Starlite (video game)
Starlite Astronaut Academy (formerly Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond) is a multiplayer online game which, since November 2009, is being developed by Project Whitecard Studios and WisdomTools Enterprises (now defunct). The game world is set in the near future with the ability to explore planned and possible near-future planetary missions, which is facilitated by the use of NASA Learning Technologies, and Innovative Partnerships programs.
| Starlite | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | NASA Project Whitecard Enterprises Inc. WisdomTools Enterprises |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | January 27, 2014 |
| Genre(s) | MMO |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Other NASA Learning Technologies programs have included Second Life's MOONWORLD and Moonbase Alpha on Steam, as well as a few others on different platforms going all the way back to the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) system of the 1980s.
Development
The game is being developed because the belief in games used as educational tools is gaining recognition, and NASA is in a position to develop an online game that functions as a persistent, synthetic environment supporting education as a laboratory. It is the same reason pilots train with flight simulators. The initiative to develop a NASA MMO comes from the office of NASA Learning Technologies at NASA Goddard. The award of the Space Act Agreement was the result of a contested RFP.
November 25, 2009 was the "pre-development start" date for the project.
On October 11, 2011, the Kickstarter pre-funding drive of an AMMB MMO successfully met its scheduled end. The goal of $25,000.00 to prove some commercial viability was greatly exceeded and a total of $46,719 was raised. This is very close to the initial (failed) drive goal of $50,000 which was held just prior to this drive.
Development began with 14 developers on June 1, 2012.
On July 24, 2012, Project Whitecard Studios Inc. signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA HQ to create "Starlite Digital Badges," STEM Education badges in conjunction with NASA and Mozilla. This is relevant because the same team will assign open-source digital badges using a custom Mozilla Open Badges platform from within the Starlite game (a unique concept) being developed for Mobile. A 20-minute prototype called "Starlite" was developed from July 15 to August 2012.
A 20-minute adventure was released in late 2013, followed a "membership-alpha" in mid 2014, and a full game in late 2014.
On January 27, 2014, Starlite Astronaut Rescue launched on Steam.[1]
References
This article incorporates public domain material from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration document: "Development of a NASA-based massively multiplayer online learning game".