Green Bein’ launches Synch, allowing users to build their own games

Have you ever thought about designing your own video game? With Green Bein’ Productions new product, Synch, you can build your own game and then challenge your friends to play it. Deana Ward, vice president of Green Bein’, says that kids and adults love the new product. “Well, the only marketing we …

Green Bein’ Productions will celebrate their new video game, Synch, with a launch party this Friday, May 20, 8-10 p.m. Launch party details are at the end of this post. Screenshot courtesy of Green Bein’ Productions.

Have you ever thought about designing your own video game? With Green Bein’ Productions new product, Synch, you can build your own game and then challenge your friends to play it. Deana Ward, vice president of Green Bein’, says that kids and adults love the new product. “Well, the only marketing we have done so far has been word of mouth. And that has been good, because the feedback has been pretty direct.”

To learn more about Green Bein’s new product, I conducted an email interview with Ward.

Silicon Prairie News (SPN): What is Synch?

Deana Ward (left, photo courtesy of Green Bein’): Synch is an online site where regular people – gamers and non-gamers – can make their own video games. Not only can you build a game using Synch, but you can also share your game creations with your friends. After saving a game, the game designer can either send the game link out via email, upload the game link right to Facebook, or tweet the link – all from the Synch. The reason you want your friends to play your games is so they rank them.

At synch-it.com we have a dynamic leaderboard. We post the highest ranked games, top played games, latest games created, and players of the day. Our goal is to give our Synch game designers as much freedom and creativity as possible. For us, game creation is a form of art. Each game is a masterpiece based on the individual’s ability. We also want our Synch players to become part of the art creation process by sending us ideas about what they’d like our artists to create for them.

SPN: Why did you develop Synch?

Ward: We actually stumbled upon it when one of our developers shared a productivity tool he made for our other game, Kid Command. He made it because he wanted a simple and quick way to create the platform games in Kid Command. After trying it for ourselves, we were blown away at how easy it was for a non-programmer to make a cool video game and we began to wonder if we had another end-user product on our hands.

SPN: What’s been the reaction to the game so far?

Ward: We have heard that kids as young as 8 can play this game and have a blast; we’ve also heard that adults love it. The gamers like the intricacy and complication they can add to the game, but the non-gamers like the fact that it’s simple to use. We had a great response when one of our friend’s teenage son tried out Synch. He created one game and sent it to three friends. Our analytics spiked that day because the site ended up spreading throughout his high school.

SPN: What stage is Synch at?

Ward: Synch is just coming out of the gate. We have the baseline product and it is fun, however, our vision for Synch is to make it wild with creativity. We have expansion packs in development that will allow the player to further customize games. I don’t want to give away too many secrets, but I will say that within the next six months our goal is to give players expanded personalization options so that every Synch game creation looks, plays, and feels completely unique. We want to give players unlimited customization options.

To play, users visit synch-it.com and click on any of the buttons to begin. A user has the option to watch a “getting started” video, play a sample game or start creating their own. Screenshot courtesy by Green Bein’ Productions.

Users don’t have to pay to create a game. They can create a game over and over and sign up for a free account to save the game. There are different maps and themes to work with and if a user’s memory slot is full and they want to create a new game, the user can purchase a new map for $0.99. Screenshot courtesy of Green Bein’ Productions.

Synch Launch Party Details

  • What: Synch Open House
  • Why: Play Synch sample games and compete to win prizes
  • When: Friday, May 20, 8-10 p.m.
  • Bring: Laptop
  • Where: Green Bein’ Productions, 134 Centennial Mall (next to Pickleman’s)

You might remember we covered Invest Nebraska’s venture competition in March and Green Bein’ won the $50,000. Ward told me that they’ll use that money towards marketing Synch and Kid Command video games. The company is also expanding and hiring staff and interns.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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