About this project
Hello kickstarter.com member! :)
We are officially kicking off the development on Kickstarter.com! Honestly, we can't do it without you. Thank-you so much. Even if you donate $5, $5000, or nothing at all, this game is being built for you, the young at heart and hopeful.
This Kickstarter project will allow us to complete the beta. In a very real way - being able to speak to you is ideal. You have the chance to say "I believe in this project. I believe in space exploration, and I want to participate. I believe that we are born with a joy of discovery, and by participating in the NASA MMO, I am going to make it possible for millions of kids and adults to share in this epic journey."
So you might be thinking. "Cool. I am definitely going to check out this game when it comes out. I buy plenty of software, and this is awesome."
That's great, so do consider sharing this gift with a kid. We've added a special $30 pledge level, where you can earmark 2 copies for schools. Thank-you ahead of time if you do. You will make someone very happy.
Play as an aspiring astronaut in Astronaut:Moon, Mars and Beyond™, the official NASA MMO game. Set in the year 2035, you will embark on an adventure into space, Mars, the asteroid belt, and the outer planets.You will uncover secrets about a threat to civilization as we know it, and build you and your team a high-tech inventory of space gear including a home base, somewhere out there.
Our small group of 20 developers have won a contest* held for the best idea for an official massively multi-player online game depicting the future, and signed a "Space Act Agreement" with NASA, who chose our pitch over all others, the start of a project conceived of at NASA Learning Technologies.
Can you believe it? Not only can we pick up the phone and call a NASA scientist to talk about our spaceship and exploration ideas, but we're being encouraged to be creative! It's a once-in-a-lifetime project for all of us: the kind of work you can only dream of as a game developer (and player).
This round of $50,000 plus (we are crossing our fingers for more) will officially kick off the development and finish our first beta of the commercial game. How can we do this? For starters, a matching government tax credit will match all donations up to $700,000 with an additional 500K (so yes DO SIGN-UP HERE :) to the developers, and as we speak, NASA has awarded a contract to Challenger Center and WisdomTools to produce about 1 million dollars in related content (YES).
Our game is the most challenging concept for developers ever created by NASA. We are building a 3d avatar community around a fictional depiction of the year 2035. In the game, players will be whisked away, Harry-Potter-style to the Arthur C. Clarke Astronaut Academy Station™, a sort of "Hogwarts" in space. Players will literally hold this world in their hands on the iPhone, PC and select consoles (currently planned); will have access to a complete and technical "Astronaut Handbook" at the virtual Academy library, and revolutionarily, players will be able to visit and live through future, fanciful NASA missions in accurate, virtual depictions of the Space Academy, Mars, the asteroid belt, and solar system.
Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond™ features a new mode of game-play: mission-based space exploration, providing exciting player vs. environment and compelling team vs. team play. A goldmine of NASA MMO content will be employed, permitting authentic solar system exploration, and delivering engaging Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics concepts.
So thanks again, we're hard at work this summer, and plan to deliver the first version (chapter title : Astronaut Academy) of the game next year. We're very excited, and hope you join us on our exciting journey.
Arthur C. Clarke Astronaut Academy™ - Dedication
'Like Arthur, this Academy is
hereby forever dedicated to you the young at heart
who think beyond the gossamer confines of
Earth, in moral and dedicated study.
To you with open mind, as you set aloft
on great adventures for the betterment of
your fellow man and the joy of exploration,
may you long continue to visit the
wondrous realms of your imagination.'
* Proposals submitted to fulfill NASA’s MMO vision were vetted through three rounds of review by a panel of nine experts from NASA, the gaming industry, and academia.
** Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond™, Arthur C. Clarke Astronaut Academy™, and the the phrase "NASA MMO" are reserved by Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond LLC.
