After playing FarmVille on iPhone, I couldn't resist booting up the iPad and give the app a whirl. The verdict? The graphics look fuzzy (as expected since they're blown up twice the size of what they are on iPhone), but other than that, it's a better overall experience. Why? Simply because the iPad touch screen is bigger. It's easier to move around your farm as well as harvest trees and animals smooshed together in an effort to make more room for crops. Since the iPad runs slightly faster than the iPhone 3GS, the entire game is smoother and the loading times are cut down significantly.
I asked a Zynga rep if an iPad-ready version of FarmVille is on the way, and was told that "that can not be confirmed at this time." That, of course, leads me to believe that one is in the works, and it's only a matter of time until we'll all be finger farming with crystal clear graphics on the iPhone's bigger brother.
FarmVille can be downloaded from the App Store, just go here. You can also download the game directly on your iPhone/iPod or iPad by going to the App Store App, searching for 'FarmVille' and then downloading the game for free.
Earn Money by watching videos
Monday, February 13, 2012
Social City 1 Comment Tweet Social City flashes back for one week only
Social City flashback sale
This week in Social City is a special one, because for just this week only, there will be old limited time buildings making short appearances again. This is the perfect chance to purchase something that you might have missed while it was on sale, so for that - it's a great solution to that issue.
It's not the optimal situation however, as it has several flaws. Firstly, these items are only available for 3 hours at a time. This means that there is a very good chance you'll miss the item you want a second time. Coming back every 3 hours just to check and see what building is now available? That's probably only for the hardcore Social City lovers. In addition, these items all cost City Bucks, so they will definitely cost your wallet a bit of cash. We think this is a neat idea though, but it would definitely be nice if each building held around longer than 3 hours each.
This week in Social City is a special one, because for just this week only, there will be old limited time buildings making short appearances again. This is the perfect chance to purchase something that you might have missed while it was on sale, so for that - it's a great solution to that issue.
It's not the optimal situation however, as it has several flaws. Firstly, these items are only available for 3 hours at a time. This means that there is a very good chance you'll miss the item you want a second time. Coming back every 3 hours just to check and see what building is now available? That's probably only for the hardcore Social City lovers. In addition, these items all cost City Bucks, so they will definitely cost your wallet a bit of cash. We think this is a neat idea though, but it would definitely be nice if each building held around longer than 3 hours each.
Wild Ones premium membership now on sale
Wild Ones subscription sale
This month, Wild Ones debuted a monumental feature in Facebook games - the optional monthly membership cost. Having a premium subscription is new territory for Facebook games, so we're sure there is a lot of knowledge that is still being learned about the viability of that type of business model in these casual games. Playdom were brave by breaking new ground, but now they're doing some tuning to get the pricing right.
Currently, you can obtain a premium monthly membership to Wild Ones for only $4.80 a month. This is 50% off of the debut cost, which is a fantastic discount. Perhaps the Wild One subscription isn't selling well? Or maybe it is, and Playdom want to entice even more people to partake in the benefits of being a premium member? Whatever the reason may be, this is a good opportunity to check out the Wild Ones subscription at a cheaper cost. It's unclear if this will be a limited time deal, or the new permanent price.
This month, Wild Ones debuted a monumental feature in Facebook games - the optional monthly membership cost. Having a premium subscription is new territory for Facebook games, so we're sure there is a lot of knowledge that is still being learned about the viability of that type of business model in these casual games. Playdom were brave by breaking new ground, but now they're doing some tuning to get the pricing right.
Currently, you can obtain a premium monthly membership to Wild Ones for only $4.80 a month. This is 50% off of the debut cost, which is a fantastic discount. Perhaps the Wild One subscription isn't selling well? Or maybe it is, and Playdom want to entice even more people to partake in the benefits of being a premium member? Whatever the reason may be, this is a good opportunity to check out the Wild Ones subscription at a cheaper cost. It's unclear if this will be a limited time deal, or the new permanent price.
FarmVille iPhone, iPod app includes exclusive Snow Leopard, Apple trees
The Apple device FarmVille App has just gone live! You can download it for free on iTunes or directly on your ipod Touch or iPhone. There are now exclusive Apple items in the Market while in the FarmVille App:
To purchase:
FarmVille Snow Leopard Rainbow Apple Tree
Rainbow Apple Tree- Cost: 500 coins, Harvest Time: 3 Days, Xp: 5
Snow Leopard-Cost: 50,000 coins, Harvest Time: 2 Days, Xp: 500
Giftable, White Apple Tree:
FarmVille White Apple Tree
At this time we do not know if FarmVille players that are NOT using the Apple FarmVille App can accept this gift.
Farmville Freak Jeremy V's Snow Leopard and Rainbow Apple Tree
Have you downloaded the new FarmVille App? What do you think of farming on a mobile device?
This post originally appeared on farmvillefreak.com
To purchase:
FarmVille Snow Leopard Rainbow Apple Tree
Rainbow Apple Tree- Cost: 500 coins, Harvest Time: 3 Days, Xp: 5
Snow Leopard-Cost: 50,000 coins, Harvest Time: 2 Days, Xp: 500
Giftable, White Apple Tree:
FarmVille White Apple Tree
At this time we do not know if FarmVille players that are NOT using the Apple FarmVille App can accept this gift.
Farmville Freak Jeremy V's Snow Leopard and Rainbow Apple Tree
Have you downloaded the new FarmVille App? What do you think of farming on a mobile device?
This post originally appeared on farmvillefreak.com
Facebook Game Cheats & Tips: How to mass accept game requests
If you're anything like us, your Facebook requests page is absolutely out of control with everything from gifts, help requests, page suggestions, group and event invites, and neighbor requests. Sometimes, we log in and look at our requests page and simply turn away because the thought of clicking accept and back on each one of these requests makes us want to cry. If this sounds familiar, there is actually a solution that can help you out: The Facebook Mass Accept Requests tool.
Facebook Mass Accept Requests is a Greasemonkey script for Firefox that will allow you to "accept all" on your page of requests. Once you have this browser addon installed, it will add checkboxes beside each one of your requests so that you can choose to accept whichever ones you like. After that, clicking a simple "accept all" button will automatically go through and accept all of these gifts. In some games, it can even send back a reciprocal gift.
This doesn't work for all games 100% of the time, so your results may vary. It is known to work well in FarmVille, Farm Town, and FishVille. Other apps that don't work too great are Mafia Wars, Cafe World, and Social City. You may have to try your favorite game and report back and let us know which work and which do not.
Installing a Greasemonkey script is actually pretty simple, as long as you have Firefox installed. Greasemonkey is a simple browser extension that you can install by clicking here. After you have installed Greasemonkey and refreshed your browser, install the Facebook Mass Accept Requests script by going here. Click the install button and it will now be loaded. Simply go to your Facebook requests page and you should now see a new "Accept All" button. Give it a try.
Facebook Mass Accept Requests is a Greasemonkey script for Firefox that will allow you to "accept all" on your page of requests. Once you have this browser addon installed, it will add checkboxes beside each one of your requests so that you can choose to accept whichever ones you like. After that, clicking a simple "accept all" button will automatically go through and accept all of these gifts. In some games, it can even send back a reciprocal gift.
This doesn't work for all games 100% of the time, so your results may vary. It is known to work well in FarmVille, Farm Town, and FishVille. Other apps that don't work too great are Mafia Wars, Cafe World, and Social City. You may have to try your favorite game and report back and let us know which work and which do not.
Installing a Greasemonkey script is actually pretty simple, as long as you have Firefox installed. Greasemonkey is a simple browser extension that you can install by clicking here. After you have installed Greasemonkey and refreshed your browser, install the Facebook Mass Accept Requests script by going here. Click the install button and it will now be loaded. Simply go to your Facebook requests page and you should now see a new "Accept All" button. Give it a try.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Gamestop promoting Facebook game with free game giveaway
With downloadable and web-based games taking up an ever-bigger chunk of the video game market, many brick-and-mortar game retailers are struggling to adapt their business models to a coming new world order that might not need their services. Case in point, game mega-retailer Gamestop, which first dipped its toes in the social gaming waters with its late 2009 acquisition of web-game maker Jolt Online. Now, Gamestop is throwing its weight behind Jolt's latest release, Gangsta Zombies, with free in-game cash and a "free games for a year" contest.
Gangsta Zombies, a Mafia Wars clone with some slick production values, has already attracted nearly 200,000 monthly users since first coming online in early June. Despite this, Gamestop official announced the game's launch only yesterday, alongside its promotional plan for the game. That plan involves giving away free game cards in stores and selling $10 pre-paid cards, both of which allow players to buy in-game items. Store visitors can also enter to win a year of free games from Gamestop, which the company defines as $1,000 worth. I wonder if you can use that money on Farmville cash cards...
So, social gamers, will this kind of promotion get you to step away from your computers and actually visit a brick-and-mortar retailer like Gamestop? Would you change your mind if they were promoting a different game?
Gangsta Zombies, a Mafia Wars clone with some slick production values, has already attracted nearly 200,000 monthly users since first coming online in early June. Despite this, Gamestop official announced the game's launch only yesterday, alongside its promotional plan for the game. That plan involves giving away free game cards in stores and selling $10 pre-paid cards, both of which allow players to buy in-game items. Store visitors can also enter to win a year of free games from Gamestop, which the company defines as $1,000 worth. I wonder if you can use that money on Farmville cash cards...
So, social gamers, will this kind of promotion get you to step away from your computers and actually visit a brick-and-mortar retailer like Gamestop? Would you change your mind if they were promoting a different game?
Wrestling star Paul Heyman working on social fighting game
The San Diego Comic-Con may be mecca for all things geeky, but it's not exactly the center of the universe as far as social gaming is concerned. So we were a bit surprised to learn that former ECW owner and WWE Smackdown lead writer Paul Heyman used the conference to announce a new social fighting game, planned for later this year.
The project, which Heyman is working on in partnership with Jeff Katz's Geekweek, is being described as "a new online fighting league featuring a hybrid of pro wrestling, mixed martial arts and boxing." Players will be able to create their own fighter in any of these disciplines and work their way up the tournament ladder via turn-based battles, gaining new abilities and customization options as they go.
Katz also promises "a host of star performers - past present and future - from the worlds of wrestling, MMA and boxing" will be available as purchasable downloads. Though Katz didn't mention which star performers had been signed, specifically, pro wrestling stars Samoa Joe and Shane "Hurricane" Helms were reportedly on hand for the Comic-Con announcement, suggesting their likely involvement. "The thinking here is that one ring + three disciplines = endless dream matches," Katz writes.
The game will be coming to Geekweek.com, smartphones and "the obvious social platforms" by the fourth quarter of this year.
The project, which Heyman is working on in partnership with Jeff Katz's Geekweek, is being described as "a new online fighting league featuring a hybrid of pro wrestling, mixed martial arts and boxing." Players will be able to create their own fighter in any of these disciplines and work their way up the tournament ladder via turn-based battles, gaining new abilities and customization options as they go.
Katz also promises "a host of star performers - past present and future - from the worlds of wrestling, MMA and boxing" will be available as purchasable downloads. Though Katz didn't mention which star performers had been signed, specifically, pro wrestling stars Samoa Joe and Shane "Hurricane" Helms were reportedly on hand for the Comic-Con announcement, suggesting their likely involvement. "The thinking here is that one ring + three disciplines = endless dream matches," Katz writes.
The game will be coming to Geekweek.com, smartphones and "the obvious social platforms" by the fourth quarter of this year.
Quote of the Moment: Escaping from the escape
"I think the triumph comes more in the act of doing, in the sheer decadence of spending real time on fake food. I play [Cafe World] mostly in my apartment, by far the nicest one I've had-ten-foot ceilings, stainless steel refrigerator, dishwasher, washer and dryer, everything new, never before lived in. I'm in a newish career, no longer living the nightmare of an adjunct English instructor, grading papers all the time, all the time. My dishes are washed for me by a machine and I don't have to drive to and from a Laundromat.
"Still, the time I use to cook digital meat is stolen time, time I could and should be using for working on my novel, reading, cleaning, maintaining my real space as much as the digital retail space, etc. But these things are choices, not life or death-as humans we've collectively progressed to the point of being able to use our time not to hunt and gather and sew our own clothing but to squander as shamelessly as we choose to.
"I guess that's a bit sarcastic, a backhanded point-and yet it really does feel-there is a true sense of relief in it, a visceral sense that if you're spending your time worrying about whether or not your digital chicken pot pie will run out overnight, your life must not be that bad. ...
"And then there's spiritual death. Soul crush. Waking up on a weekend morning, grabbing some coffee and reclining in bed with a laptop, serving what's been cooked overnight, harvesting in Farmville, feeding in Fishville, finishing contracts in Social City. Need to shower, need to have breakfast, need to leave the apartment. But really need to get tonight's dinner service on the stoves. Of course one is going to feel a sense of I'm a loser, is this really my life? I can't believe I'm doing this. It plunks down on you with each click of the mouse. I'm planting fake grapes. Why am I planting fake grapes? Why am I deciding between different fake floorings for my café? When is an escape from reality something from which you need to escape?
"I haven't farmed in a couple of months -- I've quit all these games except Café World, which I was recently away from for a couple of weeks of great productivity with my novel. I don't know if I'll ever fully get back into it. Anything in moderation, I guess. In moderation is neither triumph nor spiritual death."
- OpenSalon blogger Jeff Maehre reflects on the benefits and drawbacks of his personal social gaming obsession.
"Still, the time I use to cook digital meat is stolen time, time I could and should be using for working on my novel, reading, cleaning, maintaining my real space as much as the digital retail space, etc. But these things are choices, not life or death-as humans we've collectively progressed to the point of being able to use our time not to hunt and gather and sew our own clothing but to squander as shamelessly as we choose to.
"I guess that's a bit sarcastic, a backhanded point-and yet it really does feel-there is a true sense of relief in it, a visceral sense that if you're spending your time worrying about whether or not your digital chicken pot pie will run out overnight, your life must not be that bad. ...
"And then there's spiritual death. Soul crush. Waking up on a weekend morning, grabbing some coffee and reclining in bed with a laptop, serving what's been cooked overnight, harvesting in Farmville, feeding in Fishville, finishing contracts in Social City. Need to shower, need to have breakfast, need to leave the apartment. But really need to get tonight's dinner service on the stoves. Of course one is going to feel a sense of I'm a loser, is this really my life? I can't believe I'm doing this. It plunks down on you with each click of the mouse. I'm planting fake grapes. Why am I planting fake grapes? Why am I deciding between different fake floorings for my café? When is an escape from reality something from which you need to escape?
"I haven't farmed in a couple of months -- I've quit all these games except Café World, which I was recently away from for a couple of weeks of great productivity with my novel. I don't know if I'll ever fully get back into it. Anything in moderation, I guess. In moderation is neither triumph nor spiritual death."
- OpenSalon blogger Jeff Maehre reflects on the benefits and drawbacks of his personal social gaming obsession.
Four lessons learned from Casual Connect 2010
Casual Connect 2010 in Seattle came and went last week with a whisper. The annual show held by the Casual Game Association had high attendance this year (2,000 people total), but it failed to generate major buzz. No big consumer news came from the event, and a big portion of the casual gaming world – Flash games – were nowhere to be found.
Some might argue that's because social gaming is so hot – there was no point in showing up unless you had something to say about the matter. Whether or not that's the case, it suddenly seems clear why casual games don't get the respect they deserve – it's all too fragmented to present a united front.
Despite the lack of mind-blowing moments at Casual Connect this year, there were a few common threads running throughout the three days of talks, all of which will likely impact your casual game playing experience for the rest of the year.
Everyone's obsessed with going social
About 80% of the conference was focused on social games, with discussions about how to keep your social game alive or how to turn an existing game franchise into something that's Facebook ready. PopCap made the jump with iterations of its popular PC games – first, with Bejeweled Blitz then Zuma Blitz (available in a few weeks). Big Fish Games made the jump with My Tribe and Treasure Quest; Playrix is doing the same with Fishdom. If you're favorite casual games haven't made the jump to Facebook yet, it will most likely happen sooner than later.
casual connect 2010 logoEveryone wants to figure out how to entice you to buy items in 'freemium' games
Freemium games are great for consumers – you can play for free and then – if you feel like it – you can spend anywhere from $1 to $10,000 buying additional items for your game. People who spend, spend big, but the majority of players refuse to part with their dollars, which is leaving everyone on the inside wondering what kind of new virtual doo-dads they can create to entice you to part with your hard earned cash.
Social games are seeking life beyond Facebook
Right now, Facebook is the hot place for social gaming, but publishers want to spread the love around on other (or any) platforms, whether it's another social network like MySpace or Hi5 or a big gaming portal like Yahoo or the upcoming Google Games. Scrappy start-ups such as HeyZap were also at the show, offering publishers a way to port their games somewhere other than Facebook.
Lots of talk for 'innovation' in casual games, but not many real examples
"We can do better." That's how ohai founder Susan Wu started out her talk at Casual Connect this year, challenging social game makers to go beyond creating pet sims and farming clones. That was a common thread that was touched on throughout the week, both for social and casual games. Outside of some larger theories (like Playfish US General Manager Dan Fiden's touchy feely talk on creating emotions with games), there weren't too many solid examples of innovation in games outside of the 'I Love Bees' meta-game that was used to promote Halo 2 several years ago. There was also a game built around an augmented reality mobile app that involves tagging real-world places and then viewing them using your cell phone camera. It seems like most of the real innovation was on new ways to make money, and not the actual games themselves.
For a video game veteran like myself, Casual Connect was a great way to get a feel for what's happening in this fascinating, but largely unappreciated, segment of the gaming industry. In a year, we'll see if 'social' is still the big trend or if everyone will move onto the next big thing.
