientist, Analog Astronaut" company="South Mountain Community College" photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/32764963/e23795b0fb69f3dcb131814b428cec9a0483ea7c.png"]
[speaker name="Mike Roush" title="Co-Founder" company="Choice Provisions" photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/32764963/ecd32807f952cd852a82d2d5acb0a6a8f8f5e34c.png"] Creator of Tharsis[/speaker]
[speaker name="Dr. Tomas Rawlings" steamid="76561198114547538" title="Panel Moderator, CEO & Developer" company="Auroch Digital" photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/32764963/d96a1ce9ae313298b5547d6bda14b1c1b7e6ffb9.png"] Developers of the tabletop game Mars Horizon: BLAST OFF! from the digital, Mars Horizon[/speaker]
https://store.steampowered.com/app/800270
https://store.steampowered.com/app/323060
https://store.steampowered.com/app/765810
Mars Horizon - Video game vs. Board game
Game Designer Tomas Rawlings talks to devs Jem and Allie about the creation of Mars Horizon the video game and Mars Horizon: Blast Off the board game!
Both games are about running your own space agency and landing the first crewed mission on Mars. Hear about the differences between the games and how they adapted the themes and gameplay for physical and digital. You can also learn how Auroch Digital worked with the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency to make both games accurate, accessible, and how they captured the excitement of mission control!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/765810/Mars_Horizon/
[speaker name="Allie" title="Marketing & Community Executive" company="Auroch Digital" photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/38511516/3745d33fb08bf89a6ab807b0884d2be30fe80245.jpg" steamid="76561199089264967"]Broadcaster Extraordinaire![/speaker]
[speaker name="Tomas Rawlings" title="Design Director" company="Auroch Digital" photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/38511516/eb04b2508d0c7618f801b198d11401a03b4da043.jpg" steamid="76561198114547538"]Digital Tabletop Fest Founder[/speaker]
[speaker name="Jem" title="Marketing & Community Manager" company="Auroch Digital" photo="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/38511516/0a0f70305a751bf97f9fcdede83eb3395a84dc02.jpg" steamid="76561198987129712"]Digital Tabletop Fest Team[/speaker]
Run your own Space Agency in Mars Horizon! 🛰
Check out the Mars Horizon demo - available to download from the Mars Horizon store page during the festival 🚀
Mars Horizon is a strategy simulation game about leading a major space agency and guiding humanity to Mars. The demo allows you to:
- ⭐ Choose from 5 space agencies
- ⭐ Or create your own!
- ⭐ Play through Era 1 of space exploration
- ⭐ Build your base
- ⭐ Design rockets
- ⭐ Put the first human in space
This new demo includes all the improvements from the beta play testing and from previous demo feedback, so Mars Horizon plays better than ever. ✨
About the Game
Mars Horizon is a strategy simulation game about leading a major space agency and guiding humanity to Mars. It allows you to write your own alternate history of space exploration, building rockets, launching payloads, assembling your launch centre, and directing missions from the control room. The team has made the game truly authentic as it was created with support from the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency.
Join our community of Aurochnauts in our Discord.
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Mars Horizon 🔴 Dev Livestream with Jem and Allie 👩🚀👩🚀
Watch our Livestream
We've got a special livestream of Mars Horizon on Thursday 8th October
2 - 3.30pm UK Time / 3 - 4.30pm CEST / 6 - 7.30 am PT!
A new member of the crew joins the Auroch Digital space agency! Allie joins Jem for a special livestream during the festival. This will be broadcast straight to the Mars Horizon Steam store page and we will be taking questions over the Auroch Discord to answer on stream.
Join the stream to help Jem and Allie run mission control. Will they be more successful than Jem and Mike? Will they win the space race? Will there be crumbless nuggets? Come chat to the crew in the Auroch Discord to find out.
About the game
Mars Horizon is a strategy simulation game about leading a major space agency and guiding humanity to Mars. It allows you to write your own alternate history of space exploration, building rockets, launching payloads, assembling your launch centre, and directing missions from the control room. The team has made the game truly authentic as it was created with support from the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency.
Join our Community
We will be taking questions over on the Auroch Discord to answer on stream. Drop into the Discord to get your questions answered and to chat to our awesome community about Mars Horizon and space!
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Play the free Mars Horizon demo in The Steam Game Festival: Autumn Edition 🍂☕
The Steam Game Festival: Autumn Edition is an event that shines a spotlight on games set to be released within the next six months. During the event you can check out upcoming releases, try them out with time-limited demos, connect with the devs, and add games to your wishlist for a reminder when they release! Here's how to get the most out of The Steam Game Festival.
Play the Mars Horizon demo
Check out the demo - available to download from the Mars Horizon Steam store page. Choose from 5 space agencies, play through Era 1 of space exploration, build your base, design rockets, and put the first human in space!
This new demo includes all the improvements from the beta play testing and from previous demo feedback, so Mars Horizon plays better than ever. ✨
Check out the Mars Horizon demo
Chat to us on our livestream
A new member of the crew joins the Auroch Digital space agency! Allie joins Jem for a special livestream during the festival. This will be broadcast straight to the Mars Horizon Steam store page and we will be taking questions over the Auroch Discord to answer on stream.
Jem and Allie start their own Space Agency livestream 👩🚀👩🚀
Thursday 8th October
2 - 3.30pm UK Time / 3 - 4.30pm CEST / 6 - 7.30 am PT
Allie and Jem set up their own space agency and answer your questions about Mars Horizon. Join the stream to help them run mission control. Will they be more successful than Jem and Mike? Will they win the space race? Will there be crumbless nuggets? Come chat to the crew in the Auroch Discord to find out.
