PopCap, developer of Facebook hits like Bejeweled Blitz and the recently launched Bejeweled 3 for PC and Mac, has finally released Zuma Blitz to the masses on Facebook. Continuing with its tried-and-true Blitz style of gameplay, this Facebook version of the developer's popular Zuma's Revenge for PC and Mac challenges players' ball-busting skills in one-minute bursts.
Somewhat similar to Bejeweled Blitz, players are tasked with matching three or more identically-colored balls in a row to destroy them, keeping the oncoming onslaught of colorful orbs from reaching the Aztec-style skull in the center. Skilled players will be making combos and what are called "Gap Shots"--shots made through temporary gaps between balls made by previous combos--in no time. And because this is on Facebook, of course there will be weekly tournaments and power-ups made available for purchase with Facebook Credits.
You'll also be able to level up as you progress in the game, showing off your progress to friends while checking in on their most recent achievements. And in a feature new to Zuma Blitz, PopCap's second Facebook game, players will be able to channel their inner Hot Frog to unleash section-clearing shots. Considering Bejeweled Blitz has been played by 40 million Facebook gamers, according to PopCap, we'd say Zuma Blitz has a pretty good shot at making it to the big time.
Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012
James Patterson: Shooting games are not 'my cup of blood' [Interview]
James Patterson is one of the most published authors in the world and has been dubbed a "human bestseller machine." Take a look at his productive career, and you'll see that, that's a pretty accurate description. Patterson holds the Guinness World Record for the most Hardcover Fiction bestselling titles by a single author and has cranked out 65 novels in 33 years.
In the reading world, Patterson is best known for his Women's Murder Club series and his detective novels starring forensic psychologist Alex Cross, even though these represent just a portion of his repertoire. Patterson is also no stranger to the gaming world. Over the years, he has released a handful of Women's Murder Club games (for PC and Nintendo DS) and is doing a publicity tour to promote his new Facebook mystery game, Catch a Killer.
Patterson talks to us about the challenges of writing compelling narrative for a game and why shooting games, such Call of Duty and Halo, are not his "cup of blood." catch a killer facebook game
Is Catch a Killer on Facebook similar to your Women's Murder Club games -- part adventure/part hidden object game?
It's a lot more involved then that. I think to some extent it's a whole new way to experience the mystery-suspense story. It's very different from reading a James Patterson novel. It's different from watching CSI on television. You are the detective and catch a killer. You have to solve the crime yourself. You do have help, because Alex Cross is at your side. He will offer suggestions. But ultimately it's -- Are you good enough a detective to catch a serial killer or a kidnapper or a husband who murdered his wife, etc.?
I am attracted to partners [like Sony Online Entertainment] who want to do things that are as good as you can do it in that theater, whatever it is. So what appeals to me here is this notion of expanding the universe of games. At one point, we're just for fanboys. It's one of those games that let's women in, it lets non-shooters in. I'm not a shooter, so it appeals to me.
Have you played many shooters? What don't you like about them?
I've played about half dozen of them. I just found it too repetitive. It wasn't my cup of blood.
So, back to Catch a Killer -- does the Facebook game follow the story line from any of your books?
To date all of the stories are new on the game. So the only place you can deal with these stories is playing the game. We haven't really talked about whether we would use any of the book stories. I'm not opposed to it. I think initially it felt to us cooler and fresher to do new things.
At this point, there are eleven murder mysteries and I think it's going to go up. What's nice about this kind of thing is if you're done with a book, you hand it in and that's the end of it. This thing keeps living and growing and changing and getting better. That's another thing that appeals to me about [Facebook games].
Why did you decide to launch an Alex Cross game on Facebook instead of a Women's Murder Club game? Are you still targeting mostly women with this game?
I would say Alex has an even larger female audience than Women's Murder Club, believe it or not. I guess they're pretty close proportionately. Alex Cross' audience is much bigger.
Gallery: Catch a Killer on Facebook
You are known for being very involved with every step of getting your books to the public. Did you have the same amount of involvement with Catch a Killer?
Sony was great. They really were very cooperative unlike sometimes in Hollywood where it's very difficult to get heard. They have involved me very nicely right up to the point where we rewrote all the dialogue last week. We thought it could be better, we thought it was a little flat, stale, so we went over it one more time.
We've gone over the graphics a few times and tried to make them as contemporary as we could. We talked about a lot of things that could happen where the game can go, things that are going to make it more innovative and unusual and involving. To date, there's a lot of listening, and I have to listen too because they know this arena, a whole lot better than I do.
james patterson booksWhat are some of the challenges of turning your fiction into games?
What we're trying to do is not take as much of a backseat as it did in Women's Murder Club; we're trying to inch it forward a bit. You can only go so far, but there's more story here.
I think that's the main thing in terms of narrative. We've tried to, as much as you can, put twists and surprises in, which I think is what drives most mysteries. Something hooks you in the beginning, you're like, alright how can this be. Then you're surprised along the way. The surprise part of it, I think, is necessary in the mystery genre and it's not as important certainly in shooter games.
There's a lot of room in the game area for better narrative. I love stories, so the less there's story in things, the less that there's surprises, the less that that I'm pulled forward by a narrative, I don't like it as well. I still am somewhat hooked to melody in music, so that limits to some extent, my enjoyment of certain kinds of music.
Facebook is a hot place to launch games right now. What's your take on Facebook as a place to play games?
It's just so massive right now. At my site we're up over 800,000 fans. As my 12-year-old tells me, "They're not your friends Dad, they're your fans." So it's incredible to be able to reach this many people. This whole notion of democratization of whatever is: mysteries, games, that's kind of exciting and interesting to me.
Read our review of James Patterson's Catch a Killer >
In the reading world, Patterson is best known for his Women's Murder Club series and his detective novels starring forensic psychologist Alex Cross, even though these represent just a portion of his repertoire. Patterson is also no stranger to the gaming world. Over the years, he has released a handful of Women's Murder Club games (for PC and Nintendo DS) and is doing a publicity tour to promote his new Facebook mystery game, Catch a Killer.
Patterson talks to us about the challenges of writing compelling narrative for a game and why shooting games, such Call of Duty and Halo, are not his "cup of blood." catch a killer facebook game
Is Catch a Killer on Facebook similar to your Women's Murder Club games -- part adventure/part hidden object game?
It's a lot more involved then that. I think to some extent it's a whole new way to experience the mystery-suspense story. It's very different from reading a James Patterson novel. It's different from watching CSI on television. You are the detective and catch a killer. You have to solve the crime yourself. You do have help, because Alex Cross is at your side. He will offer suggestions. But ultimately it's -- Are you good enough a detective to catch a serial killer or a kidnapper or a husband who murdered his wife, etc.?
I am attracted to partners [like Sony Online Entertainment] who want to do things that are as good as you can do it in that theater, whatever it is. So what appeals to me here is this notion of expanding the universe of games. At one point, we're just for fanboys. It's one of those games that let's women in, it lets non-shooters in. I'm not a shooter, so it appeals to me.
Have you played many shooters? What don't you like about them?
I've played about half dozen of them. I just found it too repetitive. It wasn't my cup of blood.
So, back to Catch a Killer -- does the Facebook game follow the story line from any of your books?
To date all of the stories are new on the game. So the only place you can deal with these stories is playing the game. We haven't really talked about whether we would use any of the book stories. I'm not opposed to it. I think initially it felt to us cooler and fresher to do new things.
At this point, there are eleven murder mysteries and I think it's going to go up. What's nice about this kind of thing is if you're done with a book, you hand it in and that's the end of it. This thing keeps living and growing and changing and getting better. That's another thing that appeals to me about [Facebook games].
Why did you decide to launch an Alex Cross game on Facebook instead of a Women's Murder Club game? Are you still targeting mostly women with this game?
I would say Alex has an even larger female audience than Women's Murder Club, believe it or not. I guess they're pretty close proportionately. Alex Cross' audience is much bigger.
Gallery: Catch a Killer on Facebook
You are known for being very involved with every step of getting your books to the public. Did you have the same amount of involvement with Catch a Killer?
Sony was great. They really were very cooperative unlike sometimes in Hollywood where it's very difficult to get heard. They have involved me very nicely right up to the point where we rewrote all the dialogue last week. We thought it could be better, we thought it was a little flat, stale, so we went over it one more time.
We've gone over the graphics a few times and tried to make them as contemporary as we could. We talked about a lot of things that could happen where the game can go, things that are going to make it more innovative and unusual and involving. To date, there's a lot of listening, and I have to listen too because they know this arena, a whole lot better than I do.
james patterson booksWhat are some of the challenges of turning your fiction into games?
What we're trying to do is not take as much of a backseat as it did in Women's Murder Club; we're trying to inch it forward a bit. You can only go so far, but there's more story here.
I think that's the main thing in terms of narrative. We've tried to, as much as you can, put twists and surprises in, which I think is what drives most mysteries. Something hooks you in the beginning, you're like, alright how can this be. Then you're surprised along the way. The surprise part of it, I think, is necessary in the mystery genre and it's not as important certainly in shooter games.
There's a lot of room in the game area for better narrative. I love stories, so the less there's story in things, the less that there's surprises, the less that that I'm pulled forward by a narrative, I don't like it as well. I still am somewhat hooked to melody in music, so that limits to some extent, my enjoyment of certain kinds of music.
Facebook is a hot place to launch games right now. What's your take on Facebook as a place to play games?
It's just so massive right now. At my site we're up over 800,000 fans. As my 12-year-old tells me, "They're not your friends Dad, they're your fans." So it's incredible to be able to reach this many people. This whole notion of democratization of whatever is: mysteries, games, that's kind of exciting and interesting to me.
Read our review of James Patterson's Catch a Killer >
James Patterson's Catch a Killer on Facebook is rated 'M' for mature
James Patterson's new Facebook game Catch a Killer is being billed as the first 'mature' game on the social network. And once you start playing, that's all too apparent. The mystery game - created by the prolific author in conjunction with Sony Online Entertainment - features piles of dead bodies, blood spattered around locations like a Jackson Pollack painting and interrogation subjects who drop the occasional four letter word.
This type of mature content is nothing you haven't seen on CSI or the umpteen other cop/forensic shows on TV, but this is the one of the first times this type of content has made an appearance in a big-name Facebook game. (Before you sound the secret alarm and launch a million PTA meetings around the world -- don't. If you're under 13, you are not allowed to access to the game as per Facebook's rules and regulations.)
Gallery: Catch a Killer on Facebook
If you're someone of age, like me, who has been looking for something a little more engrossing than repeatedly planting crops and collecting taxes from virtual homeowners -- Catch a Killer delivers more often than not. All of the previously mentioned mature content is all part of a series of murder mysteries which you will solve with the help of forensic psychologist and Patterson's most famous fictional character, Alex Cross. catch killer detection tools
Each mystery kicks off with a movie/animation that sets up the story, usually a murder. You're then called in to examine the crime scene (by playing a hidden object game) and look for evidence. Then, you examine the evidence for clues by solving puzzles, such as matching DNA from a blood sample or putting together a puzzle to identify a set of finger prints. You'll also occasionally interrogate suspects choosing the right dialogue to get the information you want. It's hard to tell if there are consequences for choosing the wrong dialogue, which kind of seems to negate the whole 'game' part of these particular segments. So far, a lot of the missions require you to repeat the same activities over and over, but the varied storylines do a good job at keeping you involved.
catch killer energy
Catch a Killer looks and plays like games that are available for download (Mystery Case Files comes to mind) and cost upwards of $20. That means that this Patterson vehicle has high production values -- a polished soundtrack, good-looking graphics and clearly developed plotlines. This game also manages to do a good job at integrating elements borrowed from other Facebook games. Each move you make in Catch a Killer requires energy -- which is indicated by a bar at the top of the screen -- and when you run out, you have to wait a certain amount of time until it refills again. Or, if you're impatient, you have to option to buy more energy with Sony Station Cash, which you can buy with a credit card, Pay Pal or by completing offers.
Like FarmVille, et al, you can also invite friends to play the game with you -- and you can send each other gifts, including energy, so you don't run out of gas as fast. The idea of using energy is rather clever and you start with enough get you through about 1.5 missions before you completely run out and have to wait for a refill. And, that that point, you might feel bummed, but still feel like you got some quality time with the game. And, you might be tempted to actually spend money to keep playing.
james patterson catch killer my house
A less impressive component of the game is the customizable avatar system and avatar home, which for now, seems a little out of place. The avatar and house doesn't seem to have any real bearing on the actual game progress and seems to serve solely as a place spend the virtual currency you earn while solving cases. Maybe this will change in some future update. There's also a spot where you can use your avatar to chat with other players -- live -- which is an interesting idea, even though the chat rooms seem to be empty at the moment.
