Social games have taken off on networks like Facebook, and now mobile platforms like the iPhone. One of the newest examples is the iMafia game from PlayMesh, which has found a clever way to integrate virtual goods — a challenge for most iPhone apps.
Social games like Mob Wars are already hugely popular online. But Charles Ju, co-founder of PlayMesh in San Francisco, believes the time is right to migrate the concept to the iPhone, which is capable of supporting the same features that draw audiences on the web. The result, iMafia, was released on Friday and already ranks No. 88 in the Apple AppStore.
The object of the free game is to climb the ranks of a crime family by pulling small jobs and shaking down the neighborhood. You can compete with other players (even if you aren’t playing at the same time), and buy virtual goods that will help you along the way. The graphics are pretty basic, with two-dimensional artwork and text-based instructions giving users a variety of options.
On the game’s homescreen, you see a neighborhood, and can use your finger to navigate through the map. You tap on the iPhone’s screen to enter a building. For instance, you can stop into a bar and buy something or get in a fight (and if you fight someone, you’re fighting against another real player). The idea is to succeed at quests to gain experience and earn promotions.
Ju says the game is groundbreaking because it successfully relies on virtual goods to monetize a social network in the context of a free game.
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