Ian Bogost - Water Cooler Games - NASA MMO Budget Cut from $3m to $0

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Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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NASA MMO Budget Cut from $3m to $0

by Ian Bogost April 21, 2008

categories: Console & PC Games , Educational Games

(Updated here, 23 April)

A while back, NASA started talking about a large-scale, well-funded MMO they wanted to make for educational purposes. The organization published a Request for Information (RFI) that claimed "A high quality synthetic gaming environment is a vital element of Nasa's educational cyberstructure." The goals of the project were to "foster career exploration opportunities in a much deeper way than reading alone would permit and at a fraction of the time and cost of an internship program." The reported budget for the project was a respectable $3 million.

Today, the Second Life Herald reports comes news that the budget has been slashed -- to nothing. Literally.

But joy in the metaverse development community was short-lived, after it was clear that NASA's MMO development partner is expected to create and maintain the MMO for free - or to use NASA's language a "non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement (defined as one with no exchange of funds)". Of course, the development partner will get something from the experience - as the RFP points out, “In exchange for a collaborator's investment to create and manage a NASA-based MMO game for fun and to enhance STEM, NASA will consider negotiating brand placement, limited exclusivity and other opportunities".

There are probably many complex reasons for the change, but the result is nightmarish. What organization could and would volunteer the massive resource commitment? Perhaps some clever space-frenzied developer can find a way to justify the investment by other means, but on the face of it doesn't sound like NASA is open to monetizing the game in any way -- it's an educational project.

Oh, the scourge that is Serious Games.

(thanks to Ben, Tim)

Comments (4)

NASA is expecting the development partner to be able to generate a revenue stream from the project. Proposers are expected to submit business plans as part of their proposals.

dlaugh on April 22, 2008 12:42 AM

Daniel -- thanks for that note. I appreciate the need for a long-term business model in serious games of all kinds. But should it really the job of the developer to propose such a thing? Do you honestly believe that qualified MMO developers are also wise, wry businesspeople with plans for a never-before attempted commercial educational MMO? Can developers propose a development budget (e.g., the originally suggested $3m) as a part of their business plan?

Ian Bogost on April 22, 2008 3:09 PM

Actually there is one company/project in existence that is pretty close to working with this model, and that's Whyville. No charge, popular, already very comfortable working with sponsors and so forth.

Tim Holt on April 23, 2008 4:37 AM

You have to look at as a non-linear 3D to 3D educational environment. A Virtual Playground that inspires learning through play; just like the real world. Remember when you were child you thought like a child and learned like a child. \why cannot be the same when you are a man? We now have the tools to to do it.

We suould not take up the challenge because it is easy, but because it is hard. To recreate a virtual Moon and mars before the end of the decade and to enable people to explore and experience them surely is a noble deed.

With NASA support we can achieve this objective, lets's just do it!

Tele3dworld on April 23, 2008 9:35 PM