PBS KIDS Interactive Request for Proposals Virtual World Purpose: PBS KIDS Interactive seeks to build an immersive virtual world that engages children 6-­‐9 years of age in systems thinking and game design concepts and issues this request for proposals. Submissions should be sent to [email protected] and [email protected] no later than 5 pm U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, November 5th, 2012. PBS reserves the right to choose part of, one, none or multiple proposals submitted in response to this RFP. Contact Information: Silvia Lovato, Director, Products [email protected] Chris Bishop, Creative Director [email protected] Target demographic: 6-­‐9 year-­‐olds, primarily, and their parents and educators. Project Goals: 1
• Engage and retain the target audience; • Foster an understanding of systems’ thinking and the game design process; • Foster collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. CONCEPT: A world where children will play, rate, modify and publish games, earning points that will enable customization of their avatars, virtual homes and the world itself. CONTEXT: Gamestar Mechanic: The systems’ thinking and game design curriculum will be introduced through a new version of Gamestar Mechanic created by E-­‐Line Media especially for PBS and targeted at 6-­‐9 year-­‐olds, which will live alongside the virtual world. We would like Gamestar Mechanic tools and games to be as integrated with the virtual world as possible. PBS KIDS Producer games: The PBS KIDS Interactive team will work with PBS KIDS producers to create modifiable games based on guidelines developed by a curriculum advisor. 2
These producer games will be embedded in the world and integrated through an API provided by the chosen virtual world developer. An example of an existing modifiable game is Design Squad Nation’s Fidgit: http://pbskids.org/designsquad/games/fidgit/index.html CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VIRTUAL WORLD: Customization: The assets earned by playing, rating and publishing games and having your own games played and rated can be used to: -­‐ Make more games; -­‐ Customize users’ avatars or virtual home; -­‐ Contribute to building out of the world itself. Children Expand the World: Besides earning assets for themselves, children are expected to contribute creatively to building out the world itself. They might earn seeds or tools that allow them to plant a tree or a vegetable garden, for example. Another example of user impact on the world is by collective actions (i.e. after x number of game mods have been published, something is unlocked). Also, PBS KIDS is prepared to honor children’s design suggestions for how the world should grow and develop, within reason. Proposals should address ways in which children will be able to impact the world, including how they could propose new areas and features to PBS KIDS staff/world administrators in order to make this happen. Avatar: The tutorial or introduction to the world should include an avatar creator where users will choose character types (or possibly mix and match character types) that are related to abilities or powers in the game-­‐playing and -­‐creating economy. For example, choosing wheels instead of legs would allow users to cover ground more quickly, but would give them less control over precise movements in a small area. Attaching abilities to avatar characteristics should encourage collaboration among users (i.e. my avatar is too slow to complete this task, but if I team up with a friend, we can finish faster). Quests: The world should feature quests (understood as lists of tasks that need to be completed in order to earn a reward). PBS KIDS staff should be able to create and publish quests. 3
Parents and Teachers: We would like to offer parents and educators a role in the virtual world, to encourage them to take an interest in what their children are learning. Parents and educators should also be able to create quests meant for specific users or groups of users. Tracking: Robust tracking of user activity should be built into the world. Tracking will guide project staff in planning future improvements of the world and will help PBS KIDS assess learning outcomes. Mobile: PBS KIDS is interested in developing associated mobile app(s) that will allow kids to interact with parts of the world via tablet and pocket devices. We are also interested in ways to make this world available in other platforms. Please propose approach. Firms are encouraged to suggest innovative features, functionality or strategy not outlined in this request. PROJECT EXPECTATIONS: The chosen firm is expected to provide creative input in how the world will work and have demonstrated expertise in the development of virtual worlds. It will be responsible for the bulk of the development work, creating illustrations, and providing project management services. PBS is developing design concepts for the virtual world in-­‐house. Teamwork: The PBS KIDS project team will work collaboratively with the chosen firm. The PBS KIDS team will consist of: - Director of Products: will provide overall leadership for the project and manage the project’s budget, timeline and scope; - Creative Director: will provide general art direction to the project and will work closely with the firms art director and illustrators; - Associate Director of Products: will serve the PBS KIDS product manager for the virtual world; - Sr. Designer: will provide design and illustration services especially as it pertains to PBS KIDS producer integration; - Sr. Technologist: will be responsible for integrating the world with existing PBS KIDS systems such as user authentication and 4
moderation. He will also support the development of any admin systems required for the project; Code Reviews: PBS KIDS Interactive expects to maintain the virtual world largely in-­‐house in the long term and will conduct code reviews with the selected firm during the development phase. Testing and Research: PBS will focus group test initial design concepts and will run at least one usability test at the prototype phase. The partner firm will be welcome to attend. PROPOSAL COMPONENTS: Proposals should contain, but not be limited to, the following: • Reaction to Concept: Please explain your firm’s interest in being a part of the project and what it expects to contribute; • Past Experience: Please provide files or links to past work with virtual worlds, especially if targeted at the 6-­‐9 year-­‐old audience, explaining your role in the project and describing your familiarity with privacy regulations for the target audience; • Technological Approach: Please describe how you plan to develop the proposed concept, including your experience with scalable online multiplayer projects and your approach to quality assurance; • Project Team: Introductions and short bios of all members of your project team, as well as any advisors or partners. Please include art samples or a link to the portfolio of designers and illustrators; • Budget: include a complete line-­‐item budget including the total cost for completion of the project. Timeline: Oct 5 – RFP published Nov 5 – Proposals due Nov 16 – Partner firm chosen Dec 3 (week of) – Concept focus groups Jan 2 – Project specification due; development begins March 25 (week of) – Prototype testing May 31 – Beta version due 5
Summer 2013 – Launch (final launch date will be defined in conjunction with Marketing & Communications) Background Information: This project is generously funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. PBS KIDS PBS KIDS is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children through curriculum-­‐based media, using new and traditional platforms to support children in their acquisition of knowledge and critical thinking skills while empowering their imagination and curiosity of the world. Providing the highest-­‐quality programming and learning environment for children, PBS’ children’s media invites kids on a journey to explore the world around them with non-­‐violent, age-­‐appropriate content that offers positive role models for children to learn from and grow with. 6