Back to that whole 'mature' thing. In addition to having 'mature' content, Catch a Killer is a game that will also likely appeal to people with more mature tastes in games. Maybe someone who has played FarmVille for a while and want something a little different. Or maybe someone who or someone who has played a lot casual games (shameless plug: many of which you find right here on Games.com) and has been looking for the same experience in a social game. I expect Catch a Killer will be just the first of many more mature games to arrive on Facebook in the coming year.
This type of mature content is nothing you haven't seen on CSI or the umpteen other cop/forensic shows on TV, but this is the one of the first times this type of content has made an appearance in a big-name Facebook game. (Before you sound the secret alarm and launch a million PTA meetings around the world -- don't. If you're under 13, you are not allowed to access to the game as per Facebook's rules and regulations.)
Gallery: Catch a Killer on Facebook
If you're someone of age, like me, who has been looking for something a little more engrossing than repeatedly planting crops and collecting taxes from virtual homeowners -- Catch a Killer delivers more often than not. All of the previously mentioned mature content is all part of a series of murder mysteries which you will solve with the help of forensic psychologist and Patterson's most famous fictional character, Alex Cross. catch killer detection tools
Each mystery kicks off with a movie/animation that sets up the story, usually a murder. You're then called in to examine the crime scene (by playing a hidden object game) and look for evidence. Then, you examine the evidence for clues by solving puzzles, such as matching DNA from a blood sample or putting together a puzzle to identify a set of finger prints. You'll also occasionally interrogate suspects choosing the right dialogue to get the information you want. It's hard to tell if there are consequences for choosing the wrong dialogue, which kind of seems to negate the whole 'game' part of these particular segments. So far, a lot of the missions require you to repeat the same activities over and over, but the varied storylines do a good job at keeping you involved.
catch killer energy
Catch a Killer looks and plays like games that are available for download (Mystery Case Files comes to mind) and cost upwards of $20. That means that this Patterson vehicle has high production values -- a polished soundtrack, good-looking graphics and clearly developed plotlines. This game also manages to do a good job at integrating elements borrowed from other Facebook games. Each move you make in Catch a Killer requires energy -- which is indicated by a bar at the top of the screen -- and when you run out, you have to wait a certain amount of time until it refills again. Or, if you're impatient, you have to option to buy more energy with Sony Station Cash, which you can buy with a credit card, Pay Pal or by completing offers.
Like FarmVille, et al, you can also invite friends to play the game with you -- and you can send each other gifts, including energy, so you don't run out of gas as fast. The idea of using energy is rather clever and you start with enough get you through about 1.5 missions before you completely run out and have to wait for a refill. And, that that point, you might feel bummed, but still feel like you got some quality time with the game. And, you might be tempted to actually spend money to keep playing.
james patterson catch killer my house
A less impressive component of the game is the customizable avatar system and avatar home, which for now, seems a little out of place. The avatar and house doesn't seem to have any real bearing on the actual game progress and seems to serve solely as a place spend the virtual currency you earn while solving cases. Maybe this will change in some future update. There's also a spot where you can use your avatar to chat with other players -- live -- which is an interesting idea, even though the chat rooms seem to be empty at the moment.
Back to that whole 'mature' thing. In addition to having 'mature' content, Catch a Killer is a game that will also likely appeal to people with more mature tastes in games. Maybe someone who has played FarmVille for a while and want something a little different. Or maybe someone who or someone who has played a lot casual games (shameless plug: many of which you find right here on Games.com) and has been looking for the same experience in a social game. I expect Catch a Killer will be just the first of many more mature games to arrive on Facebook in the coming year.
FarmVille: Zynga gives free Holiday gift to all players!
For the past few days, Zynga had been asking FarmVille players to "Like" the official Zynga Inc. fan page on Facebook. We brought you news of this in the past, as Zynga was promising a free Festive / Holiday Cow to all users, should said fan page reach 1 million likes.
Of course, that total has been reached, and passed, and Zynga has confirmed that we will be receiving the Cow. Now, users that log into FarmVille will receive a very interesting pop-up, as Zynga has released a free present in the game. This is a wrapped present, and we are told we won't be able to open it until Christmas proper - December 25. Could this be the Holiday Cow they promised us?
While that would make the most sense, as the free present ensures that all users are able to have their free cow without any extra work outside of the game, we also wouldn't turn down another free gift, just for playing the game.
When the time comes (or if you'd just like to look at your present early), you can find your gift by heading into your Holiday Tree's menu (click on the and click on "Look Inside") and then click on the Presents tab. This is where you will find all of the wrapped (read: locked) gifts on your account, and this is where you'll be able to go to unwrap them when we get the green light.
We'll be sure to let you know what's inside the wrapped Zynga present, if it turns out to not be the free cow (it may be unlikely, but stranger things have happened).
Of course, that total has been reached, and passed, and Zynga has confirmed that we will be receiving the Cow. Now, users that log into FarmVille will receive a very interesting pop-up, as Zynga has released a free present in the game. This is a wrapped present, and we are told we won't be able to open it until Christmas proper - December 25. Could this be the Holiday Cow they promised us?
While that would make the most sense, as the free present ensures that all users are able to have their free cow without any extra work outside of the game, we also wouldn't turn down another free gift, just for playing the game.
When the time comes (or if you'd just like to look at your present early), you can find your gift by heading into your Holiday Tree's menu (click on the and click on "Look Inside") and then click on the Presents tab. This is where you will find all of the wrapped (read: locked) gifts on your account, and this is where you'll be able to go to unwrap them when we get the green light.
We'll be sure to let you know what's inside the wrapped Zynga present, if it turns out to not be the free cow (it may be unlikely, but stranger things have happened).
FarmVille: Second wave of Holiday Tree prizes now available
As we told you last week, the FarmVille Holiday Tree is now available, and friends and family everywhere have turned their eyes squarely to the endeavor of collecting presents - lots, and lots, and lots of presents. At launch, there were but six prizes available to earn by redeeming some of your stockpile of presents (if you don't include the many contents of the Winter Whimsy box), and today, we see FarmVille increasing the prize variety by six.
Now, if you look inside your Holiday Tree (click on the tree and click "Look Inside" on the small menu that appears), you'll see that instead of just being able to trade your presents in for the first six items, that there is now a "Page 2." This Page 2 has some of the items that you were able to earn via the Winter Whimsy box (like the Ice House or Tinsel Tree), but it also has items that were given away during the Festive Tree quest set (like the Frozen Fantasy statue).
All told, these new items cost more presents, but are more elaborate, or at least more exclusive, so it seems to make up for the increased cost. The six items are:
Sneezy Sheep - 75 Presents
Tinsel Tree - 100 Presents
Frozen Fantasy - 125 Presents
Ice House - 150 Presents
Kodiak Cub - 200 Presents
Arctic Fox - 275 Presents
Don't worry though - if you had yet to gather enough presents to have a chance at the six items released at first, these items are still there for your redemption pleasure. For those that have enough Ice Cubes or Winter Whimsy boxes, however, these prizes will give you plenty more to collect for.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Do you like this second set of presents better than the first? For the items that are found in the Winter Whimsy boxes, will you choose to save up to purchase the items outright, or will you continue to purchase the Winter Whimsy boxes and hope to get lucky?
Now, if you look inside your Holiday Tree (click on the tree and click "Look Inside" on the small menu that appears), you'll see that instead of just being able to trade your presents in for the first six items, that there is now a "Page 2." This Page 2 has some of the items that you were able to earn via the Winter Whimsy box (like the Ice House or Tinsel Tree), but it also has items that were given away during the Festive Tree quest set (like the Frozen Fantasy statue).
All told, these new items cost more presents, but are more elaborate, or at least more exclusive, so it seems to make up for the increased cost. The six items are:
Sneezy Sheep - 75 Presents
Tinsel Tree - 100 Presents
Frozen Fantasy - 125 Presents
Ice House - 150 Presents
Kodiak Cub - 200 Presents
Arctic Fox - 275 Presents
Don't worry though - if you had yet to gather enough presents to have a chance at the six items released at first, these items are still there for your redemption pleasure. For those that have enough Ice Cubes or Winter Whimsy boxes, however, these prizes will give you plenty more to collect for.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Do you like this second set of presents better than the first? For the items that are found in the Winter Whimsy boxes, will you choose to save up to purchase the items outright, or will you continue to purchase the Winter Whimsy boxes and hope to get lucky?
Thứ Năm, 12 tháng 1, 2012
FarmVille Mystery Game (01/02/11): "Best of" animals now available
It's a Sunday night, and during the holiday season, that means that FarmVille's Mystery Game has been restocked with six new items for you lucky players to try and win. This week's theme is "Best of" animals, and it contains, as the name suggests, some animals that were released in the game previously, but were removed and are now making a reappearance (likely due to fan suggestions).
The confirmed contents of this week's Mystery Game are:
White Peacock
White Owl
Japanese Duck
Red Parrot
Carinal
Female Ostrich
Remember, these items range in rarity from Common to Rare, so keep that in mind when playing the game. If you'd like to do so, this week's Mystery Game costs 20 Farm Cash to play, with 20 Farm Cash earning you a single dart that you can use to attempt to win one of these prizes.
This week's Mystery Game contents will be available for just the next six days, at which point another round of the Mystery Game will launch, with six new items to play for and collect.
The confirmed contents of this week's Mystery Game are:
White Peacock
White Owl
Japanese Duck
Red Parrot
Carinal
Female Ostrich
Remember, these items range in rarity from Common to Rare, so keep that in mind when playing the game. If you'd like to do so, this week's Mystery Game costs 20 Farm Cash to play, with 20 Farm Cash earning you a single dart that you can use to attempt to win one of these prizes.
This week's Mystery Game contents will be available for just the next six days, at which point another round of the Mystery Game will launch, with six new items to play for and collect.
FarmVille Winter Wonderland Animals: Baby Penguin, Brown Gypsy Horse, Brown Gypsy Foal
In tonight's FarmVille update, we see the launch of an entirely new limited edition item theme in the game. This theme will continue in the game's love of the winter holiday, as it is called simply "Winter Wonderland." To start this theme off with a bang, we see the release of three new animals to the game, with two of those animals being available in the game's store.
For some of you, you'll recognize these animals as those we brought you a sneak peek of some time ago. They are the Baby Penguin and the Brown Gypsy Horse. Both of these animals are premium, meaning that they can only be purchased with Farm Cash. The Baby Penguin costs 12 Farm Cash, and the Brown Gypsy Horse costs 26 Farm Cash. You'll gain a hefty XP bonus for purchasing either animal - 1200 for the Penguin and 2600 for the Horse.
Remember, since this is a Horse that can be placed inside the Horse Stable, it can also be bred. You guessed it - the Brown Gypsy Horse can produce a Brown Gypsy Foal, that can then be shared with your friends on your wall. If you know of any of your FarmVille neighbors that have purchased this horse for themselves, keep a special lookout for their wall posts to make sure you don't miss out on a free Brown Gypsy Foal for your own farm (or Nursery Barn, if you prefer).
This (first?) round of Winter Wonderland items will remain in the game's store for the next 13 days. We'll be sure to let you know if and when more items are added to the theme in the future, so keep checking back!
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
For some of you, you'll recognize these animals as those we brought you a sneak peek of some time ago. They are the Baby Penguin and the Brown Gypsy Horse. Both of these animals are premium, meaning that they can only be purchased with Farm Cash. The Baby Penguin costs 12 Farm Cash, and the Brown Gypsy Horse costs 26 Farm Cash. You'll gain a hefty XP bonus for purchasing either animal - 1200 for the Penguin and 2600 for the Horse.
Remember, since this is a Horse that can be placed inside the Horse Stable, it can also be bred. You guessed it - the Brown Gypsy Horse can produce a Brown Gypsy Foal, that can then be shared with your friends on your wall. If you know of any of your FarmVille neighbors that have purchased this horse for themselves, keep a special lookout for their wall posts to make sure you don't miss out on a free Brown Gypsy Foal for your own farm (or Nursery Barn, if you prefer).
This (first?) round of Winter Wonderland items will remain in the game's store for the next 13 days. We'll be sure to let you know if and when more items are added to the theme in the future, so keep checking back!
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
FarmVille Winter Wonderland Building: Bundle up and head into the new Igloo
Brrrrr. It's cold in here. You'd think the walls were made of ice or something. Oh wait... in the case of FarmVille's newest Winter Wonderland building, the Igloo, they are made of ice! The new Igloo is a cute, average sized building item that you can purchase for Farm Cash as a decorative building for your farm. Unfortunately, you can't actually walk inside it - darn!
