Inside Social Games

Just a few days ago, social gaming company Mytopia debuted their cross-platform development framework known as RUGS, or “Real-time Universal Gaming System.” The concept is to write applications once run them across across multiple platforms.

Mytopia already has games running on a number of social networks such as Facebook and Bebo, but with the introduction of RUGS their capabilities are increasing. At  TechCrunch50, Mytopia demonstrated support through their RUGS system for the major mobile operating systems: Windows Mobile, iPhone, BlackBerry, Symbian, and Palm OS.

In another demonstration Mytopia showed off one of their multiplayer Facebook Poker games. Nothing to be impressed about at first, but when they showed the game run in perfect sync with five other platforms, the possibilities quickly became clear. The company is doing interesting things in cross-platform communication as well as cross-platform compatibility.

Mytopia is now launching mobile versions of their games on the iPhone, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Palm OS operating systems. Their hope is to bring some of the dynamics of social networks to the mobile environment, and with the evolution of mobile platforms from just phones into internet devices, players can interact from any wi-fi location.

Of course, the cost of doing business on mobile is always quite different than the web. While Mytopia is free to play online, the firm intends to charge for its mobile games with either subscription or one-time fees.

Despite the cost, the cross-platform capabilities of RUGS certainly opens up a number of doors for social gaming. With an ever growing popularity on the web alone, the capability to expand social games and networks to the mobile market is not something developers will let slip by. It is only a matter of time before more begin to follow suit.