Is the key to achieving the definition of "social game" real-time play between friends? Jeff Hyman, CCO of Idle Games and one of the main minds behind Idle Worship on Facebook thinks that's exactly it. However, the game designer concedes that it would be foolish to think that a full-on real-time, multi-player game on social networks would succeed in an interview with [a]listdaily.

"Fundamentally I don't believe you can have a social game without at least offering up the ability to play in real-time with others," Hyman told [a]listdaily. "At the same time, you're kidding yourself if you think a purely synchronous game will succeed on the social networks. One of our mantras about Idle Worship is that users should 'come for the asynchronous, but stay for the synchronous.'"

Of course, Idle Worship embodies all of Hyman's opinions on social gaming, as one would hope: The game is likely Hyman's most ambitious project yet clocking in at over two years development time, a rarity in the social games world. As of this writing, Idle Worship welcomes 330,000 monthly players and 30,000 daily players.

Sure, it's a small number for most major Facebook game releases, but consider the fact that the majority of those were lured in via "the press, word of mouth, in-game viral post cards, mini-games, etc," Hyman told [a]listdaily. If anything, you've got to give Idle Games credit for approaching social games differently from just about every angle. We're sure giving the game a test run would count as much.

[Via GamesIndustry International]

Is real-time interaction the key to a truly social game? Have you tried Idle Worship yet? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.