The award was given to Nephin for their WKN Kickboxing mobile game which also features back-end database applications for customer relationship marketing.

We sent a few Qs to Alan Duggan of Nephin games to find out some more details…

1. So how did the kickboxing game come about?

We approached the World Kickboxing Network with the concept. Their President, Stefane Cabrera, and World Director, Billy Murray, immediately understood the potential for the game to connect the WKN with young adults and expand the WKN community not only through promotion of their brand but also through the find-a-friend and invite-a-friend features supported in the game.

2. So what is the game all about? How do you kickbox on a mobile phone?

The core concept of the game is having fun with your friends as a Kickboxing fighter. Just like in the real world you train, spar with your buddies, challenge other fighters, and take part in tournaments. You can personalize your fighter by choosing your fighter’s name and colours and associating him or her with your club if you wish.

The game is community based so you can play with your friends playing against their profiles on your phone. This means you get the fun of competitive play without the online head-to-head costs. When you win a challenge or sparring session, your friend gets a message to say you beat them to encourage friendly competition.

The game also includes messaging much like texting so that you can taunt and chat with your friends in the game, and of course we support high scores with some nice features like rising stars and above me which allow you to check on the fighters just above you in the rankings.

3. What mobile phone platforms are the game developed for?

The game launched in December 04 on Series 60 Nokia phones which includes the 3650, 7650, N-Gage, and 6630 among others. We are wrapping up Nokia Series 40 support at the moment which will add phones like the 3510i, 7210, 3200, 6820, 6230 and we will be quickly following that up with support for Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung, and Siemens. All of these devices are Java based but our intention is to also include support for BREW in the near future.

4. How can we get our hands on the game?

The game is still available from our launch partner www.fonearcade.com

5. How does one pay for it?

You pay to download the game to your phone and you will find all the directions on how to buy the game on www.fonearcade.com. Nephin Games does not charge you anything for the game thereafter.

6. What projects are you currently working on?

We have big plans for this year. We have a number of branded titles in various stages of development at the moment so you can expect some announcements in the coming months. In line with that, we will be hiring. Needless to say you will find out about it very soon and first on gd.ie.

9. Where is Nephin games located and how many people do you have working for you at the moment?

Nephin Games is based just outside Galway city on the shores of Lough Corrib. We number four people at present but that will be rising pretty rapidly this year. We have used external expertise in the past as needed and where possible we have sourced that talent locally in Ireland, often through gd.ie.

For more information:

Contact Alan Duggan, tel: +353 91 793 196

See also wkn www.nephingames.com/wkn