Oh yeah -- don't let the name fool you -- even thought it's called Casual Connect, we didn't spot anyone hanging around in a bathrobe or loungewear (though I did spy PopCap co-founder John Vechey in a sweet red tracksuit).
Gallery: Casual Connect 2010
Some might argue that's because social gaming is so hot – there was no point in showing up unless you had something to say about the matter. Whether or not that's the case, it suddenly seems clear why casual games don't get the respect they deserve – it's all too fragmented to present a united front.
Despite the lack of mind-blowing moments at Casual Connect this year, there were a few common threads running throughout the three days of talks, all of which will likely impact your casual game playing experience for the rest of the year.
Everyone's obsessed with going social
About 80% of the conference was focused on social games, with discussions about how to keep your social game alive or how to turn an existing game franchise into something that's Facebook ready. PopCap made the jump with iterations of its popular PC games – first, with Bejeweled Blitz then Zuma Blitz (available in a few weeks). Big Fish Games made the jump with My Tribe and Treasure Quest; Playrix is doing the same with Fishdom. If you're favorite casual games haven't made the jump to Facebook yet, it will most likely happen sooner than later.
casual connect 2010 logoEveryone wants to figure out how to entice you to buy items in 'freemium' games
Freemium games are great for consumers – you can play for free and then – if you feel like it – you can spend anywhere from $1 to $10,000 buying additional items for your game. People who spend, spend big, but the majority of players refuse to part with their dollars, which is leaving everyone on the inside wondering what kind of new virtual doo-dads they can create to entice you to part with your hard earned cash.
Social games are seeking life beyond Facebook
Right now, Facebook is the hot place for social gaming, but publishers want to spread the love around on other (or any) platforms, whether it's another social network like MySpace or Hi5 or a big gaming portal like Yahoo or the upcoming Google Games. Scrappy start-ups such as HeyZap were also at the show, offering publishers a way to port their games somewhere other than Facebook.
Lots of talk for 'innovation' in casual games, but not many real examples
"We can do better." That's how ohai founder Susan Wu started out her talk at Casual Connect this year, challenging social game makers to go beyond creating pet sims and farming clones. That was a common thread that was touched on throughout the week, both for social and casual games. Outside of some larger theories (like Playfish US General Manager Dan Fiden's touchy feely talk on creating emotions with games), there weren't too many solid examples of innovation in games outside of the 'I Love Bees' meta-game that was used to promote Halo 2 several years ago. There was also a game built around an augmented reality mobile app that involves tagging real-world places and then viewing them using your cell phone camera. It seems like most of the real innovation was on new ways to make money, and not the actual games themselves.
For a video game veteran like myself, Casual Connect was a great way to get a feel for what's happening in this fascinating, but largely unappreciated, segment of the gaming industry. In a year, we'll see if 'social' is still the big trend or if everyone will move onto the next big thing.
Oh yeah -- don't let the name fool you -- even thought it's called Casual Connect, we didn't spot anyone hanging around in a bathrobe or loungewear (though I did spy PopCap co-founder John Vechey in a sweet red tracksuit).
Gallery: Casual Connect 2010
YoVille: New Mystery Deal feature coming soon
This is an official post by Zynga's Platinum Ninja.
We'll be adding Mystery Deals to YoVille starting very soon! These Mystery Deals will be found on the Free Gift Page for you and your friends to share with one another. These will be very similar to coupons that you can use to buy certain items. Whether you are sending it to a friend or accepting one of these Mystery Deals let's walk through how these are going to work:
YoVille Mystery Deal
How to Send A Mystery Deal
Visit the Free Gift Page. Choose the Mystery Deal Free Gift and choose the friend(s) that you would like to send it to. Make sure to send lots of these to your friends to give them the opportunity to cash in on some great deals!
YoVille Mystery Deal
How to Open and Use a Mystery Deal
Check to see if one of your friends has sent you a Mystery Deal by visiting your Facebook Requests. If you have been sent a Mystery Deal by one of your friends click "Accept Mystery Deal". You will then be taken to the Accept page for the Mystery Deal and given the option to Open the deal or Not.
YoVille Mystery Deal 50% off
To open simply click Open Deal and you will then find out what the deal is. It could be a % off of an item or Buy one get one free for a specific item, you'll have to open to find out! We'll have tons of items to offer you at great deals and will be refreshing these items.
YoVille Mystery Deal Hollywood Reel to Reel Player
If it catches your eye and you want to buy that item at that awesome price click Buy, otherwise if you are not interested you can decline.
Make sure to take advantage of these great prices and Mystery Deal coupons from your friends! *Please note that you must open the Mystery Deal to see what it is. The Mystery Deal Coupon itself will not be placeable or in your inventory. Only the specific item in the deal if you purchase it will appear in your inventory".
Well that's about all folks! This should be an awesome chance to get some great deals so make sure to open any deals you get and make sure to share with your friends!
- Platinum Ninja
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
We'll be adding Mystery Deals to YoVille starting very soon! These Mystery Deals will be found on the Free Gift Page for you and your friends to share with one another. These will be very similar to coupons that you can use to buy certain items. Whether you are sending it to a friend or accepting one of these Mystery Deals let's walk through how these are going to work:
YoVille Mystery Deal
How to Send A Mystery Deal
Visit the Free Gift Page. Choose the Mystery Deal Free Gift and choose the friend(s) that you would like to send it to. Make sure to send lots of these to your friends to give them the opportunity to cash in on some great deals!
YoVille Mystery Deal
How to Open and Use a Mystery Deal
Check to see if one of your friends has sent you a Mystery Deal by visiting your Facebook Requests. If you have been sent a Mystery Deal by one of your friends click "Accept Mystery Deal". You will then be taken to the Accept page for the Mystery Deal and given the option to Open the deal or Not.
YoVille Mystery Deal 50% off
To open simply click Open Deal and you will then find out what the deal is. It could be a % off of an item or Buy one get one free for a specific item, you'll have to open to find out! We'll have tons of items to offer you at great deals and will be refreshing these items.
YoVille Mystery Deal Hollywood Reel to Reel Player
If it catches your eye and you want to buy that item at that awesome price click Buy, otherwise if you are not interested you can decline.
Make sure to take advantage of these great prices and Mystery Deal coupons from your friends! *Please note that you must open the Mystery Deal to see what it is. The Mystery Deal Coupon itself will not be placeable or in your inventory. Only the specific item in the deal if you purchase it will appear in your inventory".
Well that's about all folks! This should be an awesome chance to get some great deals so make sure to open any deals you get and make sure to share with your friends!
- Platinum Ninja
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Happy Pets Panda Fortune Wheel: Bargain or Baloney?
Last week Happy Pets released their first Panda cub into the store, but players couldn't buy it, even though it's listed for 60 Facebook Credits (or $6 USD). The reason? It's locked. And the key to unlocking it is playing the Panda Fortune Wheel.
"Oh, that sounds fun!", you'd say. Unfortunately, each spin of the wheel costs 8 FB Credits (or $0.80 USD). You must collect all 5 items to unlock the Panda, and the results are random. But if you collect 'em all, your first Panda is FREE! The 5-piece Panda decor set is as follows: Pagoda, Bamboo, Chinese Lantern, Bamboo Forest Background, and Bamboo Forest Floor.
Pagoda, Happy Pets Panda Fortune Wheel: Bamboo, Chinese Lantern, Bamboo Forest Background, and Bamboo Forest Floor.
And for your instant gratification, Happy Pets is charging 198 FB Credits, which is nearly $20 USD, as a 5-piece decor collection bundle with Panda. Given that the Panda costs 60 FB Credits, going for the instant purchase means you're dropping 138 FB Credits (or nearly $14 USD) on the decor items alone. So you're probably better off dropping 8 FB Credits, or 80 cents at a time, to try your lucky with the wheel.
Happy Pets Spin the Panda Fortune Wheel for 8 Facebook Credits
I gave it a spin, and it landed me a Bamboo Forest Background, which can be sold for 500 Coins and only used outdoors. Was it worth it? Considering that all the premium outdoor backgrounds cost 12 FB Credits, I'd have to say yes.
Happy Pets Panda Fortune Wheel: Bamboo Forest Background
Verdict: If you want a Panda bad enough, don't go for the instant option. For the $20 USD you would've dropped on that, you could've spun that wheel a maximum of 24.7 times!
"Oh, that sounds fun!", you'd say. Unfortunately, each spin of the wheel costs 8 FB Credits (or $0.80 USD). You must collect all 5 items to unlock the Panda, and the results are random. But if you collect 'em all, your first Panda is FREE! The 5-piece Panda decor set is as follows: Pagoda, Bamboo, Chinese Lantern, Bamboo Forest Background, and Bamboo Forest Floor.
Pagoda, Happy Pets Panda Fortune Wheel: Bamboo, Chinese Lantern, Bamboo Forest Background, and Bamboo Forest Floor.
And for your instant gratification, Happy Pets is charging 198 FB Credits, which is nearly $20 USD, as a 5-piece decor collection bundle with Panda. Given that the Panda costs 60 FB Credits, going for the instant purchase means you're dropping 138 FB Credits (or nearly $14 USD) on the decor items alone. So you're probably better off dropping 8 FB Credits, or 80 cents at a time, to try your lucky with the wheel.
Happy Pets Spin the Panda Fortune Wheel for 8 Facebook Credits
I gave it a spin, and it landed me a Bamboo Forest Background, which can be sold for 500 Coins and only used outdoors. Was it worth it? Considering that all the premium outdoor backgrounds cost 12 FB Credits, I'd have to say yes.
Happy Pets Panda Fortune Wheel: Bamboo Forest Background
Verdict: If you want a Panda bad enough, don't go for the instant option. For the $20 USD you would've dropped on that, you could've spun that wheel a maximum of 24.7 times!
Google buys mobile/social game maker SocialDeck
If you somehow still think that Google impending entrance into the social game space is nothing but a bunch of chatter, you have another data point to fight against today. That's because today, the world's most popular internet search engine scooped up mobile game developer SocialDeck for an undisclosed sum.
The Toronto-based developer, founded in 2008, reportedly attracted over a million downloads in 2009 for its three mobile titles: Dr. Mario clone Pet Hero, Boggle clone Shake & Spell 3D, and color-matching game Color Connect. All three games integrate social competition, allowing players to challenge their friends to score battles. Shake & Spell also has a free-to-play Facebook version which has failed to attract much attention.
"SocialDeck's team and technology is a perfect addition to our current team of engineers in Waterloo, to continue to innovate in the social and mobile web," Google Canada spokeswoman Wendy Rozeluk said to Canada's Globe and Mail.
Following on Google's purchase of companies including virtual currency maker Jambool, SuperPoke Pets! creator Slide and investments in developers like Zynga, this latest acquisition makes the company's plans for some sort of social gaming platform all but inescapable. The only question now is when the Big G will make its move.
The Toronto-based developer, founded in 2008, reportedly attracted over a million downloads in 2009 for its three mobile titles: Dr. Mario clone Pet Hero, Boggle clone Shake & Spell 3D, and color-matching game Color Connect. All three games integrate social competition, allowing players to challenge their friends to score battles. Shake & Spell also has a free-to-play Facebook version which has failed to attract much attention.
"SocialDeck's team and technology is a perfect addition to our current team of engineers in Waterloo, to continue to innovate in the social and mobile web," Google Canada spokeswoman Wendy Rozeluk said to Canada's Globe and Mail.
Following on Google's purchase of companies including virtual currency maker Jambool, SuperPoke Pets! creator Slide and investments in developers like Zynga, this latest acquisition makes the company's plans for some sort of social gaming platform all but inescapable. The only question now is when the Big G will make its move.
PetVille Designer Dogs: Bleu the Saint-Dane comes marching in
So long Cockapoo! Today, PetVille has put up Bleu the Saint-Dane as third in the Limited Edition Designer Dogs collection. As with the two earlier pups, you can get Bleu from the game's Gifts page with the cooperation of other players.
We're also beginning to see a pattern in the dog releases -- all the dogs are hybrid breeds. Bleu the Saint-Dane is a mix between a Saint Bernard and a Great Dane. Another name for Bleu's breed is the "Great Bernard". The main thing to know about hybrid breeds is that they're neither purebreds nor mutts, because you can trace the lineage of the dogs' purebred parents.
Like all the dogs, Bleu is animated -- he blinks, pants, his tongue wags more than his tail, and his tail flicks more than it wags. This is pretty disappointing, and Bleu's look is also a complete break from design of the earlier pups. Unlike Paul and Trubble, Bleu appears to be an adult. He doesn't look as cute as the first two, and he's not that well animated either. I almost wonder if Zynga is designing these dogs on-the-fly.
Regardless, if Bleu isn't to your liking, you can always sell him off for 150 Coins.
We're also beginning to see a pattern in the dog releases -- all the dogs are hybrid breeds. Bleu the Saint-Dane is a mix between a Saint Bernard and a Great Dane. Another name for Bleu's breed is the "Great Bernard". The main thing to know about hybrid breeds is that they're neither purebreds nor mutts, because you can trace the lineage of the dogs' purebred parents.
Like all the dogs, Bleu is animated -- he blinks, pants, his tongue wags more than his tail, and his tail flicks more than it wags. This is pretty disappointing, and Bleu's look is also a complete break from design of the earlier pups. Unlike Paul and Trubble, Bleu appears to be an adult. He doesn't look as cute as the first two, and he's not that well animated either. I almost wonder if Zynga is designing these dogs on-the-fly.
Regardless, if Bleu isn't to your liking, you can always sell him off for 150 Coins.
Playdom takes CrowdStar's place as third-largest Facebook game developer
New data from Facebook app tracker AppData this week shows that Playdom has edged out competitor Crowdstar to become the third-largest developer of Facebook games, as measured by number of monthly average users across all published games. Playdom's 43.8 million users just edged out CrowdStar's 43.3 million, according to the site.
While massive player gains for new Playdom games such City of Wonder and Market Street helped fuel the company's achievement, a precipitous drop in users for CrowdStar's games also contributed to the switch in positions. The Happy Aquarium maker lost more than 9 million aggregate monthly users for its games in the last week, though the bulk of the drop came in a single day (Aug. 27), suggesting it may have had more to do with changes in Facebook's statistics reporting than any actual player exodus.
Regardless, the jump into the top three is good news for Playdom owner Disney, which has seen their acquisition's player base grow by roughly 10% in the month since their purchase. Still, the company will have to grow more than 25% more to challenge the current position of No. 2 developer Electronic Arts, or a whopping 417% if it wants to match industry-leader Zynga's current position.
While massive player gains for new Playdom games such City of Wonder and Market Street helped fuel the company's achievement, a precipitous drop in users for CrowdStar's games also contributed to the switch in positions. The Happy Aquarium maker lost more than 9 million aggregate monthly users for its games in the last week, though the bulk of the drop came in a single day (Aug. 27), suggesting it may have had more to do with changes in Facebook's statistics reporting than any actual player exodus.
Regardless, the jump into the top three is good news for Playdom owner Disney, which has seen their acquisition's player base grow by roughly 10% in the month since their purchase. Still, the company will have to grow more than 25% more to challenge the current position of No. 2 developer Electronic Arts, or a whopping 417% if it wants to match industry-leader Zynga's current position.
Quote of the Moment: Stats ain't everything
"When we first started making games we made mistakes. We thought it was a matter of simple math. But you need to be qualitative; you can't just measure everything. Measurement is only good at finding local maxima."
- LolApps Co-Founder and Product VP Kevin Stewart explains why his company is no longer designing games solely based on mazimizing measurable player metrics. The entire piece is worth a read for a new perspective on social game development.
- LolApps Co-Founder and Product VP Kevin Stewart explains why his company is no longer designing games solely based on mazimizing measurable player metrics. The entire piece is worth a read for a new perspective on social game development.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Treasure Isle Voyages: Everything you need to know
Treasure Isle Voyages
Zynga has introduced a new feature to Treasure Isle that will expand your horizons and grow you some sea legs: Voyages. This addition to the game allows players to journey to distant islands in search of, what else, treasure. These new missions also unlock additional maps in the Dream Isles as well as prizes for mastering each Voyage.
Unfortunately, there is one obstacle in your way before you can set sail (if you can't guess what, then you might not want to take this one on). Join us behind the cut for more info on what you'll need to unlock Voyages and how they're done. Dragon Sailboat
First things first, you'll obviously need a boat. So, before you can access the Voyages, you'll need to complete the Dragon Sailboat. Here's what you'll need to complete the vessel:
5 Nails
5 Planks
5 Rope
5 Cloth
5 Resin
Each of these items costs one Island Cash, but can be gifted as well. Be sure to put the items on your wishlist, but if you want to ride the fast track to the high seas, you'll have to pay up 25 Island Cash.
Voyages Menu
Once your ship is complete, just give it a click and choose your first Voyage. These journeys act much like jobs in Mafia Wars, but with visible rewards Clicking on the "Go" button will incrementally progress you to your destination and increase your mastery of the Voyage. However, each push forward in a Voyage will decrease your Energy and reward XP, requiring you to refill your Energy to continue.
Voyages Progress
Making it to your destination will unlock the map connected to the Voyage, but a second time through will unlock a second map. You can master Voyages up to Level 4, but only the first two times through will open up new maps (Levels 3 and 4 grant bonus items). With three Voyages currently in the game with two maps to unlock, mathematics experts say that makes a total of six new maps to explore. Here are the Voyages currently in the game and what's in it for you:
Ninja Assassin: Unlocks Ninja Training and Ninja Shrine maps
Happy Land (Requires Two Crew Members): Unlocks Happy Pastures and Happy Uzumaki maps
Monster Island (Requires Three Crew Members): Unlocks Green Gargantuan and Monster Isle maps
Voyages Mastery
You'll notice in the Happy Land and Monster Island Voyages that Crew Members are required. Similar to Catering Orders in Cafe World, you can recruit your friends to help you on your Voyage or buy Crew Members for Island Cash. We recommend sucking it up and finding some friends if you're short on sailors.