The Igloo can be purchased for 16 Farm Cash, and can be sold for 8,000 coins, should you change your mind about keeping it once the winter season ends. You'll receive 1600 experience points as a bonus for purchasing the Igloo. While 16 Farm Cash might seem like a high price, this is actually one of the most affordable buildings we've seen released in the game in some time, at least where premium, or Farm Cash only, items are concerned. That being the case, we certainly couldn't blame you if you wanted to pick this one up because of its slightly lower price.
The Igloo will remain in the game for the next 13 days, at which point it will disappear from the store, likely not to be seen again (at least not until Zynga potentially decides to re-release the Igloo next year once winter comes around).
The Igloo can be purchased for 16 Farm Cash, and can be sold for 8,000 coins, should you change your mind about keeping it once the winter season ends. You'll receive 1600 experience points as a bonus for purchasing the Igloo. While 16 Farm Cash might seem like a high price, this is actually one of the most affordable buildings we've seen released in the game in some time, at least where premium, or Farm Cash only, items are concerned. That being the case, we certainly couldn't blame you if you wanted to pick this one up because of its slightly lower price.
The Igloo will remain in the game for the next 13 days, at which point it will disappear from the store, likely not to be seen again (at least not until Zynga potentially decides to re-release the Igloo next year once winter comes around).
FarmVille Winter Wonderland Decorations: Ice Skating Ring, Penguin Fishing, Iced Duck & More!
In tonight's FarmVille update, we see the launch of five new decorative items in the new Winter Wonderland theme of limited edition items. The five items are those that we've seen in the past, through a FarmVille Sneak Peek that we brought you last month.
Four of the items are premium, for those that don't mind spending a little Farm Cash, but there is one item (and a cute one at that) that is available for coins. The four premium items are the Hot Springs, Ice Skate Ring, Penguin Fishing, and the Iced Cow. The Hot Springs and Ice Skate Ring are large, natural looking elements, while the Penguin Fishing is an oddly named item (in our opinion). Yes, it has a penguin that dives into a frozen pond to retrieve a fish, but couldn't it have been called "Fishing Penguin" instead? Either way, the Penguin Fishing item costs 18 Farm Cash. The Hot Springs and Ice Skate Ring cost 30 Farm Cash and 26 Farm Cash, respectively, while the Iced Cow is a relative bargain (at least by comparison) at 4 Farm Cash.
The lone coin item fits in with the Iced Cow, as it is an iced version of another in-game animal. The Iced Duck will set you back just 10,000 coins - now that's a real bargain in the game, at least where limited edition decorative items are concerned.
These five items will be available in the game for the next 13 days (as of this writing). It's still unknown as to whether or not Zynga will release more items in this theme, or if this is a one-off release, but we'll be sure to let you know if and when more new items arrive.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Four of the items are premium, for those that don't mind spending a little Farm Cash, but there is one item (and a cute one at that) that is available for coins. The four premium items are the Hot Springs, Ice Skate Ring, Penguin Fishing, and the Iced Cow. The Hot Springs and Ice Skate Ring are large, natural looking elements, while the Penguin Fishing is an oddly named item (in our opinion). Yes, it has a penguin that dives into a frozen pond to retrieve a fish, but couldn't it have been called "Fishing Penguin" instead? Either way, the Penguin Fishing item costs 18 Farm Cash. The Hot Springs and Ice Skate Ring cost 30 Farm Cash and 26 Farm Cash, respectively, while the Iced Cow is a relative bargain (at least by comparison) at 4 Farm Cash.
The lone coin item fits in with the Iced Cow, as it is an iced version of another in-game animal. The Iced Duck will set you back just 10,000 coins - now that's a real bargain in the game, at least where limited edition decorative items are concerned.
These five items will be available in the game for the next 13 days (as of this writing). It's still unknown as to whether or not Zynga will release more items in this theme, or if this is a one-off release, but we'll be sure to let you know if and when more new items arrive.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
CityVille Cheats and Tips: How to move, sell and delete items
If you've been playing CityVille for a while, you know the importance of moving and deleting items. Moving decorations and organizing your buildings can earn you thousands of extra coins for very little energy. Unfortunately though, many people just aren't sure how to move or delete their items. This makes decorating and reorganizing your CityVille city a daunting task. Fortunately for you, moving and deleting items is extremely simple. Unlike other city building games like Millionaire City, CityVille lets you move items for free, no money, bots, or cheats required.
To move an item, building, decoration, or some other CityVille structure, simple click on the arrow or cursor button at the bottom right of the screen (pictured above). It can be found above the 'Build' button and left of the button that contains your Inventory, Collections, and Franchises.
Click the cursor button and a menu will open allowing you to either move, rotate, or sell an item. When you're done moving items, click the Stop icon where the cursor icon used to be. Simple.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
To move an item, building, decoration, or some other CityVille structure, simple click on the arrow or cursor button at the bottom right of the screen (pictured above). It can be found above the 'Build' button and left of the button that contains your Inventory, Collections, and Franchises.
Click the cursor button and a menu will open allowing you to either move, rotate, or sell an item. When you're done moving items, click the Stop icon where the cursor icon used to be. Simple.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012
Respectable research firm Doritos finds women like games more than sex
We've all heard the chocolate gag, but this is just ridiculous. Doritos--you know, Nacho Cheese?--found during a survey of 2,052 people for its upcoming Facebook game, Doritos Dip Desperado, that women like video games more than sex. Well, at least that's how we're (and everyone else is) spinning it, because crazy statistics like this are fun ... and its Friday.
According to the survey, 49 percent of women admitted to playing "online games," though as GamePro points out: It's not made clear whether these women are bombing cities in Call of Duty or building them up in CityVille. We're going to go with the latter. Regardless, this number is just 1 percent below men, meaning a whole darn lot of folks have their eyes glued to some screen, somewhere.
Of the 49 percent of video game femme fatale, 84 percent said they enjoy gaming sessions, compared to just 70 percent who said they enjoy love making, whoopee, boinking, what have you. (Women also reportedly enjoy games more than having a bath and shopping.) Now, here's the clincher: 23.1 percent of women, according to Doritos, spend more time online playing games than men, who came in at 22.3 percent. Dudes, we know you're digging on Halo more than FarmVille, but maybe it's time you joined the lady--ain't no shame in trying something new.
According to the survey, 49 percent of women admitted to playing "online games," though as GamePro points out: It's not made clear whether these women are bombing cities in Call of Duty or building them up in CityVille. We're going to go with the latter. Regardless, this number is just 1 percent below men, meaning a whole darn lot of folks have their eyes glued to some screen, somewhere.
Of the 49 percent of video game femme fatale, 84 percent said they enjoy gaming sessions, compared to just 70 percent who said they enjoy love making, whoopee, boinking, what have you. (Women also reportedly enjoy games more than having a bath and shopping.) Now, here's the clincher: 23.1 percent of women, according to Doritos, spend more time online playing games than men, who came in at 22.3 percent. Dudes, we know you're digging on Halo more than FarmVille, but maybe it's time you joined the lady--ain't no shame in trying something new.
Facebook pulls app directory, makes finding new games that much harder
Apparently, I'm one of the only people that actively used the App Directory on Facebook. Back in December, we brought you an in-depth look at discovering new Facebook games by using the directory, as you could browse applications based on popularity, or even date added. Now, though, the entire App Directory has been removed from the service, and with it goes your ability to use it to find new games.
AllFacebook noticed the removal as well, as they have pointed out a new blog post on the Facebook Developers Blog that explains a bit as to why the directory was ditched.
"Many developers have been confused about what it means to submit to the App Directory and frustrated by the length of time it took to get approved. As we have looked into this issue, we found that the App Directory drove less than 0.5% of all app installs while a significant number of app installs came as a result of Facebook search. Until now, to be visible in search, you had to submit your app to the App Directory.
Today, we are announcing two updates to decouple the search submission from the directory to make it easier for you to get your app into the Facebook search index:
1. We are removing the App Directory (in its current form) since it does not drive a significant amount of traffic to your apps.
2. We are creating a new, simplified way to get your app into the Facebook search index."
In short, this means that for now, the search bar has been given much more prominence in the app discovery process. Sure, sidebar ads will still likely trigger many more app installs, but now, app developers can submit their apps to the Facebook search index without approval, allowing users to get to them faster. Sounds great, right? Well, it would be, if search currently functioned properly.
I know I can't be the only person who types something like "FrontierVille" into the search bar to find a specific Zynga-run fan page, only to be greeted by user-created or even spam apps/fan pages that may have absolutely no relevance to what I'm searching for. If apps no longer have to go through an approval process to be added to search (and everything really is as open as it seems), doesn't this open the door for so much more clutter? Hopefully, this will all just be a temporary solution to some much larger feature being added to the site that will make finding new apps an enjoyable process, rather than a chore.
AllFacebook noticed the removal as well, as they have pointed out a new blog post on the Facebook Developers Blog that explains a bit as to why the directory was ditched.
"Many developers have been confused about what it means to submit to the App Directory and frustrated by the length of time it took to get approved. As we have looked into this issue, we found that the App Directory drove less than 0.5% of all app installs while a significant number of app installs came as a result of Facebook search. Until now, to be visible in search, you had to submit your app to the App Directory.
Today, we are announcing two updates to decouple the search submission from the directory to make it easier for you to get your app into the Facebook search index:
1. We are removing the App Directory (in its current form) since it does not drive a significant amount of traffic to your apps.
2. We are creating a new, simplified way to get your app into the Facebook search index."
In short, this means that for now, the search bar has been given much more prominence in the app discovery process. Sure, sidebar ads will still likely trigger many more app installs, but now, app developers can submit their apps to the Facebook search index without approval, allowing users to get to them faster. Sounds great, right? Well, it would be, if search currently functioned properly.
I know I can't be the only person who types something like "FrontierVille" into the search bar to find a specific Zynga-run fan page, only to be greeted by user-created or even spam apps/fan pages that may have absolutely no relevance to what I'm searching for. If apps no longer have to go through an approval process to be added to search (and everything really is as open as it seems), doesn't this open the door for so much more clutter? Hopefully, this will all just be a temporary solution to some much larger feature being added to the site that will make finding new apps an enjoyable process, rather than a chore.
Indie social game creators team with RockYou Studio Partners to get noticed
Fans of indie social games, this might be the next place to look for new games that your friends probably never heard of. RockYou announced the launch of Studio Partners, a new initiative to take indie Facebook game creators under its wing and give their games the exposure they deserve by leveraging its "advertising solutions, analytics tools, and broader marketing support," RockYou said in a statement.
Studio Partners is an open platform for developers to submit their games and potentially increase their reach through publisher RockYou's resources. Following the company's relationship with John Romero's indie--can you say that about the guy who co-created Doom?--social game studio Loot Drop (whose first game, Cloudforest Expedition, is due out this summer), RockYou looks to maintain developers' creative freedom while hopefully increasing their audience.
"We're inspired by the originality and imagination of social game developers around the world," said Josh Grant, SVP and GM of Studio Partners and formerly RockYou's SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development. "Studio Partners gets to the heart of what RockYou believes in-delivering the very best, most innovative games to our players." If innovation is truly the way to beat the monolithic competition in the social games space, RockYou (and its upcoming stable of indie creators) might have the leg up.
Studio Partners is an open platform for developers to submit their games and potentially increase their reach through publisher RockYou's resources. Following the company's relationship with John Romero's indie--can you say that about the guy who co-created Doom?--social game studio Loot Drop (whose first game, Cloudforest Expedition, is due out this summer), RockYou looks to maintain developers' creative freedom while hopefully increasing their audience.
"We're inspired by the originality and imagination of social game developers around the world," said Josh Grant, SVP and GM of Studio Partners and formerly RockYou's SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development. "Studio Partners gets to the heart of what RockYou believes in-delivering the very best, most innovative games to our players." If innovation is truly the way to beat the monolithic competition in the social games space, RockYou (and its upcoming stable of indie creators) might have the leg up.
Working for Gameloft is far from fun and games, whistleblower says
It takes quite a lot of work to become one of the top mobile game developers, but Glenn Watson, former Head Studio Programmer at Gameloft's New Zealand studio, says it's taken too much work. The former Gameloft employee told all to Games On Net in a feature that described the company's working conditions as "dangerous."
"Starting at 9:30 AM, going home at 2:30 AM, and then coming back into the office at 8:30 AM to start work again was not unusual ," Watson described. "There were other times when I would be called back into the office at 11:30 PM by the studio producer, only to head home again at 2:30 AM. It was after I worked four consecutive weeks of fourteen-hour days - including weekends - that I realized I needed to resign."
According to Games On Net, other anonymous former Gameloft employees have confirmed Watson's allegations. Watson went on to reveal that Gameloft had falsified deadlines to create a constant sense of crunch time. It was internally known as "golding," or constantly telling employees to keep going in order to reach gold status on time with a given product. Games On Net reports that, according to leaked internal emails, this process persists. For more on what may be going on inside French publisher Gameloft's many offices, read the feature in full here.
