We hope that you’re all enjoying the summer so far. We have a busy few months scheduled and some exciting new projects getting off the ground…we’ll be able to share those details with you with soon. For now, we’re still celebrating the successful launch of Healthseeker, our new Facebook game that helps people living with diabetes improve their lifestyles. In case you missed it, we wanted to show you the piece that CBC News Vancouver aired on their 6 pm newscast. (We are very proud!)

We’re also excited that not only the media, but that other organizations have responded so positively to  Healthseeker. We think the message is clear: the fact that games have the potential “to do good” — whether that’s to modify behaviour or incent people to act — is inspiring. As Marke Andrews’s piece about Healthseeker (Vancouver Sun) sums it up,

“as social networks and hand-held devices expand online opportunities for developers, game content has also evolved beyond car races and shoot-em-ups. Games now can actually better a player’s life.”

..and we couldn’t agree more. We’d love to hear your thoughts about what you think the potential is for games “to do good.” You can email me at victoria [at] ayogo [dot] com or leave a comment on this post.

Although it doesn’t officially launch in Canada until April 24th, many social game designers, including us, have already started working on games for the iPad. Although we can’t make an announcement about our project just yet, what we can tell you is that we’re really excited about the iPad’s potential as a gaming platform (less design constraints because of screen real estate for starters). So naturally, when the  Globe and Mail called to get our insight into this topic, we were excited to share our thoughts. I’ve cross-posted the entire article below. As always, you can contact us if you have any questions.

It’s only a matter of time before an episode of The Big Bang Theory opens with Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj playing iPad Scrabble and using their iPhones as virtual tile racks.

Aside from bringing a whole new dimension of geekiness to Hasbro’s word game, it may also be the most expensive way to play: The app is only $9.99, but add an iPad and four (optional) iPhones and the price skyrockets to about $3,000.

Still, old-fashioned board games like Scrabble are what excite me most about gaming on Apple’s new tablet. Its large touch screen, which is big enough for several people to view comfortably and can handle simultaneous interactions by multiple users, is perfectly suited for a classic tabletop experience – especially if you have a few iPhones on hand to conceal cards.

Sadly, not many of these games are available yet. Hundred of interactive games can be found in the app store, but the vast majority are simply higher-resolution versions of games originally designed for the iPhone, maybe with an extra mode or level thrown in.

Not that that’s necessarily a slam.

Real Racing HD ($9.99), big brother to Real Racing for the iPhone, recalls the visual experience of a console racer. As the “HD” suggests, this game has been modified to take advantage of the iPad’s 9.7-inch, 1024-by-768 pixel screen to deliver detailed car models and big, beautiful tracks.

However, the larger screen also introduces some problems. The iPad weighs a pound and a half, and holding it like a steering wheel – players pilot by tilting the tablet left and right – for an extended period is a chore. My forearms requested respite after only a few races.

The weight, combined with the iPad’s curved and slippery backside, becomes an even bigger issue in a game like Command & Conquer: Red Alert ($12.99). This real-time strategy game lets players select units and attack enemies via a series of intuitive taps. However, holding the iPad in one hand while interacting with the screen with my other had me worrying that the hefty tablet would slip from my grip.

Still, game developers – especially those that make casual games, which are in the iPad app store’s $1-to-$15 sweet spot – seem convinced of the iPad’s potential as a game platform.

“The iPad opens a universe of design possibilities,” said Michael Fergusson, chief executive office of Vancouver-based Ayogo Inc., a company currently working on an unannounced iPad game.

“We felt very constrained by the iPhone’s screen real estate,” he explained. “Our new game becomes a comic book at some points, and we couldn’t do that [with the iPhone] because we didn’t have the space. Now we can have high-quality cells, design a menu that contains more than just a few items and have more room to explore and move around. It makes a huge difference.”

However, while the iPad offers clear advantages over an iPhone, it doesn’t bring much new to interactive entertainment on the whole.

Its graphics are superior to other portable platforms, but inferior to current consoles and most computers. And while its touch screen is slick and almost ridiculously natural (Google “two-year-old tries an iPad” for proof of its accessibility), most of us are by now well acquainted with similar interfaces, be they on phones, the Nintendo DS or all-in-one computers.

The iPad is a fun new platform on which to play games, and its large, lovely screen has the potential to enrich portable gaming and local multiplayer experiences. However, if you’re looking for the sort of game-changing innovation delivered by a machine like Nintendo’s Wii, it’s just not here.

