We’ll be shooting a segment for Monday’s (6/16/08) “Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” on CNBC that should air the same day. The show’s title is Getting the Winning DNA, and Gabe will specifically talk about The Future of Winning. Set your Tivos to stun and record the show!
Friends (Romans, Countrypeople):
Today marks a major milestone for rmbr. We have launched our (long-awaited, oft-discussed) core Funware app for Facebook, a game called Prized Collection. In a nutshell, Prized Collection lets you buy, sell and steal your friends’ Facebook photos, all the while letting you interact with a zany cast of characters, a range of external conditions, and a deep(er) narrative.
We took some of the best mechanics of the Facebook world and applied them to our central quest: how to create a fun way to engage with photos (that eventually produces order and progress). We refined those existing concepts, applied our own vision, and voila!
We’ll keep innovating the game in the coming months, as there are a lot more things we plan to add before our Prized Collection session at Austin GDC. So start playing and let us know what you think!
“The future of design is games” is an interesting blog post from Ross Popoff-Walker. Pretty well reasoned stuff, IMHO.
The most important nuance appears in the last paragraph. The coming ascendancy of game design in all fields is driven by a demographic shift. It is this shift of power to ‘Generation G’ (Games) that most profoundly impacts the definition of narrative and fun, and what will lead to our Funware-centric future. It’s not a conscious effort on the part of designers or marketers, but rather a consumer-first approach that is inexorably pulling us in that direction.
I wrote a special editorial for Gamezebo on the topic of how Facebook is the Napster of the games industry. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy - but just hear me out. Social Networks are super-extra-mega-major transformative technology platform that really do threaten traditional (online and offline) games. I’m sure you’ll find it interesting, so hop over to Gamezebo and check it out.
Mary Jane Irwin, reigning doyenne of the game business press takes a deep dive into the Funware space with this breathtaking article about the future of games. It’s a very interesting article and I think you’ll especially appreciate the slideshow. W00T, MJ!
I frequently reference a research study that endeavored to quantify the preference of women vs men for 3D and 2D entertainment. People keep asking me about the link to the research, and I realized that I had not yet posted it. So, here it is: Siggraph ACM Research
Although I’ll let you read the research yourself, the summary is that women really prefer 2D vs 3D games. Men prefer the reverse. Surprised? 
The success of Funware (deliberate and unintentional) applications also clearly illustrates the point when compared against MMOGs of the traditional, 3D kind. I know, it’s weird to compare the usage of a social network to an MMOG, but I think the point is obvious: more people like to play Facebook than all the MMOGs in the Western World put together. Why do you suppose that is?
Although 2D is but a part of the equation, I think it’s an interesting element.
Dean Takahashi, well-respected and insightful reporter at Venture Beat just wrote a fascinating article on Funware, its threat to traditional videogames, and the opportunities for the industry. It also talks a little bit about rmbr and a number of other game industry luminaries who have strong opinons on the subject.
Please to enjoy!
Researchers at the University of Washington (et al) have developed a new game that makes it fun to fold proteins! It’s not just spare silicon processors they’re after - it’s spare grey matter cycles! And what better way to get you to give science a few downtime minutes of your brain power then to create a game!
Yeah, it sounds like a really good time, doesn’t it? I have to admit that although this app technically qualifies as Funware, I’m not sure if I’m smart enough to play it appropriately. I’d love to hear from folks that actually like to fold proteins on what they think of the game.
Calling all bionerds!
Well, response to our launch of rmbrME has been fantastic! Lots of awesome bloggers have covered it, and most people think the concept is cool. Check out a quick smattering of our media coverage:
http://mashable.com/2008/05/06/rmbrme/
http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9938491-2.html
http://www.smstextnews.com/2008/05/frankie_do_you_rmbrme.html
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/05/07/rmbrme-share-social-network-info-via-sms/
http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/rmbrMEcom—Social-Networking-from-Your-Cell-Phone/
I’ll update this post periodically to keep it updated.
Haven’t you always wanted a better way to “friend” people you meet in real time? Consider: the business card is wasteful and requires data entry post-meeting. Writing down a number leaves you prone to losing the scrap of paper. And entering phone numbers (or, GASP! whole address book entries) in real time after a meet-up will leave you scratching your head (”Who’s that?”) or punching the air (”God, that took forever”).
Besides, it’s an unavoidable conclusion that meeting people in real-life, and making new friends (activity partners, etc) is one of the world’s oldest games, and its most enjoyable. Most of the people who say they don’t play games (or get accused of doing so), actually relish this little bit of entertainment.
So, it’s with great excitement that we announce the launch of rmbrME. rmbrME gives you the power to send a socially-networked friend request to anyone you meet in real life using just SMS. When you meet someone in real life, simply send their phone number or email address to 762763 (RMBRME) and they will receive an instant invitation to connect to you on any/every social network (FB, Myspace, Linkedin, etc) you choose. The services works with all mobile phones, carriers and social networks and requires no downloads or subscriptions.
You can now check out the site at rmbrME.com and sign up for your account. Let us know what you think! I’ll update the blog periodically with news coverage of our launch and more info about the site. There’s also a ton of additional Funware news to come, so stay tuned!