farmville one year ago old farmville history
FarmVille was released on Facebook in June 2009. Though the game has only been out a year and a half, it feels like it's been around for an eternity. With almost daily updates, fixes, new features and items, the virtual farm game is constantly changing. In fact, FarmVille has changed so drastically in the past year, you may not even remember the game as it once was: a simple click-farming game that pretty much consisted of planting and harvesting virtual crops.
With the approach of 2011, we decided to turn back the clock one year, and re-examine what FarmVille was like before the creation of Co-Op Jobs, Crafting Buildings and the Farmer's Market.
farmville one year ago old farmville history
Crop Mastery was a new (and awesome) feature
Crop mastery was not an original feature of FarmVille. In fact, if we look back at FarmVille exactly one year ago, Crop Mastery was still a relatively new feature. Released in September of 2009, long time fans had mixed feelings about the new feature. They were excited that FarmVille was adding more depth to the game, but feeling disappointed that their months of diligent farming didn't contribute to their crop mastery. Now, of course, crop mastery is a stable of life in FarmVille.
Nostalgic News:
Farmville Crop Mastery Released - Earn Bonuses Just Like in Mafia Wars
farmville one year ago old farmville history
Fertilizer was a mysterious farming phenomenon
We weren't always able to fertilize our crops. Fertilizer didn't arrive until October of 2009, and even then it was extremely rare. It was so rare that we had a hard time finding an image of it. The picture you see above was end-result of a long, arduous search.
The sight of sparkly crops was brand new and had us super excited to see what fertilizer features were soon to come. Fast-forward to present day and fertilizer is as common as dirt; friends can fertilize five crops or plots every time they visit your farm. But there was a time where fertilizer mystified us and it was a red-hot farming commodity.
Nostalgic News:
FarmVille Crop Whisperer: Sparkly Fertilized Crops in the Wild
farmville one year ago
Harvest Markers weren't always big pink carrots
Also in October of 2009, a big visual change hit FarmVille. If you recall, the pink carrots above your ready-to-harvest animals weren't always there. Instead, animals used to light up with a pink outline when they were ready for collection (pictured above). Like all new features, there were those that loved the change, but there were even more that despised it. "How could you mess with the FarmVille we know and love!?" we cried. One year later, I think the pink carrots are actually a lot nicer. Who woulda thunk it.
Nostalgic News:
FarmVille Cheats & Tips: New Harvest Markers for Animals
farmville one year ago old farmville history
Storage was on the way, and boy were we excited
In the olden days of FarmVille, many veteran farmers experienced a peculiar problem: simply having too much stuff. Back then there were no barns, no garages, and no storage at all. Once our inventories filled up, we were forced to either place the item on our farm, or get rid of it. Unfortunately, I lost many baby elephants this way -- a loss I mourn to this very day. So imagine our luck when FarmVille announced storage, we were ecstatic!
Nostalgic News:
FarmVille Storage and Giftable Flowers Coming Soon
FarmVille Introduces the Garden Shed
Oh Joy! FarmVille Turns Barns and Sheds into Useful Storage Buildings
farmville one year ago
Finding lost animals was a big event
Before the rise of Co-op Farming, Crafting Buildings, the Farmer's Market, and other FarmVille features, the game was pretty simple. There were crops, trees, and animals; and that was all we needed. At the time, one of the biggest features was FarmVille lost animals. While this feature has all but disappeared in the game now, in the past I used to get so excited every time I found an Ugly Duckling. And, of course, I'd immediately post it to my wall.
Animals used to be special too. Instead of just harvesting them, you'd pluck feathers from a turkey or milk a cow. Now you just get coins. While this may have been awkward for animals like the cat or elephant (what do you harvest from elephants that wouldn't alert PETA?), it was a feature that made my animals feel special, and made my game feel more like a real farm, and I liked that.
Nostalgic News:
Sad, Lonely Turtles Invade FarmVille
Scared Wild Turkeys Wander into FarmVille
farmville one year ago old farmville history farmville one year ago old farmville history
Our farms were tiny
One year ago, the Mighty Plantation 24 x 24 farm expansion was just being released for fans only, and it was very buggy. These days, seeing Farm Estates that are 28 x 28 is commonplace. For the record, that's an increase of 255 more plots! How did we ever manage with so little space and no storage?
Nostalgic News:
FarmVille 24 x 24 Expansion is acting glitchy -- coming soon?
Farmville 24X24 land expansion is available to fans only (for now)
farmville one year ago old farmville history
The Villa was the end-all, be-all of FarmVille
In the olden days of FarmVille, people farmed mostly for fun. But even so, I don't think there's one FarmVille player out there who wasn't at least partially going about farming, making money, and leveling-up, to buy the Villa. This building was no joke. Not only did it cost one million coins, but you had to be level 34 to buy it. Achieving those two milestone was no easy FarmVille feat. The Villa was a symbol that screamed, "I'm awesome at FarmVille," and nobody can deny that they wanted the majestic abode on their farms. Unfortunately now, there are more and more items that dwarf the Villa's one demanding presence on our farms. Now, it sits humbly in the corner of our estates, as a token to the FarmVille of old.
Nostalgic News:
Guest Column: Is There Life after Villa in FarmVille?
farmville remember when facebook updates
Non-FarmVillers got an overwhelming amount of spam
While many would argue the first few months of FarmVille were the golden era, for those who didn't play the game, it was definitely the dark ages. Before Facebook released updates that limited gifting and moved game requests to separate menus, our friends received an inhumane amount of requests. This was awesome for those who loved getting lost animals and other FarmVille bonuses. But for those who didn't play, the dozens of spammy Facebook game requests clogging up their notifications and news feeds could not have been more frustrating. But oh well, it was their fault for not playing!
Nostalgic News:
Will Facebook Redesign End Game Spam?
Two Reasons Facebook Games Are About to Change Forever
Facebook's Potential Changes May End Game Spam (Round 2)
Two Reasons Facebook Games Are About to Change Forever
Facebook changes affect FarmVille, Mafia Wars and other social game apps
farmville one year ago farmville.com
FarmVille.com was just getting started
On November 18 2009, FarmVille became playable on FarmVille.com in addition to Facebook. The feature was initially greeted with enthusiasm, as people assumed you would no longer need a Facebook account to play. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Not only did FarmVille.com still require you to log into Facebook, it also required your real email (and we all know how that turned out). FarmVille.com ushered in a new era of spammy, gimmicky FarmVille features. Since then, FarmVille.com players have always received bonus items and goodies just for playing on the site. Is it too much to ask that FarmVille players receive equal treatment regardless of where we play?
Nostalgic News:
FarmVille Without Facebook? Meet FarmVille.com
Breaking News: Now Play FarmVille on FarmVille.com
FarmVille.com exclusive gifts encourage players to leave Facebook
farmville one year ago old farmville history
Which do you prefer?
I've taken you through some of the ways FarmVille has changed. But this begs the question: did these changes make FarmVille better? On one hand, the changes have made FarmVille a deeper, more engaging Facebook game. But on the other hand, the simple farming game we could escape to for a few minutes a day is gone. You can't log in to FarmVille without being bombarded by notices announcing new features and items. So ultimately, it's up to you:
Do you prefer the new FarmVille, or the FarmVille of one year ago?
Which FarmVille do you prefer?
Older FarmVille, one year agoNew FarmVille, todayI like them equallyI hate FarmVille
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Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012
Lord of the Rings arrives on Facebook with Aragorn's Quest advergame
Lord of the Rings advergame
Before making the journey to various consoles and handheld gaming systems, Aragorn will take his quest to Facebook in a social adventure... of sorts. To help create some buzz of his next adventure in The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest, Warner Bros. have created a small (alright, it's minuscule) Facebook game for fans to enter. Players can take four of their friends along for the ride, filling the roles of The Wizard, The Hobbit, The Dwarf and The Elf. (If you can't figure out who they represent, then you must be new to this.)
After choosing a friend for each role, well, that's it really. The only purpose this serves is to enter you and your friends into the various contests that will take place on the game's fan page. Though, you can make alternate teams with more of your friends to increase your chances of winning the grand prize, a massive prize pack including an HDTV, a Sony Playstation 3 with MOVE motion controller starter pack and a copy of The Lord of The Rings: Aragorn's Quest.
All in all, it's a pretty big let down and a horribly missed opportunity at crafting what could have been an epic Facebok adventure. What's even worse is this sweepstakes is only open to our friends across the pond in the U.K., but at least Lord of the Rings fans across the globe can play the advergame and mark their friends as either Gandalf, Samwise, Legolas or Gimli in weekly quests. (Though, it seems somewhat wasteful at that point, really.) Act quickly, our British friends, as your journey for the grand prize will end on Jan. 14.
Before making the journey to various consoles and handheld gaming systems, Aragorn will take his quest to Facebook in a social adventure... of sorts. To help create some buzz of his next adventure in The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest, Warner Bros. have created a small (alright, it's minuscule) Facebook game for fans to enter. Players can take four of their friends along for the ride, filling the roles of The Wizard, The Hobbit, The Dwarf and The Elf. (If you can't figure out who they represent, then you must be new to this.)
After choosing a friend for each role, well, that's it really. The only purpose this serves is to enter you and your friends into the various contests that will take place on the game's fan page. Though, you can make alternate teams with more of your friends to increase your chances of winning the grand prize, a massive prize pack including an HDTV, a Sony Playstation 3 with MOVE motion controller starter pack and a copy of The Lord of The Rings: Aragorn's Quest.
All in all, it's a pretty big let down and a horribly missed opportunity at crafting what could have been an epic Facebok adventure. What's even worse is this sweepstakes is only open to our friends across the pond in the U.K., but at least Lord of the Rings fans across the globe can play the advergame and mark their friends as either Gandalf, Samwise, Legolas or Gimli in weekly quests. (Though, it seems somewhat wasteful at that point, really.) Act quickly, our British friends, as your journey for the grand prize will end on Jan. 14.
CityVille blasts past FrontierVille with 47.9 million players, could outgrow FarmVille in days
CityVille won't stop!
CityVille, for all intents and purposes, is the new ish on Facebook. It's been reported by AppData and VentureBeat that the game, after grabbing a massive 47.9 million monthly players in just 18 days, could easily soar high above FarmVille in days. Think about it: the game made mincemeat of FrontierVille's 30.9 million with ease. With the farming sim sitting at 56.3 million players after a significant drop from its peak of over 80 million players earlier this year, Zynga is apparently in competition with itself. Now that FarmVille is frighteningly close to being finally dethroned, we ask, "Could anyone else have done it but Zynga?"
Probably not.
While we've already explored what might have contributed to the insanely rapid growth of the city-growing sim, it's about time we ask another question: What could this mean for FrontierVille and FarmVille? First off, they won't be going anywhere soon. But they could very well become less profitable over time, with fewer items asking for paid currency and inversely more items that cost City Cash popping up in CityVille. We doubt Zynga's focus would shift too dramatically from game to game--heck, the company is still trying to get Warstorm off the ground--but anything is possible. Here's one last question: Can CityVille return Zynga to its former glory of raking in over 80 million souls players in a single game? Stay tuned to see if CityVille trumps the farm in time for Christmas.
CityVille, for all intents and purposes, is the new ish on Facebook. It's been reported by AppData and VentureBeat that the game, after grabbing a massive 47.9 million monthly players in just 18 days, could easily soar high above FarmVille in days. Think about it: the game made mincemeat of FrontierVille's 30.9 million with ease. With the farming sim sitting at 56.3 million players after a significant drop from its peak of over 80 million players earlier this year, Zynga is apparently in competition with itself. Now that FarmVille is frighteningly close to being finally dethroned, we ask, "Could anyone else have done it but Zynga?"
Probably not.
