A trio of new unreleased animals will be coming to FarmVille in the near future, as this newest set of images has popped up on our radar alerting us to just that. The three animals are the White Thoroughbred, a White Thoroughbred Foal, and a Modern Hen.
To be clear, the White Thoroughbred is a different animal from the Thoroughbred Stallion that was released towards the end of March in the Mystery Game, so if you're a collector, determined to have every horse ever added to the game, you'll need to ready your Farm Cash for this one (as it will most likely be released in the store for 20+ Farm Cash). You'll then, of course, be able to spawn a White Thoroughbred Foal to share with friends by placing the adult in your Horse Stable.
As for the Modern Hen, your guess is as good as ours, in terms of when the animal will launch in the game and how it will be made available. We'll keep an eye on things though, and will be sure to let you know just when these three animals are released in the game, and how you can acquire them for your own farm(s).
Are you a FarmVille Horse collector? How many horses have you missed since the game started, or will you purchase any horse no matter how much it costs?
Thứ Sáu, 30 tháng 12, 2011
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Crack Willow Tree and White Willow Tree
A pair of willow trees will soon be coming to FarmVille, but this is nothing to weep over (Get it? Weeping? Weeping willows? Nevermind...). These two trees are the Crack Willow Tree and the White Willow Tree, and we can only assume at this point that they will be released in the game's store for 5 and 10 Farm Cash, although which tree will be the cheaper of the two is as-of-now unknown.
Considering their real-world environments, it's likely that we'll see both of these trees released as part of the English Countryside limited edition item theme, but if history has taught us anything with this theme - you'll most likely be able to add either tree to your Home Farm as well. If I were a betting girl, I'd say it would be likely for both of these trees to show up in the game's store as early as tomorrow evening, and we might even see one of these trees show up as a Mystery Seedling before then.
Either way, we'll make sure to bring you all of the details about these two trees as they're officially released in the game, so keep checking back.
Personally, I love the look of this White Willow, but which of these two trees do you like more? Will you add both to one or both of your farms?
Considering their real-world environments, it's likely that we'll see both of these trees released as part of the English Countryside limited edition item theme, but if history has taught us anything with this theme - you'll most likely be able to add either tree to your Home Farm as well. If I were a betting girl, I'd say it would be likely for both of these trees to show up in the game's store as early as tomorrow evening, and we might even see one of these trees show up as a Mystery Seedling before then.
Either way, we'll make sure to bring you all of the details about these two trees as they're officially released in the game, so keep checking back.
Personally, I love the look of this White Willow, but which of these two trees do you like more? Will you add both to one or both of your farms?
FarmVille English Countryside Sneak Peek: English Windmill, Green Creek, Hay Pile & More
Zynga once stated that the developer would be releasing less new items in FarmVille until they could secure the stability of the English Countryside. It appears now though, after a few weeks, that all things must be fine in the world, as we haven't seen the item releases slow; if anything, they've increased in quantity! We're definitely not complaining, mind you, as we've come across another set of decorative items that we believe will be released in the game, perhaps as early as this Wednesday.
The unreleased items are the English Windmill, Green Creek, Hay Pile, Tudor Town Hall, Flowery Archway, Waterwell Pump, Potted Cornflower, and the Stone Bench. While some of these decorations are incredibly lovely (I particularly like the Waterwell Pump), the most interesting item here has the Potted Cornflower. As Cornflower is already available to grow in the game as a crop, could this mean we'll be seeing a situation similar to that in FrontierVille, where we can keep potted flowers on our land?
Of course, this is all just speculation, but it is something to think about. Whether the Potted Cornflower item actually turns into an actual feature or not, we'll make sure to bring you all of the details about these items as they officially launch in the game.
The unreleased items are the English Windmill, Green Creek, Hay Pile, Tudor Town Hall, Flowery Archway, Waterwell Pump, Potted Cornflower, and the Stone Bench. While some of these decorations are incredibly lovely (I particularly like the Waterwell Pump), the most interesting item here has the Potted Cornflower. As Cornflower is already available to grow in the game as a crop, could this mean we'll be seeing a situation similar to that in FrontierVille, where we can keep potted flowers on our land?
Of course, this is all just speculation, but it is something to think about. Whether the Potted Cornflower item actually turns into an actual feature or not, we'll make sure to bring you all of the details about these items as they officially launch in the game.
Lord of the Rings 'The Two Towers MUD' enters the Facebook arena
Set during the second novel of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, 'The Two Towers MUD' is a type of old school online adventure game that has been around since the 1970s. Aside from a PayPal button on its official site, the game is a non-commercial effort made and maintained entirely by fans, for fans. Moreover, it's been freely available online since 1994, but now you can also access the game from Facebook. By doing this, the creators hope that this will be "a new inventive way for text based roleplaying games to get their foot back in the door since the takeover of point and click graphical Facebook games."
The Two Towers MUD Facebook create character
When you begin, you're asked to choose a name, gender, allegiance ('freedom' versus 'service'), and race. There's eight races to choose from (dunlending, eorling, dunedain, edain, hobbit, sindar, silvan, and dwarf), and all have richly detailed histories to read up on. This all sounds simple enough, but if you've never played a MUD, it can be overwhelming because there's lots of required reading. MUDs are basically interactive walls of text.
After you've read all the historical biographies of each race and have made your choice, the game will give you a summary of what's currently going on in Middle-Earth: The Date is March 15, 3019, Third Age. Frodo and Sam are presumed dead. Gollum is believed to be the culprit, but no one can find him. Minas Tirith is besieged. Faramir was wounded in battle, and his father Denethor sits depressed in his tower. The Rohirrim have joined the Battle of the Pelennor. Aragorn is said to be on his way. And so on.
If you're a diehard Lord of the Rings fan, this stuff should make you drool. But for the average Facebook gamer, such details are going to fly over heads. Another problem, are the controls -- it's all done by typing. So for those of you who remember a time before point-and-click, when the only way you interacted with your computer was through a keyboard, then you should feel right at home. On top of that, there's no graphics (unless you count ASCII art), music or any sound effects (this means bring your own soundtrack). Oh, and forget about casual play, because if you're idle for too long (roughly 15 minutes), the game disconnects you from the server and unequips all your belongings.
Two Towers MUD Facebook game
I chose to play a silvan (a species of elf) named "Kelsiera" and after I first got booted, I discovered a nice bloke named Aradir who helped me put all my stuff back on. In fact, Aradir and plenty of the other characters will be holding your hand the entire time you're setting up to play. There's also other players and admins floating around who can help. Whether you're in it for the classic gaming nostalgia, Tolkien geekery, or just out to try something new, once you've completed the tutorial (which involves learning tons of keywords) the rich-text world of Middle-Earth definitely opens up.
[Top Image Credit goes to Face-Gamers]
>> Click here to play 'The Two Towers MUD' on Facebook
The Two Towers MUD Facebook create character
When you begin, you're asked to choose a name, gender, allegiance ('freedom' versus 'service'), and race. There's eight races to choose from (dunlending, eorling, dunedain, edain, hobbit, sindar, silvan, and dwarf), and all have richly detailed histories to read up on. This all sounds simple enough, but if you've never played a MUD, it can be overwhelming because there's lots of required reading. MUDs are basically interactive walls of text.
After you've read all the historical biographies of each race and have made your choice, the game will give you a summary of what's currently going on in Middle-Earth: The Date is March 15, 3019, Third Age. Frodo and Sam are presumed dead. Gollum is believed to be the culprit, but no one can find him. Minas Tirith is besieged. Faramir was wounded in battle, and his father Denethor sits depressed in his tower. The Rohirrim have joined the Battle of the Pelennor. Aragorn is said to be on his way. And so on.
If you're a diehard Lord of the Rings fan, this stuff should make you drool. But for the average Facebook gamer, such details are going to fly over heads. Another problem, are the controls -- it's all done by typing. So for those of you who remember a time before point-and-click, when the only way you interacted with your computer was through a keyboard, then you should feel right at home. On top of that, there's no graphics (unless you count ASCII art), music or any sound effects (this means bring your own soundtrack). Oh, and forget about casual play, because if you're idle for too long (roughly 15 minutes), the game disconnects you from the server and unequips all your belongings.
Two Towers MUD Facebook game
I chose to play a silvan (a species of elf) named "Kelsiera" and after I first got booted, I discovered a nice bloke named Aradir who helped me put all my stuff back on. In fact, Aradir and plenty of the other characters will be holding your hand the entire time you're setting up to play. There's also other players and admins floating around who can help. Whether you're in it for the classic gaming nostalgia, Tolkien geekery, or just out to try something new, once you've completed the tutorial (which involves learning tons of keywords) the rich-text world of Middle-Earth definitely opens up.
[Top Image Credit goes to Face-Gamers]
>> Click here to play 'The Two Towers MUD' on Facebook
CityVille: $5 Starter Pack offering energy, coins, City Cash, and more for limited time
With Zynga's CityVille losing 3 million players in the last month, it looks as though the developer is trying to bring some of those players back (or perhaps simply reward those that have stuck around) by offering a new value bundle of content that can be purchased for real world currency, all in one lump sum. The next time you log into the game, be on the lookout for a pop-up like the one above, showing you all that you're offered.
This Starter Pack contains 6,000 coins, 40 City Cash, 15 energy, and an exclusive Dog Park decoration, all for $5. For those that like saving money, you're told in big yellow numbers that this is a 55% off savings. Indeed - simply checking the "Add Coins & Cash" tab above the game shows us that 40 City Cash on its own normally costs $5, so if you'd like, you could think of getting everything else for free when making that purchase.
Zynga hasn't announced an exact date for how long this Starter Pack will be available, but even I (someone who has never spent real money in CityVille) can see the draw of taking advantage of this deal sooner, rather than later.
Will you purchase a Starter Pack for your city in CityVille, or do you have enough City Cash to last you a while yet?
This Starter Pack contains 6,000 coins, 40 City Cash, 15 energy, and an exclusive Dog Park decoration, all for $5. For those that like saving money, you're told in big yellow numbers that this is a 55% off savings. Indeed - simply checking the "Add Coins & Cash" tab above the game shows us that 40 City Cash on its own normally costs $5, so if you'd like, you could think of getting everything else for free when making that purchase.
Zynga hasn't announced an exact date for how long this Starter Pack will be available, but even I (someone who has never spent real money in CityVille) can see the draw of taking advantage of this deal sooner, rather than later.
Will you purchase a Starter Pack for your city in CityVille, or do you have enough City Cash to last you a while yet?
Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 12, 2011
Boston Facebook game developers Hangout and Ayeah shut down
Sometimes, social games aren't all rainbows and pools filled with green papers adorned with old Benjamin Franklin's mug. For some, like Boston-based developers Ayeah and Hangout, it can be a rough time. According to Boston.com, Hangout has been shut down while Ayeah shuttered its only game, FanSwarm.
Hangout closed its doors completely after raising $12 million from various venture capital firms, launching an unsuccessful 3D virtual world and later Fashion City. The game allowed players to run virtual fashion shows with clothing from real-life designers.
According to Boston.com, Hangout's decline was a slow one, as the layoffs came as early as 2008 and continued well into 2010. Now, the company has ceased all communication: no phone, no website, nada.
As for Ayeah, the company is reevaluating its situation after FanSwarm, the first "social reality" game on Facebook, according to the company. The game allowed players to predict the success of up-and-coming celebrities as if they were Hollywood talent agents. After attracting just about 35 thousand players, Ayeah founder Doug Levin told Boston.com that the game has officially been taken down.
"We're trying to figure out what to do with it," Levin said. "There were significant challenges getting the game's monetization to meet our customer acquisition cost." According to Boston.com, the two company chiefs, Levin and Hangout's Pano Anthos, have extensive backgrounds in enterprise technology--not video games. Perhaps that's what makes the difference.
Hangout closed its doors completely after raising $12 million from various venture capital firms, launching an unsuccessful 3D virtual world and later Fashion City. The game allowed players to run virtual fashion shows with clothing from real-life designers.
According to Boston.com, Hangout's decline was a slow one, as the layoffs came as early as 2008 and continued well into 2010. Now, the company has ceased all communication: no phone, no website, nada.
As for Ayeah, the company is reevaluating its situation after FanSwarm, the first "social reality" game on Facebook, according to the company. The game allowed players to predict the success of up-and-coming celebrities as if they were Hollywood talent agents. After attracting just about 35 thousand players, Ayeah founder Doug Levin told Boston.com that the game has officially been taken down.
"We're trying to figure out what to do with it," Levin said. "There were significant challenges getting the game's monetization to meet our customer acquisition cost." According to Boston.com, the two company chiefs, Levin and Hangout's Pano Anthos, have extensive backgrounds in enterprise technology--not video games. Perhaps that's what makes the difference.
Trade Nations, the Elysian of town sims, migrates from iOS to Facebook
FarmVille players who are sick of withered crops should check out Z2Live's and Bight Games' Trade Nations, the newest town simulation game on Facebook. If you think FarmVille is hell, Trade Nations is like toiling in the Elysian Fields. This game is so cute, so easy, and so incredibly quiet, it doesn't even have its own theme, only sound effects. It's got an uncluttered look with simple, large icons and menus (a design that's probably due to its mobile origins). When you launch the game, a tutorial smoothly guides you until you reach Level 3. After that point, the hand-holding stops and you'll count on goals and captions to tell you what to do.
Trade Nations Samuel Richardson building Logging Camp
You'll do the usual click-and-wait routine with shops, logging camps, quarries, bakeries, and little workers who you'll boss around with chores. In that way, it's somewhat like a god game. But your workers (who all have their own names) have no moods to watch out for and there's no system of punishment where you'll lose goods and gold, if you leave things unattended for too long. It's also gratefully free of the heavily criticized faux-social elements of soliciting the help of friends via Facebook wall posts or the annoying in-game, pop-up windows asking for real money to buy more virtual premium currency.
Trade Nations on Facebook
This isn't to say that it doesn't want money. There is a special premium currency in the game called "Magic Beans" that speeds up tasks for you and lets you buy items that are exclusive to people willing to open up their wallets. But the game isn't in-your-face about it and gives you plenty to start with.
Trade Nations Bakery
Somehow, Trade Nations wants to foster a spirit of play without the competitive edge that drives monetization on most Facebook games. Granted, this game isn't a new face; it's a port from the iOS that's already found some success. So if you enjoy playing on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and/or iPad, that's how you may have heard of it. In fact, Z2Live has boasted 200 million game sessions within four months of the game's mobile launch last fall. Apparently, town sims aren't as populous in the mobile arena as they are on Facebook, so that novelty might've been a big factor in how the game works so well in the mobile space. But one has to wonder how such a low-key title is going to fare on Facebook, no matter how well made it is. If you're curious too, you can follow its popularity here.
Trade Nations Samuel Richardson building Logging Camp
You'll do the usual click-and-wait routine with shops, logging camps, quarries, bakeries, and little workers who you'll boss around with chores. In that way, it's somewhat like a god game. But your workers (who all have their own names) have no moods to watch out for and there's no system of punishment where you'll lose goods and gold, if you leave things unattended for too long. It's also gratefully free of the heavily criticized faux-social elements of soliciting the help of friends via Facebook wall posts or the annoying in-game, pop-up windows asking for real money to buy more virtual premium currency.
Trade Nations on Facebook
This isn't to say that it doesn't want money. There is a special premium currency in the game called "Magic Beans" that speeds up tasks for you and lets you buy items that are exclusive to people willing to open up their wallets. But the game isn't in-your-face about it and gives you plenty to start with.
Trade Nations Bakery
Somehow, Trade Nations wants to foster a spirit of play without the competitive edge that drives monetization on most Facebook games. Granted, this game isn't a new face; it's a port from the iOS that's already found some success. So if you enjoy playing on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and/or iPad, that's how you may have heard of it. In fact, Z2Live has boasted 200 million game sessions within four months of the game's mobile launch last fall. Apparently, town sims aren't as populous in the mobile arena as they are on Facebook, so that novelty might've been a big factor in how the game works so well in the mobile space. But one has to wonder how such a low-key title is going to fare on Facebook, no matter how well made it is. If you're curious too, you can follow its popularity here.
CityVille Upgrade your Post Office: Everything you need to know
While we've seen other CityVille buildings (like the Police Station, for instance) upgraded in the past, today finds another building being given a new coat of paint, and more! The Post Office is the newest building you'll be able to upgrade, with this ability coming from our friend Frank the Architect.
To physically upgrade your Post Office, you'll need to first collect your profits from the Community Building, and then click on the building again to see the pop-up menu like the one above, asking you to further outfit your Post Office with Staff, moving fromfive to seven staff members in total. This is done, as usual, by clicking on the Hire Friends button and then sending individual requests to those friends that you think will help you.
Once this is done, your Post Office will be updated not only in appearance, but also in function. The original Post Office only allows for 50 extra population in your town, while the Level 2 version allows for 150 extra citizens. Furthermore, each time you collect from the Post Office in the future, you'll have a chance at receiving extra energy and even City Seals, a building ingredient often used in building other Community Buildings - it's really a win-win!
