The Information wrote that Facebook is already privately testing Instant Games, though it didn\u2019t name any studios. TechCrunch has discovered casual gaming giant King.com already has a Facebook Page for its Shuffle Cats Mini game that it refers to as \u201ca slick card-flicking Instant Game from King\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Page is\u00a0actively allowing users in certain regions like New Zealand to play, but those in the US get an error message when they try to load it on mobile. Shuffle Cats Mini seems to partially load on the web, revealing a game where you fling cards at targets in a little shooting gallery, but you can\u2019t finish a game or share your score to compete with friends \u2014 which would mirror how Messenger\u2019s basketball and soccer games worked.<\/p>\n
![\"shuffle-cats-gameplay\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/shuffle-cats-gameplay.png?w=680&h=596\")
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Shuffle Cats Mini is restricted to certain regions but here\u2019s a preview of the gameplay<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After some more digging, we found that earlier this week, a startup called Big Viking announced it\u2019d raised over $21 million to build \u201cHTML5 instant games\u201d, according to VentureBeat.<\/p>\n
When I asked Big Viking CEO Albert Lai today about the company\u2019s plans, he told me \u201cHTML5 is a technology that basically allows us to embed our games into anything and everything as well as inside messenger platforms with bots. In any messenger platform, [people] can play our game. This completely shifts the power in the distribution system.\u00a0Anywhere there\u2019s a messenger we can deliver our games instantaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet when I asked if that meant Big Viking\u2019s title could be Facebook Instant Games, he suddenly got cagey and told me \u201cI can\u2019t speak to anything related to what we may or may not be doing on Facebook.\u201d That makes it sound like Facebook forbid him from discussing it.<\/p>\n
![\"galatron-vs\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/galatron-vs.png?w=680&h=372\")
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![\"galatron\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/galatron.png?w=320&h=375\")
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On messaging app Kik, GalatronVS is served through a chatbot, which could hint at how Instant Games for Facebook Messenger might work<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On Big Viking\u2019s site, you can play a preview of Galatron VS, a vertically-scrolling arcade spaceship shooter game with a messaging twist. You receive in-game challenges like trying to score 10,000 points via messages from a computer-controlled character.<\/p>\n
The game is already available via messaging app Kik\u2019s game store. There, you chat with a bot who recruits you to \u201cGalatron Space Academy\u201d. After some banter, you\u2019re given a link to play the HTML5 game. You can compete in tournaments that display the \u2018ghosts\u2019 of other players alongside your spaceship as you play. This fits with the idea of Instant Games being asynchronous. Your friend on Facebook Messenger could perhaps play, then challenge you, and you\u2019d see the echo of their run as you play yours.<\/p>\n
Galatron looks especially impressive for an HTML5 game, with sharp graphics and responsive controls. It shows that HTML5 may have finally matured to the point that the mobile web standard is worthy of competing with native mobile games.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: Tech Crunch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Facebook Messenger is preparing to launch a new \u201cInstant Games\u201d platform that will let people \u00a0play lightweight games against friends. Candy Crush maker King.com is already testing one of these Instant Games called \u201cShuffle Cats Mini\u201d in New Zealand, TechCrunch has discovered. And other studios including Big Viking also appear to be prepping for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":265802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[106],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n