''Starlite: Astronaut Academy'' (formerly ''Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond'') is an abandoned
multiplayer online game developed b
Project Whitecard Studios Virtual Heroes
Virtual Heroes, Inc. is a developer of serious games in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It was founded in 2004.
Virtual Heroes' initial projects focused on creating new technology and content for the U.S. Army game '' America's Army''. ...
, and
WisdomTools Enterprises. The game was first announced in 2011 with backing from
NASA, described as a "3D avatar community around a fictional depiction of the year 2035," where players would learn about real-life NASA missions and play through single-player and multi-player missions.
Sections of Starlite were eventually released as spin-offs, all receiving poor reviews from players.
Virtual Heroes went on to develop and release
Moonbase Alpha, a simulation game set on the Moon that received favorable reviews. Project Whitecard later published ''Star Rangers'', a space exploration and construction game in Early Access on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
, which is also abandoned.
Development
WisdomTools Enterprises (then known as Information in Place), Virtual Heroes, and Project Whitecard were selected by NASA in 2009 to create an educational multiplayer online game centered around space exploration. The game was set to include single-player and team-based missions, using NASA assets such as 3D renders of
Mars rovers and telescope images. NASA agreed to provide mission information and expertise, but development costs were set to be paid for by "private investments and corporate sponsorships."
''Astronaut: Moon, Mars & Beyond'' launched as a
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
crowdfunding project on August 12, 2011, exceeding its goal of $25,000 by raising $46,719 from 962 backers. The game was in development for "iPhone, PC and select consoles," with an estimated release date of 2012.
By November 2012, Project Whitecard and Wisdom Tools had received $750,000 in funding from the
Canada Media Fund.
[{{Cite web, date=November 26, 2012, title=EXPERIMENTAL STREAM – PRODUCTION – 2012-2013 SECOND ROUND DECISIONS, url=http://www.cmf-fmc.ca/documents/files/funded/2012-13/decisions/2012-13_en_exp-prod-decisions-2nd-round.pdf, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224014312/http://www.cmf-fmc.ca/documents/files/funded/2012-13/decisions/2012-13_en_exp-prod-decisions-2nd-round.pdf, archive-date=February 24, 2013, access-date=July 12, 2021, website= Canada Media Fund] In March 2014, the game's title was changed to ''Starlite: Astronaut Academy''. Project Whitecard intended to release sections of the game as spin-off "modules," with the full game set for release in 2015.
''Starlite: Astronaut Rescue'' was the first spin-off game to be released, in January 2014. It was described as a "single-player 20 minute mini-adventure" set on
Mars, and players who purchased the game would be "guaranteed a spot in the Starlite: Astronaut Academy beta test." The game received poor reviews from players, and currently has a rating of "Mostly Negative" on Steam.
Another spin-off, G-Ball, was released on Steam in July 2014 to poor reviews.
The final Kickstarter project update for Starlite: Astronaut Academy was published in December 2015, which only mentioned ''Star Rangers HQ'', another space game developed by Project Whitecard.
References
External links
Starlite game website
2014 video games
NASA online
Massively multiplayer online games
Virtual Heroes games