Virtual World Developer to Present the Entropia Universe Platform as Foundation for a NASA Online Learning Game
After extensive review by internal and external experts, NASA Learning Technologies and the Innovative Partnership Program Office selected award-winning developer MindArk as one of three finalists to present Entropia Universe at the Goddard Space Flight Center on November 7th. The goal is to make an exciting Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) educational game to enhance real world education of teens in high school and college, in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
“We are thrilled and honored to present Entropia Universe to NASA and to have been selected from over 100 interested parties which were present at the NASA MMO Workshop in April. It is an acknowledgement of our concept and progress, and shows the versatility of the platform we have spent a decade developing,” says MindArk CEO Jan Welter Timkrans.
MindArk Director of Special Projects, Christian Bjoerkman, continues, “this opportunity to build the NASA MMO is very much in line with our strategy to enhance the learning aspects of the Entropia Universe Platform. It is a perfect way for us to work in collaboration with top academics and scholars to create a stimulating, challenging and educational experience.”
NASA Learning Technologies requested information from outside sources in order to evaluate which project was most appropriate for the development of a STEM-based MMO game. NASA’s objective is collaboration with an organization to enhance NASA’s ability to achieve its educational goals by creating and managing an MMO game. The game will be designed to enhance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning through a fun and interactive platform. For more information, visit http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/mmo/.
About MindArk and Entropia Universe
The Entropia Universe Platform is the proprietary technological solution behind an expanding entity of interoperable 3D virtual worlds called Entropia Universe. Each virtual world takes the form of a planet(s) within the virtual Entropia Universe.
The Entropia Universe Platform allows great diversity which increases interest, fun, and ultimately retention and profitability. It contains full support for secure micro-transactions in real-time, rich media viewing, transactions with real and virtual items, MMOG entertainment and social interaction between global participants.
The Entropia Universe Platform has been developed for over 10 years at a cost of over $40M. Commercially launched in 2003, MindArk’s planet Calypso has been generating profit since 2004 and has served as a vehicle for fine tuning the platform’s business model and functionality. During 2007, the Entropia Universe Platform provided a secure and stable means for $400M of user-to-user transactions. It has today over 780,000 registered accounts from over 200 countries.
The Entropia Universe Platform offers a complete solution for virtual planet creation and maintenance. The Entropia Universe Planet Development Kit provides all the development tools for premium content production. The track record of the Entropia Universe Platform allows organizations to invest in MindArk’s proven experience in designing profitable virtual worlds.
For more information, please visit www.mindark.com and www.entropiauniverse.com.
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Christina Hwang
Terpin Communications, Inc.
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