FAQ
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on October 11.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
We love you. Plainly put, your $5 pledge means you care, and we will place your name into the credits of A:MMB under "Beautiful Dreamers", lit by the full moon.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
The giver of the pledge will receive a founder's credit in Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond (all versions), a Beta invitation, and a single license for when the game comes out on your platform of choice - PC, Mac, iOS - (about half of retail). (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Pledge $24 or more Pledge $24 or more
Okay - this is it: the sweet spot. By pledging your 24 dollars, we will cite you as a founder of the game in the credits, and when available, a Beta invitation, and we send you 2 keys for the full version of the game when it arrives and an exclusive collection of schwag, including an unlock key for special custom vehicles and a Space Ranger Elite™ collectible suit for your character in the game - exclusive to Kickstarter.com donors. See you. Out there. (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Pledge $30 or more Pledge $30 or more
Pledge two licenses to a school. At this level we will earmark two license keys for students at a school, and include a card stating you as the Pledge: "may you enjoy this software in the spirit it was given. I share with you the joy of discovery and science." Wow - that's a great gift . Thanks. :) (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Backers will receive a credit _in_game_ in the in-orbit, in-situ Hall of Fame wall as a founder of the Arthur C. Clarke Academy Space Station, and be mailed an exclusive signed official poster of the Astronaut Academy, an exclusive first-look beta invitation when available, targeted at PC computers, when available, and a license pair for when the game comes out. (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Pledge $125 or more Pledge $125 or more
Sweet! You will appear _in_game_ as a 3D hologram member of Astronaut Academy Space Council (and mostly likely a secret Space Ranger). When the game launches you will receive instructions to unlock an Academy "First Flight" Space Suit, be mailed an exclusive signed official T-Shirt , and a license pair for when the game comes out on your platform of choice - PC, Mac, iOS - and collector's edition packaging. (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Pledge $200 or more Pledge $200 or more
"Yo gang, the game on the no-grav court on this side of space is G-Ball, and to get your style in order, we're offering the first-ever Astronaut Academy NASA G-Ball Team Jersey. Choose from "Goddard," "Hawking," or "Turing" and be the first earthbound team members in the history of the game. It's all cool mate. You've got time to practice. You'll also get an exclusive first-look , a beta invitation when available, of course, a license pair for when the game is available on your platform of choice - PC, Mac, iOS - and your name on one of the walls in the G-Ball Astro-Sphere. And it's aaaaaaall G, Baby." -K-Bango, AAGB MVP 2029, Team Hawking. (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
If you know what a Letterman jacket is, then this prize is for you. An all-exclusive Arthur C. Clarke (AA) Academy Letterman Jacket, in space-blue and white, with logos emblazoned. Not only this - but for your trouble we'll put your likeness in the game as an Armstrong-Smythe Trophy winner on the walls of the Academy Pavilion (!) (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Pledge $2,000 or more Pledge $2,000 or more
The first ever of it's kind: A Mars Duster. Emblazoned with an Academy wing-set, a NASA logo, and your local Mars Union leader's Dome Designation, this off-white, long-length cowboy-inspired jacket will keep the dust off your back, and your spacesuit on track. Nothing is cooler than a Mars Duster from Astronaut: Moon Mars and Beyond. Not only will you have a founder's key version of the game when it unlocks (fast-tracking your journey to Mars), we'll put you into the game as a non-player character, forever exploring those back-water plains of Mare-Incognitum. (Note - also includes the rewards from the previous categories).
Project By
Connected as Khal Shariff (587 friends)
Khal Shariff CEO, Project Whitecard Inc.
Khal Shariff, Founder and CEO of Project Whitecard Inc., is an award winning creative & technical talent. A much sought after speaker at industry and forward-looking events, such as the NASA Virtual Worlds Workshop, Khal maintains a very high profile in the industry, leads Serious Games Canada, and consults to a number of industry conferences.
Khal is the creative lead and author of the winning pitch for the NASA MMO, Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond, a project to be announced officially in late 2011. Khal is a 2011 finalist for Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year.
Sonny Kirkley, Ph.D., CEO, WisdomTools Llc.
Dr. Sonny Kirkley is CEO at Information in Place, Inc. (IIPI) and WisdomTools. For over 15 years, Dr. Kirkley has served as the principal investigator on over $8.7 million of federal and state funded research grants including serious games and interactive learning projects with the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and a range of corporate clients. His latest focus is on designing, developing, and researching serious games for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)education and is leading the IIPI team on the NASA Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game project. As part of his work in the area of serious games, Sonny co-developed the Mission Based Learning (MBL) approach to serious game module design, which is based on a problem based learning framework for both design and learning. This method is used to support designing instruction for integrating serious games and other advanced learning technologies into the curriculum and has been used in K-12, defense and corporate training and education.
