Brass Monkey was one of many Mass.-based companies on showcase at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week. The company has technology that turns your iPhone or Android into a game controller similar to the Wii, and is prepping to bring the technology to brands.
What would that look like? Through a mobile app, Brass Monkey allows you to connect with and control internet-enabled screens from your phone: laptops, TVs, kiosks, and even digital billboards (think Times Square jumbotrons).
Brass Monkey is on a mission to build and deploy developer tools that will become a worldwide standard for connecting mobile devices and displays. The company recently joined ng Connect, a leading telecom industry organization that has helped quickly bring next-gen services like 4G to life, and is providing them the launchpad to do just this.
We spoke with Brass Monkey’s CEO, Jim Bull, and President & CTO, Chris Allen, to learn about the interest they have received from developers, brands and advertisers, and all the exciting things in store for the company (who is currently raising capital) in 2011.
“Through our membership [with ng Connect], we will bring Brass Monkey controller technology to content providers, game companies and digital agencies by offering immersive interactivity between smart phones, online games and digital marketing campaigns,” said CEO Jim Bull. ng Connect was so interested in Brass Monkey given its 4G commitment, and the massive community plays the company’s technology can enable for brands in high-traffic places like Times Square. Although the company cannot speak about specifics, tell your NYC friends to keep their eyes peeled.
“We’ve been working with a few key agencies that represent some large brands,” Chris Allen, President & CTO, shared. “The only one I can talk about right now is Matrix Consulting. They did the Suzuki Kizashi Ring of Fire Game, and enabled Brass Monkey controls from their game on the app store. They’ve also been showing the game at auto shows around the world, and we showcased it as one of the games at the CES.”
You can let your mind run wild with different applications of Brass Monkey’s technology: from bars and restaurants delivering games for customers to enjoy to brands engaging people in a new ways — like putting their photo on a big screen if they complete certain actions.
“We’ve had interest from agencies representing everything from a phone company, to a cereal maker, another car manufacturer, a music company and even a tequila company,” Allen said. “These ad agencies are looking to do a lot with digital signs, and are looking for ways to enhance location based experiences.”
The first game to use Brass Monkey was Star Wars Trench Run ($2.99 in iTunes), and you can watch our video interview and demo of the game from last July. Below you can check out Brass Monkey in action at their exhibit at CES below:
Brass Monkey was on display at WebInno this September, was a finalist in the 2010 MassTLC Awards, and was one of 26 finalists in this year’s MassChallenge competition out of an initial 440 applicants. To date they have been self-funded, but are actively seeking a Series A and are in discussions with several interested VCs.
As for more recent developers leveraging Brass Monkey, Allen shared, “We’ve been working with some really talented indy game developers. Digital Roar is using Brass Monkey for their game Ascension, Falling Balls from Wicked Pissah Games did a quick demo version using our tech, and Vermont Digital studios is going to be releasing their spelling game, Spin Spell with Brass Monkey controllers soon as well.”
Brass Monkey provides Software Development Kits (SDKs) for iOS, Android, Unity 3D and Adobe Flash, and are currently working on additional platforms including Windows Phone 7 and HTML5.
Learn more about Brass Monkey on their website, and you can follow them on Twitter @brassmonkeysdk.
