“Paradise Paintball brings adrenalin to social networks,” said Ludovic Bodin, Cmune’s Co-Founder and CEO, “the fun setting and fast-paced action is better than a cup of coffee, enjoyable by casual players as much as hard-core FPS fans.”

The game transports players into a stunning 3D tropical setting for real-time multiplayer paintball shootout. Players can customize their character, get deadly paintball guns and sturdy armor, form clans and play across five different maps to rule the paintball field.

“Social gamers are ready to graduate to console-quality games and we’re proud to be the first to bring a powerful 3D game to social platforms,” said Shaun Le Lacheur Sales, Cmune’s Co-Founder and CTO, “the future is real-time, cross-platform and we’re making it happen.”

The game monetizes via a free-to-play model and is playable across multiple web-based channels including MySpace, Facebook, on Apple.com as a Dashboard Widget and Cmune’s own game portal.

MySpace | www.cmune.com/pp/myspace
Facebook | www.cmune.com/pp/facebook
Apple Dashboard | www.cmune.com/pp/apple
Cmune Portal | www.cmune.com/pp/portal
Company | www.cmune.com

Paradise Paintball 3.0 from Cmune on Vimeo.

About Cmune, Ltd.

Cmune Ltd., founded in 2007, is based in San Francisco and Beijing, home of the world’s most active online gaming scene. Paradise Paintball is Cmune’s first title built on its real-time web gaming platform and the world’s first 3D First-Person Shooter (FPS) to run across MySpace, Facebook, Cmune’s web portal and on Apple.com as a Dashboard Widget. Cmune has developed a proprietary platform allowing rapid creation, distribution and monetization of next-gen social games, browser-based MMOs and Virtual Worlds, leveraging it for both in-house and third-party development.

About Paradise Paintball:

• Browser-based FPS for Mac & PC
• Multiplayer
• Distributed via Facebook, MySpace Apple Widget and Cmune’s own portal
• In 3D!

Join thousands of players for a match!

Play on Facebook | Play on Facebook | Play on the Cmune Portal | Download the Widget

The version 3.0 includes:

• Brand New Avatars: great hairstyles and hit zones for finer gameplay.
• Five maps: The Warehouse, Oriental Kenzo (is this our office?!), Monkey Island, Hills of Eden, Lost Paradise.
• Five weapons to shoot paint from – including the dreadful paintball shotgun.
• Dozens of outfits, gear, armors, shirts and more to customize your looks
• Global chat: you’re in Facebook and your friend on Apple Widget? No problem

Myspace Tutorial Day: Unity on Myspace
Room 300, South Hall, 10:30-11:00am

We are in SF all week to:
* Meet up with Unity developers: we are hiring !
* Develop business relationship with other companies using/interested in Unity for browser-based MMO, virtual world, next-gen social games ; see the CMUNE platform : http://www.cmune.com/index.php/the-cmune-platform/
* Meet up with gaming studios interested to get their game published on social networks with monetization coming from sales of virtual goods

Contact : ludovic [at] cmune.com

In addition to showing our work, we covered as well the strategic thinking and business potential behind the use of social networking sites.

The video is available after the jump (Duration: 30m:34s, Size: 338MB).

“Paradise Paintball is the biggest success of Unity in Facebook so far” – David Helgason, CEO, Unity (Interviewed in Gamasutra)

Note: We will be in San Francisco in March for GDC and in Austin for SXSW

Paradise Paintball is the world’s first “Social Shooter Game” and was first launched in alpha in November 2008 across Facebook, Apple Dashboard Widgets and our own portal. It had major upgrades since then, improving both the game and our platform.

CMUNE’s vision is to create real-time 3D social games and applications connected to a central platform. Social networks, portals, widgets, etc. are all distribution channels.

PocketGamer Review:
–
Paradise Paintball 3D

Paintball is one of those really fun experiences, right up until you experience a point-blank shot to either the groin or face.

Thankfully, Paradise Paintball 3D won’t cause you any pain (at least not physically), but you can enjoy all the excitement of running about in fantasy locations shooting paint at other Facebook users.

In my limited time, I decided to just choose a game at random and see how badly I could do. Once I had installed the Unity Plugin – to allow it to run, I was quickly thrown into a match, and subsequently started shooting anyone who came near.

The graphics were smooth, and head-shotting players was as a satisfying as ever. The group I played against (12 players is the maximum number) weren’t too skilled, so I managed a few kills. It also allowed me to try out some of the guns on offer, including a sniper rifle.

True to social gaming fashion, and how the developer will make money, players can purchase guns, clothing and other items to customise your character with, if that sort of thing floats your boat.

All in all, I was impressed. The lack of claret might put some people off, but removing gore is something that older games might appreciate, though let’s face it: you’re still shooting people.

There’s a lot of potential in this first-person shooter, and definitely worth a go whether or not you typically like this sort of thing – I certainly had a blast and will continue to try it out.

At the least, Paradise Paintball 3D shows exactly what is possible on Facebook, and may be a sign of things to come.

–
Because of China’s leadership in the gaming sector, CMUNE CEO Ludovic Bodin is taking Chinese revenue models and applying them to his Western-launched products such as Paradise Paintball.

