Alexandra Palocz
Games
Creative Technology
Writing/Narrative
Lighting Design
Other Projects

Project Space Watch

Project Space Watch is a web game about observational astronomy and orbit determination, developed for the American Museum of Natural History and published on their OLogy website.

A screenshot from the Project Space Watch game shows a map of the Earth's orbit around the sun, with a cone coming out from the Earth representing a telescope's field of view. To the right of the map is the simulated view from the telescope on top, and a corresponding map of known sky objects on the bottom. An object that appears in the view, but not on the map, is highlighted. In the bottom left, under the map, a log shows dates and coordinates for the asteroid observations so far."

Step into the role of an astronomer in the Space Watch Alliance, working to observe the sky and identify potential planetary collision threats.

Take observations of newly identified near-earth asteroids, then use those observations to determine their orbits and predict their path through the solar system to figure out if they're likely to collide with Earth.

A child leans over a desk to play Project Space Watch on a computer, while a girl sitting nearby looks on."

The first incarnation of Project Space Watch was created with Lee McGirr , in conversation with the Education Department at the American Museum of Natural History, as part of the "Designing for Museums" class at the NYU game center. I came up with the initial concept and was responsible for research, gameplay mechanics, and implementation, while Lee did layout and graphic design for the initial iteration.

It was presented to the public as part of a temporary event at the American Museum of Natural History in May 2023.

After that first iteration, I continued to work with the Education Department at AMNH to develop the game as a feature for OLogy, consulting on mechanics and implementing changes.