This is far from the first time a game studio has been accused of less-than-respectable work conditions. Most recently, the creators of Rockstar's L.A. Noire, Australia-based Team Bondi, was the target of whistleblowers for unsavory work conditions. Regardless, it's important to know that, sometimes, the idiom "blood, sweat and tears" may not be too far from reality.
"Starting at 9:30 AM, going home at 2:30 AM, and then coming back into the office at 8:30 AM to start work again was not unusual ," Watson described. "There were other times when I would be called back into the office at 11:30 PM by the studio producer, only to head home again at 2:30 AM. It was after I worked four consecutive weeks of fourteen-hour days - including weekends - that I realized I needed to resign."
According to Games On Net, other anonymous former Gameloft employees have confirmed Watson's allegations. Watson went on to reveal that Gameloft had falsified deadlines to create a constant sense of crunch time. It was internally known as "golding," or constantly telling employees to keep going in order to reach gold status on time with a given product. Games On Net reports that, according to leaked internal emails, this process persists. For more on what may be going on inside French publisher Gameloft's many offices, read the feature in full here.
This is far from the first time a game studio has been accused of less-than-respectable work conditions. Most recently, the creators of Rockstar's L.A. Noire, Australia-based Team Bondi, was the target of whistleblowers for unsavory work conditions. Regardless, it's important to know that, sometimes, the idiom "blood, sweat and tears" may not be too far from reality.
Ravenwood Fair creator Lolapps joins 6waves to combat big leaguers
In another case of "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," social game developer Lolapps has merged with publisher 6waves. While financial details were not disclosed, TechCrunch reports that the marriage of the Ravenwood Fair creator and the Hong Kong-based publisher makes for a collective 39 million monthly players worldwide. The company will be re-branded as 6waves Lolapps, though each company will continue to act independently.
6 waves CEO Rex Ng will lead the newly formed company, and Lolapps CEO Arjun Sethi will report to him. After leading the creation of the 25 million-strong Ravenwood Fair, veteran designer John Romero left the company to create his own studio, Loot Drop. This move will likely help Lolapps' future games reach a wider audience, which now will use the recently-acquired Fliso engine for creating Flash games that run faster.
And if you count the two companies' collectively player base, the duo is larger than Diamond Dash creator Wooga, which enjoys just under 35 million monthly players, according to AppData. Now that EA has acquired PopCap, and Zynga has bought, well, everyone else almost, the big players in the social game space are starting to emerge. The rest of this year will show whether 6waves Lolapps can hang in the Facebook game major leagues.
6 waves CEO Rex Ng will lead the newly formed company, and Lolapps CEO Arjun Sethi will report to him. After leading the creation of the 25 million-strong Ravenwood Fair, veteran designer John Romero left the company to create his own studio, Loot Drop. This move will likely help Lolapps' future games reach a wider audience, which now will use the recently-acquired Fliso engine for creating Flash games that run faster.
And if you count the two companies' collectively player base, the duo is larger than Diamond Dash creator Wooga, which enjoys just under 35 million monthly players, according to AppData. Now that EA has acquired PopCap, and Zynga has bought, well, everyone else almost, the big players in the social game space are starting to emerge. The rest of this year will show whether 6waves Lolapps can hang in the Facebook game major leagues.
Thứ Hai, 9 tháng 1, 2012
Google+ Games sidebar rips another note from Facebook's playbook
Imitation is the finest form of flattery, but this is just getting ridiculous. Google has updated the home page of its Google+ social network with a sidebar that allows users to jump into the games they've played recently. In other words, Google+ has ripped Facebook once again. (But don't think you're off the hook either, Facebook.) Granted, this is a fundamental change.
But that still doesn't explain why, after months of Google+ Games existing, that these incremental changes are introduced to the platform. Of course, it's not as if Facebook had its "Apps" sidebar trademarked or patented, but these updates only serve to make it looks as if Google+ biting off of its number one competitor chunk by chunk. The comparisons are simply unavoidable.
However, the Google+ Games sidebar does have a one-up over its Facebook counterpart: You can actually remove it. We do have to admire Google+ for how it much it allows users to change about what's displayed. That said, getting the Games sidebar back after removing it--aside from those fleeting moments in which you can click "Undo"--is currently unknown. Commenters are also clamoring for more games, which is something Google is taking very seriously ... almost too seriously.
Google+ Games sidebar
As Google continues to rip pages from Facebooks' playbook (and Facebook does the same), it'll be interesting to see how the company takes advantage of its unique position. Google has the chance to change how a social games platform is done. But not if it continues to entertain this slap fight with the gorilla.
But that still doesn't explain why, after months of Google+ Games existing, that these incremental changes are introduced to the platform. Of course, it's not as if Facebook had its "Apps" sidebar trademarked or patented, but these updates only serve to make it looks as if Google+ biting off of its number one competitor chunk by chunk. The comparisons are simply unavoidable.
However, the Google+ Games sidebar does have a one-up over its Facebook counterpart: You can actually remove it. We do have to admire Google+ for how it much it allows users to change about what's displayed. That said, getting the Games sidebar back after removing it--aside from those fleeting moments in which you can click "Undo"--is currently unknown. Commenters are also clamoring for more games, which is something Google is taking very seriously ... almost too seriously.
Google+ Games sidebar
As Google continues to rip pages from Facebooks' playbook (and Facebook does the same), it'll be interesting to see how the company takes advantage of its unique position. Google has the chance to change how a social games platform is done. But not if it continues to entertain this slap fight with the gorilla.
Mafia Wars Shakedown holds up the App Store for absolutely free
Well, that's not much of a holdup, now is it? Regardless, Mafia Wars Shakedown--or, as we like to call it: Mafia Wars Mobile: Take Three--is now available on the U.S. App Store for the cool price of "free". This next attempt at a suitable Mafia Wars game for mobile devices marks the first time Zynga has launched a full HTML5 game through the App Store.
And frankly, it looks downright slick when you consider it was built using HTML5, the web-based coding platform that Zynga has been less than bullish on before. Now, Mafia Wars Shakedown is the fourth HTML5-based game released by the developer, so we're going to guess Zynga is whistling a different tune by this point. According to a release, "Players are challenged to steal collection pieces from friends and strangers in order to earn powerful items and defeat bosses to level up from chump to Don."
But our very own in-depth preview can already tell you what the game is like. Based on that, it sounds like a fairly bare bones release that works well technically, but more importantly a number of features are already teased as "coming soon." The game's App Store page claims that players can steal from their friends live. So, we'd say Mafia Wars Shakedown is worth at least a try, if only to see what a Mafia Wars game looks like in real time.
And frankly, it looks downright slick when you consider it was built using HTML5, the web-based coding platform that Zynga has been less than bullish on before. Now, Mafia Wars Shakedown is the fourth HTML5-based game released by the developer, so we're going to guess Zynga is whistling a different tune by this point. According to a release, "Players are challenged to steal collection pieces from friends and strangers in order to earn powerful items and defeat bosses to level up from chump to Don."
But our very own in-depth preview can already tell you what the game is like. Based on that, it sounds like a fairly bare bones release that works well technically, but more importantly a number of features are already teased as "coming soon." The game's App Store page claims that players can steal from their friends live. So, we'd say Mafia Wars Shakedown is worth at least a try, if only to see what a Mafia Wars game looks like in real time.
Lunchtime Poll: Would you skip work to play a new Zynga game?
Right now is the best time to be a video game aficionado, especially if you own Microsoft's Xbox 360 or Sony's PlayStation 3 systems. Highly anticipated games, such as the new Gears of War, Batman and Call of Duty are hitting the shelves, and fans will do whatever it takes to get their hands on a copy ASAP -- including waiting in long lines at special midnight launch events held at various retail stores.
A new survey also says that lots of people are willing to skip work so they can spend hours sniping at enemies in the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 without interruption. CouponCodes4u asked 2,312 people if they were planning to take time off work to play the action-packed game and 19% said yes. Which made me wonder, would you consider skipping work to play CastleVille? What about another Zynga game? Sound off in today's Lunchtime Poll.
Would you skip work to play a new Zynga game?
Heck yeahCastleVille? Yes!Really depends on the gameNo way, I'll just play at workNo, never
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
A new survey also says that lots of people are willing to skip work so they can spend hours sniping at enemies in the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 without interruption. CouponCodes4u asked 2,312 people if they were planning to take time off work to play the action-packed game and 19% said yes. Which made me wonder, would you consider skipping work to play CastleVille? What about another Zynga game? Sound off in today's Lunchtime Poll.
Would you skip work to play a new Zynga game?
Heck yeahCastleVille? Yes!Really depends on the gameNo way, I'll just play at workNo, never
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
Zynga says 'gimme back' to early employees awarded company stocks
Or you're fired. No, seriously. That's essentially how a recent report by The Wall Street Journal reads, citing anonymous sources. According to the report, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus (pictured) and a number of his fellow higher-ups decided that it had awarded employees with too much stock while planning its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO) last year. Zynga wasn't very happy with the situation that put it in.
With this hindsight, Zynga decided to offer said employees an ultimatum: Either return your not-yet-vested stock or pack up your things. (According to CNET, it's common for tech startups to dole out stock packages to desired prospects to make seemingly-low salaries more attractive on the outset.) WSJ reports that Pincus and crew tried to offer the take-it-or-leave-it to employees they felt whose contributions to Zynga didn't reflect the potential windfall they could come into once the IPO hit. According to WSJ, the execs hoped to lure in future employees with the promise of stock.
To put things into perspective, Zynga is expected to clear $1 billion with its IPO, which could make some of said employees very, very rich. Once Pincus and other execs approached their target employees with the demand, they were unsurprisingly met with resistance. WSJ cites two anonymous employees that hired attorneys to settle with Zynga, giving up only a portion of their shares.
One of those employees has since left the FarmVille maker. Of course, this is far from the first time nameless Zynga employees have spoke out regarding the company's practices.
With this hindsight, Zynga decided to offer said employees an ultimatum: Either return your not-yet-vested stock or pack up your things. (According to CNET, it's common for tech startups to dole out stock packages to desired prospects to make seemingly-low salaries more attractive on the outset.) WSJ reports that Pincus and crew tried to offer the take-it-or-leave-it to employees they felt whose contributions to Zynga didn't reflect the potential windfall they could come into once the IPO hit. According to WSJ, the execs hoped to lure in future employees with the promise of stock.
To put things into perspective, Zynga is expected to clear $1 billion with its IPO, which could make some of said employees very, very rich. Once Pincus and other execs approached their target employees with the demand, they were unsurprisingly met with resistance. WSJ cites two anonymous employees that hired attorneys to settle with Zynga, giving up only a portion of their shares.
One of those employees has since left the FarmVille maker. Of course, this is far from the first time nameless Zynga employees have spoke out regarding the company's practices.
Angry Birds looks to make angry bucks, flocks to overseas retail stores
We know what you're thinking: "But wait, isn't Angry Birds absolutely free to play on Google+ and in the Chrome Web Store?" Why yes, it is. MCV reports that Rovio's flagship mobile-turned-everywhere game will hit retailers in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand for £10.20. That amounts to about $16.25 USD. A majority of which we gather is for the disc.
If you want to nitpick, that's three copies of each of the Angry Birds games released for iOS and enough for yet another. As irony would have it, the publishing deal Finland-based Rovio signed with Focus Multimedia covers PC versions of all three Angry Birds games. The first game to be released under the deal is none other than the original game on Nov. 25. The game has already reached 500 million downloads across all the platforms it exists on, so why now go the brick and mortar route?
"Boxed retail is another way to reach more audience," Rovio spokesperson Ville Heijari told MCV. "Digital and mobile are still at the core of our business, but boxed retail is a good addition for taking the brand forward." The guy has a point: If Rovio is serious about hitting the 1 billion fan mark, the company must consider those unfortunately without Internet access. However, we doubt charging them ten times as much for the game will have them running to the nearest GameStop.
If you want to nitpick, that's three copies of each of the Angry Birds games released for iOS and enough for yet another. As irony would have it, the publishing deal Finland-based Rovio signed with Focus Multimedia covers PC versions of all three Angry Birds games. The first game to be released under the deal is none other than the original game on Nov. 25. The game has already reached 500 million downloads across all the platforms it exists on, so why now go the brick and mortar route?
"Boxed retail is another way to reach more audience," Rovio spokesperson Ville Heijari told MCV. "Digital and mobile are still at the core of our business, but boxed retail is a good addition for taking the brand forward." The guy has a point: If Rovio is serious about hitting the 1 billion fan mark, the company must consider those unfortunately without Internet access. However, we doubt charging them ten times as much for the game will have them running to the nearest GameStop.
