Moonbase Alpha

The oxygen generating machine and several solar energy panels for a lunar colony have become damaged in a meteor shower. A team of astronauts are sent to fix the damage done as fast as possible, or else the colony's air supply will run out. However, maintaining control of the situation proves difficult at first, as several of the components crucial to the operation of the colony's life support systems are heavily damaged, and some are outright broken. It will take all their training to fix this mess before the colony runs out of air and time.

Moonbase Alpha, a game developed by the makers of America's Army and published by NASA, intends to be a simulation of what the normal missions of an astronaut would be in a rather dire futuristic situation and to give people a chance to stomp about on the moon in the boots of an astronaut. Reactions were mixed, although the game does seem to provide its dual purpose of amusement and slight education (or wish fulfillment). The game is also infamous for an option to turn on a Stephen Hawking-esque voice synthesizer program based on DECtalk, the abuse of which became wildly popular (and, unintentionally, the game's biggest attraction). Steam lists the release date as being July 6, 2010.

The game can be downloaded from Steam for free here.

Not to be confused with the setting of Space: 1999.

Tropes used in Moonbase Alpha include:
  • Almost Out of Oxygen: The first scenario tasks the player with preventing this.
  • Cutscene: In the first scenario, players have the option of showing an intro cinematic.
  • Inherently Funny Words: Players would use the text to speech feature to say "Aeiou".
  • Just Here for Godzilla: Many players started because of the text to speech feature.
  • Level Map Display: The map is displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  • Name's the Same: As the Swedish name for Space: 1999. Which wouldn't have been important if 'Månbas Alpha' hadn't been the only science fiction show on at a time when there were only two channels.
  • No Seat Belts: Your astronaut's backpack instead clamps into the lunar buggy. This somehow allows them to control it.
    • Judging by the shape of the suit, it seems that the astronauts clamp onto the command center or buggy and probably slide out the back of the suit.
    • This is actually a proposed concept as a replacement to an airlock, the astronaut in question clamps the suit on and does indeed slide out through the back of the suit.
  • Quick Time Event: Repairing circuitry in good time requires you to perform a small minigame to bypass unnecessary circuits when welding.
  • Race Against the Clock: If you don't restore functionality in time, the colony and the research involved with it goes down.
  • Space Does Not Work That Way: Mostly averted. NASA wanted to provide as realistic a simulation as possible while not forsaking the fun.
    • The game also includes the option to turn off sound effects such as welding, robots or buggies (at least on the outside). The sound of player's breathing and stepping remains.
  • Space Madness: The two team map is built on the concept of "Space Dementia", with the opening text stating that four years on the moon have given some astronauts this, leading them to sabotage your base.
  • Synthetic Voice Actor: Available as an option in the chat window. Griefing ensues as shown in the infamous Motdef YouTube video "Moonbase Alpha provides a realistic simulation of life on a natural satellite".
  • Twenty Minutes Into the Future: The game was published around 2010 and the opening cutscene for the first scenario explains the moonbase was built near the Shackleton crater in 2020, with the game itself taking place in 2025.
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