You can even upgrade your Post Office further, with Level 3 requiring you to collect from a Level 2 Post Office five times, and reaching 2,200 population or more. You'll also need to recruit three additional staff members to your building. At this third level, your Post Office will go up to 500 Population, and the chances of receiving extra energy and City Seals go up with each collection thereafter.
While the upgraded Post Office doesn't add any additional "wow-factor" features to the game, the opportunity to find free City Seals isn't something to scoff at - after all, if your friends don't have to send you City Seals to complete Community Buildings, that's all the more help you can use to collect Energy! We'll make sure to let you know if other CityVille buildings are upgraded in the future, so remember to keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you started upgrading your Post Office in CityVille? What do you think of the new rewards offered for the upgraded community building?
To physically upgrade your Post Office, you'll need to first collect your profits from the Community Building, and then click on the building again to see the pop-up menu like the one above, asking you to further outfit your Post Office with Staff, moving fromfive to seven staff members in total. This is done, as usual, by clicking on the Hire Friends button and then sending individual requests to those friends that you think will help you.
Once this is done, your Post Office will be updated not only in appearance, but also in function. The original Post Office only allows for 50 extra population in your town, while the Level 2 version allows for 150 extra citizens. Furthermore, each time you collect from the Post Office in the future, you'll have a chance at receiving extra energy and even City Seals, a building ingredient often used in building other Community Buildings - it's really a win-win!
You can even upgrade your Post Office further, with Level 3 requiring you to collect from a Level 2 Post Office five times, and reaching 2,200 population or more. You'll also need to recruit three additional staff members to your building. At this third level, your Post Office will go up to 500 Population, and the chances of receiving extra energy and City Seals go up with each collection thereafter.
While the upgraded Post Office doesn't add any additional "wow-factor" features to the game, the opportunity to find free City Seals isn't something to scoff at - after all, if your friends don't have to send you City Seals to complete Community Buildings, that's all the more help you can use to collect Energy! We'll make sure to let you know if other CityVille buildings are upgraded in the future, so remember to keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you started upgrading your Post Office in CityVille? What do you think of the new rewards offered for the upgraded community building?
CityVille: Say Hola to new Cinco de Mayo decorations
In addition to the Cinco de Mayo quests that were released in CityVille this week, you can also pick up a few new (and exclusive) decorations and Businesses from the game's store. In addition to the Taqueria business that you must place to complete one of the Cinco de Mayo goals, you can also unlock the Taco Truck from completing those quests. The Taco Truck needs just 50 Goods to operate, and will reward you with 180 coins each time you collect from it.
As for the other goodies, there are five new decorative items available. One, the Mariachi Band (4% payout bonus), is another quest reward item, while an Artisan Kiosk, Pinata Party, and Mexican Street Flag can be purchased in the store. The Pinata Party item is the most expensive, at 20 City Cash, but it also adds a 6% boost to surrounding items. Meanwhile, the Artisan Kiosk costs 400 coins and offers a 4% bonus, while the Mexican Street Flag costs just 200 coins and offers only a 1% bonus.
Finally, the last new item is the Mexican Lamp (shaped like a cactus holding maracas - too cute!), which can only be earned by turning in the new Mariachi Collection. Of course, the five collectibles are found through collecting from the Taqueria and Taco Truck, so make sure to do so more often than not to have the quickest chance of adding this adorable lamp to your game.
While no specific expiration date was given to these items in the store (as of this writing), we do know they are limited edition, so shop fast if you want to make sure you can add them to your city before they leave.
As for the other goodies, there are five new decorative items available. One, the Mariachi Band (4% payout bonus), is another quest reward item, while an Artisan Kiosk, Pinata Party, and Mexican Street Flag can be purchased in the store. The Pinata Party item is the most expensive, at 20 City Cash, but it also adds a 6% boost to surrounding items. Meanwhile, the Artisan Kiosk costs 400 coins and offers a 4% bonus, while the Mexican Street Flag costs just 200 coins and offers only a 1% bonus.
Finally, the last new item is the Mexican Lamp (shaped like a cactus holding maracas - too cute!), which can only be earned by turning in the new Mariachi Collection. Of course, the five collectibles are found through collecting from the Taqueria and Taco Truck, so make sure to do so more often than not to have the quickest chance of adding this adorable lamp to your game.
While no specific expiration date was given to these items in the store (as of this writing), we do know they are limited edition, so shop fast if you want to make sure you can add them to your city before they leave.
CityVille: Create a dish for Cinco de Mayo and win 250 City Cash
What I'm about to say may sound a bit off, but Zynga is now throwing a cooking contest in CityVille. Yes, a cooking contest would probably be more suited to Cafe World, but Zynga's throwing it here in the big city anyway. The contest, specifically, is called the Cinco de Mayo Cooking School Celebration, and it asks creative chefs (of any skill set) to create a dish based on festive Mexican flavors.
While simply creating the recipe on paper is one thing, to win this contest, you must physically prepare the dish in the real world and take a picture of it for your entry to count. You must also include a brief description of your dish. Once the entry period is over (on May 10), the CityVille team will select their top ten choices, which will then be voted on by CityVille forum members. The top three entries will win 250, 125, and 75 City Cash each, respectively.
Taking a page from Iron Chef, this contest will just each dish on originality, visual appeal, and how well it fits the overall theme. Put your thinking caps on (or perhaps just your chef's hat) and jump into the kitchen for your chance to win! Good luck!
While simply creating the recipe on paper is one thing, to win this contest, you must physically prepare the dish in the real world and take a picture of it for your entry to count. You must also include a brief description of your dish. Once the entry period is over (on May 10), the CityVille team will select their top ten choices, which will then be voted on by CityVille forum members. The top three entries will win 250, 125, and 75 City Cash each, respectively.
Taking a page from Iron Chef, this contest will just each dish on originality, visual appeal, and how well it fits the overall theme. Put your thinking caps on (or perhaps just your chef's hat) and jump into the kitchen for your chance to win! Good luck!
Chủ Nhật, 25 tháng 12, 2011
FarmVille: Giant Ice Cream Trees appear in tasty Mystery Seedlings
Giant Ice Cream Trees
And thus, the Candy Land-inspired farm was complete. FarmVille Feed reports that Giant Ice Cream Trees have begun to appear in Mystery Seedlings. These scrumptious-looking sprouts were found just yesterday, and already players have seen News Feeds spreading the Neapolitan love around FarmVille. Of course, if you have your own Orchard, you'll more than likely find your own, and have the opportunity to serve some Ice Cream Trees to your friends.
The Giant Ice Cream Tree could easily be our favorite tree ... ever (fictional or not). It's roots and trunk are actually a branching waffle cone, while its leaves are of course replaced with heaping scoops of vanilla, chocolate and some other indiscernible flavors. Then, Zynga was kind enough to top it all off with hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles (jimmies?) and a cherry on top. Now, where's the nearest Dairy Queen?
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Have you seen these brand new trees appear yet? Do these take the cake as the best tree in FarmVille ever? (Yes, that's a loaded question.)
And thus, the Candy Land-inspired farm was complete. FarmVille Feed reports that Giant Ice Cream Trees have begun to appear in Mystery Seedlings. These scrumptious-looking sprouts were found just yesterday, and already players have seen News Feeds spreading the Neapolitan love around FarmVille. Of course, if you have your own Orchard, you'll more than likely find your own, and have the opportunity to serve some Ice Cream Trees to your friends.
The Giant Ice Cream Tree could easily be our favorite tree ... ever (fictional or not). It's roots and trunk are actually a branching waffle cone, while its leaves are of course replaced with heaping scoops of vanilla, chocolate and some other indiscernible flavors. Then, Zynga was kind enough to top it all off with hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles (jimmies?) and a cherry on top. Now, where's the nearest Dairy Queen?
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Have you seen these brand new trees appear yet? Do these take the cake as the best tree in FarmVille ever? (Yes, that's a loaded question.)
E3 2011: Parking Wars 2 offers you a chance to write parking tickets later this month
While we've know that Parking Wars 2 for Facebook existed, little was known about how the game would actually play. Well, at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, I got to put all of that to rest, as we sat down with a completed version of this still unreleased game. In Parking Wars 2, you jump into a world inspired by the A&E television series (which in itself concerns the men and women of the Philadelphia Parking Authority).
You'll need to "monitor and maintain" your street by keeping track of each and every car parked on your street and ticketing them accordingly (certain parking spaces only allow cars of a certain color, for instance), and also by customizing it with new items. You'll be able to customize your street's backgrounds, and choose individual cars to populate it (you unlock more cars the longer you play the game). By adding businesses to your street, you'll also be able to earn more revenue, as each particular business (a car wash, burger joint, etc.) may charge drivers extra money to park in front of them, helping you out in the end.
Of course, as with most social games, you'll be able to visit your friends' streets, but can then personalize and share tickets with them on their profiles. You'll even be able to park your cars on your friends streets, either legally or illegally, and will earn monetary bonuses based on the amount of time you stay parked on their street. In terms of sabotage, you can steal your friends' earnings by activating tickets that they haven't yet written, or you can even do damage to some of their cars by going so far as to throw a virtual rock through one of their windows, negatively affecting that car's value. Speaking of value, you can increase the value of your vehicles by purchasing special bonus items like a new application of car wax, new tires and so on.
Unfortunately, Parking Wars 2 does rely on your to have active neighbors to visit, as a friend who has simply stopped playing the game will turn into a dead street. At that point (as of this writing) that entire street is now useless to you, but you can send a reminder to your Facebook friend for them to jump back into the game, which would reactivate the street for your use.
While Parking Wars 2 was originally slated for release last month, we're now told that the game will launch on Facebook sometime this month. A specific release date wasn't made clear, but you can keep an eye on the game's official fan page for more info as time passes.
What do you think of what you've heard about Parking Wars 2? Does this seem like a game you'd want to play with friends, or would you rather just watch the TV show that inspired it instead?
You'll need to "monitor and maintain" your street by keeping track of each and every car parked on your street and ticketing them accordingly (certain parking spaces only allow cars of a certain color, for instance), and also by customizing it with new items. You'll be able to customize your street's backgrounds, and choose individual cars to populate it (you unlock more cars the longer you play the game). By adding businesses to your street, you'll also be able to earn more revenue, as each particular business (a car wash, burger joint, etc.) may charge drivers extra money to park in front of them, helping you out in the end.
Of course, as with most social games, you'll be able to visit your friends' streets, but can then personalize and share tickets with them on their profiles. You'll even be able to park your cars on your friends streets, either legally or illegally, and will earn monetary bonuses based on the amount of time you stay parked on their street. In terms of sabotage, you can steal your friends' earnings by activating tickets that they haven't yet written, or you can even do damage to some of their cars by going so far as to throw a virtual rock through one of their windows, negatively affecting that car's value. Speaking of value, you can increase the value of your vehicles by purchasing special bonus items like a new application of car wax, new tires and so on.
Unfortunately, Parking Wars 2 does rely on your to have active neighbors to visit, as a friend who has simply stopped playing the game will turn into a dead street. At that point (as of this writing) that entire street is now useless to you, but you can send a reminder to your Facebook friend for them to jump back into the game, which would reactivate the street for your use.
While Parking Wars 2 was originally slated for release last month, we're now told that the game will launch on Facebook sometime this month. A specific release date wasn't made clear, but you can keep an eye on the game's official fan page for more info as time passes.
What do you think of what you've heard about Parking Wars 2? Does this seem like a game you'd want to play with friends, or would you rather just watch the TV show that inspired it instead?
E3 2011: Hands-on time with Nintendo's Wii U leaves us wanting more
At this year's E3, we had a chance to go hands-on with Nintendo's newly announced console Wii U. This "sequel" to the Wii will allow you to combine the now established WiiMote motion control scheme with the use of the new touch-pad enabled controller. Via our time with the Wii U in Nintendo's booth, we were shown multiple technical demonstrations that each worked to highlight one particular aspect about the Wii U that should make it stand out from a now heavily populated crowd.
A simple touch screen demonstration pitted myself against another player, as we were asked to complete basic tasks using the stylus on the controller's touch screen. Commands such as "Draw a line that is 2.5 inches long," or "Draw a circle with a diameter of 3 inches" suddenly became very tense and difficult to complete. It was in this demo that we learned how to better take in the controller's large screen size.
Other demos showed off working levels in a new Super Mario Brothers Wii U title (that we weren't allowed to photograph or film), and the use of the Wii U controller as a sort of secondary menu in a Legends of Zelda demo. Where we did really dive into the meat of these demos though was in the Chase Mii and HD Graphical demonstrations, which you can learn more about behind the break.
For the Chase Mii demo, we were shown just how the new Wii U controller can work in a multiplayer environment, as other players use traditional Wii Remotes. The demo (not really a game, as it apparently isn't being developed for any release) required five players to work, and saw one player being "it," sort of like in a game of tag. The active player would be given the Wii U controller, which displayed two things: their positioning on a geometric map, and an overhead camera angle view that showed the location of all four pursuers. Here's the catch: those four pursuers could only see a small section of the screen, which was split into four quadrants. They didn't have access to the entire overhead map, introducing teamwork to the mix, as the player that was being hunted would definitely have an advantage otherwise. You can see the demo in action in our video below:
As for the final demo of note, it was more of a technical demonstration than anything truly interactive, as it was set to show off the console's new HD graphics. The demo was split into two sections: a bird would fly around a beautiful landscape as the seasons changed. Leaves or flowers would fall into water, the bird would become covered with snow or the snow would simply fall through the air, and the whole while the Wii U controller is displaying a different area of the landscape for your to take in visually. As you move the controller from left to right, the image on the controller changes in real time, just as if you were actually standing outside and moving to take in all of your surroundings at once. Again, we have a video of this demo for you to check out here:
All told, our time with the Nintendo Wii U may have been lengthy, but it also left us wanting more. Of all of the demos we saw / got our hands-on, the Chase Mii demo was definitely the most fun, but the fact that most of the work was done with original WiiMotes was a bit concerning. Still, the ability to play full games on the Wii U's screen, rather than on your TV screen is an impressive sight considering this new high definition graphical fidelity. There's still plenty of time for Nintendo to wow us with more before the Wii U's unannounced release date, and you can believe we'll be there every step of the way as we learn more.
What do you think of these first images and videos of the Wii U console in action? Were you impressed by Nintendo's showing at this year's E3, or do you think they've missed the mark entirely for the direction their new console should be taking?
A simple touch screen demonstration pitted myself against another player, as we were asked to complete basic tasks using the stylus on the controller's touch screen. Commands such as "Draw a line that is 2.5 inches long," or "Draw a circle with a diameter of 3 inches" suddenly became very tense and difficult to complete. It was in this demo that we learned how to better take in the controller's large screen size.
Other demos showed off working levels in a new Super Mario Brothers Wii U title (that we weren't allowed to photograph or film), and the use of the Wii U controller as a sort of secondary menu in a Legends of Zelda demo. Where we did really dive into the meat of these demos though was in the Chase Mii and HD Graphical demonstrations, which you can learn more about behind the break.
For the Chase Mii demo, we were shown just how the new Wii U controller can work in a multiplayer environment, as other players use traditional Wii Remotes. The demo (not really a game, as it apparently isn't being developed for any release) required five players to work, and saw one player being "it," sort of like in a game of tag. The active player would be given the Wii U controller, which displayed two things: their positioning on a geometric map, and an overhead camera angle view that showed the location of all four pursuers. Here's the catch: those four pursuers could only see a small section of the screen, which was split into four quadrants. They didn't have access to the entire overhead map, introducing teamwork to the mix, as the player that was being hunted would definitely have an advantage otherwise. You can see the demo in action in our video below:
As for the final demo of note, it was more of a technical demonstration than anything truly interactive, as it was set to show off the console's new HD graphics. The demo was split into two sections: a bird would fly around a beautiful landscape as the seasons changed. Leaves or flowers would fall into water, the bird would become covered with snow or the snow would simply fall through the air, and the whole while the Wii U controller is displaying a different area of the landscape for your to take in visually. As you move the controller from left to right, the image on the controller changes in real time, just as if you were actually standing outside and moving to take in all of your surroundings at once. Again, we have a video of this demo for you to check out here:
All told, our time with the Nintendo Wii U may have been lengthy, but it also left us wanting more. Of all of the demos we saw / got our hands-on, the Chase Mii demo was definitely the most fun, but the fact that most of the work was done with original WiiMotes was a bit concerning. Still, the ability to play full games on the Wii U's screen, rather than on your TV screen is an impressive sight considering this new high definition graphical fidelity. There's still plenty of time for Nintendo to wow us with more before the Wii U's unannounced release date, and you can believe we'll be there every step of the way as we learn more.
What do you think of these first images and videos of the Wii U console in action? Were you impressed by Nintendo's showing at this year's E3, or do you think they've missed the mark entirely for the direction their new console should be taking?