FarmVille, Angry Birds double the number of gamers in three years
Games -- everybody loves 'em. Or, at least, more people love them than ever before. A new Parks Associates study shows that the number of gamers have doubled in the past three years thanks to games like FarmVille and Angry Birds.
The study surveyed people who play at least one hour of games every month, and that number increased from 56 million in 2008 to 135 million in 2011. The majority of the new gamers are so-called 'casual gamers,' many of whom play quick-hit games on social networks and mobile devices.
"These changes have significant implications for the gaming industry," Parks Associates analyst Pietro Macchiarella says. "This new majority of casual gamers is looking for games with low entry barriers, with limited investments required in terms of dollars and time necessary to learn the game.
gaming doubles in three years
"The ubiquity of portable devices and Internet access allows more people to play on-the-go, putting pressure on the gaming industry to design games that can deliver a satisfactory experience within these specific conditions," he adds.
Macchiarella predicts that with the rapid consumer adoption of tablets, such as the not-yet-released Amazon Kindle Fire, Americans will spend more time than gaming before as well. More people spending more time playing accessible games on even more accessible devices? Yep, sounds about right to us.
The study surveyed people who play at least one hour of games every month, and that number increased from 56 million in 2008 to 135 million in 2011. The majority of the new gamers are so-called 'casual gamers,' many of whom play quick-hit games on social networks and mobile devices.
"These changes have significant implications for the gaming industry," Parks Associates analyst Pietro Macchiarella says. "This new majority of casual gamers is looking for games with low entry barriers, with limited investments required in terms of dollars and time necessary to learn the game.
gaming doubles in three years
"The ubiquity of portable devices and Internet access allows more people to play on-the-go, putting pressure on the gaming industry to design games that can deliver a satisfactory experience within these specific conditions," he adds.
Macchiarella predicts that with the rapid consumer adoption of tablets, such as the not-yet-released Amazon Kindle Fire, Americans will spend more time than gaming before as well. More people spending more time playing accessible games on even more accessible devices? Yep, sounds about right to us.
Thứ Bảy, 7 tháng 1, 2012
FarmVille: Winter Wonderland Theme melts away today
Winter Wonderland melts away
And that's all she wrote for winter in FarmVille, folks. According to a post on the FarmVille Blog, Winter Wonderland items will no longer be available as of today. It's Groundhog Day, what did you expect? So, kiss this awful weather we've been having goodbye (at least in-game) and say hello to ... wait. We have no idea what Zynga has in store for us next, come to think of it.
Well, we do have some guesses as to where the game is headed next. Surely the Valentine's festivities will truck on through Feb. 14. But then, it looks like we're either headed to England as our next theme (or hopefully a new destination altogether). But we also have the upcoming Greenhouse to look forward to, which looks extremely promising. But who knows, Zynga could always thrown in something from left field. Stay tuned here to find out what's in store on the farm next.
And that's all she wrote for winter in FarmVille, folks. According to a post on the FarmVille Blog, Winter Wonderland items will no longer be available as of today. It's Groundhog Day, what did you expect? So, kiss this awful weather we've been having goodbye (at least in-game) and say hello to ... wait. We have no idea what Zynga has in store for us next, come to think of it.
Well, we do have some guesses as to where the game is headed next. Surely the Valentine's festivities will truck on through Feb. 14. But then, it looks like we're either headed to England as our next theme (or hopefully a new destination altogether). But we also have the upcoming Greenhouse to look forward to, which looks extremely promising. But who knows, Zynga could always thrown in something from left field. Stay tuned here to find out what's in store on the farm next.
Words with Friends headed to an Android device near you (Thanks, Zynga!)
When FarmVille-maker Zynga bought NewToy, the creator of the Scrabble-like game Words with Friends last year -- it seemed like quite a coup. Not only had one of the biggest social gaming companies bought one of the coolest (IMHO) mobile games, but it also gave social gamers hope that other Zynga games on Facebook would soon be getting better mobile counterparts.
While we have yet to see Zynga Facebook gaming hits like FrontierVille roll out on mobile, word junkies will be happy to learn that Words with Friends will be headed to Android phones and tablets later this month. The game will also work across platforms, so you will be able to play the game with friends who have the game on iPhones (or other iOS devices) and vice versa.
Zynga says it plans to offer a premium version of the game (i.e. meaning you that will be ad-free later on this year. As for more Zynga games going mobile, we'll just have to wait and see.
Gallery: Words with Friends on Android
Image courtesy of the Word with Friends Facebook fan page
While we have yet to see Zynga Facebook gaming hits like FrontierVille roll out on mobile, word junkies will be happy to learn that Words with Friends will be headed to Android phones and tablets later this month. The game will also work across platforms, so you will be able to play the game with friends who have the game on iPhones (or other iOS devices) and vice versa.
Zynga says it plans to offer a premium version of the game (i.e. meaning you that will be ad-free later on this year. As for more Zynga games going mobile, we'll just have to wait and see.
Gallery: Words with Friends on Android
Image courtesy of the Word with Friends Facebook fan page
Earn 100 free FarmVille Farm Cash when you order from Pro Flowers
Why not kill two birds with one web order this Valentine's Day? The most recent FarmVille Sponsored Link lets you do just that. Just click on the link below the FarmVille game screen that reads, "Send Valentine's Flowers, get 100 Free Farm Cash!" From there accept the pop-up window and start ordering.
There's no mention of a minimum amount spent, so feel free to spend as little or as much as you want for the lovely missus. But don't skimp out too much--I'm sure she deserves something nice for putting up with your rampant digital farming. Once you're done making the order, give it a half hour before the 100 big ones post to your FarmVille account. Believe me, she's going to be much more impressed by this than that Unwither Ring you were mulling over.
There's no mention of a minimum amount spent, so feel free to spend as little or as much as you want for the lovely missus. But don't skimp out too much--I'm sure she deserves something nice for putting up with your rampant digital farming. Once you're done making the order, give it a half hour before the 100 big ones post to your FarmVille account. Believe me, she's going to be much more impressed by this than that Unwither Ring you were mulling over.
FarmVille Valentine's Day redeemable prizes get a refresh
Just when I was starting to think about how umimpressed I was with the FarmVille Valentine's redeemable prizes (seriously, that Valentine's goat was cute, but just how many am I going to buy?), a new batch of prizes make an appearance in the game. So for those of you who've stuffed your Mailbox full of Valentines, you can also redeem them for the following:
farmville valentine gifts updated
Pecking Ducks- 75 Valentines
Pigs in Love - 100 Valentines
3 Hearts Fountain - 125 Valentines
Pink Patch Cow - 150 Valentines
Chocolate Fountain - 200 Valentines
Eiffel Tower - 275 Valentines
And, as an added bonus. once you hit 500 Valentines, you'll be able to add this fetching hot pink swan to your farm.
farmville pink swan
farmville valentine gifts updated
Pecking Ducks- 75 Valentines
Pigs in Love - 100 Valentines
3 Hearts Fountain - 125 Valentines
Pink Patch Cow - 150 Valentines
Chocolate Fountain - 200 Valentines
Eiffel Tower - 275 Valentines
And, as an added bonus. once you hit 500 Valentines, you'll be able to add this fetching hot pink swan to your farm.
farmville pink swan
FrontierVille Pony Express: Everything you need to know
Ever since FrontierVille first launched last year, Frontier Jack has been reminding us of the existence of the Pony Express, which has been responsible for delivering your mail in the game. Now, though, it seems like we'll finally be able to meet these dedicated riders in the flesh (or, the virtual flesh, that is), as we can now build our very own Pony Express building in the game.
This new building is hitting users' accounts on what seems to be a very slow rollout, so if you don't have the building upon reading this, be patient! We're sure it will be released into your own game in the very near future. Once you are able to access the Pony Express, you'll need to purchase it from the market for 665 coins and 8 Wood.
After placing the base on your land, you'll need to whack the building 16 times to complete the frame, with each whack costing 4 Wood. Of course, this is only part one of the building's construction - meet us behind the break for the rest of the requirements for building the Pony Express.
Once you have completed the frame of the Pony Express, you'll need to go about the process of asking your friends to help you gather a total of 66 building materials - 10 each of Bags of Gravel, Moldings, and Whitewashes, and 12 each of Paintbrushes, Wax Seals, and Pony Express Plans.
As usual, these six items are split evenly between those that you'll need to request from individual players, and those that can be earned through general news feed posts. In this case, the Bags of Gravel, Whitewashes, and Moldings can be received by clicking on the Ask button and then sending out individual gift requests to those neighbors that you think will help you, while the other three items (Paintbrushes, Wax Seals, and Pony Express Plans) are earned through general news feed posts that any friend can click on. Unfortunately, you'll only be able to post one of these general wall posts every few hours, so be sure to be on the lookout for your friends' posts, so that you can earn some bonus items while you are waiting for the ability to post again.
So what's the point of building the Pony Express? It's actually a fairly complex reason. To put it as simply as possible, each day, you'll be able to collect a Daily Bonus from the Pony Express building, just as you can any other building in the game. Doing this gives you a chance to earn a "Special Delivery" package from a traveling Pony Express Rider. This rider will drop off satchels that can be opened to receive prizes (we'll bring you more on these prizes when we've learned more).
You can also trigger an additional Special Delivery each day, by clicking on Bonus items (coins, experience points, food, wood, etc.) in a fast enough succession to reach the "Insane" level in the Bonus Bar. Again, you can only receive a Special Delivery through this method once per day.
We'll make sure to bring you images and more information about the Pony Express as soon as we have them. In the meantime, while you're building the Pony Express building, why not also take a look at the equally new Pony Express Goals that were also released in FrontierVille, via our new guide.
This new building is hitting users' accounts on what seems to be a very slow rollout, so if you don't have the building upon reading this, be patient! We're sure it will be released into your own game in the very near future. Once you are able to access the Pony Express, you'll need to purchase it from the market for 665 coins and 8 Wood.
After placing the base on your land, you'll need to whack the building 16 times to complete the frame, with each whack costing 4 Wood. Of course, this is only part one of the building's construction - meet us behind the break for the rest of the requirements for building the Pony Express.
Once you have completed the frame of the Pony Express, you'll need to go about the process of asking your friends to help you gather a total of 66 building materials - 10 each of Bags of Gravel, Moldings, and Whitewashes, and 12 each of Paintbrushes, Wax Seals, and Pony Express Plans.
As usual, these six items are split evenly between those that you'll need to request from individual players, and those that can be earned through general news feed posts. In this case, the Bags of Gravel, Whitewashes, and Moldings can be received by clicking on the Ask button and then sending out individual gift requests to those neighbors that you think will help you, while the other three items (Paintbrushes, Wax Seals, and Pony Express Plans) are earned through general news feed posts that any friend can click on. Unfortunately, you'll only be able to post one of these general wall posts every few hours, so be sure to be on the lookout for your friends' posts, so that you can earn some bonus items while you are waiting for the ability to post again.
So what's the point of building the Pony Express? It's actually a fairly complex reason. To put it as simply as possible, each day, you'll be able to collect a Daily Bonus from the Pony Express building, just as you can any other building in the game. Doing this gives you a chance to earn a "Special Delivery" package from a traveling Pony Express Rider. This rider will drop off satchels that can be opened to receive prizes (we'll bring you more on these prizes when we've learned more).
You can also trigger an additional Special Delivery each day, by clicking on Bonus items (coins, experience points, food, wood, etc.) in a fast enough succession to reach the "Insane" level in the Bonus Bar. Again, you can only receive a Special Delivery through this method once per day.
We'll make sure to bring you images and more information about the Pony Express as soon as we have them. In the meantime, while you're building the Pony Express building, why not also take a look at the equally new Pony Express Goals that were also released in FrontierVille, via our new guide.
Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 1, 2012
Today is Defriend Day: Do Facebook game friends count too?
If you were to ask author and political activist Mark Dice, yes, your fellow FarmVille friends probably count. In promotion of his new book, "Big Brother: The Orwellian Nightmare Come True," Dice has called for everyone on Facebook to prune their friends list of people they don't even know. (If you remember, Jimmy Kimmel called for something similar recently.) And Facebook gamers are arguably the largest culprit of adding otherwise anonymous people to their friends list. Not to mention, what if that is your personal account as well? Have you considered these things before aimlessly accepting friend quests for yet another "neighbor?"
Sure, some social gamers play on designated accounts that are essentially on privacy lock down for this very reason, but I'm willing to bet a majority of you game on your personal account. There's no need to put on your tin-foil hats--Dice does enough of that in his new novel. However, the guy has a brilliant point. It's interesting how social gamers are willing to welcome complete strangers into their digital lives.
