Photo by Mike Kiev on Unsplash

NASA & Star Wars space simulations, immersive Minecraft & Fortnight experience, metaverse musings and a smorgasbord of stories.

Michael and Michael start off this episode with stories about space.   NASA is recruiting for people to live in a 1,700 square foot 3D printed habitat to simulate year-long stays on Mars.  Instructions for people to register to be considered for the crew of these missions is in the show notes below.  

Another example of earthbound space simulations comes from Disney.  A family of four can spend the weekend in an immersive Star Wars experience at the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser for only $5,999.  

Speaking of immersive experiences, check out the fantastic Minecraft builds, many of which have taken years to construct.  Also worth noting is the Ariana Grande concert in Fortnight.  Metaverse musings from Michael and Michael continue, inspired by a Niantic Labs blog post.  

A smorgasbord of stories capture the co-hosts’ attention including Nvidia Canvas AI to build lush landscapes, how AirTags have been used to find stolen scooters, giant dragon-like fossils in Australia, cool car tech such as the Mazda swing button, and Razer’s new mask.

Winding things up for this week, Michael and Michael touch on how 3D animation informs costume creation, make a spoiler-free point about The Bad Batch, and get excited about Season 2 of the Animaniacs and Star Trek: Lower Decks.  

Been playing any LARPs?  Making massive Minecraft builds?  Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

NASA CHAPEA How to apply — https://www.nasa.gov/chapea/participate 

Gizmodo article: It’ll Cost $6,000 to Star Wars LARP With Your Family at Disney World — https://gizmodo.com/it-ll-cost-6-000-to-star-wars-larp-with-your-family-at-1847420860 

Live action role-playing game (LARP) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_action_role-playing_game 

Wired article: These Astonishing Minecraft Builds Were Years in the Making — https://www.wired.com/story/best-minecraft-builds/ 

Nvidia Canvas – stunning AI witchcraft Draw blobs on the left for things like mountains and water get the thing on the right! Need an RTX video card btw https://t.co/zvcv4N6GDK pic.twitter.com/g9z1KdNL3T— Ian Hughes/epredator (@epredator) August 13, 2021

TechCrunch article: Contact, a platform for creatives backed by Maisie Williams, raises $1.9M seed led by Founders Fund — https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/12/contact-a-platform-for-creatives-backed-by-maisie-williams-raises-1-9m-seed-led-by-founders-fund/