FrontierVille: Past Mystery Animal Crates re-released for FrontierVille's birthday celebration
FrontierVille on Facebook is about to turn a year old, and to celebrate, Zynga has re-released tons of Mystery Animal Crates for a limited time in the game's store. Luckily, you only have two price points to choose from - either 25 or 30 Horseshoes - leaving you to choose more based on the type of animal you'd like to receive, rather than which crate will be the least damaging to your wallet.
To be clear, you can pick up the Christmas animals from 2010's Winter Holiday event, some spooky animals from Halloween, or even some kissing Mystery Animals from Valentine's Day. The choice is yours as to which crate to splurge on, but regardless of your choice, you'll only have the next five days to shop. At the end of this time, it's likely that we'll see these crates once again ripped the from the store, only to be seen again far, far into the future.
Will you take this opportunity to buy additional Mystery Animal Crates? Which animals did you miss out on before that you're hoping to snag this time around?
To be clear, you can pick up the Christmas animals from 2010's Winter Holiday event, some spooky animals from Halloween, or even some kissing Mystery Animals from Valentine's Day. The choice is yours as to which crate to splurge on, but regardless of your choice, you'll only have the next five days to shop. At the end of this time, it's likely that we'll see these crates once again ripped the from the store, only to be seen again far, far into the future.
Will you take this opportunity to buy additional Mystery Animal Crates? Which animals did you miss out on before that you're hoping to snag this time around?
Thứ Sáu, 23 tháng 12, 2011
Pig Up! on Facebook: Flapping about is fundamentally flippin' fun
You know, EA has good reason to celebrate buying PopCap for a potential $1.3 billion. For one, it has made some of the most recognizable casual games ever created. But for two, when it crafts new IP (intellectual property), you can bet that brand will be around for a long time.
The very same goes for Pig Up!, the studio's first original IP since Plants vs Zombies. It's as simple as it gets when it comes to casual gaming (Note the absence of social gaming.), but equally as addictive.
From the adorable pig that you keep in the air with Flaps, or finite clicks of the mouse, to the twangy banjos and roar of "Hoooogg Wiiiiiiilld" as you crush evil bees beneath you, everything about Pig Up! is memorable. The game tasks players with launching a brave little piglet into the air with a shoddy cannon strapped to a pickup truck, and keeping it in the air for as long as possible. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds.
Gallery: Pig Up! on Facebook
First of all, you're only given so many Flaps to start, because the piglet can only fly by flapping its arms, strapped to wooden planks--can you tell Pig Up! is oozing with southern backwoods flair? Luckily, the game knows for how long you hold the mouse button pressed, as the longer you do, the higher your piglet will reach with a flap of its makeshift wooden wings. This comes in handy when directing your piglet into Flapples, or green (Granny Smith?) apples that restore your number of Flaps by one or two.
As you flap higher and higher, you'll reach new levels that increase your score multiplier (you start at 2X), but the position of the Flapples and bees on screen will remain the same. Speaking of bees, these buggers will hover for a moment and come charging toward your piglet in a straight line. Being hit by one consumes one of your Flapples, but closely dodging bees applies hefty bonuses to your score. Dodge enough bees in succession, and your Hog Wild meter will fill. Once the meter fills, your piglet will become invincible to what sounds like a war cry the dudes from Deliverance would let out, and will gain Flapples from bashing enemy bees. But only for a few moments, so be mindful of when your meter runs out.
pig up! in action
As you continue besting your own high score--and your friends', which appear as Flapples to eat in-game--you'll unlock powers to enhance your piggy-piloting abilities a' la Zuma Blitz. Powers like extra Flaps to begin each round with or better yet, rocket packs! (Seriously, could anyone resis a piglet on a jet pack?) These power-ups cost Pig Pence, the game's one and only currency, that players accumulate through playing more rounds or buy outright for Facebook Credits.
The game has little to no social features to speak of (at the moment) other than leader boards, weekly tournaments and posting scores to your Facebook News Feed. Though, that might not be where PopCap is looking with not only Pig Up!, but Facebook gaming in general. Players who thrive on sending gifts to and visiting friends daily won't find much in this new PopCap game. For the rest of you, the game's anime-esque art style, simplistic if addictive gameplay hook and charming humor will certainly keep you coming back for one more flap.
Click here to play Pig Up! on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Pig Up! on Facebook yet? What do you think of PopCap releasing another IP before bringing another of its iconic brands to the social network?
The very same goes for Pig Up!, the studio's first original IP since Plants vs Zombies. It's as simple as it gets when it comes to casual gaming (Note the absence of social gaming.), but equally as addictive.
From the adorable pig that you keep in the air with Flaps, or finite clicks of the mouse, to the twangy banjos and roar of "Hoooogg Wiiiiiiilld" as you crush evil bees beneath you, everything about Pig Up! is memorable. The game tasks players with launching a brave little piglet into the air with a shoddy cannon strapped to a pickup truck, and keeping it in the air for as long as possible. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds.
Gallery: Pig Up! on Facebook
First of all, you're only given so many Flaps to start, because the piglet can only fly by flapping its arms, strapped to wooden planks--can you tell Pig Up! is oozing with southern backwoods flair? Luckily, the game knows for how long you hold the mouse button pressed, as the longer you do, the higher your piglet will reach with a flap of its makeshift wooden wings. This comes in handy when directing your piglet into Flapples, or green (Granny Smith?) apples that restore your number of Flaps by one or two.
As you flap higher and higher, you'll reach new levels that increase your score multiplier (you start at 2X), but the position of the Flapples and bees on screen will remain the same. Speaking of bees, these buggers will hover for a moment and come charging toward your piglet in a straight line. Being hit by one consumes one of your Flapples, but closely dodging bees applies hefty bonuses to your score. Dodge enough bees in succession, and your Hog Wild meter will fill. Once the meter fills, your piglet will become invincible to what sounds like a war cry the dudes from Deliverance would let out, and will gain Flapples from bashing enemy bees. But only for a few moments, so be mindful of when your meter runs out.
pig up! in action
As you continue besting your own high score--and your friends', which appear as Flapples to eat in-game--you'll unlock powers to enhance your piggy-piloting abilities a' la Zuma Blitz. Powers like extra Flaps to begin each round with or better yet, rocket packs! (Seriously, could anyone resis a piglet on a jet pack?) These power-ups cost Pig Pence, the game's one and only currency, that players accumulate through playing more rounds or buy outright for Facebook Credits.
The game has little to no social features to speak of (at the moment) other than leader boards, weekly tournaments and posting scores to your Facebook News Feed. Though, that might not be where PopCap is looking with not only Pig Up!, but Facebook gaming in general. Players who thrive on sending gifts to and visiting friends daily won't find much in this new PopCap game. For the rest of you, the game's anime-esque art style, simplistic if addictive gameplay hook and charming humor will certainly keep you coming back for one more flap.
Click here to play Pig Up! on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Pig Up! on Facebook yet? What do you think of PopCap releasing another IP before bringing another of its iconic brands to the social network?
Investment bankers like Michael Grimes play CityVille, too
For an IPO as lucrative as Zynga's $1 to $2 billion, Morgan Stanley Managing Director Michael Grimes (pictured) was seemingly willing to do anything, even play CityVille for hours on end, to gain the company's trust, Bloomberg reports. It's a strategy Grimes has used to get the investment firm in on the IPO (initial public offering) of many a company, but Grimes took his dedication to new heights in connecting with Zynga CEO Mark Pincus over his company's hit games CityVille and Empires & Allies.
And Grimes didn't just hop in to see what the fuss was all about, he all but mastered CityVille. "It's not just that Michael is building out a level or two, he's pretty advanced in his game playing," said Michael Kim of Cendana Capital, who worked with Grimes from 1997 to 2000, and is connected with both Pincus and Grimes over CityVille.
But keep in mind, Grimes' efforts in CityVille were likely to grab Pincus' attention as his company tried to tempt Zynga into choosing it to lead an IPO. However, we bet Grimes liked the game ... at least a little bit. Then again, who knows whether Grimes didn't just get a secretary to play for him--we're gonna go with the "Michael Grimes is a CityVille fanatic" scenario, anyway.
[Via Business Insider]
[Image Credit: SF Gate]
Do you think Michael Grimes is really behind the keyboard when playing CityVille and Empires & Allies with Zynga CEO Mark Pincus? Do you think it's cool of high-level execs to play Facebook games?
And Grimes didn't just hop in to see what the fuss was all about, he all but mastered CityVille. "It's not just that Michael is building out a level or two, he's pretty advanced in his game playing," said Michael Kim of Cendana Capital, who worked with Grimes from 1997 to 2000, and is connected with both Pincus and Grimes over CityVille.
But keep in mind, Grimes' efforts in CityVille were likely to grab Pincus' attention as his company tried to tempt Zynga into choosing it to lead an IPO. However, we bet Grimes liked the game ... at least a little bit. Then again, who knows whether Grimes didn't just get a secretary to play for him--we're gonna go with the "Michael Grimes is a CityVille fanatic" scenario, anyway.
[Via Business Insider]
[Image Credit: SF Gate]
Do you think Michael Grimes is really behind the keyboard when playing CityVille and Empires & Allies with Zynga CEO Mark Pincus? Do you think it's cool of high-level execs to play Facebook games?
FrontierVille Cheats and Tips: Use Coins, Decorations to level up fast
Leveling up in FrontierVille can be a drag, especially in the later stages of the game. Going about your daily Goals and other chores, it could take months to jump from one level to the next. But there is a way to give your experience a hefty boost, but it takes quite a bit of Coin to do it. That said, we only recommend this strategy to veteran players looking to inch towards the max level that much faster.
Decorations, while pretty additions to your Homestead and blah, blah, blah, have the added bonus of providing players with XP upon purchase. In fact, there are a few decorations that give up quite the nice chunk of XP. Here are three decorations that, if bought in bulk, could send you soaring to triple-digit levels and beyond in no time:
Silver Carriage:
Cost: 475,000 Coins
Experience: 5000 XP
Sell Value: 100,000 Coins
1 XP = 75 Coins
Silver Carriage Smoker Flowery Can
Smoker:
Cost: 38,000 Coins
Experience: 400 XP
Sell Value: 8,000 Coins
1 XP = 75 Coins
Flowery Can:
Cost: 9,500 Coins
Experience: 95 XP
Sell Value: 5,000 Coins
1 XP = 47.3 Coins
These three decorations are all ideal for boosting your XP, but by far the Flowery Can is most efficient when it comes to XP per Coins. However, that amounts to quite a bit of mouse clicks. If you're up for the click-fest, buying 16,842 Flowery Pots could get you from Level 99 to Level 100, for instance. But that would cost 160 million Coins. Hey, we did say this strategy is for veteran players. Either way, give it a shot to send you over the fence from one level to another.
[Source and Image Credit: CE Gamers]
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here. >
Have you ever used Coins to buy Decorations for fast level-ups? What other ways do you speed up the level-up process?
Decorations, while pretty additions to your Homestead and blah, blah, blah, have the added bonus of providing players with XP upon purchase. In fact, there are a few decorations that give up quite the nice chunk of XP. Here are three decorations that, if bought in bulk, could send you soaring to triple-digit levels and beyond in no time:
Silver Carriage:
Cost: 475,000 Coins
Experience: 5000 XP
Sell Value: 100,000 Coins
1 XP = 75 Coins
Silver Carriage Smoker Flowery Can
Smoker:
Cost: 38,000 Coins
Experience: 400 XP
Sell Value: 8,000 Coins
1 XP = 75 Coins
Flowery Can:
Cost: 9,500 Coins
Experience: 95 XP
Sell Value: 5,000 Coins
1 XP = 47.3 Coins
These three decorations are all ideal for boosting your XP, but by far the Flowery Can is most efficient when it comes to XP per Coins. However, that amounts to quite a bit of mouse clicks. If you're up for the click-fest, buying 16,842 Flowery Pots could get you from Level 99 to Level 100, for instance. But that would cost 160 million Coins. Hey, we did say this strategy is for veteran players. Either way, give it a shot to send you over the fence from one level to another.
[Source and Image Credit: CE Gamers]
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here. >
Have you ever used Coins to buy Decorations for fast level-ups? What other ways do you speed up the level-up process?
Don't miss Games.com's Free T-Shirt Giveaway this Friday at 1:00PM EST
Finally! You kind folks helped the Games.com Facebook fanpage get over 100,000 Likes, so we've decided to give back to the fans. So this Friday, Games.com is giving away over a dozen T-shirts to our fans, absolutely FREE!
We have all kinds of great gaming shirts. We have a couple Diner Dash shirts, Peggle, 007 Goldeneye, Pet Society, Medal of Honor, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and more!
What you need to know:
Free T shirts!
Starting this Friday, July 22nd at 1:00 PM Eastern (12:00 PM Central, 10:00 AM Pacific), and continuing all weekend long, you'll be able to enter for the T-shirt of your choice.
There will be pictures of the shirts and sizes posted so you can choose which shirts you'd like to enter to win.
Over a dozen winners!
We aren't disclosing what exactly you'll have to do yet, so be prepared for anything... :)
Don't miss out, see you on Friday. Make sure to tell your friends!
We have all kinds of great gaming shirts. We have a couple Diner Dash shirts, Peggle, 007 Goldeneye, Pet Society, Medal of Honor, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and more!
What you need to know:
Free T shirts!
Starting this Friday, July 22nd at 1:00 PM Eastern (12:00 PM Central, 10:00 AM Pacific), and continuing all weekend long, you'll be able to enter for the T-shirt of your choice.
There will be pictures of the shirts and sizes posted so you can choose which shirts you'd like to enter to win.
Over a dozen winners!
We aren't disclosing what exactly you'll have to do yet, so be prepared for anything... :)
Don't miss out, see you on Friday. Make sure to tell your friends!
Wooga sees PopCap's Bejeweled Blitz with Diamond Dash for iOS
The Facebook Game Faceoff continues, but this time, on a much smaller screen. Wooga announced that its hit Facebook gem-basher, Diamond Dash, will hit iOS devices this summer. Inside Social Apps reports that the Berlin-based company will release the mobile version of 10 million-player-strong Facebook game will join a brand new experimental HTML5 game. And despite being a late bloomer on iOS compared to Zynga and PopCap, Wooga CEO Jens Begemann appears confident.
We feel the timing is right. For us, it's not about sprinting. We're not in here to sell the company in a year," Begemann said. "We think that our audience and our target group is coming onto mobile now." However, this version of the game is being create by a different team entirely from the folks who crafted the Facebook game. "We know that if we copy the Facebook game, we won't be successful," he told ISA.
The game will be available for iPhones and iPads at first, but an HTML5 version for Android devices is on the way as well, according to ISA. Like its competitors, Diamond Dash for iOS will be supported through micro-transactions. Hey, as long as we can set gems aflame with massive crashing fireballs, we're so game.
Are you psyched to see Wooga finally entering the mobile games space with Diamond Dash? Do you think the company is too late coming with mobile versions of its hit game?
We feel the timing is right. For us, it's not about sprinting. We're not in here to sell the company in a year," Begemann said. "We think that our audience and our target group is coming onto mobile now." However, this version of the game is being create by a different team entirely from the folks who crafted the Facebook game. "We know that if we copy the Facebook game, we won't be successful," he told ISA.
The game will be available for iPhones and iPads at first, but an HTML5 version for Android devices is on the way as well, according to ISA. Like its competitors, Diamond Dash for iOS will be supported through micro-transactions. Hey, as long as we can set gems aflame with massive crashing fireballs, we're so game.
Are you psyched to see Wooga finally entering the mobile games space with Diamond Dash? Do you think the company is too late coming with mobile versions of its hit game?
Thứ Ba, 20 tháng 12, 2011
Cafe World High Tea Table: Everything you need to know
As we told you earlier today, the High Tea Table in Cafe World is but a small part in a much larger event in the game celebrating the two-year anniversary. Within this celebration are sections split into different countries, with the first destination being Great Britain. As part of the goal series for this section - Winston's Royals - you'll need to build the High Tea Table, so we're here to help you figure out how to do just that.
The High Tea Table's base can be added to your cafe for free by looking under the Specials tab of the Functional menu. Once placed, you'll have the expected task of gathering multiple building ingredients with your friends' help. You'll need eight Fancy Tea Pots, 10 Delicate Teacups, six Silver Platters and 6 sets of Cream and Sugar dishes. Only the Fancy Tea Pot is earned through a general news post - you'll need to gather the other three items either using Cafe Cash or by sending out individual requests to your friends for help.
Once completed, this table has more of a function that simply looking pretty, as it gives you extra mastery points when serving "British" dishes. Remember, you can sort your Cookbook by nationality, so if you're looking to quickly master some dishes, go for these British offerings as you'll earn +1 point of extra mastery each time you serve a British dish with this table out and active in your cafe.
What do you think of the High Tea Table? Are you looking forward to serving high tea to the "Royals" in your cafe, or are you tired of endless building projects?
The High Tea Table's base can be added to your cafe for free by looking under the Specials tab of the Functional menu. Once placed, you'll have the expected task of gathering multiple building ingredients with your friends' help. You'll need eight Fancy Tea Pots, 10 Delicate Teacups, six Silver Platters and 6 sets of Cream and Sugar dishes. Only the Fancy Tea Pot is earned through a general news post - you'll need to gather the other three items either using Cafe Cash or by sending out individual requests to your friends for help.
