‘MegaBits’ brings monster training to the iPhone

“Gotta catch ’em all,” “Pokemon’s” most notorious phrase, has been its theme for the past 18 years, since the days of the original Nintendo Game Boy. Now “MegaBits,” a South Side-based startup, has taken that formula and applied it to a new console: smartphones.

The new company is developing its own monster-training game with a modern twist. The game is an attempt to merge the benefits of iPhone technology with the nostalgic charm of older 8-bit games

“We wanted to take this ‘Pokemon’-on-a-smartphone idea and really tie it in to this new way of gaming, this kind of location-based, real-life-focused idea behind the game,” “MegaBits” CEO Patrick Perini said.

According to Perini, the “MegaBits” team, comprised of five full-time members, met each other in September 2012. The group met at the first Pittsburgh-based Startup Weekend, a program through which aspiring entrepreneurs team up, establish an idea and then start a business within 54 hours.

The idea of taking a monster-training game to smartphones was initially pitched by Alex Liu, “MegaBits’” cofounder, and the entire team soon rallied behind the idea. At the end of the competition, however, the team faced the first in a series of development challenges: It lost the competition to Thoughtful Husband, a website designed to help husbands pick out presents for their wives.

Despite “Megabits’” loss, Perini said that Startup Weekend strongly encouraged his team to implement its ideas. “MegaBits” transitioned to Kickstarter, an online crowd-funding source for anything from TV shows to books and music albums. 

The team set a goal of $55,000 to develop the game. The campaign ran from January to February 2013, but only raised about 25 percent of the pledge. As a policy, Kickstarter does not release funds if the promotion fails. However, “MegaBits” gained enough of a user base from the fundraiser to continue the project. They took the momentum from Kickstarter and made another attempt at fundraising, this time through a local organization called AlphaLab.

AlphaLab is a Pittsburgh-based technological accelerator. The program runs twice yearly, screening applicants to provide office space, mentoring, training and $25,000 to cultivate new businesses. “MegaBits” was one of nine companies selected by AlphaLab in July 2013.

With some self-funding and AlphaLab’s help, “MegaBits” produced alpha and beta versions of the game, and as of Feb. 21, the “MegaBits” app finally made it into customers’ hands. Right now, 54 people are reporting for the closed beta, and a full release is expected as soon as closed and open betas complete testing — a time which the team estimates to be three months at the most.

The app’s location-focused twist works by tracking movement through the iPhone’s GPS, which essentially turns the real world into the game’s landscape in real time. On the game screen, wild monsters (called MegaBits) appear that can be battled and captured. Similarly, the avatar of any other trainer with the app shows up in the vicinity. In the game’s first generation, 37 unique monsters will be available, but as the app globalizes and spreads outside the United States, even more monsters will be discoverable.

The experience constantly changes. Different MegaBits appear in the field depending on the time of day and the weather. Also, some monsters only appear in certain cities, opening up trade possibilities across the country.

According to “MegaBits” Marketing Lead Chris Banks, “MegaBits” will be free-to-play and aims to make money by selling in-game items that will make gameplay easier.

“If you want to play the game any faster than it’s set up, then you’re going to have to buy something,” Banks said. This includes clothing and hats to individualize each trainer’s avatar. But not every transaction needs to involve real money.

“You earn money as you go, in-game, through battling,” Banks said.

Perini said the group chose the iPhone platform because “it’s a device [they] all just had,” but he said that he believes the game’s iPhone accessibility will be key to making the game profitable.

“I want to be able to play a game like ‘Pokemon,’ but I don’t want to have to go out and buy a $250 [Nintendo] 3DS and carry that around. Why not put it on the platform I’ve got?” he said.

Still in development, the closed beta intends to compile user suggestions and bug reports. Though there is no official release date set, Banks said the game will be made open to the public once major problems — such as issues with player interactions — have been addressed during beta testing.

The “MegaBits” team has a hectic future ahead, including fixing bugs, releasing the full game, revealing new monsters, adding Tamagotchi- and Neopets-style care keeping, adding minigames, hosting a launch party and showcasing the product at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco March 17-21.

When “MegaBits” hits the app store, Perini hopes it will be instantaneously recognizable as a game in the vein of 8-bit “Pokemon,” with the same capture, trade, battle and training core mechanics.

The “MegaBits” team isn’t the only one excited about the concept. Pitt junior Alex Just expressed excitement at the game’s possibilities.

“It definitely interests me. Instead of spending hours searching, training, breeding and whatnot, it would be more about the combat, specifically with real-life players,” he said.