Show HN: SORS, a sci-fi doctor sim game inspired by Papers,Please and real science | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: SORS, a sci-fi doctor sim game inspired by Papers,Please and real science

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6 pointschatwinra3 comments

For those interested, the technology this game is inspired by is Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy, being trialled in a UK hospital. More info here: http://www.stfc.ac.uk/CLF/Facilities/Ultra/Highlights/15073....

The diseases in the game are all based on the potential uses of the technology. The graph patterns for the gameplay are all based on SORS readings from scientific papers.

I'm writing an education guide so that this game can also be used in schools. It covers certain Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Geography topics at roughly a High School Level (UK: GCSE/A-level).

Feedback most welcome!

Dunno if this is an alpha version, but personally I think the visuals are a mess. Papers, Please (since you cite it as element of comparison) was very charming from this point of view - as every grapahic element of the game fell within a precise style and was presented very cleanly.

Here we have stereotypical green light terminals, OCR Font mixed with Mission Impossible strikethrough font mixed with bitmap fonts mixed with serious fonts: cartoon portraits with flash-style-shaded body illustrations with real life pictures.

Sorry you don't like it! I guess it is a personal thing. We've had a lot of positive comments about the visuals though.

For what it's worth (not that it'll sway your view), the font choices were a conscious decision to make the medical technology look a bit outdated, because you know what hospitals run by administrators are like.

Also, the mix of cartoon visuals and the real-life pictures was again a deliberate decision. you may notice they never appear on the same screen together, and everything in-world (portraits, bodies) are cartoon style. Reference pictures are real-life.

But anyway, like you say, it's personal preference.

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