Once completed, this table has more of a function that simply looking pretty, as it gives you extra mastery points when serving "British" dishes. Remember, you can sort your Cookbook by nationality, so if you're looking to quickly master some dishes, go for these British offerings as you'll earn +1 point of extra mastery each time you serve a British dish with this table out and active in your cafe.
What do you think of the High Tea Table? Are you looking forward to serving high tea to the "Royals" in your cafe, or are you tired of endless building projects?
CityVille Neighborhoods: Everything you need to know
Check out our CityVille Neighborhoods Goals Guide right here.
Here we go, mayors. A new feature has been launched in CityVille that will help one of the biggest concerns I personally have with the game (and I know I'm not alone). A new Neighborhoods feature has launched to players above level 30, with at least 620 population, that will allow you to move homes (including high rises) into smaller areas to save space. This feature, you guessed it, is similar to the Mall feature, but here's a complete rundown of how this works for homes.
First and foremost, yes, you can have more than one Neighborhood in your town, and there are different types of Neighborhoods depending on the kinds of homes you'd like to store. Gated Communities cost 10,000 coins and store up to 15 Family Residences. Uptown Estates cost 15,000 coins and store 15 Apartments and finally, Palm Towers cost 20,000 coins and store 15 Vacation Home.
For our example, let's say you wanted to build a Gated Community in your town. You'd go into the store to purchase the base, as seen below, and would then need to whack that base six times to build up the frame.
From there, you'll instantly have access to two storage spots, of a possible five on the first "block," or "floor," if we're comparing this to the Mall. To fill these spaces, simply click on your empty Neighborhood and then click on "Fill" under one of the empty spaces. This will cause all of the buildings that can fit inside to glow. Click on one and voila! It's stored inside your Neighborhood, which will change shape and complexity as new buildings are added to it.
To unlock additional space inside your Neighborhoods, you'll need to ask your friends to staff extra spots, as seen above. The rate of one user per one storage slot isn't bad, really. Once your first block is full, you'll have to go through the process of asking for building materials to open up the second block. In our particular example of the Gated Community, you'll need five each of Red Bricks, Crossing Signs, Roof Tiles, Cement and Lumber. These are earned either by purchasing them outright with City Cash, or by asking your friends to send them to you.
When you've unlocked your second block, the process will repeat (and so on until you've unlocked and filled all three blocks, with more building materials being required the second time). Again, at first, these Neighborhoods may be incredibly space-consuming, but once they're full, you'll find them to be fairly space-saving, especially if you choose to place the largest homes in each category into storage. Don't worry about losing their stats, though, as you'll be able to collect rent as normal while they're inside. That is, you'll be able to click on your Neighborhood, and will then be asked to spend a larger amount of energy to collect from all "ready" buildings inside, just as you collect profits from your Mall.
All told, these are some fairly time consuming building projects, but if you're willing to go through with building them (and have plenty of friends around that are willing to help you out), you'll end up saving tons of space for future purchases, whether residential in nature or otherwise. We'll make sure to let you know when other kinds of Neighborhoods, for other kinds of homes are released, so keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhoods feature? Is the space you saved substantial enough to warrant building them?
Here we go, mayors. A new feature has been launched in CityVille that will help one of the biggest concerns I personally have with the game (and I know I'm not alone). A new Neighborhoods feature has launched to players above level 30, with at least 620 population, that will allow you to move homes (including high rises) into smaller areas to save space. This feature, you guessed it, is similar to the Mall feature, but here's a complete rundown of how this works for homes.
First and foremost, yes, you can have more than one Neighborhood in your town, and there are different types of Neighborhoods depending on the kinds of homes you'd like to store. Gated Communities cost 10,000 coins and store up to 15 Family Residences. Uptown Estates cost 15,000 coins and store 15 Apartments and finally, Palm Towers cost 20,000 coins and store 15 Vacation Home.
For our example, let's say you wanted to build a Gated Community in your town. You'd go into the store to purchase the base, as seen below, and would then need to whack that base six times to build up the frame.
From there, you'll instantly have access to two storage spots, of a possible five on the first "block," or "floor," if we're comparing this to the Mall. To fill these spaces, simply click on your empty Neighborhood and then click on "Fill" under one of the empty spaces. This will cause all of the buildings that can fit inside to glow. Click on one and voila! It's stored inside your Neighborhood, which will change shape and complexity as new buildings are added to it.
To unlock additional space inside your Neighborhoods, you'll need to ask your friends to staff extra spots, as seen above. The rate of one user per one storage slot isn't bad, really. Once your first block is full, you'll have to go through the process of asking for building materials to open up the second block. In our particular example of the Gated Community, you'll need five each of Red Bricks, Crossing Signs, Roof Tiles, Cement and Lumber. These are earned either by purchasing them outright with City Cash, or by asking your friends to send them to you.
When you've unlocked your second block, the process will repeat (and so on until you've unlocked and filled all three blocks, with more building materials being required the second time). Again, at first, these Neighborhoods may be incredibly space-consuming, but once they're full, you'll find them to be fairly space-saving, especially if you choose to place the largest homes in each category into storage. Don't worry about losing their stats, though, as you'll be able to collect rent as normal while they're inside. That is, you'll be able to click on your Neighborhood, and will then be asked to spend a larger amount of energy to collect from all "ready" buildings inside, just as you collect profits from your Mall.
All told, these are some fairly time consuming building projects, but if you're willing to go through with building them (and have plenty of friends around that are willing to help you out), you'll end up saving tons of space for future purchases, whether residential in nature or otherwise. We'll make sure to let you know when other kinds of Neighborhoods, for other kinds of homes are released, so keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhoods feature? Is the space you saved substantial enough to warrant building them?
CityVille Neighborhood Goals: Everything you need to know
To go along with the launch of the new Neighborhoods feature in CityVille, there's also a goal set to complete as well. If you remember, these Neighborhoods allow you to store homes for easier bulk access, and also just to generally save space (a huge factor in the game to this day). This goal series starts with one called Neighborhood Watch! (or, "On the House," if you prefer), which sees you simply placing a Neighborhood into your town to get used to the feature.
Neighborhood Watch!
Build a Neighborhood
Place 2 Residences into a Neighborhood
As we told you in our guide to Neighborhoods, they come in three varieties (currently) and range in price from 10,000 to 20,000 coins, depending on the kind of home you are trying to store (basic residences, apartments or vacation homes). Once you complete the construction of the Neighborhood, you'll be given these two storage spaces for free, so just fill them up and complete the goal! You'll receive a cute Garden Gnome decoration as a prize.
Block Party
Ask for 6 Neighborhood Event Posters
Place one more Residence into your Neighborhood
Place a Garden Gnome Decoration
Luckily, there's a "Place" button right next to this final task, so you don't have to search through your inventory to find the Garden Gnome manually. In the meantime, you'll need to ask a single friend to help you open up that new slot in your Neighborhood so that you can store your third residence. Finally, the Event Posters can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall. For finishing this second goal, you'll receive a Family Home residence, which gives you 90-170 population.
Movin' On Up
Unlock Block 2
Fill Block 2
As we told you in our guide, to unlock the next block of your Neighborhood, you'll need to collect building materials with the help of friends. Once you've unlocked the second block, you'll also need to gather more staff to unlock the final slots on that block, and then fill it completely with homes. Finishing this goal gives you the Neighborhood Watch item, a watch-tower that takes up a 2x2 area on your land and provides a 5% bonus to surrounding buildings.
Welcome Wagon
Ask for 8 Neighborhood Bake Sale Goodies
Build a second Neighborhood
Fill one Neighborhood
This goal will likely take you the longest to complete, as it requires collecting even more building ingredients than before, and even more staff to completely fill one neighborhood to its max of 15 houses. Finishing off this final goal of the series gives you the Deluxe Tree House.
All in all, these goals don't really require rushing, but as I'm sure most of you will likely want to build Neighborhoods for your own space-saving plans, you'll eventually finish them off with time.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhood feature in CityVille? Do you like the rewards for these goals?
Neighborhood Watch!
Build a Neighborhood
Place 2 Residences into a Neighborhood
As we told you in our guide to Neighborhoods, they come in three varieties (currently) and range in price from 10,000 to 20,000 coins, depending on the kind of home you are trying to store (basic residences, apartments or vacation homes). Once you complete the construction of the Neighborhood, you'll be given these two storage spaces for free, so just fill them up and complete the goal! You'll receive a cute Garden Gnome decoration as a prize.
Block Party
Ask for 6 Neighborhood Event Posters
Place one more Residence into your Neighborhood
Place a Garden Gnome Decoration
Luckily, there's a "Place" button right next to this final task, so you don't have to search through your inventory to find the Garden Gnome manually. In the meantime, you'll need to ask a single friend to help you open up that new slot in your Neighborhood so that you can store your third residence. Finally, the Event Posters can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall. For finishing this second goal, you'll receive a Family Home residence, which gives you 90-170 population.
Movin' On Up
Unlock Block 2
Fill Block 2
As we told you in our guide, to unlock the next block of your Neighborhood, you'll need to collect building materials with the help of friends. Once you've unlocked the second block, you'll also need to gather more staff to unlock the final slots on that block, and then fill it completely with homes. Finishing this goal gives you the Neighborhood Watch item, a watch-tower that takes up a 2x2 area on your land and provides a 5% bonus to surrounding buildings.
Welcome Wagon
Ask for 8 Neighborhood Bake Sale Goodies
Build a second Neighborhood
Fill one Neighborhood
This goal will likely take you the longest to complete, as it requires collecting even more building ingredients than before, and even more staff to completely fill one neighborhood to its max of 15 houses. Finishing off this final goal of the series gives you the Deluxe Tree House.
All in all, these goals don't really require rushing, but as I'm sure most of you will likely want to build Neighborhoods for your own space-saving plans, you'll eventually finish them off with time.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Neighborhood feature in CityVille? Do you like the rewards for these goals?
CityVille says Viva Mexico! with new Mexican themed items
To celebrate Mexican Independence, Zynga has launched a full theme of Mexican themed items in CityVille this afternoon. These items range from small decorations to large landmarks, so we'll make sure to give you a complete rundown on these items to know what to expect. Keep in mind, while they do have a longer time limit than usual at anywhere from 12-14 days (the usual being a week), they will eventually vanish from the store, so do some shopping sooner, rather than later. Here's what's available:
Ice Cream Cart (Decoration)
Costs: 5,000 coins
Payout Bonus: 3% to surrounding businesses and homes; bonus 3% to Mexico themed items
Guerrero Residence (Home)
Costs: 40 City Cash
Population: 600-1200
Rent: 296 coins every 18 hours
Sombrero Store (Business)
Costs: 6,800 coins
Requires: 170 Goods
Supplies: 1,024 coins
Garcia House (Home)
Costs: 13,500 coins
Population: 120-240
Rent: 18 coins every five minutes
Watch Tower (Decoration)
Costs: 24 City Cash
Payout Bonus: 24%; bonus 24% to Mexican themed items
Mayan Pyramid (Decoration)
Costs: 72,000 coins
Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
Not Limited Edition!
Morelos Fort (Community Building)
Costs: 70 City Cash
Allows: 2,000 citizens added to max population cap
Hacienda de Dolores (Home)
Costs: 65 City Cash
Population: 1850-3650
Rent: 451 coins every 3.1 days
House of Churros (Business)
Costs: 40 City Cash
Requires: 305 Goods
Supplies: 1648 coins
On top of all of this, there's also a Mexico Mystery Crate available for 40 City Cash that contains one of four items: the Morelos Fort, Hacienda de Dolores, Guerrero Residence or House of Churros. Sure, you'd get two items from this crate at a discounted price, but remember that there's no guarantee you won't receive duplicates when purchasing more than one crate. That is, if you're going for both the Hacienda and the Fort, you may very well end up with two House of Churros instead.
Either way, we'll make sure to let you know if other items are added in this Mexican Independence celebration theme, but we wouldn't be surprised if it's a one-time-deal.
What do you think of this new theme of items? Which ones have you purchased for your town and which ones will you skip?
Ice Cream Cart (Decoration)
Costs: 5,000 coins
Payout Bonus: 3% to surrounding businesses and homes; bonus 3% to Mexico themed items
Guerrero Residence (Home)
Costs: 40 City Cash
Population: 600-1200
Rent: 296 coins every 18 hours
Sombrero Store (Business)
Costs: 6,800 coins
Requires: 170 Goods
Supplies: 1,024 coins
Garcia House (Home)
Costs: 13,500 coins
Population: 120-240
Rent: 18 coins every five minutes
Watch Tower (Decoration)
Costs: 24 City Cash
Payout Bonus: 24%; bonus 24% to Mexican themed items
Mayan Pyramid (Decoration)
Costs: 72,000 coins
Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
Not Limited Edition!
Morelos Fort (Community Building)
Costs: 70 City Cash
Allows: 2,000 citizens added to max population cap
Hacienda de Dolores (Home)
Costs: 65 City Cash
Population: 1850-3650
Rent: 451 coins every 3.1 days
House of Churros (Business)
Costs: 40 City Cash
Requires: 305 Goods
Supplies: 1648 coins
On top of all of this, there's also a Mexico Mystery Crate available for 40 City Cash that contains one of four items: the Morelos Fort, Hacienda de Dolores, Guerrero Residence or House of Churros. Sure, you'd get two items from this crate at a discounted price, but remember that there's no guarantee you won't receive duplicates when purchasing more than one crate. That is, if you're going for both the Hacienda and the Fort, you may very well end up with two House of Churros instead.
Either way, we'll make sure to let you know if other items are added in this Mexican Independence celebration theme, but we wouldn't be surprised if it's a one-time-deal.
What do you think of this new theme of items? Which ones have you purchased for your town and which ones will you skip?
FarmVille Livestock Pen: Everything you need to know
Check out our Livestock Pen Goals Guide right here!
While we may already have a place to store our Sheep and Pigs, a new Livestock Pen has launched in FarmVille this evening giving you even more room to do just that (on top of storing other kinds of animals, of course). This Livestock Pen allows you to store animals like Goats, Alpacas and Llamas (on top of your Sheep and Pigs) but unfortunately won't let you store any Sheep or Pig that you've created or received by breeding.
As usual, you'll be given the frame to your first Livestock Pen the next time you login to the game. From there, you'll need to collect some building materials, including 10 each of Water Pumps, Wires and Steel Beams. Yes, these Steel Beams are the same items you need to collect for the Lighthouse Cove repair project, so you'll need to prioritize which item you'll place these materials into first.
Once you've finished building the Livestock Pen, you'll be able to browse all of the animals that can possibly be stored inside by looking at the interior menu and then browsing through the 19 pages of animals inside. You'll be given a Red Goat for free when completing your Livestock Pen, and will then have 19 more spaces to fill with animals, for a full capacity of 20 as of this writing.
In terms of breeding, remember that you only need to have one of each kind of animal in your Livestock Pen in order to trigger "breeding." The cribs that you'll receive from your own Livestock Pens are guaranteed to be one of the animals currently placed inside, but when claiming them from friends, they can either be rare or common animals that can also be stored inside. To be specific, orange cribs contain common mystery babies, while purple cribs contains rare animals that may even include former limited edition animals that cost less than 15 Farm Cash when originally released in the store. As with other mystery babies, the common babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30.
All in all, this new Livestock Pen is the fifth of seven eventual animal breeding habitats we'll see released in the game. While we don't have any specific details about what the next two buildings will be, we'll make sure to let you know what they are once they release in the game.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Livestock Pen? Do you think there was a need for another building that could store Sheep or Pigs?
While we may already have a place to store our Sheep and Pigs, a new Livestock Pen has launched in FarmVille this evening giving you even more room to do just that (on top of storing other kinds of animals, of course). This Livestock Pen allows you to store animals like Goats, Alpacas and Llamas (on top of your Sheep and Pigs) but unfortunately won't let you store any Sheep or Pig that you've created or received by breeding.
As usual, you'll be given the frame to your first Livestock Pen the next time you login to the game. From there, you'll need to collect some building materials, including 10 each of Water Pumps, Wires and Steel Beams. Yes, these Steel Beams are the same items you need to collect for the Lighthouse Cove repair project, so you'll need to prioritize which item you'll place these materials into first.
Once you've finished building the Livestock Pen, you'll be able to browse all of the animals that can possibly be stored inside by looking at the interior menu and then browsing through the 19 pages of animals inside. You'll be given a Red Goat for free when completing your Livestock Pen, and will then have 19 more spaces to fill with animals, for a full capacity of 20 as of this writing.
In terms of breeding, remember that you only need to have one of each kind of animal in your Livestock Pen in order to trigger "breeding." The cribs that you'll receive from your own Livestock Pens are guaranteed to be one of the animals currently placed inside, but when claiming them from friends, they can either be rare or common animals that can also be stored inside. To be specific, orange cribs contain common mystery babies, while purple cribs contains rare animals that may even include former limited edition animals that cost less than 15 Farm Cash when originally released in the store. As with other mystery babies, the common babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30.
