SEATTLE, WA and PALO ALTO, CA — (Marketwire) — 08/26/11 — Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) — Red Robot Labs, a new mobile gaming enterprise founded by Mike Ouye and Pete Hawley, former executives at Playdom, EA and SCEE, with investors Rick Thompson and Chamath Palihapitiya, unveil their inaugural game today — .
is a first-of-its-kind, location-based, massive multiplayer online mobile game for the Android platform (Fall for iOS). Players compete and collaborate to dominate real places and ascend leader boards while building their “reputations” in order to drive their criminal careers forward. When a player arrives at a location, they have the option to commit a crime, sell and buy contraband and fight other players for control of that place. Locations range from a local restaurant, to a corporate-owned Starbucks, to an international airport: will transform everyday places into contested criminal territory.
“People know how to use social utilities to tell others where they are. aims to be a true social experience where people can play the game throughout their daily routines while communicating with other users. We provide players great location-based gameplay where they can discover new areas and people through in-game goals and rewards,” said Mike Ouye, CEO and Co-Founder of Red Robot.
Lead investor Rick Thompson, co-founder of Playdom believes: “The proliferation of smartphones is the most exciting opportunity in gaming today — always on, location-aware and socially connected. Red Robot Labs is among the first to tap into the full potential of this new platform, and they have nailed it with . This will become the standard by which others are judged.”
ground-breaking product features include:
— The game map is central to the game play, providing participants a rich, visual representation of the virtual world. Map locations will grow over time through player interaction; map persistence will allow players and places to become epic.
— missions take place at everyday locations — coffee shops, banks, gas stations — matched to location-centric crimes, virtually enabling players to complete a “bank robbing” mission at any bank, in any town, at any time.
— The distribution and trading of virtual goods is another central mechanic in the game. Players can pick up and drop off virtual contraband at real locations and profit from it. This allows a local-social gameplay as players work with each other for shared profits at the places they visit.
— The GameFeed news feature allows players to see gameplay and gamers at locations around them. The GameFeed also enables players to share achievements, goals, and gameplay moments with others.
— The R2 Network permits the discovery of other friends and gamers within . Players can send in-game invites and build a friends list that is linked to a proprietary gifting and notification platform. The R2 Network also features push notifications and deep integration with social networks such as: Facebook, Twitter and Google.
— is free to play with the option of purchasing virtual currency, goods and consumables. More than 160 virtual goods that drive avatar customization and player stats are available. Payments are made through a centralized and secure payment system via Google Checkout.
Are you ready to start living the life of crime? is available today for the Android platform and this Fall on iOS. The application can be downloaded at: .
For more information visit: or follow us on Twitter: @LifeisCrime.
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Contact:
Kristin Farrell
Email:
Phone: (415) 963-4174 ex. 10
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