Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel at the speed of light? Traveling at the universe’s speed limit is one that we have only been able to theorise and imagine, but wouldn’t it be awesome to experience how such speeds will affect our perception of time and space? Well, though we haven’t figured out how to actually travel at the speed of light, the folks at the MIT Game Lab has created a game that lets you get an idea of what it would be like. A Slower Speed of Light is a virtual 3 dimensional computer game that simulates what it would be like to travel at 299,792,458 m/s.

The game consists of players collecting orbs scattered throughout a 3D village, and every time an orb is collected the player will have the ability to accelerate closer to the speed of light. Technically, every time an orb is collected the speed of light is lowered (hence one’s ability to experience the speed of light), and is designed so us players can see what we can experience when moving at relativistic speeds.

Collecting orbs isn’t the most exciting premise and seems easy, but as you collect more orbs the game progressively becomes more difficult as the 3D environment begins to seemingly expand and contract and the colors begin to change as we can now see light that are usually invisible to the human eye (such as ultraviolet and infrared). This is what you experience when traveling at the speed of light and you can experience in A Slower Speed of Light.

It is a very interesting game to play even if you aren’t into Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity. Check it out if you have time to spare.

Visit MIT Game Lab website to download and play A Slower Speed of Light on your computer.