Courtesy of Flickr's undergroundbastard

Ayogo got some more press recently, this time from Canada’s largest urban weekly, Vancouver’s very own The Georgia Straight. Christopher Poon contacted us after hearing about some of the innovative games we have been working on for the iPad. He thought it’d be valuable to interview Michael Fergusson about how Vancouver mobile game developers are preparing for the arrival of Apple’s newest IT-device. Thanks for the interview Christopher! I’ve cross-posted the interview below. As always, we’d love to hear from you, so make sure to leave a comment or contact us if you have any questions.

For Hong-Yee Wong, the scenario is all too familiar. Apple unveils an innovative mobile device, and critics are quick to point out its flaws before even seeing what effect it has on the mobile-entertainment market.

The CEO of IUGO Mobile Entertainment, the Vancouver-based game developer behind such iPhone titles as Toy Bot Diaries and Zombie Attack, is optimistic that the highly anticipated iPad will create a new market in interactive entertainment, much as the iPhone did after its release in 2007.

“We are definitely very excited to see the new platform,” Wong told the Georgia Straight by phone. “I think it’s a revolutionary device, and I think it provides a new paradigm for the interactive digital lifestyle.”

Unveiled back in January by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the iPad is a touchscreen tablet computer that resembles a large iPod Touch. One line of iPads will be Wi-Fi–enabled, while the other will have both Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities. The former will be released in the U.S. on April 3, with both becoming available in Canada, the U.S., and other countries by late April.

While skeptics have dismissed the iPad as uninspiring, Wong sees nothing but potential. Wong noted that the iPhone received similar criticism prior to the launch of the App Store, and we all know how that turned out.

Michael Fergusson, CEO of Ayogo, another Vancouver-based mobile-game developer, echoes Wong’s sentiments.

“There are those who say it’s nothing more than a big iPod Touch—it has a bigger screen, there’s no multitasking—but there were also those who said that about the iPhone: that it wasn’t going to be a game changer,” Fergusson said by phone.

Both IUGO and Ayogo are in the midst of developing games for the iPad. Wong and Fergusson agree that the only way to successfully carve out a place in the mobile-game market is to design products geared to the specifications of each device.

“We looked at the iPhone as a unique device, and we designed an original game for the device that made you solve things by using the tilt functionality or the touchscreen,” Wong said. “We’re definitely looking at the uniqueness for the iPad. We’re not blindly extending what we have on the iPhone or the iPod Touch onto it because we do spend a lot of attention and focus on the user experience and a lot of the user interface, and it’s critical to us.”

Fergusson said the iPad’s key feature is its larger, 9.7-inch touchscreen, which will allow developers to create a multiplayer experience that is impossible on the iPhone or the iPod Touch.

“When you think about games that you play on your phone and then you think about games that you play with other people, like board games—I mean, Monopoly is hard to play on an iPhone,” Fergusson said. “It’s hard to play on a board that’s four inches by two inches, but it’s a lot easier to play on one that’s 10 inches.”

Screen size is one of the reasons Andres Wanner, a lecturer at Simon Fraser University’s school of interactive arts and technology in Surrey, believes the iPad will be a success. According to Wanner, the screen will also allow innovative features to be developed for applications for use in everyday life.

“Map applications have been quite a successful thing on the iPhone itself, but when you think of a map, you don’t want to have tiny little details but, rather, a large overview,” Wanner explained by phone. “The big screen will help with that, and that’s one way that the iPad will have an advantage over the iPhone.”

Wanner predicts that, at first, only tech-savvy individuals will pick up the device. However, he said he wouldn’t be surprised to see older generations embrace the device later, as its simplicity could appeal to those who thought the iPhone and iPod Touch were too small.

Fergusson is hopeful that developers will take heed of how consumers use the iPad, so that they can create better products for the device.

“Right now, we’ll only have early-stage games, but as we get better over time, I’m sure we’ll see more and more innovative games on the device, and really see what the iPad is capable of,” Fergusson said.

Courtesy of Flickr's John Bristowe

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot of excitement in Vancouver and also around the office. As you all know, a little thing called the Olympics is taking place, so the vibe is extra positive in the city. (One of the major Olympic venues, Canada Hockey Place, is just outside our office, so you can imagine how busy it is.) As for us, our non-Olympics related news include the following: We’re almost ready to announce a new game that we are working on. I can’t give too much away, but it’s a social game that aims to inspire and create change. Make sure to stay tuned for updates about how that rolls out.

What else? Ayogo got some serious link love on Friday from Social Times‘ Neil Vidyarth. Neil contacted us after hearing about some of the games we have worked on. He thought it’d be valuable to interview Michael about the Vancouver social gaming scene. Thanks Neil! I’ve cross-posted the interview below. As always, we’d love to hear from you, so make sure to leave a comment or email us if you have any questions.

