2.8 KiB
Developer Commentary
Clippy Convenience Companion
Clippy™ Convenience Companion is a self-assembling, self-replicating, highly modular being that emerges from the collection of individual Clippy™ cubes.
These cubes are interchangeable, solar panel plated, driven by strong reaction wheels, and connect to each other through powerful magnets along the surface. A sensor array picks up various EM frequencies and a camera image through the plating. There are no moving parts on the outside. Individual cubes are able to transfer electricity to connected cubes, as well as transmit information wirelessly.
The shape of a Clippy™ can change quickly to solve a variety of space problems. Off-the-shelf plug-and-play Clippy™ modules further enhance their agency with additional tools, such as propulsion modules, sensors, or manipulators.
A Clippy™ Convenience Companion will broadcast an Augmented Reality overlay that resembles a face, in the somewhat antiquated "kaomoji" style of the late 1900's, typically a friendly face to instill trust and kindness in viewers. How a unified persona with aligned intentions emerges from the interactions of the individual Clippy™ cubes is, as of writing, still subject to debate.
Clippy™ is inspired by self-assembling cube robots, by the paperclip maximizer thought experiment (which is also the source of the name), by Star Gate's Replicators, and finally, by Fallout New Vegas' "Yes Man" robot.
MeteorAceGT™ Sports Racing Capsule
This icosahedral sports spacecraft is designed for maximum stability and maneuverability at high velocities, not only in vacuum but also in thick atmospheres. Strong reaction wheels allow perfect control of spacecraft rotation, and allow you to land the spacecraft safely on any planet or moon. Powerful nuclear-powered electromagnets shield from ionized particle radiation, allowing you to surf the clouds of Jupiter safely, with the spherical shape providing maximum structural integrity.
The excessive forward thrust will get many pilots to pass out, while using close to zero propellant thanks to the advanced ion engine array. No dedicated backward thrusters are available for structural integrity in atmospheres. This is compensated by the sideways thrusters, which are mildly inclined to the forward direction, providing a small amount of backward thrust.
The design of this racing capsule was inspired Shotaro Kaneda's motorbike from Akira and by the orbital module of the Soyuz spacecraft.