While we've already explored what might have contributed to the insanely rapid growth of the city-growing sim, it's about time we ask another question: What could this mean for FrontierVille and FarmVille? First off, they won't be going anywhere soon. But they could very well become less profitable over time, with fewer items asking for paid currency and inversely more items that cost City Cash popping up in CityVille. We doubt Zynga's focus would shift too dramatically from game to game--heck, the company is still trying to get Warstorm off the ground--but anything is possible. Here's one last question: Can CityVille return Zynga to its former glory of raking in over 80 million souls players in a single game? Stay tuned to see if CityVille trumps the farm in time for Christmas.
FarmVille Silly Bandz Sponsored Link offers 25 Farm Cash
You could call the two mirrors, FarmVille and SillyBandz. One is a money-sucking phenomenon in the real world while the other serves that exact purpose in the digital world. So, it's only fitting that Zynga puts out a Sponsored Link to help merge the two wallet-incinerating hobbies. Though, this promotion goes one interesting step further.
Clicking on this Sponsored Link below your FarmVille game will take you to a purchase link to the SillyBandz website. Clicking on "Place Order Now" will redirect you to where you can buy FarmVille-inspired SillyBandz. However, to get the 25 Farm Cash you'll have to spend $8 on the mysterious wrist bands that somehow maintain their shape. In the special FarmVille pack of SillyBandz for $5.95, you'll find cows, tractors and even everyone's favorite sheep. While it's not free Farm Cash, at least you're getting it for less than paying directly and something tangible along with the 25 smackers to boot. And remember: only trust FarmVille Sponsored Links for ways to get free or discounted Farm Cash.
Clicking on this Sponsored Link below your FarmVille game will take you to a purchase link to the SillyBandz website. Clicking on "Place Order Now" will redirect you to where you can buy FarmVille-inspired SillyBandz. However, to get the 25 Farm Cash you'll have to spend $8 on the mysterious wrist bands that somehow maintain their shape. In the special FarmVille pack of SillyBandz for $5.95, you'll find cows, tractors and even everyone's favorite sheep. While it's not free Farm Cash, at least you're getting it for less than paying directly and something tangible along with the 25 smackers to boot. And remember: only trust FarmVille Sponsored Links for ways to get free or discounted Farm Cash.
Game of the Day: Aloha Solitaire
Bringing back the game of the day is always a good thing. Today's game is Aloha Solitaire. Take a peaceful trip to the gorgeous Hawaiian Islands and play solitaire on your way across the archipelago. Relaxing screens and unlimited Mai Tai's await on your Hawaiian game expedition.
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Play Aloha Solitaire Now >
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Play Aloha Solitaire Now >
Thứ Năm, 12 tháng 1, 2012
'Monk,' 'Burn Notice' and 'Law & Order' Social Games on the Way?
Your favorite TV shows just might be headed to Facebook.
USA Network, the cable channel known for hit original series like 'Monk' and 'Burn Notice,' has launched the new version of its Character Arcade, a portal for online casual games based on its shows. The site already features Facebook Connect integration, which means that new users can simply register/comment with their existing Facebook logins.
New partnerships with social gaming companies are already underway -- soon players could start to see more integration between the site and social networks in the form of friend leaderboards and achievement-based incentives.
Standout games already live on the site include 'Monk Shuiborhood' -- players must organize and straighten out Monk's house and neighborhood to match the OCD detective's standards -- and 'Psych Office' -- a collection of minigames set in Shawn and Gus' crime fighting headquarters.
With USA Network taking cues from big social game players like Zynga and Big Fish, we wouldn't be surprised to see those TV-show branded games embedded within Facebook in the coming months. Will other TV networks follow suit with their own social games? Only time will tell, but we suspect it'll be hard to resist tapping into the multi-billion dollar online gaming industry.
USA Network, the cable channel known for hit original series like 'Monk' and 'Burn Notice,' has launched the new version of its Character Arcade, a portal for online casual games based on its shows. The site already features Facebook Connect integration, which means that new users can simply register/comment with their existing Facebook logins.
New partnerships with social gaming companies are already underway -- soon players could start to see more integration between the site and social networks in the form of friend leaderboards and achievement-based incentives.
Standout games already live on the site include 'Monk Shuiborhood' -- players must organize and straighten out Monk's house and neighborhood to match the OCD detective's standards -- and 'Psych Office' -- a collection of minigames set in Shawn and Gus' crime fighting headquarters.
With USA Network taking cues from big social game players like Zynga and Big Fish, we wouldn't be surprised to see those TV-show branded games embedded within Facebook in the coming months. Will other TV networks follow suit with their own social games? Only time will tell, but we suspect it'll be hard to resist tapping into the multi-billion dollar online gaming industry.
Son of Hotel Habbo Coming Soon
Sulake, the Finnish company behind the early social game, Habbo Hotel, may have not entered the current social networking craze on places like Facebook and MySpace, yet it still boasts a whopping 13 million players. Yet, the nine-year-old game is starting to show its age and with a worldwide economic crisis, about 10 percent of its audience pays for in-game objects. Finally, it's getting ready to launch a new teen-targeted virtual world called Bobba.com.
The "casual virtual world for mobile phones," is already out in testing form for Symbian OS-based phones (owned by fellow Finnish mobile powerhouse, Nokia) and will arrive for iPhone and iPod Touch later in September. With colorful 3-D environments that appear to allow level construction, players are limited to more of a virtual space like The Sims and less of the leveling up play than social network gamers are accustomed to. Yet, it still has room to grow.
"Bobba is still very much in the early development phase ... Our aim is to build a virtual world, which is virtually platform free -- it can be accessed practically anywhere, with all kinds of devices," Timo Soininen, chief executive of Sulake said.
Could Bobba represent the next wave of social mobile games? Stay tuned for when it arrives later this month in the App Store.
The "casual virtual world for mobile phones," is already out in testing form for Symbian OS-based phones (owned by fellow Finnish mobile powerhouse, Nokia) and will arrive for iPhone and iPod Touch later in September. With colorful 3-D environments that appear to allow level construction, players are limited to more of a virtual space like The Sims and less of the leveling up play than social network gamers are accustomed to. Yet, it still has room to grow.
"Bobba is still very much in the early development phase ... Our aim is to build a virtual world, which is virtually platform free -- it can be accessed practically anywhere, with all kinds of devices," Timo Soininen, chief executive of Sulake said.
Could Bobba represent the next wave of social mobile games? Stay tuned for when it arrives later this month in the App Store.
Mafia Wars Set to Conquer the Globe With Asia and Western U.S. Expansions
Mafia Wars players have known for some time that Zynga was planning on releasing a brand-new city, Moscow, for the Facebook/Myspace/iPhone social game. Like the Cuba release before it, Moscow will bring new missions, businesses and items -- those who played during preview weekends in August and early September even had a chance to grab some of the new loot items debuting with the expansion.
But it looks like Mafia Wars isn't stopping at just Moscow -- when we logged into our account today, we found two additional destinations under the 'Travel' menu: Asia and Western U.S.
We reached out to Zynga for comment on the previously unannounced cities, but did not hear back by the time of this posting. That said, we're wondering if Asia will take any cues from rival Facebook game, Yakuza Lords - set mostly in Asian cities.
Check back for more updates on all of the Mafia Wars expansions as you wait for your energy to replenish.
But it looks like Mafia Wars isn't stopping at just Moscow -- when we logged into our account today, we found two additional destinations under the 'Travel' menu: Asia and Western U.S.
We reached out to Zynga for comment on the previously unannounced cities, but did not hear back by the time of this posting. That said, we're wondering if Asia will take any cues from rival Facebook game, Yakuza Lords - set mostly in Asian cities.
Check back for more updates on all of the Mafia Wars expansions as you wait for your energy to replenish.
Spore Creature Creator Goes 2-D
Last year's release of Spore did the near-impossible. It let players create cute, ugly or bizarre creatures with just a few clicks, and then take those little buggers into a game where they would evolve from into civilization makers and space conquerors. Now, Spore Creature Creator 2-D gives potential Spore players a free hands-on sample of how much fun it is to create... just in one less dimension.
Users can create a creature from 250 eyes, noses, limbs, feet and other evolutionary accessories along with altering their creature's colors. Once complete, the creature is easily saved as a PNG image file that you can use to decorate your desktop, Facebook page or merely save for later bragging rights.
To discover how much of a Spore Hero your creature might be, bringing it into the Creature Trainer pits your new best friend through training exercises where you'll use your mouse to manipulate mouth/beak, hands, feet and tail weapons against orbs, skulls and clay pots that come in a constant barrage. Completing each level requires a certain point score and you don't gain coins of tokens but it's well-produced and with the ability to use different parts to defend, there's some replay value.
Once you hone your fighter's heroic qualities, you can change its appearance or start again. While you're unable to upload the unique creatures to the Sporepedia network, you can import several creatures.
Users can create a creature from 250 eyes, noses, limbs, feet and other evolutionary accessories along with altering their creature's colors. Once complete, the creature is easily saved as a PNG image file that you can use to decorate your desktop, Facebook page or merely save for later bragging rights.
To discover how much of a Spore Hero your creature might be, bringing it into the Creature Trainer pits your new best friend through training exercises where you'll use your mouse to manipulate mouth/beak, hands, feet and tail weapons against orbs, skulls and clay pots that come in a constant barrage. Completing each level requires a certain point score and you don't gain coins of tokens but it's well-produced and with the ability to use different parts to defend, there's some replay value.
Once you hone your fighter's heroic qualities, you can change its appearance or start again. While you're unable to upload the unique creatures to the Sporepedia network, you can import several creatures.
Hidden Objects Meet Free Casino Games in Slingo: Mystery
If you've found yourself struggling to make time for both your hidden object and casino game addictions, we've got your solution right here. Funkitron and Slingo have partnered up to release a brand new game, Slingo Mystery: Who's Gold? -- it combines a drama-filled storyline (you play as the broke ex-wife of a dead millionaire attempting to both solve the mystery and find as much of his money as possible) with two already popular online game genres.
We took the demo for a run earlier today -- it's essentially a hidden object game interspersed with Slingo minigames (for example, you'll have to 'win' a Slingo game in order to reveal one of the hidden objects). The storyline's pretty wacky - at one point we were breaking open vases in an attempt to find our ex-husband's money - but fun and hokey. You can download the one-hour demo for Slingo Mystery now - the full version can be purchased for $19.95.
Check out other hidden object mystery and Slingo games you can play right on Games.com!
Slingo
Mystery Case Files - Madame Fate
Women's Murder Club: Twice in a Blue Moon
Slingo Deluxe
5 Card Slingo
We took the demo for a run earlier today -- it's essentially a hidden object game interspersed with Slingo minigames (for example, you'll have to 'win' a Slingo game in order to reveal one of the hidden objects). The storyline's pretty wacky - at one point we were breaking open vases in an attempt to find our ex-husband's money - but fun and hokey. You can download the one-hour demo for Slingo Mystery now - the full version can be purchased for $19.95.
Check out other hidden object mystery and Slingo games you can play right on Games.com!
Slingo
Mystery Case Files - Madame Fate
Women's Murder Club: Twice in a Blue Moon
Slingo Deluxe
5 Card Slingo
Games.com Diary: Drawn: the Painted Tower
Big Fish Games is the developer behind some of our most popular game series, from the Diner Dash time management games to the Mystery Case Files hidden object games, but lately they've taken their development in a new direction: adventure games.
Drawn: the Painted Tower, which debuted earlier this month, has been one of our biggest addictions this past week. The game, very much reminiscent of the popular point-and-click adventure genre of the 90s, features beautifully detailed art, a great Tim Burton-esque storyline and original puzzles -- we were surprised to find how drawn in (no pun intended) we became to the plight of a missing girl with ability to bring her art to life.
'Drawn' takes many cues from the hidden object genre we're seen as of late -- we spent much of the game searching around scenes for items and progressing through areas to find items for use in other areas. Pretty standard stuff.
