Many traditional online games have embraced social networking by creating Twitter feeds and pages on Facebook to allow the company to reach out to fans outside the game. However, Trion Studio’s recently launched its fantasy MMORPG, Rift: Planes of Telara, with a built-in set of Twitter tools, allowing players to reach out to anyone they choose from within the game through tweets and pictures. This integration of social tools within a client is a first for any major online game.
Once a player inputs their Twitter information into the game’s settings, they can tweet while logged in using the game’s standard chat interface. Players can post screenshots and in-game achievements automatically to their Twitter accounts. If the Twitter feed is tied into Facebook (or even LinkedIn, if one is so inclined), a player’s information can be relayed through the social graph.
This is likely the first, but not the last, foray into social networking by newly developed online game titles. Community and marketing benefit from the enhanced social connectivity. Also, it’s one more distinguishing tool that helps these games compete in a digital entertainment landscape increasingly dominated by social games.
[Source: Tecca]