Zynga has introduced a new feature to Treasure Isle that will expand your horizons and grow you some sea legs: Voyages. This addition to the game allows players to journey to distant islands in search of, what else, treasure. These new missions also unlock additional maps in the Dream Isles as well as prizes for mastering each Voyage.
Unfortunately, there is one obstacle in your way before you can set sail (if you can't guess what, then you might not want to take this one on). Join us behind the cut for more info on what you'll need to unlock Voyages and how they're done. Dragon Sailboat
First things first, you'll obviously need a boat. So, before you can access the Voyages, you'll need to complete the Dragon Sailboat. Here's what you'll need to complete the vessel:
5 Nails
5 Planks
5 Rope
5 Cloth
5 Resin
Each of these items costs one Island Cash, but can be gifted as well. Be sure to put the items on your wishlist, but if you want to ride the fast track to the high seas, you'll have to pay up 25 Island Cash.
Voyages Menu
Once your ship is complete, just give it a click and choose your first Voyage. These journeys act much like jobs in Mafia Wars, but with visible rewards Clicking on the "Go" button will incrementally progress you to your destination and increase your mastery of the Voyage. However, each push forward in a Voyage will decrease your Energy and reward XP, requiring you to refill your Energy to continue.
Voyages Progress
Making it to your destination will unlock the map connected to the Voyage, but a second time through will unlock a second map. You can master Voyages up to Level 4, but only the first two times through will open up new maps (Levels 3 and 4 grant bonus items). With three Voyages currently in the game with two maps to unlock, mathematics experts say that makes a total of six new maps to explore. Here are the Voyages currently in the game and what's in it for you:
Ninja Assassin: Unlocks Ninja Training and Ninja Shrine maps
Happy Land (Requires Two Crew Members): Unlocks Happy Pastures and Happy Uzumaki maps
Monster Island (Requires Three Crew Members): Unlocks Green Gargantuan and Monster Isle maps
Voyages Mastery
You'll notice in the Happy Land and Monster Island Voyages that Crew Members are required. Similar to Catering Orders in Cafe World, you can recruit your friends to help you on your Voyage or buy Crew Members for Island Cash. We recommend sucking it up and finding some friends if you're short on sailors.
FarmVille Special Delivery backlash begins among fed-up farmers
There seems to be some dissent growing among FarmVillers who say they are positively overloaded with Special Deliveries, and that they don't need the items they find inside. Today, I've noticed several posts on my Facebook wall with pictures that have a Special Delivery Crossed out or say "No more, Thank you."
farmville no more special delivery
Special Delivery mystery packages, which were released a few weeks ago, were designed to give players items they need vs. the random decoration items found in mystery boxes. So, if you need materials for a building, like, say, the new nursery barn expansion, these boxes will give you nails, boards, bricks and whatever else you need. Some players have apparently been getting hundreds of these boxes at a time and are overloaded with items that they don't need.
So, if you're feeling burdened by too many Special Deliveries, right click on the image at the top of this article, save it and then upload it to Facebook to tell your friends,"Thanks, but no thanks."
farmville no more special delivery
Special Delivery mystery packages, which were released a few weeks ago, were designed to give players items they need vs. the random decoration items found in mystery boxes. So, if you need materials for a building, like, say, the new nursery barn expansion, these boxes will give you nails, boards, bricks and whatever else you need. Some players have apparently been getting hundreds of these boxes at a time and are overloaded with items that they don't need.
So, if you're feeling burdened by too many Special Deliveries, right click on the image at the top of this article, save it and then upload it to Facebook to tell your friends,"Thanks, but no thanks."
Was FarmVille on Last Week's "The Office" TV Show?
If you caught last week's episode on "The Office" you may have seen this nod to FarmVille.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
ManStruggle brings retro, button-mashing delight to Facebook
Grab Games, creator of Gold Miner World, recently released a new social game to Facebook with a decidedly fresh aesthetic and gameplay hook. ManStruggle, a game that requires a seriously fast index finger, is an homage to all things 8-bit gaming. From the pixelated visuals to the campy music to the silly, muffled narrator who can say nothing more than "Man Struggle," this game conjures up fond memories of lazy Sunday mornings and burning wrists (no, that last memory is from today). Got your attention? Then join us behind the cut for a detailed first look at this tribute to the world of 8-bit.
Man Struggle
The game can essentially be summed up in two words: Press A. That's it, really. Well, you can briefly customize your wrestler (which looks more like strangling) and share your achievements on Facebook, but that's not the point. The idea of this game is to compete with friends either locally or online in real time to see who can press the "A" key faster.
Don't have any friends (really? This is Facebook) or none that are online? Then you can play your friends' average records of what the game cryptically calls "Rate." This metric measures the rate at which you press the "A" key in percentages. While we don't know what these percentages amount to in presses per second, the higher your Rate percentage, the better and it can go past 100 percent (I've reached 120% Rate).
There are four play modes to choose from. First, "Struggle Vs. Friend Now" mode lets you play against one your friends in the game in real time, if they're online. Second is "Struggle Vs. Friend in Person," which allows two people to play one another locally with the second player pressing the "L" key. Third, we have Struggle Roulette--no, it is not like Chat Roulette with more pixels--which randomly matches players live online regardless of whether they're friends for quick fun. Last is "Arcade Mode Vs. CPU," a mode that pits players against the computer in increasingly difficult struggle matches.
Man Struggle Win
To ignite the competitive spirit, there are leaderboards, and more importantly the Wall of Shame. This feature puts the top cheaters in a defined list for everyone to see their folly. Unfortunately, it's unknown what the criteria consists of to be considered a cheat. However, we'll take some players on the wall holding a 522% Rate as a sign of tampering with the game.
Looking for something to pass the time while you reminisce of the golden days of gaming or just some more punishment for your wrists? Then by all means give Grab Games' ManStruggle a few million presses.
Play ManStruggle on Facebook Now >
Man Struggle
The game can essentially be summed up in two words: Press A. That's it, really. Well, you can briefly customize your wrestler (which looks more like strangling) and share your achievements on Facebook, but that's not the point. The idea of this game is to compete with friends either locally or online in real time to see who can press the "A" key faster.
Don't have any friends (really? This is Facebook) or none that are online? Then you can play your friends' average records of what the game cryptically calls "Rate." This metric measures the rate at which you press the "A" key in percentages. While we don't know what these percentages amount to in presses per second, the higher your Rate percentage, the better and it can go past 100 percent (I've reached 120% Rate).
There are four play modes to choose from. First, "Struggle Vs. Friend Now" mode lets you play against one your friends in the game in real time, if they're online. Second is "Struggle Vs. Friend in Person," which allows two people to play one another locally with the second player pressing the "L" key. Third, we have Struggle Roulette--no, it is not like Chat Roulette with more pixels--which randomly matches players live online regardless of whether they're friends for quick fun. Last is "Arcade Mode Vs. CPU," a mode that pits players against the computer in increasingly difficult struggle matches.
Man Struggle Win
To ignite the competitive spirit, there are leaderboards, and more importantly the Wall of Shame. This feature puts the top cheaters in a defined list for everyone to see their folly. Unfortunately, it's unknown what the criteria consists of to be considered a cheat. However, we'll take some players on the wall holding a 522% Rate as a sign of tampering with the game.
Looking for something to pass the time while you reminisce of the golden days of gaming or just some more punishment for your wrists? Then by all means give Grab Games' ManStruggle a few million presses.
Play ManStruggle on Facebook Now >
Mafia Wars Secret Drops rewarding double the goods, double the fun
Secret Drops double rewards
Mafia Wars creator Zynga introduced a new feature last week in the game called Secret Drops, which allows players to find hidden briefcases while robbing players and doing jobs and gift the goodies to their friends. It's been found that players can now reap double the rewards from Secret Drops at random, according to some tipsters to Mafia Wars Maniac.
When accepting a Secret Drops gift from a friend, there is now a chance for players to randomly receive either two of the same gift they would have won or two completely different items. However, players can still only accept a certain amount of Secret Drops daily, with extra Secret Drops only awarding mobsters with Burners to assist in robberies. Either way, consider this even more incentive to start looking for Secret Drops and sharing the goods.
Mafia Wars creator Zynga introduced a new feature last week in the game called Secret Drops, which allows players to find hidden briefcases while robbing players and doing jobs and gift the goodies to their friends. It's been found that players can now reap double the rewards from Secret Drops at random, according to some tipsters to Mafia Wars Maniac.
When accepting a Secret Drops gift from a friend, there is now a chance for players to randomly receive either two of the same gift they would have won or two completely different items. However, players can still only accept a certain amount of Secret Drops daily, with extra Secret Drops only awarding mobsters with Burners to assist in robberies. Either way, consider this even more incentive to start looking for Secret Drops and sharing the goods.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Vampire Wars Ghost Familiars will certainly not be friendly this Halloween
While most things about Vampire Wars are inherently appropriate for a Halloween celebration all year long, Zynga still tries to make us virtual vamps feel at least a little special. So, for just 10 days three new Ghost familiars will be available for purchase in the Avatar shop. Here are the three spectral friends you can find:
Electric Ghost: 40 Favor Points, 30 Energy
Skeletal Ghost: 60 Favor Points, 45 Energy
Smoky Ghost: 80 Favor Points, 60 Energy
Just like before, you can only buy these items in order, which essentially forces players to pay up 180 Favor Points (around $40) for the whole set. Well, at least these familiars offer more Energy than the last. However, Zynga is still missing out on a huge opportunity to make these unique items more interesting than just static images and stat increases. While these may make more of a statement in celebrating virtual vampirism this Halloween, we recommend going for the new Blood Brothers abilities and Avatar sets that won't cost you a dime.
Electric Ghost: 40 Favor Points, 30 Energy
Skeletal Ghost: 60 Favor Points, 45 Energy
Smoky Ghost: 80 Favor Points, 60 Energy
Just like before, you can only buy these items in order, which essentially forces players to pay up 180 Favor Points (around $40) for the whole set. Well, at least these familiars offer more Energy than the last. However, Zynga is still missing out on a huge opportunity to make these unique items more interesting than just static images and stat increases. While these may make more of a statement in celebrating virtual vampirism this Halloween, we recommend going for the new Blood Brothers abilities and Avatar sets that won't cost you a dime.
Square Enix brings Final Fantasy to Facebook with two new games
If there's one thing missing in Facebook games, it's crystals and giant ostrich-chicken hybrids. You can rest easy -- game publisher Square Enix plans to fill in that void with two new Facebook games, Chocobo's Crystal Tower and Knights of the Crystals. The games both draw inspiration from the popular Final Fantasy video game series -- in other words they're brimming with cute (but deadly) characters and an art style that will be immediately familiar to any fan of the franchise.
Chocobo's Crystal Tower is the infinitely cuter of the two, tasking players with hatching and raising a chocobo cute fit enough to embark on adventures into the dark Towers where monsters defend ancient relics. Players are rewarded with gil -- a Final Fantasy staple -- to buy food and equipment for their chocobos that increase their fighting strength.
Knights of the Crystals facebook
Knights of the Crystals (KotC) is a much more serious game that was released on Japanese social networks earlier this year and just now brought to the U.S. Dropping you in the middle of a war with the Arcana Company, a clan of monsters after crystal artifacts, combat is the primary focus of this Mafia Wars-meets-Final Fantasy social game. The quest system works almost exactly like it does in ga mes like -- dare I say it -- Mafia Wars, but KotC's class system could prove to be a major differential.
Both games are in beta testing right now with some features (*ahem* paid transactions) and buttons currently disabled, but we're almost certain Square Enix won't sit on this golden chocobo egg very long. We've contacted Square Enix for more details on both games.
Chocobo's Crystal Tower is the infinitely cuter of the two, tasking players with hatching and raising a chocobo cute fit enough to embark on adventures into the dark Towers where monsters defend ancient relics. Players are rewarded with gil -- a Final Fantasy staple -- to buy food and equipment for their chocobos that increase their fighting strength.
Knights of the Crystals facebook
Knights of the Crystals (KotC) is a much more serious game that was released on Japanese social networks earlier this year and just now brought to the U.S. Dropping you in the middle of a war with the Arcana Company, a clan of monsters after crystal artifacts, combat is the primary focus of this Mafia Wars-meets-Final Fantasy social game. The quest system works almost exactly like it does in ga mes like -- dare I say it -- Mafia Wars, but KotC's class system could prove to be a major differential.
Both games are in beta testing right now with some features (*ahem* paid transactions) and buttons currently disabled, but we're almost certain Square Enix won't sit on this golden chocobo egg very long. We've contacted Square Enix for more details on both games.
Final Fantasy meets Mafia Wars in Knights of the Crystals on Facebook
Knights of the Crystals
All it takes is that iconic level-up tune to cause that oft-forgotten giddy feeling of adventure to surface, but there is much more promise than that in one of Square Enix's first American social games, Knights of the Crystals (KotC). While rampant comparisons to Zynga's Mafia Wars have probably already been made across Facebook, the most obvious similarity between the two games is the job and/or quest system. Progress is made in KotC by completing quests, which isn't much more than clicking a button repeatedly and being treated by a quick Flash animation. Fortunately, Square Enix has some other tricks up its sleeve to help this game stand out.
Find out more about Knights of the Crystals after the break.
Knights of the Crystals quesitng system
As you continue mastering quests and gathering crystals and other artifacts, your Action Power will diminish much like Energy in other games. While paid transactions are disabled as of this writing, we're sure that more Action Power and other premium items will be available through a paid currency known as Square Enix Social Coins. What a name, huh?
While there are grouping elements and a passive fighting system much like the legion of "Wars" games, KotC features a class system that will surely differentiate it from other combat-focused social games. You'll slowly gain new class options as you gain collections of relics and crystals from mastering quests and defeating boss monsters. You're only to change your class once a day, which should already raise a red flag. Classes--think Fighter, Healer and Conjurer--will define how you play this game, especially in cooperative fights against more dangerous enemies.
Knights of the Crystals boss fight
For example, when fighting the game's tutorial boss (pictured above)--a Behemoth for the Final Fantasy-savvy out there-- you're given two companions to help defeat the beast. A conjurer and a healer, even this familiar-looking tutorial fight would not be possible without these wizards. Quite honestly, it speaks volumes of what Square Enix is trying to do with Knights of the Crystals. While other games allow players to make friends and have them help out on optional jobs and boss fights, the quests and bosses that progress the KotC's surprisingly involved plot cannot be done without a specialized group of friends. I'm hopeful that this philosophy of friendship by design will continue when the game exits beta testing.
While there is the option to fight other players right now, its benefit has yet to be seen. Other than that and a few select bugs, KotC is a fully functional and promising game. Regardless of the Final Fantasy brand's strength, it's Knights of the Crystals' unique class system and forced social interaction that will hopefully lead it to become a successful, possibly genre bending social game. The catchy tunes don't hurt either.
Play Knights of the Crystals on Facebook >
All it takes is that iconic level-up tune to cause that oft-forgotten giddy feeling of adventure to surface, but there is much more promise than that in one of Square Enix's first American social games, Knights of the Crystals (KotC). While rampant comparisons to Zynga's Mafia Wars have probably already been made across Facebook, the most obvious similarity between the two games is the job and/or quest system. Progress is made in KotC by completing quests, which isn't much more than clicking a button repeatedly and being treated by a quick Flash animation. Fortunately, Square Enix has some other tricks up its sleeve to help this game stand out.
Find out more about Knights of the Crystals after the break.
Knights of the Crystals quesitng system
As you continue mastering quests and gathering crystals and other artifacts, your Action Power will diminish much like Energy in other games. While paid transactions are disabled as of this writing, we're sure that more Action Power and other premium items will be available through a paid currency known as Square Enix Social Coins. What a name, huh?
While there are grouping elements and a passive fighting system much like the legion of "Wars" games, KotC features a class system that will surely differentiate it from other combat-focused social games. You'll slowly gain new class options as you gain collections of relics and crystals from mastering quests and defeating boss monsters. You're only to change your class once a day, which should already raise a red flag. Classes--think Fighter, Healer and Conjurer--will define how you play this game, especially in cooperative fights against more dangerous enemies.
Knights of the Crystals boss fight
For example, when fighting the game's tutorial boss (pictured above)--a Behemoth for the Final Fantasy-savvy out there-- you're given two companions to help defeat the beast. A conjurer and a healer, even this familiar-looking tutorial fight would not be possible without these wizards. Quite honestly, it speaks volumes of what Square Enix is trying to do with Knights of the Crystals. While other games allow players to make friends and have them help out on optional jobs and boss fights, the quests and bosses that progress the KotC's surprisingly involved plot cannot be done without a specialized group of friends. I'm hopeful that this philosophy of friendship by design will continue when the game exits beta testing.
While there is the option to fight other players right now, its benefit has yet to be seen. Other than that and a few select bugs, KotC is a fully functional and promising game. Regardless of the Final Fantasy brand's strength, it's Knights of the Crystals' unique class system and forced social interaction that will hopefully lead it to become a successful, possibly genre bending social game. The catchy tunes don't hurt either.
Play Knights of the Crystals on Facebook >
Pet Society player's virtual home stripped clean by burglars
If you're still on the hunt for a topical Halloween costume, try this one on for size -- a Pet Society burglar.
A wacky news story reports that a thief broke into 44-year-old Sicilian woman's Facebook account and cleaned out her virtual house in the game Pet Society, taking $140 worth of virtual items, including paintings, carpets, aquariums and mirrors. All that was left when Paola Letizia logged into the game was her pet named 'Blue Cat.'
'I don't think it matters that the flat only exists in Facebook. It is real to me, and I have suffered a real loss.' Letizia told Italian media.