Wishlist Mars Horizon
Please Wishlist Mars Horizon to stay up to date with all the latest news and release date!
We're a small developer and wishlisting makes a big difference to how many people see Mars Horizon. If you’d like to know more we've written a blog post on how Wishlists help us.
Wishlist Mars Horizon
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UPCOMING PANEL! 🔴 Gaming and Mars discussion at the UK Games Expo
PANEL LIVESTREAM! 🔴 A panel of experts discuss board games that features Mars
The UK Games Expo is the largest Hobby Games Convention in the UK and this year it's going digital. We will be there representing our game Mars Horizon: BLAST OFF! This was inspired by Mars Horizon - it’s creation came about through pen and paper prototypes of the digital version. Read the full story in our blog.
We're running a panel discussion about boardgames and Mars with three incredible experts from different areas of gaming and space.
Gaming and Mars - What do the games that use Mars as inspiration get right and what do they get wrong?
📆 Date: 22nd August
⏰ Time: 4pm - 5pm BST
👨🚀 Host and guests:
- Dr. Tomas Rawlings (Moderator) - CEO of Auroch Digital
- Dr. Jacob Fryxelius - Creator & designer of Terraforming Mars
- Dr. Sian Proctor - Geoscientist & Analog Astronaut
- Paul Smith - Robotic Exploration Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency
🚀 WATCH THE LIVESTREAM HERE 🚀
LIVESTREAM! 🔴 Latest build of Mars Horizon streamed with the UK Space Agency🚀
LIVESTREAM! 🔴 Ask the UK Space Agency your questions
We're streaming the latest build of Mars Horizon, with some new updates since you last saw it - come check out our new astronaut portraits!
We're also live chatting to Libby Jackson, the Human Exploration Programme Manager from the UK Space Agency.
Livestream details:
📆 Wednesday 12th August
⏰ 2.30pm-3.30 pm UK / 3.30pm-4.30pm CEST / 6.30am-7.30am PT!
🚀 twitch.tv/irregularcorp
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM OVER ON TWITCH
Libby Jackson is the Human Exploration Programme Manager for the UK Space Agency. One of Britain’s foremost human spaceflight experts, she has worked as the Columbus flight director on missions to the International Space Station. She also managed the hugely successful UK Space Agency education and outreach program that supported Tim Peake’s mission.
Give us your questions for Libby in the Auroch Discord.
Here's a screenshot of Mike showing off his tomato in our last livestream with the UK Space Agency with guest Paul Smith.
Join our Community
We will be taking questions over on the Auroch Discord to answer on stream. Drop into the Discord to get your questions answered and to chat to our awesome community about Mars Horizon and space!
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LIVE NOW! 🔴 Mars Horizon Livestream with a Robotic Exploration Expert
LIVE NOW! 🔴 Ask the UK Space Agency questions
We're live right now streaming Mars Horizon and doing an AMA with the UK Space Agency. The stream is running from Thursday 16th July, 2.10pm-3.30 pm UK / 3.10pm-4.30pm CEST / 6.10am-7.30am PT!
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM OVER ON TWITCH RIGHT NOW
Paul Smith, Robotic Exploration Programme Manager from the UK Space Agency, joins us to play Mars Horizon. Paul's work focuses on the robotic exploration of Mars and the Moon. He'll be talking to us about the future of Space Travel, colonising other planets, growing plants in space and more! Give us your questions for Paul in the Auroch Discord.
Here's a screenshot from our last livestream with the UK Space Agency with guest Andrew Kuh.
Join our Community
We will be taking questions over on the Auroch Discord to answer on stream. Drop into the Discord to get your questions answered and to chat to our awesome community about Mars Horizon and space!
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Mars Horizon space agency livestreams - Watch now!
Thanks to everyone who played the Mars Horizon demo, wishlisted the game, and tuned into our livestreams during the Steam Game Festival! We had a great time talking to everyone about our game and we have even more feedback from our community to help us keep improving Mars Horizon.
Watch the livestreams
Don't worry if you missed the livestreams during the event, you can watch them now over on Youtube.
Andrew Kuh, Head of International Spaceflight Policy from the UK Space Agency, tells us about working for a real space agency, micro gravity, and bacon sandwiches in space!
Emmet Fletcher, Head of the ESA Branding and Partnerships Office at the European Space Agency, tells us about the astronauts he’s met, designing spacecrafts, and ESA collaborations with other countries.
Mike and Jem also revealed the final 2 playable space agencies in Mars Horizon, as well as a run down of all the improvements we’ve made following the beta feedback.
Podcast episodes
Want more Mars Horizon goodness? We've got a podcast with lots of interesting episodes about the game. We've got episodes about:
- The most recent updates to Mars Horizon
- Visiting the European Space Agency
- A brief history of space games
as well as loads more episodes about everything from Harry Potter to Ghostbusters!
CHECK OUT THE AUROCH DIGITAL PODCAST
Join the Discord
We've got a thriving community of Aurochnauts in our Discord chatting about Mars Horizon, space, gaming, consoles, crumbless nuggets, and more.
We share interesting space stories, updates about our games, and have a nice time chatting. Drop in and become an Aurochnaut in the coolest community around!
JOIN THE DISCORD
Journey to Mars!
Mars Horizon is a strategy simulation game about leading a major space agency and guiding humanity to Mars. It allows you to write your own alternate history of space exploration, building rockets, launching payloads, assembling your launch centre and directing missions from the control room. The team has made the game truly authentic as it was created with support from the European Space Agency.
