I’m working on an indie game that deals with Space Sciences. I’m nearby a well-known university for aerospace and space sciences and could use some guidance from people that know the subject well. The university’s faculty directory helped me find potential contacts but I’m not too sure on the proper etiquette for contacting them.

Do I just contact a few of them individually to their uni emails? Do I contact their provided phone numbers? Do I reach out to the Department Head and ask for their guidance? Is payment usually expected for an initial conversation like this?

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[–] decerian@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

When you say "university staff", do you mean professors, or some other technical support staff?

If professors, then reaching out by email is probably a good way to start. They may get a lot of emails though, so your best chance to get a response might be timing the email right at the start of summer when they hopefully don't have any ongoing classes.

In terms of payment - most professors would happily talk about their areas of study with interested people for a short time (for free). If you needed a significant time investment from them though, then you might start having issues.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

What kind of questions do you have?

[–] nnullzz@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Mainly about asteroids, their trajectories, and potential composition but from a slightly fictional perspective. I want to make certain things accurate and believable while still getting a little creative.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

You can probably just read a textbook or some papers on the subjects for most of it. If you have specific questions on details, then I'd reach out to the authors of those books or papers directly.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 months ago

Or just post their questions here, or on !astronomy@mander.xyz and !spaceflight@sh.itjust.works. The more nerdy side of Lemmy might be able to help.

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Popping the question to the PR team if they have a Twitter or Masterson presence. If not I would give the contact form on their site a try.