Italy's postal police are investigating the matter, and authorities say the crime is punishable with up to five years in prison.
A wacky news story reports that a thief broke into 44-year-old Sicilian woman's Facebook account and cleaned out her virtual house in the game Pet Society, taking $140 worth of virtual items, including paintings, carpets, aquariums and mirrors. All that was left when Paola Letizia logged into the game was her pet named 'Blue Cat.'
'I don't think it matters that the flat only exists in Facebook. It is real to me, and I have suffered a real loss.' Letizia told Italian media.
Italy's postal police are investigating the matter, and authorities say the crime is punishable with up to five years in prison.
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Pumpkin Carriage, Black Rose, Purple Gallinule & More
A wide variety of new items look to be coming to FarmVille in the future, with some of these items being a Pumpkin Carriage, Rove Goat, and Purple Gallinule. We've also been given a look at the announced Black Rose flower and Tree Mastery signs, along with the Mystery Seedling, all three of which were touted in last week's official FarmVille podcast.
While the Pumpkin Carriage could easily fit in with the current Halloween or even fall themes of items, the Rove Goat and Purple Gallinule seem fairly independent in that respect. Will we see these items released as part of a new item theme, or as simple individual updates in the future? Only time will tell.
What we do know, however, is that the Pumpkin Carriage, Goat and Gallinule will animate, and you can check them out in action below.
[Via FarmVIlle Latest]
While the Pumpkin Carriage could easily fit in with the current Halloween or even fall themes of items, the Rove Goat and Purple Gallinule seem fairly independent in that respect. Will we see these items released as part of a new item theme, or as simple individual updates in the future? Only time will tell.
What we do know, however, is that the Pumpkin Carriage, Goat and Gallinule will animate, and you can check them out in action below.
[Via FarmVIlle Latest]
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Zynga brings Mafia Wars, FishVille to Yahoo
The exodus has begun. Well, sort of. TechCrunch reports that Zynga has officially launched Mafia Wars and FishVille on many of Yahoo's services including Yahoo Messenger, Pulse, Games, and within its browser toolbar. The release seems to be the fruit of a partnership between the two companies that was revealed in May of this year. This news comes hot off the heels of Zynga CEO Mark Pincus' stating his vision for a "dog activated world." We suspect that more Zynga games are to come if the expansion proves successful.
We say "expansion" because Zynga isn't going anywhere on Facebook. You'll still find your digital mob and fish tank on Facebook, though the company has been looking to go forth and conquer our digital lives for some time. Hopefully for the studio this attempt at expansion goes better than when it launched FarmVille on MSN Games only to have it shuttered shortly after.
Mafia Wars even has items exclusive to its Yahoo version, though players can't import their Facebook player profiles at the moment. This could be intentional so as to not draw away too many Facebook mobsters, though Zynga is reported to be working on a currency that it will likely use across the several platforms the company has already invaded. Eventually, it would make sense for Zynga to allow its players to access their original accounts across any platform, but it appears that the company is just testing the waters with Yahoo.
We say "expansion" because Zynga isn't going anywhere on Facebook. You'll still find your digital mob and fish tank on Facebook, though the company has been looking to go forth and conquer our digital lives for some time. Hopefully for the studio this attempt at expansion goes better than when it launched FarmVille on MSN Games only to have it shuttered shortly after.
Mafia Wars even has items exclusive to its Yahoo version, though players can't import their Facebook player profiles at the moment. This could be intentional so as to not draw away too many Facebook mobsters, though Zynga is reported to be working on a currency that it will likely use across the several platforms the company has already invaded. Eventually, it would make sense for Zynga to allow its players to access their original accounts across any platform, but it appears that the company is just testing the waters with Yahoo.
Facebook blocked by half of small businesses: Less farming, more work
FarmVille at work
Who wants to work, anyway? According to a study conducted by Webroot, 50 percent of small businesses want you to, that's who. The report shows that half of over one thousand employees surveyed in the U.S. and U.K. said that all social networks are blocked from their office network--that means Facebook games too.
While 39 percent reported being blocked from Facebook specifically, this specific social network is more than likely included in the 50 percent mentioned above. According to All Facebook, Internet security is a large cause of the block, citing that "one in six of those surveyed said a social networking site or Web 2.0 application was the source of a virus."
However, we can't imagine that at least part of the reason wasn't because businesses have taken a hit to productivity since Facebook blew up. Not to mention, who knows how many of those employees are playing the same games we are? Come to think of it, there are probably plenty of you at work reading this right now with FarmVille loaded in another browser tab. We know, it's OK. (You're safe here, for now.)
To keep those of you from hitting the wanted ads again, about 21 percent of small businesses allow Facebook use, but at designated hours of the day. Think of it as recess all over again, but replace the tether ball matches with virtual cook-offs.
Who wants to work, anyway? According to a study conducted by Webroot, 50 percent of small businesses want you to, that's who. The report shows that half of over one thousand employees surveyed in the U.S. and U.K. said that all social networks are blocked from their office network--that means Facebook games too.
While 39 percent reported being blocked from Facebook specifically, this specific social network is more than likely included in the 50 percent mentioned above. According to All Facebook, Internet security is a large cause of the block, citing that "one in six of those surveyed said a social networking site or Web 2.0 application was the source of a virus."
However, we can't imagine that at least part of the reason wasn't because businesses have taken a hit to productivity since Facebook blew up. Not to mention, who knows how many of those employees are playing the same games we are? Come to think of it, there are probably plenty of you at work reading this right now with FarmVille loaded in another browser tab. We know, it's OK. (You're safe here, for now.)
To keep those of you from hitting the wanted ads again, about 21 percent of small businesses allow Facebook use, but at designated hours of the day. Think of it as recess all over again, but replace the tether ball matches with virtual cook-offs.
FrontierVille: New Shovel Hunt goal offers 10 free digs in Treasure Isle
While it's not better than getting 10 free energy, the new Frontier Shovel from FrontierVille is an exclusive item that lets you make 10 free digs in Treasure Isle. But what it technically does, is make each of your next 10 digs require 5 less energy. And since each dig takes 5 Energy, well, you get the idea. And they're really heavy with the emphasis on the digs, because that's all you can do with it. You can't cut trees or ferns or search a lodge with it.
FrontierVille Goal: Shovel Hunt
When the offer window pops up in Treasure Isle, click on it to go to FrontierVille. There, you'll be presented with a new goal, Shovel Hunt, which requires the following:
Plant Four Fruit Trees (can also be unlocked for 16 Horseshoes)
Clear Two Rocks (8 Horseshoes)
Clear One Cactus (12 Horseshoes)
You can spend 36 Horseshoes to unlock this, but it's not worth it. They're also such simple tasks that you'll be better off just completing the goal the way it asks you to. After completing the goal, you get 50 XP, 250 Coins, and a Horseshoe-Handled Frontier Shovel.
Frontier Shovel in Treasure Isle
Claim your Frontier Shovel in FrontierVille, and you'll be redirected to Treasure Isle. The shovel will be in your backpack. You can use it or sell it, but just be warned, selling it won't earn you any coins.
FrontierVille Goal: Shovel Hunt
When the offer window pops up in Treasure Isle, click on it to go to FrontierVille. There, you'll be presented with a new goal, Shovel Hunt, which requires the following:
Plant Four Fruit Trees (can also be unlocked for 16 Horseshoes)
Clear Two Rocks (8 Horseshoes)
Clear One Cactus (12 Horseshoes)
You can spend 36 Horseshoes to unlock this, but it's not worth it. They're also such simple tasks that you'll be better off just completing the goal the way it asks you to. After completing the goal, you get 50 XP, 250 Coins, and a Horseshoe-Handled Frontier Shovel.
Frontier Shovel in Treasure Isle
Claim your Frontier Shovel in FrontierVille, and you'll be redirected to Treasure Isle. The shovel will be in your backpack. You can use it or sell it, but just be warned, selling it won't earn you any coins.
Frontierville Rodeo Timed Mission: Everything you need to know
FrontierVille is slowly rolling out a new time mission -- called "It's Rodeo Time!" which you will have eight days to complete. Here are the details:
frontierville rodeo time
GOAL: It's Rodeo Time! in FrontierVille
It's Rodeo Time! The rodeo is comin' to the Frontier! You're gonna need to toughen up some oxen, gather some Chaps, and some Rodeo Hats. This is gonna be a hoot!
- Sell 15 Adult Oxen
- Collect 15 Rodeo Hats (Them Rodeo Hats will be removed to complete this mission.)
- Collect 15 pairs of Chaps (Them Chaps will be used up.)
Hint : Oxen are available in the market. Click on "ask" above to ask your friends for Chaps and Rodeo Hats. (The hats and chaps will be removed once you've fulfilled the conditions of the mission)
frontierville rodeo time rewards
The rewards for completing the missions is a rodeo barrel + 1,000 XP + 1 Dinner
frontierville ox
If you don't have this mission yet, but want to get a leg up -- go ahead and buy any extra Oxen you might need and start feeding them until they grow up into big, strong adults and are ready to sell.
frontierville rodeo time
GOAL: It's Rodeo Time! in FrontierVille
It's Rodeo Time! The rodeo is comin' to the Frontier! You're gonna need to toughen up some oxen, gather some Chaps, and some Rodeo Hats. This is gonna be a hoot!
- Sell 15 Adult Oxen
- Collect 15 Rodeo Hats (Them Rodeo Hats will be removed to complete this mission.)
- Collect 15 pairs of Chaps (Them Chaps will be used up.)
Hint : Oxen are available in the market. Click on "ask" above to ask your friends for Chaps and Rodeo Hats. (The hats and chaps will be removed once you've fulfilled the conditions of the mission)
frontierville rodeo time rewards
The rewards for completing the missions is a rodeo barrel + 1,000 XP + 1 Dinner
frontierville ox
If you don't have this mission yet, but want to get a leg up -- go ahead and buy any extra Oxen you might need and start feeding them until they grow up into big, strong adults and are ready to sell.
City Of Wonder: Atomic Age has arrived, blinds us with lasers and music
City of Wonder is finally catching up with the rest of the world in its most recent update, The Atomic Age. Playdom has added several new areas of Research, new Marvels and more to the game in honor of both the most frightening and exciting time in human history.
Players can now Research fields such as Nuclear Power, Lasers, Globalization, Jazz and more. As always, these fields of Research will open up new buildings to construct like the Corporate HQ, which requires the new Globalization Research and nets your city 500 coins every eight hours. There are also a slew of new Cultural buildings like the Linear Accelerator, an item seemingly inspired by the Large Hadron Collider that brings 2,205 Happiness and 276 Culture to your people. (Hint: it requires Lasers.) Other Cultural buildings include the iconic Woodstock that comes of Folk Music Research and Apollo Theater, a Jazz building. I thought Woodstock was more Rock Music, but what do I know?
As for your military, NATO has been added as an available building. Known as one of the centers for global democracy, this building will grant players 160 Attack and 120 Defense. But we know what everyone wants to find out about: the Marvels. This time around, only two Marvels, Area 51 and the White House, were added Area 51 requires the new Electronics Research to complete and grants your armies a three percent damage increase. The White House, however, calls for Democracy of the Industrial Age and provides a three percent increase to goods and markets.
It looks like it's time to get with... the times in City of Wonder. Oddly enough from the title "Atomic Age," it looks like Culture and Trade benefit more from this update than Military. Of course, you'll need to be leveled up to the Industrial Age to enjoy these new features, so keep on keepin' on, newbies.
Players can now Research fields such as Nuclear Power, Lasers, Globalization, Jazz and more. As always, these fields of Research will open up new buildings to construct like the Corporate HQ, which requires the new Globalization Research and nets your city 500 coins every eight hours. There are also a slew of new Cultural buildings like the Linear Accelerator, an item seemingly inspired by the Large Hadron Collider that brings 2,205 Happiness and 276 Culture to your people. (Hint: it requires Lasers.) Other Cultural buildings include the iconic Woodstock that comes of Folk Music Research and Apollo Theater, a Jazz building. I thought Woodstock was more Rock Music, but what do I know?
As for your military, NATO has been added as an available building. Known as one of the centers for global democracy, this building will grant players 160 Attack and 120 Defense. But we know what everyone wants to find out about: the Marvels. This time around, only two Marvels, Area 51 and the White House, were added Area 51 requires the new Electronics Research to complete and grants your armies a three percent damage increase. The White House, however, calls for Democracy of the Industrial Age and provides a three percent increase to goods and markets.
It looks like it's time to get with... the times in City of Wonder. Oddly enough from the title "Atomic Age," it looks like Culture and Trade benefit more from this update than Military. Of course, you'll need to be leveled up to the Industrial Age to enjoy these new features, so keep on keepin' on, newbies.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
FrontierVille Cheats and Tips: Victory Gardens
Sitting in your post-Level 100 ivory tree house in FrontierVille with nothing left to do? Well, if you've already exhausted all of your resources for extra XP for the day, here's something productive that will help pass the time: Victory Gardens. Shockingly enough, Zynga didn't think of it first--you pioneers did. Creating your own Victory Garden doesn't have any rigid rules or rewards. This is purely something born of the creativity and generosity of high-level pioneers everywhere (i.e. these are the type you want to be friends with).
Find out how to cultivate your own Victory Garden and help out those more commonly known as 'noobs' after the break.
Wither Protection BoostPlainly speaking, Victory Gardens are tracks of farmland meant only for your lower-level neighbors to harvest. Making one is simple, but there are a few brief prerequisites. First, you're going to need room... a lot of it. This is because the standard Victory Garden contains five of each crop at all times for friends to harvest. In fact, some Victory Gardens even contain five of each animal for harvest, but that's only if you're feeling extra generous. If you'd like, you could even hold just say, a Victory Ranch, if you'd rather not worry about the upkeep.
Which is exactly the second requirement. In order for Victory Gardens to operate effectively they need to be stocked with crops at all times. This way, your newbie friends will always have something to harvest when they drop in for a visit. If you're rolling in dough and would rather not worry about your Victory Garden too much, you could always throw some Wither Protection Boosts on your crops. These Boosts keep any crops currently planted from withering and can be found through turning in the Peas Collection or paying up 40 Horseshoes, or $5.
While this might seem obvious, the last prerequisite is to never harvest from your own or your friends' Victory Gardens. Since tTend Herehe whole point of Victory Gardens is to help our fellow new players out, this would defeat the purpose. That being said, make sure to plant crops and animals for your own use in a spot both far away from your Victory Garden and obviously much smaller than it. Something that can help new players know where to tend and where to steer clear of are the "Tend Here" and "Hands Off" Signs. Buy these from the Market for 2 Horseshoes a piece and put them in the appropriate spots on your homestead to let players know what's OK to touch.
And that's about it. Follow these simple steps and you'll be well on your way to being the most beloved pioneer out there. Well, at least to your newbie entourage.
Find out how to cultivate your own Victory Garden and help out those more commonly known as 'noobs' after the break.
Wither Protection BoostPlainly speaking, Victory Gardens are tracks of farmland meant only for your lower-level neighbors to harvest. Making one is simple, but there are a few brief prerequisites. First, you're going to need room... a lot of it. This is because the standard Victory Garden contains five of each crop at all times for friends to harvest. In fact, some Victory Gardens even contain five of each animal for harvest, but that's only if you're feeling extra generous. If you'd like, you could even hold just say, a Victory Ranch, if you'd rather not worry about the upkeep.
Which is exactly the second requirement. In order for Victory Gardens to operate effectively they need to be stocked with crops at all times. This way, your newbie friends will always have something to harvest when they drop in for a visit. If you're rolling in dough and would rather not worry about your Victory Garden too much, you could always throw some Wither Protection Boosts on your crops. These Boosts keep any crops currently planted from withering and can be found through turning in the Peas Collection or paying up 40 Horseshoes, or $5.
While this might seem obvious, the last prerequisite is to never harvest from your own or your friends' Victory Gardens. Since tTend Herehe whole point of Victory Gardens is to help our fellow new players out, this would defeat the purpose. That being said, make sure to plant crops and animals for your own use in a spot both far away from your Victory Garden and obviously much smaller than it. Something that can help new players know where to tend and where to steer clear of are the "Tend Here" and "Hands Off" Signs. Buy these from the Market for 2 Horseshoes a piece and put them in the appropriate spots on your homestead to let players know what's OK to touch.
And that's about it. Follow these simple steps and you'll be well on your way to being the most beloved pioneer out there. Well, at least to your newbie entourage.
FarmVille loading glitch: Farmers lost in parallel universe
farmville loading glitch
It was just another ordinary FarmVille morning for fvfan26. She went about her chores, harvesting crops, feeding animals, and paying visits to her neighbors. That's when she discovered something was very wrong in the world of FarmVille. Upon arriving at a neighboring farm, she discovered the entire thing had been transported to another dimension! All that was left, was a completely sterile, white land of infinite nothingness. Needless to say, she returned home and carried on with her day.
Other farmers reported this happening to their own neighbors. There were many explanations for the extraordinary event. Some suggested that the farmers may have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Others thought they were perhaps shifted to Pandora. Even more were certain their neighbors had ran off to a parallel universe! But after our FarmVille scientists did an investigation, it was found that the farms were simply covered by a large holiday blizzard. Once the ten feet of snow has melted, the farms will be operational again. Fewf!
farmville loading problem
But seriously, FarmVille farmers reported having trouble loading FarmVille this morning due in-game technical updates. Those affected were usually very high level farmers. When neighbors tried to visit the farmers who couldn't load FarmVille, they were greeted by the blank farm pictured above.
Some farmers are still experiencing technical difficulties loading FarmVille. Not to worry , everything will back to normal soon enough, and you can be relieved to know your FarmVille friends aren't lost in another dimension after all. Unfortunately though, all we can do is wait it out. In the mean time, why not check out CityVille?
