Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources

Happy New Year to 2025 and continued excitement

2025 brings new tidings for us here at Mini Mammoth Games and also ever closer to the full release of Roving Rovers! Whilst 2024 was not the best that Mini Mammoth Games has experienced it has certainly led us to a position of being able to further develop Roving Rovers and a client’s project as well!

Keep an eye out for both at SAGE 2025!

Firstly a short recap!

2024 started off like previous years, working on updated Roving Rovers to fit with the upcoming ARCh and SAGE events; giving us a strong start to the year. Which was then promptly stomped on by a client pulling out from signing a contract 3 days before; this was a client we had spent approximately 6 months pitching and negotiating with to get to that point. A large disappointment would be an understatement, however it also affected those we had spent time interviewing for positions we were sure to have in the coming year.

Thankfully we were also starting another project for a different client, so despite that drawback we weren’t going to let it get to us too much and so we trekked on! With the support of the University of Adelaide and the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources we brought Roving Rovers to a myriad of events, including:

The Australian Rover Challenge – held by the University of Adelaide
The South Australian Games Expo – held by the South Australian Film Corporation
PAX Australia; Australia’s biggest game based convention

With many companies behind us and Roving Rovers our CEO, David McCann was given the opportunity to attend the International Astronautical Congress that was held in Italy. Giving us the ability to network with the (much) wider space industry and also showcase the potential that the games industry can provide the space industry. A partnership between these two industries is only inevitable as they continue to expand across the world. The biggest example of how they can benefit each other is Kerbal Space Program, which has been around for years at this point (since 2015) and it has been used by astronautical engineers and amateurs alike to learn and play around with what specifics makes a rocket go to space.

Obviously not for actual testing when it comes to the professionals, hopefully, but much like flight simulators and city builders, they often attract those that are involved in the professions mimicked by the game. Games like this are often what drives a child’s or person’s interest into things like becoming a Pilot, Engineer or Astronaut; something that is often credited for their interest in pursuing a career in those fields too.

A surprising fact for those not in the know is that many programmers got their start in Redstone – Yes the red dust to make pistons move in Minecraft sparked many children’s interest in programming and computer engineering.

But to get back on track, keep an eye out for Roving Rovers being credited for bringing the next generation to the space industry – maybe, don’t quote us yet.

What is the herd up to? I hear you all say!

Well, to start off with we are in the final development stages of an internal project. This will be the first fully developed project of Mini Mammoth Games that isn’t a mobile game. This is a large step forward in our story! This project is also perfect to use as an example of our capabilities and will be used to showcase ourselves to potential clients.

On top of that exciting news we are also hosting a few workshops over January and February, with the January workshops being a partnership with the Australian Space Agency. Though this particular workshop has since passed and was a great success, with 2 of the 3 sessions selling out it is clear that this is a great opportunity that we will continue to take advantage of this year.

The second workshop is set for the 15th of January and is a partnership with the West Lakes council, so keep an eye out for when that is properly announced on our socials!

To no surprise you will find us at both SAGE and ARCh 2025; despite previous iterations of Roving Rovers having minimal mechanical updates from previous years it’s time to get real excited about what we will be presenting to you this year!

With the continual support of ATCSR we are doing a large overhaul and update to Roving Rovers to truly reflect our intent for the game’s future development and full release. It will genuinely showcase, not just the basics of the Australian Rover Challenge, but the mechanics, story and gameplay that the final release will have. This is something we are ecstatic about as we haven’t had much time to truly showcase the potential of Roving Rovers in the past, so this is a great opportunity to take another peak at what Mini Mammoth Games is developing!

Australian Rover Challenge’s winning Rover from 2024
Improved physics
Improved Rover building
Job specific Rovers
Humans!

Whilst our current future is full of lunar rovers, we have many game ideas that we would love to bring to fruition, ranging from Idle mobile games to interactive horror novels.

We will also keep supporting and growing the games industry the best that we can, so if you or anyone you know needs work experience or a placement within the games industry please reach out. We had a continuous flow last year and had many great games made by the students!

For more information on our placement program: https://minimammothgames.com/our-placement-program/
And if you want to check out the placement games from 2024 follow the link: https://minimammothgames.com/2024_placement_games/

Although the start of 2024 had many hiccups we have ended up in a great position with the support of many companies and the Australian space industry on top of that!

Make sure to keep an eye out for Roving Rovers at any games or space events near you and a quick shout out to our friends over at My Colourful Mind for their Christmas demo release of Taming Yore Dragon; with the full-release not far behind!

