- GamerDNA
Infobox Dotcom company
company_name = GamerDNA Inc.
company_
company_slogan = Bringing the World Together Through Games
company_type = Private
foundation =September 21 ,2006
location = Cambridge,Massachusetts
industry =Computer and video game industry
url = [http://www.gamerdna.com/ http://www.gamerdna.com/]
revenue =
num_employees =
key_people =Jon Radoff
products =GamerDNA Inc. is a
social media company for computer and video game players founded onSeptember 21 , Ventures Boston). [Alistair Wallis, Gamasutra, August 7, 2007, "Q&A: Guildcafe's Radoff Talks VC Backing, Game 2.0, http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14995] [Wagner James Au, GigaOM, April 18, 2008, "GamerDNA gets $3M from Flybridge," http://gigaom.com/2008/04/18/gamerdna-gets-3m-from-flybridge/]ocial Network for Online Gamers
The company operates the GuildCafe.com social network and
guild hosting service forMMORPG gamers. It has announced that the GamerDNA service will expand the offering to other videogame markets, including theXbox . [Wade Roush, Xconomy, April 18, 2008, "Capturing the Essence of Personal Gaming," http://www.xconomy.com/2008/04/18/capturing-the-personal-essence-of-gaming-an-interview-with-gamerdna-ceo-jon-radoff/]The company has been compared to a
Facebook andMySpace for online game players [cite news | author =Derek Boiko-Weyrauch | title =GuildCafe introduces social networking to the world of online gaming | url =http://gaming.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1229510.php/GuildCafe_introduces_social_networking_to_the_world_of_online_gaming | publisher =Monsters and Critics | date =December 4 ,2006 | accessdate =2007-01-04 ] Some industry analysts have observed that social networks for online games such as GuildCafe are part of a new trend in which majorMMORPG products are spawning secondary industries. [cite news | author =Brady Forrest | title =WoW and Cottage Industries | url =http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/12/post_2.html | publisher =O'Reilly Radar | date =December 4 ,2006 | accessdate =2007-01-04 ]Also like other social networks, the service allows members to form social connections with other members, and traverse the database of member profiles by these social connections or by user-defined tag clouds. However, the member profiles are geared toward the alter-egos that people play as within online games, [Gamasutra, Jan. 17, 2006, "Q&A: GuildCafe's Jon Radoff On MMO Community," http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12425] and supports the storage of game histories, guild/clan memberships, scores and profiles, and screenshots of game accomplishments. These features allow players to maintain social contact with each other as they grow beyond individual games, guilds or servers. The service also allows members to form groups oriented around their gaming guilds and clans, including features for event scheduling, roster management and private communication.
The site features a number of tools to help game-players learn about what aspects of games they enjoy. One example is the
Bartle Test , which helps a player identify what aspects of game play they are most interested in--and then form connections with other players with similar interests. [Hiawatha Bray, September 3, 2007, Boston Globe, "A place where Online Gamers Can Hang Out After the Game," http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/09/03/a_place_where_online_gamers_can_hang_out_after_the_game/]History
Jon Radoff founded the company in 2006. In April 2008, the company changed its name from GuildCafe Entertainment Inc. to GamerDNA Inc. [Chris Remo, April 18, "Social Site GamerDNA Raises $3M, Renames Self," http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18304]References
External links
* [http://www.gamerdna.com/ GamerDNA]
* [http://www.guildcafe.com/ GuildCafe Social Network]
* [http://www.guildcafe.com/company/company.html Company information]
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