Image Credit: fvfan26 & GrandmasGotAGun via FarmVille Community Forums
It was just another ordinary FarmVille morning for fvfan26. She went about her chores, harvesting crops, feeding animals, and paying visits to her neighbors. That's when she discovered something was very wrong in the world of FarmVille. Upon arriving at a neighboring farm, she discovered the entire thing had been transported to another dimension! All that was left, was a completely sterile, white land of infinite nothingness. Needless to say, she returned home and carried on with her day.
Other farmers reported this happening to their own neighbors. There were many explanations for the extraordinary event. Some suggested that the farmers may have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle. Others thought they were perhaps shifted to Pandora. Even more were certain their neighbors had ran off to a parallel universe! But after our FarmVille scientists did an investigation, it was found that the farms were simply covered by a large holiday blizzard. Once the ten feet of snow has melted, the farms will be operational again. Fewf!
farmville loading problem
But seriously, FarmVille farmers reported having trouble loading FarmVille this morning due in-game technical updates. Those affected were usually very high level farmers. When neighbors tried to visit the farmers who couldn't load FarmVille, they were greeted by the blank farm pictured above.
Some farmers are still experiencing technical difficulties loading FarmVille. Not to worry , everything will back to normal soon enough, and you can be relieved to know your FarmVille friends aren't lost in another dimension after all. Unfortunately though, all we can do is wait it out. In the mean time, why not check out CityVille?
Image Credit: fvfan26 & GrandmasGotAGun via FarmVille Community Forums
CityVille faces new challenger in Big Business on Facebook
While city simulation games like CityVille and Social City do address how important businesses are to city life, they skimp out on the nitty gritty details. The micro manager in all of us--well, some of us--wants to worry about shipments, goods production, sales and even resource management. This is where Game Insight comes in with Big Business, a city-building Facebook game that gets down and dirty with what's really makes a city work.
Continue reading to find out how Big Business fairs among the nuances of running a city.
Big Business Gameplay
The first thing you'll notice about Big Business is that it runs without a hitch. Nearly every action is fully animated amongst bustling citizens and buildings constantly abuzz with activity. And because of how smooth the game runs, Game Insight made a point at every turn to show it off. This becomes obvious when nearly every action in the game is fully animated, which is a double-edged sword of sorts.
While it's certainly a sight to literally see your town at work, the fact that everything is animated means that almost no action is instant. Because of this, expect to spend more time in Big Business doing routine tasks than in other social games. However, this relaxed gameplay style goes a bit too far by bleeding through everything else in the game. For instance, the game's tutorial tasks you with building a power plant to fuel your city's homes and businesses, which is done instantly. This is far from the reality of the rest of the game where most other buildings will take hours to construct. And while you can speed up the process through coins and City Credits--the game's paid currency--I'd personally rather spend premium currency on cool items than faster, generic ones.
One thing Big Business does exceptionally well is its business ecosystem. If that sounds a bit confusing, what I mean is that every type of building works with the others and if one falls behind, the others lose as well. This makes for an interesting balance between maintaining your city's population through Houses while producing and either selling goods to Supermarkets or transporting to other production facilities for use in more complex goods. Though, all of which cannot be done without Garages and the transport vehicles to support them.
Level Up
Though you won't get by through simply producing and supplying goods; you have plenty more things to worry about. These businesses cannot run for long without Services. These buildings, like the Power Station and Mechanic, provide upkeep for both your business and your citizens. The more your city grows, the more Services you'll need to support it. And yet, it doesn't stop there.
Your buildings, both industrial and residential, are governed by two statistics, Ecology and Happiness. For every building you throw up, your Ecology value will take a hit, which can only be restored by adding more Trees to your city. On top of that, your citizens will become unhappy without enough Entertainment buildings, though at least they don't draw from Ecology. It's maintaining this balance that's far more important in Big Business than making the most cash possible.
By now you should have a pretty good idea of how bogged down players could get under the seemingly endless statistics and lengthy wait times for buildings to construct and actions to complete. Though if micro management is your thing, welcome to the Holy Grail of simulation games.
Click here to play Big Business on Facebook Now>
Continue reading to find out how Big Business fairs among the nuances of running a city.
Big Business Gameplay
The first thing you'll notice about Big Business is that it runs without a hitch. Nearly every action is fully animated amongst bustling citizens and buildings constantly abuzz with activity. And because of how smooth the game runs, Game Insight made a point at every turn to show it off. This becomes obvious when nearly every action in the game is fully animated, which is a double-edged sword of sorts.
While it's certainly a sight to literally see your town at work, the fact that everything is animated means that almost no action is instant. Because of this, expect to spend more time in Big Business doing routine tasks than in other social games. However, this relaxed gameplay style goes a bit too far by bleeding through everything else in the game. For instance, the game's tutorial tasks you with building a power plant to fuel your city's homes and businesses, which is done instantly. This is far from the reality of the rest of the game where most other buildings will take hours to construct. And while you can speed up the process through coins and City Credits--the game's paid currency--I'd personally rather spend premium currency on cool items than faster, generic ones.
One thing Big Business does exceptionally well is its business ecosystem. If that sounds a bit confusing, what I mean is that every type of building works with the others and if one falls behind, the others lose as well. This makes for an interesting balance between maintaining your city's population through Houses while producing and either selling goods to Supermarkets or transporting to other production facilities for use in more complex goods. Though, all of which cannot be done without Garages and the transport vehicles to support them.
Level Up
Though you won't get by through simply producing and supplying goods; you have plenty more things to worry about. These businesses cannot run for long without Services. These buildings, like the Power Station and Mechanic, provide upkeep for both your business and your citizens. The more your city grows, the more Services you'll need to support it. And yet, it doesn't stop there.
Your buildings, both industrial and residential, are governed by two statistics, Ecology and Happiness. For every building you throw up, your Ecology value will take a hit, which can only be restored by adding more Trees to your city. On top of that, your citizens will become unhappy without enough Entertainment buildings, though at least they don't draw from Ecology. It's maintaining this balance that's far more important in Big Business than making the most cash possible.
By now you should have a pretty good idea of how bogged down players could get under the seemingly endless statistics and lengthy wait times for buildings to construct and actions to complete. Though if micro management is your thing, welcome to the Holy Grail of simulation games.
Click here to play Big Business on Facebook Now>
FarmVille cakes!
Looks like the trend of paying homage to your favorite game in dessert form continues. FarmVille recently held a contest and these 15 confections took the grand prize, which was 1,000 Farm Cash and 1 million coins. Not too shabby, eh? Kinda makes you want to see what you can do with a little flour and sugar.
farmville funhouseMy absolute favorite among the winners is this Fun House cake from HDGurl (based on the FarmVille funhouse item to the right) and she says that, yes, every bit of this cake is edible and no fondant or sugar paste was used in the construction.
"This cake was created in about 20-30 hours over the course of several days, and used approximately 4 lbs of modeling chocolate, making it fantastically delicious, and entirely eatable!
...This cake was near impossible to scale because of the lack of pictures with any angles, this was obviously because it is not a real structure. I think the challenge of that simple fact made the Fun House the obvious choice to create.
The "base" of this cake is two home-baked 9X13 chocolate fudge cakes, filled with chocolate raspberry mousse. The top 3D structures are made of rice krispy treats and melted chocolate chips as "glue".
Every figure was hand sculpted out of modeling chocolate (mixture of basically chocolate and corn syrup), & rice crispies... and the Caramel Apples have... of course... CARAMEL on them! Support for the signs, and barn were wooden skewers."
Also, a hats off to the 'Falling Leaves' cupcakes by Monica Groeger, the 'Gnome' cupcakes by mommagoes and the 'Happy Thanksgiving??' cake, by Silver Kathy, with a pig, sheep and cow sitting down at a feast. To see these FarmVille-themed sweets and more, click through the gallery below.
farmville funhouseMy absolute favorite among the winners is this Fun House cake from HDGurl (based on the FarmVille funhouse item to the right) and she says that, yes, every bit of this cake is edible and no fondant or sugar paste was used in the construction.
"This cake was created in about 20-30 hours over the course of several days, and used approximately 4 lbs of modeling chocolate, making it fantastically delicious, and entirely eatable!
...This cake was near impossible to scale because of the lack of pictures with any angles, this was obviously because it is not a real structure. I think the challenge of that simple fact made the Fun House the obvious choice to create.
The "base" of this cake is two home-baked 9X13 chocolate fudge cakes, filled with chocolate raspberry mousse. The top 3D structures are made of rice krispy treats and melted chocolate chips as "glue".
Every figure was hand sculpted out of modeling chocolate (mixture of basically chocolate and corn syrup), & rice crispies... and the Caramel Apples have... of course... CARAMEL on them! Support for the signs, and barn were wooden skewers."
Also, a hats off to the 'Falling Leaves' cupcakes by Monica Groeger, the 'Gnome' cupcakes by mommagoes and the 'Happy Thanksgiving??' cake, by Silver Kathy, with a pig, sheep and cow sitting down at a feast. To see these FarmVille-themed sweets and more, click through the gallery below.
FarmVille Unwither Ring goes bye-bye at the stroke of midnight (EST)
Newsflash! The semi-controversial FarmVille Unwither Ring will no longer be available to buy at the stroke of midnight tonight (EST). So if you were planning to spend the 250 Farm Cash to buy one of these for a loved one (that includes yourself) this holiday season, you better whip out that credit card and get on it.
farmville unwither ring
This is the second appearance of the Unwither Ring in FarmVille, and for the uninitiated, if you own this ring, your crops will never wither. Ever. Which, by virtual farming standards, is nothing short of a miracle. No more setting timers to remember to harvest your crops and no more losing your precious coins when your crops die. You just plant crops, they grow and then they patiently wait for you to come back and harvest them for coins, crop mastery points and XP.
I sincerely doubt this will be the last time that the ring makes an appearance in the FarmVille Market, but if you don't buy now you will (1.) miss out on giving your near and dearest the most awesome FarmVille gift and (2.) might be waiting another six months (or more) to get your next chance to buy the One True Ring.
farmville unwither ring
farmville unwither ring
This is the second appearance of the Unwither Ring in FarmVille, and for the uninitiated, if you own this ring, your crops will never wither. Ever. Which, by virtual farming standards, is nothing short of a miracle. No more setting timers to remember to harvest your crops and no more losing your precious coins when your crops die. You just plant crops, they grow and then they patiently wait for you to come back and harvest them for coins, crop mastery points and XP.
I sincerely doubt this will be the last time that the ring makes an appearance in the FarmVille Market, but if you don't buy now you will (1.) miss out on giving your near and dearest the most awesome FarmVille gift and (2.) might be waiting another six months (or more) to get your next chance to buy the One True Ring.
farmville unwither ring
Friday, January 13, 2012
FarmVille Winter Sneak Peek: Hot Springs, Penguin Fishing Hole, Ice Cow & More
It looks as though Zynga will be looking to continue celebrating Winter in FarmVille through the entire winter season (that is, even after the holidays as passed), as we've come across some new unreleased images of four new items that we believe will be coming to the game in the near future.
The four items, listed from left to right in the image above are: Monkey Hot Springs, Penguin Fishing Hole, Ice Cow, and Ice Duck.
Remember, the final names of these items are still up in the air (these may just serve as placeholders), and there is no actual guarantee as to whether these items will officially be released in the game, so keep that in mind. Additionally, we're not sure how these items will make an appearance. Will they be part of an upcoming Mystery Game? Will they be free gifts, premium items in the store, or Mystery Gift prizes? Only time will tell, but we'll be sure to give you all of the details once we have them.
The four items, listed from left to right in the image above are: Monkey Hot Springs, Penguin Fishing Hole, Ice Cow, and Ice Duck.
Remember, the final names of these items are still up in the air (these may just serve as placeholders), and there is no actual guarantee as to whether these items will officially be released in the game, so keep that in mind. Additionally, we're not sure how these items will make an appearance. Will they be part of an upcoming Mystery Game? Will they be free gifts, premium items in the store, or Mystery Gift prizes? Only time will tell, but we'll be sure to give you all of the details once we have them.
FarmVille Animal Sneak Peek: Brown Gypsy Horse, Brown Gypsy Foal, Baby Penguin
If you're an animal collector in FarmVille, I've got some great new unreleased item images to share with you! These animals are, from left to right in the image above: Brown Gypsy Horse, Brown Gypsy Foal, and Baby Penguin.
Not to be confused with the black and white, regular Gypsy Horse released at the end of November as part of the Winter Holiday theme of items, this Brown Gypsy Horse will be an entirely different animal, able to be placed inside the Horse Stable and bred with a Stallion to produce the adorable Brown Gypsy Foal also seen above. We're guessing that if the Brown Gypsy Horse doesn't make an appearance in a Mystery Game soon, that it will be available in the store for Farm Cash.
Meanwhile, the Baby Penguin is equally interesting, if not even more so. Since Penguins have been available in the game since even last year, this begs the question - Could Zynga be looking to create a Penguin "home" of some kind, through which these Baby Penguins would be bred? Or will it simply be released as a regular animal release in the store? Only time will tell, but personally, I'm hoping for another animal storage building (especially if it means I get to have all of those cute, fluffy Baby Penguins running around on my farm!).
Remember, there is no guarantee that these items will be officially released within the game, so keep that in mind. Keep checking back with us though, as we'll make sure to give you guys all of the information about these new animals if and when they are released.
Not to be confused with the black and white, regular Gypsy Horse released at the end of November as part of the Winter Holiday theme of items, this Brown Gypsy Horse will be an entirely different animal, able to be placed inside the Horse Stable and bred with a Stallion to produce the adorable Brown Gypsy Foal also seen above. We're guessing that if the Brown Gypsy Horse doesn't make an appearance in a Mystery Game soon, that it will be available in the store for Farm Cash.
Meanwhile, the Baby Penguin is equally interesting, if not even more so. Since Penguins have been available in the game since even last year, this begs the question - Could Zynga be looking to create a Penguin "home" of some kind, through which these Baby Penguins would be bred? Or will it simply be released as a regular animal release in the store? Only time will tell, but personally, I'm hoping for another animal storage building (especially if it means I get to have all of those cute, fluffy Baby Penguins running around on my farm!).
Remember, there is no guarantee that these items will be officially released within the game, so keep that in mind. Keep checking back with us though, as we'll make sure to give you guys all of the information about these new animals if and when they are released.
FarmVille: The Case of the Missing Holiday Ducks
A new mystery has appeared in the land of FarmVille, concerning an item that was assumed to be released with last night's FarmVille update, but either wasn't, or jumped out of the store just as soon as it entered. The item is the Holiday Ducks decoration (a set of ducks standing underneath mistletoe that apparently kiss). As this entire ordeal has spawned user outrage and confusion, we thought we'd take a minute to shed some light on the current state of affairs concerning when and if this item will ever be coming back to the store.
As of last night's update, the Holiday Ducks are nowhere to be found in the game, which is especially odd, considering that a recently added FarmVille loading screen, and the in-game marketplace (pictured) both contain images of the item. So, at least we know that the Holiday Ducks are real.
Multiple threads have appeared on the official FarmVille forums concerning these missing animals, with some users reporting that the Ducks were available in the store for a very brief period yesterday evening, before mysteriously vanishing without a trace. Furthermore, Zynga even announced that the Holiday Ducks were available in the store for 15 Farm Cash. We've read user reports of finding the ducks for 15 or 20 Farm Cash, but we have no visual proof of their existence - they disappeared that quickly.
This becomes even more of an issue when we take a look at the time limit for the other Winter Holiday items that are currently available in the store. Even those items that were released last night will only be available for 9 days, and every day that the ducks remain MIA is apparently another day that users won't have to purchase them, if and when they reappear.
Where did they go? Honestly, we don't know at this point. As of this writing, they are nowhere to be found in the game's store, and they aren't on the free gifts page. We've contacted Zynga for comment, and will be sure to let you know if and when this situation changes. We're assuming that this the disappearance of the ducks was due to an in-game glitch of some kind, but we'll continue to keep digging for information in case something else is going on.
As of last night's update, the Holiday Ducks are nowhere to be found in the game, which is especially odd, considering that a recently added FarmVille loading screen, and the in-game marketplace (pictured) both contain images of the item. So, at least we know that the Holiday Ducks are real.
Multiple threads have appeared on the official FarmVille forums concerning these missing animals, with some users reporting that the Ducks were available in the store for a very brief period yesterday evening, before mysteriously vanishing without a trace. Furthermore, Zynga even announced that the Holiday Ducks were available in the store for 15 Farm Cash. We've read user reports of finding the ducks for 15 or 20 Farm Cash, but we have no visual proof of their existence - they disappeared that quickly.
This becomes even more of an issue when we take a look at the time limit for the other Winter Holiday items that are currently available in the store. Even those items that were released last night will only be available for 9 days, and every day that the ducks remain MIA is apparently another day that users won't have to purchase them, if and when they reappear.
Where did they go? Honestly, we don't know at this point. As of this writing, they are nowhere to be found in the game's store, and they aren't on the free gifts page. We've contacted Zynga for comment, and will be sure to let you know if and when this situation changes. We're assuming that this the disappearance of the ducks was due to an in-game glitch of some kind, but we'll continue to keep digging for information in case something else is going on.
It's Official: CityVille dethrones FarmVille as Zynga's top Facebook game
Alright, so it didn't exactly happen yesterday, but CityVille has soared high above FarmVille's 56.8 million players with a massive (for these days) 61.7 million monthly players. It did what many thought was the impossible in just 22 days, according to Inside Social, and it took good old FarmVille four months to reach that size back in the day. While we've already explored what might have contributed to the game's blindingly fast rise to Zynga supremacy, it's impossible to tell how long this will last.