But the way the storyline ties into the gameplay is where 'Drawn' shines. The paintings that we explore are works of art created by the very missing girl we're trying to find and protect -- her magical abilities have made her a target for would-be evildoers (naturally!). They're peppered with interactive characters that animate and react depending on your actions -- Big Fish did a great job in making us feel like we had an impact on the game world. It evolved and changed as we progressed in the game.
The puzzles themselves are varied and impressive in their own right. In addition to some predictable jigsaw puzzles, we found ourselves using the mouse to draw in our own objects, rotating mirrors to shine sunlight on a plant and solving word riddles. We even transported objects (drawn on pieces of paper) to and from different paintings to use them. Yeah, it's good.
This was one of the first downloadable games that we wanted to buy even before the demo hour was up -- 'Drawn' pulled us in quickly and unexpectedly. Give it a try (download the demo here) and come back to let us know what you thought of it!
Drawn: the Painted Tower, which debuted earlier this month, has been one of our biggest addictions this past week. The game, very much reminiscent of the popular point-and-click adventure genre of the 90s, features beautifully detailed art, a great Tim Burton-esque storyline and original puzzles -- we were surprised to find how drawn in (no pun intended) we became to the plight of a missing girl with ability to bring her art to life.
'Drawn' takes many cues from the hidden object genre we're seen as of late -- we spent much of the game searching around scenes for items and progressing through areas to find items for use in other areas. Pretty standard stuff.
But the way the storyline ties into the gameplay is where 'Drawn' shines. The paintings that we explore are works of art created by the very missing girl we're trying to find and protect -- her magical abilities have made her a target for would-be evildoers (naturally!). They're peppered with interactive characters that animate and react depending on your actions -- Big Fish did a great job in making us feel like we had an impact on the game world. It evolved and changed as we progressed in the game.
The puzzles themselves are varied and impressive in their own right. In addition to some predictable jigsaw puzzles, we found ourselves using the mouse to draw in our own objects, rotating mirrors to shine sunlight on a plant and solving word riddles. We even transported objects (drawn on pieces of paper) to and from different paintings to use them. Yeah, it's good.
This was one of the first downloadable games that we wanted to buy even before the demo hour was up -- 'Drawn' pulled us in quickly and unexpectedly. Give it a try (download the demo here) and come back to let us know what you thought of it!
FarmVille "Allow Walk" Option Expected to Return This Week
The cows, sheep, ducks and other assorted livestock of popular social game FarmVille were set loose last Thursday night when developer Zynga added the "Allow Walk" option in each animal's drop-down menu. Once enabled, the animals wandered around the farm on their own until the "Stay" option was selected.
Or at least, they would have wandered around on their own if it weren't for a few kinks that arose -- according to some users (including FarmVille tips and tricks blog, Harvest Guide), the animations were jerky, animals ended up walking backwards and many "out of sync" issues were reported (this happens when the state of your game doesn't match the version that FarmVille servers have stored for you). The feature was disabled late Saturday night, according to FarmVille's official Facebook updates. As of this posting, we were still able to see the "Allow Walk" option in the drop-down menus, although nothing happens when it is selected.
We reached Zynga for comment, who told us that the feature will be turned back on after they resolve the syncing issues on the game, which they expect to happen by the end of the week.
"As you can imagine," said Zynga's Lisa Chan, "sometimes it's tough dealing with all of the bugs that come across when serving over 15 million players a day, but it's all part of the learning process."
Did any of you get to try out the "Allow Walk" feature before it was turned off? Did you experience any of the syncing or animation issues?
Or at least, they would have wandered around on their own if it weren't for a few kinks that arose -- according to some users (including FarmVille tips and tricks blog, Harvest Guide), the animations were jerky, animals ended up walking backwards and many "out of sync" issues were reported (this happens when the state of your game doesn't match the version that FarmVille servers have stored for you). The feature was disabled late Saturday night, according to FarmVille's official Facebook updates. As of this posting, we were still able to see the "Allow Walk" option in the drop-down menus, although nothing happens when it is selected.
We reached Zynga for comment, who told us that the feature will be turned back on after they resolve the syncing issues on the game, which they expect to happen by the end of the week.
"As you can imagine," said Zynga's Lisa Chan, "sometimes it's tough dealing with all of the bugs that come across when serving over 15 million players a day, but it's all part of the learning process."
Did any of you get to try out the "Allow Walk" feature before it was turned off? Did you experience any of the syncing or animation issues?
Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012
You're gonna' get a free mobile social game, Charlie Brown!
Perhaps Charlie Brown isn't hopeless after all. Snoopy and the gang are going social, thanks to a partnership between Capcom and Peanuts Worldwide. More specifically, Capcom's new mobile division, Beeline Interactive, will develop a new "freemium" game for smartphones and tablets. However, all we know about the game at this point is that it's slated for a fall release and will include Peanuts staples like Charlie Brown, Lucy and, of course, Snoopy.
This move comes hot off the heels of the (perhaps too) wild success of Smurfs Village for iOS devices and Zombie Cafe, both developed by Capcom. Now, the Japanese developer will hand off the duties to Beeline as it pursues its ... manlier franchises like Street Fighter and Resident Evil. According to Pocket Gamer, Beeline plans to release three other mobile games in around the same time frame: Smurfs' Grabber, Dream Park and Monster Pet Shop.
However, it's also important to note that Iconix Brand Group, which now owns the Peanuts brand, is taking the iconic cartoons-turned-traditional holiday specials way farther than just mobile social games. The Peanuts theme park rides are now featured in Amazement Park, a Facebook game created by Cedar Fair Amusement Parks, owner of 11 theme parks nationwide. Certainly more Facebook adventures for Snoopy aren't out the realm of possibility. All we hope is that they involve at least one epic battle between Snoopy and The Red Baron--at least one.
This move comes hot off the heels of the (perhaps too) wild success of Smurfs Village for iOS devices and Zombie Cafe, both developed by Capcom. Now, the Japanese developer will hand off the duties to Beeline as it pursues its ... manlier franchises like Street Fighter and Resident Evil. According to Pocket Gamer, Beeline plans to release three other mobile games in around the same time frame: Smurfs' Grabber, Dream Park and Monster Pet Shop.
However, it's also important to note that Iconix Brand Group, which now owns the Peanuts brand, is taking the iconic cartoons-turned-traditional holiday specials way farther than just mobile social games. The Peanuts theme park rides are now featured in Amazement Park, a Facebook game created by Cedar Fair Amusement Parks, owner of 11 theme parks nationwide. Certainly more Facebook adventures for Snoopy aren't out the realm of possibility. All we hope is that they involve at least one epic battle between Snoopy and The Red Baron--at least one.
Facebook and Zynga's relationship: Just how shady is it?
Last month we talked about some of the details of an exclusive relationship between Zynga and Facebook that was revealed in their S-1 IPO filings. Some of these things were more obvious and less ominous, such as the requirement for Zynga to keep certain games on Facebook exclusively and not port them to other social networks or platforms. However, there was one little line in there that left behind a lot of uncertainty for social game developers:
The parties further acknowledge that Zynga is making a significant commitment to the Facebook Platform (i.e., using Facebook as the exclusive Social Platform on the Zynga Properties and granting FB certain title exclusivities to Zynga games on the Facebook Platform). In exchange for such commitment, the parties have committed to set certain growth targets for monthly unique users of Covered Zynga Games.
No one is exactly sure what this means, but one thing is for certain -- Zynga's Empires & Allies monthly active users graph looks particularly suspicious. In the line graph shown above, you can see the Empires and Allies peaked in traffic on July 9. From there, you can see that the game started to dramatically decline in numbers, which you will see in almost every Facebook game ever released. Social games on Facebook have an exciting climb up to their peak and then fall in numbers, spiking only with the release of new features.
However, you can see that starting on July 18, the monthly active user numbers have remained almost exactly flat. No growth, only a tiny decline that is the difference of thousands, not millions. Never before has the graph of a game looked like this. I'll go ahead and say it -- this is that Zynga/Facebook relationship at work. Facebook are doing something to help Empires & Allies remain at 45 million MAU.
It wouldn't be possible for Zynga to buy ads to keep their numbers exactly this flat. With the delayed reporting on Facebook ads, you can't buy daily ads with the intention of getting an exact number of users per day. You can't even really come all that close - especially when you're dealing with traffic numbers in the 45 million range. Especially when the daily active usage of the game looks like this:
In addition, Empires & Allies isn't retaining players well. The game is hovering between 15-17% of their monthly users coming back each day. With this kind of churn and this much fluctuation in terms of their daily playerbase, it's obvious that Facebook is pumping traffic in some fashion to the game to keep the numbers flat. They could be tweaking the ad algorithm, or doing a number of things to help Zynga maintain this number in Empires & Allies. Perhaps they are doing this until Zynga's IPO; no one can really be sure.
Other social game studios have every reason to be angry about this deal. Facebook is essentially helping the titan maintain its prowess over all the other studios, giving smaller developers little chance to make up ground. Sure, a lot of Zynga's success is compounded on their previous success -- no one is denying that Zynga are the leaders in the space. However, Facebook's special treatment feels malicious to me. It's hard enough to compete with the Zyngas and EAs of the space without having to deal with Facebook siding with a developer.
The parties further acknowledge that Zynga is making a significant commitment to the Facebook Platform (i.e., using Facebook as the exclusive Social Platform on the Zynga Properties and granting FB certain title exclusivities to Zynga games on the Facebook Platform). In exchange for such commitment, the parties have committed to set certain growth targets for monthly unique users of Covered Zynga Games.
No one is exactly sure what this means, but one thing is for certain -- Zynga's Empires & Allies monthly active users graph looks particularly suspicious. In the line graph shown above, you can see the Empires and Allies peaked in traffic on July 9. From there, you can see that the game started to dramatically decline in numbers, which you will see in almost every Facebook game ever released. Social games on Facebook have an exciting climb up to their peak and then fall in numbers, spiking only with the release of new features.
However, you can see that starting on July 18, the monthly active user numbers have remained almost exactly flat. No growth, only a tiny decline that is the difference of thousands, not millions. Never before has the graph of a game looked like this. I'll go ahead and say it -- this is that Zynga/Facebook relationship at work. Facebook are doing something to help Empires & Allies remain at 45 million MAU.
It wouldn't be possible for Zynga to buy ads to keep their numbers exactly this flat. With the delayed reporting on Facebook ads, you can't buy daily ads with the intention of getting an exact number of users per day. You can't even really come all that close - especially when you're dealing with traffic numbers in the 45 million range. Especially when the daily active usage of the game looks like this:
In addition, Empires & Allies isn't retaining players well. The game is hovering between 15-17% of their monthly users coming back each day. With this kind of churn and this much fluctuation in terms of their daily playerbase, it's obvious that Facebook is pumping traffic in some fashion to the game to keep the numbers flat. They could be tweaking the ad algorithm, or doing a number of things to help Zynga maintain this number in Empires & Allies. Perhaps they are doing this until Zynga's IPO; no one can really be sure.
Other social game studios have every reason to be angry about this deal. Facebook is essentially helping the titan maintain its prowess over all the other studios, giving smaller developers little chance to make up ground. Sure, a lot of Zynga's success is compounded on their previous success -- no one is denying that Zynga are the leaders in the space. However, Facebook's special treatment feels malicious to me. It's hard enough to compete with the Zyngas and EAs of the space without having to deal with Facebook siding with a developer.
There are nearly 80M Facebook strategy gamers; now that's hardcore
Surprisingly enough, a lot of Facebook gamers wouldn't consider toiling away in digital soil for hours "fun." As traditional Facebook games like CityVille and FarmVille dominate the charts monthly, another sect of social games has garnered a considerable share of gamers' time: strategy games. According to SocialTimesPro, there are 80 million Facebook gamers that enjoy the cerebral, explosion-packed and "hardcore" action of games like Empires & Allies, Army Attack and Backyard Monsters.