Think about it: How many of those miscellaneous friends have you come to know on a personal level? Probably little to none, but they might know everything about you. Of course, this depends on how much you share, but considering the amount of data Facebook processes daily I'd imagine you share just as much as I do: a lot. You never know who is looking at your profile. (We're all guilty of Facebook stalking, regardless of how harmless.)
When you think of the amount of estranged Facebook friends you game with, which for some is likely in the hundreds, how does it feel to know they're part of the digital audience of your life? Now, don't freak out and go defriend every unknown person attached to your account. Just think about these things the next time you add a friend to game with or share something on your profile. There are many things in the digital age that are permanent, but gaming buddies don't necessarily have to be. Especially those you don't even know.
[Image Credit: Intermediate 2]
Have you ever considered the friends you add to game with on Facebook? Would you ever prune your friends of those you didn't know?
Sure, some social gamers play on designated accounts that are essentially on privacy lock down for this very reason, but I'm willing to bet a majority of you game on your personal account. There's no need to put on your tin-foil hats--Dice does enough of that in his new novel. However, the guy has a brilliant point. It's interesting how social gamers are willing to welcome complete strangers into their digital lives.
Think about it: How many of those miscellaneous friends have you come to know on a personal level? Probably little to none, but they might know everything about you. Of course, this depends on how much you share, but considering the amount of data Facebook processes daily I'd imagine you share just as much as I do: a lot. You never know who is looking at your profile. (We're all guilty of Facebook stalking, regardless of how harmless.)
When you think of the amount of estranged Facebook friends you game with, which for some is likely in the hundreds, how does it feel to know they're part of the digital audience of your life? Now, don't freak out and go defriend every unknown person attached to your account. Just think about these things the next time you add a friend to game with or share something on your profile. There are many things in the digital age that are permanent, but gaming buddies don't necessarily have to be. Especially those you don't even know.
[Image Credit: Intermediate 2]
Have you ever considered the friends you add to game with on Facebook? Would you ever prune your friends of those you didn't know?
FrontierVille Makin' Room Storage Expansion Missions: Everything you need to know
While we've been able to expand both our land and our Storage Shed in FrontierVille in the past, in an effort to de-clutter our homesteads, with Zynga releasing so many new buildings, and so many new decorations, the current limit of 35 items in storage simply wasn't cutting it. Luckily, Zynga has addressed this issue in a big, big way, with the release of repeatable Mega Storage Missions in the game (as Zynga is lovingly calling them).
When the update hits your game, you'll see a pop-up like the one above, introducing you to these new, repeatable, missions. These repeatable missions (did I mention they were repeatable?) will allow you to add 15 spaces of storage each time you complete them, and there currently doesn't appear to be a limit on how big your Storage Shed can get (either that or even Zynga hasn't decided what it should be yet). Do you know what this means pioneers?! It means that we're potentially looking at unlimited storage in FrontierVille, with a couple of catches.
First, these missions will take quite a bit of time and materials on your part (I hope you've been saving up coins and wood). Secondly, you'll be subject to a "Storage Expansion Timer," which will only allow you to move onto your next expansion once every four days. You can, of course, pay Horseshoes to unlock a new set of missions earlier, if you wish.
So what exactly does it take to expand your Storage Shed into the "mega" storage range? Meet us behind the break for all of the details.
The Storage Expansion Mission has three parts. Part I of III is called Stacking Wood, and it has you chopping down trees on your own Homestead, and while it might seem like a tedious task, believe me - you'll need the wood you receive from doing so.
Chop Trees 50 Times on your Homestead
Visit 25 Neighbors
Have 25 Cloth
You don't have to actually do anything at your neighbors' homesteads, luckily enough, so just visit and move onto the next. As for the trees, each individual chop on a tree counts, so if you have full-grown trees, these can of course count for more than one chop if you entirely remove them. If you're a stickler for a clear homestead, though, remember that you can receive free trees for turning in either the Pine Tree or the Oak Tree collection, or you can simply purchase the saplings in the market. Your rewards for finishing this first mission are 300 XP and 100 Food. You'll be able to share some Cloth with your neighbors.
Part II of III will take you some time, as, even if you complete two of the steps, you physically can't complete the third in a single day (without the aid of Horseshoes). This mission, called Mortise and Tenon, requires the following three tasks be completed:
Have or Craft 100 Planks
Have 16 Tools
Collect Two Storage Shed Bonuses
The Storage Shed Bonus can only be collected once every day, and if you've already collected it before starting this mission, you'll be put even further behind. As for the Planks, they can be crafted inside the Covered Wagon for 7 wood and 250 coins each. That's 700 wood, if you currently own zero planks - hence my saying I hope you've been saving up. As for the Tools, you'll be able to earn these from your friends if they hire you, or visit you and happen to receive that as the random bonus they can leave behind. Finishing this second quest rewards you with 400 XP and 800 coins. You'll be able to share Tools with your friends.
This brings us to the final part of the Mission portion of Storage Shed expansion (oh yes, there's more). Part III asks you to complete three more steps:
Clear 15 Debris on your Homestead
Craft 8 Sawhorses
Expand your Storage Shed
Sawhorses can be crafted inside the Barn using, wait for it, more Planks. I suppose this is why Zynga only takes 50 of your 100 Planks when completing the last mission. You'll also need to use up the Tools you just gathered from the previous mission, as Sawhorses take 5 Planks and 2 Tools each to craft.
As for the actual expansion of your Storage Shed, you'll need to gather six construction materials, in a same fashion as when you first build the average building in FrontierVille. To start, you'll need to gather 10 Shelves, 10 Bins, and 10 Padlocks by sending out individual requests to your friends. Three more items are 5 Elbow Grease, 5 Cement and 5 Carpenter Pencils, all of which can be asked for in a general news item on your feed.
Here's where things get tricky. The first time you complete these three missions, and collect all of the construction materials to physically expand, you will receive 15 extra storage spaces inside the Storage Shed. That's all well and good, but when four days have passed and you go to work on another expansion, this final building step will have changed, becoming incrementally more difficult each time you complete it. This is due to the fact that each of the six construction materials will be required in quantities that are two units higher than previously.
As an example, since you only needed to collect 10 and 5 of each ingredient the first time, when it comes time to expand again, you'll need to gather 12 Shelves, Bins, and Padlocks, and 7 each of Elbow Grease, Cement and Carpenter Pencils. On your third expansion, you'll need 14 and 9 of each, and so on.
As you can see, expanding your Storage Shed to any great number will likely take you quite a bit of time, as you'll need to gather the wood and tools necessary to create Planks and Sawhorses, not to mention the time it will take to request more and more collectible items from friends. We can't really complain though - we'd much rather be spending time completing these missions than trying to find places to "hide" seasonal decorations because we don't want to sell them.
What do you think of this new storage shed expansion ability? Are the quests too demanding, or are you willing to do whatever it takes to receive more room on your homestead?
When the update hits your game, you'll see a pop-up like the one above, introducing you to these new, repeatable, missions. These repeatable missions (did I mention they were repeatable?) will allow you to add 15 spaces of storage each time you complete them, and there currently doesn't appear to be a limit on how big your Storage Shed can get (either that or even Zynga hasn't decided what it should be yet). Do you know what this means pioneers?! It means that we're potentially looking at unlimited storage in FrontierVille, with a couple of catches.
First, these missions will take quite a bit of time and materials on your part (I hope you've been saving up coins and wood). Secondly, you'll be subject to a "Storage Expansion Timer," which will only allow you to move onto your next expansion once every four days. You can, of course, pay Horseshoes to unlock a new set of missions earlier, if you wish.
So what exactly does it take to expand your Storage Shed into the "mega" storage range? Meet us behind the break for all of the details.
The Storage Expansion Mission has three parts. Part I of III is called Stacking Wood, and it has you chopping down trees on your own Homestead, and while it might seem like a tedious task, believe me - you'll need the wood you receive from doing so.
Chop Trees 50 Times on your Homestead
Visit 25 Neighbors
Have 25 Cloth
You don't have to actually do anything at your neighbors' homesteads, luckily enough, so just visit and move onto the next. As for the trees, each individual chop on a tree counts, so if you have full-grown trees, these can of course count for more than one chop if you entirely remove them. If you're a stickler for a clear homestead, though, remember that you can receive free trees for turning in either the Pine Tree or the Oak Tree collection, or you can simply purchase the saplings in the market. Your rewards for finishing this first mission are 300 XP and 100 Food. You'll be able to share some Cloth with your neighbors.
Part II of III will take you some time, as, even if you complete two of the steps, you physically can't complete the third in a single day (without the aid of Horseshoes). This mission, called Mortise and Tenon, requires the following three tasks be completed:
Have or Craft 100 Planks
Have 16 Tools
Collect Two Storage Shed Bonuses
The Storage Shed Bonus can only be collected once every day, and if you've already collected it before starting this mission, you'll be put even further behind. As for the Planks, they can be crafted inside the Covered Wagon for 7 wood and 250 coins each. That's 700 wood, if you currently own zero planks - hence my saying I hope you've been saving up. As for the Tools, you'll be able to earn these from your friends if they hire you, or visit you and happen to receive that as the random bonus they can leave behind. Finishing this second quest rewards you with 400 XP and 800 coins. You'll be able to share Tools with your friends.
This brings us to the final part of the Mission portion of Storage Shed expansion (oh yes, there's more). Part III asks you to complete three more steps:
Clear 15 Debris on your Homestead
Craft 8 Sawhorses
Expand your Storage Shed
Sawhorses can be crafted inside the Barn using, wait for it, more Planks. I suppose this is why Zynga only takes 50 of your 100 Planks when completing the last mission. You'll also need to use up the Tools you just gathered from the previous mission, as Sawhorses take 5 Planks and 2 Tools each to craft.
As for the actual expansion of your Storage Shed, you'll need to gather six construction materials, in a same fashion as when you first build the average building in FrontierVille. To start, you'll need to gather 10 Shelves, 10 Bins, and 10 Padlocks by sending out individual requests to your friends. Three more items are 5 Elbow Grease, 5 Cement and 5 Carpenter Pencils, all of which can be asked for in a general news item on your feed.
Here's where things get tricky. The first time you complete these three missions, and collect all of the construction materials to physically expand, you will receive 15 extra storage spaces inside the Storage Shed. That's all well and good, but when four days have passed and you go to work on another expansion, this final building step will have changed, becoming incrementally more difficult each time you complete it. This is due to the fact that each of the six construction materials will be required in quantities that are two units higher than previously.
As an example, since you only needed to collect 10 and 5 of each ingredient the first time, when it comes time to expand again, you'll need to gather 12 Shelves, Bins, and Padlocks, and 7 each of Elbow Grease, Cement and Carpenter Pencils. On your third expansion, you'll need 14 and 9 of each, and so on.
As you can see, expanding your Storage Shed to any great number will likely take you quite a bit of time, as you'll need to gather the wood and tools necessary to create Planks and Sawhorses, not to mention the time it will take to request more and more collectible items from friends. We can't really complain though - we'd much rather be spending time completing these missions than trying to find places to "hide" seasonal decorations because we don't want to sell them.
What do you think of this new storage shed expansion ability? Are the quests too demanding, or are you willing to do whatever it takes to receive more room on your homestead?
FrontierVille: Syringe now available as a free gift
With the release of the Doctor's Office in FrontierVille, many players were left at a standstill as to how to go about earning a Syringe to complete one of the accompanying missions. It's not that the physical acts in the game were difficult to complete (you'd earn a Syringe, supposedly, through collecting the Doctor's Office daily bonus or whacking its frame during construction), but actually getting a Syringe to appear in-game seemed downright impossible.
We brought you a detailed tips and tricks guide on how to try and force a Syringe to load in your game, but Zynga has gone a step further, answering user complaints once and for all by doing what was previously unthinkable - they have added the Syringe to the free gifts page.
By this point, you've likely already received a Syringe through some other method (a friend gifting an extra via your wishlist, or simply receiving it in what appears to be a more frequent drop rate as a Daily Bonus), but if you're still struggling, your virtual prayers have been answered. Simply let your friends know that you still need a Syringe, and you'll likely receive half a dozen or more from its new appearance on the free gifts page. Now why can't receiving all items be as easy as sending a free gift?
Were you still looking for a Syringe in FrontierVille, or have you now been swamped with unneeded Syringes by well-meaning friends?
We brought you a detailed tips and tricks guide on how to try and force a Syringe to load in your game, but Zynga has gone a step further, answering user complaints once and for all by doing what was previously unthinkable - they have added the Syringe to the free gifts page.
By this point, you've likely already received a Syringe through some other method (a friend gifting an extra via your wishlist, or simply receiving it in what appears to be a more frequent drop rate as a Daily Bonus), but if you're still struggling, your virtual prayers have been answered. Simply let your friends know that you still need a Syringe, and you'll likely receive half a dozen or more from its new appearance on the free gifts page. Now why can't receiving all items be as easy as sending a free gift?
