Just received a press release from Digital Chocolate, the mobile games publisher set up by EA-founder Trip Hawkins. The company has apparently developed three games belonging to a new genre of play based around online communities which build their own content. Or as the press release puts it:
"The new games are part of a broader strategy to create an entirely new genre of games and game-play for mobile devices. Currently, most games are designed as individual experiences with well defined beginnings and ends. With these new games, players can participate anytime for any length of time, and often help create the content that refreshes the experience for others, thereby breaking down traditional concepts of defined games and playtimes."
Intrigued? Confused? Luckily the release also provides a little info on the specific titles...
The catchily named Mobile League Sports Network Sports Picks, for example, allows players to predict the outcome of forthcoming sports events, testing their psychic abilities against other members of the online community. The text continues:
"With MLSN Sports Picks, members answer questions about upcoming sports events to earn points and gain recognition. To ensure that they receive questions about sports, teams, and leagues that most interest them, members can select their sports preferences. Members can compete and interact in public leagues sponsored by Digital Chocolate, or they can create their own private leagues and invite friends to join them for more serious competition. To further fuel friendly rivalries, players can use the 'Trash Talk' feature to taunt and communicate with each other through in-product text messaging."
As for the other two games in the series:
"The company said it will offer two avatar-based games later this year for launch in early 2006 which are also based on the new architecture. AvaFlirting™ invites members of the community to create avatars that go on digital dates and report back on what they did and where they went. Members can revise strategies for their avatars from date to date and make new friends along the way. Digital Chocolate is also developing AvaCars™, an avatar-based game in which members can build and customize digital cars. Members can race against each other, create car clubs, and communicate with each other using text and picture messaging, building communities around their love of cars."
I love the idea of building an online league based around sports predictions - most footie fans religiously peruse the fixtures list every friday afternoon guessing results (or is that just me?). Plus, the implementation of real-world elements is an inspired means of exploiting an obvious selling point of the mobile phone as a portable games platform - 'always on' internet connectivity.
But 'new game genre'? That might be pushing it just a little...
