Last week, revered author Terry Pratchett, best known for his brilliantly witty, insightful, and incisive Discworld series, passed away after a battle with Alzheimer’s. The makers of Elite: Dangerous have created a whole space station in his honour.
The space sim’s latest patch added a location called Pratchett’s Disc starport. If you want to check it out, it’s in system HIP 74290. It’s not a flat disc positioned on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, but it will do.
Speaking with Eurogamer, Frontier executive producer Michael Brookes explained why the developer felt so strongly about doing this:
“At Frontier we have a great many Pratchett fans on staff and we were all saddened to learn of his passing. The sentiment was reflected by our community so we felt it would be right to remember him in Elite: Dangerous.”
“For me personally, Terry Pratchett was one of very few authors whose books I could buy without needing to read a review or even ask what the story was about. His talent for social commentary, humour, unforgettable characters and vivid worlds not only provided joy as a reader, but inspiration as a writer.”
Elite: Dangerous also recently added a tribute to Leonard Nimoy, who tragically passed away at the beginning of the month. It’s been a pretty shitty month, if you ask me.
Pratchett’s works were, of course, immensely influential for countless people who work in sci-fi and fantasy, whether that involves video games or not. I personally found his books to be profoundly witty and, oftentimes, flat-out profound. He was a goddamn genius, plain and simple — someone who strove to capture the essence of humanity above all else. It’s nice to see him honoured, even if only in a small way.
What’s your favourite Terry Pratchett book? I have to go with Small Gods, but I also enjoy some of his more recent stuff — like Going Postal — more than some. Oh, and if you’re in the neighbourhood for some brilliant Pratchett-related writing, I’m basically obligated to recommend this heartbreaking, important piece from Kieron Gillen. As he put it, “Pratchett fundamentally understood fantasy as a device for emphasising humanity rather than escaping from it… He made us fall in love with the most unlikely things, turning the things into people and making them our friends.”
Rest in peace, you marvellous example of humanity, you.
Comments
13 responses to “Elite: Dangerous Honours Terry Pratchett With Discworld Space Station”
Night Watch is probably his masterpiece, and I Shall Wear Midnight is probably his most mature work (and is very good)
Yeah I’d tend to agree with Night Watch. Though a close second place would have to be my signed copy of colour of magic
I completely agree. Nightwatch is magnificent. My next favourite would have to be Good Omens, his colab with Neil Gaiman.
I second Small Gods as a favourite, but that’s partly because that’s the one my brother got signed for me.
I loved Mort myself. He somehow managed to take a character as awesome as Death and make him oddly approachable.
Nation painted a fantastic picture of what life in the Pacific could be like. It’s hard to pick a favourite (nearly all his novels are flat-out genius) but I’m going to put this non-Discworld book forward because I love it so much.
I love Discworld, I’ve grown up with Discworld, but Nation is without a doubt my favourite Pratchett book. It’s one of those books you finish reading, say “Huh.” and then sit back for a while as the universe settles back into place.
I feel like over the series, Discworld examines what we, as a species, are and why are that way. Nation examines what we can be.
The Last Continent. I love a lot of his novels but his wonderfully respectful disection of Australian larrikin culture gets me every time. “This isn’t a book about Australia. It just so happens that it is, here and there, a little bit… Australian.”
Plus, the scene with the wizards discussing what rate trees grow at is downright genius.
I’m rather disappointed that this is the first news they decide to report related to Pratchett’s death. He was basically a cornerstone of modern geekery and sorely missed. May his walk on the starlit infinite desert have a joyful destination.
EDIT: Favourite book would be either Mort or I Shall Wear Midnight, which even though marketed towards “younger readers” is a collection of hard truths that adults may already have learned at some point, but surely forgotten as well.
It’s probably because in the US they just corssposted stuff from io9
The man played space sims back in the 90’s so this seems pretty appropriate.
Mort was great. I loved the way he wrote Death.
I’ve also really loved the series he had been co-writing “The Long Earth.” It’s about 3 books in, 4th due to be released soonish. Hope his co-writer Stephen Baxter can keep the quality high.
I’m a bit torn between Soul Music, Going Postal and The Fifth Elephant.
…actually, in retrospect, I’m having a hard time picking between most the Discworld novels. I’ve read them all.