It will take at least another month for CityVille's numbers to stabilize--or at least slow down, for Pete's sake. These numbers are purely an accumulation of the amount of players who have logged into the game at least once in the past three weeks. Whether the game can hold the interest of its nearly 62 million players for a lengthy period of time has yet to be seen. However, if the game keeps growing at this rate, it could easily meet FarmVille's former glory of 84 million monthly players by 2011. Until then, Mark Pincus and the CityVille team can enjoy their early Christmas gift Scrooge McDuck style.
It will take at least another month for CityVille's numbers to stabilize--or at least slow down, for Pete's sake. These numbers are purely an accumulation of the amount of players who have logged into the game at least once in the past three weeks. Whether the game can hold the interest of its nearly 62 million players for a lengthy period of time has yet to be seen. However, if the game keeps growing at this rate, it could easily meet FarmVille's former glory of 84 million monthly players by 2011. Until then, Mark Pincus and the CityVille team can enjoy their early Christmas gift Scrooge McDuck style.
Mafia Wars FrontierVille Beaver Pelt Promo: Everything you need to know
Mafia Wars Beaver Pelts
Looking for some easy items to come by in Mafia Wars? Well, Zynga has introduced another of its infamous cross-promotions in the game involving FrontierVille. This time around, all you need to do is take a trip over to your New York properties and click on any of the four buildings that produce items, which includes the brand new Private Zoo.
Chop Shop FrontierVille Promo
From there, you'll see some brand new items on the first page, but they each require a unique part that you won't find on the streets of New York, but way out West on the frontier. Click on the "Get Part" button with the FrontierVille logo attached to get started.
Follow us after the break to find out how to nab these limited edition items.
A Day in the Life of a Beaver
Clicking the "Get Part" button will transport you to your FrontierVille game. Upon loading the game, you will instantly be greeted with a new Goal titled "A Day in the Life of a Beaver I." Thankfully, this Goal can be completed in minutes, especially if you're already a seasoned pioneer. You'll need to have or collect 15 Wood, clear one Stump from the homestead and have or purchase two Fences from the Market. As for that final requirement, you must clear one full tree and remove its Stump to get credit for it. In other words, old Stumps lying around on the homestead will not count. Once completed, enjoy 50 XP and 250 coins.
A Day in the Life of a Beaver II
The second Goal in this series, "A Day in the Life of a Beaver II," is simple enough. Just click on "Claim Reward" to be launched back into your New York Property page in Mafia Wars one Beaver Pelt richer. Then, enter any one of your production properties and notice that a "Build" button has replaced that "Get Part" button. Just click and you got yourself a nice weapon, vehicle, armor or animal with a permanent stat increase. That's right, all of the items in this promotion will permanent boost one of your stats, just see for yourself below. (If you want the rest of these promotional items, then follow these easy steps in all four production Buildings--the mission will be exactly the same.)
Bearskin Cloak
Venture Axe
Big Horn Sheep
As you can probably already tell, all of these items have the same exact stats on them. However, each provide a unique, permanent boost to either your Defense, Attack or Energy, making them well worth the effort for min/max players.
Looking for some easy items to come by in Mafia Wars? Well, Zynga has introduced another of its infamous cross-promotions in the game involving FrontierVille. This time around, all you need to do is take a trip over to your New York properties and click on any of the four buildings that produce items, which includes the brand new Private Zoo.
Chop Shop FrontierVille Promo
From there, you'll see some brand new items on the first page, but they each require a unique part that you won't find on the streets of New York, but way out West on the frontier. Click on the "Get Part" button with the FrontierVille logo attached to get started.
Follow us after the break to find out how to nab these limited edition items.
A Day in the Life of a Beaver
Clicking the "Get Part" button will transport you to your FrontierVille game. Upon loading the game, you will instantly be greeted with a new Goal titled "A Day in the Life of a Beaver I." Thankfully, this Goal can be completed in minutes, especially if you're already a seasoned pioneer. You'll need to have or collect 15 Wood, clear one Stump from the homestead and have or purchase two Fences from the Market. As for that final requirement, you must clear one full tree and remove its Stump to get credit for it. In other words, old Stumps lying around on the homestead will not count. Once completed, enjoy 50 XP and 250 coins.
A Day in the Life of a Beaver II
The second Goal in this series, "A Day in the Life of a Beaver II," is simple enough. Just click on "Claim Reward" to be launched back into your New York Property page in Mafia Wars one Beaver Pelt richer. Then, enter any one of your production properties and notice that a "Build" button has replaced that "Get Part" button. Just click and you got yourself a nice weapon, vehicle, armor or animal with a permanent stat increase. That's right, all of the items in this promotion will permanent boost one of your stats, just see for yourself below. (If you want the rest of these promotional items, then follow these easy steps in all four production Buildings--the mission will be exactly the same.)
Bearskin Cloak
Venture Axe
Big Horn Sheep
As you can probably already tell, all of these items have the same exact stats on them. However, each provide a unique, permanent boost to either your Defense, Attack or Energy, making them well worth the effort for min/max players.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Facebook updates formula for active users, player numbers plummet
Just before the weekend, Facebook threw everyone for a loop with a new approach to calculating just how "active" monthly active users are of its thousands of apps, namely social games. And as a result, the numbers of monthly active players of just about every Facebook game and developer have dropped significantly. And we say "significantly" because of Facebook's reasoning behind the change.
"Given that most apps work this way, we're changing our active user figures for Apps on Facebook to publicly report the number of users that authenticate with the app," Facebook's Rushi Desai writes. "We believe this shift from "visitors" to "authenticated users" more accurately reflects the usage of an application, and it brings our measurement methodology for apps into alignment with how we measure engagement on Facebook."
What Facebook is essentially saying is that it is no longer counting the users who visit an app or game's Canvas, but refuse to authenticate the app and leave the page before ever entering the game. Instead, Facebook will now only count the amount of users that actively log into the app or game per month.
CityVille MAU
The company goes on to say that the one-time drop will result in a perceived decline in the number of active users of its many social games and apps, but the number of users actually engaging with the apps is unchanged. But that's just it: Regardless of whether the same rough portion of players have been "actively engaging" with games like CityVille this month, this still means that nearly 20 million people merely visited the app in the last month and did not play the game. And that goes for not just CityVille, but Facebook games across the board.
This is certainly a positive change for all, as it promotes a more accurate measure of just how many players are actually playing these still-massive social games. However, the change reveals how many players are actually logging into these games every month as opposed to merely visiting. And no matter how you slice it, the numbers are smaller than previously imagined.
"Given that most apps work this way, we're changing our active user figures for Apps on Facebook to publicly report the number of users that authenticate with the app," Facebook's Rushi Desai writes. "We believe this shift from "visitors" to "authenticated users" more accurately reflects the usage of an application, and it brings our measurement methodology for apps into alignment with how we measure engagement on Facebook."
What Facebook is essentially saying is that it is no longer counting the users who visit an app or game's Canvas, but refuse to authenticate the app and leave the page before ever entering the game. Instead, Facebook will now only count the amount of users that actively log into the app or game per month.
CityVille MAU
The company goes on to say that the one-time drop will result in a perceived decline in the number of active users of its many social games and apps, but the number of users actually engaging with the apps is unchanged. But that's just it: Regardless of whether the same rough portion of players have been "actively engaging" with games like CityVille this month, this still means that nearly 20 million people merely visited the app in the last month and did not play the game. And that goes for not just CityVille, but Facebook games across the board.
This is certainly a positive change for all, as it promotes a more accurate measure of just how many players are actually playing these still-massive social games. However, the change reveals how many players are actually logging into these games every month as opposed to merely visiting. And no matter how you slice it, the numbers are smaller than previously imagined.
AddictingGames on iPhone is the top free App Store app after 48 hours
Nickelodeon Games and AddictingGames look like they're on a roll, as the AddictingGames (AG) iPhone app became the number one free app on the App Store within just 48 hours of its launch. The app, which is more like a suite of games, packs 18 of the game portal's best games--well, those that work best with touch controls.
The company looks to constantly update the AG app with new games, and already three new games are slated to hit the app on Oct. 20 in a Halloween-themed update. The app features Facebook Connect integration, which allows players to share their high scores and achievements. Players can also share games they've discovered in the app, which should come more in handy as the list of available games grows.
The iOS version of AddictingGames comes just months after Nickelodeon Games released a Facebook app for its stable of 4,000 games this past spring to a healthy 1.3 million monthly players. Included in the AG iPhone app (we've been told that an iPad-optimized version is on the way) are games like Catopult, Achoo! and a game developed exclusively for iOS: Potty Copter.
Now, whether AddictingGames can hold the top spot for the rest of the month (and for when we highlight the top 10 free iOS and Android games) will be even more impressive. The app's Facebook-driven social features are still taking shape, but you can see whether we dug AG on iPhone in our preview right here.
The company looks to constantly update the AG app with new games, and already three new games are slated to hit the app on Oct. 20 in a Halloween-themed update. The app features Facebook Connect integration, which allows players to share their high scores and achievements. Players can also share games they've discovered in the app, which should come more in handy as the list of available games grows.
The iOS version of AddictingGames comes just months after Nickelodeon Games released a Facebook app for its stable of 4,000 games this past spring to a healthy 1.3 million monthly players. Included in the AG iPhone app (we've been told that an iPad-optimized version is on the way) are games like Catopult, Achoo! and a game developed exclusively for iOS: Potty Copter.
Now, whether AddictingGames can hold the top spot for the rest of the month (and for when we highlight the top 10 free iOS and Android games) will be even more impressive. The app's Facebook-driven social features are still taking shape, but you can see whether we dug AG on iPhone in our preview right here.
First Elvis, now John Belushi to be revived in a Facebook game, too?
John Belushi
We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried, folks. And--get this--John Belushi will be featured in the same social game as Elvis, old cars and apparently soap opera stars (or something like that). Entertainment Games announced that, thanks to the license agreement it scored with CMG Worldwide, John Belushi will star in its first, mysterious "retro-based social game."
When it finally unleashes what sounds like a social game nostalgia bomb, it will be available on Facebook, Google+, mobile phones and simply in the browser. According to a release, we're quite close to the release of the still unnamed social game, which is said to focus heavily on story and will be built on the Heyday platform, which Entertainment Games acquired earlier this year.
"Everyone remembers the comic genius of John Belushi," Entertainment Games president Gene Mauro said in a release. "He brought laughter to the world, and it's truly exciting to cast him in new roles and feature him on virtual goods in our new social game. We're honored to be associated with CMG Worldwide and John Belushi and look forward to announcing more of our game's celebrity cast members as we approach our product launch."
The Langhorne, Penn.-based company is certainly taking the branded games strategy to a whole new level. Rather than focusing on a particular brand (or even a single celebrity, for that matter), Entertainment Games looks to harness the pull of a slew of old-time celebrities. That said, at least we know the audience that the company is going for with this release. I'm looking at you, baby boomers.
We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried, folks. And--get this--John Belushi will be featured in the same social game as Elvis, old cars and apparently soap opera stars (or something like that). Entertainment Games announced that, thanks to the license agreement it scored with CMG Worldwide, John Belushi will star in its first, mysterious "retro-based social game."
When it finally unleashes what sounds like a social game nostalgia bomb, it will be available on Facebook, Google+, mobile phones and simply in the browser. According to a release, we're quite close to the release of the still unnamed social game, which is said to focus heavily on story and will be built on the Heyday platform, which Entertainment Games acquired earlier this year.
"Everyone remembers the comic genius of John Belushi," Entertainment Games president Gene Mauro said in a release. "He brought laughter to the world, and it's truly exciting to cast him in new roles and feature him on virtual goods in our new social game. We're honored to be associated with CMG Worldwide and John Belushi and look forward to announcing more of our game's celebrity cast members as we approach our product launch."
The Langhorne, Penn.-based company is certainly taking the branded games strategy to a whole new level. Rather than focusing on a particular brand (or even a single celebrity, for that matter), Entertainment Games looks to harness the pull of a slew of old-time celebrities. That said, at least we know the audience that the company is going for with this release. I'm looking at you, baby boomers.
Asura's Wrath maker says mobile social games are 'all rubbish'
At least they're "junk" in Japan, according to Hiroshi Matsuyama (pictured), CEO of Fukuoka, Japan-based developer CyberConnect 2. During an interview with Gamasutra, the chief overseeing upcoming traditional console games like Asura's Wrath for publisher Capcom and a Naruto game for Namco Bandai, said, "Another thing that I dislike is social games. Everybody is talking about social this, and social that. Even Bandai Namco. I don't like that."
However, don't think that Matsuyama's ire for social games is uninformed--the guy has reached Level 250 in DeNA's Kaito Royale for smartphones. "They're not fun at all. But, I have to play it," Matsuyama told Gamasutra. "The reality is that it has over 3 million users, and it's true that they're making money. I need to be aware of those businesses, so of course I play them. GREE's Dragon Collection. I've played that, too. [Matsuyama pulls out two smartphones] This is my iPhone, and this is my Android phone, and I play these games on both of these phones -- but they're all rubbish."
Ouch, Matsuyama. Keep in mind, however, the CyberConnect 2 president is referring specifically to Japanese mobile social games. Though, Matsuyama name dropped Infinity Blade for iOS (and soon on Mobage) as a favorite mobile game of his. Regardless, Matsuyama appears to think that, frankly, both Gree and DeNA have work to do before their games are suitable.
This point of view certainly isn't unique to Japan, as designers far and wide in the U.S. have called social games out for shallow gameplay, predatory design or just not being social enough. It seems that, regardless of the fact that social games are making a killing, they have a long way to go before earning the respect of traditional game designers. That is, of course, as their colleagues leave in droves for the social games scene.
However, don't think that Matsuyama's ire for social games is uninformed--the guy has reached Level 250 in DeNA's Kaito Royale for smartphones. "They're not fun at all. But, I have to play it," Matsuyama told Gamasutra. "The reality is that it has over 3 million users, and it's true that they're making money. I need to be aware of those businesses, so of course I play them. GREE's Dragon Collection. I've played that, too. [Matsuyama pulls out two smartphones] This is my iPhone, and this is my Android phone, and I play these games on both of these phones -- but they're all rubbish."
Ouch, Matsuyama. Keep in mind, however, the CyberConnect 2 president is referring specifically to Japanese mobile social games. Though, Matsuyama name dropped Infinity Blade for iOS (and soon on Mobage) as a favorite mobile game of his. Regardless, Matsuyama appears to think that, frankly, both Gree and DeNA have work to do before their games are suitable.
This point of view certainly isn't unique to Japan, as designers far and wide in the U.S. have called social games out for shallow gameplay, predatory design or just not being social enough. It seems that, regardless of the fact that social games are making a killing, they have a long way to go before earning the respect of traditional game designers. That is, of course, as their colleagues leave in droves for the social games scene.
MapleStory Adventures hits home on Facebook in new content update
Remain calm: Nexon hasn't added the chance for home wreckers to ruin things just yet--only homes. The Korean developer of MapleStory Adventures, the Facebook edition of its hit online game, has allowed players to shack up in their very own homes. This major content update brings multifaceted living spaces to the game's 1.7 million monthly players, which players can visit daily.
At any point during play, you can now press the "Go Home" button on the right hand side of your screen to enter your house. From here, you can craft various items and enchant your own equipment to upgrade its effectiveness. The home space also features a peach tree that you can pick daily for extra experience, and a mail box to collect daily bonus items from.
Players can visit each friends' five times daily and help them reduce item crafting times or harvest their peach trees. But even for just visiting, players will score an experience bonus. Along with the homes, Nexon seems to have added a Heart Level, which we imagine works like Reputation does in most Facebook games. The update certainly helps MapleStory Adventures feel more like a full game like its predecessor. Now, for those additional class choices--I've got dibs on the Archer.
At any point during play, you can now press the "Go Home" button on the right hand side of your screen to enter your house. From here, you can craft various items and enchant your own equipment to upgrade its effectiveness. The home space also features a peach tree that you can pick daily for extra experience, and a mail box to collect daily bonus items from.
Players can visit each friends' five times daily and help them reduce item crafting times or harvest their peach trees. But even for just visiting, players will score an experience bonus. Along with the homes, Nexon seems to have added a Heart Level, which we imagine works like Reputation does in most Facebook games. The update certainly helps MapleStory Adventures feel more like a full game like its predecessor. Now, for those additional class choices--I've got dibs on the Archer.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
FarmVille Ducklings: Everything you need to know
After many promises and a little bit of impatient waiting (ok, a lot of impatient waiting), FarmVille farmers are now being treated to the release of ducklings in the game. As promised by Zynga at the release of the Duck Pond, these ducklings will be available to receive when harvesting your Duck Pond, in a similar manner to finding Mystery Eggs when harvesting your Chicken Coop. The special thing here is that these ducklings will grow up, and they'll grow into adult forums of all new kinds of ducks.
To put this all into perspective, when you harvest your Duck Pond, you have a chance of finding a duckling. As of right now, it appears that only brown and yellow ducklings have been released into circulation, and you won't be able to see the rest of the duckling feature until you actually receive a Duckling on your farm. Once you do, though, you'll need to go about raising your duckling, to see what kind of mature duck it will grow into.
You'll need the help of your friends to grow these ducklings, so meet us behind the break to see how you can help your friends (and help yourself) earn some of these exclusive new ducks. Just as when finding a Mystery Egg in your Chicken Coop, you'll only find a duckling at random, and aren't guaranteed to receive one each and every time you harvest from your Duck Pond. Once you do receive a duckling however, you'll be able to post a news item to your feed, sharing a duckling with your friends. You also keep one for yourself.