PS: Michael is a guest contributor to Techvibes.com. His posts appear on Mondays, so be sure to check it out.

“Ayogo Games are an independent social games shop from Vancouver, Canada.  They’ve worked on some high profile titles like Mob Wars [actually, we worked with the developers of Mob Wars, cross porting their games to iPhone -- MJF], and have some interesting insights into the social games community.  I sat down with CEO Michael Fergusson to discuss the social games environment, monetization and the Vancouver social gaming scene.

ST: For those who haven’t heard of Ayogo, please give us a short introduction to your services?

MF: Ayogo develops casual social games that are distributed on social networks (like Facebook) and smartphones (like iPhone). We collaborate with content creators and rights holders to create games that will open new sources of revenue around their content. We’ve collaborated with a wide variety of organizations from Electronic Arts to Harvard Medical School, but our sweet spot is in the entertainment space: Video Games, TV and Movies.

ST: What got you into Facebook and iPhone application development?

MF: The opportunity to be part of the creation of something brand new. New business models, new technologies, new game genres. As an entrepreneur, what you want is to be there at the beginning, helping define what’s next.

ST: Have you had success with monetization of applications on either platform?

MF: Yes – we’ve had very good ARPU on both Facebook and iPhone for our games. Some of our games are not explicitly about monetization, but about incenting different types of behavior on the part of our players, and we’ve had good success in those games as well.

ST: How important is virtual currency in your games?

MF: Crucial, although it’s not always obvious to the player. We construct our games as economies, using the forces of supply and demand to drive activity.

ST: What has been your biggest success so far?

MF: We’ve had several projects that have done great things. Our work for EA has got the most favorable reviews from players, which is always very satisfying, and was great in terms of ROI. We did a project for a client in the film industry early in 2009 which added hundreds of thousands of users in a very short time, and generated millions of “incentivised actions”. Of course, we think the best is yet to come – we have some projects in the hopper right now which we’re very excited about.

ST: What has been the biggest surprise?

MF: How rapidly the casual game space is evolving. The confluence of so many different factors, social, technical and otherwise in such a short time. As a market matures, you expect it to slow down…

ST: Ayogo.com states that you help brands bring “fun” to their applications ? Is your model to develop applications for brands or do you have your own projects?

MF: Both, really. Our partners gain the benefit of our experimentation with our own projects. We’re willing to take greater technical and gameplay risks in our experimental projects than our partners are, typically. Some proof that a particular innovation works goes a long way to convincing them to include it in the projects we work on together.

ST: How did the company get started?

MF: My partner, Paul Prescod, and I were fascinated by the collision of social networking and micropayment-based games. We started working on our business plan in early 2008, and launched the company at the beginning of 2009. We’ve been very fortunate to attract some very senior partners into the business since then – the timing just worked out well. Dave Orchard, we snagged from BEA – he spent the last decade crafting the main web services standards we use every day; Dave Bezahler had been the owner of the key game and consumer brand accounts at WPP/Blast Radius. So our little startup started life with some real firepower. It helped that we worked out of the office next door to SuperRewards for the first six months, too. That was a very useful experience.

ST: Are there other social gaming companies in Vancouver? Do you interact with them?

MF: Sure – there are lots of cool companies doing great things. DimeRocker, PugPharm, Compass Engine, plus a lot of great work being done in the mobile space. Wavefront Accelerator has some great services that are keeping Vancouver at the cutting edge. It’s a lot of fun to be part of such a vibrant community.

ST: You write a lot about game design. Please give us some examples of games on Facebook that have engaging, innovative game designs.

Need For Speed -Nitro’s (ours) opponent selection that identifies friends and potential opponents for you
Backstage (Scractchnwin) has a great prize tree

ST: What is your relationship with BaddaMedia?

MF: Speaking of partners that have high-quality content. We’re collaborating with BaddaMedia to adapt their casino-based games to social networks.”

On November 25th, Selma Zafar and Michael Fergusson are giving a talk for the International Internet Marketing Association on how to apply the well-proven principles of game design to make your business (marketing program, application) more engaging, and to produce concrete measurable business value. Be there or be square!

Regardless of your product or industry, the job of a marketer is to motivate customers to act. There is no denying that games command incredible loyalty and mindshare. In this talk, we’ll explore the principles of game design for techniques we can apply to dramatically increase the effectiveness of our own marketing programs and applications.

Speakers Michael Fergusson of Ayogo and Selma Zafar of Openroad Communications.