When you're competing against a monolithic company, you can't just buy them out like the rest. Though, no one ever said you can't buy out their employees. According to a Reuters report, Zynga has swept EA's chief operating officer, John Schappert, right from underneath the almost 30-year-old company's feet. The report cites "a source close to the matter," and mentions that a regulatory filing shows that the COO resigned from his EA position on Monday. (Geez, you'd think a major executive would take a little vacay every once in a while.)
This is far from the first time the Zynga has lured in an ex-EA senior employee. In 2009, the company took on former EA Los Angeles general manager Mike Verdu. And in 2010, Zynga reeled in Steven Chiang, who before that worked at EA Sports as vice president for a whopping 15 years. Colin Sebastian, an analyst for Lazard Captial Markets, says, "we see little near-term risk that the departure will impact EA's upcoming product releases."
The COO worked with EA for almost two years, and was a Microsoft employee for two more years prior, according to Reuters. Unfortunately, it's unknown what role Schappert might take on at Zynga. Regardless, this is certainly an about-face for Schappert, who just a year ago was preaching the good news of the triple-A games industry to VentureBeat. Perhaps, like all of us at times (because, you know, we're human), he saw bigger dollar signs elsewhere. We've contacted Zynga for comment.
[Via and Image Credit: SF Chronicle]
Do you think Schappert is smart to move from EA to Zynga? What do you expect he will be up to in his new home?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Game of the Day: Mysteryville
The Game of the Day presents more hidden object game madness. Mysteryville: Something very strange is going on in the town of 'Mysteryville' and, as an ace reporter for Countryside Life Magazine, it's up to you to find the truth.
Click --> Play Mysteryville
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> Play Mysteryville
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
More CityVille buildings, decorations bloom for its Spring theme
CityVille Spring
Technically, Spring has just started for us on the East Coast with balmy temperatures in the 70s and clear, blue skies. So, consider this the technical start of Spring in CityVille, which Zynga has honored with five more items for sale in the Market. Most of these new items are businesses and homes with a knack for celebrating Spring the American way. (Meaning, of course, binge eating competitions and sports.) Check out all five items behind the break.
CityVille Spring items
Here are all five buildings and decorations along with their stats:
Spring Shingle: 30 City Cash, 500 Population, 109 coins per four hours
Tire Swing: 15 City Cash, 6% payout bonus
Sports Store: Reward, 550 coins, 100 Goods
Hotdog Kiosk: Reward, 450 coins, 90 Goods
Hotdog Eating Contest: Reward, 12% payout
[Source and Image Credit: CityVille Forums]
What are your impressions of these five new items? Which would want in your city most of all?
Technically, Spring has just started for us on the East Coast with balmy temperatures in the 70s and clear, blue skies. So, consider this the technical start of Spring in CityVille, which Zynga has honored with five more items for sale in the Market. Most of these new items are businesses and homes with a knack for celebrating Spring the American way. (Meaning, of course, binge eating competitions and sports.) Check out all five items behind the break.
CityVille Spring items
Here are all five buildings and decorations along with their stats:
Spring Shingle: 30 City Cash, 500 Population, 109 coins per four hours
Tire Swing: 15 City Cash, 6% payout bonus
Sports Store: Reward, 550 coins, 100 Goods
Hotdog Kiosk: Reward, 450 coins, 90 Goods
Hotdog Eating Contest: Reward, 12% payout
[Source and Image Credit: CityVille Forums]
What are your impressions of these five new items? Which would want in your city most of all?
FrontierVille Trouble on the Trail Goals: Everything you need to know
Can you hear it? That's the call of destiny--Manifest Destiny, to be exact. The Oregon Trail is almost upon us in FrontierVille, and Zynga is slowly releasing a massive set of 12 Goals to send us off. The McBaggins family has stumbled onto your homestead with dashed hopes and a broken wagon, and it's up to you to help them get back on their feet and onto the Trail.
Ma McBaggins will soon leave you a letter explaining her family's plight, and will later offer one Goal daily for 12 days to help them. It's sort of like the 12 Days of Christmas Goals, only with something far cooler waiting on the other side. Join us behind the break for a full guide on how to complete all 12 Goals and reach the Oregon Trail.
