In 1996, Joel Evans founded Geek.com, a pioneering and popular tech Web site that was recently acquired by Name Media Inc. Now, Evans is one of the founders of a mobile software-development startup called Cronk Games Inc.

Evans will discuss Cronk Games at tonight’s Providence Geeks dinner, which will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at AS220, 115 Empire St. in Providence. He talked with Providence Business News recently about Cronk Games and the promise of mobile software.

PBN: What is Cronk Games? Where did the idea come from, and why did you decide to base it in Rhode Island?

EVANS: Cronk Games is a company that develops games and applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and other smartphone platforms. We use a proprietary rapid prototyping engine (RPE) to develop and deliver games and applications faster and cheaper across multiple mobile platforms for not only ourselves but for other companies as well.

I’ve been a consultant for years in the mobile and wireless space and have dabbled in the past with mobile applications. With the introduction of Apple’s App Store, and other companies following suit, the time was right to go full force into mobile game and application development.

Ever since I moved to Rhode Island I’ve wanted to create a company that can leverage all of the talent that is cultivated here. We have the best and brightest in design and development here in Rhode Island, and we plan to not only leverage but also cultivate the talent in the Ocean State.

PBN: Have you released any games so far? What has the response been?

EVANS: Yes, we released Cronk, an action puzzler game for the iPhone and iPod Touch, in October. Cronk is named for its caveman character, who is trying to save his tribal villages from destruction. The object of the game is to match three or more of the same color rocks to destroy the train of rocks before they crush Cronk’s village.

The response to Cronk has been great, with sales in more than 40 countries thus far. We are also planning some enhancements to Cronk, including high-score support, that will be released in the coming weeks, and we have our second game targeted to be released in the May timeframe.

PBN: How is developing applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch different from developing them for other platforms?

EVANS: Apple has released a specific iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) for the development of games and applications. It is very good, but specific software development skills are needed that are in very high demand, and as a result, are hard to find.

At Cronk Games we focus on developing the game or application first, and which platform it’s going to be delivered on second. To that end we have developed the RPE that allows us to develop and test on a variety of platforms. As an example, we have used this technology to build and test the Cronk game in Linux, then compile in the iPhone SDK, with final delivery on the iPhone. Our development process in conjunction with our RPE allows development to proceed much faster than your typical developer using just the Apple iPhone SDK.

PBN: You’re also looking at creating games and applications on behalf of other companies. How do you see that working?

EVANS: With the combination of an experienced team, a rapid development solution and a first game already available on the Apple App Store, we have the experience to provide design and development services to companies who want their applications made available on the App Store, as well as other mobile platforms. Much like how each company eventually saw the need to have a Web presence, each company will eventually see the need to have a mobile presence, too. We are already helping a number of companies that either didn’t have the in-house expertise or couldn’t afford to allocate the resources to get their own mobile projects underway.

PBN: How much business potential do you see in mobile games and applications?

EVANS: There are more than 4 billion mobile phones worldwide, and less that one-tenth of 1 percent are smartphones. With more companies offering up their own take on an App Store, the distribution part of the cycle will be streamlined and the market for mobile games and applications will continue to grow exponentially. Cronk Games is in a very good position to grow our business along with the worldwide smart mobile phone market. •