The report cites the top 13 strategy games on Facebook by monthly players, which totals out to about 79 million. A number of stragglers that bring in hundreds of thousands more round out that number to 80 million. Of course, Empires & Allies by Zynga tops the list with 52 million monthly players (that's a bit dated, compared to current numbers on AppData). Though, that game's "hardcore" cred is somewhat arguable.
Zynga's clearly successful answer to this growing genre on Facebook is followed by many games that purists would call the real deal. Games like Army Attack by Digital Chocolate with 5.3 million monthly players and Kixeye's Backyard Monsters with 3.9 million players. And while Kabam sits at fourth place with Dragons of Atlantis at 3.8 million, it runs the rest of the list with three more games.
The fact that strategy games are growing is no surprise. But the fact that these games--generally reserved for fans of traditional strategy series like Starcraft and Command and Conquer--make up almost a third of all Facebook gamers is shocking. The thing is that most of these games don't have the reach Zynga throws around, yet still reel in millions of Facebook gamers. Are 18 to 35-year-old men getting their Facebook fix with these games? Or, is the new breed of social gamers (ahem, moms) getting keen on game types previously reserved for wrist brace-wielding PC gamers?
While the data presented by SocialTimesPro can't provide those answers, I'd personally go with the latter. Facebook is probably the last place fans of games like Starcraft would go to in search of a new strategy fix. So, maybe Richard Garriott is right: The line between "casual" Facebook gamers and "hardcore" PC and console gamers blurs further every day.
The report cites the top 13 strategy games on Facebook by monthly players, which totals out to about 79 million. A number of stragglers that bring in hundreds of thousands more round out that number to 80 million. Of course, Empires & Allies by Zynga tops the list with 52 million monthly players (that's a bit dated, compared to current numbers on AppData). Though, that game's "hardcore" cred is somewhat arguable.
Zynga's clearly successful answer to this growing genre on Facebook is followed by many games that purists would call the real deal. Games like Army Attack by Digital Chocolate with 5.3 million monthly players and Kixeye's Backyard Monsters with 3.9 million players. And while Kabam sits at fourth place with Dragons of Atlantis at 3.8 million, it runs the rest of the list with three more games.
The fact that strategy games are growing is no surprise. But the fact that these games--generally reserved for fans of traditional strategy series like Starcraft and Command and Conquer--make up almost a third of all Facebook gamers is shocking. The thing is that most of these games don't have the reach Zynga throws around, yet still reel in millions of Facebook gamers. Are 18 to 35-year-old men getting their Facebook fix with these games? Or, is the new breed of social gamers (ahem, moms) getting keen on game types previously reserved for wrist brace-wielding PC gamers?
While the data presented by SocialTimesPro can't provide those answers, I'd personally go with the latter. Facebook is probably the last place fans of games like Starcraft would go to in search of a new strategy fix. So, maybe Richard Garriott is right: The line between "casual" Facebook gamers and "hardcore" PC and console gamers blurs further every day.
Zynga drags Google into legal battle with Vostu, but aren't they bros? [Updated]
Ever since Google "secretly" invested in Zynga last year, we thought so too. But apparently not, as TechCrunch reports that the creator of FarmVille has filed suit against the search giant for its involvement with Brazilian social games developer Vostu. Zynga claims that Vostu has copied four of its games. (Keep in mind, Vostu has since filed a countersuit against Zynga for the very same thing.) Google has been dragged into this scrap because Orkut, a social network popular in Brazil that hosts the very games Zynga is targeting, is a Google property.
And, according to TechCrunch, Zynga filed another lawsuit against Vostu in a Brazilian court. Better yet (for Zynga, at least), a Brazilian judge has sided with Zynga and granted it a preliminary injunction against Vostu. The injunction, or court order, demands that Vostu and Orkut must remove four games--MegaCity, Pet Mania, Cafe Mania and Vostu Poker--within 48 unless the two want to pay a fine of about $13,000 USD every day until they are removed.
"Professor Bruno Feijó, from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and Chief of Vision Lab, analyzed the games and concluded that: 'the four games from Vostu characterize a clear case of copying Zynga's games in both visual interface and gameplay,'" Zynga said in a statement. This was affirmed by Professor João Bernardes Junior from the University of São Paulo. At this point, we doubt Google and Zynga will hit the clubs together anytime soon ... or whatever bros do. Google declined comment.
Update: Vostu has decided to appeal the ruling made in Brazilian court. Here's Vostu's statement in full:
Vostu will vigorously appeal this ruling, which we firmly believe has no merit.
This is a desperate and misguided legal tactic by Zynga, a foreign company with no real Brazilian roots -- a company that has failed to secure a foothold in the local marketplace and failed to win consumers who have clearly shown they prefer the superior games created by Vostu's Brazilian team.
We are confident the Court of Appeals will reverse the injunction, when presented with Vostu's position and its full story.
In less than two years, Vostu has become the clear leader in social gaming in Brazil and has grown to 35 million registered users who enjoy our high quality games, which are specifically developed for the Brazilian audience. We employ more than 50 highly-skilled employees in Brazil and over 500 employees in the region, each of whom contributes to the Brazilian economy.
Vostu has been deeply entrenched with the Brazilian economy by heavily investing in local marketing, helping brands such as Guarana advertise, doing creative deals with Brazil's most popular star, Ivete Sangalo, and conducting in-depth market research analyses with Brazilian consumers.
We remain confident that Vostu will continue to maintain its dominance in the industry by offering the best gaming entertainment to Brazil and to employ the best and brightest Brazilians in the gaming industry. We are proud to be the first and most prominent gaming company in Brazil and being able to entertain our users with highly localized and relevant entertainment.
And, according to TechCrunch, Zynga filed another lawsuit against Vostu in a Brazilian court. Better yet (for Zynga, at least), a Brazilian judge has sided with Zynga and granted it a preliminary injunction against Vostu. The injunction, or court order, demands that Vostu and Orkut must remove four games--MegaCity, Pet Mania, Cafe Mania and Vostu Poker--within 48 unless the two want to pay a fine of about $13,000 USD every day until they are removed.
"Professor Bruno Feijó, from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and Chief of Vision Lab, analyzed the games and concluded that: 'the four games from Vostu characterize a clear case of copying Zynga's games in both visual interface and gameplay,'" Zynga said in a statement. This was affirmed by Professor João Bernardes Junior from the University of São Paulo. At this point, we doubt Google and Zynga will hit the clubs together anytime soon ... or whatever bros do. Google declined comment.
Update: Vostu has decided to appeal the ruling made in Brazilian court. Here's Vostu's statement in full:
Vostu will vigorously appeal this ruling, which we firmly believe has no merit.
This is a desperate and misguided legal tactic by Zynga, a foreign company with no real Brazilian roots -- a company that has failed to secure a foothold in the local marketplace and failed to win consumers who have clearly shown they prefer the superior games created by Vostu's Brazilian team.
We are confident the Court of Appeals will reverse the injunction, when presented with Vostu's position and its full story.
In less than two years, Vostu has become the clear leader in social gaming in Brazil and has grown to 35 million registered users who enjoy our high quality games, which are specifically developed for the Brazilian audience. We employ more than 50 highly-skilled employees in Brazil and over 500 employees in the region, each of whom contributes to the Brazilian economy.
Vostu has been deeply entrenched with the Brazilian economy by heavily investing in local marketing, helping brands such as Guarana advertise, doing creative deals with Brazil's most popular star, Ivete Sangalo, and conducting in-depth market research analyses with Brazilian consumers.
We remain confident that Vostu will continue to maintain its dominance in the industry by offering the best gaming entertainment to Brazil and to employ the best and brightest Brazilians in the gaming industry. We are proud to be the first and most prominent gaming company in Brazil and being able to entertain our users with highly localized and relevant entertainment.
PS Vita won't take the 'social gaming revolution' west until 2012
At least Japanese gamers' social lives will be revolutionized this year. The Associated Press reports that Sony executive Kazuo Hirai announced that the PlayStation Vita, the successor to the PSP, will not release in the U.S. and Europe until 2012.
However, Sony will release the system on its home turf this year. Keep in mind that Sony never mentioned a release date for neither the West nor Japan. Whether the PS Vita will make it into Japanese gamers' grubby hands by Christmas--the most ideal release period--is still up in the air.
Of course, Hirai was asked by reporters in Sony headquarters in Tokyo how the company will react to Nintendo's drastic price cut of its 3DS. "We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable," Hirai said. "There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price."
Sony has slated the PS Vita as a device that will reign in a "social gaming revolution," according to a few promotional videos released by the company. This is thanks to touted features like cross-game voice chat, communication and gift-sharing with PS Vita players nearby through its Near feature, a Facebook News Feed-like feature that displays status updates from other players and more. Considering other platforms have been capable of a few of these features for years, we're waiting with bated breath to see just how revolutionary the PS Vita will be.
However, Sony will release the system on its home turf this year. Keep in mind that Sony never mentioned a release date for neither the West nor Japan. Whether the PS Vita will make it into Japanese gamers' grubby hands by Christmas--the most ideal release period--is still up in the air.
Of course, Hirai was asked by reporters in Sony headquarters in Tokyo how the company will react to Nintendo's drastic price cut of its 3DS. "We packed so much into the device and made it very affordable," Hirai said. "There is no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game business decided that they were going to lower their price."
Sony has slated the PS Vita as a device that will reign in a "social gaming revolution," according to a few promotional videos released by the company. This is thanks to touted features like cross-game voice chat, communication and gift-sharing with PS Vita players nearby through its Near feature, a Facebook News Feed-like feature that displays status updates from other players and more. Considering other platforms have been capable of a few of these features for years, we're waiting with bated breath to see just how revolutionary the PS Vita will be.
Thứ Hai, 9 tháng 1, 2012
Trial Madness 2 on Facebook is addictive, antisocial motocross
Trial Madness 2
Alright, so it's not exactly a social game in the traditional sense. But Trial Madness 2 by Spanish developer Social Point is just plain fun. Sure, you can add your friends and compare times with them--not to mention to global leader boards. And of course you can create a custom player profile and avatar that will display your highest score and currency. But none of this is the main draw of Trial Madness 2.
It's the gameplay.
And while gameplay alone doesn't seem to get social games very far these days, Trial Madness 2 certainly brings it in spades. Not to mention plenty of competition. Check behind the break for our detailed impressions of Trial Madness 2.
Trial Madness 2 gameplay
This balance-heavy biking game doesn't exactly advance the sub-genre of casual gaming, but Trial Madness 2 certainly does add some much need polish to it. The gameplay remains the same: simple to understand, nearly impossible to master. Players navigate a motocross bike across both somewhat normal and at times ridiculous terrain using the arrow keys. The "up" and "down" arrow key accelerate and apply the brakes, respectively. The "left" key leans the bike backward and "right" leans it forward. Throw in some horribly uneven courses and you got yourself what should be a headache.
Let's put it this way: you're going to crash. A lot. But reload times are so quick that I find myself almost pressing the "Retry" button via muscle memory. Trial Madness 2 evokes this almost insatiable need to beat the next level while maximizing points. Completing the level in the least amount of time will surely increase your score, throwing in a few skillful back flips or front flips here and there will rack up the points. To do a flip, just hold in either the "left" or "right" key while in midair, but the key to a successful flip is knowing when to stop. This trial-and-error gameplay (hence the name) is admittedly addictive.
Level Complete!
After every successful level, you'll be given the option to brag through a News Feed post, taunting your friends into trying to beat your time. Turning up the scale on the competition is World mode, which displays the top players globally with their highest score and Gold won from tournaments.
