Current news events incorporated into mobile games

MultiPlay.io, a UK-based platform for creating iOS, Android and Windows Phone games, now gives users a way to weave news stories into their gameplay.

We’ve already seen the gamification trend bringing elements of gaming into the real world. Now, it looks like the reverse is beginning to happen through the incorporation of real-world events in computer games. Case in point: MultiPlay.io, a UK-based platform for creating iOS, Android and Windows Phone games, now gives users a way to weave current events into their gameplay. Currently in beta, MultiPlay.io is a multiplatform system for creating and editing 3D, multiplayer mobile games. Users can now add an element of current news events to their games via 3D animations, for instance, or lookalike avatars representing key figures in the news, according to a Gizmodo report. “We’re using a clever way of splitting the game logic that lets you change the game on the fly, as easy as a drag-and-drop task in a browser,” co-founder Ashraf Samy Hegab said. “You don’t need to know anything about servers or 3D programming using our engine.” MultiPlay.io reportedly hopes to interest news agencies in its new capability, but it’s also not the only player in this space. Game the News, for instance, operates on a similar premise. Game makers the world over: time to launch a like-minded offering? Spotted by: Hemanth Chandrasekar