| Industry insight from journalist Paul “The Game Master” Hyman. [Reprinted with permission from “The Hollywood Reporter.”]
A PLACE FOR INDIE DEVELOPERS TO KONGREGATE
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Gamers can find approximately 960 browser-based casual games on the site, such as "The Fancy Pants Adventure."
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As George Carlin used to say, everybody needs a place for their stuff.
But finding a place for game developers' "stuff," somewhere where they can show off their wares, get a little exposure -- and perhaps some cash to boot -- hasn't always been so easy.
In general, the Web portals that are in business to sell casual games aren't interested in fledgling developers. And, until recently, there's been no equivalent of YouTube for games -- a site where anybody can upload a game they built, have it scrutinized by the gaming public, and perhaps make a name for themselves.
Then along came Kongregate.com.
At the moment, gamers can find approximately 960 browser-based casual games on the site, the majority posted by amateur game developers.
"Many of them tend to be teams of two college kids -- one a programmer in, say, a dorm on the East Coast and the other, perhaps, an artist on the West Coast," explains Jim Greer. "Some of them are older but, if they are older, most aren't making games full-time."
Greer is the company's CEO and co-founder (along with his sister, Emily). This is his 16th year in the games industry, having been at Electronic Arts' Pogo.com Web site for the last 4-1/2, most recently as technical director.
Last year, Greer set out to create a site that not only attracts gamers but gives them plenty of reasons to stick around. Kongregate.com, he says, has been designed to be a "social networking" site that provides the same sort of accoutrements that make similar Web destinations so enticing.
In addition to playing games and voting for their favorites, visitors to Kongregate.com can create profiles, hook up with friends, engage in text chat, and participate in challenges that earn them points and virtual collectibles.
"There are lots of sites where you can play games and then leave," says Greer, "which, if you can imagine, is sort of like playing 'World of Warcraft' and then having to start from scratch the next time you log on. On those sites, there's no persistence of any kind. On Kongregate.com, however ...
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