An otherwise meaningless statistic, Gold is used to buy into Tournaments, which offer large Gold prizes and bragging rights. As you might have already noticed, most of the game's social elements are pretty nebulous, deceptively simple features. Tournaments and Gold are both those types of features, offering no more incentive to partake than a chance at the glory of having your face attached to one of the highest scores. Throw in a long list of Achievements to obtain for nothing more than, again, glory, and Trial Madness might be one of the most competitive games on Facebook. But with such shallow social features, only you and the other otherwise anonymous bikers will know anything of it.
Alright, so it's not exactly a social game in the traditional sense. But Trial Madness 2 by Spanish developer Social Point is just plain fun. Sure, you can add your friends and compare times with them--not to mention to global leader boards. And of course you can create a custom player profile and avatar that will display your highest score and currency. But none of this is the main draw of Trial Madness 2.
It's the gameplay.
And while gameplay alone doesn't seem to get social games very far these days, Trial Madness 2 certainly brings it in spades. Not to mention plenty of competition. Check behind the break for our detailed impressions of Trial Madness 2.
Trial Madness 2 gameplay
This balance-heavy biking game doesn't exactly advance the sub-genre of casual gaming, but Trial Madness 2 certainly does add some much need polish to it. The gameplay remains the same: simple to understand, nearly impossible to master. Players navigate a motocross bike across both somewhat normal and at times ridiculous terrain using the arrow keys. The "up" and "down" arrow key accelerate and apply the brakes, respectively. The "left" key leans the bike backward and "right" leans it forward. Throw in some horribly uneven courses and you got yourself what should be a headache.
Let's put it this way: you're going to crash. A lot. But reload times are so quick that I find myself almost pressing the "Retry" button via muscle memory. Trial Madness 2 evokes this almost insatiable need to beat the next level while maximizing points. Completing the level in the least amount of time will surely increase your score, throwing in a few skillful back flips or front flips here and there will rack up the points. To do a flip, just hold in either the "left" or "right" key while in midair, but the key to a successful flip is knowing when to stop. This trial-and-error gameplay (hence the name) is admittedly addictive.
Level Complete!
After every successful level, you'll be given the option to brag through a News Feed post, taunting your friends into trying to beat your time. Turning up the scale on the competition is World mode, which displays the top players globally with their highest score and Gold won from tournaments.
An otherwise meaningless statistic, Gold is used to buy into Tournaments, which offer large Gold prizes and bragging rights. As you might have already noticed, most of the game's social elements are pretty nebulous, deceptively simple features. Tournaments and Gold are both those types of features, offering no more incentive to partake than a chance at the glory of having your face attached to one of the highest scores. Throw in a long list of Achievements to obtain for nothing more than, again, glory, and Trial Madness might be one of the most competitive games on Facebook. But with such shallow social features, only you and the other otherwise anonymous bikers will know anything of it.
Santa Claw: Use Facebook Connect to play a claw machine from home
Santa Claw
Well, at this point it's more like, "Wait in line to play a real claw machine from home," but it's awesome nonetheless. Mashable reports that Real Art Design, a Chicago-based design firm, have created a gigantic claw machine using one ton of steel, 700 feet and wire and 1.5 wheelchairs to be played with solely online. That's right, just log in using your Facebook account, Twitter handle or e-mail address and... wait for a really long time to play. As you can imagine, word of this intriguing creation has spread like wildfire--so much so that we can't even fit in the line at the moment.
The idea behind the creation is to give away the gifts that Santa had leftover from this past Christmas. That is, of course, if you manage to get in line before all the presents are gone. If you do somehow squeeze in and, through some mystical alignment of whatever celestial bodies symbolize luck, win a prize, then Real Art Design will send that exact present directly to your house. Who knows what could be inside, but we sure hope Santa dropped a MacBook somewhere along the way.
Well, at this point it's more like, "Wait in line to play a real claw machine from home," but it's awesome nonetheless. Mashable reports that Real Art Design, a Chicago-based design firm, have created a gigantic claw machine using one ton of steel, 700 feet and wire and 1.5 wheelchairs to be played with solely online. That's right, just log in using your Facebook account, Twitter handle or e-mail address and... wait for a really long time to play. As you can imagine, word of this intriguing creation has spread like wildfire--so much so that we can't even fit in the line at the moment.
The idea behind the creation is to give away the gifts that Santa had leftover from this past Christmas. That is, of course, if you manage to get in line before all the presents are gone. If you do somehow squeeze in and, through some mystical alignment of whatever celestial bodies symbolize luck, win a prize, then Real Art Design will send that exact present directly to your house. Who knows what could be inside, but we sure hope Santa dropped a MacBook somewhere along the way.
Zuma Blitz player scores over 2 million in single session
One Zuma Blitz player has achieved what many thought might be the impossible: over 2 million points in a single play session. We've watched the video multiple times and still have trouble figuring out just how YouTube user Causaelity made it happen. All we can say is that it took incredible speed, timing and a whole lot of gap shots and Time Balls. That explosive Hot Frog must have been helpful too.
Well, after all the Time Balls smashed this player had over two minutes to reach that score. Not to mention that this apparent Zuma Blitz master is a Level 80 Battle Frog. Sadly, if the high score indicator speaks the truth, this isn't even close to his best. It's about time we all get our Zuma on if we want to even come close to a score like this. (And to think I was proud of breaking 100,000.) Excellent ball busting, Causaelity!
What's your highest score in Zuma Blitz? What are your personal tips for maximizing your score in the game?
Well, after all the Time Balls smashed this player had over two minutes to reach that score. Not to mention that this apparent Zuma Blitz master is a Level 80 Battle Frog. Sadly, if the high score indicator speaks the truth, this isn't even close to his best. It's about time we all get our Zuma on if we want to even come close to a score like this. (And to think I was proud of breaking 100,000.) Excellent ball busting, Causaelity!
What's your highest score in Zuma Blitz? What are your personal tips for maximizing your score in the game?
FarmVille behind bars: Inmates use smuggled phones to tend virtual crops
Just because you're locked up behind bars doesn't mean you need to abandon your virtual farm. According to this New York Times article, smuggled smartphones are starting to become a prison cliche, much like finding a homemade shiv hidden in a mattress. These contraband phones are being used for everything from directing criminal activities outside prison to ... playing FarmVille on Facebook.
"Almost everybody has a phone," said Mike, 33, an inmate at Smith State Prison in Georgia who, like other prisoners interviewed for this article, asked that his full name not be used for fear of retaliation. "Almost every phone is a smartphone. Almost everybody with a smartphone has a Facebook."
Even though the smartphones are banned from prison systems (if you're found in possession of one, it can lead to additional criminal charges or affect your parole) they still manage to make their way into inmate's hands. The NYT article says that In California last year, officers discovered around 9,000 contraband cell phones. Guards, visitors and inmates smuggle in the phones and monthly payments range from $300 to $1,000, which are generally paid by convict's relatives.
There was no percentage on just how many cons use their smartphones to play games on Facebook, but it looks like FarmVille-maker Zynga might have a burgeoning new fan base on its hands.
"Almost everybody has a phone," said Mike, 33, an inmate at Smith State Prison in Georgia who, like other prisoners interviewed for this article, asked that his full name not be used for fear of retaliation. "Almost every phone is a smartphone. Almost everybody with a smartphone has a Facebook."
Even though the smartphones are banned from prison systems (if you're found in possession of one, it can lead to additional criminal charges or affect your parole) they still manage to make their way into inmate's hands. The NYT article says that In California last year, officers discovered around 9,000 contraband cell phones. Guards, visitors and inmates smuggle in the phones and monthly payments range from $300 to $1,000, which are generally paid by convict's relatives.
There was no percentage on just how many cons use their smartphones to play games on Facebook, but it looks like FarmVille-maker Zynga might have a burgeoning new fan base on its hands.
Zynga & Best Buy offering $100,000 in prizes in Game Card redemption contest
If you are the kind that doesn't have a problem spending real money on your Facebook games, Zynga has partnered with electronics retailer Best Buy to offer over $100,000 in prizes in a new contest for users that redeem Zynga Game Cards purchased at Best Buy over the next month.
To be clear, this is a contest - just because you redeem a Game Card that you purchased at Best Buy, that doesn't guarantee you a prize. However, for a handful of lucky players, there are some massive (and might I say extremely awesome) prizes at stake. Here's a look at what's being given away:
$5,000 Reward Zone Certificates (Best Buy's proprietary rewards program)
Two Computer Packages (each valued at $2500)
One Home Theater Package (valued at $1500)
Ten Apple iPads
Ten Xbox 360 gaming consoles
$500, $200, $100, and $50 Reward Zone Certificates
See? I told you there were a bunch of great prizes up for grabs. All you'll need to do to enter is purchase a Game Card corresponding to particular Zynga games - FarmVille, Cafe World, Mafia Wars, YoVille, FrontierVille or Treasure Isle - and redeem that card on Facebook for the appropriate premium currency. Each time you redeem a card, you'll receive an entry into the contest, which will end at the end of January. For those that want a free entry, you can also enter by mail (see here for how to do so). Again, there is no limit for how many entries you can receive - every purchased Game Card will result in one entry for one particular Facebook ID (that is, whoever redeems the Card gets the entry, and that's it).
To be clear, this is a contest - just because you redeem a Game Card that you purchased at Best Buy, that doesn't guarantee you a prize. However, for a handful of lucky players, there are some massive (and might I say extremely awesome) prizes at stake. Here's a look at what's being given away:
$5,000 Reward Zone Certificates (Best Buy's proprietary rewards program)
Two Computer Packages (each valued at $2500)
One Home Theater Package (valued at $1500)
Ten Apple iPads
Ten Xbox 360 gaming consoles
$500, $200, $100, and $50 Reward Zone Certificates
See? I told you there were a bunch of great prizes up for grabs. All you'll need to do to enter is purchase a Game Card corresponding to particular Zynga games - FarmVille, Cafe World, Mafia Wars, YoVille, FrontierVille or Treasure Isle - and redeem that card on Facebook for the appropriate premium currency. Each time you redeem a card, you'll receive an entry into the contest, which will end at the end of January. For those that want a free entry, you can also enter by mail (see here for how to do so). Again, there is no limit for how many entries you can receive - every purchased Game Card will result in one entry for one particular Facebook ID (that is, whoever redeems the Card gets the entry, and that's it).
Thứ Bảy, 7 tháng 1, 2012
FrontierVille: Pony Express Collection is the Postcard Collection
After a few snags, the Pony Express has finally launched in full in FrontierVille, and along with it comes the ability to earn collectibles. For starters, if you're having trouble building the Pony Express building, or completing the accompanying goals, check out our full guide.
That out of the way, after you complete the construction of the Pony Express, and you start to collect mail from the building through Daily Bonuses and Special Deliveries, you'll likely come across a few collectibles. However, these items won't be a part of a new collection (trust us - there is no "Pony Express Collection" even available in the game) - instead, FrontierVille Legend has found that you'll receive postcards from the incredibly difficult-to-complete Postcard Collection.
The five items in this collection all deal with American travels, so it only makes sense that the Pony Express would be created to offer these items. Here's a rundown of what to look for:
Baltimore Postcard
Boston Postcard
New York Postcard
Philadelphia Postcard
Richmond Postcard
The rewards for finishing this collection are three tools and a free Seed Drill. The prizes may not be much to be excited about, but being able to finally say that you've completed this collection seems pretty worth it.
Have you already completed your Pony Express? Have you started earning these items in FrontierVille yet?
That out of the way, after you complete the construction of the Pony Express, and you start to collect mail from the building through Daily Bonuses and Special Deliveries, you'll likely come across a few collectibles. However, these items won't be a part of a new collection (trust us - there is no "Pony Express Collection" even available in the game) - instead, FrontierVille Legend has found that you'll receive postcards from the incredibly difficult-to-complete Postcard Collection.
