Elon Finally Responds To Mars Game Request
After 154 long days, game developer Lyubomir Vladimirov finally heard back from Tesla founder Elon Musk. SpaceX will appear in Vladimirov's new game about terraforming Mars.
Mars is Flat might not seem like much at first glance, but one-man development team Lyubomir Vladimirov has faith in it. Each day, for 154 days, Vladimirov has asked Elon Musk if he can use SpaceX designs. The plea looks the same each day: "Dear Elon, I'm a game dev. and I am making a game about colonizing Mars with you and SpaceX in it. If you think it's cool, all I need is the 'Go ahead' to use your name and Logos. I will post this every day for a year or until I get a Yes or a No!"
Vladimirov got 154 days into his year of asking before Musk finally responded with a casual, "You can steal our name/logos & we probably won't sue you." Though Musk's comment is neither legally binding nor, thanks to the word "probably," a guarantee, Vladimirov took it as a sign to go ahead and use SpaceX in his game. In fact, he'd already begun to use Tesla-designed products in Mars is Flat, like the cybertruck.
Mars is Flat purports to be a "highly technical Mars survival simulator," allowing players to help terraform Mars and engage in the more minute details of space exploration. Production seems to be progressing smoothly, with Vladimirov updating the production blog regularly. In the latest update, Vladimirov provides an explanation of how first-person perspective programming is going. He also notes that there are nine sites SpaceX is considering for landing sites, and he picked one from that list to use for the game. Though Mars is Flat has not been officially tied to Musk or SpaceX, the game appears to be heavily influenced by SpaceX's plans and progress.
Musk actually has a previous career in video games, and he's credited with work on several small projects. Musk started writing code for games as early as 12 and even got paid for some of his work. Despite Musk's interest in video games as a child, he grew up to venture down a different path. Now he's in the position for developers to approach him with questions about his brand. He also enjoys playing Overwatch.
Vladimirov has not announced a release date for Mars is Flat, but development updates can be found at the game's official website.