[1] Set 120 years into the future, the game takes players aboard the MSRV-Joplin, a research vessel newly outfitted with military weaponry to explore a mysterious signal coming from within the Solar System.

"With Midnight Star, we're looking to change expectations for what kind of experience core gamers get from their mobile devices," Industrial Toys CEO Alex Seropian told gaming website Polygon.

Midnight Star is a game designed to expand over time, so it was to be released in multiple installments that tell the story from the first encounter of the alien artifact to the eventual conclusion of the initial conflict.

The story of how Charlie's mission came to be and the events leading up to the beginning of the game are told in Midnight Rises, a separate application and was released on January 29, 2015 for iOS devices.

[4] Written by John Scalzi with artwork from Mike Choi, Midnight Rises is a graphic novel experience that lets users investigate the back story, find hidden content and make choices for Charlie that affect the game itself.

The application serves as a primer and source for all things Midnight Star, including a detailed timeline of Earth's history, personnel reports on Joplin crewmembers and background information on the technology featured in the game.