The five items in this collection all deal with American travels, so it only makes sense that the Pony Express would be created to offer these items. Here's a rundown of what to look for:
Baltimore Postcard
Boston Postcard
New York Postcard
Philadelphia Postcard
Richmond Postcard
The rewards for finishing this collection are three tools and a free Seed Drill. The prizes may not be much to be excited about, but being able to finally say that you've completed this collection seems pretty worth it.
Have you already completed your Pony Express? Have you started earning these items in FrontierVille yet?
FarmVille England Expansion saga continues
Back in the January 24 official FarmVille podcast, FarmVille community manager Lexilicious and her British friend Charles offered us a very quick sneak peek of new foreign content that would be added to the game. At the time, that was all we had to go on, but shortly thereafter, a sign advertising a trip to England was spotted as an unreleased image.
Now, that same sign has appeared on all farmers' land, similar to the CityVille billboard that appeared a few weeks ago. Does this sign mean we'll be able to travel to England in the incredibly near future? One would believe so. Clicking on the sign gives us a few slight details (although still vague) about this new expansion. Note: You can remove the sign by clicking on it and then clicking on the "Remove sign from farm?" toggle at the bottom of the pop-up window.
We're told that this feature will give us a "whole new way to play" FarmVille, and that it will indeed be a full "England Expansion." Furthermore, news, official sneak peeks, prizes, and more will be coming to the game "soon" to give us more details about what this entire expansion will entail.
As it stands, we're still fairly in the dark concerning this new expansion, but if assumptions hold true, this is looking to be an incredibly large feature in the game, so we can't wait to see what officially comes of it.
What are your theories concerning this new expansion? Do you think it will simply be a new neighbor to visit, or will there actually be activities to participate in once we get there?
Now, that same sign has appeared on all farmers' land, similar to the CityVille billboard that appeared a few weeks ago. Does this sign mean we'll be able to travel to England in the incredibly near future? One would believe so. Clicking on the sign gives us a few slight details (although still vague) about this new expansion. Note: You can remove the sign by clicking on it and then clicking on the "Remove sign from farm?" toggle at the bottom of the pop-up window.
We're told that this feature will give us a "whole new way to play" FarmVille, and that it will indeed be a full "England Expansion." Furthermore, news, official sneak peeks, prizes, and more will be coming to the game "soon" to give us more details about what this entire expansion will entail.
As it stands, we're still fairly in the dark concerning this new expansion, but if assumptions hold true, this is looking to be an incredibly large feature in the game, so we can't wait to see what officially comes of it.
What are your theories concerning this new expansion? Do you think it will simply be a new neighbor to visit, or will there actually be activities to participate in once we get there?
Become an entrepreneur in space with Galactic Trader
6waves is a very large publisher of Facebook games with over 30 titles so far. A brand new title to join the masses is Galactic Trader, which is an adventure game developed by 3 Blokes Studios (known for their work on Virtual Villagers). Galactic Trader is a hybrid of the Treasure Isle style of seek-and-click games combined with the theme and flavor from sci-fi games like Mass Effect. In fact, there are some serious similarities with Mass Effect that make the game feel comfortable for those of us who are totally comfortable as Commander Shepard.
The main objective of Galactic Trader is to level up by a combination of exploring new planets and fighting enemies encountered in space. Traveling through the solar system is as simple as clicking on the planet you want to go to. Landing on planets takes energy, as does seeking for resources while on the planet. One neat feature is the ability to scan planets to reveal the best locations to dig. (We told you that there are similarities to Mass Effect). Scanning costs 3 energy but is virtually an "I win" button since it shows you exactly where to dig. While digging you discover a variety of materials such as aluminum or titanium, money to spend, and experience.
Galactic Trader
Collecting materials is one of the main goals of because there is a market (named the Galactic Trading House) where you can buy and sell materials. Materials cost coins or Facebook Credits and can also be transmuted in a laboratory into higher level resources.
Another big part of Galactic Trader is combat. Each player has ships purchased in the Shipyard which can be upgraded with boosts to do more damage or have more defense. Combat is easy, and just requires you to move close to the enemy and target it while your ammunition is automatically fired. Buying and upgrading new and better ships requires finding or buying the resources needed to build them, collecting particular items from friends, and spending money. Better ships do better damage and have more boost slots to upgrade their power.
Galactic Trader
There definitely feels like there is something here and this game could appeal to that core gaming demographic. It's fairly easy to understand and doesn't venture too far off the beaten path, but could use a bit more polish on some of the interface elements and the combat. We'll be keeping a close eye on this game to see if it gains any traction.
The main objective of Galactic Trader is to level up by a combination of exploring new planets and fighting enemies encountered in space. Traveling through the solar system is as simple as clicking on the planet you want to go to. Landing on planets takes energy, as does seeking for resources while on the planet. One neat feature is the ability to scan planets to reveal the best locations to dig. (We told you that there are similarities to Mass Effect). Scanning costs 3 energy but is virtually an "I win" button since it shows you exactly where to dig. While digging you discover a variety of materials such as aluminum or titanium, money to spend, and experience.
Galactic Trader
Collecting materials is one of the main goals of because there is a market (named the Galactic Trading House) where you can buy and sell materials. Materials cost coins or Facebook Credits and can also be transmuted in a laboratory into higher level resources.
Another big part of Galactic Trader is combat. Each player has ships purchased in the Shipyard which can be upgraded with boosts to do more damage or have more defense. Combat is easy, and just requires you to move close to the enemy and target it while your ammunition is automatically fired. Buying and upgrading new and better ships requires finding or buying the resources needed to build them, collecting particular items from friends, and spending money. Better ships do better damage and have more boost slots to upgrade their power.
Galactic Trader
There definitely feels like there is something here and this game could appeal to that core gaming demographic. It's fairly easy to understand and doesn't venture too far off the beaten path, but could use a bit more polish on some of the interface elements and the combat. We'll be keeping a close eye on this game to see if it gains any traction.
Picture of the Day: FarmVille Rubik's Cube
FarmVille players are always making something unique and interesting out of haybales and other decorations. This picture shows just how intricate some of these designs can get as a player constructed an actual Rubik's Cube on their farm. We're not sure how long this took, but we can only imagine the amount of effort that went into making this look like sheer perfection.
Are you into creating pixel art on your farm? Send us an email with your creations and we'll be happy to feature them here!
(Thanks to Ron W. for the submission!)
Are you into creating pixel art on your farm? Send us an email with your creations and we'll be happy to feature them here!
(Thanks to Ron W. for the submission!)
FarmVille encourages meetups in 250+ cities on February 27
Zynga has just announced a brand new meetup, and it's happening in the city near you. FarmVille is utilizing Meetup.com in order to connect players with each other for a real world meetup on February 27th. To participate, you simply need to visit this site to find the meetup that is closest to you. If you can find one, you can signup as an attendee so that others know you are coming. If you don't find a meetup in your area, you can start one and signup as the organizer for the group.
So far there are 250 meetups ranging from 1 attendee up to 8 attendees, however this was just announced and things are just getting started. There are meetups in large cities such as New York City and Las Vegas and smaller cities like Kenosha, WI. There are also meetups being formed outside the United States, such as Cairo and Sydney.
We're not exactly sure why February 27th was the chosen date, but it is a Sunday and is a few short weeks from now. For more information, view the official FarmVille blog.
So far there are 250 meetups ranging from 1 attendee up to 8 attendees, however this was just announced and things are just getting started. There are meetups in large cities such as New York City and Las Vegas and smaller cities like Kenosha, WI. There are also meetups being formed outside the United States, such as Cairo and Sydney.
We're not exactly sure why February 27th was the chosen date, but it is a Sunday and is a few short weeks from now. For more information, view the official FarmVille blog.
Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 1, 2012
FarmVille St. Patrick's Day Animals: Shamrock Pony & Shamrock Pig
As part of tonight's FarmVille update, Zynga released two new animals in the current St. Patrick's Day theme of limited edition items. One of these items was recently featured in a scam that you may have spotted on your news feed (well, its foal was anyway), but rest assured, this release of the animal is the real deal. That animal of course is the Shamrock Pony, while the other new animal is the Shamrock Pig.
Both of these animals go for Farm Cash, with the Shamrock Pony being the more expensive of the two animals, at 26 Farm Cash. The Shamrock Pig, meanwhile, costs 18 Farm Cash, which is still a fairly hefty price all things considered. Then again, you should never really expect new animals to be available for coins, so I guess the price isn't that great of a surprise.
The Shamrock Pony can be harvested once every three days, while the Shamrock Pig can be harvested from once every two days. Place these animals in their respective animal buildings, however, and you can claim your profits (however meager) once per day.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next two weeks, so feel free to take a few days to decide if the Farm Cash price is really worth it.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of these animals? Are they worth the high Farm Cash price just because they're limited edition?
Both of these animals go for Farm Cash, with the Shamrock Pony being the more expensive of the two animals, at 26 Farm Cash. The Shamrock Pig, meanwhile, costs 18 Farm Cash, which is still a fairly hefty price all things considered. Then again, you should never really expect new animals to be available for coins, so I guess the price isn't that great of a surprise.
The Shamrock Pony can be harvested once every three days, while the Shamrock Pig can be harvested from once every two days. Place these animals in their respective animal buildings, however, and you can claim your profits (however meager) once per day.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next two weeks, so feel free to take a few days to decide if the Farm Cash price is really worth it.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of these animals? Are they worth the high Farm Cash price just because they're limited edition?
FarmVille St. Patrick's Day Decorations: Shamrock Cottage, Shamrock Pond, Stone Wall & More
A series of five new decorative items (one building and four true decorations) was released to the FarmVille marketplace with tonight's update, with more of these items (surprisingly) being available for coins, rather than Farm Cash. The new building is one of the two Farm Cash items, and it comes int the form of the Shamrock Cottage.
The Shamrock Cottage is available for 34 Farm Cash, but watch out - it's basically the exact same item as the Irish Cottage, which was released as a prize in the St. Patrick's Day Wishing Well, except with a darker green color. Whether or not the different coloring on this item makes it worth the Farm Cash price is questionable, and will of course be up to your discretion. Either way, you'll receive 3400 experience points for purchasing it.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the four other items released this evening.
The one other Farm Cash item is the Green Broadbill, a decorative pair of birds perched atop a decorated twig of sorts. The branch is covered in lovely pink flowers, making this item stand out from other similar decorative animals that have been released in the past. You can purchase a Green Broadbill pair for 15 Farm Cash, but again, they are purely decorative and can't be harvested from, so don't purchase this if you're trying to make a profit in coins as with other animals.
Meanwhile, the three coin items are the Shamrock Pond, the Shamrock Topiary and the Stone Wall. The Stone Wall acts as a new fence for the theme - a stack of low gray stones covered in moss - and a single piece of the wall can be purchased for 10,000 coins. The Shamrock Topiary costs the same at 10,000 coins, and you'll gain 100 experience points for purchasing either item.
Finally, the Shamrock Pond is the most expensive of the three, by a long stretch too, as it costs 250,000 coins. While this pond looks more natural than structured, it does take on a loose shape of a shamrock, or three-leafed clover, surrounded by pink flowers, clover plants, and a few stones. You'll gain 2500 experience points for purchasing the item.
All of these items will be available in the game for the next two weeks, giving you a bit of time to save up the coins or Farm Cash necessary to purchase any of them should you so choose.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which item is your favorite? Do you think the Shamrock Cottage should be available for coins, since it's basically a copy of an already released item?
The Shamrock Cottage is available for 34 Farm Cash, but watch out - it's basically the exact same item as the Irish Cottage, which was released as a prize in the St. Patrick's Day Wishing Well, except with a darker green color. Whether or not the different coloring on this item makes it worth the Farm Cash price is questionable, and will of course be up to your discretion. Either way, you'll receive 3400 experience points for purchasing it.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the four other items released this evening.
