Strange Adventures In Infinite Space (SAIS) is a hybrid strategy

Strategy game

A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...

/adventure

Adventure game

An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...

 computer game. It was created by the independent game development group

Video game developer

A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...

 Digital Eel

Digital Eel

Digital Eel is a self-funded independent video game development team located in the Seattle, Washington area. The group was formed in 2001 by Rich Carlson , Iikka Keränen and Bill "Phosphorus" Sears .-Developers:*Rich Carlson - design, sound, music and art*Iikka Keränen - design, code and...

. In the game players explore a "plausibly implausible" (fictional) region of the Milky Way

Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...

 galaxy

Galaxy

A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...

 called The Purple Void.

Unlike "one time through" story games, SAIS sets up differently each time it is played. Stars, black holes, planets, nebulae, artifacts, alien patrols, gadgets, lifeforms and dozens of events and encounters are randomized for each game session. It is also very short. Game sessions typically last from 3 to 20 minutes, hence the game's tagline "Explore the galaxy in 20 minutes or less!"

Ernest Adams, writing for Gamasutra

Gamasutra

Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...

 in 2005, described SAIS as "The perfect short game."

SAIS was released for PC and Mac

Macintosh

The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 on March 15, 2002 by the award-winning boardgame developer/publisher, Cheapass Games

Cheapass Games

Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, etc., so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that...

, and later for Pocket PC

Pocket PC

A Pocket PC is also known by Microsoft as a 'Windows Mobile Classic device'. It is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer, personal digital assistant , that runs the Microsoft 'Windows Mobile Classic' operating system...

 and Palm

Palm (PDA)

Palm handhelds were Personal Digital Assistants which ran the Palm OS. Palm devices have evolved from handhelds to smartphones which run Palm OS, WebOS, and Windows Mobile...

 by British developer/publisher, Astraware.

As of November 11, 2005, the source code

Source code

In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...

 is freely available under the GNU GPL, though other game content besides the code is still proprietary. Since September 28, 2009, SAIS itself is available as freeware

Freeware

Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...

.

SAIS's sequel, Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space

Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space

Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, the sequel to Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, is a hybrid strategy/adventure computer game created by the independent game development group, Digital Eel...

features far more content and options, and is currently available for Windows and Mac.

External links

• Developer's Official site
• Official Site at Cheapass Games
  Cheapass Games
  Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, etc., so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that...
  
  (CD version publisher)
• Astraware (publisher of Pocket PC and PalmOS ports)
• Official Site at Manifesto Games (Online publisher)