Physics Questions During Mission Writing (part 2/2)

There were a few other factors I had to consider when writing Broken Citadel. Some were quickly and easily solved; a physics major pointed out the obvious problem with the GT Gun firing anything in space, saying that the explosive kinetic energy used to propel the magnet away from the gun would also—in zero gravity—propel the user in the opposite direction as well. I told him I'd already accounted for that and designed the gun to electromagnetically fire the magnet, like a mini rail-gun. Yet other issues were a bit more difficult to write into the mission. For instance, what happens when someone is exposed to the vacuum of space? We all think we know because of what Hollywood has shown us, but after a lot of research, I learned that NASA has a few strong theories based on a single incident of a man being exposed to the vacuum without a spacesuit. I have a sidebar in the mission that details what happens in game-related terms, and I also added that “your head does not explode, your blood does not suddenly boil, and your body does not freeze within seconds of exposure.” You'd die from lack of oxygen long before freezing or experiencing the effects of radiation. There were also other considerations in writing the Broken Citadel mission that involved things like fighting in zero gravity, falling when gravity is restored, damage from flying objects during the decompression of a hull breach, and more. Let's suffice it to say that the time you spend on a crumbling space station is inversely proportional to your chances of survival!