The one other Farm Cash item is the Green Broadbill, a decorative pair of birds perched atop a decorated twig of sorts. The branch is covered in lovely pink flowers, making this item stand out from other similar decorative animals that have been released in the past. You can purchase a Green Broadbill pair for 15 Farm Cash, but again, they are purely decorative and can't be harvested from, so don't purchase this if you're trying to make a profit in coins as with other animals.
Meanwhile, the three coin items are the Shamrock Pond, the Shamrock Topiary and the Stone Wall. The Stone Wall acts as a new fence for the theme - a stack of low gray stones covered in moss - and a single piece of the wall can be purchased for 10,000 coins. The Shamrock Topiary costs the same at 10,000 coins, and you'll gain 100 experience points for purchasing either item.
Finally, the Shamrock Pond is the most expensive of the three, by a long stretch too, as it costs 250,000 coins. While this pond looks more natural than structured, it does take on a loose shape of a shamrock, or three-leafed clover, surrounded by pink flowers, clover plants, and a few stones. You'll gain 2500 experience points for purchasing the item.
All of these items will be available in the game for the next two weeks, giving you a bit of time to save up the coins or Farm Cash necessary to purchase any of them should you so choose.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which item is your favorite? Do you think the Shamrock Cottage should be available for coins, since it's basically a copy of an already released item?
St. Patrick's Day invades CityVille with new businesses, decorations, crops and more
If you thought the St. Patrick's Day quests in CityVille were something, just wait until you get a look at the absolutely slew of items that Zynga has released into the game as part of the St. Patrick's Day theme. There are new Businesses, Crops, Decorations, and even a new clothing option for your citizens to wear, all of which are available from the in-game store.
For the businesses, we see three new items being available. The St. Patty's Pub is available for 1800 coins, and requires 40 Goods as stock. It earns 188 coins by default. Next is the Fiddle Shop, which is available for 2400 coins, and requires 60 Goods, offering you 258 coins when you cash out its profits. Finally, the third business is the Shamrock Sing-A-Long (think a Karaoke club) that costs just 2100 coins to build. This business requires 90 Goods, but gives you more coins than the other two businesses, at 405 coins per cash-out.
If you'd like to get your citizens in on the fun of the holiday in addition to simply shopping at themed businesses, you can dress them in new Green Clothes for a one-time cost of 500 coins. This is similar to the winter clothing that was released as part of the winter/holiday event, and can be swapped out if you change your mind.
Meet us behind the break for the rest of these St. Patrick's Day goodies.
If you're in the mood for some new decorations to place around your new businesses, there are five items to choose from (not including the two larger decorations you'll receive as part of the St. Patrick's Day quests). These five items are the Clover Patch, Fiddle Player, Painting Booth, Funny Photos stand, and Bountiful Balloons salesman. You'll receive a bonus of anywhere from 1% to 9% depending on the item you choose to place.
For the two new crops, you can now plant either Shamrocks or Clover. Shamrocks cost 3 City Cash each to plant, grow instantly, and offer you 115 Goods. An expensive method at racking up the Goods, that's for sure. If you'd rather save your City Cash, you can simply plant the other new crop - Cabbage - which is available to plant for 73 coins each. You'll be able to harvest your Cabbage after 1.6 days, and will receive a whopping 447 Goods per square planted. This is an absolutely killer crop in terms of productivity, so if you have enough Goods to last you the 1.6 days until your Cabbage grows, I highly suggest taking advantage of its stats Update: Zynga has changed Cabbage to only offer 114 Goods per square grown, limiting its value greatly.
And there you have it - an absolute treasure trove of new themed items in CityVille. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to completely makeover my city for the holiday - won't you join me?
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which of these updates are you most looking forward to trying out in your own city? The new businesses? Growing new crops? Dressing up your citizens?
For the businesses, we see three new items being available. The St. Patty's Pub is available for 1800 coins, and requires 40 Goods as stock. It earns 188 coins by default. Next is the Fiddle Shop, which is available for 2400 coins, and requires 60 Goods, offering you 258 coins when you cash out its profits. Finally, the third business is the Shamrock Sing-A-Long (think a Karaoke club) that costs just 2100 coins to build. This business requires 90 Goods, but gives you more coins than the other two businesses, at 405 coins per cash-out.
If you'd like to get your citizens in on the fun of the holiday in addition to simply shopping at themed businesses, you can dress them in new Green Clothes for a one-time cost of 500 coins. This is similar to the winter clothing that was released as part of the winter/holiday event, and can be swapped out if you change your mind.
Meet us behind the break for the rest of these St. Patrick's Day goodies.
If you're in the mood for some new decorations to place around your new businesses, there are five items to choose from (not including the two larger decorations you'll receive as part of the St. Patrick's Day quests). These five items are the Clover Patch, Fiddle Player, Painting Booth, Funny Photos stand, and Bountiful Balloons salesman. You'll receive a bonus of anywhere from 1% to 9% depending on the item you choose to place.
For the two new crops, you can now plant either Shamrocks or Clover. Shamrocks cost 3 City Cash each to plant, grow instantly, and offer you 115 Goods. An expensive method at racking up the Goods, that's for sure. If you'd rather save your City Cash, you can simply plant the other new crop - Cabbage - which is available to plant for 73 coins each. You'll be able to harvest your Cabbage after 1.6 days, and will receive a whopping 447 Goods per square planted. This is an absolutely killer crop in terms of productivity, so if you have enough Goods to last you the 1.6 days until your Cabbage grows, I highly suggest taking advantage of its stats Update: Zynga has changed Cabbage to only offer 114 Goods per square grown, limiting its value greatly.
And there you have it - an absolute treasure trove of new themed items in CityVille. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to completely makeover my city for the holiday - won't you join me?
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which of these updates are you most looking forward to trying out in your own city? The new businesses? Growing new crops? Dressing up your citizens?
Game of the Day: Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile
The game of the day needs your keen detective skills Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile is a hidden object game with a need for super-sleuth skills. Acting as the famous detective Hercule Poirot, find yourself in the middle of a murder mystery while sailing the Nile on the S.S. Karnak. It's up to you to navigate the ship room by room seeking hidden objects and collecting clues which will lead you to the culprit!
Click here to play Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click here to play Agatha Christie: Death on the Nile
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
FarmVille Scam Alert: White Kitten News Feed posts are not real
White Kitten scam
The FarmVille scammers have to be turning some type of profit to brew up a new scam almost daily. This time, FarmVille Freak reports that News Feed posts offering a free "White Kitten" are circulating through Facebook. Like all other scam posts, this is not an official offer from Zynga, thereby making it fake and a potential source for nasty malware. So, should you and yours fall for one of these scams, we recommend changing your password and running a virus scanner. Also, please do spread the word, because we're kind of getting sick of writing these up. However, we really should turn this into a game show, no? Sure, you could just take every relatively new item or animal in FarmVille, place them on a wheel, and spin it to predict which one becomes the next scam. Throw in some social features and--boom--Zynga's got their next big game.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you fallen victim to this or a previous scam before? What steps do you take to avoid getting tricked or brought down by malware?
The FarmVille scammers have to be turning some type of profit to brew up a new scam almost daily. This time, FarmVille Freak reports that News Feed posts offering a free "White Kitten" are circulating through Facebook. Like all other scam posts, this is not an official offer from Zynga, thereby making it fake and a potential source for nasty malware. So, should you and yours fall for one of these scams, we recommend changing your password and running a virus scanner. Also, please do spread the word, because we're kind of getting sick of writing these up. However, we really should turn this into a game show, no? Sure, you could just take every relatively new item or animal in FarmVille, place them on a wheel, and spin it to predict which one becomes the next scam. Throw in some social features and--boom--Zynga's got their next big game.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you fallen victim to this or a previous scam before? What steps do you take to avoid getting tricked or brought down by malware?
Thứ Tư, 4 tháng 1, 2012
Go fish with Yeti Zombie for a free iPad 2 and cool PopCap swag
PopCap Games has some of the best gaming merchandise around. Its most exclusive stuff are usually put up at charity auctions. But right now, the company is promising fans the chance at over six hundred prizes over the next four weeks, offering everything from figurines to t-shirts to plushies, and even PopCap.com games. But we know most folks are just drooling over the chance at an iPad 2. So how do we get it?
For starters, you'd need to 'like' PopCap's page, followed by allowing the PopCap Prize Plunger Instant Win Game to your Facebook account. This "Game" takes you ice fishing with Yeti Zombie (of Plants vs Zombies fame), but honestly, it's got all the sophistication of a scratch-and-match lotto ticket.
You'll find Yeti Zombie standing in the middle of four ice holes. Click on any of those holes and Yeti Zombie will randomly suck out something from them with his plunger. If you get lucky, you should find one of this week's prize offerings: an iPad 2, one of fifty Conehead Zombie figures, or one of a hundred Zuma's Revenge! downloads for PC or Mac.
If you're not lucky, the game will tell you you're "ALL FISHED OUT" and when you can return for another round of fishing. Those who played today should get a sign telling them to come back next Tuesday, December 20th.
Did you get lucky with the Yeti? What prizes are you after? And what do you think of PopCap's so-called 'game'?
For starters, you'd need to 'like' PopCap's page, followed by allowing the PopCap Prize Plunger Instant Win Game to your Facebook account. This "Game" takes you ice fishing with Yeti Zombie (of Plants vs Zombies fame), but honestly, it's got all the sophistication of a scratch-and-match lotto ticket.
You'll find Yeti Zombie standing in the middle of four ice holes. Click on any of those holes and Yeti Zombie will randomly suck out something from them with his plunger. If you get lucky, you should find one of this week's prize offerings: an iPad 2, one of fifty Conehead Zombie figures, or one of a hundred Zuma's Revenge! downloads for PC or Mac.
If you're not lucky, the game will tell you you're "ALL FISHED OUT" and when you can return for another round of fishing. Those who played today should get a sign telling them to come back next Tuesday, December 20th.
Did you get lucky with the Yeti? What prizes are you after? And what do you think of PopCap's so-called 'game'?
Say goodbye to your productivity: Bloons Tower Defense 5 is here
Do you have about an hour of time to play games at work? No? Then you should probably refrain from reading this post until you're in front of your home computer. New Zealand-based Flash game developer Ninja Kiwi has released the newest iteration of the mega popular Bloons franchise, Bloons Tower Defense 5. Much like the original, this tower defense game could suck precious life minutes away from you.
In the best way possible. Sure, it's like nearly every tower defense game out there, but Bloons Tower Defense 5 has a certain charm to it. Not to mention the game does a fine job of explaining the intricacies of all the new balloons and monkeys that appear in the game. When you get into the thick of it, setting and forgetting it never felt so good. And when it comes to Flash graphics, this brand new take on Bloons delivers.
"With more than 650 million plays of the Bloons Tower Defense flash game series to date, we knew we needed to deliver a whole new level of awesome–amazing graphics, brand new features, unique tower upgrades, and some big surprises," Ninja Kiwi managing director and co-founder Chris Harris said in a release. "We are really excited to finally launch BTD 5 and encourage all fans to play the biggest, most innovative, and straight out best Bloons game to date."
Bloons Tower Defense 5 in action
This version of Bloons Tower Defense packs a slew of new towers and upgrades with which to defend your territory. Speaking of territory, there are several tracks to choose from across three difficulties. In short, you could end up playing Bloons Tower Defense 5 for a dangerously long time.
Click here to play Bloons Tower Defense 5 Now >
Are you a Bloons fan? Which variety of Bloons do you prefer: tower defense or classic?
In the best way possible. Sure, it's like nearly every tower defense game out there, but Bloons Tower Defense 5 has a certain charm to it. Not to mention the game does a fine job of explaining the intricacies of all the new balloons and monkeys that appear in the game. When you get into the thick of it, setting and forgetting it never felt so good. And when it comes to Flash graphics, this brand new take on Bloons delivers.
