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Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond developer talks educational mission

Jef Reahard — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Kids, Family, Miscellaneous

Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond has been in the news a lot lately, but just who are the folks behind the educational MMO from NASA and Project Whitecard? A new piece at Gamasutra sheds a bit of light on that as well as a few more details about the project as a whole.

"I'm originally a developer," says Project Whitecard CEO Khal Shariff. "I thought, 'oh, I could be a developer for the rest of my life, or I could start my own company.'" That company has some pretty lofty goals for its first MMO, including reaching out to millions of kids worldwide and getting them interested in STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

"We are dedicated to using game technology to do things that, when somebody interacts with the game, it maybe leaves the world better or leaves somebody smarter," Shariff says.

Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond developer talks educational mission originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond meets fundraising goals, updates FAQ

Jef Reahard — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:00:00 EST

Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond has taken several small steps over the course of its short lifetime, but can it make one giant leap to a full-fledged release product? It's off to a decent start, judging by its Kickstarter fundraising tally.

The devs have issued a press release proclaiming the success story and are drafting a FAQ document designed to get more information out there to potential investors (and eventually, players). The latest version of the FAQ is viewable on the official website, and we've included a few highlights for you here:

The game is a follow-up to Moonbase Alpha (released in 2010)
Project Whitecard and Wisdom Tools are the developers per a "Space Act Agreement" with NASA
The target audience will be the 5-24 age and the gaming and science enthusiast markets
The game will be available for iOS and Windows PC; other platforms are being considered
Unreal Engine 3 is being used to develop the game
A beta is planned for December 2012

Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond meets fundraising goals, updates FAQ originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Code of Everand browser MMO teaches kids about traffic safety

James Egan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, MMO industry, New titles, Tips and tricks, Free-to-play, Browser, Kids

The United Kingdom's Department for Transport has launched a free browser MMO, Code of Everand, that teaches traffic safety to children. It does so through a fantasy theme with direct parallels to real world dangers -- streets are Spirit Channels, glowing energy streams populated with many dangerous beasts. The Spirit Channels crisscross the map of Everand and make travel perilous. That's where the players come in as Pathfinders, explorers trained in the techniques that allow for safe passage across the Spirit Channels. Pathfinders learn important safety lessons along the way in their journey to discover the secrets of Everand.

Code of Everand was developed for the UK Department for Transport by NYC-based firm Area/Code over the course of two years, reports Game Set Watch. Area/Code has a long track record of creating cross-media games for advertising and media firms, television networks, and even major consumer brands. According to Area/Code's site, they've taken innovative approaches to games in the past -- "online games that respond to broadcast TV in real time, simulated characters and virtual worlds that occupy real-world geography" and "game events driven by real-world data". Interesting concepts. If you like the idea of games used as an effective educational tool, you can see the animated trailer for Code of Everand after the jump.

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Code of Everand browser MMO teaches kids about traffic safety originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA MMO hopes to awaken a stale engineering workforce

Shawn Schuster — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, Education, Rumors

We're guessing the interest in a NASA career is dying down after the last hype wave during the Space Camp years. So now the government space agency is looking for a fresh way to get young people interested in reaching for the stars, by following through with their earlier-reported plans of creating a NASA MMO. Hey, the online career-promotion thing worked for America's Army, didn't it?

The NASA MMO, still being in the infant stages of searching for an actual developer, is interested in making this the first educational MMO using the "STEM discipline". This promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics within the game to get people interested in these subjects, and help them better understand how to pursue a career incorporating these skills. If you think about it, many MMOS already use this system, but the trick is disguising it in a thin veil of fun. That is the biggest challenge to creating a government-sponsored online game that aims to educate a particular target audience. But with the recent insane growth of games like EVE Online, we don't think the target audience will be a problem.

NASA MMO hopes to awaken a stale engineering workforce originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 May 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lost. The Monster. Reward: Cuteness.

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, New titles, Previews, Free-to-play, Browser, Education, Kids, Moshi Monsters

Do you like cuteness? Do you like monsters? Do you like puzzles?

If you said yes to all three, then do we have the multiplayer game for you! As we reported earlier, Mind Candy, the crazy developers behind the super-huge alternate reality game Perplex City, have been working on something for the children. Their result is Moshi Monsters, a cross between a Tamagotchi, Brain Age, and sheer attitude.

The picture to the right is Smigglesnuff. Smigglesnuff likes two things: the word "miasma" and choptastic moves. Oh, sure, she enjoys the tickles I give her, but don't mess with her unless you want your face re-arranged. Go visit her if you want to find out for yourself.

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Lost. The Monster. Reward: Cuteness. originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Genomes on the map

Tateru Nino — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Second Life, Academic, Virtual worlds

Genome Island in Second Life is a real treat if you're a genetics geek or a science geek. If you're not, it's still an amazingly cool place to visit. Max Chatnoir (Dr M. A Clark, Professor of Biology, Texas Wesleyan University) has brought this site to life along with the help of some skilled and able assistants, most notably Elizabeth Gloucester (Professor of Microbial Molecular Genetics at a medica school in New England), and Apaul Balut (Professor of Microbiology at a medical school in the Midwest USA).

Three-dimensional protein sequences hang in the air, among educational displays and trivia games, and giant reproductions of individual cells, with labeled structures in motion and larger than your head.

Gallery: Second Life Genome Island

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Genomes on the map originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Could MMOs be a substitute for high school spanish class?

Chris Chester — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Lore, MMO industry, Tabula Rasa, Academic, Education

Educational games have traditionally occupied that strange territory between "don't know" and "don't care." The very phrase evokes an image of a brightly colored box adorned with the image of Dora the Explorer or perhaps, if you're lucky, Bob the Builder. The idea of an educational MMO is one that has eluded me entirely. That is, until we found out NASA may be working on one. But a more general question, and one that's brought up by the blog A Ding World: would MMOs be a good vehicle for teaching players basic grammar and vocabulary in a foreign language?

It's actually sort of an intuitive idea, as A Ding World points out. There are already games out there that have some sort of imbedded language mechanic built into the game. There's the language of the V'rix in Earth & Beyond, or the simple utility of the Logos language in Tabula Rasa. While it's debatable whether most players pay attention to these instructive nuggets within the game, it seems plainly obvious that the work/reward mechanic of an MMO would have some utility that high school Spanish teachers would have a hard time competing with. If studying had the same rewards grinding did, we might all be bi-lingual by now.

Could MMOs be a substitute for high school spanish class? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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