As of this writing, in order to grow the duckling, you must keep it out of your Duck Pond. That is, place it outside the Duck Pond, on the regular ground, until you have a chance to help it grow. You'll then be told that you need to ask seven neighbors (that is, seven different players) to help you take care of your duckling. You'll need to click on the "Ask for Help" button inside the duckling window that appears for each duckling, which will allow you to send individual gift requests to your friends, asking them for help in growing your duckling. You'll have six days to get the help you need, and once you gain all the help you require, you'll actually be able to choose which kind of duck you want that particular duckling to turn into as an adult.
There are different kinds of adult ducks, based on the kind of duckling you started out with. That is, brown ducklings can grow into a different variety of adult ducks than yellow ducklings can. While those are the only two varieties of ducklings available as of right now, it's presumable that if and when more ducklings are added to the game, new adult versions would be added as well.
Once you finish growing your duckling into an adult, you'll be able to share another prize with your friends, and specifically the neighbors that helped you grow your duckling into an adult in the first place. A general news post shares a duckling with your neighbors, while an individual wall post can be made on the particular helpers' walls, giving them a reward that is apparently specific to the type of duck you chose.
There is already a very active forum thread on the official FarmVille forums, discussing the feature and the kinds of rewards you can win, and we'll be sure to update you when more news about this feature launches. Remember, you're not guaranteed to receive a duckling upon harvesting your Duck Pond, but don't lose faith - we're sure you'll get one in time!
To put this all into perspective, when you harvest your Duck Pond, you have a chance of finding a duckling. As of right now, it appears that only brown and yellow ducklings have been released into circulation, and you won't be able to see the rest of the duckling feature until you actually receive a Duckling on your farm. Once you do, though, you'll need to go about raising your duckling, to see what kind of mature duck it will grow into.
You'll need the help of your friends to grow these ducklings, so meet us behind the break to see how you can help your friends (and help yourself) earn some of these exclusive new ducks. Just as when finding a Mystery Egg in your Chicken Coop, you'll only find a duckling at random, and aren't guaranteed to receive one each and every time you harvest from your Duck Pond. Once you do receive a duckling however, you'll be able to post a news item to your feed, sharing a duckling with your friends. You also keep one for yourself.
As of this writing, in order to grow the duckling, you must keep it out of your Duck Pond. That is, place it outside the Duck Pond, on the regular ground, until you have a chance to help it grow. You'll then be told that you need to ask seven neighbors (that is, seven different players) to help you take care of your duckling. You'll need to click on the "Ask for Help" button inside the duckling window that appears for each duckling, which will allow you to send individual gift requests to your friends, asking them for help in growing your duckling. You'll have six days to get the help you need, and once you gain all the help you require, you'll actually be able to choose which kind of duck you want that particular duckling to turn into as an adult.
There are different kinds of adult ducks, based on the kind of duckling you started out with. That is, brown ducklings can grow into a different variety of adult ducks than yellow ducklings can. While those are the only two varieties of ducklings available as of right now, it's presumable that if and when more ducklings are added to the game, new adult versions would be added as well.
Once you finish growing your duckling into an adult, you'll be able to share another prize with your friends, and specifically the neighbors that helped you grow your duckling into an adult in the first place. A general news post shares a duckling with your neighbors, while an individual wall post can be made on the particular helpers' walls, giving them a reward that is apparently specific to the type of duck you chose.
There is already a very active forum thread on the official FarmVille forums, discussing the feature and the kinds of rewards you can win, and we'll be sure to update you when more news about this feature launches. Remember, you're not guaranteed to receive a duckling upon harvesting your Duck Pond, but don't lose faith - we're sure you'll get one in time!
FarmVille Duckling Prizes: Everything you need to know
While we've already given you a complete run-down on how to receive the new ducklings that have been released in FarmVille this evening, we've also compiled the complete list of prizes that you can receive from each kind of duckling. As we told you before, you have a chance of finding either a brown or a yellow duckling when harvesting your Duck Pond, and depending on which kind of duckling you receive, the adult ducks that it can grow into will be different.
In both cases, you'll be able to choose the kind of duck you want your duckling to grow into (there are seven options to choose from, and brown and yellow ducklings do share a few prizes), but there's a catch - depending on how long it takes you to grow your duckling into an adult, you'll have either more or less of these seven ducks to choose from when finished. That is, the longer it takes you to raise your ducklings (that longer it takes you to ask seven friends for help), the less adult ducks you can choose from, and vice versa.
Finish raising the duck in less than 24 hours, and you'll receive a choice of all seven ducks for that duckling. Raise the duckling in a time between 5 and 6 days, however, and you'll only have a single duck to choose from.
To see the complete list of prize ducks available for each color of duckling, meet us behind the break.
If you are growing a Yellow Duckling into an adult, you'll have the following ducks to choose from (note: most of these have been previewed in a FarmVille Sneak Peek here in the past, so they will likely look familiar):
Indian Runner Duck
Cayuga Duck
Goldeneye Duck
Red-Billed Duck
Scoter Duck
Peking Duck
Ugly Duckling
If you are growing a Brown Duckling into an adult, you'll have these ducks available as prizes (note that some of these are like-prizes from growing the Yellow Duckling):
Black Swan
Wood Duck
Muscovy Duck
Indian Runner Duck
Cayuga Duck
Goldeneye Duck
Red-Billed Duck
As there are different time limits required for each of these duck prizes, your best bet would be to grow each duckling you find as quickly as you possibly can, so as to ensure that you'll have the full selection of seven ducks to choose from when it comes time to transform that duckling into an adult. This will also ensure that you have to do as little work as possible in collecting one of each kind of new duck available, as you won't have to worry about duplicating ducks due to your running out of time.
In both cases, you'll be able to choose the kind of duck you want your duckling to grow into (there are seven options to choose from, and brown and yellow ducklings do share a few prizes), but there's a catch - depending on how long it takes you to grow your duckling into an adult, you'll have either more or less of these seven ducks to choose from when finished. That is, the longer it takes you to raise your ducklings (that longer it takes you to ask seven friends for help), the less adult ducks you can choose from, and vice versa.
Finish raising the duck in less than 24 hours, and you'll receive a choice of all seven ducks for that duckling. Raise the duckling in a time between 5 and 6 days, however, and you'll only have a single duck to choose from.
To see the complete list of prize ducks available for each color of duckling, meet us behind the break.
If you are growing a Yellow Duckling into an adult, you'll have the following ducks to choose from (note: most of these have been previewed in a FarmVille Sneak Peek here in the past, so they will likely look familiar):
Indian Runner Duck
Cayuga Duck
Goldeneye Duck
Red-Billed Duck
Scoter Duck
Peking Duck
Ugly Duckling
If you are growing a Brown Duckling into an adult, you'll have these ducks available as prizes (note that some of these are like-prizes from growing the Yellow Duckling):
Black Swan
Wood Duck
Muscovy Duck
Indian Runner Duck
Cayuga Duck
Goldeneye Duck
Red-Billed Duck
As there are different time limits required for each of these duck prizes, your best bet would be to grow each duckling you find as quickly as you possibly can, so as to ensure that you'll have the full selection of seven ducks to choose from when it comes time to transform that duckling into an adult. This will also ensure that you have to do as little work as possible in collecting one of each kind of new duck available, as you won't have to worry about duplicating ducks due to your running out of time.
FrontierVille Care Packages: Let's try this again, Zynga
They're back, pioneers. Care Packages, your most favorite (or most hated depending on your situation) item, has returned to FrontierVille. Much like Special Deliveries in FarmVille, Care Packages will always contain an item you need (either for a building or Goal) once opened. FrontierVille Info reports that the smart boxes have returned to the game, but they're not exactly a free gift like they were before.
Only after visiting a friend and completing all five daily tasks there will you be prompted to send that friend a Care Package. However, I've yet to see the items in my game, so we imagine that Zynga is slowly rolling them back out to players. The idea behind this system appears to be to entice more players to visit one another more often. And with an item you'll always be guaranteed to need at stake, Zynga might be onto something.
Only after visiting a friend and completing all five daily tasks there will you be prompted to send that friend a Care Package. However, I've yet to see the items in my game, so we imagine that Zynga is slowly rolling them back out to players. The idea behind this system appears to be to entice more players to visit one another more often. And with an item you'll always be guaranteed to need at stake, Zynga might be onto something.
FarmVille possibly hacked, Facebook responds to other security issues
Hacker
For those who aren't normally lurking the FarmVille forums, they've been in an uproar over a FarmVille player known as Ekşın Man. According to several forum users, this player has been posting messages on their Walls via the FarmVille app, but none of them are actually friends with him. Most of his posts read, "Can you hear me again? FarmVille players? Yeees, greetingz from Turkey to you too. Farmville oyuncuları çileklerinizi toplayın low."
That last bit translates roughly to "Farmville players gather strawberries low URLs." Unfortunately, we haven't an idea in the slightest as to what Ekşın Man is referring to. FarmVille Freak questions whether the game has been hacked by this presumably Turkish player. In a poll conducted by the site, over 51 percent of readers suspect FarmVille has been hacked. It appears that Zynga has yet to comment on the issue.
Elsewhere, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's page on the website was also hacked yesterday. After promptly taking the page down, the security team at Facebook has added some enhanced security measures to the platform including social captchas and the option to run access Facebook through HTTPS at all times. First, these social captchas will replace the usual warped-letter prompts seen when posting on forums or submitting payment information to websites.
Instead, you will now be asked to identify friends in a series of photos in order to log in when Facebook detects suspicious account activity. Second, HTTPS is a more secure version of the normal "HTTP" connection at the beginning of most web addresses. Soon, users will have the option of always connecting to Facebook this way, TechCrunch reports. Until we hear word from Zynga concerning this potential hack, our best advice is to block posts coming from Ekşın Man if he has appeared on your Wall.
For those who aren't normally lurking the FarmVille forums, they've been in an uproar over a FarmVille player known as Ekşın Man. According to several forum users, this player has been posting messages on their Walls via the FarmVille app, but none of them are actually friends with him. Most of his posts read, "Can you hear me again? FarmVille players? Yeees, greetingz from Turkey to you too. Farmville oyuncuları çileklerinizi toplayın low."
That last bit translates roughly to "Farmville players gather strawberries low URLs." Unfortunately, we haven't an idea in the slightest as to what Ekşın Man is referring to. FarmVille Freak questions whether the game has been hacked by this presumably Turkish player. In a poll conducted by the site, over 51 percent of readers suspect FarmVille has been hacked. It appears that Zynga has yet to comment on the issue.
Elsewhere, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's page on the website was also hacked yesterday. After promptly taking the page down, the security team at Facebook has added some enhanced security measures to the platform including social captchas and the option to run access Facebook through HTTPS at all times. First, these social captchas will replace the usual warped-letter prompts seen when posting on forums or submitting payment information to websites.
Instead, you will now be asked to identify friends in a series of photos in order to log in when Facebook detects suspicious account activity. Second, HTTPS is a more secure version of the normal "HTTP" connection at the beginning of most web addresses. Soon, users will have the option of always connecting to Facebook this way, TechCrunch reports. Until we hear word from Zynga concerning this potential hack, our best advice is to block posts coming from Ekşın Man if he has appeared on your Wall.
Angry Birds on Facebook 'wouldn't make a lot of sense'
Angry Birds
Well, at least it wouldn't according to Facebook's brand new director of gaming partnerships Sean Ryan. During a panel at the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco, Calif., the new hire made some bold statements about what works on Facebook just three weeks into his new gig, according to TechCrunch. When asked to elaborate on why the ubiquitous Angry Birds wouldn't work on the platform in comparison to CityVille, Ryan said:
We don't bring anything to the table but it's still a great game. If you have a social game, we believe you should build it for us, that's what we do. If you have a single player game, it's not clear why you should build it for us, you should probably build it for other people. Folks like PopCap have been able to brilliantly take a downloadable game, which was Bejeweled and after a lot of work turned it into a social game. So you can do it, but there's not much point.
Plainly speaking, developers probably shouldn't bother porting single-player games to Facebook, but nothing is stopping them. I'm sure Angry Birds developer Rovio could figure something out. (Just look at what Frima did with Pocket God.)
When asked during the panel about what game he'd most like to see ported to Facebook, Ryan replied, "Civilization ... it's one of the best multiplayer games ever, and it's not yet on Facebook. Whenever there's a true multiplayer game that involves a lot of social interaction it arguably should be on our platform, because that's what we do." Mr. Ryan, we're happy to inform you that your dreams have already come true! In fact, they did almost a month ago. Come to think of it, you should probably give Sid Meier a ring.
[Image Credit: Video Games Blogger]
How do you think Angry Birds would do on Facebook? What single-player game do you want to see most on Facebook?
Well, at least it wouldn't according to Facebook's brand new director of gaming partnerships Sean Ryan. During a panel at the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco, Calif., the new hire made some bold statements about what works on Facebook just three weeks into his new gig, according to TechCrunch. When asked to elaborate on why the ubiquitous Angry Birds wouldn't work on the platform in comparison to CityVille, Ryan said:
We don't bring anything to the table but it's still a great game. If you have a social game, we believe you should build it for us, that's what we do. If you have a single player game, it's not clear why you should build it for us, you should probably build it for other people. Folks like PopCap have been able to brilliantly take a downloadable game, which was Bejeweled and after a lot of work turned it into a social game. So you can do it, but there's not much point.
Plainly speaking, developers probably shouldn't bother porting single-player games to Facebook, but nothing is stopping them. I'm sure Angry Birds developer Rovio could figure something out. (Just look at what Frima did with Pocket God.)
When asked during the panel about what game he'd most like to see ported to Facebook, Ryan replied, "Civilization ... it's one of the best multiplayer games ever, and it's not yet on Facebook. Whenever there's a true multiplayer game that involves a lot of social interaction it arguably should be on our platform, because that's what we do." Mr. Ryan, we're happy to inform you that your dreams have already come true! In fact, they did almost a month ago. Come to think of it, you should probably give Sid Meier a ring.
[Image Credit: Video Games Blogger]
How do you think Angry Birds would do on Facebook? What single-player game do you want to see most on Facebook?
Friday, January 6, 2012
Game of the Day: TextTwist
The Game of the Day is going to test those old spelling skills . TextTwist: Are you word wise? Do you love SCRABBLE? Take the Text Twist challenge! Win points when you unscramble the letters to make new words. TextTwist a classic on Games.com and people play it for hours. Join the craze.
Click --> play TextTwist
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 --> play TextTwist
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.
FrontierVille Update: Visit Neighbors who visit you the easy way
A new feature has launched in FrontierVille. Hold you horses--it's nothing huge. When a friend visits you in the game and their avatar appears on your homestead, you now have the option to visit them right back before accepting the help. It's no big deal, but it's a much welcomed change over here. Come to think of it, Zynga probably should have included this a long time ago. It seems only natural that we'd want to return the favor, right? Well, be thankful now that it's easier than ever to do just that.
[Via FrontierVille Info]
Have you seen this brand new feature yet? What other optimizations are you waiting for in FrontierVille?
[Via FrontierVille Info]
Have you seen this brand new feature yet? What other optimizations are you waiting for in FrontierVille?
Saints Row on Facebook: Beating Mafia Wars at a different game
When I noticed that Saints Row, the Grand Theft Auto-inspired gang busters game for consoles, was on Facebook, assumptions ran wild. Though, the one rang most loudly was, "Here comes another Mafia Wars." THQ and Punch Entertainment threw us a curve ball with Saints Row: Total Control on Facebook. Admittedly, it looks strikingly similar to Crime City, but what's more surprising the developer didn't play it safe and copy the most popular mobster social game out there. And it makes for a refreshing and mildly fun experience, even if the graphics look like something out of a late '90s flash game.
Let's just address the elephant in the room right away: This game does not look good. The artwork lacks detail much less style and the animations are far from smooth. In fact, there is little motion in this social edition of Saints Row to begin with. Worse off, the music becomes a bother minutes after logging in. Shoddy graphics and animations? Check. Annoying sounds and music? Check. That leaves one hopefully redeeming quality: gameplay.
Saints Row map
Redemption is yours, THQ and Punch Entertainment. Players assume the role of a gang leader in the miscellaneous city of Stilwater. It's your role to dominate neighborhoods by force and assert your ... badassery? Look, I can't say I understand gang mentality, but I can say that, somehow, this game is fun. Perhaps it's the fact that clicking on drive-by shooters to shoot them dead is mindlessly enjoyable. Tuning down your mind is something you'll probably need to do to draw some enjoyment from Saints Row, which can be difficult at times.
Back to the clicking. The majority of your actions boil down to either Thugs, another word for Energy, or weapons. Thugs are spent doing nearly every task and replenish over time, but weapons are required to attack and take over increasingly tougher territories on the isometrically displayed map. Of course, taking down wandering enemy gang members and taking over buildings awards you coins, yet spends Thugs. In other words, Saints Row embodies the eternal balance of risk versus reward--the more you do, the more you spend--of nearly every social game in existence.
Shooting things rules
Players will eventually need to protect and maintain the neighborhoods they control and can hire friends to do it for them. This is the only social feature that's immediately noticeable. There doesn't seem to be any persistent competition between gangs of friends like in Mafia Wars, which is a severe oversight. Shouldn't a game about gangs embody and facilitate gang mentality? Regardless of whether you agree with gang mentality much less understand it, it's safe to assume that this is a feeling players want to experience vicariously when playing a gang game.
Frankly, Saints Row has plenty of shortcomings. While it's certainly differentiated itself from the industry leaders, it misses the point of gang games: competition. Sure, there's a sense of camaraderie in helping friends out. But where are the cutthroat rivalry and ruthless attempts at domination amongst players? Not to mention the presumably unintentional hilarity of your thugs aimlessly shooting at things, which counts as "taking over the neighborhood." There's no reason that a flash game in 2011 shouldn't look better than the first Grand Theft Auto. Despite all this, it'd be lying if I said that aimlessly shooting down passers by and slowly watching the neighborhood map turn purple wasn't fun.
