astronomy

In Other Waters

In Other Waters is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand In Other Waters rather than just read about it. In short: In Other Waters is a 2020 adventure game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Players take on the role of an AI that assists a xenobiologist in exploring an alien world.

Key takeaways

In Other Waters belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect In Other Waters to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of In Other Waters from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In Other Waters is a 2020 adventure game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Players take on the role of an AI that assists a xenobiologist in exploring an alien world.

Gameplay Ellery Vas, a xenobiologist employed by an interplanetary mining corporation, arrives on alien planet Gliese 667 Cc. Players control an artificial intelligence Ellery depends on to monitor her life support, collect and analyze samples, and manage the goals she sets for the mission. Players cannot directly interact with the world itself but receive feedback from Ellery based on her observations.

Development Jump Over the Age is a one-person studio based in London. Gareth Damian Martin did most of the game development themself. Although they had experience in the industry, they are self-taught in developing games in Unity. Damian Martin said they wanted to create a world using text and the game's user interface rather than direct experience. The initial idea came when Damian Martin combined three interests: diving, climate change and video games.

Reception

On the review aggregation website Metacritic, the PC version received mixed reviews, and the Switch version received positive reviews. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received strong approval, being recommended by 78% of critics. Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun called it a "very meditative" game that is "possibly exactly what you need right now". Bell wrote that, even when uncovering dark secrets about the planet, it "remains calming and lovely". Also describing it as "meditative", Eurogamer's reviewer, Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, recommended the game for its "hypnotic art, otherworldly audio and captivating writing". Rachel Watts of PC Gamer called it "a gentle and engrossing underwater sci-fi game that will have you thinking about more than what lies beneath the waves". Writing for Game Informer, Matthew Kato said that it "succeeds more as an exercise in world building than as an exciting adventure game" because of the lack of puzzles and repetitive gameplay.

See also List of underwater science fiction works Citizen Sleeper – the developer's next game

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with In Other Waters

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what In Other Waters claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to In Other Waters before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about In Other Waters ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of In Other Waters

In research: In Other Waters appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses In Other Waters in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: In Other Waters is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2020 video games, Fellow Traveller Games games, Kickstarter-funded video games, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for In Other Waters outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study In Other Waters in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what In Other Waters means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain In Other Waters out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is In Other Waters in simple terms?

In Other Waters is a 2020 adventure game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Players take on the role of an AI that assists a xenobiologist in exploring an alien world.

Why does In Other Waters matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study In Other Waters?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on In Other Waters.