"With more than 650 million plays of the Bloons Tower Defense flash game series to date, we knew we needed to deliver a whole new level of awesome–amazing graphics, brand new features, unique tower upgrades, and some big surprises," Ninja Kiwi managing director and co-founder Chris Harris said in a release. "We are really excited to finally launch BTD 5 and encourage all fans to play the biggest, most innovative, and straight out best Bloons game to date."
Bloons Tower Defense 5 in action
This version of Bloons Tower Defense packs a slew of new towers and upgrades with which to defend your territory. Speaking of territory, there are several tracks to choose from across three difficulties. In short, you could end up playing Bloons Tower Defense 5 for a dangerously long time.
Click here to play Bloons Tower Defense 5 Now >
Are you a Bloons fan? Which variety of Bloons do you prefer: tower defense or classic?
Pocket God: The Runs scurries to (the loo?) iPhone, iPad this spring
Pocket God The Runs
We're thinking that the pygmies of Pocket God might have more a personal problem this spring. San Francisco-based Bolt Creative announced that its net major release in its acclaimed Pocket God series will be almost a completely different game. Titled Pocket God: The Runs, this relatively fresh take on the franchise will turn the iconic game into an endless runner.
No clue what an "endless runner" is? Do us a favor and go play something like Canabalt or Halfbrick's new Jetpack Joyride, then come back and finish reading this. The team at Bolt Creative have essentially taken the mini game featured in Episode 32 of Pocket God and fleshed it out into a completely new game. And based on these early screen shots, it looks like quite a lot is in the works to give players their money's worth come spring 2012.
Pocket God The Runs in action
"Over the past few years we have explored many different ways to annihilate those poor little islanders, many of the suggestions coming from our own community of devoted followers, and the original The Runs mini game was definitely one of the more entertaining ways to dispatch Pygmies, " Bolt Creative co-founder Dave Castelnuovo said in a release. "As anticipated, The Runs proved to be quite popular and we really felt that it deserved to become its own full featured game, we're not releasing all the details on it yet but be assured that it'll fit nicely within the Pocket God universe."
Players--or pygmies--will have to run across 13 different tropical landscapes to gather the shards of an idol that will restore their immortality. Based on the creator's love of killing these little guys and gals, you can probably expect plenty of fun ways to send them on their way to pygmy purgatory. (Maybe you can break the record of 129,770,223 pygmies killed in a year.) Pocket God: The Runs hits iPhone and iPad this spring.
Are you psyched to hear about a new Pocket God game? What do you think of how the franchise has been holding up so far both on mobile and Facebook?
We're thinking that the pygmies of Pocket God might have more a personal problem this spring. San Francisco-based Bolt Creative announced that its net major release in its acclaimed Pocket God series will be almost a completely different game. Titled Pocket God: The Runs, this relatively fresh take on the franchise will turn the iconic game into an endless runner.
No clue what an "endless runner" is? Do us a favor and go play something like Canabalt or Halfbrick's new Jetpack Joyride, then come back and finish reading this. The team at Bolt Creative have essentially taken the mini game featured in Episode 32 of Pocket God and fleshed it out into a completely new game. And based on these early screen shots, it looks like quite a lot is in the works to give players their money's worth come spring 2012.
Pocket God The Runs in action
"Over the past few years we have explored many different ways to annihilate those poor little islanders, many of the suggestions coming from our own community of devoted followers, and the original The Runs mini game was definitely one of the more entertaining ways to dispatch Pygmies, " Bolt Creative co-founder Dave Castelnuovo said in a release. "As anticipated, The Runs proved to be quite popular and we really felt that it deserved to become its own full featured game, we're not releasing all the details on it yet but be assured that it'll fit nicely within the Pocket God universe."
Players--or pygmies--will have to run across 13 different tropical landscapes to gather the shards of an idol that will restore their immortality. Based on the creator's love of killing these little guys and gals, you can probably expect plenty of fun ways to send them on their way to pygmy purgatory. (Maybe you can break the record of 129,770,223 pygmies killed in a year.) Pocket God: The Runs hits iPhone and iPad this spring.
Are you psyched to hear about a new Pocket God game? What do you think of how the franchise has been holding up so far both on mobile and Facebook?
Zynga IPO is a go-go: Shares to hit the market tomorrow at $10 a pop
Zynga, the ginormous developer behind FarmVille and CityVille, is looking to make serious bank on its initial public offering (IPO). For real this time, people. Bloomberg reports that the San Francisco-based company will hit the Nasdaq Dec. 16 at $10 a share. That price is at the high end of its reported $8.50 to $10 range. And at 100 million shares, the company looks to raise $1 billion.
You can cue the Dr. Evil-esque laughter now--we bet Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and crew already have. The company's final valuation, according to TechCrunch, is $7 billion. That's a bit on the low side of what many outlets estimated: between $6 and $9 billion. This market cap would put Zynga right in line with EA, which currently has a market cap of $6.93 billion, and way under Activision Blizzard's (the most valuable company in the industry) $13.57 billion.
Those comparisons are important: Zynga was founded in 2007, while EA and Activision Blizzard were originally created in 1982 and 1979, respectively. That means the creator of Flash games like CastleVille could end up being worth more than a 29-year-old company after just four years. What does this mean?
Well, we're either looking at the biggest bubble in the tech world since Google went public in 2004, or free-to-play, easily accessible and low-impact efforts will truly drive the future of video games. Of course, Zynga still has to worry if investors will look past the recent torrent of bad press and poor estimations by analysts. Successful IPO or not, something tells us Zynga will face an uphill battle in 2012.
What do you think of what Zynga expects in its IPO? What does this mean for the game industry as a whole?
You can cue the Dr. Evil-esque laughter now--we bet Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and crew already have. The company's final valuation, according to TechCrunch, is $7 billion. That's a bit on the low side of what many outlets estimated: between $6 and $9 billion. This market cap would put Zynga right in line with EA, which currently has a market cap of $6.93 billion, and way under Activision Blizzard's (the most valuable company in the industry) $13.57 billion.
Those comparisons are important: Zynga was founded in 2007, while EA and Activision Blizzard were originally created in 1982 and 1979, respectively. That means the creator of Flash games like CastleVille could end up being worth more than a 29-year-old company after just four years. What does this mean?
Well, we're either looking at the biggest bubble in the tech world since Google went public in 2004, or free-to-play, easily accessible and low-impact efforts will truly drive the future of video games. Of course, Zynga still has to worry if investors will look past the recent torrent of bad press and poor estimations by analysts. Successful IPO or not, something tells us Zynga will face an uphill battle in 2012.
What do you think of what Zynga expects in its IPO? What does this mean for the game industry as a whole?
Zynga's competitors welcome the IPO with open arms ... right
Come on, these guys have to be just a little jelly, right? (It's kinda' hard not to feel a bit green when a guy can sell a home that he's never lived in for $8 million.) VentureBeat reports that a number of Zynga's rivals have congratulated the 4-year-old company on its initial public offering, which is trading right now for 10 bucks a share. The general consensus? This is good for everyone.
"Zynga's IPO is great for the industry, providing a focal point for many to learn and get more involved in important industry trends," Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins told VentureBeat. "The IPO should also prove to be a catalyst for many future transactions that will help the industry." (Note: Hawkins founded EA in 1982, which Zynga could very well outpace today after four short years.)
Other industry higher-ups not only applaud the FarmVille maker's debut on the Nasdaq, but are confident that it can perform in the long run."Could 30 percent [of Facebook users] play Zynga games over time? Yeah," CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan told us recently. But reading Kabam CEO Kevin Chou's words, makes it crystal clear as to why exactly these folks are psyched.
"It's the most important event in the gaming industry in the last decade, and Zynga didn't even exist five years ago," Chou told VentureBeat. Ah-ha! We get it now. You see, if Zynga does well on the stock market into 2012, it essentially validates what its competitors have been trying to do, too, inspiring more investors--both public and private--to get in on social gaming. In other words, Zynga could make it rain on everybody.
[Image Credit: AppyHourTV]
What do you think the Zynga IPO could mean for the rest of the industry?
"Zynga's IPO is great for the industry, providing a focal point for many to learn and get more involved in important industry trends," Digital Chocolate CEO Trip Hawkins told VentureBeat. "The IPO should also prove to be a catalyst for many future transactions that will help the industry." (Note: Hawkins founded EA in 1982, which Zynga could very well outpace today after four short years.)
Other industry higher-ups not only applaud the FarmVille maker's debut on the Nasdaq, but are confident that it can perform in the long run."Could 30 percent [of Facebook users] play Zynga games over time? Yeah," CrowdStar CEO Peter Relan told us recently. But reading Kabam CEO Kevin Chou's words, makes it crystal clear as to why exactly these folks are psyched.
"It's the most important event in the gaming industry in the last decade, and Zynga didn't even exist five years ago," Chou told VentureBeat. Ah-ha! We get it now. You see, if Zynga does well on the stock market into 2012, it essentially validates what its competitors have been trying to do, too, inspiring more investors--both public and private--to get in on social gaming. In other words, Zynga could make it rain on everybody.
[Image Credit: AppyHourTV]
What do you think the Zynga IPO could mean for the rest of the industry?
CastleVille beats CityVille as Zynga's fastest growing Facebook game
It's a good day to be the king. Zynga tells us that CastleVille has amassed over 5 million daily players in just six days. (However, AppData tells a different story, though we're told it will reflect this number in a few days.) That's leaps and bounds beyond how quickly the developer's top Facebook game, CityVille, grew. The city-builder took on just 3.2 million daily players in the same time frame when it launched in December 2010. Zynga provided more fun facts.
The San Francisco-based social games giant says that 68 percent of CastleVille fans are logging in twice daily, and that 135,176,035 quests have been completed. Players have expanded their kingdoms in the Gloom 4,594,750 times, all the while bashing 23,845,983 beasties with their bare hands. If anything, that's one helluva lot of clicks.
CastleVille launched just last week to fanfare, but likely exploded over the weekend thanks to cross-promotions in FarmVille and CityVille--two of the developer's most popular games. In CityVille, players can earn 20 free Zoning Permits for reaching Level 5 in its medieval counterpart, while FarmVillers will score five Instant Grows for doing the same.
These rewards are far more substantial than usual cross-promotions, and we bet there will be more where that came from. Adventure World failed to grow on its own for its first few weeks of existence, but Zynga stepped in with liberal use of cross-promotions to skyrocket its player base to over 16 million monthly. While the big Z might be more reliant on its existing players than it would like, this growth is nevertheless ... insane? Yeah, we think that's the word.
Are you enjoying CastleVille so far? What do you think Zynga will need to put out in order to top this potential milestone?
The San Francisco-based social games giant says that 68 percent of CastleVille fans are logging in twice daily, and that 135,176,035 quests have been completed. Players have expanded their kingdoms in the Gloom 4,594,750 times, all the while bashing 23,845,983 beasties with their bare hands. If anything, that's one helluva lot of clicks.
CastleVille launched just last week to fanfare, but likely exploded over the weekend thanks to cross-promotions in FarmVille and CityVille--two of the developer's most popular games. In CityVille, players can earn 20 free Zoning Permits for reaching Level 5 in its medieval counterpart, while FarmVillers will score five Instant Grows for doing the same.
These rewards are far more substantial than usual cross-promotions, and we bet there will be more where that came from. Adventure World failed to grow on its own for its first few weeks of existence, but Zynga stepped in with liberal use of cross-promotions to skyrocket its player base to over 16 million monthly. While the big Z might be more reliant on its existing players than it would like, this growth is nevertheless ... insane? Yeah, we think that's the word.
Are you enjoying CastleVille so far? What do you think Zynga will need to put out in order to top this potential milestone?
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