Spacing Out with R-Capek

Synopsis

It’s the year 2042. Private crewed spaceflight is common, but so is space debris (space junk). Discarded satellites, shattered rocket components, and older pieces from abandoned space stations fly by at high velocities threatening your spaceship and life as you venture out in the vacuum of space.  

You’re tasked with conducting critical repairs on spaceship’s exterior. However, as you venture outside, you have to be careful of the high-velocity space junk. 

R-Capek is a fully autonomous, trustworthy robot accompanying you in your repair mission.  R-Capek shoots special lasers at the fly by space junk.

By fixing as many areas as possible and taking down the flyby space junk, points are added to your score. So can you earn the highest score? There’s only one way to find out!

This free browser desktop game can be played solo or with two people on the same keyboard.  

Concept

The name R-Capek is inspired by the origins of the term. “Robota” means forced labor and hard work in the Czech language. It was first coined by the artist Josef Capek and popularized by his brother Karel Capek - a writer - in his 1920 science fiction play Rossum’s Universal Robots. (R.U.R.) to describe synthetic organic beings made by humans. Initially happy with working for humans, the robots eventually revolt and cause death and destruction to humans.  

This space game is a fun alternative to R.U.R., demonstrating a conceptual premise: humans and robots are partners in space. And the tribute to the Kapek brothers aims to recognize the word’s origins but puts a positive spin on it. There can be a symbiotic relationship - a partnership between robots and humans in space. Therefore, advancing research and development in robotics and our understanding of this symbiosis will be vital to becoming a multiplanetary species. 

© 2022 MONI-07B.SPACE LLC. All rights reserved.

How to Play

Objective: Fix as many problems on the spaceship as quickly and shoot down space junk.

Characters:

🧑‍🚀 You: Are able to move along the spaceship's exterior to fix problem areas and are able to plug into R-Capek. Initially, the problem areas will not damage the integrity of the ship. But check the ship's health meter as you go along on the top left hand corner. The faster an area blinks, the closer the problem will escalate. 

🤖 R-Capek: Robot stationed at its power source /outlet (base of the ship) and is able to shoot special lasers at the fly by space junk. R-Capek's lasers  cannot harm you as you conduct the repairs, but R-Capek cannot shoot without a power source/outlet. Therefore, you can plug into R-Capek by using the letter Q while hovering over the power outlet. This allows you to carry R-Capek with you  further along the ship for extra protection in key areas that you want focus on. You can activate R-Capek's autopilot, which leverages simple gaming AI.

Key | Visual Legend

Controls:

Movement: Use keyboard arrows ↑ ↓ → ← or the letters W, A, S, D

Repair : Use letter E 

Pause | Continue: Use letter P 

Plug | Unplug to R-Capek: Use letter Q

Activate R-Capek Auto Pilot: Right-Click 

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Bonus tips: 

Extra points are earned by shooting at the post-combustion fragments. 

Power ups in fix speed, climb speed, and laser damage are based on your score.  

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Screenshot Notes (top to bottom):

1. Before fixing problem area

2. After problem area has been fixed

3. Power-up coin drop; fixing-speed boost pictured

4. Space junk post-combustion

5. Mini-map color differentiation; more urgent areas have red exclamation marks in the mini-map, while less urgent areas are orange

6. Right click auto-pilot; R-Capek will turn bright green and its AI will take over without the player's shoot command

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Source

Reference: MONI-07B. A subscriber-funded indie blog with no ads, no tracking, and no slick sponsored corporate content showcasing original research and commentary and artwork. Your gateway for the niche, authentic, and divergent. 

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Game Development Credits:

Game Development 

-Coding and design: David Martinez

-Graphics and design: Annie Wu

Commissioned by Monica Hernandez, managing member of MONI-07B.SPACE LLC, a limited liability publishing and media production company incorporated in Florida, United States whose flagship indie blog and multimedia content portal is MONI-07B. 

Game Concept 

-Concept: Monica Hernandez, Founder of MONI-07B. 2022. All rights reserved. 

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