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SiXits公司将推《Babies Everywhere》跨平台社交游戏

发布时间:2011-01-27 09:59:39 Tags:,,,,

尽管Zynga已经是Facebook社交游戏领域的霸主,月活跃用户高达3亿人,但手机及社交游戏市场的巨大发展空间,仍然引无数中小开发商前仆后继,试图在这一平台推出更具黏性和吸引力的游戏,新兴社交游戏公司SiXits就是其中之一。

Babies Everywhere

Babies Everywhere

据游戏邦了解,SiXits公司位于美国加州,成立2009年6月,目前共有15名成员,其中多数为具有丰富经验的游戏开发者。该公司的第一款跨平台游戏《Babies Everywhere》现已经进入初级测试阶段,玩家在游戏中的任务就是照顾、喂养和逗乐在屋里四处爬行的卡通婴儿。

这款游戏将在未来数周内投放到Facebook、iPhone和网页平台,每个版本都与同一个后端系统绑定,支持玩家通过同一个帐号,在不同平台上体验该游戏。Sibblingz公司为这款游戏提供了跨平台技术支持。

Euan MacDonald and Nathaniel Hunter

Euan MacDonald and Nathaniel Hunter

游戏邦还获知,SiXits公司董事长为尤安·麦克唐纳(Euan MacDonald),首席运营官是纳撒尼尔·亨特(Nathaniel Hunter),这两者曾经在迪士尼旗下的ImageMovers Digital公司、Lucasfilm Animation公司担任要职。

该公司去年一直在创建核心技术,并计划在今年3月发布首款游戏的测试版本,该游戏使用的是Unity Technologies推出的基于网页的3D游戏引擎。

据麦克唐纳所称,SiXits的发展目标就是成为社交网站、社交游戏领域的皮克斯动画工作室。

这款新游戏的执行制片人是资深游戏开发者Scott Foe,他曾经在诺基亚、世嘉参与游戏开发项目。该游戏锁定的是社交游戏的最大玩家群体——妇女用户,另外极有母性的玩家也很有吸引力。

除了Facebook之外,SiXits还计划面向Heyzap(Flash网页游戏平台)、Hi5、MySpace和Yahoo Games等平台投放该游戏。这款游戏原先是使用3D动画形象,后来又转换成了Adobe Flash动画效果,所以在视觉上可能会比传统的Facebook游戏更为美观。SiXits在过去两轮融资中已获得70万美元资金,目前打算再融资45万美元。主要竞争对手包括Zynga、CrowdStar、迪士尼旗下的Playdom等社交游戏开发商,其天使投资者包括Maureen Finn、Margaret Carlson和Stephen Gregorio。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,转载请注明来源:游戏邦)

SiXits ready to wade into Facebook games with Babies Everywhere

As Facebook games become a bigger and bigger business, new social game startups continue to launch. The latest is SiXits.

Zynga may dominate the market with nearly 300 million monthly active users, but latecomer SiXits is hoping to crash the party with titles that have more engaging game mechanics than the top-ranked apps on Facebook today.

It may not be easy to compete against Zynga, but the social and mobile gaming markets are becoming so big that you can expect plenty of startups to keep trying.

SiXits hopes to set itself apart by hiring seasoned game veterans to create cross-platform games that can be played anywhere. The San Rafael, Calif.-based company has launched an alpha test of its Babies Everywhere game, a simulator that lets you take care of a cartoon-like baby that crawls around in a room and has to be cared for, entertained, and fed.

The game will be a cross-platform title, available on Facebook, the iPhone, and the web in the coming weeks. Each version of the game is tied to the same back-end system. That means you can log into the game wherever you are, on a variety of platforms. The title uses cross-platform game technology from Sibblingz.

The company is the brainchild of chief executive Euan MacDonald and chief operating officer Nathaniel Hunter (both pictured above), who spent years in key positions at special effect companies such as Disney’s ImageMovers Digital, and Lucasfilm Animation. SiXits has spent the last year developing the core technology and plans on a beta release of the first game in March. The title uses the Unity Technologies’ browser-based 3D game engine.

“Our goal is to be the Pixar of social media and  social games,” MacDonald said.

Scott Foe, a seasoned game developer who has made games for Nokia and Sega, is executive producer of the first game. The game is aimed at women, who are the main demographic of gamers on Facebook, and it targets those who like to nurture. You can tickle the baby, interact with it, and watch it respond with burps or farts. You can arrange play dates with other babies — a fact that turns the baby simulation into a more social game.

Beyond Facebook, SiXits plans to roll Babies Everywhere out on platforms such as Heyzap (Flash web games), Hi5, MySpace, and Yahoo Games.

The team creates the animations for the games in 3D and then converts them into Adobe Flash animations, hopefully resulting in better-looking graphics than typical Facebook games. SiXits has raised $700,000 in two rounds of angel money and is looking for another $450,000. The company has 15 employees and was founded in June 2009. Rivals include Zynga, CrowdStar, Disney-Playdom, and others.

The angel investors include Maureen Finn, Margaret Carlson, and Stephen Gregorio.(source:venturebeat)


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