Inside Social Games

Looks like Aurora Feint has been up to more than just improving its OpenFeint platform. Today they are unveiling the first preview of a secret project they have been working on, code named “VSL.” The project is, in fact, a game for the iPhone that is scheduled for a holiday release, the company tells us. Fitting in nicely with the latest changes to Apple’s policies, this VSL game will be free to play.

After speaking with Peter Relan, Chairman of Aurora Feint, and Jason Citron, co-founder and CEO, we learned that VSL will be a casual, multiplayer game focused on “level unlocking and virtual goods packs,” (with packs costing around a dollar) intended to make use of the new in-app purchase system Apple has recently allowed for free to play games. As we’ve seen with ngmoco’s Eliminate and SGN’s plans, many games are shifting towards a virtual goods transaction model similar to what you see with in online games.

To this end, VSL is focusing heavily on player level progression being an integral part of the virtual goods. As a player plays and improves, they will unlock sets of virtual goods. Such goods will come in the aforementioned packs, and like many Facebook games, most will be free if significant time is spent playing, but cost money for immediate use and/or gratification. These goods will be utilized for character customization as well as completing in-game achievements. Moreover, Aurora Feint stated that more levels and virtual goods will be continually added in order to improve longevity.

What is most curious about this announcement, however, is that Relan and Citron said that the game has actually been in development for several months and that the recent changes by Apple were actually predicted by the mobile developers.

As for further specifics about the game itself, the both Relan and Citron were… suffice to say… enigmatic. From what we can piece together, the game is a semi-competitive, asynchronous multiplayer game that is somewhat akin to the original Aurora Feint apps (The Beginning and The Arena). Apparently, players will be able to garner some form of benefit from playing with and inviting each other, but, sadly, the specifics as to what this means was left out. Nonetheless, it was said to be a little different than what we are used to seeing in more traditional games such as Mafia Wars. Evidently, the ambiguity is merely their way of stirring the pot a little as they did say that further announcements will be made closer to the final release. Either way, we will be watching.

As a side-note, along with the game will come the 2.4 release of OpenFeint – scheduled for release in November. It will allow developers to integrate OpenFeint achievements into the upgrade process from a free game to paid one.