The References of Infinite Space: Selected Examples

The References of Infinite Space: Selected Examples

The Infinite Space trilogy of roguelikes is filled with references to pop culture, from literature, tabletop games, movies other video games, and even real life in some instances. Some of them are obscure; others are obvious. Here are some of the more notable examples, in no particular order.

• Some of the default names for fleet captains are taken from real-life or fictional astronauts. For example, the list contains the last names of the crew of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission - Haise, Sweigert and Lovell. Presumably the developers were fans of the 1995 movie Apollo 13.
• In honor of The Blues Brothers (another one of the devs' favorite films), Aykroyd and Belushi (named after the film's lead actors) are among the default names for blue giant and supergiant stars. If both of these names are present on the map, traveling directly between them for the first time will yield the Blues Brothers achievement.
• Another possible name for a blue star is Skrillex, in reference to the dubstep musician of the early 2010s. It's likely that he was among the devs' favorite musicians.
• You may find a red giant star named after the short-lived Nintendo GameCube RPG series Baten Kaitos - presumably one of the devs' favorite games (other than their own, of course).
• Among the possible names for yellow and orange stars, some of them are taken from real-life science fiction writers such as Larry Niven, Roger Zelazny, Clifford D. Simak and Isaac Asimov.
• Haze is one of the possible names for neutron stars, which give off a purple glow - a reference to Jimi Hendrix's song Purple Haze.
• There are also references to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos fantasy universe: one of the possible names for black holes is Azathoth, while Dagon is in the list of names for bluish-white stars.
• Cold desert planets may have names such as Nehwon (misspelled as Newhon in-game), Argimiliar, and Gormenghast, all of which are taken from various books and tabletop games, which the devs were fans of.
• One of the artifacts you can find is a Black Monolith, with the same dimensions and description as its counterpart in The Space Odyssey series of novels and films. In Weird Worlds, its discovery is even accompanied by a brief snippet from Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra. Further reinforcing this is the fact that Zarathustra is one of the possible randomly generated names for your starting ship.
• The Nova Cannon, a very expensive superweapon normally found mounted on Kawangi Dreadnoughts but also available by activating a Timeless Bauble and typing "Nova Cannon" in the text box that shows up afterward (or selecting it in the Combat Simulator), is based on a capital ship-mounted weapon of the same name from Warhammer 40,000.
• One of the lifeforms you can find is the Purple People Eater, a reference to Sheh Wooley's song of the same name - the creature's description is taken directly from the song's lyrics.
• The Tan Ru are named after an alien space probe featured in the Star Trek episode, The Changeling. The Zorg, meanwhile, are named after the main antagonist of The Fifth Element, but are neutral towards the player by default, unlike their namesake, and only attack when provoked; however, it is possible to form an alliance with them.
• The series has two references to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Esmerelda, the notorious thief, will steal all the towels on your ship if your cargo hold has nothing of interest to her. Meanwhile, earlier games had an artifact called the Plastic Time Capsule, whose contents include a hastily written note that reads: "So long and thanks for all the fish".
• Weird Worlds' version of the Platinum Time Capsule may contain a random tabletop game, such as 4000 AD, Oi! Dat's My Leg!, or Voyage of the BSM Pandora. Earlier games also had a Titanium Time Capsule, whose contents included a copy of another tabletop game, Kill Doctor Lucky.
• The Golden Canister (which creates a Golden Disk when activated) introduced in Weird Worlds is an actual real-life artifact attached to both Voyager space probes upon their launch. The Golden Disk is actually a phonograph record which contains greetings in various human languages, among other sounds of terrestrial origin. In fact, the sound clip that plays when the Golden Disk is actually taken from the record, which says: "Hello from the children of planet Earth".
• Prince Arcturus' flagship, Damocles, derives its name and shape from an ancient Roman tale in which a sword was hung from the ceiling of a king's dining room by a single hair to symbolize his mortality.
• The Kestrel from the science-fiction roguelike game FTL: Faster Than Light appears as an abandoned vessel in the Swamp Pirate Rebellion quest; boarding it will trigger the quest and cause three pirate fleets to spawn on the map. To complete the quest, all three fleets must be completely destroyed. Further details on this quest can be found in an earlier post in this series.
• One of the life forms you can capture during your adventure is a Plasma Worm, whose description and icon are both homages to Digital Eel's first-ever game, Plasmaworm.
• Speaking of internal homages, one of the possible randomly selected names for a green star is Phosphorous, a name deliberately chosen in honor a graphic artist who works for Digital Eel, and uses an art style inspired by counter-culture art from the late '60s and early '70s.

What other references could be added if another Infinite Space game were to be developed and released? I do not know, but I remain confident that they will be as intriguing as the ones we already have.