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Destructoid interview: Charles Ju, CEO of Playmesh

Image of Colette Bennett
Colette Bennett
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Published: Feb 3, 2009 03:00 pm

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I’m continually impressed by how much fun I can have gaming on my iPhone, but I have to admit even I felt a bit skeptical about the idea of playing an MMO on it. Aside from the obvious concerns about battery life, it seems like a real challenge without a keyboard, but if it did work well … wouldn’t that be an incredible solution for gamers with a hardcore case of MMO addiction?

PlayMesh have decided to forage into this unexplored territory with their MMO on the iPhone, iMafia. I spoke with Charles Ju, CEO of PlayMesh, about what iMafia will offer to iPhone users looking to get a quick fix of fun on the go that they can share with other gamers. You can find iMafia on the iTunes App store now for free — go check it out!

Hit the jump for more!

 

Destructoid: The iPhone is rising in popularity as a gaming platform, but short, quick games seem to be the most favored so far. What made you decide that an MMO would be a good fit for the iPhone?

Charles Ju: MMORPGs have traditionally been the most addicting games across different platforms. On the web you can see this with games like Everquest and World of Warcraft, which is one of the most profitable games of all time.

Now obviously what we’ve built isn’t World of Warcraft, but I think that fundamentally people like to play massively multiplayer games because it makes they feel like they’re doing something that is adding value to an extension of their identity with their free time. Now imagine this: the power of World of Warcraft on you at ALL times.

When you are on a bus going to work, when you are bored in class, when you are waiting for a date or a movie to start, you can play iMafia. And while we can’t disclose numbers, the user engagement levels are off the charts! Mobile social gaming is here to stay and I’m sure you’ll see a lot more clones of this type in the coming months.

Destructoid: Tell me about the game. What is it about? Will it appeal to players of popular MMOs such as World of Warcraft, or are you going for a different type of fan?
 
Charles Ju: iMafia is a fully graphically enabled game. We have always thought about whether or not we want to go for the casual or hardcore gamer. World of Warcraft is more along the hardcore lines, although it does cater to gamers a lot more than more traditional MMORPGs like Everquest or Ultima Online. In short we’re going to try to cater to both categories. iMafia is easy to start and play on your own, but it’s also a lot of fun to play with friends.
 

Destructoid: How will microtransactions work?
 
Charles Ju: Well, Apple has banned microtransactions. That means everything is being done in Asia and on MySpace and Facebook will not work. We are going to use our other games, Chess Puzzles, iType and Speed Shapes to allow players in iMafia to buy those games to monetize. But right now we’re more focused on creating a cool game than releasing those premium applications.
 

Destructoid: If the game is successful, can we expect other iPhone games from Playmesh?
 
Charles Ju: We’re going to take it slow and perfect one game at a time, but we definitely want to build iPhone games for a long time. The iPhone is the next generation gaming platform that has endless possibilities, being the first platform with an open developer API. The possibilities are endless!
 
Destructoid: Thanks so much for your time, Charles. You can find iMafia on the iTunes App store now for free — go check it out!
 

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Colette Bennett