The capabilities of smartphones, in particular the innovations of the iPhone brand, are so new and underdeveloped that people really aren't sure what the machines are really capable of or what people are capable of doing with them. Truem, developers and users have developed hundreds of thousands of apps for these phones and continue to push boundaries but there's plenty of repetition in that field. However, the Finnish Company 'Grey Area' has developed something truly innovative and unique; a locations-based game that uses the GPS and Maps functions on the iPhone as the basis for a Massively-Multiplayer Online RPG. Shadow Cities, released in Finland on November 10th of last year, became the top-selling app in Finnish app stores in a single day. Now, in North America and 13 other European countries, it's poised to take over the mobile game market world-wide.

     In Shadow Cities each player is a mage, a member of one of two factions, the Animators and the Architects, or a kind of free agent. In the Shadow City narrative, magic has returned to the world after having disappeared for millenia, and mages are now a kind of secretive force within the world. Players must defend their territories (i.e. their neighborhood) from mages of the other faction or just other mages that want to conquer your area. The GPS constantly updates your position within your city in real-time, broadcasting that to other mages once they "find" you. You battle with spells on your iPhone (which is characterized as a kind of magical totem in the game) by drawing the mystical runes on the touchscreen. Attack, defend, and buffer using the runes you draw on your phone to protect your territory in the 'shadow city' from other Mages, or to conquer more neighborhoods. You can complete missions, as with many MMORPG's, to gain XP and level your character; becoming more powerful with a broader range of spells at your command. In addition you can either work to collect mana in-game, or you can buy it. Each faction attempts to dominate the entire city. Patrol your territory in real-time, fight NPC's (wandering spirits that serve as a kind of random encounter to build XP), and fight other players. Even band together with your allies via in-game chat and work together to conquer your city neighborhood-by-beighborhood. Battles may be waged on your street, in a park a few blocks over, or in the shopping mall on the other side of the city.

     Response to Shadow Cities has been impressive. Released last month in North American, the game has already generated player wikis, discussion boards, and fan-pages; and there are already online communities organizing MeetUps. Since the game is free (it's only revenue stream at this time is players wanting to buy mana) it is easily accessed and the gaming community has grown quickly. This is a good thing, considering the location-based nature of the game they need people playing it literally everywhere to make it successful, and successful it is, as Grey Area is hiring at a fast and furious pace to keep up with the exploding demand. This according to SingularityHub.com

     What's perhaps most exciting about this is that this is only the first game of its kind, the first offshoot of mobile gaming in this direction. Although it's done exceedingly well and the user interface is incredibly solid, there will no doubt be further development in this area and it's anybody's guess as to where the world of location-based MMO's will go from here.