Games, both online and on mobile devices, draw such an intense following that often there are fan communities and forums created entirely around a single game. PlayHaven is hoping to empower developers with the tools to create their own online and in-game (for the iPhone only for now) fan communities for free.
PlayHaven has created shell communities around 15,000 games on Apple’s app store, so most developers can automatically claim their community. If their community hasn’t been pre-created, developers can also create their own communities. The transition between online communities and in-game communities are fairly seamless, says Raymond Lau, co-founder and CEO of PlayHaven.
Lau says that in-game communities on iPhone apps can be integrated by inserting a snippet of code. In the app, the “community” feature will be able to be accessed under the menu button, so users can access the community from within the feature. On both the app and online communities, fans and developers can share their passion for games by creating guides, tips, reviews, and other content. Developers can also have a channel to connect to fans to notify users of news and new releases.
PlayHaven is already testing its communities in-game and online for several apps, including Geared, Minigore and The Quest. In fact, one-third of all Geared players are active on PlayHaven’s community on a daily basis.
Competitors include OpenFeint and Plus+.
I still think geared is one of the best games to come out for the iPhone. I’ve played through it multiple times. I haven’t done that with any other game on the iPhone yet.
Nice work, guys! Keep it up!
This business makes a ton of sense. iPhone game developers are essentially locked out of direct contact with their biggest fans. These free communities can really be instrumental in turning a game into a business.
Hi Leena,
Thank you very much for the piece. I want to quickly clarify one thing:
Our in-game app is actually a web application that runs inside the game itself. There’s no SDK required at all, so really the developers just have to insert a “link”, rather than a snippet of code.
Ray
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Nice to see someone looking out for the indie developer.
I’ve developed a few iphone apps, and this sounds different than the listed competitors, which allow gamers to chat with their friends. If Playhaven actually connects me with the folks buying and playing my games, then they’re on to something. Will check it out…
Yeah it’s pretty different than the listed competitors, the only thing similar is that all are in game. PH also has no SDK integration at all so upgrades can be done without having to go through the infamous apple review process.
PlayHaven is amazing. The community feature brings a whole new level of polish and completeness to Geared. It’s wonderful stuff.
I’ve been playing Geared for a while now and I noticed the community feature popping up in the last update. The community has been extremely useful. Keep up the good work!
The best thing about PlayHaven is you don’t have to install anything. No code required.
Finally someone’s on the developers side. Going beyond the social game platforms, PlayHaven builds fan communities for developers.
In-app communities should be awesome. We look forward to testing this out.
PlayHaven is helping developers create communities of their most passionate fans, turning games into a business. It’s a two-way street–both developers and gamers benefit from the communities.
Finally they created something for us who can’t beat Geared. Just checked it out – pretty nifty game guides. Definitely drives me to play more iPhone games – however, I’d suggest that you not cheat until you have to. Might make some gameplay sour.
This reminds me of Game Genie.
This sounds very promising. As an iPhone developer, it’s great to be able to include a community in the game without having to embed more SDKs.
This is awesome as it makes the iphone that much better!