So going back to the pitch I was left with a decision. I could stick with the format of the Facebook game and completely overhaul the game mechanic or move to a different format (thereby losing the chance to go after the neglected male market of Facebook gamers) and keep the game mechanic intact.

What I decided was that it was more important to keep the spirit of the game intact. The whole Anti-Fifa ethos of a football game that’s about the joy of playing with your mates rather than the glitz and glamour of the premier league. I think if I stayed with Facebook and tried to make it a turn based game I could conceive of a project that’s Anti-Fifa but only so much in that it wouldn’t be a football game at all. Sports games are about immediacy (if you look back to my History of Gaming that’s something I respond to) and this is something I can’t lose. 

So what is Fives now? Inspired by the sophistication of some of the live multiplayer games available for the I-Pad and I-Phone I’m going to go down the route of the App. It’s still a five-a-side game with a focus on the fun and instinctual but now its touch screen. 

I’ve referenced Nintendo World Cup Soccer before. That game was based on the use of the direction pad and two buttons. With Fives you control your one character’s movement via the tilt of your device. You control their actions by virtue of a single (pass) or double (shot) tap. These controls change based on if you’re in defence or attack and if your player has the ball or not. 

The problems picked up on in my pitch resulted from overreaching and overestimating the technology currently available. As we get to these final stages I want to keep my focus on something that is do-able (especially in terms of live multiplayer!) but also fun and customisable. Building a community is such an important step and I’m fully committed to creating a project that can truly be controlled by the fans. 

This blog has proved an invaluable tool as a kind of rough notepad but now I need to separate and define each stage.