Moon Taxi's game mechanics are simple, but the concept is fantastic: You're piloting a space taxi ferrying passengers to the moon while dodging asteroids. With each trip, you're rider tells you a story, and words from that story appear on the screen. You can drive into those words to earn points and unlock more short stories.
Developer Popcannibal admits, "The focus is on the stories, and the game is just accompaniment. It sets the mood." Moon Taxi is really meant to showcase short science fiction stories. Most of the taled featured in the first volume of Moon Taxi, which released on Xbox Live Indie Games earlier this month, are supplied by the game's community.
The Moon Taxi site encourages gamers to submit all kinds of stories told by passengers during their trip: "This leaves a lot open: Noir monologues. Musical duets. Beatnik poetry. What year is it? What's on the moon? How much is the fare? Is this the future? What do people put on their sandwiches in the future? Where did the taxi pick up? Space mustaches!"
You can download a free Moon Taxi trial or buy the game for 240 Microsoft Points here.