From time to time, companies we’ve covered in the past check in with us to give us an update on their progress, and we’re always happy to receive those notices even if we don’t always publish something about it here. Yet sometimes, it’s definitely worth it. For instance, InstantAction, a gaming site from IAC-owned GarageGames, has managed to cross the 1 million members mark only 9 months after we covered their launch.
InstantAction lets you play 3D games inside your browser using neither Flash or Silverlight, but instead via a proprietary Windows and Mac compatible plugin that works with games programmed in pretty much any language. The 3D graphics are awesome and the games are rather addictive. → Read More
InstantAction is a GarageGames project focused on bringing free high-quality games to the browser. Like Kongregate, InstantAction is highly social and quickly accessible. Both sites appeal to casual gamers who don’t want to install software or learn complex user controls before competing with friends or strangers in short rounds of play. InstantAction, however, differentiates itself from Kongregate and other casual gaming sites by delivering impressive 3D graphics with a proprietary plugin. Ever since we first covered InstantAction in March, that plugin (and therefore its three available games) has only been available to Windows users. But GarageGames has been hard at work on a Mac plugin, and it’s almost ready for release to the public. Until then, the first 100 Mac readers to email this address will gain access to the Mac private beta so they can play Marble Blast, Think Tanks, and Rokkit Ball (all involving the firing, rolling, or passing of balls in some manner) against PC and Mac users alike. CrunchBase Information InstantAction Kongregate Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
I’ve recently had the chance to preview two new websites that promise to significantly advance the quality of social gaming as delivered through the browser. The first is a project led by GarageGames and backed by IAC called InstantAction that brings straight into the browser graphically complex games that appeal to competitive gamers. The second is a site called Cafe.com by an international company called Boonty. It is intended more for casual gamers who want to use gaming more as a way to meet people and socialize online rather than compete. InstantAction is going live today so anyone can go and check it out (they’ll have four games available to start and more coming soon). Cafe.com will remain in private beta for awhile longer, but the company has given us 10,000 invitations – just go here and enter “techcrunch” as your invitation code. You’ll also start off with 10,000 CafeCoins, the site’s virtual currency, which are worth about $10 and can be used to buy virtual goods. InstantAction With InstantAction, you can play games in-browser that look more like Xbox or PC games. To fully appreciate the quality improvements, you have to see them for yourself: What’s especially impressive is that these games are not even based in Flash or Silverlight. Rather, they run on top of a cross-browser compatible, 150k custom plugin that only has to be downloaded once. The plugin, which has been developed for two and a half years, works with games that are programmed in pretty much any language (C++, Java, Python, etc.). Right now the following four titles are available – Marble Blast, Screw Jumper, Think Tanks, and Cyclomite. The first two are actually popular Xbox games that have been ported over to InstantAction’s platform. While these games have single player versions, the focus is on competitive multiplayer games. And inviting your friends to the service is easy; you only have to give them a URL and they can join you quite quickly, even if your game has already begun. The site does use a good deal of Flash and Ajax to manage game lobbies, friends lists, and chat. When playing games, you’ll always see a list of the people in your party and a chat room on the right-hand side of the screen. You can use this area to communicate with others and quickly switch over to new games while keeping the same group → Read More
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