Let's just address the elephant in the room right away: This game does not look good. The artwork lacks detail much less style and the animations are far from smooth. In fact, there is little motion in this social edition of Saints Row to begin with. Worse off, the music becomes a bother minutes after logging in. Shoddy graphics and animations? Check. Annoying sounds and music? Check. That leaves one hopefully redeeming quality: gameplay.
Saints Row map
Redemption is yours, THQ and Punch Entertainment. Players assume the role of a gang leader in the miscellaneous city of Stilwater. It's your role to dominate neighborhoods by force and assert your ... badassery? Look, I can't say I understand gang mentality, but I can say that, somehow, this game is fun. Perhaps it's the fact that clicking on drive-by shooters to shoot them dead is mindlessly enjoyable. Tuning down your mind is something you'll probably need to do to draw some enjoyment from Saints Row, which can be difficult at times.
Back to the clicking. The majority of your actions boil down to either Thugs, another word for Energy, or weapons. Thugs are spent doing nearly every task and replenish over time, but weapons are required to attack and take over increasingly tougher territories on the isometrically displayed map. Of course, taking down wandering enemy gang members and taking over buildings awards you coins, yet spends Thugs. In other words, Saints Row embodies the eternal balance of risk versus reward--the more you do, the more you spend--of nearly every social game in existence.
Shooting things rules
Players will eventually need to protect and maintain the neighborhoods they control and can hire friends to do it for them. This is the only social feature that's immediately noticeable. There doesn't seem to be any persistent competition between gangs of friends like in Mafia Wars, which is a severe oversight. Shouldn't a game about gangs embody and facilitate gang mentality? Regardless of whether you agree with gang mentality much less understand it, it's safe to assume that this is a feeling players want to experience vicariously when playing a gang game.
Frankly, Saints Row has plenty of shortcomings. While it's certainly differentiated itself from the industry leaders, it misses the point of gang games: competition. Sure, there's a sense of camaraderie in helping friends out. But where are the cutthroat rivalry and ruthless attempts at domination amongst players? Not to mention the presumably unintentional hilarity of your thugs aimlessly shooting at things, which counts as "taking over the neighborhood." There's no reason that a flash game in 2011 shouldn't look better than the first Grand Theft Auto. Despite all this, it'd be lying if I said that aimlessly shooting down passers by and slowly watching the neighborhood map turn purple wasn't fun.
Zynga to shut down Mafia Wars: Cuba on March 3 in new story arc
No, we didn't stutter. Mafia Wars: Cuba is going for good in less than a week, so clear out everything you can from there now before it's all gone. According to Zynga, the game's storyline is headed in a new direction and its oldest locale will be the center of it all ... sort of. It's where a new global criminal organization will begin its conquest to become to world's largest drug trafficker, and no one will be safe come March 3.
In fact, you'll be downright kicked out. There is a new set of missions for players Level 18 and above available now with Cuba that involve combating this threat, but we doubt your mobs will succeed. If you need a hint, here is one wearing a chicken suit painted in red:
"A shadowy organization called the Neo-Imperium is secretly working to destabilize the current world order and control all criminal activities throughout the planet. The Neo-Imperium are attempting to overthrow the government and install a puppet leader to establish one of the biggest drug trafficking centers in the world. This is a warning to all Mafia crime bosses that Cuba is no longer safe."
You hear that? That means have fun with these missions now, but come March 2 you better collect from every property and empty your vaults and banks before the Neo-Imperium takes over. In fact, Zynga is hosting 5x Job Mastery right up until the city becomes grayed out in the travel options.
Not to mention a new loot item will drop from now through March 2 that might come in handy against these bullies. Oh, and you'll get an extra 10 percent cash payout if you complete the missions on time. Is that enough of a kick in the butt for you? Before you jump the gun, check out Zynga's full FAQ.
In fact, you'll be downright kicked out. There is a new set of missions for players Level 18 and above available now with Cuba that involve combating this threat, but we doubt your mobs will succeed. If you need a hint, here is one wearing a chicken suit painted in red:
"A shadowy organization called the Neo-Imperium is secretly working to destabilize the current world order and control all criminal activities throughout the planet. The Neo-Imperium are attempting to overthrow the government and install a puppet leader to establish one of the biggest drug trafficking centers in the world. This is a warning to all Mafia crime bosses that Cuba is no longer safe."
You hear that? That means have fun with these missions now, but come March 2 you better collect from every property and empty your vaults and banks before the Neo-Imperium takes over. In fact, Zynga is hosting 5x Job Mastery right up until the city becomes grayed out in the travel options.
Not to mention a new loot item will drop from now through March 2 that might come in handy against these bullies. Oh, and you'll get an extra 10 percent cash payout if you complete the missions on time. Is that enough of a kick in the butt for you? Before you jump the gun, check out Zynga's full FAQ.
Zynga's CityVille is flawed (and brilliant): The issue of roads
CityVille no roads
Ever visited a friend's city in CityVille and notice something odd. It doesn't look like a city at all. There are rows upon rows of sushi bars on one end of the town while there is a slew of expensive chateaus on the other. (If everyone is living in $1 million homes and eating sushi all day, who is working at the banks and post offices much less the sushi bars?) But continue to suspend your disbelief for a moment and look between these fine, unrealistically placed establishments surrounded by elaborate bushes. Where did all the roads go?
They're gone, because they are worthless in CityVille. Roads cost 10 coins per square and serve no other purpose than to give pedestrians a place to walk between Businesses. However, Sidewalks cost double that, but take up less space and are much, much longer. So, what reason would an illustrious mayor have to place roads in their city rather than sidewalks. That's valuable space wasted that could be used by more homes and businesses. This is a fundamental flaw to CityVille and one of several reasons why players have reached such astronomical levels so quickly.
Cityville roads
It's also why cities in CityVille are so far disconnected from what actual cities look like. Sure, it'd be near impossible with today's technology to transform the intricacies and neuroses of a real city into a videogame much less a social game. But it's oversights like this that make that distinction so glaringly obvious. Cities in CityVille are flawed cities because they fail to take into account even basic concepts like location and redundancy when placing homes and businesses. Surely most of you high-level players had a thought like this cross your mind as you were playing: "What Business makes the most money? That one? OK, let's build a ton of them and surround them with bushes."
This isn't to say that Zynga's Business mechanic is anything short of brilliant. It gets players to think critically and apply concepts, something more gamers, traditional and social alike, need to exercise. But it's oversights (or intentional design) like rendering basic infrastructure tools entirely worthless that make CityVille appear terribly flawed through one lens and clever in others. On one hand, CityVille's lack of functional roads is an insult to gamers' intelligence everywhere. Yet on the other, it's complete genius for helping turn one of the most complex professions, urban planning, into a game that over 95 million players enjoy. Would I like to see more realistic, organic cities? Absolutely. In that case, does the game need anymore complexity? Probably not.
What do you think of the look of cities in CityVille? Would you like to see this part of the game's design change? Do you use roads anyway for aesthetics's sake?
Ever visited a friend's city in CityVille and notice something odd. It doesn't look like a city at all. There are rows upon rows of sushi bars on one end of the town while there is a slew of expensive chateaus on the other. (If everyone is living in $1 million homes and eating sushi all day, who is working at the banks and post offices much less the sushi bars?) But continue to suspend your disbelief for a moment and look between these fine, unrealistically placed establishments surrounded by elaborate bushes. Where did all the roads go?
They're gone, because they are worthless in CityVille. Roads cost 10 coins per square and serve no other purpose than to give pedestrians a place to walk between Businesses. However, Sidewalks cost double that, but take up less space and are much, much longer. So, what reason would an illustrious mayor have to place roads in their city rather than sidewalks. That's valuable space wasted that could be used by more homes and businesses. This is a fundamental flaw to CityVille and one of several reasons why players have reached such astronomical levels so quickly.
Cityville roads
It's also why cities in CityVille are so far disconnected from what actual cities look like. Sure, it'd be near impossible with today's technology to transform the intricacies and neuroses of a real city into a videogame much less a social game. But it's oversights like this that make that distinction so glaringly obvious. Cities in CityVille are flawed cities because they fail to take into account even basic concepts like location and redundancy when placing homes and businesses. Surely most of you high-level players had a thought like this cross your mind as you were playing: "What Business makes the most money? That one? OK, let's build a ton of them and surround them with bushes."
This isn't to say that Zynga's Business mechanic is anything short of brilliant. It gets players to think critically and apply concepts, something more gamers, traditional and social alike, need to exercise. But it's oversights (or intentional design) like rendering basic infrastructure tools entirely worthless that make CityVille appear terribly flawed through one lens and clever in others. On one hand, CityVille's lack of functional roads is an insult to gamers' intelligence everywhere. Yet on the other, it's complete genius for helping turn one of the most complex professions, urban planning, into a game that over 95 million players enjoy. Would I like to see more realistic, organic cities? Absolutely. In that case, does the game need anymore complexity? Probably not.
What do you think of the look of cities in CityVille? Would you like to see this part of the game's design change? Do you use roads anyway for aesthetics's sake?
Thursday, January 5, 2012
FarmVille: English Countryside rollout "on hold" due to bugs
Update: It appears as though the rollout has begun once again, as Lexi has commented that a new bug fix has been implemented. Keep checking your farm to see if the update has rolled out to your game.
As with all major FarmVille updates, Zynga chooses to roll them out to a few players to ensure the stability of the game. That is the case with the English Countryside as well, with this being one the slowest rollouts we've seen yet.
The wait for farmers to travel to England has gotten longer this afternoon, as Community Manager Lexilicious confirms that Zynga has stopped rolling out the feature for the time being, due to the appearance of some apparently unforeseen bugs (these seem to mostly be out of sync errors or invisible quests, although there are likely others) that need to be addressed. Here's the official word:
We have found some bugs that need to be addressed before we continue to roll the feature out. (This is why we do slow releases!) These could take a little while to fix, so I would take a break from refreshing the game.
Luckily, Lexi also goes on to say that this "most likely means a few hours" before the team can look at continuing to release to more people. Ever at the ready to answer questions, Lexi's latest post (posted around 30 minutes ago) confirms that the rollout is still on hold.
We'll make sure to update this space when officially starts rolling the feature back out to users. If you weren't one of the lucky users to receive the update, why not take a look at our complete guide to Duke's Airship goals / the Bon Voyage Party so you can be better prepared for what you'll need to do when you are finally introduced to England.
[Image Credit: Marieti84]
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Were you one of the lucky players to receive the English Countryside before the pause in the rollout? What do you think of the hotly anticipated expansion?
As with all major FarmVille updates, Zynga chooses to roll them out to a few players to ensure the stability of the game. That is the case with the English Countryside as well, with this being one the slowest rollouts we've seen yet.
The wait for farmers to travel to England has gotten longer this afternoon, as Community Manager Lexilicious confirms that Zynga has stopped rolling out the feature for the time being, due to the appearance of some apparently unforeseen bugs (these seem to mostly be out of sync errors or invisible quests, although there are likely others) that need to be addressed. Here's the official word:
We have found some bugs that need to be addressed before we continue to roll the feature out. (This is why we do slow releases!) These could take a little while to fix, so I would take a break from refreshing the game.
Luckily, Lexi also goes on to say that this "most likely means a few hours" before the team can look at continuing to release to more people. Ever at the ready to answer questions, Lexi's latest post (posted around 30 minutes ago) confirms that the rollout is still on hold.
We'll make sure to update this space when officially starts rolling the feature back out to users. If you weren't one of the lucky users to receive the update, why not take a look at our complete guide to Duke's Airship goals / the Bon Voyage Party so you can be better prepared for what you'll need to do when you are finally introduced to England.
[Image Credit: Marieti84]
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Were you one of the lucky players to receive the English Countryside before the pause in the rollout? What do you think of the hotly anticipated expansion?
FarmVille English Countryside: First market Animals revealed
Thanks to the helpful users over on the official FarmVille forums, we've found that as of right now, if you're one of the lucky players that has access to the English Countryside, you will be able to purchase five different animals from the English Countryside-specific Marketplace.
User SammyJames posted this screen-shot of the in-game store, and we can see the following animals for sale (and look, some even cost coins!). Note: There are conflicting reports from players as to the prices of the Ewes and Rams. Some report that Ewes cost 10 Farm Cash, while Rams cost 25 Farm Cash, but as this is a picture from a working farm, we'll go with that for now.
Ewe (Navy) - 25 Farm Cash
Ewe (Pastel Pink) - 25 Farm Cash
Ram (Purple Dots) - 30 Farm Cash
Pub Cat - 5,000 coins
English Spot Rabbit - 1,200 coins There is also a 5-Pack of Love Potions available to purchase for 10 Farm Cash, with both these love potions, and the Ewes and Rams being released as part of the Sheep Pen / Breeding feature in the English Countryside itself. You can learn more about Sheep Breeding in our guide.
All told, it's great (at least in my opinion) to already see animals being released in the new expansion for coins. With the option to use a lot of Farm Cash to just get to England in the first place (check out our guide to Duke's Airship Goals / Bon Voyage Party for more), at least you'll have the ability to decorate your farm with two cute animals right out of the gate.
[Image Credit: Sammy James]
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Have you been lucky enough to travel to England in the game? Will you purchase any of these animals once you get there, or are you saving your coins / Farm Cash for something else?
User SammyJames posted this screen-shot of the in-game store, and we can see the following animals for sale (and look, some even cost coins!). Note: There are conflicting reports from players as to the prices of the Ewes and Rams. Some report that Ewes cost 10 Farm Cash, while Rams cost 25 Farm Cash, but as this is a picture from a working farm, we'll go with that for now.
Ewe (Navy) - 25 Farm Cash
Ewe (Pastel Pink) - 25 Farm Cash
Ram (Purple Dots) - 30 Farm Cash
Pub Cat - 5,000 coins
English Spot Rabbit - 1,200 coins There is also a 5-Pack of Love Potions available to purchase for 10 Farm Cash, with both these love potions, and the Ewes and Rams being released as part of the Sheep Pen / Breeding feature in the English Countryside itself. You can learn more about Sheep Breeding in our guide.
All told, it's great (at least in my opinion) to already see animals being released in the new expansion for coins. With the option to use a lot of Farm Cash to just get to England in the first place (check out our guide to Duke's Airship Goals / Bon Voyage Party for more), at least you'll have the ability to decorate your farm with two cute animals right out of the gate.
[Image Credit: Sammy James]
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Have you been lucky enough to travel to England in the game? Will you purchase any of these animals once you get there, or are you saving your coins / Farm Cash for something else?
FarmVille LE English Countryside Trees: Dogwood, Hazelnut, Chestnut & More
In what could be a bit of a confusing update, Zynga has released an entire set of limited edition items in the original FarmVille store in a new English Countryside theme. To be clear, these items are part of an entirely separate theme, not relating only to the actual English Countryside expansion, which started rolling out to users today. These items are available to place on your original farm, and function as you would expect.
That clarification out of the way, there are four new trees available to purchase in the store, with one being a re-release, and another already being available as a Mystery Seedling for a few days now. The trees are the Dogwood Tree, Pink Dogwood Tree, Chestnut Tree and Hazelnut Tree.
For those that were playing the game back during the Winter Wonderland event, you'll recognize the Chestnut & Hazelnut Trees as ones that was available to purchase from the market for 6 and 14 Farm Cash, respectively, and those prices are retained in this re-release. Remember, if you don't have a Hazelnut Tree, you can just purchase the Chestnut Tree and then hope to get a Hazelnut Tree as a Mystery Seedling from it when placed in an Orchard. Meanwhile, the Dogwood and Pink Dogwood Trees are another pair, with the Dogwood Tree being available for 5 Farm Cash, and the Pink Dogwood Tree being available for 10 Farm Cash. If you didn't receive a Pink Dogwood Tree as a Mystery Seedling while it was randomly available, you should be able to receive one by placing a regular Dogwood Tree into your Orchard.
Whatever the case may be concerning your desire for (or previous ownership of) these trees, you'll have the next month (yes, a full month) to purchase all that you'd like. Zynga has said that they won't be updating the game as frequently until they are sure that the actual English Countryside expansion has released in full, but we'll be sure to let you know (as always) when new items in this theme, or any other theme are released in the store.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
What do you think of these four trees? Are they all new to your farm, or do you already have Chestnut and Hazelnut Trees?
That clarification out of the way, there are four new trees available to purchase in the store, with one being a re-release, and another already being available as a Mystery Seedling for a few days now. The trees are the Dogwood Tree, Pink Dogwood Tree, Chestnut Tree and Hazelnut Tree.
For those that were playing the game back during the Winter Wonderland event, you'll recognize the Chestnut & Hazelnut Trees as ones that was available to purchase from the market for 6 and 14 Farm Cash, respectively, and those prices are retained in this re-release. Remember, if you don't have a Hazelnut Tree, you can just purchase the Chestnut Tree and then hope to get a Hazelnut Tree as a Mystery Seedling from it when placed in an Orchard. Meanwhile, the Dogwood and Pink Dogwood Trees are another pair, with the Dogwood Tree being available for 5 Farm Cash, and the Pink Dogwood Tree being available for 10 Farm Cash. If you didn't receive a Pink Dogwood Tree as a Mystery Seedling while it was randomly available, you should be able to receive one by placing a regular Dogwood Tree into your Orchard.
Whatever the case may be concerning your desire for (or previous ownership of) these trees, you'll have the next month (yes, a full month) to purchase all that you'd like. Zynga has said that they won't be updating the game as frequently until they are sure that the actual English Countryside expansion has released in full, but we'll be sure to let you know (as always) when new items in this theme, or any other theme are released in the store.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
What do you think of these four trees? Are they all new to your farm, or do you already have Chestnut and Hazelnut Trees?
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