All in all, this new Livestock Pen is the fifth of seven eventual animal breeding habitats we'll see released in the game. While we don't have any specific details about what the next two buildings will be, we'll make sure to let you know what they are once they release in the game.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Livestock Pen? Do you think there was a need for another building that could store Sheep or Pigs?
FarmVille Livestock Pen Goals: Everything you need to know
To go along with tonight's launch of the Livestock Pen in FarmVille comes a set of goals (what, you didn't they we'd get away without them, did you?). These goals are of course sheep, goat and llama themed to go along with our new animal breeding building, so read on for how to complete these goals as quickly as possible (and of course receive your rewards).
Farmin' Ain't Easy
Get 8 Farmer's Overalls
Place 1 Livestock Pen
Place 4 Whitewash Fences
Whitewash Fences cost just 300 coins per square, so spend the 1,200 coins on four and then delete them as soon as you're done with this goal. As for the Farmer's Overalls, you'll need to ask your friends to send them to you. Finish this first goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Grey Mouflon Goat.
These Boots Were Made for Farmin'
Get 8 Pairs of Farmer's Boots
Buy 3 Barrels
Harvest 5 Sheep
Barrels cost 125 coins each, so at least this is another cheap expensive just to finish the goal. Gathering the Farmer's Boots is another task for asking your friends to help. Finishing this goal gives you another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and one White Llama.
Perqs for the Talent
Get 8 Wool Blankets
Complete the Livestock Pen
Harvest 50 Vegetables
Luckily, it doesn't matter which of the vegetable crops you grow, so just pick something you have yet to master, or the shortest growth-time vegetable to finish this one off. As for the Wool Blankets - you guessed it - ask your friends to send them to you. As for completing the Livestock Pen, you can check out our guide to doing so right here. Finish off this goal to earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Hay-Ho the Dairy-O!
Get 8 Piles of Hay
Harvest the Livestock Pen
Harvest 75 Flowers
Again, it doesn't look like it matters which kind of flower you harvest, so just pick the lowest harvest-time building and you'll be able to move on. Ask your friends for the Piles of Hay and eventually you'll finish this one off, being rewarded with 50 XP, 2,500 coins and Flower Sheep for your efforts.
Keeping Up With Baby
Get 8 Livestock Tags
Raise a Livestock Baby
Harvest 90 Fruit
Remember, common Livestock Babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30. Once you finish this goal, you'll earn another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Get Oat!
Get 9 Oat Sacks
Master White Llama to Level 1
Harvest 100 Vegetable Crops
Again, plant whatever vegetable you like just to be done with this one as quickly as possible. As for the Oat Sacks, you might be lucky enough to have some extras on hand from the first set of Lighthouse Cove goals, but if not, just ask your friends to send you the Sacks that you do need. Finishing off this last goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Laxta Sheep.
Luckily, we're given a full two weeks to work on these goals, so if you have others that you need to clear off your plate first, feel free to do so without worrying about these expiring as well.
Farmin' Ain't Easy
Get 8 Farmer's Overalls
Place 1 Livestock Pen
Place 4 Whitewash Fences
Whitewash Fences cost just 300 coins per square, so spend the 1,200 coins on four and then delete them as soon as you're done with this goal. As for the Farmer's Overalls, you'll need to ask your friends to send them to you. Finish this first goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Grey Mouflon Goat.
These Boots Were Made for Farmin'
Get 8 Pairs of Farmer's Boots
Buy 3 Barrels
Harvest 5 Sheep
Barrels cost 125 coins each, so at least this is another cheap expensive just to finish the goal. Gathering the Farmer's Boots is another task for asking your friends to help. Finishing this goal gives you another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and one White Llama.
Perqs for the Talent
Get 8 Wool Blankets
Complete the Livestock Pen
Harvest 50 Vegetables
Luckily, it doesn't matter which of the vegetable crops you grow, so just pick something you have yet to master, or the shortest growth-time vegetable to finish this one off. As for the Wool Blankets - you guessed it - ask your friends to send them to you. As for completing the Livestock Pen, you can check out our guide to doing so right here. Finish off this goal to earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Hay-Ho the Dairy-O!
Get 8 Piles of Hay
Harvest the Livestock Pen
Harvest 75 Flowers
Again, it doesn't look like it matters which kind of flower you harvest, so just pick the lowest harvest-time building and you'll be able to move on. Ask your friends for the Piles of Hay and eventually you'll finish this one off, being rewarded with 50 XP, 2,500 coins and Flower Sheep for your efforts.
Keeping Up With Baby
Get 8 Livestock Tags
Raise a Livestock Baby
Harvest 90 Fruit
Remember, common Livestock Babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30. Once you finish this goal, you'll earn another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Get Oat!
Get 9 Oat Sacks
Master White Llama to Level 1
Harvest 100 Vegetable Crops
Again, plant whatever vegetable you like just to be done with this one as quickly as possible. As for the Oat Sacks, you might be lucky enough to have some extras on hand from the first set of Lighthouse Cove goals, but if not, just ask your friends to send you the Sacks that you do need. Finishing off this last goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Laxta Sheep.
Luckily, we're given a full two weeks to work on these goals, so if you have others that you need to clear off your plate first, feel free to do so without worrying about these expiring as well.
Coco Girl on Facebook: For the fervent fashionista in all of us
Alright, so the fashion game has already been done on Facebook. But Damian Harburger, CEO of Argentina-based social game developer MetroGames, thinks that it hasn't been done right. Well, until now. We know, you're used to seeing hardcore-skewed social games come from the developer like AutoHustle.
Consider this most recent release a fundamental shift for the studio. Harburger tells us that, from here on out, MetroGames will focus largely on women when it comes to Facebook games, and on the more hardcore crowd (mostly men) in its mobile efforts.
Coco Girl is a Facebook game designed for the fashionista in every girl (and guy, in this writer's very particular case). Every girl has her opinions on fashion--some are just more vocal than others, no?--and Coco Girl provides the medium through which to express them.
At every turn in Coco Girl, you're given the opportunity to voice your take on various outfits and in a multitude of situations. In fact, rating your fellow females' outfits is the basis of the game. Sure, players can visit various shops and dress their heavily customized avatar (seriously, even I spent at least 30 minutes fine-tuning my lady). But it's the ability to give other players' clothing choices your two cents, or Rubies in this case, that's the star of this fashion show.
Coco Girl isn't governed by an energy system or too much of a gameplay structure, though you are given daily tasks to complete and quests to embark on. The quests are simply introductory, tiny tasks designed to introduce you to the game's myriad features and customization options. Your Daily Ruby-Maker Checklist is the bread and butter of Coco Girl, and is essentially what's going to get you the Rubies you need to purchase now outfits, make-up and accessories.
Gallery: Coco Girl on Facebook
While in your character's home, you will notice a magazine called Fashion Expert. Every day, you'll open it up and rate at least 20 outfits based on whether you dig them, or whether they're appropriate for certain situations like, say, a job interview or a casting call for a horror movie. However, the amount of Rubies you earn for doing this depends directly upon whether you're opinions gel with the rest of the Coco Girl player base.
While this does well to keep you in line with "what's hot" at the moment, it has the potential to limit daring or unique fashion statements. Nevertheless this is perhaps the most elegant approach yet to having opinions play a meaningful role in a Facebook game. Players can then participate in various mini games in the Coco Carnival to add a dash of variety to simply voting on get-ups, which of course will result in precious Rubies.
The first of which is Fashion Slots, a game in which you must successfully complete an outfit that a fellow lady is looking for. You do this by stopping a spinning wheel of various clothing items in a particular category. As you continue to try and select the correct items, the wheel will spin faster. Then there is Elusive Treasures, a hidden object game that times you on how many, well, hidden objects you can spot within the time limit. The Final mini game is Love Machine, a puzzle game that has players rearranging pipes to create a direct path between two lovers.
Coco Girl Home
All three mini games offer a considerable challenge and refreshing variety to Coco Girl. More importantly, they also provide Tickets, a currency that can only be spent in Coco Carnival on more Rubies or accessories for your avatar to hold. Finally, you can create Daily Looks and Quest Looks--an important aspect of Coco Girl, if you want to be a respected fashion expert in-game.
Every look you create in the game, once saved, can and probably will be voted upon by other players--friend or not--in the Fashion Expert feature. The Daily Looks are voted upon using a star system, while Quest Looks, the outfits you create to best fit certain situations, are a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down affair. And at the end of the day in Coco Girl, it's all about the votes, it seems.
The ultimate Goal of Coco Girl is to have one of your outfits make it into the Daily Looks Hall of Fame. The get-ups that get the most positive votes are featured every day, and those that the score the most of all time get a spot and recognition forever. You can even buy those top-ranking outfits for Facebook Credits, if you want a competitive edge.
Coco Girl, on top of its detailed artwork, slick animations and varied gameplay, is all about what matters in a Facebook game about fashion: the looks and what people think about 'em, because we all have an opinion.
Click here to play Coco Girl on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Coco Girl on Facebook yet? What do you think of Facebook games directly geared towards women? Do you think any game thus far has been one that "gets it?"
Consider this most recent release a fundamental shift for the studio. Harburger tells us that, from here on out, MetroGames will focus largely on women when it comes to Facebook games, and on the more hardcore crowd (mostly men) in its mobile efforts.
Coco Girl is a Facebook game designed for the fashionista in every girl (and guy, in this writer's very particular case). Every girl has her opinions on fashion--some are just more vocal than others, no?--and Coco Girl provides the medium through which to express them.
At every turn in Coco Girl, you're given the opportunity to voice your take on various outfits and in a multitude of situations. In fact, rating your fellow females' outfits is the basis of the game. Sure, players can visit various shops and dress their heavily customized avatar (seriously, even I spent at least 30 minutes fine-tuning my lady). But it's the ability to give other players' clothing choices your two cents, or Rubies in this case, that's the star of this fashion show.
Coco Girl isn't governed by an energy system or too much of a gameplay structure, though you are given daily tasks to complete and quests to embark on. The quests are simply introductory, tiny tasks designed to introduce you to the game's myriad features and customization options. Your Daily Ruby-Maker Checklist is the bread and butter of Coco Girl, and is essentially what's going to get you the Rubies you need to purchase now outfits, make-up and accessories.
Gallery: Coco Girl on Facebook
While in your character's home, you will notice a magazine called Fashion Expert. Every day, you'll open it up and rate at least 20 outfits based on whether you dig them, or whether they're appropriate for certain situations like, say, a job interview or a casting call for a horror movie. However, the amount of Rubies you earn for doing this depends directly upon whether you're opinions gel with the rest of the Coco Girl player base.
While this does well to keep you in line with "what's hot" at the moment, it has the potential to limit daring or unique fashion statements. Nevertheless this is perhaps the most elegant approach yet to having opinions play a meaningful role in a Facebook game. Players can then participate in various mini games in the Coco Carnival to add a dash of variety to simply voting on get-ups, which of course will result in precious Rubies.
The first of which is Fashion Slots, a game in which you must successfully complete an outfit that a fellow lady is looking for. You do this by stopping a spinning wheel of various clothing items in a particular category. As you continue to try and select the correct items, the wheel will spin faster. Then there is Elusive Treasures, a hidden object game that times you on how many, well, hidden objects you can spot within the time limit. The Final mini game is Love Machine, a puzzle game that has players rearranging pipes to create a direct path between two lovers.
Coco Girl Home
All three mini games offer a considerable challenge and refreshing variety to Coco Girl. More importantly, they also provide Tickets, a currency that can only be spent in Coco Carnival on more Rubies or accessories for your avatar to hold. Finally, you can create Daily Looks and Quest Looks--an important aspect of Coco Girl, if you want to be a respected fashion expert in-game.
Every look you create in the game, once saved, can and probably will be voted upon by other players--friend or not--in the Fashion Expert feature. The Daily Looks are voted upon using a star system, while Quest Looks, the outfits you create to best fit certain situations, are a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down affair. And at the end of the day in Coco Girl, it's all about the votes, it seems.
The ultimate Goal of Coco Girl is to have one of your outfits make it into the Daily Looks Hall of Fame. The get-ups that get the most positive votes are featured every day, and those that the score the most of all time get a spot and recognition forever. You can even buy those top-ranking outfits for Facebook Credits, if you want a competitive edge.
Coco Girl, on top of its detailed artwork, slick animations and varied gameplay, is all about what matters in a Facebook game about fashion: the looks and what people think about 'em, because we all have an opinion.
Click here to play Coco Girl on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Coco Girl on Facebook yet? What do you think of Facebook games directly geared towards women? Do you think any game thus far has been one that "gets it?"
Want to taste the FarmVille crops you harvest? Take a trip to Turkey
Oh, how the tables have turned, Zynga. It looks like some industrious folks in Göreme (a small town in the historical Cappadocia region of Turkey) cooked up the brilliant idea of opening their own FarmVille restaurant. There's only one small problem: We're sure Zynga is flattered, but we doubt these super fans have the clearance for such a fine establishment.
Kotaku's Stephen Totilo found the restaurant while on travels through the visibly gorgeous country, and took a few snapshots. The "FarmVille Cafe & Restaurant" even uses the official FarmVille logo and dishes inspired by the game like Shepherd Salad and FarmVille Salad, and more general items like Tuna Fish Salad and Chicken Salad.
There are certainly more dishes available, but these are all we can point up. I guess Turkey has some seriously devoted FarmVille fans ... and even more savvy entrepreneurs. If you want a taste of FarmVille, you better book a flight now--knowing Zynga, this probably won't last much longer. (Sorry, Turkish dudes.)
[Image Credit: Kotaku]
What do you think of this FarmVille inspired restaurant? Would you ever dine at an official FarmVille eatery?
Kotaku's Stephen Totilo found the restaurant while on travels through the visibly gorgeous country, and took a few snapshots. The "FarmVille Cafe & Restaurant" even uses the official FarmVille logo and dishes inspired by the game like Shepherd Salad and FarmVille Salad, and more general items like Tuna Fish Salad and Chicken Salad.
There are certainly more dishes available, but these are all we can point up. I guess Turkey has some seriously devoted FarmVille fans ... and even more savvy entrepreneurs. If you want a taste of FarmVille, you better book a flight now--knowing Zynga, this probably won't last much longer. (Sorry, Turkish dudes.)
[Image Credit: Kotaku]
What do you think of this FarmVille inspired restaurant? Would you ever dine at an official FarmVille eatery?
Bossa Studios's Facebook debut, Monstermind, will crush your dreams
But in a good way, we promise. Like the U.S., folks in the UK are super cereal (isn't that what kids are saying these days?) about the social games movement. The Guardian reports that Shine TV has acquired London-based social game startup Bossa Studios for an undisclosed amount.
Elisabeth Murdoch's TV production company (recently bought out by daddy's News Corp) has reportedly been eying social gaming for a long time. And what do you know--her timing could not have been better.
According to The Guardian, 11-month-old Bossa Studios looks to unveil its first project, Monstermind (pictured), next week on Facebook. However, it looks like the game is available now on Facebook, though in an "open beta." (For all intents and purposes, the game is live and available for all to play.)
"We have long identified social gaming as a critical component to this strategy, and in Bossa Studios we discovered an entrepreneurial, creative team that shared our passion for creative excellence," Miss Murdoch told The Guardian. "They have bold ideas for this space which we naturally welcome and will be a significant addition to the Shine Group."
Monstermind looks to be a fresh take on the city-building genre that CityVille has done so well to popularize. Well, fresh in the sense that, in addition to building cities, you can sic giant monsters to crush your friends' towns. The game features nearly full 3D visuals and an art style that screams "The Blob meets Sim City." Check out the game's trailer below to see what we mean.
Click here to play Monstermind on Facebook Now >
Were you waiting for a new approach to city-builders on Facebook? What do you think so far of this new studio's first contribution to Facebook gaming?
Elisabeth Murdoch's TV production company (recently bought out by daddy's News Corp) has reportedly been eying social gaming for a long time. And what do you know--her timing could not have been better.
According to The Guardian, 11-month-old Bossa Studios looks to unveil its first project, Monstermind (pictured), next week on Facebook. However, it looks like the game is available now on Facebook, though in an "open beta." (For all intents and purposes, the game is live and available for all to play.)
"We have long identified social gaming as a critical component to this strategy, and in Bossa Studios we discovered an entrepreneurial, creative team that shared our passion for creative excellence," Miss Murdoch told The Guardian. "They have bold ideas for this space which we naturally welcome and will be a significant addition to the Shine Group."
Monstermind looks to be a fresh take on the city-building genre that CityVille has done so well to popularize. Well, fresh in the sense that, in addition to building cities, you can sic giant monsters to crush your friends' towns. The game features nearly full 3D visuals and an art style that screams "The Blob meets Sim City." Check out the game's trailer below to see what we mean.
Click here to play Monstermind on Facebook Now >
Were you waiting for a new approach to city-builders on Facebook? What do you think so far of this new studio's first contribution to Facebook gaming?