Were you still looking for a Syringe in FrontierVille, or have you now been swamped with unneeded Syringes by well-meaning friends?
CityVille: Sale on Winter Decorations - get them before they're gone
If you didn't take advantage of the many shopping opportunities presented to you in CityVille this past Holiday season, Zynga is giving you one final chance to stock up on those decorations before they leave the store (for good), and to help sweeten the deal, they've discounted the prices on all items - most to 50% off the original price.
Both premium and standard items are part of this sale, so you can also pick up a load of themed decorations for cheaper City Cash prices than you would have found upon their initial release. Items like the Bunny Slope and Sled Hill, which used to cost 45 and 30 City Cash (respectively), now go for 23 and 15 City Cash each.
Basic, non-animated decorations are also a part of this sale, including the Holiday Tree Lot, Giraffe Ice Sculpture, Snow Angel, and even the Penguin animal. While the Kids Building Snowman item is still a bit of a splurge, at 10,000 coins, this is a 50% reduction of its original price of 20,000 coins. And that's just one example of all of the coins that can be saved here - but only for a limited time.
Remember, with the addition of storage (no matter how limited) to CityVille, you could always purchase these items and store them away until next year, when you can enjoy them even more when thinking about how little you paid.
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Do you plan on taking advantage of this sale to pick up reduced price items, or did you purchase all of these items back when they were full price? Do you think it's fair for Zynga to offer these items for cheaper now, rather than requiring everyone pay the same price or simply miss out?
Both premium and standard items are part of this sale, so you can also pick up a load of themed decorations for cheaper City Cash prices than you would have found upon their initial release. Items like the Bunny Slope and Sled Hill, which used to cost 45 and 30 City Cash (respectively), now go for 23 and 15 City Cash each.
Basic, non-animated decorations are also a part of this sale, including the Holiday Tree Lot, Giraffe Ice Sculpture, Snow Angel, and even the Penguin animal. While the Kids Building Snowman item is still a bit of a splurge, at 10,000 coins, this is a 50% reduction of its original price of 20,000 coins. And that's just one example of all of the coins that can be saved here - but only for a limited time.
Remember, with the addition of storage (no matter how limited) to CityVille, you could always purchase these items and store them away until next year, when you can enjoy them even more when thinking about how little you paid.
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Do you plan on taking advantage of this sale to pick up reduced price items, or did you purchase all of these items back when they were full price? Do you think it's fair for Zynga to offer these items for cheaper now, rather than requiring everyone pay the same price or simply miss out?
Cafe World St. Patrick's Day Goals: Everything you need to know
In honor of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday, Zynga has launched a massive, nine-part mission series in Cafe World set around new St. Patrick's Day decorations, general party "happenings," and a series of new St. Patrick's Day recipes, which can only be unlocked by completing these goals. This series of goals deals with a new character in the game - Peter O'Brien - who is homesick for Ireland. It's up to you to help bring the spirit of St. Patrick's Day to your cafe and cheer this poor fella up.
Let's jump right in, shall we? Part I is called Peter's Irish Wish, and it asks you to complete some fairly simple tasks, as a sort of preparation for what's ahead. These tasks are so simple, in fact, that most players will likely have two of the three completed even before they begin.
Unlock Coffee Machine Crate
Place the Drink Bar
Place the Leprechaun Fountain
The Leprechaun Fountain is a new mission-based item just like the Love Meter from the Valentine's Day event. As you complete the St. Patrick's Day missions, the fountain will be built automatically in stages, and you'll only see the final product upon completing the entire goal series. Your reward for finishing this first mission is a new recipe - Irish Stew. Irish Stew costs 1500 coins and takes 8 hours to cook. You'll receive 850 coins that can be sold for 5 coins each, giving you a return of 4,250 coins.
After completing Part I, you'll actually jump into a normal quest, requiring some effort on your part. Part II is called Patty's Parade, and it will ask you to put your new recipe to good use, but there's a catch here that works in your favor.
Cook 10 Irish Stews
Ask for 1 Flier
Have 1 Shamrock
Notice the wording above - "cook" means just that. All you have to do is set 10 Irish Stews to cook to pass this step - you don't actually have to wait and serve them eight hours later. As for the Flier and Shamrock, you'll be able to earn these via simple gift requests to friends, as you might expect. Finish this quest and you'll receive 1,000 coins and 500 Cafe Points.
Part III is called Post-Parade Punch, and it has you heading into the Drink Bar to serve one of a new series of St. Patrick's Day beverages that are available in the game for a limited time.
Serve Shamrock Punch 10 Times
Ask for 1 Corned Beef
Ask for 2 Cabbages
Shamrock Punch requires 30 energy to prepare, and you'll receive 6 servings to serve to your guests. Each serving is worth 10 Cafe Points and a 10 point Buzz Boost, so this is definitely one of the better drinks you can serve, even if it wasn't required for a mission. As for the Corned Beef and Cabbage, you likely know where this is going, as those ingredients work to unlock your mission goal - the Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe. Corned Beef and Cabbage costs 1500 coins to cook, and is ready after 12 hours. You'll receive 300 servings to serve for 15 coins each, giving you 4500 coins in return.
Part IV of IX is called Cook of the Irish, and it, as you might expect, asks you to cook your new recipe, but in this case you will actually have to serve it.
Serve 15 Corned Beef and Cabbage
Own 2 Four Leaf Clovers
Own 2 Green Balloons
While you're waiting the 12 hours for your food to cook, you can go about purchasing these four new decorative items. The Four Leaf Clovers cost 50,000 coins each, while the Green Balloons cost 30,000 coins each. It's a pricey set of items, to be sure, but at least they don't require you to beg to your friends for more items. Finishing this quest will reward you with 2,500 coins and 750 Cafe Points.
Part V sees you heading back to the Drink Bar once again.
Serve Virgin Shillelagh 10 Times
Serve Chocolate Mint Shake 15 Times
Have 6 Shamrocks
Both of these drinks are part of the limited edition St. Patrick's Day menu. Virgin Shillelagh takes 45 energy to prepare and serves eight at a time, while the Chocolate Mint Shake is the most expensive of these new recipes in terms of energy, taking 55 energy to prepare. You'll be able to serve nine guests per preparation, so you'll need to do this at least twice. As for the Shamrocks, you can earn them by asking you friends in individual gift requests. Finishing this quest unlocks the Irish Pub Piano.
Part VI has you placing that prize into your cafe, along with collecting a few other items.
Place Irish Pub Piano
Have 3 Different Irish Stew Collection Pieces
Ask for 8 Sheet Musics
The Irish Stew is an interesting dish in this theme, as when you cook it, you have the potential to randomly receive one of five new collection items for your Collection Cabinet. In a perfect world, you would only have to cook Irish Stew three times to receive three different collection pieces, but it's unlikely that you'll be that lucky. Once you finish this quest, though, you'll receive 1,000 Cafe Points and 500 coins.
Part VII may be encroaching on the end of this mission series, but this might just be the most difficult quest we've hit yet (in this theme, that is).
Serve Green Mocktails 40 Times
Ask for 7 Pieces of Wood
Ask for 8 Darts
Green Mocktail is the fourth and final new drink recipe available for this holiday. It can be prepared with just 20 energy, and you'll receive 5 servings to share with guests. That means you'll need to prepare the drink eight times to hit the full 40, so keep the energy requirement in mind. If the Darts haven't given it away, your reward for this quest will be the Dartboard, which can be accessed in the Windows section of the store.
Moving onto Part VIII, you'll be heading back to the Drink Bar to serve a drink that we became familiar with earlier in this quest set.
Serve Shamrock Punch 50 Times
Place Your New Dartboard
Ask for 6 Darts
You can't play Darts without the darts themselves, so you'll need to ask your friends to help you outfit your game through gift requests. While you're waiting for the darts to arrive, you can serve the Shamrock Punch - remember, they take 30 energy to prepare, and you'll receive 6 servings each time you do so. Your final rewards before the finale of this mission series are 2500 Cafe Points and 10,000 coins.
Finally, Part IX will see you ending this mission series by cooking even more Irish Stew, if you haven't completed the Patty's Day collection before now.
Have 1 Pot O'Gold
Ask for 9 Jars of Mincemeat
Ask for 8 Large Eggs
The Pot O'Gold is the price you'll receive for turning in the Patty's Day collection, which, as a reminder, can only be completed by receiving items through cooking the Irish Stew. Collecting all of these ingredients will reward you with one final recipe in the St. Patrick's Day theme - the Mince Tartlets, which can be cooked for just 50 coins.
And there you have it - a lengthy, but seemingly worthwhile quest set that will likely only be available in the game for a limited time. Start now for your best chance at completing this mission set in time - and good luck!
Check out our St. Patrick's Day coverage right here.
Let's jump right in, shall we? Part I is called Peter's Irish Wish, and it asks you to complete some fairly simple tasks, as a sort of preparation for what's ahead. These tasks are so simple, in fact, that most players will likely have two of the three completed even before they begin.
Unlock Coffee Machine Crate
Place the Drink Bar
Place the Leprechaun Fountain
The Leprechaun Fountain is a new mission-based item just like the Love Meter from the Valentine's Day event. As you complete the St. Patrick's Day missions, the fountain will be built automatically in stages, and you'll only see the final product upon completing the entire goal series. Your reward for finishing this first mission is a new recipe - Irish Stew. Irish Stew costs 1500 coins and takes 8 hours to cook. You'll receive 850 coins that can be sold for 5 coins each, giving you a return of 4,250 coins.
After completing Part I, you'll actually jump into a normal quest, requiring some effort on your part. Part II is called Patty's Parade, and it will ask you to put your new recipe to good use, but there's a catch here that works in your favor.
Cook 10 Irish Stews
Ask for 1 Flier
Have 1 Shamrock
Notice the wording above - "cook" means just that. All you have to do is set 10 Irish Stews to cook to pass this step - you don't actually have to wait and serve them eight hours later. As for the Flier and Shamrock, you'll be able to earn these via simple gift requests to friends, as you might expect. Finish this quest and you'll receive 1,000 coins and 500 Cafe Points.
Part III is called Post-Parade Punch, and it has you heading into the Drink Bar to serve one of a new series of St. Patrick's Day beverages that are available in the game for a limited time.
Serve Shamrock Punch 10 Times
Ask for 1 Corned Beef
Ask for 2 Cabbages
Shamrock Punch requires 30 energy to prepare, and you'll receive 6 servings to serve to your guests. Each serving is worth 10 Cafe Points and a 10 point Buzz Boost, so this is definitely one of the better drinks you can serve, even if it wasn't required for a mission. As for the Corned Beef and Cabbage, you likely know where this is going, as those ingredients work to unlock your mission goal - the Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe. Corned Beef and Cabbage costs 1500 coins to cook, and is ready after 12 hours. You'll receive 300 servings to serve for 15 coins each, giving you 4500 coins in return.
Part IV of IX is called Cook of the Irish, and it, as you might expect, asks you to cook your new recipe, but in this case you will actually have to serve it.
Serve 15 Corned Beef and Cabbage
Own 2 Four Leaf Clovers
Own 2 Green Balloons
While you're waiting the 12 hours for your food to cook, you can go about purchasing these four new decorative items. The Four Leaf Clovers cost 50,000 coins each, while the Green Balloons cost 30,000 coins each. It's a pricey set of items, to be sure, but at least they don't require you to beg to your friends for more items. Finishing this quest will reward you with 2,500 coins and 750 Cafe Points.
Part V sees you heading back to the Drink Bar once again.
Serve Virgin Shillelagh 10 Times
Serve Chocolate Mint Shake 15 Times
Have 6 Shamrocks
Both of these drinks are part of the limited edition St. Patrick's Day menu. Virgin Shillelagh takes 45 energy to prepare and serves eight at a time, while the Chocolate Mint Shake is the most expensive of these new recipes in terms of energy, taking 55 energy to prepare. You'll be able to serve nine guests per preparation, so you'll need to do this at least twice. As for the Shamrocks, you can earn them by asking you friends in individual gift requests. Finishing this quest unlocks the Irish Pub Piano.
Part VI has you placing that prize into your cafe, along with collecting a few other items.
Place Irish Pub Piano
Have 3 Different Irish Stew Collection Pieces
Ask for 8 Sheet Musics
The Irish Stew is an interesting dish in this theme, as when you cook it, you have the potential to randomly receive one of five new collection items for your Collection Cabinet. In a perfect world, you would only have to cook Irish Stew three times to receive three different collection pieces, but it's unlikely that you'll be that lucky. Once you finish this quest, though, you'll receive 1,000 Cafe Points and 500 coins.
