Social:EGO Game

EGO

Type of site	Social network service, casual games
Available in	English
Owner	Punch Entertainment
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Required
Launched	United States August 2008
Current status	Inactive

EGO, is a social networking game owned and operated by Punch Entertainment, Inc.. Aimed at teens and older, EGO is a browser-based virtual world where players create super-avatars that have attributes, feelings and emotions which are developed through interactions with other players. Players "EGOs" can participate in various games with each other, and can chat and socialize in various parts of the EGO world. Each player has a customizable room which can be decorated with static and interactive items.

The service began in 2008.

History

EGO initially started as a social game for mobile phones. It was quickly developed into a social game that could be played on mobile phones, the Web and social networking sites such as Facebook. IGN Wireless called EGO "an effective hybrid of the Nintendo Mii channel and the MySpace/Facebook phenomenon."

In September 2008 the first two club games were launched on EGOCity.com. These clubs were "EGO Fighting Championship", a multiplayer fighting game, and "EGO Love Lounge", a dating & chat game. Later in 2008, two additional clubs were launched: "EGO Hangman", a brain teaser thinking challenge, and "EGO Texas Hold 'Em", an avatar variation of the popular casino poker game.

Gameplay

Each player has a customizable room. These rooms can be decorated with furniture, pets, panoramic views and mini-games. The rooms also feature journals where other players can post comments and leave messages. In addition to playing on mobile phones, players can play and experience an expanded world at the game's website. The game's currency are Tokens, also known as Coins in other websites. In-game tokens can be purchased using a variety of different services, such as credit card, a telephone service and via SMS. Players can also earn merits which can also be used to purchase goods within the EGO world. Goods are either purchased with tokens or merits, but can never be purchased by both.

Community

EGO is home to a wide community of people all around the world. Most people in EGO are there to meet new people. People can chat, send messages and play games together at various points in the world. Players can also form buddy lists and join groups.

The main focus of the EGO world are the Clubs, which are games that EGOs can play with other players. The initial clubs are EGO Texas Hold 'Em, EGO Fighting Championship, EGO Hangman and EGO Love Lounge. Players can earn "merits" in the clubs which can then be used to buy items for their EGO avatar or customize their room.

Games

The EGO Club games consist of;

• EGO Fighting Championship - This is a turn-based fighting game between two EGOs. Each player chooses an offensive move, a defensive move and an enhancement which forms a round. The rounds end and the fight ends when one player loses all of their health.
• Love Lounge - The Love Lounge is a dating game where players can form love interests, establish friendships or become enemies with other players.
• EGO Texas Hold 'Em - A classic Texas hold 'em poker game.
• Hangman - A twist on the classic Hangman game. Instead of being hung when a player uses too many letters and can't guess the word, the player gets a wedgie from a bully.

Moderation and management

EGO is constantly monitored by Punch employees who ensure the safety of the community. Players can use an automatic profanity filter to filter out bad language.

EGO Community Experts

EGO Community Experts are users who volunteer to welcome newer users to EGO City and explain its features. They are not employees of Punch and have no powers or abilities. Community experts receive tokens and direct access to Punch employees. They are also a source of feedback to improve EGO features.

External links

• Punch Entertainment, Inc.
• Ego Web Site