Says Bodin, “China is one of the most advanced country in the world for online gaming and has strong knowledge of the sale of virtual goods as a primary business model. CMUNE is taking the best practices in China and adapting for a non-Chinese context and audience. Developing here gives us an advantage to later launch into the Chinese market. ”

Here are some of the ideas shared by Cmune’s CEO Ludovic Bodin:

1. What are your top three trend predictions for the virtual goods sector in 2010?

• A new market is going to emerge, between casual games a la Zynga & MMO a la WoW.
• More non-US/Europe companies become visible, making geography less and less relevant.
• Crossover titles become a must have. MMO and a lighter and more social version of them, kind of Social MMO works closely together. This collaboration create for both companies additional line of revenue and it become an invitation and conversion loop enhancers.

2. What challenges do you expect 2010 to bring for the virtual goods industry?

• Defense of IP for games with low barrier of entry becomes a very serious issue — core expertise lies not in game production anymore, but running a service and distribution networks. How many farm games on Facebook? Which was the first? (answer: it was before Facebook existed!)
• Companies with good games but low expertise on analytics and viral mechanics struggle.

3. What was the most significant evolution at your company over the course of 2009 and what are your business and product goals for 2010?

• We implemented and experimented to understand user behaviors
• 2010 is going to be about reach, scale and conversion !

4. How has the global economy affected your business, and how has it impacted strategy?

• 2009 was not the best climate to raise money.
• But was an excellent time to experiment as not many companies are getting started due to the economic climate.

5. Who are the one or two companies or individuals you think are most likely to have the greatest impact on the virtual goods sector in 2010 and why?

• Unity3d! Bringing the quality of console games / MMOs to the browser is going to be a game changer.
• Cmune (us ^_^ ) – as our first product, Paradise Paintball 3D will show the emergence of a new segment of the gaming market, between Social Games & MMO, and we hope to lead the way!

– Quotes –
These online communities, and their integration with games, have been the driving force behind changes in the way games are monetized. A game hosted on a remote server has entirely different characteristics than a game hosted in one’s own home, as Ludovic Bodin, co-founder of of China-based gaming start up CMUNE, explains, “Both game portals and social networks are becoming very strong distribution and entertainment channels. An important change for traditional game production is the evolution from game-as-a-product to game-as-a-service, especially connected to the ‘virtual goods’ business model.”

The familiarity of Chinese developers with these revenue and distribution models makes China an ideal place for gaming companies working in what is a new business environment in the West. One current example is CMUNE, the Beijing-based developer of a “platform to rapidly produce, distribute and monetize 3D multiplayer web-games,” says co-founder Bodin. CMUNE made a name for itself with Paradise Paintball, the first 3D game on Facebook. The game has, to date, been downloaded 1.5 million times and has been a regular fixture on the most downloaded web-widget on the Apple Store dashboard.

Bodin founded the company back in 2007, along with Shaun Lelacheur Sales, and says he chose to develop in China because, “among the top 10 online gaming companies in the world, seven are from Asia and five specifically from China.” He suggests that the knowledge and operational excellence is in Asia today. “The West is just starting to catch up on ‘free to play’ models, while 3D browser-based games are only just emerging worldwide.”

As Bodin points out, “The [Chinese] virtual goods market of 2009 is five times larger than the US market.” It should be obvious to anyone involved that this added level of saturation can offer unique skills, fostered by the Chinese marketplace, to help worldwide gaming companies get ahead.

Have you noticed the new items to equip your character?
Paradise Paintball now has 4 maps, 5 weapons and 26 items including t-shirts, paintball armors to the colorful Santa and Grinch outfits! For animal lovers, a Rudolf mask is also available.

Can Rudolf Beat The Paintball Shotgun?

If you haven’t done so already, check them out:
Item Mall On Facebook (menu: items)
Item Mall On Cmune Portal (right below the pic)

Some are available for credits (that you can purchase in various ways) and some for points that you earn by registering and every day you login to play!

“Evil Grinch vs Super Santa” contest

To thank you for your support to Paradise Paintball and celebrate Christmas together, we invite you join the “Evil Grinch vs Super Santa” contest by creating and posting the best and funniest Youtube video of an epic fight between Evil Grinch & Super Santa. Pick your outfit and go for it!

Not sure what the Evil Grinch and Super Santa are all about? Watch these videos! Part 1 Part 2

Here is a video for inspiration from another famous game Azerothian Super Villains – Kael’thas and the Santa Claus
By creating and sharing a video, you will have a chance to win a Full new Outfit that has not been released yet on Paradise Paintball. Post it video on YouTube – the more views you get, the bigger the chance for you to win! You can also add it to Paradise Paintball’s Facebook wall and ask your friends to view or “like” your video before 5 January 2010!

To get you started, you can get are free Santa, Grinch and Reindeer hats as well as fun glasses.

More details on Terms and Conditions for this contest are here.

About Paradise Paintball:

• Browser-based FPS for Mac & PC
• Multiplayer
• Distributed via Facebook, Apple Widget and Cmune’s own portal
• In 3D!

Join thousands of players for a match!

Play on Facebook | Play on the Cmune Portal | Download the Widget

The version 2.8 includes:

• New avatars: more human-like, with hit zones for finer gameplay.
• Four maps: Oriental Kenzo (is this our office?!), Monkey Island, Hills of Eden, Lost Paradise.
• New weapons: 6 weapons to shoot paint from – including the dreadful paintball shotgun.
• 26 items: armors, shirts and more to customize your looks – even Christmas items!
• Global chat: you’re in Facebook and your friend on Apple Widget? No problem