Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Game of Thrones author George RR Martin working with Neil deGrasse Tyson on a space adventure video game

As are Bill Nye and Neil Gaiman

Jack Shepherd
Wednesday 26 July 2017 15:08 BST
Comments
George RR Martin holds up his 2015 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for Game of Thrones
George RR Martin holds up his 2015 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for Game of Thrones (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

While Game of Thrones fans are praying George RR Martin works exclusively on the next instalment in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, the author has other ideas.

Rather than continue devoutly on The Winds of Winter, Martin has embarked on numerous new projects, including working with HBO to develop five Game of Thrones spin-offs, landing a TV pilot of novella Nightflyers on US broadcaster Syfy, and acting as an executive producer on HBO’s adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s book Who Fears Death.

Turns out Martin has another small project on the side: working with Neil deGrasse Tyson on an upcoming video game, titled Space Odyssey.

The author was named on the Kickstarter — alongside Bill Nye and Neil Gaiman — each working on creating galaxies for players to explore.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, deGrasse Tyson explained why he asked the Game of Thrones creator to work on the game.

“For me, Game of Thrones is not so much why everyone else likes it, but I like that they’re creating a world that needs to be self-consistent,” he told the publication.

“Winter is coming, so what does that mean? I’m thinking about it as an astrophysicist: What kind of planet would that be? What kind of orbit would it have? What kind of star is it? It’s clearly not Earth, although they’re all humans—well, except for the dragons!”

Space Odyssey will see players explore and colonise different planets, travelling through the galaxy. Concept artists behind the game include those who have worked on God of War and Final Fantasy. You can see the kickstarter page here.

Meanwhile, Martin has offered an update on when we should expect to The Winds of Winter on bookshelves, hinting at a possible 2018 release date.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in