2000:1: A Space Felony

Lore & Background

2000:1: A Space Felony was developed by British studio National Insecurities as their first published game. The team had previously spent years trying to publish a game dating from their university days, but despite several promising leads, the deals fell through. During that time, they began development on 2000:1: A Space Felony. When Humble Bundle agreed to fund the project, they refocused entirely on it.

Players control a detective investigating a suspicious incident on a spaceship where the human crew are dead and the artificial intelligence MAL is the only witness. The game is played in first-person, and players photograph crime scene evidence—such as corpses—and question MAL to determine if the AI is lying or truthful. A major development challenge was replicating a famous centrifuge scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey; the team solved it by rotating the outside world around the centrifuge while players were inside it.

The game was released in July 2017 as a Humble Original. After the exclusivity period ended, the game was released on Steam and later made available on itch.io.

Reader's Guide

2000:1: A Space Felony holds significance as the debut published title of National Insecurities, a British developer that overcame years of failed publishing attempts to release a game funded by Humble Bundle. Its direct parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey—particularly its setting, AI named MAL, and recreation of iconic scenes—distinguishes it within the adventure game genre. The game's reception highlighted its strength as a homage: PC Gamer noted it was 'better at being a homage than a parody' and that exploring the ship recreated the feeling of watching a Kubrick film, though the gameplay itself was less compelling. Eurogamer praised the art direction and called the ship 'a joy to explore,' recommending it to fans of Kubrick and narrative games. The development team's creative solution to simulating the centrifuge scene—rotating the external world rather than the player—demonstrates a resourceful approach to technical limitations. The game's distribution path, bypassing Steam for itch.io to avoid the Christmas season, reflects a strategic decision by a small studio. Its legacy lies in its faithful atmospheric recreation of a classic film and its role as a stepping stone for a previously unpublished developer.

Did You Know?

• The game's AI is named MAL, a parody of the HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• Despite initial plans to skip Steam, the game was eventually released on the platform after the Humble exclusivity period ended.

Gameplay & Core Investigation Loop

Players step into the shoes of a detective dispatched to investigate a suspicious incident aboard a spaceship, with the entire crime scene deliberately mirroring the iconic setting of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The human crew has perished, leaving only the ship's artificial intelligence, MAL, as a surviving witness. Structured as a first-person adventure, the core loop revolves around exploring the vessel's corridors, photographing physical evidence such as the bodies of the deceased crew members, and then interrogating MAL about what she knows. The central puzzle of the game hinges on determining whether MAL is telling the truth or concealing something, and players must gather corroborating or contradicting evidence to reach a verdict. The first-person perspective amplifies the sense of isolation and tension as players navigate the silent ship, piecing together what went wrong while relying on a potentially unreliable AI for answers.

Development & the Centrifuge Challenge

National Insecurities, a British studio, released 2000:1: A Space Felony as their very first published title. The path to that milestone was anything but straightforward. The team had been attempting to get a game published since their university days, and although they secured several promising leads, every deal ultimately collapsed. It was during the long stretches of waiting and following those dead-end negotiations that the team began work on 2000:1. When Humble Bundle came forward to fund the project, the developers made the decisive choice to refocus all their energy on it rather than continue chasing the older title. One of the most technically demanding challenges they encountered was recreating the famous centrifuge sequence from 2001, in which astronauts experience artificial gravity. Their game's simpler physics engine made this seem nearly impossible, but they ultimately found an elegant workaround: instead of simulating the centrifuge's spin, they rotated the entire outside world around the player while the player remained stationary inside the ring.

Release Timing & Distribution Choices

2000:1: A Space Felony launched in July 2017 as a Humble Original, marking a deliberate distribution choice by National Insecurities. After the exclusivity window required by Humble Games expired, the team faced a strategic decision about where to take the game next. The natural move would have been a direct Steam release, but the timing would have landed squarely in the crowded Christmas season, a period when visibility for a small indie title would likely be minimal. Rather than risk getting lost among holiday releases, National Insecurities opted to sell the game on itch.io, a platform that offered a more organic, community-driven audience. This decision reflected a studio that was still finding its footing in the industry, having just shipped its first published game, and was willing to prioritize a smaller, more attentive audience over the sheer volume of a major storefront during the most competitive sales period of the year.

Critical Reception & Kubrick's Shadow

Critical response to 2000:1: A Space Felony was generally warm, with reviewers consistently highlighting its atmospheric strengths. PC Gamer observed that the game was "better at being a homage than a parody," noting that walking through the ship successfully evoked the sensation of watching a Kubrick film unfold on screen. However, the same review found the underlying gameplay mechanics less compelling than the presentation. Eurogamer echoed the enthusiasm for the environment, calling the ship "a joy to explore" and singling out the art direction as a particular highlight. The publication specifically recommended the title to fans of Kubrick's work and to players who gravitate toward narrative-driven games. Across both reviews, a clear consensus emerged: the game's greatest strength lay in its mood, its faithful recreation of a beloved cinematic setting, and its thoughtful visual design, even if the investigative gameplay loop did not quite match the ambition of the world it inhabited.