Thứ Tư, 14 tháng 12, 2011
There's nothing dreamy about eDream's 'Suitcase Game' on Facebook
Another day, another company tries to pull you into its web with a lame social "game." Today's offender is online travel site eDreams, which has launched The Suitcase Game as part of a giveaway that's offering up four free airline tickets to Madrid or Kiev.
The Suitcase Game works like this: First, choose from a selection of suitcases -- everything from a sleek modern case to the more retro sticker-encrusted model. Then, enlist your Facebook friends to do two things: lighten your load and add weight to other people's luggage. For each person you invite, you'll be given 1 kilo to distribute to the competition and for each friend who accepts your request for help -- you'll lose 1 kilo (Yeah, a kilo. This is a European company) of weight from your suitcase. Whomever has the lightest luggage by November 7 will win the game, and be able to choose whether they want a free trip to Kiev or Madrid.
I suppose eDreams should get props for attempting creativity (*slow hand clap*), but let's just call The Suitcase Game what it is -- an elaborate marketing promotion. In the case of this advergame (like most of its ilk), it's better to leave the whole 'game' thing to the professionals.
The Suitcase Game works like this: First, choose from a selection of suitcases -- everything from a sleek modern case to the more retro sticker-encrusted model. Then, enlist your Facebook friends to do two things: lighten your load and add weight to other people's luggage. For each person you invite, you'll be given 1 kilo to distribute to the competition and for each friend who accepts your request for help -- you'll lose 1 kilo (Yeah, a kilo. This is a European company) of weight from your suitcase. Whomever has the lightest luggage by November 7 will win the game, and be able to choose whether they want a free trip to Kiev or Madrid.
I suppose eDreams should get props for attempting creativity (*slow hand clap*), but let's just call The Suitcase Game what it is -- an elaborate marketing promotion. In the case of this advergame (like most of its ilk), it's better to leave the whole 'game' thing to the professionals.
Beekin looks to make social games that raise $1 million for nonprofits
Social game giants like Zynga and EA raise a good amount of money for disaster relief and other charities during events. But what if that in-game event never ended? That's what former lawyer and entrepreneur Michael Fox hopes to make possible with Beekin, his upcoming New York-based social games project. According to TriplePundit, Fox hopes to raise $1 million for nonprofits in the company's first year.
While no games were announced or detailed, the company hopes to bake an infrastructure for helping nonprofits meet their goals directly into each game. "They're the FarmVille of philanthropy," Beekin founder Micheal Fox told TriplePundit. While TriplePundit says that Fox's goal of $1 million raised for nonprofits within a year is reasonable, citing the $1.3 billion the social games industry made in 2010.
However, there is an issue of exposure. Even with changes to the Ticker and other enhancements to game discovery, it's more difficult than ever to gain traction on Facebook. Well, Fox and Beekin have a plan for that: Every social game created by Beekin will be supported by a four-pillar system: major brand support, celebrity endorsements, nonprofit interest and motivated players that become aware of the social ills each game is trying to correct.
We're not too keen on that last one, but Fox's primary company, Humanitainment, has access to immense celebrity resources. If hip hop icons Kanye West and Common showed their support for the company's New Life Project, then perhaps Fox can rally other celebrities and brands to get behind Beekin. The most daunting challenge facing Beekin is whether it can create social games that can spur players to pay up.
What was your favorite social game (or social game campaign) for social good so far? Do you think these types of social games have potential to make a difference?
While no games were announced or detailed, the company hopes to bake an infrastructure for helping nonprofits meet their goals directly into each game. "They're the FarmVille of philanthropy," Beekin founder Micheal Fox told TriplePundit. While TriplePundit says that Fox's goal of $1 million raised for nonprofits within a year is reasonable, citing the $1.3 billion the social games industry made in 2010.
However, there is an issue of exposure. Even with changes to the Ticker and other enhancements to game discovery, it's more difficult than ever to gain traction on Facebook. Well, Fox and Beekin have a plan for that: Every social game created by Beekin will be supported by a four-pillar system: major brand support, celebrity endorsements, nonprofit interest and motivated players that become aware of the social ills each game is trying to correct.
We're not too keen on that last one, but Fox's primary company, Humanitainment, has access to immense celebrity resources. If hip hop icons Kanye West and Common showed their support for the company's New Life Project, then perhaps Fox can rally other celebrities and brands to get behind Beekin. The most daunting challenge facing Beekin is whether it can create social games that can spur players to pay up.
What was your favorite social game (or social game campaign) for social good so far? Do you think these types of social games have potential to make a difference?
FarmVille can teach engineering skills, too, Missouri professor says
We've heard of Zynga's iconic game teaching valuable lessons in addiction, design and even copyright law, but engineering? That's what Missouri University of Science and Technology professor Ivan G. Guardiola thinks FarmVille is capable of. Guardiola's 28 students enrolled in the Introduction to Operations Research course must play the game for one week. Pretty sweet deal, huh?
"The unique attributes of this game make it ideal for presenting the students with a problem that evolves, aims to define the student's decision-making rationale and allows the student to address conflicting and competing objectives in an environment of continuous change," Guardiola said in a release.
This week-long portion of the course, titled the "FarmVille Challenge," used to eat up a month of the students' semester. Within this week, eager undergraduates compete to see who can come away with the most coins and experience points. Students make plans at the outset based on mathematical models, but those plans can quickly change with shifting game conditions.
"It is up to the player to determine how much land to plow, which seeds to plant, how many seeds to plant, and when to harvest the plants," Guardiola said. "Decisions are completely up to the player. In engineering, we use data to make decisions, but that approach has limitations because situations are constantly changing. So you have to assess your situation continuously and adjust accordingly."
According to Guardiola, a majority of his students agreed that playing FarmVille has improved their critical thinking ability. (Really? Because I thought players log in to turn their minds off for a bit.) However, more than one-third of students considered FarmVille to be too time-consuming. Then again, who ever said college wasn't altogether time-consuming?
Do you think FarmVille could make for an effective teaching tool? Would you enjoy a class that used FarmVille or another Facebook game as part of its curriculum?
"The unique attributes of this game make it ideal for presenting the students with a problem that evolves, aims to define the student's decision-making rationale and allows the student to address conflicting and competing objectives in an environment of continuous change," Guardiola said in a release.
This week-long portion of the course, titled the "FarmVille Challenge," used to eat up a month of the students' semester. Within this week, eager undergraduates compete to see who can come away with the most coins and experience points. Students make plans at the outset based on mathematical models, but those plans can quickly change with shifting game conditions.
"It is up to the player to determine how much land to plow, which seeds to plant, how many seeds to plant, and when to harvest the plants," Guardiola said. "Decisions are completely up to the player. In engineering, we use data to make decisions, but that approach has limitations because situations are constantly changing. So you have to assess your situation continuously and adjust accordingly."
According to Guardiola, a majority of his students agreed that playing FarmVille has improved their critical thinking ability. (Really? Because I thought players log in to turn their minds off for a bit.) However, more than one-third of students considered FarmVille to be too time-consuming. Then again, who ever said college wasn't altogether time-consuming?
Do you think FarmVille could make for an effective teaching tool? Would you enjoy a class that used FarmVille or another Facebook game as part of its curriculum?
Unreal-powered mobile games could go social with Facebook Connect
Soon, it won't just be our tiny, cutesy farms that get all the attention on Facebook. (It'll be our tiny, axe-wielding warriors.) Epic Games has released the next version of its Unreal Development Kit for iOS, and it includes new iOS Facebook Connect features along with various visual enhancements. In other words, beautiful 3D mobile games with looks of Infinity Blade could very well go social in the future.
More specifically, the new Unreal Engine for iOS will support Facebook wall posts, the ability to download friends lists and requests for additional Facebook permissions from a user. Yup, those sound like the classic trappings of a Facebook game, all right. This news marks just another move by Epic Games toward the mobile, social and casual games space.
Just recently, the developer/publisher/engine licensor brought a less visually intense version of the Unreal Engine 3 to Flash. In theory, this could result in Facebook games--most of which are created in Flash--taking on shiny new 3D graphics. Come to think of it, this news marks a shift for the industry in general. When a technology that has become nearly ubiquitous in the traditional games scene recognizes mobile, social and casual, so to will the creators. Are you ready for Facebook frag fests?
More specifically, the new Unreal Engine for iOS will support Facebook wall posts, the ability to download friends lists and requests for additional Facebook permissions from a user. Yup, those sound like the classic trappings of a Facebook game, all right. This news marks just another move by Epic Games toward the mobile, social and casual games space.
Just recently, the developer/publisher/engine licensor brought a less visually intense version of the Unreal Engine 3 to Flash. In theory, this could result in Facebook games--most of which are created in Flash--taking on shiny new 3D graphics. Come to think of it, this news marks a shift for the industry in general. When a technology that has become nearly ubiquitous in the traditional games scene recognizes mobile, social and casual, so to will the creators. Are you ready for Facebook frag fests?
Mystery Manor to puzzle iPad gamers, Resort World chills on Google+
Instead of excitedly prodding your laptop screen accidentally during that intense session of Mystery Manor, you'll soon be rewarded for that. (But you'll still have a smudgy screen.) Russian developer Game Insight has announced that Mystery Manor is coming to iPad later this month, Inside Social Games reports. Better yet, Resort World is available on Google+ Games, too.
While we'd expect the former to hit Google+ Games, considering the lack of hidden-object games on the platform, but Game Insight VP of Business Development Darya Trushkina told ISG that both Google+ and Android could be in the game's future. Resort World was chosen first for its Google+ Games expansion as a test of sorts. The developer will decide whether it will continue releasing games to Facebook's growing competitor within the next few weeks.
"From what I know, Google choose the games that will be the most complimentary to their platform," Trushkina told ISG. "We just pitched them with Resort World because there is no game like it there yet. It's actually perfect because we can test the social network and see how it actually performs."
Resort World marks the 21st game to launch on Google+ Games, which Trushkina hopes will grow in time. However, Trushkina's words are more revealing about Google's policy on how games arrive on its games platform. The company has been rather picky in which games its allows through Google+. Game Insight also revealed that a new game, Lords of Atlantis, may soon hit Facebook and other social networks.
Are you excited for Mystery Manor to hit the iPad? What do you think of Google+ Games so far?
While we'd expect the former to hit Google+ Games, considering the lack of hidden-object games on the platform, but Game Insight VP of Business Development Darya Trushkina told ISG that both Google+ and Android could be in the game's future. Resort World was chosen first for its Google+ Games expansion as a test of sorts. The developer will decide whether it will continue releasing games to Facebook's growing competitor within the next few weeks.
"From what I know, Google choose the games that will be the most complimentary to their platform," Trushkina told ISG. "We just pitched them with Resort World because there is no game like it there yet. It's actually perfect because we can test the social network and see how it actually performs."
Resort World marks the 21st game to launch on Google+ Games, which Trushkina hopes will grow in time. However, Trushkina's words are more revealing about Google's policy on how games arrive on its games platform. The company has been rather picky in which games its allows through Google+. Game Insight also revealed that a new game, Lords of Atlantis, may soon hit Facebook and other social networks.
Are you excited for Mystery Manor to hit the iPad? What do you think of Google+ Games so far?
PlayStation Home renovations make 'a true social game platform'
The idea of PlayStation Home was always an intriguing one: Rather than simply log into a service, go to a more literal destination to connect with your game friends. While Home has enjoyed 24 million users worldwide, Sony hasn't exactly capitalized on that healthy player base. Since its launch in 2008, the company has listened to feedback, and here we have the new Home, "a true social game platform," Sony says.
Now, wait a minute, we thought social games were reserved for social networks or at least connected to them. Well, consider this Sony ... redefining the term "social network." The new core of PlayStation Home is the aptly-named Hub, which serves as the main place for PS3 gamers to socialize in real time through their avatars.
This Hub also provides players with quests that span a number of new free-to-play games and community events through the Activity Board. The Hub, as its name implies, also connects players to the various districts of Home:
Action District: A gathering place for hardcore gamers, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.
Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights and sports-themed games.
Adventure District: At the launch of the PlayStation Home redesign, the Adventure District will present the Uncharted 3: Fortune Hunter total game integration event, providing a third-person adventure experience including a partial recreation of the Yemen level from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer mode and a cover-based shooting system complete with weapons and gameplay inspired by the hit series. Players can unlock content that can be used in the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Blu-Ray Disc game as well as additional PlayStation Home rewards.
Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for more games.
PlayStation Home Theater: The PlayStation Home Theater features an ultra-modern architectural design and hosts a wide range of videos programmed specifically for PlayStation gamers, including episodes of Pulse and Qore, trailers and interviews from the PlayStation Blog, and exclusive user-generated videos in the popular Community Theater.
PlayStation Home Mall: The PlayStation Home Mall is loaded with thousands of pieces of content from some of the most popular games and entertainment in the world. Shop for PlayStation Home games, extravagant personal spaces, costumes, clothing items and other avatar enhancements, and tons more in the redesigned Mall.
PlayStation Home Cogs
But what sounds most "social" to us are the several new free-to-play games strewn across the new Home. These new games are supported by microtransactions, much like the Facebook games you likely play daily. However, most of these games certainly cater more to the traditional gamer, and here's why:
Bootleggers '29: Set in the seedy underbelly of the Roaring Twenties, this PlayStation Home exclusive first-person shooter found in the Action District pits cops vs. criminals in a Prohibition-era game of Capture the Cask. Boasting real-time multiplayer action, a variety of vintage weapons and unlockable rewards, and the unique ability to play as your PlayStation Home avatar, Bootleggers '29 is a 100% free-to-play game that introduces a classic narrative to the modern shooter genre.
PlayStation Home Hold 'Em: A series of backroom poker tables hosted in the brand new Sportswalk district, PlayStation Home Hold 'Em squares players off in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all battle of the bluffs. Only the best of the best will progress to the high stakes tables and collect all the prizes in this free version of the wildly-popular Texas Hold 'Em card game.
PlayStation Home Sports Trivia: Test your sports expertise against the PlayStation Home community and unlock a series of themed rewards in this massive sports trivia game, found in the Sportswalk. Packed with over 10,000 trivia questions, this game will challenge the memories of even the most die-hard sports fans.
RC Rally: Build and customize your own remote controlled car and race against friends over multiple courses, performing stunts and tricks and unlocking numerous upgrades along the way. This fast-paced PlayStation Home original game can be found in the new Pier Park.
Cogs: A 3D version of Lazy 8 Studios award-winning Steampunk puzzle game, Cogs can be found front-and-center in PlayStation Home's new Hub. Build a variety of machines from sliding tiles and unlock exclusive PlayStation Home rewards in this highly-addictive puzzler.
PlayStation Home RC Rally
The new focus for Sony's PlayStation Home is the games, according to PlayStation Home director Jack Buser. However, we're still hung up on this whole "social" thing. (And not only with Home, but with that PS Vita, too.) Whether Home will better connect players through its increased focus on games will be seen starting tomorrow. PlayStation Home launches on the PS3 on Nov. 3, but until then, tease yourself with this trailer.
What do you think of the new PlayStation Home? How about Sony's overall focus on social through both of its leading consoles?
Now, wait a minute, we thought social games were reserved for social networks or at least connected to them. Well, consider this Sony ... redefining the term "social network." The new core of PlayStation Home is the aptly-named Hub, which serves as the main place for PS3 gamers to socialize in real time through their avatars.
This Hub also provides players with quests that span a number of new free-to-play games and community events through the Activity Board. The Hub, as its name implies, also connects players to the various districts of Home:
Action District: A gathering place for hardcore gamers, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.
Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights and sports-themed games.
Adventure District: At the launch of the PlayStation Home redesign, the Adventure District will present the Uncharted 3: Fortune Hunter total game integration event, providing a third-person adventure experience including a partial recreation of the Yemen level from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer mode and a cover-based shooting system complete with weapons and gameplay inspired by the hit series. Players can unlock content that can be used in the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Blu-Ray Disc game as well as additional PlayStation Home rewards.
Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for more games.
PlayStation Home Theater: The PlayStation Home Theater features an ultra-modern architectural design and hosts a wide range of videos programmed specifically for PlayStation gamers, including episodes of Pulse and Qore, trailers and interviews from the PlayStation Blog, and exclusive user-generated videos in the popular Community Theater.
PlayStation Home Mall: The PlayStation Home Mall is loaded with thousands of pieces of content from some of the most popular games and entertainment in the world. Shop for PlayStation Home games, extravagant personal spaces, costumes, clothing items and other avatar enhancements, and tons more in the redesigned Mall.
PlayStation Home Cogs
But what sounds most "social" to us are the several new free-to-play games strewn across the new Home. These new games are supported by microtransactions, much like the Facebook games you likely play daily. However, most of these games certainly cater more to the traditional gamer, and here's why:
Bootleggers '29: Set in the seedy underbelly of the Roaring Twenties, this PlayStation Home exclusive first-person shooter found in the Action District pits cops vs. criminals in a Prohibition-era game of Capture the Cask. Boasting real-time multiplayer action, a variety of vintage weapons and unlockable rewards, and the unique ability to play as your PlayStation Home avatar, Bootleggers '29 is a 100% free-to-play game that introduces a classic narrative to the modern shooter genre.
