NASA Wants its MMO Created for Free 217
fyc writes "It seems that the educational MMORPG NASA's proposing will no longer have a budget of $3 million. Instead, any prospective development partner is being asked to create and maintain the MMORPG for free under a 'non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement'. It won't be a one-sided agreement, though. From NASA's RFP: 'In exchange for a collaborator's investment to create and manage a NASA-based MMO game for fun and to enhance STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics], NASA will consider negotiating brand placement, limited exclusivity and other opportunities.'"
Second Life isn't viable because of the age limits (Score:3, Informative)
13-17 for the teen grid which from what I here is a total wasteland of kids with no money running around griefing each other... atleast that's what my kids tell me about it.
I tried to encourage them to build and their response was "why bother, nobody has money to buy anything."
Anyways, I would think NASA would wants teenagers playing in this MMO.
Re:Great plan -- I should try that. (Score:3, Informative)
Do note that the only deliverable is the game itself - maintaining, operating and updating the game are non-inclusive.
The point of the space act agreement is such that a company can develop technology for NASA, and at the same time monetize it for themselves. You own the code, not NASA. I don't like it in this case, but it's not as shitty as it seems. You can use it to develop a toolkit or platform and monetize it however you want with a non-NASA customer.
It is sad that they cut the budget from this. I submitted a RFI. I had some really good conversations with Mr. Laughlin and he **got** it. Unfortunately from what he was telling me, industry didn't (they were getting RFI responses from "the typical respondants" with "generic responses", etc.), and so I fear NASA is pre-emptively pulling the plug. But who knows. Someone craft enough could pull this off.