Not many game makers launch exclusively onto SMS (yes, SMS), but the guys over at Strayboots felt that their interactive urban tour guide games would only catch on if everyone had the opportunity to play. Six months later, however, Strayboots is poised to announce the latest iteration of the game: an iOS app.
StrayBoots works like this: a single user or a group of users can buy a game for a certain area of New York City. The game will lead them through the neighborhood, message by message, using challenges to complete. As an SMS-based game, the transfer of information between StrayBoots and the user was very limited.
The introduction of this iPhone app should allow a much more interactive experience. The ability to “wander” through the app, learning more about a specific building or architect. Moreover, the game now offers some form of social integration, which lets users share certain tidbits of knowledge with their social networks.
This could be big for user acquisition for StrayBoots.
Players have the option to pause at any time and grab a bite to eat, or take a phone call, and can continue at any time as there is no expiration date on the game.
The app is currently only available for StrayBoots’ NYC tours, but the company still has its SMS-based games available in over a dozen other cities, with plans to roll out the apps in those areas over the course of 2013.