Gridiron Live, Facebook App and Football Game.

If you haven't heard, there is a 3D Football App on Facebook entitled Gridiron Live. The game allows you to play the role of head coach of your virtual team with a fully functional create-a-team feature available. We talked to Jeff Petry, Vice-President of Sports & Licensed Properties of Challenge Games and got the lowdown on Gridiron Live.

For those not in the know, what is Gridiron Live?

GridIron Live is a new football game on Facebook. The game is a first-of-its-kind free football game - it combines the casual, quick play of social gaming with a high level of live action football. Players start a football team and then act as head coach, calling the plays in-game and competing against other Facebook users or against numerous computer teams.

GridIron Live is played on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/gridironlive.     

What sorts of league features are present and planned?

With the beta launch of the game, we just started with player vs. player and player vs. computer competition. We’re planning several new social play modes in the future including leagues. After all, it is a Facebook game, so it’s the natural place to play with and against friends.

Talk about your create-a-team, are there any plans to make it more flexible in the future?

The create-a-team wizard is something we’re constantly working on.  Since we launched the beta, we’ve already made a number of tweaks to it.  We are also planning on ways to let players change and edit their teams even after they create it initially.  We believe it’s very important to let players put their own personal touches on their teams.

What about playbooks? How many formations and plays do you currently have?

We have over a hundred new plays “on the sidelines” that we haven’t introduced into the application yet, and there are around a hundred available now for players to acquire. We’re looking at awarding more plays up front or letting players use their tokens to expand their playbooks as quickly as they want. It’s actually an interesting design consideration.  How do you make it simple for the millions of people who will be playing while keeping the game deep and versatile for the power player?

Are there any plans to put in new stadiums? What about a create-a-stadium?

Players will see a lot of interesting things happening with stadiums in the coming months. What you see in the game now only scratches the surface of what the team here has built.  The game is built with 3D technology, and pushes the limits of what is possible with Flash. One unique benefit of that is stadiums are structures you can customize to suit your taste.  If you want a giant video screen, luxury boxes or any manner of “sideline flair” you’ll be able to add that – and share that with your friends.  Who knows? Maybe we’ll even let players add go-go dancers just like the Cowboys had at their home opener!

What kind of integration is there with your Facebook account? Can you find friends to play easily?

As a Facebook application, GridIron Live integrates seamlessly with your Facebook account.  No registrations or downloads are required, just click the button at http://apps.facebook.com/gridironlive/.

There are a number of links to invite your Facebook friends throughout the application.  We’ve also started to add in some fun social features, like sending taunts to your friends, posting scores on their Facebook Profile page and publishing your achievements (such as getting a 300 yards passing in a game) to your own page.

What is the on-the-field gameplay like and what is coming for that part of the game?

The on-field gameplay is what makes GridIron Live unique.  Players act as head coach, calling the plays for their team of 11 offensive and defensive players, and then watching the outcome as they drive their team down the field.

We’re actively adding a lot of what we call “theater” to the on-field gameplay now. This will give the on-field game much more of a broadcast feel and make it even more fun.

Overall, what is in store for the future of Gridiron Live?

Overall, our objective is to create a fast, fun and social football game. The beta version of the game represents just the first generation of the application. As a Facebook game, we’ll continue to enhance the core gameplay experience, add new features and new ways for people to compete and play. We’ve been doing 1-2 updates to the game each week for the first month and are always striving to make the game better.

We appreciate all the feedback we get, and make changes to the game based on what our players tell us. So please visit http://apps.facebook.com/gridironlive and play some football!