GDC: MySpace Launches New Games Experience, Tools

MySpace revamped the Games section of its site to make it easier for users to discover and share games, and also revealed new application and analytics tools for developers on the MySpace platform. The new MySpace Games Gallery is designed to make it easier for users to stay up-to-date with games through notifications, as well as discover new games through personalized game recommendations, popular game charts, and their friends's streams. They can also now rate games, which will affect search results and recommendations. The social network's new analytics tools enable MySpace platform developers to review application-specific analytics through a new API (e.g. invitation conversions, active users, notification responses, and demographics), and track the source of application invitations and utilization to see how users are finding and choosing games. Developers can now build 3D titles with Unity's 3D engine, which MySpace users can play with a new plug-in. Studios can also tap into Scoreloop, which allows games on different platforms to share leaderboards, achievements, challenges, and buddy lists; and GroovyCortex, a cloud-based solution deigned to provide "low latency push data for multiplayer games". MySpace is hosting a "Game Development on Social Platforms" session today at GDC, where it's discussing "understanding how to build games for social platforms, the business aspects of developing social games, and how developers and designers can tap MySpace's massive and highly engaged audience." The company will announce its MySpace Developer Challenge winners there, too, including: - Best New MySpace App: Paradise Paintball - Most innovative use of the Real-Time Stream API: GeoMeme - Most innovative use of the Open Search API: Social Mention - Most innovative use of the Photos API: Browser Not Included - Most innovative MySpace Integration on Mobile: iSkoot The social network also announced MySpace Neon, an upcoming iPhone app that gives users access to their MySpace games on their handset. Gamers can interact with games on their iPhones, share real-time notifications with friends, and view the Stream with game-related notifications. Furthermore, MySpace Neon gives users access to all games available on MySpace and allows them to remotely install games.