Part VII may be encroaching on the end of this mission series, but this might just be the most difficult quest we've hit yet (in this theme, that is).
Serve Green Mocktails 40 Times
Ask for 7 Pieces of Wood
Ask for 8 Darts
Green Mocktail is the fourth and final new drink recipe available for this holiday. It can be prepared with just 20 energy, and you'll receive 5 servings to share with guests. That means you'll need to prepare the drink eight times to hit the full 40, so keep the energy requirement in mind. If the Darts haven't given it away, your reward for this quest will be the Dartboard, which can be accessed in the Windows section of the store.
Moving onto Part VIII, you'll be heading back to the Drink Bar to serve a drink that we became familiar with earlier in this quest set.
Serve Shamrock Punch 50 Times
Place Your New Dartboard
Ask for 6 Darts
You can't play Darts without the darts themselves, so you'll need to ask your friends to help you outfit your game through gift requests. While you're waiting for the darts to arrive, you can serve the Shamrock Punch - remember, they take 30 energy to prepare, and you'll receive 6 servings each time you do so. Your final rewards before the finale of this mission series are 2500 Cafe Points and 10,000 coins.
Finally, Part IX will see you ending this mission series by cooking even more Irish Stew, if you haven't completed the Patty's Day collection before now.
Have 1 Pot O'Gold
Ask for 9 Jars of Mincemeat
Ask for 8 Large Eggs
The Pot O'Gold is the price you'll receive for turning in the Patty's Day collection, which, as a reminder, can only be completed by receiving items through cooking the Irish Stew. Collecting all of these ingredients will reward you with one final recipe in the St. Patrick's Day theme - the Mince Tartlets, which can be cooked for just 50 coins.
And there you have it - a lengthy, but seemingly worthwhile quest set that will likely only be available in the game for a limited time. Start now for your best chance at completing this mission set in time - and good luck!
Check out our St. Patrick's Day coverage right here.
Thứ Tư, 4 tháng 1, 2012
Digital Chocolate's Trip Hawkins wins our 'Stay on Target' award
Forbes recently wrote a piece talking about how Digital Chocolate Founder and CEO Trip Hawkins owes a helluva lot of back taxes to the state of California (somewhere in the $20 million ballpark). Apparently this has something to do with money owed way back when Hawkins gaming company 3DO went bankrupt, and his efforts to get out of paying it have apparently not been going swimmingly.
If you're not familiar with Hawkins, the tenacious game exec founded 3DO in 1991, then went on to found Electronic Arts, which is currently one of the biggest gaming companies around,
If you're not familiar with Hawkins, the tenacious game exec founded 3DO in 1991, then went on to found Electronic Arts, which is currently one of the biggest gaming companies around,
Is rejection in FarmVille, Facebook games like getting dumped?
FarmVille rejection
Well, it's close enough. According to a recent study by Edward Smith, a cognitive neuroscientist at Columbia University in New York, being rejected in an online computer game could elicit "tepid feelings of rejection," Fox News reports. Though, the findings did help Smith find a link between romantic rejection and actual physical pain. Smith conducted a follow-up study using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. But did it trigger a similar response?
This technology visualized the pain receptors in the brains of 40 volunteers when looking at photographs of partners they had broke it off with. As a result, the fMRI lit up like Christmas tree when folks looked at photos of old flames. So when a FarmVille friend removes you, it might not sting as badly--or just stir some Internet rage. Regardless, the brain could still respond the same way as when rejected by a lover, though to a lesser degree. The next time you remove a friend from CityVille, try letting them down easy, eh?
[Via Kotaku]
[Image Credit: Game Casa]
Have you ever been rejected in a social game by another player?
Well, it's close enough. According to a recent study by Edward Smith, a cognitive neuroscientist at Columbia University in New York, being rejected in an online computer game could elicit "tepid feelings of rejection," Fox News reports. Though, the findings did help Smith find a link between romantic rejection and actual physical pain. Smith conducted a follow-up study using functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. But did it trigger a similar response?
This technology visualized the pain receptors in the brains of 40 volunteers when looking at photographs of partners they had broke it off with. As a result, the fMRI lit up like Christmas tree when folks looked at photos of old flames. So when a FarmVille friend removes you, it might not sting as badly--or just stir some Internet rage. Regardless, the brain could still respond the same way as when rejected by a lover, though to a lesser degree. The next time you remove a friend from CityVille, try letting them down easy, eh?
[Via Kotaku]
[Image Credit: Game Casa]
Have you ever been rejected in a social game by another player?
March Madness Facebook Game Showdown: Final Four
Upsets galore in the second round of our March Madness Facebook Game Showdown, just like in the real NCAA Basketball tournament.
In our quest to determine the best Facebook game, most of our match-ups have been cruising along without any major upsets. No longer! In the second round of our Showdown, things went haywire with several favorites finding themselves on the outs, including three of Zynga's most popular games.
Pet Society by Playfish continued its unlikely run as its fans backed it all the way through to the Final Four. Pet Society defeated Zynga Poker 57% to 43% in a close match-up. Pet Society has now defeated two higher seeded Zynga produced opponents in Cafe World and Zynga Poker.
In what is likely the biggest upset this side of VCU over Kansas, Treasure Isle defeated the heavily favored FarmVille. The two Zynga made games went head to head and in unbelievable turn of events, Treasure Isle squeaked by FarmVille 52% to 48%. Unreal, considering how much Games.com -- The Blog! readers favor FarmVille over all else.
The last in our upset trifecta is the defeat of staff favorite FrontierVille by Pop Cap's plucky arcade classic Bejeweled Blitz. In what has to be the triumph of the name brand, Bejeweled over the newer FrontierVille, Bejeweled Blitz won 54% to 45%.
Rounding out our final match up of the second round and last Final Four participant CityVille, the number one seed in the tournament defeated Mafia Wars. CityVille is the only top seeded game to advance to the Final Four trounced Mafia Wars handily 66% to 33%
Here the Final Four match-ups for the March Madness Facebook Game Showdown:
In our quest to determine the best Facebook game, most of our match-ups have been cruising along without any major upsets. No longer! In the second round of our Showdown, things went haywire with several favorites finding themselves on the outs, including three of Zynga's most popular games.
Pet Society by Playfish continued its unlikely run as its fans backed it all the way through to the Final Four. Pet Society defeated Zynga Poker 57% to 43% in a close match-up. Pet Society has now defeated two higher seeded Zynga produced opponents in Cafe World and Zynga Poker.
In what is likely the biggest upset this side of VCU over Kansas, Treasure Isle defeated the heavily favored FarmVille. The two Zynga made games went head to head and in unbelievable turn of events, Treasure Isle squeaked by FarmVille 52% to 48%. Unreal, considering how much Games.com -- The Blog! readers favor FarmVille over all else.
The last in our upset trifecta is the defeat of staff favorite FrontierVille by Pop Cap's plucky arcade classic Bejeweled Blitz. In what has to be the triumph of the name brand, Bejeweled over the newer FrontierVille, Bejeweled Blitz won 54% to 45%.
Rounding out our final match up of the second round and last Final Four participant CityVille, the number one seed in the tournament defeated Mafia Wars. CityVille is the only top seeded game to advance to the Final Four trounced Mafia Wars handily 66% to 33%
Here the Final Four match-ups for the March Madness Facebook Game Showdown:
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Dove Soap promotion
Dove Sponsored Link
News flash: People like free things. Zynga knows it (to a point), which is why its released another FarmVille Sponsored Link. While we've yet to see it under our game screens, FarmVille Freak has all the details for the folks that do. Just click on the link with the Dove icon beneath your game and a pop-up will appear. Within is a short question next to a Dove advertisement video that reads, "What do you do to keep your skin beautiful?" Just type in a response, hit the "Next" button and the 2 Farm Cash should post to your account within an hour or so. Just remember not to close the pop-up window until you see the familiar confirmation in the upper right corner of the screen.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you seen this Sponsored Link beneath your game screen? Do you participate in these promotions or do you avoid Farm Cash promotions altogether?
News flash: People like free things. Zynga knows it (to a point), which is why its released another FarmVille Sponsored Link. While we've yet to see it under our game screens, FarmVille Freak has all the details for the folks that do. Just click on the link with the Dove icon beneath your game and a pop-up will appear. Within is a short question next to a Dove advertisement video that reads, "What do you do to keep your skin beautiful?" Just type in a response, hit the "Next" button and the 2 Farm Cash should post to your account within an hour or so. Just remember not to close the pop-up window until you see the familiar confirmation in the upper right corner of the screen.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you seen this Sponsored Link beneath your game screen? Do you participate in these promotions or do you avoid Farm Cash promotions altogether?
FarmVille scams are out of control; Zynga can stop them with Goals
It seems that at least once a day a new FarmVille scammer emerges, and we're always here to report the news, spread the word in warning. Unfortunately, that's about where our powers of prevention stop. Admittedly, I am no security expert, so suggesting methods for either Zynga or Facebook to track and thwart these scam artists is beyond my knowledge. However, the creators of FarmVille have one tool to impede the scammers' progress: the game itself.
Thanks to the release of FrontierVille, there has not been a more powerful feature at the hands of Zynga: Goals. In fact, these series of requirements guiding players into new content have been incorporated into every one of its games since. Even the original FarmVille has seen its fair share of Goals. These Goals make themselves known before the player can even resume their daily routine of farming or city management.
FarmVille Scam
It's been said that the ultimate prevention is education, and considering that stopping these scammers would be a job in itself, this is likely the best method to bring their impact to a screeching halt. Isn't this exactly what Goals do? They educate players in new ways to interact with features and content, most times without the player even realizing it. It's a brilliant method, really.
Zynga could easily create Goals detailing the dangers of News Feed scams and the like through all of its games. Of course, the Goals would have to be available to all players regardless of their progress. More importantly, they would have to be included in the first few levels of each for brand new players months from now to learn of the dangers of News Feed scams. Sure, some players are likely asking their computer screens, "How does fit in with the overall theme of the game?"
FrontierVille Goals
It doesn't nor does it have to. When is the last time the words "This doesn't fit with our theme" stop Zynga from introducing McDonald's to FarmVille? It sure didn't stop the company from adding a new building surrounding Intuit, the business website builder service to the game. (Not to mention a bear using a laptop within the loading screen.) So, somehow simulating a scam situation and tasking players with making the right moves to prevent its effects--and later spread--doesn't sound unreasonable.
How the Goals would look and play is entirely up to Zynga. In fact, this would be in the company's best interest, no? Surely the FarmVille scams have scared plenty of players away. Better yet, this would likely reduce call after call into Zynga customer support for something that's generally out of their control. But it doesn't have to be. Instead of releasing the next big feature, push it back and release some educational Goals--this is far more important than the next Crafting Building.
[Image Credit: Virus Removal Support]
Have you fallen victim to a FarmVille scam before? Do you think this would be helpful in preventing future successful scams?
Thanks to the release of FrontierVille, there has not been a more powerful feature at the hands of Zynga: Goals. In fact, these series of requirements guiding players into new content have been incorporated into every one of its games since. Even the original FarmVille has seen its fair share of Goals. These Goals make themselves known before the player can even resume their daily routine of farming or city management.
FarmVille Scam
It's been said that the ultimate prevention is education, and considering that stopping these scammers would be a job in itself, this is likely the best method to bring their impact to a screeching halt. Isn't this exactly what Goals do? They educate players in new ways to interact with features and content, most times without the player even realizing it. It's a brilliant method, really.
Zynga could easily create Goals detailing the dangers of News Feed scams and the like through all of its games. Of course, the Goals would have to be available to all players regardless of their progress. More importantly, they would have to be included in the first few levels of each for brand new players months from now to learn of the dangers of News Feed scams. Sure, some players are likely asking their computer screens, "How does fit in with the overall theme of the game?"
FrontierVille Goals
It doesn't nor does it have to. When is the last time the words "This doesn't fit with our theme" stop Zynga from introducing McDonald's to FarmVille? It sure didn't stop the company from adding a new building surrounding Intuit, the business website builder service to the game. (Not to mention a bear using a laptop within the loading screen.) So, somehow simulating a scam situation and tasking players with making the right moves to prevent its effects--and later spread--doesn't sound unreasonable.
How the Goals would look and play is entirely up to Zynga. In fact, this would be in the company's best interest, no? Surely the FarmVille scams have scared plenty of players away. Better yet, this would likely reduce call after call into Zynga customer support for something that's generally out of their control. But it doesn't have to be. Instead of releasing the next big feature, push it back and release some educational Goals--this is far more important than the next Crafting Building.
[Image Credit: Virus Removal Support]
Have you fallen victim to a FarmVille scam before? Do you think this would be helpful in preventing future successful scams?
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