I call dibs on the Sunderved avatar.
For as long as they’ve been making iOS games, Playdek have represented the gold standard for online multiplayer. Games like Ascension and Summoner Wars transition between single-player and multiplayer with a graceful seamlessness, and nobody’s topped that experience yet. But Playdek aren’t waiting around for that — they’re going to try and top it themselves.
In our conversations with the studio over the last years, we’ve been hearing about the all-new online platform they’ve been building in their shadowy underground San Diego skunkworks, one that would bring a slew of new multiplayer features to Playdek’s existing games and to future projects like Twilight Struggle.
Today, Playdek is ready to start showing that new platform off — they’ve sent us some exclusive screenshots and details about it.
Take a good look at the Summoner Wars armies listed on the right there.
Playdek’s new overhauled multiplayer is promising to address many of the gripes we’ve heard on these forums over the years and supply features we never thought to ask for.
There’s going to be in-game real-time chat, which is probably the single most-requested feature I’ve personally seen for Playdek games. Tied in with that will be fleshed-out profiles for the Playdek account you’re already using to play Agricola and Summoner Wars online, as well as the ability to make a friends list that remains persistent across games. You’ll be able to block people, too, so that you can bury the shame of that 40-card last turn I ran on you in Ascension.
As if you needed to spend more time talking to me every day.
The thing I’m most excited about personally is a built-in tournament system with user-defined brackets, a feature that denizens of our Tourney Dome subforum will appreciate. And all of this will theoretically work cross-platform. Playdek games have always been on iOS, but they showed their willingness to branch into Android with Summoner Wars earlier this year, and they’re planning PC support (and possibly even PS4 support) for forthcoming titles Unsung Story and Twilight Struggle.
PT regulars will recognize a couple of the names on the left.
Playdek’s new platform is pretty close to being ready for prime time: if you’re at GenCon, you can get your hands on it this week. The studio told me that a general release should happen this fall. It looks like Summoner Wars will be the pilot for the new platform, with other games being added over time.
Let me know what questions you have you about this thing and I’ll see if I can’t get some answers from Playdek.
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