Interstellar Game Lets You Create Your Own Solar System, Explore Using The Ship From The Film

By Peter ScirettaSept. 18, 2014 9:00 am EST

Paramount Pictures has released an app to promote Christopher Nolan's Interstellar:

The app takes players on a journey through solar systems designed by players, featuring realistic physics conceptualized by Kip Thorne, the film's scientific advisor and noted theoretical physicist. Players create their own unique solar system with planets, moons, asteroids and more, and travel through other player-created systems in the Endurance, the ship from the film. See how far you can pilot the Endurance without running out of fuel or losing time relative to Earth. Sling-shot through solar systems using real-world physics and gravitational forces. Use wormholes to jump to new systems and survive the ultimate challenge of traveling past a black hole.

Sounds cool right? Find out more about the new Interstellar game app, after the jump.

The Interstellar game app involves two real-world factors of space travel:

Gravity: The player can use gravity to slingshot around a solar system's sun and planets to reduce the amount of fuel needed to travel through the system.

Fuel: The player's primary goal is to see how far they can explore before running out of fuel. When the player restarts after a crash or running out of fuel, their distance counter and fuel level are reset.

I love that the app isn't a mindless game and actually takes into account real science which promotes learning how the universe functions. That said, I found the app to be a bit more complicated than expected and, well, dry — but the more I played with it the more I got out of it. But I guess some people could say the same exact things about Nolan's films. Here are some of the things you can do in the Interstellar game app:

Create your own solar system and share it with friends

Customize planets, stars and asteroids

Pilot the Endurance through friend's and other fan's solar systems

Upgrade your ship to increase durability and range

Earn mission patches for completing objectives

Based on newtonian physics with simulated gravitational fields endorsed by the movie's science advisor Kip Thorne

Slingshot between planets and return research data to Earth

Navigate past massive black holes

For now, the Interstellar game app is available to play in-browser or you can download it for free in the Google Play store, but it will also be coming to iOS next week as well as a free app. And yes, the header photo is a new Interstellar poster which premiered yesterday on Yahoo.