Adrenaline Vault

Article by: Greg Niehaus
Published: November 14, 2005

Editor's Note: Greg had the chance to interview Vicky Wu, founder of Froghop's Transmedial Gaming Technology, and the following article covers what he learned during his discussion with Vicky.

If you would have told me in the 1980’s that one day gamers would be able to connect to each other over long distances using phone lines and later cable lines, I would have told you that the Aquanet Pink was damaging your brain. Hell, if you would have said that eventually we’d have cameras in our phones I would have told you to lay off the Jetsons re-runs.

Well, apparently I would have been wrong. Not only were we given the internet as a mass communication tool, but we were given phones that could leave our house and still work anywhere we go (that aren’t the size of a Camaro); and wouldn’t you know it, not only can they take pictures but they can also access the mystical internet. Nowadays, there are very few things we can’t do on the go using our phones.

That’s all well and good, but how can this all benefit the average gamer? When is it our time to shine in the world of cellular technology? Sure we can play Hearts; but that is usually a final desperate act of the truly bored. What about the games we already play on the internet? As an online gamer, what would I want out of my cell phone?

Now don’t jump the gun, I don’t need anyone yelling and throwing things over a suggestion that a meager cell phone could replicate the experience of sitting at home in front of a 21” monitor on your three thousand dollar gaming rig. However, when the question of how gaming can be benefited by the cellular world; one company actually has feasible ideas that are not only beneficial to the gamer, but revolutionary to the industry.

Froghop Incorporated claims that they have the solution to many gaming problems, as well as the means to revolutionize the way hardcore gamers play by allowing them a path away from their monitors: Trans Medial Access (TMA).

Imagine this scenario: you’ve been up since dawn playing World of Warcraft. It’s Saturday so you figure there’s no real rush to do anything and you’ve just hit level 53. At this point you decide you need a new weapon to reflect the true power of your current level, so you head to the Auction House. After a bit of milling through your options you find a weapon truly suitable to your needs. You place your bid, and prepare to watch the auction for as long as it takes to snag this beauty. Just then, the phone rings. Your mom is at the other end reminding you about the family gathering at your grandma’s house that you were supposed to be at an hour ago.

Right about now, most of us are thinking of some lame excuse that will allow us to delay our arrival a bit longer. However if Froghop has their way, no last minute creativity will be needed to save you from yet another parental reaming.

Remember when I mentioned the whole cell phone thing earlier? Properly applied TMA would allow you to access the auction on the go. Just choose the right functions on your phone, and win that shiny new piece of digital bling while enjoying a nice meal at grandma’s house. Let the poor, deluded, monitor bound fools have their Red Bull and ramen noodles; those days will be over for you.

According to Froghop C.E.O. and founder Vicky Wu, TMA is a way for gamers to be able to live life without the constant worry of not having access to the games they’ve put so much time into. Just imagine if you could be at work and still have the ability to chat with your clan, organize raids, check the aforementioned in-game auctions or even be able to play smaller mini-games that somehow increase the stats of your character. Not so much a portable version of a large game (ala N-gage) but an evolution in mobile tools that gives the gamer access to dynamic content that keeps them tied to the essence of the parent title; a game “tune-up” so to speak.

Don’t think for one second that the hardcore gamer will be the only one to benefit from this resource. “I have friends who used to be serious gamers”, Vicky states. “Nowadays, they’ve all got real world jobs and don’t have time to immerse themselves in many of the modern games that have begun to require constant attention.” Froghop also sees Trans Medial Access as a means to let moderate gamers experience games they might not otherwise try because of their busy schedules.

The dynamic Ms. Wu (who started work as a Graphics Illustrator for Lockheed at the age of sixteen) states that one of the biggest obstacles for bringing this technology to the gamer, is many times the game companies themselves. “Many times, they seem truly excited when we show them what TMA can do; but when it comes time to put things together they seem a bit hesitant.”

This is unfortunate since not only would TMA infusion help to expand past and future MMORPGs and eventually other games, but would also increase revenues for game companies as well as cellular carriers who provided these services. Eventually someone is going to have to help the TMA crusade, if in no other way than pestering the companies and letting them know that this is something gamers want.

That’s where you come in. Most of Froghop Inc.’s ideas for game advancement come from the gamers themselves who have posted and posted on community forums. Who else would you want to make decisions about the games you play other than the ones who play them? Check out the Frogblog, a place for gamers and those in the gaming industry to discuss their ideas on how to make all these things possible.