PlayStation Home Hold 'Em: A series of backroom poker tables hosted in the brand new Sportswalk district, PlayStation Home Hold 'Em squares players off in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all battle of the bluffs. Only the best of the best will progress to the high stakes tables and collect all the prizes in this free version of the wildly-popular Texas Hold 'Em card game.
PlayStation Home Sports Trivia: Test your sports expertise against the PlayStation Home community and unlock a series of themed rewards in this massive sports trivia game, found in the Sportswalk. Packed with over 10,000 trivia questions, this game will challenge the memories of even the most die-hard sports fans.
RC Rally: Build and customize your own remote controlled car and race against friends over multiple courses, performing stunts and tricks and unlocking numerous upgrades along the way. This fast-paced PlayStation Home original game can be found in the new Pier Park.
Cogs: A 3D version of Lazy 8 Studios award-winning Steampunk puzzle game, Cogs can be found front-and-center in PlayStation Home's new Hub. Build a variety of machines from sliding tiles and unlock exclusive PlayStation Home rewards in this highly-addictive puzzler.
PlayStation Home RC Rally
The new focus for Sony's PlayStation Home is the games, according to PlayStation Home director Jack Buser. However, we're still hung up on this whole "social" thing. (And not only with Home, but with that PS Vita, too.) Whether Home will better connect players through its increased focus on games will be seen starting tomorrow. PlayStation Home launches on the PS3 on Nov. 3, but until then, tease yourself with this trailer.
What do you think of the new PlayStation Home? How about Sony's overall focus on social through both of its leading consoles?
Gree vies for global takeover with mobile social game platform in 2012
Yeah, and so is everyone else. Gree announced its plans for a global mobile social game platform that is said to launch in mid-2012. The Japanese mobile social games giant plans to use OpenFeint to bridge the gap between Asian and Western gaming audiences in hopes of reaching 1 billion players. However, the company didn't say much of anything beyond that.
"This new platform allows our partners to focus on increasing engagement and revenue, while continuing to offer the most comprehensive free-to-play gaming experience," Gree International CEO Naoki Aoyagi said in a release. "The new platform will leverage OpenFeint and GREE assets and will bring together Western and Asian mobile social markets with a goal of reaching over one billion users."
Gree plans to release more details on the service this December, but said that its network in Japan grows at a rate of 3.8 new players per second. The company's main competitor is DeNA, the Japanese owner of ngmoco and the Mobage mobile social games network. Mobage is already available in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries on Android. However, both Zynga and EA--the largest social game makers in the nation--both already have a host of mobile games.
Let's not forget that the former has plans for a (somewhat) independent social games network, Project Z. We're almost certain that's going to extend to mobile devices, which would provide Gree and OpenFeint just one more competitor to worry about. We're not sure just what the duo is cooking up, but to come out on top of this healthy competition, it better be huge.
[Image Credit: Gree]
Do you think Gree has a shot at beating the competition in the mobile social games space? Which of the top companies are you most confident in when it comes to mobile games?
"This new platform allows our partners to focus on increasing engagement and revenue, while continuing to offer the most comprehensive free-to-play gaming experience," Gree International CEO Naoki Aoyagi said in a release. "The new platform will leverage OpenFeint and GREE assets and will bring together Western and Asian mobile social markets with a goal of reaching over one billion users."
Gree plans to release more details on the service this December, but said that its network in Japan grows at a rate of 3.8 new players per second. The company's main competitor is DeNA, the Japanese owner of ngmoco and the Mobage mobile social games network. Mobage is already available in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries on Android. However, both Zynga and EA--the largest social game makers in the nation--both already have a host of mobile games.
Let's not forget that the former has plans for a (somewhat) independent social games network, Project Z. We're almost certain that's going to extend to mobile devices, which would provide Gree and OpenFeint just one more competitor to worry about. We're not sure just what the duo is cooking up, but to come out on top of this healthy competition, it better be huge.
[Image Credit: Gree]
Do you think Gree has a shot at beating the competition in the mobile social games space? Which of the top companies are you most confident in when it comes to mobile games?
Ultima's Garriott: Zynga only exists because EA, Blizzard didn't step in
On the streets, we call that "finders keepers." Richard Garriott, creator of classic PC RPG (role-playing game) series Ultima and co-founder of social game maker Portalarium, said that Zynga merely beat the big time game creators to the punch. Speaking to IndustryGamers, Garriott said, "The only reason Zynga exists is because people like EA, people like Blizzard, failed to step in."
Well, we're sure the 200 million player-strong company sees this as a compliment to its industrial skills. Garriott believes that the creator of World of Warcraft--the most successful massively multiplayer game, um, ever--faces a greater threat from "the Zyngas of the world." And while Portalarium has since created casual casino games, Garriott says that its next game, Lord British's New Britannia (working title) will go straight for that audience.
"I think you'll see that the quality level that comes up through the casual games will rival the quality of traditional massively multiplayer games and then, because it's not something you have to subscribe to, because it's something that virally spreads, and especially because, as people churn out of a big MMO they've got to go somewhere," Garriott told IndustryGamers.
While that may turn out to be true, we've seen RPGs that target the core gamer flop again and again on Facebook. (Unless you're Kabam or Kixeye.) Garriott told IndustryGamers that he sees Blizzard as direct competition, which we imagine means he sees Zynga and EA in the same light. That said, it'll be interesting to see how Portalarium's first major game attracts an audience at such a scale.
[Via Massively]
Do you think the creator of WoW has anything to worry about from companies like Portalarium? Will Facebook games pose a greater threat to traditional game makers than other core game creators?
Well, we're sure the 200 million player-strong company sees this as a compliment to its industrial skills. Garriott believes that the creator of World of Warcraft--the most successful massively multiplayer game, um, ever--faces a greater threat from "the Zyngas of the world." And while Portalarium has since created casual casino games, Garriott says that its next game, Lord British's New Britannia (working title) will go straight for that audience.
"I think you'll see that the quality level that comes up through the casual games will rival the quality of traditional massively multiplayer games and then, because it's not something you have to subscribe to, because it's something that virally spreads, and especially because, as people churn out of a big MMO they've got to go somewhere," Garriott told IndustryGamers.
While that may turn out to be true, we've seen RPGs that target the core gamer flop again and again on Facebook. (Unless you're Kabam or Kixeye.) Garriott told IndustryGamers that he sees Blizzard as direct competition, which we imagine means he sees Zynga and EA in the same light. That said, it'll be interesting to see how Portalarium's first major game attracts an audience at such a scale.
[Via Massively]
Do you think the creator of WoW has anything to worry about from companies like Portalarium? Will Facebook games pose a greater threat to traditional game makers than other core game creators?
What's in a name: Playdom rebrands City of Might as City of Warfare?
Not much, apparently. Fusible reports that Gardens of Time maker Playdom filed for the trademark "City of Warfare" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 26. While the website seems to think that the developer is creating a whole new game, we're thinking that Playdom might simply be rebranding its upcoming City of Might as City of Warfare.
Regardless, the game will almost certainly center around the same premise that we caught a glimpse of at this year's E3. When we last saw City of Might, it looked to build a franchise out of Playdom's existing City of Wonder and enter new genres. However, the game appeared to be terribly reminiscent of competitors like Empires & Allies and perhaps more hardcore social strategy games.
The game was expected to launch this summer, but has yet to leave its closed beta test. Since then, Playdom has teased two more games, Galaxy of Wonder and Secret Agent X. The first of which sounds like it will take the familiar City of Wonder gameplay into a new environment, while the latter appears to entertain new gameplay ideas.
Regardless, City of Migh--er, Warfare should be close to release, if the company was willing to show it in action months ago. Fusible mentions that it nailed the Gnome Town trademark right on the nose, only for Playdom to release the game days later, so perhaps we're even closer. The developer also plans to release games focusing on Disney brands--it's about time.
Why do you think Playdom might rebrand City of Might as City of Warfare? Could this game give E&A and other Facebook strategy games a run for their money?
Regardless, the game will almost certainly center around the same premise that we caught a glimpse of at this year's E3. When we last saw City of Might, it looked to build a franchise out of Playdom's existing City of Wonder and enter new genres. However, the game appeared to be terribly reminiscent of competitors like Empires & Allies and perhaps more hardcore social strategy games.
The game was expected to launch this summer, but has yet to leave its closed beta test. Since then, Playdom has teased two more games, Galaxy of Wonder and Secret Agent X. The first of which sounds like it will take the familiar City of Wonder gameplay into a new environment, while the latter appears to entertain new gameplay ideas.
Regardless, City of Migh--er, Warfare should be close to release, if the company was willing to show it in action months ago. Fusible mentions that it nailed the Gnome Town trademark right on the nose, only for Playdom to release the game days later, so perhaps we're even closer. The developer also plans to release games focusing on Disney brands--it's about time.
Why do you think Playdom might rebrand City of Might as City of Warfare? Could this game give E&A and other Facebook strategy games a run for their money?
The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook puts friendly ties to the test
The word "family" implies a lot to the average American: love, togetherness, mutual respect and support ... in-laws. But for folks, you know, in the mob, that same word holds an entirely different meaning. Soon enough, we Facebook gamers will know what "family" means all too well, and that lovey-dovey stuff isn't part of the equation. Kabam, creator most recently of sci-fi-themed strategy Facebook (and Google+) game Edgeworld, has announced The Godfather: Five Families for Facebook.
Thanks to a partnership with Paramount Digital Entertainment, the developer will pay homage to the Academy Award-winning film trilogy in the only way it knows: intense, constant competition. (And, in this case, tested friendships.) The Godfather: Five Families throws players into the Prohibition Era of our fine nation's history with the initial choice to join one of five families--just like in the movies--and vie to become the dominant family in New York.
Five Families concept art
Based on an early look at Five Families, thanks to Kabam GM Lawrence Koh and VP of Brand Marketing and Communications Ted Simon, these families look to act much like factions in previous strategy games by the developer. However, the ties that bind your family together haven't been done with the best knots, but more on that later.
When it comes to combat, the developer's old fondness for sprawling battle scenes filled with clashing swords and searing spells will give way to smaller, more meaningful conflicts and focused rivalries between families. Of course, resources like cash, food and building materials and will be at the heart of your combat operations. But even more important is your muscle, which at launch will span 10 far more down-to-earth units like Hitmen, Arsonists and Tommy Gunners.
Gallery: The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook
While--like in most Kabam games--players will have to defend their own territory known as Estates, combat will be provoked in more inventive ways in Five Families. As friends come to each others' defense in the wee hours of the morning, neutral areas known as Landmarks with rich, attractive resource bonuses will lure players into cross-family skirmishes over control. These battles over familiar locales like the Empire State Building and Times Square will quickly become ongoing struggles.
While these bloody games of King of Hill rage on, players will have that Estate to worry about. Estates will serve as the home base for all of your operations from recruiting new units to gathering resources and interacting with your family. We imagine that, like other Kabam games, you will be given a grace period to build their defense before you become a fair target. So, unless you want to be open to attack from the 70,000 players per server (a figure Kabam revealed to us), we suggest you pimp out your Estate.
And fast. As your Estate progresses, thanks to upgrades, its appearance will change and improve. Not only will this slowly increase your cred within your own family, but give you a sense of your power increasing. (Check out the nifty, interactive slider above to see how a Level 10 Estate looks compared to a Level 1 Estate.) But that's far from the only thing that will change as you progress through Five Families.
Remember this well: There can only be one "Don" ... per family. This position of power--much like the King in CivWorld--holds far more weight than you might think. While it's specific benefits weren't revealed just yet, what was is the fact that this will be a highly coveted goal for members of the same family, which will inevitably lead to tension and eventually conflict within families. Five Families will cause players to question their social connections, which speaks volumes to how ambitious this project looks thus far.
Five Families concept art victory
But you will see evidence of that almost immediately through the engrossing, scene-setting concept art littered throughout the game. When you win a battle, you'll be greeted by a dramatic scene of a mobster plodding through the streets of New York on a damp night, bodies laying motionless on the curb behind him as he totes a tommy gun. And this is just one of many vivid pieces you will come across in Five Families.
The Godfather: Five Families, with its focus on faction-based combat and intense inter-familial conflicts, looks to be Kabam's most socially inventive strategy game yet. While we were told that a heavier focus would be on combat in this game, we weren't shown enough of it to give impressions just yet. But if you want to see the combat firsthand, Kabam is now accepting registrations for a closed beta test of the game set to launch within the next several weeks.
Click here to sign up for The Godfather: Five Families Closed Beta Test Now >
Are you psyched about a Godfather game coming to Facebook? How well do you think the game will represent the films in its social strategy combat format?
Thanks to a partnership with Paramount Digital Entertainment, the developer will pay homage to the Academy Award-winning film trilogy in the only way it knows: intense, constant competition. (And, in this case, tested friendships.) The Godfather: Five Families throws players into the Prohibition Era of our fine nation's history with the initial choice to join one of five families--just like in the movies--and vie to become the dominant family in New York.
Five Families concept art
Based on an early look at Five Families, thanks to Kabam GM Lawrence Koh and VP of Brand Marketing and Communications Ted Simon, these families look to act much like factions in previous strategy games by the developer. However, the ties that bind your family together haven't been done with the best knots, but more on that later.
When it comes to combat, the developer's old fondness for sprawling battle scenes filled with clashing swords and searing spells will give way to smaller, more meaningful conflicts and focused rivalries between families. Of course, resources like cash, food and building materials and will be at the heart of your combat operations. But even more important is your muscle, which at launch will span 10 far more down-to-earth units like Hitmen, Arsonists and Tommy Gunners.
Gallery: The Godfather: Five Families on Facebook
While--like in most Kabam games--players will have to defend their own territory known as Estates, combat will be provoked in more inventive ways in Five Families. As friends come to each others' defense in the wee hours of the morning, neutral areas known as Landmarks with rich, attractive resource bonuses will lure players into cross-family skirmishes over control. These battles over familiar locales like the Empire State Building and Times Square will quickly become ongoing struggles.
While these bloody games of King of Hill rage on, players will have that Estate to worry about. Estates will serve as the home base for all of your operations from recruiting new units to gathering resources and interacting with your family. We imagine that, like other Kabam games, you will be given a grace period to build their defense before you become a fair target. So, unless you want to be open to attack from the 70,000 players per server (a figure Kabam revealed to us), we suggest you pimp out your Estate.
And fast. As your Estate progresses, thanks to upgrades, its appearance will change and improve. Not only will this slowly increase your cred within your own family, but give you a sense of your power increasing. (Check out the nifty, interactive slider above to see how a Level 10 Estate looks compared to a Level 1 Estate.) But that's far from the only thing that will change as you progress through Five Families.
Remember this well: There can only be one "Don" ... per family. This position of power--much like the King in CivWorld--holds far more weight than you might think. While it's specific benefits weren't revealed just yet, what was is the fact that this will be a highly coveted goal for members of the same family, which will inevitably lead to tension and eventually conflict within families. Five Families will cause players to question their social connections, which speaks volumes to how ambitious this project looks thus far.
Five Families concept art victory
But you will see evidence of that almost immediately through the engrossing, scene-setting concept art littered throughout the game. When you win a battle, you'll be greeted by a dramatic scene of a mobster plodding through the streets of New York on a damp night, bodies laying motionless on the curb behind him as he totes a tommy gun. And this is just one of many vivid pieces you will come across in Five Families.
The Godfather: Five Families, with its focus on faction-based combat and intense inter-familial conflicts, looks to be Kabam's most socially inventive strategy game yet. While we were told that a heavier focus would be on combat in this game, we weren't shown enough of it to give impressions just yet. But if you want to see the combat firsthand, Kabam is now accepting registrations for a closed beta test of the game set to launch within the next several weeks.
Click here to sign up for The Godfather: Five Families Closed Beta Test Now >
Are you psyched about a Godfather game coming to Facebook? How well do you think the game will represent the films in its social strategy combat format?
Angry Birds flies (and crashes) past half a billion downloads [Video]
The Angry Birds games are, for all intents and purposes, a cultural phenomenon at this point. And that's chalked up to more than just how many times the games have been downloaded--the things are dang near everywhere. Rovio CMO Peter Vesterbacka announced at Slush 2011 in Finland that its flagship game series has been downloaded over 500 million times.
And, according to TechCrunch, the game reportedly experienced 100 million of those downloads in the past two weeks alone. As of earlier this month, the game enjoys over 130 million monthly players and over 30 million daily players. To put things into perspective, the equivalent of over half of Zynga's monthly player base across all of its games is playing a single game.
Rovio is doing everything in its power to keep the money-printing franchise relevant. Everything from Angry Birds plush toys to t-shirts and a cookbook have been released. (Let's not forget about the feature film that's slated for 2014.) And to celebrate, Rovio created this nifty video showing off how awesome it is. The red bird literally soars through milestones, one of which being that 200,000 years worth of Angry Birds has been played to date.
