Realistic Space Combat Game?

Here’s a random thought I had today. Why has there not been a single space combat game with realistic physics since Asteroids? A game where you pilot a space fighter that doesn’t behave as if it’s in an atmosphere?

Well, I don’t think there’s anything that doesn’t exist somewhere on the internet (consider Rule 34). It turns out that someone asked themselves the same question and then actually created such a game, Void War. An independent game that received pretty weak reviews even from the backwater game sites I’ve never heard of that reviewed it, though. The game may not be much, but the designer’s story behind the creation of the game is pretty interesting.

I think there could be a market for a mainstream game of this nature. It would be difficult to learn to control a space fighter with realistic physics, so maybe the lack of arcadiness would doom such a game to failure. But I think positioning it as more of a simulation would help. Consider all the hyper realistic flight simulators out there. They couldn’t be less arcadey, but they have a small but loyal market. Better yet, why not a “Battlestar Galactica” game? One of that show’s hallmarks is the (mostly) realistic physics of its space combat. Duplicate that in a video game, offer the option for true realism or physics-lite combat and I think you’d have a solid hit.