This section goes into detail of the geography mentioned in the world building post with backed up research. I am using the annotation and sketches below as my foundation.

When it came to looking at geography, I initially thought the game was set in the Australian Outback. This is because I completely misread the annotations.

What the “The Outback” really refers to in the context of this game world is a desolate, dry place that was once lush and populated earth. The Outback is what Franek refers to as leftover nature and ruins, essentially. The GDD’s story section reveals that the default location is suggested to be in the American state of Florida, around the location of the real world NASA Launch Pad on Merrit Island. I did some research on the spaceport itself in Cape Canaveral, it being home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). The region is perfect when considering an environment of shattered infrastructure and left-behind technology, in addition to showing the global warming effects of rising sea levels on the coast.

The original designer states that the survivor camp – the main location for the events of Those Left Behind – would occur at/around a launch pad (as seen in the sketches), its important to distinguish whether we are talking about launch pads or launch complexes. A “launch pad” is just the specific platform from which a rocket is launched, while the “launch complex” is the entire facility that can encompass multiple launch pads, along with all the supporting infrastructure like assembly buildings, control centers, and access roads needed to launch a rocket, making the launch pad just one part of the larger complex.

The most ideal location would be near the larger launch complex in the north of the cape, closest to Merritt Island, primarily due to its proximity to the Space Centre, connected through bridges and causeways. Launch Complex 39 and its pads A and B are the largest of the sites at the cape, as well as one of the most active – specifically pad A, which is best known for its Apollo missions (Apollo 11 sending the first man to the moon in 1969). Launch pad 39a is currently being operated by SpaceX, notably for its launch of Falcon 9 – the world’s first orbital class reusable rocket.

I believe that LC-39a is the best choice, not only because of its renowned missions and modern-day relevancy but also due to its ideal placement along the coast and in relation to its closeness to the mainland.

Another option is to look at Launch Complex 49, “a proposed but yet unbuilt launch facility which would be located at the extreme northern end of the Kennedy Space Center north of Launch Pad 39B” (Launch complex 49 factsheet). The proposed launch complex was however suspended with “no actions taken” (Patti Bielling, a NASA spokesperson)(Clark, 2024). Having a non-existent launch complex could be very interesting to play around with creatively, especially considering SpaceX’s founder, Elon Musk, his controversial role in American government, and what that could mean for the future of SpaceX.

I asked the environmental artist for her opinions on the matter and what she believes is a better and more cohesive option for the game world. After discussing that the planned use for the proposed launch complex was for the SpaceX Starship, “the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights. Starship will also help enable satellite delivery, the development of a Moon base, and point-to-point transport here on Earth.”, the choice felt like a no-brainer.

Choosing LC-49, the fictional launch complex, grants us a lot of creative freedom in regards to the world design and artistic design.

Effect of climate change on the world

Having done my own research on the effects of climate change specifically in Florida, it’s time to think about what that would actually look like in the game world.

As Franek refers to the land as the outback, the immediate thought is of hot, dry, cracked Earth. However, the geographical and ecological evidence found by both me and the environment artist Rosie points to a significantly different outcome. Posing the question: If the effects of climate change continued to worsen, would Florida become more flooded, or would the increase in temperature cause the land to dry up instead?

With the game world being set on a cape (a point of land that juts out from the coastline), it would make the most sense to take a different direction from the GDD’s description of the world like Rosie said. With everything we researched and discussed, I agree with her vision of the environment and that is the design choice we are making for the game.