No wonder Rovio is eying up a $1 billion initial public offering. However, many wonder whether the franchise can remain relevant as the Finnish developer skyrockets toward its goal of 1 billion Angry Birds players. To ensure everything goes according to plan, Rovio looks to bring the birds into new game genres. Angry Karts, anyone?
[Image Credit: Mohamed Raoof]
Do you think the Angry Birds can go up from here? What type of Angry Birds game would you like to see next?
And, according to TechCrunch, the game reportedly experienced 100 million of those downloads in the past two weeks alone. As of earlier this month, the game enjoys over 130 million monthly players and over 30 million daily players. To put things into perspective, the equivalent of over half of Zynga's monthly player base across all of its games is playing a single game.
Rovio is doing everything in its power to keep the money-printing franchise relevant. Everything from Angry Birds plush toys to t-shirts and a cookbook have been released. (Let's not forget about the feature film that's slated for 2014.) And to celebrate, Rovio created this nifty video showing off how awesome it is. The red bird literally soars through milestones, one of which being that 200,000 years worth of Angry Birds has been played to date.
No wonder Rovio is eying up a $1 billion initial public offering. However, many wonder whether the franchise can remain relevant as the Finnish developer skyrockets toward its goal of 1 billion Angry Birds players. To ensure everything goes according to plan, Rovio looks to bring the birds into new game genres. Angry Karts, anyone?
[Image Credit: Mohamed Raoof]
Do you think the Angry Birds can go up from here? What type of Angry Birds game would you like to see next?
How FarmVille-maker Zynga is changing the game industry
Some might say Hollywood has had the biggest influence on gaming, and others will argue that the late Steve Jobs is one of the most important figures in gaming. FarmVille-maker Zynga is also wielding a pretty big hammer, though you might be hard pressed to find many game makers who will freely admit to it.
Save for MMO maker Todd Coleman. The KingsIsle creative director, responsible for the kid-friendly MMO Wizard 101, says that Zynga games were a major inspiration for Grub Guardians, an online tower defense game that also serves as a companion game to Wizard 101.
"We're taking a trick from the Zynga playbook," he says. "The trick is that players like to connect to a game's advancement curve, they like to make forward progress from whatever device they have handy."
In this case, players who want to get ahead in Wizard 101, but don't have a computer handy, will be able to do so by playing Grub Guardians. Play a few rounds of the tower defense game in whatever browser you have handy (and later on iOS and Android devices), then score new items and experience for your pet in Wizard.
"Sometimes players take 15 minutes, sometimes two hours, sometimes just 30 seconds to play Wizard. We thought it would be interesting to expose smaller, more digestible entry points to make advancements in the game," Coleman says.
The one way Zynga isn't influencing this MMO developer? Metrics. Zynga is notorious for crunching numbers and then using them to drive the game making process. Coleman maintains that when it comes to making games with more complexity than, say, FarmVille, you can't just rely on data to make decisions. Sometimes, he says, you just have to go with your gut.
Coleman and crew's guts seems to be leading down the right path (Wizard 101 has 13 million unique users a month, according to the Gamasutra article), though it's also hard to argue with Zynga's number crunching ways when a simple game like FarmVille brings in 28 million players a month. In the battle of gut vs. numbers -- numbers win. Or do they?
Save for MMO maker Todd Coleman. The KingsIsle creative director, responsible for the kid-friendly MMO Wizard 101, says that Zynga games were a major inspiration for Grub Guardians, an online tower defense game that also serves as a companion game to Wizard 101.
"We're taking a trick from the Zynga playbook," he says. "The trick is that players like to connect to a game's advancement curve, they like to make forward progress from whatever device they have handy."
In this case, players who want to get ahead in Wizard 101, but don't have a computer handy, will be able to do so by playing Grub Guardians. Play a few rounds of the tower defense game in whatever browser you have handy (and later on iOS and Android devices), then score new items and experience for your pet in Wizard.
"Sometimes players take 15 minutes, sometimes two hours, sometimes just 30 seconds to play Wizard. We thought it would be interesting to expose smaller, more digestible entry points to make advancements in the game," Coleman says.
The one way Zynga isn't influencing this MMO developer? Metrics. Zynga is notorious for crunching numbers and then using them to drive the game making process. Coleman maintains that when it comes to making games with more complexity than, say, FarmVille, you can't just rely on data to make decisions. Sometimes, he says, you just have to go with your gut.
Coleman and crew's guts seems to be leading down the right path (Wizard 101 has 13 million unique users a month, according to the Gamasutra article), though it's also hard to argue with Zynga's number crunching ways when a simple game like FarmVille brings in 28 million players a month. In the battle of gut vs. numbers -- numbers win. Or do they?
Quote of the Moment: 'There is no right way to do [social games]'
That's what Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price (pictured) said to GameSpot during an interview. The company has recently created Insomniac Click, its very own social games studio. But forming a social games wing has had deeper effects than simply making executives see green. Social gaming has apparetly permeated how the studio approaches its core game franchises like Resistance and Rachet & Clank on the PS3.
"What we are learning as we get further into social game development is the importance of on-boarding, the importance of social hooks, and reaching the broadest audience possible while delivering a AAA experience," Price told GameSpot. "These are things that we of course considered in console development, but as we are building social games we have to be even more focused on particular aspects of development, and because of that, we are learning a lot that also applies to our console games. And as a result, we are learning lessons that we probably wouldn't have learned if we were purely focused on our console games."
In other words, social games have had a visible effect on how the studio creates and maintains its existing console games. No, you won't come across farms to grow as you fend off the alien invasion, but you might "share" the fun with your friends. Price went on to say that the existence of Insomniac Click has led the studio to consider a bigger focus on community in its games. Then, the Insomniac head gets even more real for a second.
"Well, most of us are trying to figure out exactly where we want to focus in terms of making our mark in social games, because there is so much experimentation happening every day, and there is no right way to do it," Price said. "That's what is exciting about it." (And we seriously doubt Insomniac Games is alone there.)
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
What do you hope or expect will come from Insomniac Click? Do you think social games will have a lasting effect on the games business overall?
"What we are learning as we get further into social game development is the importance of on-boarding, the importance of social hooks, and reaching the broadest audience possible while delivering a AAA experience," Price told GameSpot. "These are things that we of course considered in console development, but as we are building social games we have to be even more focused on particular aspects of development, and because of that, we are learning a lot that also applies to our console games. And as a result, we are learning lessons that we probably wouldn't have learned if we were purely focused on our console games."
In other words, social games have had a visible effect on how the studio creates and maintains its existing console games. No, you won't come across farms to grow as you fend off the alien invasion, but you might "share" the fun with your friends. Price went on to say that the existence of Insomniac Click has led the studio to consider a bigger focus on community in its games. Then, the Insomniac head gets even more real for a second.
"Well, most of us are trying to figure out exactly where we want to focus in terms of making our mark in social games, because there is so much experimentation happening every day, and there is no right way to do it," Price said. "That's what is exciting about it." (And we seriously doubt Insomniac Games is alone there.)
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
What do you hope or expect will come from Insomniac Click? Do you think social games will have a lasting effect on the games business overall?
Supercell blows up on Facebook with real-time multiplayer Gunshine.net
Many seem to believe that hardcore or traditional gamers are waiting to be captivated on Facebook. Helinski, Finland based social game developer Supercell would be one of them. After five months of open beta testing, the company has formally released Gunshine.net to Facebook, an isometric, real-time multiplayer RPG (role-playing game) for the core gaming crowd.
The game already exists on the website of the same name, but this version is said to combine an open world and real-time combat with social features like hiring friends and team creation to take on daunting bosses. Gunshine.net takes place in a dystopian, sci-fi world where players do battle on an isometric map. Players arrive in a pristine island called Dreamwake, tasked with fighting off infected citizens and later uncover just what's going on here.
Ultimately, Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen wants to prove that this type of social game can work successfully on Facebook. "We intend to get ahead of the curve and challenge the big guys," Paananen said in a release. "With Gunshine.net, we wanted to reach a niche group of gamers that enjoy playing a rich, MMO-style game in a sci-fi, dystopian setting, and we wanted to prove that this type of model works on Facebook. Our next step is to widen Supercell's reach by launching games that offer similar styles of rich game play, but with themes that have broader appeal."
Gunshine.net Intro
Gunshine.net currently hosts 160,000 monthly players and 20,000 daily players, according to AppData. The game certainly looks impressive, with full 3D visuals, and a heavy focus on plot before getting to the multiplayer aspects. We've yet to see traditional-style games do well on Facebook aside from the few strategy game makers, but perhaps blowing up a few zombies in an RPG is just what the doctor ordered.
Click here to play Gunshine.net on Facebook Now >
Are you excited to jump into a new Facebook RPG? Do you think a game like this will do well on Facebook, or is the audience not there?
The game already exists on the website of the same name, but this version is said to combine an open world and real-time combat with social features like hiring friends and team creation to take on daunting bosses. Gunshine.net takes place in a dystopian, sci-fi world where players do battle on an isometric map. Players arrive in a pristine island called Dreamwake, tasked with fighting off infected citizens and later uncover just what's going on here.
Ultimately, Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen wants to prove that this type of social game can work successfully on Facebook. "We intend to get ahead of the curve and challenge the big guys," Paananen said in a release. "With Gunshine.net, we wanted to reach a niche group of gamers that enjoy playing a rich, MMO-style game in a sci-fi, dystopian setting, and we wanted to prove that this type of model works on Facebook. Our next step is to widen Supercell's reach by launching games that offer similar styles of rich game play, but with themes that have broader appeal."
Gunshine.net Intro
Gunshine.net currently hosts 160,000 monthly players and 20,000 daily players, according to AppData. The game certainly looks impressive, with full 3D visuals, and a heavy focus on plot before getting to the multiplayer aspects. We've yet to see traditional-style games do well on Facebook aside from the few strategy game makers, but perhaps blowing up a few zombies in an RPG is just what the doctor ordered.
Click here to play Gunshine.net on Facebook Now >
Are you excited to jump into a new Facebook RPG? Do you think a game like this will do well on Facebook, or is the audience not there?
Shrek would fit right in with CastleVille's characters [Video]
Zynga sure knows how to hold onto a good thing when it has one. The company has released the teaser trailer for CastleVille, the next game in its famed 'Ville franchise. And this might be the most well-produced Zynga game trailer to date. It's on the short side at just a mere 48 seconds, but touts some 3D animation that, while not on a Dreamworks level, certainly looks the part.
In fact, we were almost expecting an ogre-like creature to appear on-screen at some point. Of course, that doesn't happen. But what we do get to see is a few of the characters that we'll meet in CastleVille like Tom the Cupcake Dragonslayer, Rafael the Playboy and Yvette the Fair Maiden. The gameplay in CastleVille, based on what's shown in the trailer, has players build their kingdoms from scratch and embark on "an epic quest for true happiness." (Whatever that means.)
CastleVille was revealed at the recent Zynga Unleashed press event, and boasts a soundtrack recorded by a full orchestra, a first for a Zynga game ... and likely any social game, for that matter. Before the game hits, you can "Like" its Facebook page to have a say in how much the company donates to Direct Relief, Save the Children and Water.org. Of course, there are some unlockable in-game goodies for you, too. The next 'Ville is almost here, but can it top the last?
Are excited to dive into the next big 'Ville game from Zynga? Do you think CastleVille can do better than even CityVille?
In fact, we were almost expecting an ogre-like creature to appear on-screen at some point. Of course, that doesn't happen. But what we do get to see is a few of the characters that we'll meet in CastleVille like Tom the Cupcake Dragonslayer, Rafael the Playboy and Yvette the Fair Maiden. The gameplay in CastleVille, based on what's shown in the trailer, has players build their kingdoms from scratch and embark on "an epic quest for true happiness." (Whatever that means.)
CastleVille was revealed at the recent Zynga Unleashed press event, and boasts a soundtrack recorded by a full orchestra, a first for a Zynga game ... and likely any social game, for that matter. Before the game hits, you can "Like" its Facebook page to have a say in how much the company donates to Direct Relief, Save the Children and Water.org. Of course, there are some unlockable in-game goodies for you, too. The next 'Ville is almost here, but can it top the last?
Are excited to dive into the next big 'Ville game from Zynga? Do you think CastleVille can do better than even CityVille?
Thứ Hai, 12 tháng 12, 2011
Official Pokemon Game Coming To Smartphones
The Pokemon Company is set to bring an official Pokemon Online game to smartphone devices, marking the first time that an official Nintendo-copyrighted app will be available on the iOS and Android.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
Called Pokemon Iie Tap (rougly Pokemon: Say Tap?), the app appears to be a rhythm game where players “tap on Pokemon indigo trading cards to the beat of a song from the anime,” according to a translation by consumer video game site GamesRadar.
According to the game’s official announcement, it will be available for most iOS devices, as well as Android devices running version 2.1 of the platform.
Though this is the first iOS or Android application to carry an official Nintendo copyright, it is not the first mobile app of any kind: a Pokemon mobile phone game called Pokemate was released in Japan in 2006.
Though it is a rarity, Nintendo does have a history of releasing official games on platforms that are not its own, including a promotional Flash game to promote its Tingle character.
Nick Jr., MTVN expand in Asia
Rugrats and music fans in Singapore and Malaysia will be able to tune in to “Dora the Explorer” and 24-hour music videos, docus and concerts with the launch of Viacom’s Nick Jr. and MTVN HD in the territories in coming weeks.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Nick Jr Games. will bow on Singapore’s Starhub from May 18, while MTVN HD will air on Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s HyppTV in Malaysia from June 1.
Nick Jr. will be available on the StarHub TV’s Kids Basic Upsize Group, while MTVNHD will be available to existing StarHub TV’s Entertainment Basic Group customers who are subscribed to the Basic HD Upsize group.
TM will offer the two channels a la carte to its subscribers on HyppTV, Malaysia’s newest pay TV service.
The services will roll out to the rest of the region at a date to be announced.
Disney XD Games
Disney Friends for Change Games
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
To support the “Disney Friends for Change Games” on Disney Channel and Disney XD, Disneychannelgames.biz has launched an online destination at Disneyxd.biz, where kids and families can take part in the Games from home and help the planet — by making personal pledges of their own, playing online versions of the Games, and making art that matters! When kids play online versions of the Games at Disneyxd.biz, they can donate the points they earn to one of the four charities involved. At the end of the Games, the charity with the most points given by the Disney.com online community will receive $100K.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
In addition to playing online games for charity, kids can view exclusive video content and participate in a number of funonline activities. Kids can create online art on the Friends for Change Group Wall at Disneyxd.biz, where they can see the transformative power of friends everywhere pitching in to make a difference. The Disneyxd.biz site will also feature exclusive videos from the “Disney Friends for Change Games,” including a special wrap-up show hosted by Tiffany Thorntonand Jason Earles. Kids can also download the official 2011 Friends for Change anthem “We Can Change the World” featuring Bridgit Mendler on Disneyxd.biz
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
Over 30 Disney Channel Games and Disney XD Games stars from around the globe will compete in “Disney Friends for Change Games.” Four teams will play on behalf of a global charity — Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF. For five weeks beginning Friday, June 24, Disney Channelwill present “Disney Friends for Change Games” in interstitials during its Friday, Saturday and Sunday primetime original series programming, and Disney XD will present a special episode from the games Monday nights beginning June 27 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT). The Games will culminate with a special half-hour episode Sunday, July 31 on Disney Channel.
Friends for Change
Courtesy of Disney
About Disney’s Friends for Change
Disney’s Friends for Change is a multi-platform initiative that helps inspire kids and families to join together and make a positive impact on their world (and the people and animals that live there). Through PSAs on-air and online tool-kits, the program aims to provide useful information to help kids make small changes that add up to big differences. As part of the program, Disney donates $1 million dollars annually to fund projects all around the globe and has funded over 41 projects that help the planet ranging from educational & community programs to species & habitat protection. Friends for Change currently has over 4 million actions taking place from kids in 33 countries throughoutthe United States, Europe, Latin America, Japan, India and China. For more information, please visit Disneyxd.biz.
- Disney XD gets its game on
Astral-owned Disney XD Canada is delving deeper into the gaming space in a month-long promotion that will see the multi-platform brand take viewers behind the scenes of June’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), offer up two new games on DisneyXD.biz every week and give away five video game consoles to Disney XD viewers.
The Level Up contest runs through the month of September and is set to feature the star of What’s, Up Warthogs!, Eduard Witzke, reporting from this year’s E3 in eight short interstitial reports entitled Ed’s E3. New episodes of Ed’s E3 will premiere every Tuesday and Thursday from September 1 and will air throughout the Disney XD schedule. Additionally, a weekly entry word will appear in each episode, which can be used to enter the Level Up contest online to win one of five game consoles.
On top of entering the Level Up contest on DisneyXD.ca, viewers can explore a dedicated minisite to re-watch episodes of Ed’s E3 as well as test their skills on brand-new Disney XD games. Two new games will be unveiled each week with a bonus game available for those who can work out the special DisneyXD.biz game code.
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