Seattle’s Benaroya Hall was overflowing with independent game companies at this year’s Casual Connect (July 22^nd – 24^th), and Dawn and I spent our first morning there talking with New Jersey’s Fantage.com about their company and plans for the next few years. If you’re unfamiliar with their game, Fantage is an online world in the vein of Neopets and Webkins, where players use their avatar to roam online towns playing mini-games and interacting with other users.

Though they’re a young company, Fantage is a success story to learn from. A staff of 5 started the company back in 2007, and a staff of 35 keeps things moving in 2010. Things have been so successful they’re looking to expand their company to 100 full time employees by the end of next year. Of course a company would need the online traffic to justify this kind of staff, which Fantage absolutely does; as of July 2010, their site has 3-4 million new users, with 7.3 million total. Their goal is 10 million users by the end of this year. While America has been gripped by the firm hand of economic instability, they seemto be defying the odds and growing in the face of adversity. So what’s their secret?

Fantage.com seems to just keep making good decisions. One look at their homepage and you can see that they are very in tune with who their audience is and what they want in a game. While their main users are 6-14 year olds, Fantage.com also caters to mothers and keeps things they’re looking for in mind when they launch new products. Since male players tend to drop out of the violence-free environment by age 11, Fantage works with Nexon in a mutually beneficial partnership; larger company Nexon helps fund Fantage, and when Fantage’s players are no longer interested in the type of gameplay offered they can move on to the more mature games at Nexon.

Fantage also understands that kids can be fickle and parents cautious when it comes to the world of online gaming. In an environment where most online memberships can be purchased in yearly intervals, Fantage offers membership in smaller increments (down to a day!), giving players and their parents a sample of the game without forking out for a longer commitment. Looking at the staggering success of the young company, you can tell they’re making all of the right moves. Check out Fantage.com for more!