Inside Social Games

With a number of new social start-ups appearing in the past six months, a handful of lucky ones will get a cut of the 2009 fbFund. For those unfamiliar with the fund, it is a joint effort of Accel Partners, Founders Fund, and Facebook. It rewards companies that create quality applications on Facebook or who utilize Facebook Connect in innovative ways.

The winners this year include 18 start-ups and two non-profits (out of 400 applicants) who will receive more than $500,000 between them (except the non-profits, who are currently ineligible due to current rules). Final funding amounts have not yet been announced, but they’re seed level investments of around $25,000 to $50,000 each. Of the winners, there are three of particular interest which have created social games and gaming services.

• First on the list is social gaming startup Funji, which recently released its avatar-based social networking game for the iPhone and iPod Touch: Funji Home. Taking advantage of players’ desire to express themselves through avatars, this mobile app allows users to create their own comic-like virtual rooms in new, creative ways. With additional features coming soon, and more than five years experience in the South Korean and US mobile markets, Funji is certainly off to a good start.

• The next winner on the list, with its Flash-based API, is Gameyola. This company hopes to provide a simpler means to turn standalone Flash games into social, multiplayer titles. It also helps other companies by connecting them to their “viral distribution engine.” This allows them to distribute through the Gameyola portal and other major social networks. The company has spoken of possible microtransaction APIs coming in the future as well.

• The last game to win is a curious one, since it is both a game and an engine. Paradise Paintball 3D (developed by Cmune) is a first-person shooter for Facebook rendered completely in quality 3D. It not only puts players together in a basic multiplayer frag-fest, but also provides a proof of concept for the engine in which it is built from. As a game, it is weak, but as an engine, it could open a number of doors for future Facebook developments.

In addition to the funding, these winners, as well as the 17 others, will be invited to the fbFund’s 2009 REV incubator program in Palo Alto, where they will work under the advisement of the fbFund Developer Advisory Council and Facebook.

For a list of the other winners, you can check out the full slate here at Inside Facebook.