There is a new zombie threat on the horizon headed to an iPhone near you. Tweet Defense is a unique tower defense game that utilizes (but doesn’t require) your Twitter account to boost gameplay. We had an opportunity to toss a few questions over to the team at Promethium that put it all together and learned more about how the game works with Twitter, zombie obsessions, and where the company is headed. Enjoy!

GA: Firstly, tell us a little bit about Promethium.
CP: Promethium is a marketing company formed by ex-Microsofters Tony Hynes, Nelson Rodriguez and Chris Paladino. We also were lucky enough to steal Jay Van Beveren from his job bringing the company to 4.
We have lots of experience building communities around brands; finding those passionate fans and giving them the information they need to thrive.
We’ve been fortunate to be able to work with some of the biggest names in the business with brands like Madden NFL 10, Uncharted 2, Windows 7, and Xbox 360.

GA: And what is your role with Tweet Defense.
CP: We were developing a social game for one of our clients and we fell in love with the process. We had the resources and we had a good developer we were working with, Grinlock, who was willing and able to create our gaming vision. We worked as a team internally to concept Tweet Defense from scratch and then we managed the entire project with Grinlock’s help.

GA: Twitter and Zombies – where did the idea for that relationship come from?
CP: We had our company announcement at GDC ’09, and on the way home, we were in the San Francisco airport doing the phone dance. That’s where you check email/facebook/twitter every 10 minutes.
Nelson made a comment about how someone should make a game that integrates twitter into the game play, and the idea was an immediate hit.
We picked the Tower Defense genre because it is one of our favorites, and while it’s complicated, it takes place on one screen, it’s fairly straight-forward, and there’s a TON of theme there that the storytellers in us can work with. Rarely do I know why I’m trying to prevent these monsters from getting to the other side of the map, for example.
Using zombies as the attacker was natural as horror fans. I mean, who doesn’t like Zombies? No seriously, who doesn’t like them, I want names and addresses…

GA: I see that logging on to Twitter and actually posting will somehow boost your game stats. So how exactly does this relationship work?
CP: Linking your account with Twitter will enhance your game play, but I want to emphasize that this isn’t a trick to spam your followers, or to allow Tweet Defense to post status updates for you. You don’t need Twitter, but your game play will be more enjoyable if you are a Tweeter.
The game experience is unique to everyone because your twitter profile is unique. If you have lots of followers then you are an influential person so your towers will shoot farther than someone who isn’t. If you tweet frequently then your towers will have an increased fire rate. It’s a actual in-game mechanic, not a cheap marketing trick by some shady dudes.

GA: Tower defense is a much-loved genre that has made its way across platforms and game styles. How does it fare on the iPhone?
CP: iPhone and iPod touch (and soon iPad) are perfect for tower defense games. You literally grab your tower and drag it where you want to place it. I’ve seen non PC and non iPhone tower defense games that do a decent job of tower placement, and manipulation, but honestly – the freedom of a mouse – or a finger in this case, is hard to beat.

GA: There are a lot of zombie games out there, as well as a lot of iPhone games, how do you make Tweet Defense stand out?
CP: There are over 140k applications on the App Store, and Zombies is one of the most frequent themes in the last 2-3 years of video games.
Our game is different because it is the first game to use Twitter as an integrated game play mechanic. We’ve seen games try and jump onto the Twitter or Facebook bandwagon by spamming your friends, but this is the first game to use your social network to help fight off enemies – in this case zombies.
We were really close to doing a WW2 game because there aren’t enough of those out… (The scary part is that was on the table for quite a while…)

GA: These days it seems that everyone has an iPhone, but was there a specific audience you tailored this game toward?
CP: We specifically designed this game for everyone with an iPhone. While I was making a joke, I think there’s something to creating a game that fits the platform, and the lifestyle of an iPhone or iPod touch user: bite-sized game play that can be started and stopped as your schedule permits, embracing the social features you already spend time with – in this case Twitter, and game play that’s deep – but not complicated.
I think if you are a fan of social networking, and video games – this is the perfect fit for you.

GA: With the announcement of the iPad, does Promethium have any ideas for using that new technology for an even more immersive game?
CP: The increased screen size and processing power is exciting because it allows games to improve graphics and game engines, but our philosophy is to create fun games with a social hook starting with a fun concept rather than a piece of technology, or a feature.
If that fails though, Tony had a great idea for a game where you stand in front of Project Natal, with a Virtual Boy headset, a Powerglove, a plastic guitar and a Dance mat.

GA: Any plans to carry Tweet Defense to the PC?
CP: The answer is cliché, but we’d love to bring Tweet Defense to as many people as we can. We chose the iPhone/iPod platform because there was a low barrier to entry in cost/licensing/complexity, and because it fits our mentality. The three of us are hipster geeks who love gadgets and our iPhones have become regulation equipment.

GA: What else can we expect to see from Promethium in the future?
CP: While we’re still going to be helping create buzz around brands, we’d like to split the marketing side from the game creation side.
I got a few “wtf” responses to the announcement of Tweet Defense where folks were confused as to why a marketing company was releasing a game.
I’ve always had a dream that I’ll have a building with a trophy area in the lobby so I can place memorabilia, like my framed Cliff Bleszinski-autographed Gears of War poster, or my copy of Wolverine #1 that I ripped the cover off of to hang on my wall as a teenager.

GA: Do you have a favorite Zombie movie?
CP: I can’t speak for the other two guys, but Shaun of the Dead is likely my favorite, followed by Day of the Dead – the Romero original, not that pile of crap that came out in ’08 w/ Nick Cannon. Dear lord that was bad…

*Learn more about Tweet Defense at the official website and follow the release within the coming weeks on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media.
Thanks for reading!
Dawn & Rachel