Pandora ROVR was an in-browser game released online in collaboration with McDonalds. It is a simulation of an early RDA mission on Pandora; a rover that was dropped from orbit to do initial exploration. The original application has since been disabled, but a playable backup does exist.
Gameplay
The user controls a ROVR on Pandora in 2084;[1] the first reconaissance mission undertaken on the moon. A brief CG cutscene outlines this, and then places the player within the ROVR controls. The player can drive around, use a camera feature to take images of the surroundings, and scan objects to add them to the encyclopaedic 'notes' menu. There is also a satellite navigation screen which provides a 3D view of terrain ahead, a user manual and a status screen.
The objective of the game is to scan as many objects as possible. While most scans are static objects such as plants, there are animals which move around on the map such as a Thanator. The game was mostly a promotional release, intending for users to share images to Facebook with the games' camera feature.
Development
The game was inspired by the existing rovers on Mars. At the time of release, two were in operation on the martian surface- the Opportunity and Spirit rovers. The developers created a sixty meter wide square upon the planet surface in Maya, using two hundred of Weta Digital's cinematic assets. These were then converted to flash sprites and deposited upon the scene. This resulted in 10,000 digital panoramas which can be explored in a manner similar to Google Street View. The graphic technique was common among 90s PC games such as Myst.[2]
The project was developed by Multiverse, a small team of 12 artists who also developed AVTR Advanced Team.
Reception
CNET described it as “an experience that makes movie games more faithful than ever.”