The Scale of the Universe

[axcho]

I just saw this on Newgrounds today: The Scale of the Universe

It is definitely not a game, yet it captivates and touches people, judging by the comments and the extremely high score (4.7/5 on Newgrounds??!).

"Zoom from the edge of the universe to the quantum foam of spacetime and learn the scale of things along the way! Learn the size of the Pillars of Creation and marvel at the minuscule scale of a neutrino!"

That's what it is. Let me quote some review comments so you can get an idea of the reaction that many people have had to this simple, interactive non-game:

"I don't know any words in the english language that can explain how amazing this is! It goes all the way from the Fabric of the Universe, to the estimated size of the universe, including almost everything! If I wasn't already a nerd in science, I would always come to this whenever I have to study physics or space or something like that."

"This is so COOL
You can see the whole Universe from here
YOU ARE THE BEST
YOUR GAME MAKING SKILLS ARE EXCELLENT
THANKS FOR THIS COOL GAME!!!"

"I've read a lot about things like this before, galactic distance comparisons and such, but this makes it so fascinating. This is a work of art and would introduce it into any classroom.
This is gonna go down as one of the greatest flash works on NG history. You are an artist and keep up the good work."

"This was epicly EPIC!
this actually made me think about how lil we are..
dude, you are AWESOME!"

"This is a masterpiece! I don't think people understand it when scientists say that to grasp the size of the universe is incomprehensable. This should be used by teachers everywhere! Never before have I seen the Universe put into that kind of perspective. It's amazing. I'll bet you, that if every person in the world, looked at this at the same time, like really LOOKED at it, all wars would cease. It's... It's beautiful."

"I started off small and worked my way to the entirety of the universe, and I've never had thoughts of such pristine beauty or size until I started playing this. Artwork was good but the true meaning of this piece is unimaginably cool. Thank you very much for giving us all something of this great value."

"This is great it made me feel so very big then so very very very small"

"I just realized how big the universe is, this is awesome."

"It was kinda surreal when you zoom in at a decent rate from the universe to the string theory. Gave me goose bumps almost for some reason."

"I am nothing, I am insignificant."

More reviews...

If something as simple as this can evoke such strong feelings and such a strong sense of scale, then imagine what could be done with more sophisticated pieces! And it's all about the interactivity - it couldn't have been done without it.

[Thomas]

Really excellent! I would really like to see more like this! Using (not)games to get across a scientific message is a really nice thing!

I did not really like the presentation though. There is a lot of improvements to the graphics, animations added , different levels could have different sounds, and so on.

This is also a simple of example of learning oriented goals. You stop "playing" when you had enough and can go back until you feel you learned all there is to explore.

[God at play]

Wow, great find.  It does seem to be more than the sum of its parts.  And I would argue that it would be much, much worse without such excellent music.  I'd say that's half the experience in this case.