August 29th, 2008
We noticed two recent articles discussing the continuing development of social gaming that we found insightful. In the first, Susan Wu – formerly of Charles River Ventures – notes:
“…We are still at the cusp of a sea change in the gaming space that rivals that of Web 1.0 in scope,†she told me. While she notes that the industry is moving in the same direction as it has been over the last few years, she says she’s been surprised by the pace of change, “in part due to the rapid adoption of social networks as an entertainment platform.â€
It’s also attributable to innovations in technology and game development capability; Flash is now a viable deployment platform for games, as is the iPhone, while even a hardcore title like World of Warcraft has demonstrated how popular a well-executed can be, despite less flashy graphics. With these innovations come changes in user behavior among players, with “social relationships as primary catalysts for game playing; we’re moving back to the playground where games reinforce and create social bonds.†She points as well to innovative games and genres that reshape our expectations, from Portal and Braid, to Alernate Reality Games, to indie iPhone game Tap Tap Revolution…”
The second, from MSNBC, also discusses how sprawling friendship networks are opening up digital gaming to new audiences while, at the same time, unleashing entirely new types of games on the world:
“…Kristian Segerstrale, CEO and co-founder of gaming company Playfish, even called social networks “the greatest game platform that has ever been built.â€
…Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of fast-rising game company Zynga, points out that games used to be inherently social things – back when board and card games existed in the real world and we gathered around a real table with real friends to play them.
With the advent of video games, playtime became a more solitary endeavor. And while the Internet has allowed gaming to return to its social roots, Pincus points out that the awkward gyrations required to find friends online and play games with them has been a deterrent for most folks.
…Part of what makes these games so convenient and easy to get started with is the fact that players don’t have to do much digging to find games they’ll like. Social-network games tend to spread via word of mouth as friends invite each other to play what they’re playing. And what a win that is for game developers…”
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