Shadow-Born under way for N-Gage

In 2001, Electronic Arts' PC game Majestic used real-life phone calls, e-mails, instant messages, faxes, and Web sites to immerse players further into the game's world. It got plenty of mainstream publicity for its innovative ideas, but it just didn't take off, and the game was soon canceled. With multifunctional gadgets emerging in droves these days, it was only a matter of time before somebody revisited the idea with a single machine's combined feature set.

It seems Nokia is doing just that, as the company today announced the development of Shadow-Born, a new game that incorporates the company's smartphone functionalities into the game world. Characters in the game will leave players text messages, schedule appointments, set alarms, and more with the goal of creating a more immersive game. In the game, players step in to the role of a Shadown-Born, a person with the ability to see the hidden supernatural side of a modern urban landscape, where vampires control corporations and werewolf gangs own the streets.

Shadow-Born is being developed by Backbone Entertainment. Formed in 2003 from the merger of Digital Eclipse and ImaginEngine, Backbone Entertainment developed Death Jr. for the PSP. The company also made Rifts: Promise of Power for the N-Gage.