Turf Wars’ Nick Baicoianu – Exclusive Interview

If you’ve somehow managed to snag the iPhone this holiday season, head on over to the App Store and check out the litany of free apps for accessorizing the coolest phone of 2009. For those familiar with the Mafia Wars applications on Myspace or Facebook, but always felt like it would be exponentially cooler if it used GPS and you could carry it around with you… definitely check out MeanFreePath’s Turf Wars, which costs exactly $0 and is a lot of fun. Your Gaming Angels are fans of developing gaming companies, so when we had a chance to catch up with Turf Wars creator and MeanFreePath LLC. CEO, Nick Baicoianu, we jumped at the opportunity. Check out our interview below, and if you have an iPhone be sure you download this free App to support them!

Q: Tell us more about your role in the creation of Turf Wars and MeanFreePath.

A: I am the creator and lead developer on Turf Wars. I am also the founder and CEO of MeanFreePath LLC. I have a long history as a web engineer, working with social applications, mostly social music. After getting my hands on an iPhone earlier this year, I started playing around with the SDK and developed a few location-based apps for fun. With the release of OS 3.0 (with embeddable maps), things really started to fall into place for me. I had the idea for Turf Wars and realized it was time to start my own company.

I'll take all of the guns, please.

Q: What was the inspiration behind the game?

A: I started thinking, “How can I make something really fun out of this new, portable GPS capability?” I know people tend to have a strong affection for where they live, and many even represent it on their person, whether it be their area code, zip code or whatever. I thought, “what if I was to take that natural tendency of people and use it in a game where they can claim parts of their own hometown?” I had a feeling players would be much more interested in controlling places they were familiar with – “this is my favorite bar, this is my house, this is where I get coffee every morning, etc.” That focus on the local would also make it more likely that players would be battling against people they actually know. Furthermore, the social nature of the game allows you to get to know surrounding enemies or allies that you may not already. Games are always more fun when they’re personal, and Turf Wars is no exception.

Q: How does the game work exactly? And where does the GPS technology play into it?

A: After running a few low-level missions to give them enough cash to work with, new players can claim surrounding Turf by standing nearby it with their iPhone or iPod Touch. The GPS plots their location on the Turf Map and lets them select an area(s) up to 1 kilometer away. Players are then able to name that particular piece of Turf appropriately (“Smitty’s Pub”, “The Electric Factory”, “Ur Mom’s Place”). As long as they have enough money, they can keep accumulating Turf anywhere they go, until they reach the cap for their particular level. They can also branch out from their existing Turf holdings as well. Frequent combat is encouraged and guaranteed because more populated pieces of Turf earn players significantly more money. After toughening themselves up a bit, players can choose to attack rival crooks, or just particular pieces of the Turf they control. It’s easier and safer to chip away at high-level players’ holdings slowly, and with help, rather than just gunning for them directly. You can attack at any time of the day or night, so it helps to find out when people sleep.

Q: The GPS technology sounds like a great integration to game play, at least in the way that people can play socially with others in their area. How do you see this changing mobile (or specifically iPhone) gaming in general?

A: What GPS does for Turf Wars is two-fold. While you have the obvious social up-side of playing locally, the GPS also introduces a concept of scarcity that is more or less absent from other games in the genre. While that may sound kind of academic, what it means is that, instead of having the ability to own limitless amounts of high-value property in a vacuum, high-value property in Turf Wars is being eyed up and schemed on by everyone playing the game in that area. Specific places have real in-game worth and that generates a real in-game economy. There are limits to what can be realistically acquired and large numbers of people are consistently clawing after the same crown jewels. This leads to much more heated competition throughout the game and lends a serious advantage to the strategy-minded player. I definitely see GPS integration being a big trend in the mobile and larger gaming market. I know it because my customers tell me it’s what turns them on to Turf Wars. There’s just something cool about knowing that you’re competing and collaborating with your neighbors – your gaming arena is your own city. The reality is that ability to incorporate GPS with gaming is very much brand new. I am thoroughly excited to see how the market evolves in the coming year and beyond.

Q: Will MeanFreePath be integrating GPS capabilities in future games?

A: Absolutely! The GPS concept is very new and adds some very interesting benefits as well as some unique challenges to the social MMO concept. We’re always tweaking and evaluating gameplay based on user feedback and data. We look forward to applying the expertise gained from Turf Wars to other GPS-based games in the future!

Q: What can we look forward to in general from MeanFreePath?

A: For the time being, we’ll be concentrating our time on making Turf Wars the absolute best experience it can possibly be. We have some pretty sophisticated alliance features coming to the game in the next few weeks that are an absolute first for the genre, as well as some other notable items that we’ll be rolling out shortly. Turf Wars’ popularity is starting to explode in all kinds of places, and we feel like the sky is the limit. As far as the MeanFreePath’s future, outside of Turf Wars, we certainly have some big things in mind, but nothing we’re quite ready to talk about just yet.

Thanks for reading!

Dawn & Rachel