Village Gamer

Vancouver game studio Rude Boy Games has come out of stealth mode to launch their new twist on social games. Zwonks is an addictive social collecting game that uses friend-to-friend messaging as part of its novel gameplay. The hottest in collectible virtual toys, Zwonks are quirky creatures that can be customized, accessorized, and shared with friends through Kik Messenger and email.
A player unlocks Zwonks by collecting its Zwag set – a Zwonk’s unique assortment of accessories. Players gift, receive or buy Piñatas then whack ‘em for a chance to win rare Zwag or Gemz that they can use to purchase Zwag. With Zwonks collectibles, players can spice up their Kik instant messages and show off their collection to their friends.

“Zwonks is a new kind of social game,” said Palle Hoffstein, Producer at Rude Boy Games. “There’s a layer of social play where you help your friends advance in the game, and another layer that’s about expressing and sharing.”

Rude Boy Games recently partnered with Kik Messenger for the launch of the Kik API. When Kik Messenger launched in October 2010, it saw amazing viral growth, hitting over two million users in just three weeks.

“Part of what has made Kik Messenger such a success has been connecting people anywhere while keeping the app experience very fast and easy to use,” said Ted Livingston, CEO of Kik Interactive. “The launch of the API and the addition of the Apps That Kik discovery service provide an insanely simple solution to drive app adoption for developers.”

The Zwonks game, a featured platform app for the Kik Messenger API, is now available as a free download on iTunes. Zwonks is rated 4+ and is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad devices running iOS 4.0 or later.