Mockingbird in the News
We showed up in the Austin American-Statesman for Tech Monday (out on the web this evening). Digg it. Spread the word. Check it out. Pretty good write-up.
UPDATE: I didn’t notice this, but there’s also a video clip. Interesting…
I think you’d be really interested in MetaPlace which has the same goal in mind but is MUCH more comprehensive and powerful. It’s in closed alpha but they’re going to let in another batch of people in the beta soon, so sign up and participate in the forums to better your chances at getting in.
I’m in the alpha and I can tell you that MP is serious — they’re goals are lofty but they have the money and talent to pull it off. And it’s going beyond simple web games to anywhere on anything, eventually.
I’m definitely aware of MetaPlace. Before they publicly announced their stuff, we were worried that there would be some overlap (and they definitely have more resources than us!). But after following them for some time now, I’ve reached the conclusion that our goals (and means to reach them) are different enough as to not really compete.
MetaPlace seems to provide a platform for MMO’s-as-websites, social, interactive, game-like play spaces. That’s definitely not an area we’re tackling (right now). Our games do not feature social mechanics (by design). Rather, we’re seeking to make games (starting with the simple, 2D arcade games possible now) an accessible medium of communication, much in the same way that Blogger did for websites.
The key, and I really need to write a post about this, is the notion of symmetry between producer and consumer skillsets. E-mail, IM, blogs… the written word is an example of a perfect symmetry between producer and consumer skillsets: for the largest possible audience, writing and reading are equivalent skills (even though ability or talent at each may vary). Blogger, et al, made creating personal websites as easy as surfing personal websites. With Mockingbird, we’re seeking to make the creative experience as accessible as it is to the play the resulting games.
MetaPlace, on the other hand, does not appear to be seeking anything close to symmetry in skillsets, opting rather to give the producer as much authorial control as possible at the expense of requiring distinctly different skillsets than the consumers (programming vs. playing games).
It’s interesting that you use Blogger as a metaphor — that’s exactly how Areae is describing MetaPlace. Their aim is to make it just as easy, so I think you should take a look at it again when the beta arrives, as it sounds like there really is some competition here.
But yes, they are socially-oriented but it is of course possible to create single-player experiences as well. So while there’s definitely a difference in approach, the end result seems to be similar. Remember, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em