Michael Crider
When Google showed off Stadia last year, it promised something that was more than just streaming games, but a new platform taking advantage of the company’s extensive experience in web services. Part of that was State Share, a straight-up revolutionary idea that would allow a new player to join their friend right in the middle of the action.
A lot of the more unique aspects of the Stadia platform haven’t yet materialized, but State Share is coming on July 1st. To one game. That you’ve probably never heard about. Baby steps, I suppose.
The game is Crayta, from UK-based rookie developer Unit 2 Games. Based on the trailers and descriptions, it looks like something that combines the resource-gathering and building aspects of Minecraft with Little Big Planet‘s basic game creation tools, with a dash of Fortnite seen in its character style and customization. Because the focus is on creating your own games and sharing them with friends, it tracks that being able to share them instantly via Stadia’s always-on cloud gaming system would be a natural fit.
In a post on Medium, a Unit2 developer explained that a Crayta player will be able to share a link to a game they’ve created on Google+ social media. This link will bring the new players into the exact same session that the creator is in, without leaving their web browser on the desktop. (Mobile players would need to launch the Stadia app.)
The idea can be expanded with a little more utility, too. Players can save their own links to open the game directly in a specific section or mode and spot, and links can be set to expire, so you can share a link on Twitter or a game stream video without worrying about strangers popping into your session tomorrow.
Crayta is exclusive to Stadia at launch, and will be free for subscribers to Stadia’s Pro tier. Everyone else can buy it for $40 on the Stadia store. There’s no indication of when or if State Share will be expanded to other games.
Source: Medium via Android Police