References

What is Kerbal Space Program:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerbal_Space_Program#Scientific_community

Kerbal Space Program’s impact

https://www.christopherroosen.com/blog/2021/1/16/kerbal-space-program-ksp-the-story-of-the-worlds-most-interesting-spaceflight-simulator

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/mar/06/kerbal-space-program-helping-space-flight-experts-of-the-future

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/22/kerbal-space-program-why-nasa-minecraft

Minecraft’s Redstone impact

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45vp3O77CfQ

Minecraft’s Redstone similar to IRL circuitry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg-VeGSuf-Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV_lf1kyV9M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUHdgWg_WZo

Daring Lunar Architecture: Could The Future Of Space Travel Come From Australia?

An inaugural Australian Space Architecture Challenge (ASAC) organised by the University of Adelaide’s Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR) encouraged architects to envision the future of humans on the moon; through hypothetical vehicles and habitats we are able to see what our future could be!

What is the Challenge?

The Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR) looks to bring together many industries including those of STEM fields and align them and many creative fields to come up with concepts that will both be realistic and comforting for those who may have to live there in the future.

This also aligns with the goals of the Australian Civil Space Strategy and the Moon to Mars initiative that aims to advance Australia’s position in the global space economy and deep space exploration and settlement.

Overview

Although based here in South Australia the competition was Nationwide and Australia did not disappoint with their response to this challenge. With the winner having their work showcased at the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Milan, Italy. The IAC will be coming to Sydney in 2025 and they plan to also attend and showcase next year’s winner there.

Despite this being the first ever ASAC, many Australians had no trouble showing a creative and realistic perspective on the future of habitation/colonies on the Moon. The Top 3 entries showcased creative yet entirely plausible solutions, with an honourable mention standing apart from other applicants through their big “what if” approach, choosing to look much further into the future of what our architecture might evolve into.

These entrants also considered the major psychological challenges that current research suggests to be a large factor we need to look into, with a strong approach to making the habitats as comfy and human-centred as possible.

ASAC has 6 jury members who chose the winners and the honourable mention:

Amit Srivastava – Founder and Chair of ASAC // Head, Lunar Architecture, ATCSR
Urs Bette – Program Director, Master of Architecture, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering (ACE), University of Adelaide
Deborah Turnball – Chair of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, UoA
Jonathon Dady – Artist in Residence, ATCSR
Enzo Ferraro – Senior Architect, Grieve Gillett Architects (GGA)
Sam Ximenes – CEO, Astroport Space Technologies, Australia
With their Space Architecture PhD student, Albert Rajkumar doing a lot of the behind the scenes work as the Coordinator for ASAC 2024

First Place

First place was given to the work titled “Happy Homesick” created by students Eric Luan, Claire Basso, Robert Cameron and JD Otto from University of Western Australia. With the jury describing their work as “a reminder that space exploration is not just about technical feasibility but necessity to create habitats that have a unique character,places that we can identify and develop a relationship with – places where we can feel home at” – Urs Bette

Although I did first recognise the similarities this piece held to Hobiton from Lord Of The Rings, it is very much a feasible piece centred around the needs of the humans right next to the functionality that is often the main focus of Space exploration and habitation.

Second Place

Second place was given to the work titled “Lunar Urbanism” by Bowen Yang and Yichan Wei from the University of Queensland. Johnnie Dady described their concept as “A very practical solution that gets the job done with available resources, in this case the hardware used for travel to the moon. The dynamic level variations are texturally interesting. The communication and presentation are compelling and the composition conveys the concept well.”

Third Place

Third place went to a work titled “Lunarium” by Ihab Shamseldin and Samer El Sayary from the University of Technology Sydney. “The modular system creates a launching pad for the experimental, inspiring communities of thinkers and tinkerers, limited in means but not imagination, to craft tailored outcomes with generic parts. This is modularity at its best.”, jury member Enzo Ferraro said.

Honourary Mention

And an honourary mention to Do Dang Quang Nguyen from the University of Adelaide for their work; “Alteon VII”. Described as a fun and creative combination of science and fiction.

The Importance of the Challenge for Australia

With the growth and interest in space travel and habitation continually growing worldwide, Australia aims to centre itself as a major player. With many space companies coming together to support this challenge, it only strengthens our place in the future of man living on the moon. Furthermore, with the launch of the EXTERRES Roseworthy Analogue in 2024 the support for research and testing within this area is ever growing.

Australia has a unique place in the space industry being so far from everything our land and expertise was needed to land the initial Astronauts on the Moon and we will continue to ensure that we are at the frontier of every space development!

With the winning entries being exhibited at the Space Architecture Symposium and Exhibition as part of the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) it shows how creative and committed Australia and its people are to the future of space travel and living. The massive support that this inaugural ASAC has is incredible, with the below sponsors providing monetary and personal contributions:

Space Architecture Lab (SAL)
Grieve Gillett Architects
Astroport Space Technologies

Alongside theses other supporting partners include:

MMG
HEX
Arch_Manu

One last congrats to the winners and a hearty good job to all applicants. Furthermore, thanks to everyone especially the ASAC team and ATCSR for making this happen!