Guinness World Records (iPhone)
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Setting and breaking world records is a big deal, and so is keeping track of them. Throughout modern history, no one has done it better than the Guinness World Records organization. As the custodians of the records of human achievements that range from the death-defying to the just plain zany, Guinness meticulously counts, times, and tracks every event that has a chance of setting a new record. So, when the organization decided it was time to turn the endeavor of setting world records into an iPhone game, publisher Warner Bros and developer TT Games turned to GameSpy Technology – the leader in providing stats tracking and reporting services for videogames—for help.
“World” Means “Everywhere”
Guinness World Records began its life as a videogame on the Nintendo DS platform, where the developer used GameSpy’s Sake cloud data storage technology (a standard part of the Nintendo DWC online services library) to power its record keeping.
GameSpy’s recent migration of its services to the iPhone made the decision to extend its partnership easy – no other iPhone online services provider offers multi-platform connected gaming services. GameSpy’s multiplatform approach significantly lowers the level of effort for developers looking to develop once and deploy everywhere – and ensured that TT Games could offer its iPhone gamers the same features and reliability that their DS user enjoyed, all without having to reinvent the wheel.
This Book Just Got Lighter
TT Games realized early on that tracking attempts at breaking records is a critical part of Guinness World Records gaming experience. Crucially, however, they also realized that simply tracking records would not be nearly as meaningful unless they could be shared beyond the gamer’s own device. And while the Guinness Book of World Records is the physical encyclopedia for all such human feats of achievement, WB and TT Games utilized GameSpy’s Sake service to create its digital counterpart in-game.
Utilizing Sake’s remote storage capabilities, TT Games uploads all of its painstakingly calculated statistics and player profile information to GameSpy’s cloud data storage system , where they are then processed and published onto global, regional and local leaderboards. Players now know when they’ve broken their own personal bests—and when they break a record on a larger scale, GameSpy makes sure that the rest of the world knows it too.
TT Games also made use of Sake’s ability to export player and game data onto the Web, giving GWR players access to the game’s leaderboards both in-game and on the official Guinness World Records website.
The Future is Bright
In addition to Guinness World Records, over 150 titles utilize GameSpy’s Sake service for remote data storage, offering developers a stable, scalable platform for making game content ubiquitously available – a true differentiator for games on the burgeoning iPhone platform . Looking to set a few records of your own – or just ensure that your next iPhone title doesn’t land on the shovelware heap? GameSpy Technology can help. Contact us today for more information.
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