Sites are springing up that take accessible gameplay, and combine it with social networking to form outlets for “quick break” gaming. These sites offer gameplay options for as little as five minutes a session. These sites are usually flash and browser-based – a great way to wait for your World of Warcraft or Conan patch update to finish, or to take a mental break from the office.

A great example of this kind of site is Kongregate. Founded in 2006, Kongregate enables its users to communicate with each other, forming a community, and also offers them an achievement system – badges – to build a network. Unlike the gaming widgets I’ve discussed before that layer games onto social networks, Kongregate layers social elements onto a gaming site, incorporating identity, communications and rewards. What Kongregate understands is that people enjoy playing games and socializing – it gives people a place to make friends around accessible gameplay.

A new wave of gameplay is emerging that is more focused on social functionality. Recently, Phil Harrison, president of Infogames, parent company to Atari, announced a change in strategy: leading his company away from big budget single-player games and into social gaming. The industry is already well aware of a change in consumer attitude. Glancing towards the current market at sites like Kongregate, Zynga, Playfirst, Mytopia, Nexon, and Gaia Online - something is to be said about social gaming. 

People want more out of their experiences online. We at Gaia Online know this because we’ve listened to our users, and that’s why we’re building an MMO. Our players wanted more ways to connect with each other, in addition to the forums and minigame experiences already available within the Gaia Online virtual world. We saw value in their opinions and decided to build a world for them to live in online. While we are incorporating all the gameplay elements of an MMO, our users will also be able to just socialize and explore. This is only the beginning and we look forward to growing and evolving with our community.

So, where are we? We’ve poked, thrown sheep, made photo albums, played a round of poker and shared our Kongregate badges with our friends. What’s next? Giving gamers and social networkers a virtual environment in which to play, socialize and customize their world. 

So what does the future hold?

The future of gaming is going to be more socially integrated, and data portability plays a big role in this. Look at recent examples from Web companies Google and Facebook; both rolled out applications that enable users to control how they share their profile data.

You might ask, “Who cares about data portability.” It matters because philosophies of the web are changing. Formerly the web was like a deadbolt, but now with open source, APIs, widgets and data portability; users are in control of their information. Users are moving across sites and want to take their online identities and activities with them. Games included.

Allowing people to control their gameplay information can only help us grow. Imagine reading your RSS feed with the gratification of knowing that your mom received the Spotless Desk Badge from Desktop Tower Defense? Think beyond that. Think of the immersive gameplay options that will come from a larger and more socially engaged audience.

The future belongs to those companies who will bring social connections and interactive entertainment together, offering endless opportunities for users to be social and engage with one another in a new virtual experience.