We were initially self-funded, and at the beginning of 2008 we closed an angel round. We are in the process of raising our next round now.

How does Sharendipity compare to competitors like The Sims Carnival?

The most important element that differentiates us from everyone else, including Sims Carnival, is the deep shareability of the components found within a game. Anything you might find in a game can be shared back to the community and re-used in other games by any user. This includes simple things like game characters, artwork, and sounds. But it also includes more advanced components such as behaviors, sets of actions (called functions) or Web services. The details of these are abstracted away so they can be reused using a drag and drop interface, allowing the user to avoid the need to see the underlying details.

By abstracting the details away, non-programmers can begin to piece together components and logic to bring their ideas to life without having to recreate every detail. Not only does this create new opportunities for non-programmers, but it also accelerates innovation since community members aren't forced to re-invent game elements every time a project is started. Furthermore, it lets our community create 100% of the content.

There are also several nice supporting features that game creators get for free. For example, a built-in physics engine, support for in-game Web service integration, and multiple social gaming elements - high score management, friend challenges, a built-in achievement system, commenting, tagging, and rating.