In case you haven’t noticed by now, I’ve been trying to figure out just what InstantAction has secretly been working on these past few months for a while now. Thankfully they’ve started to reveal what they have in store for the future of InstantAction.com, and it’s quite big. But first, a quick recap to bring everyone up to speed:
InstantAction is a website created by GarageGames that features games playable within the browser. However, instead of being merely yet another Flash-based gaming site with countless Asteroids clones, the games on InstantAction boast the one thing most browser games lack: great graphics. Take a look at Fallen Empire: Legions to see what I mean.
In July of 2009, Louis Castle, of Command and Conquer fame, hopped on board as the new CEO of GarageGames and InstantAction. Shortly thereafter the company went silent, and the InstantAction studio was split in two. One in Portland, OR., the other in Las Vegas. All we were told is that whatever Castle was working on, it was big. If things go as planned, I believe they’re right…
As of now, the previous InstantAction.com is no more, but instead gives us a glimpse of what’s to come. InstantAction is aiming to provide both publishers and developers a new way to distribute their games: anywhere on the web. While the preview page displays Braid within Facebook, they’re claiming you’ll be able to embed games within any website that enables embedding. And it’s not just limited to games like Braid. InstantAction seems adamant that their technology will work with any game, something they’ve stated before.
It also aims to give publishers and developers control over their games after they’ve been ported onto InstantAction.com, or any other website using their technology. This includes monitization, such as virtual currency, one-time purchases, subscriptions or even rent-to-own plans. They’ll also allow developers to employ everyone’s favorite feature: DRM, along with integrated social elements and CRM tools.
While the future of InstantAction certainly seems interesting, I hope they aren’t forgetting about their existing games which the community has grown to love. They’ve already stated they aren’t sure if the new site will feature all the games from the previous InstantAction.com, and who knows what’s going on with PlayTribes, which they haven’t talked about in months. InstantAction will be streaming live from GDC this Thursday, so if you have any specific questions for them, that’s the time to ask.