Frontier Jack Letter
Once you agree to help Ma McBaggins and her family, your homestead will expand to display the whole miserable gang. Click on the family and a window containing all 12 Goals will appear. However, only one Goal will become available daily, though you don't need to complete them in succession. Complete all 12 Goals and you'll earn your very own Conestoga Wagon and a map to the trail. In other words, it looks like there's no other around it: You'll have to finish these Goals to get to the Oregon Trail expansion content.
Trouble on the Trail Part I of XII
Harvest 10 Crops on Your Homestead
Tend 10 Apple Trees on Your Homestead
Tend 10 Sheep on Your Homestead
It seems that harvesting any crop counts toward this Goal, so just plant 10 Clovers and call it a day. If you don't have 10 Sheep or 10 Apple Trees, they cost 280 and 800 coins, respectively.
Trouble on the Trail Part II of XII
Clear 20 Debris on Your Homestead
Collect 12 Dead Bugs (These will be consumed)
Tend 40 Pigs on Your Homestead
The 12 Dead Bugs don't seem to exist yet in FrontierVille, so we're going to assume this is an item you'll need to collect from friends through the Goal window. Tending 40 Pigs will take some time, but if you're loaded, it'll cost you 14,600 coins to complete this requirement almost instantly.
Ma McBaggins
Trouble on the Trail Part III of XII
Collect 3 Building Bonuses
Chop Trees 15 Times on Your Homestead
Visit Eight Neighbors
All of this is pretty self-explanatory, but remember that you can grab some Sharp Axes from leveling up in Mafia Wars. That is, if you're up to being apart from the homestead for a while.
Trouble on the Trail Part IV of XII
Tend 20 Neighbor Crops
Collect 12 Gnawed Bones (These will be consumed)
Tend 20 Neighbor Sheep
The 12 Gnawed Bones are likely another item to be requested from friends. As for the other two requirements, we're sure you can finish that in a day's worth of Neighbor visits. Otherwise, find some friends in the comments!
Trouble on the Trail Part V of XII
Clobber 3 Groundhogs
Clobber 1 Bear
Harvest 10 Peaches
To make sure Groundhogs pop up even more quickly, plant and harvest lots of Potatoes. All you can do to attract the Bear is chop those trees down. As for the Peaches, we're going to assume this was meant to say, "Tend to 10 Peach Trees," as these are not crops in the game.
Broken Down Wagon
Trouble on the Trail Part VI of XII
Purchase 5 Meals from the Market
Hire 5 Friends on Your Homestead
Collect 12 Prospectin' Gear (These will be consumed)
At the very least, buying five Meals from the Market will cost 300 Food, so be prepared. Hiring friends is as easy as clicking on their portrait on the Friends bar and choosing "Hire." However, you can only hire two friends at a time, so this Goal is going to take at least two days. The Prospectin' Gear is likely another friend request item.
Trouble on the Trail Part VII of XII
Tend 25 Neighbor Cows
Tend 15 Neighbor Oxen
Craft 5 Sawhorses (These'll be used up to complete the mission)
Unless all of your friends have loads of Cow and Oxen, this Goal could easily take a few days. To craft the five Sawhorses, you'll need to have at least the Barn finished, as it's your workbench for this crafted item. To finish all five, you'll need 25 Planks and 10 Tools. The Planks are crafted using Wood and coins in the Wagon, and Tools are acquired by being hired or posting them your Wish List.
Trouble on the Trail Part VIII of XII
Harvest 30 Peppermint
Clear 15 Wildflowers
Collect 20 Glass Vials (These'll be used up to complete the mission)
The 30 Peppermint is going to cost you a total of 6 thousand coins, while finding 15 Wildflowers will prove to be much more difficult. To increase your chances of finding them, check out this guide. As for the 20 Glass Vials, they're found through posting to the News Feed.
Trouble on the Trail Part IX of XII
Have 500 Food (This will be consumed)
Sell 25 Fully Grown Pigs
Craft 10 Cakes (This will also be consumed)
Now things get serious. After spending at least 300 Food, you'll have to amass 500 more, only for it to be spent completing this Goal. To sell 25 fully grown Pigs, it will cost you at least 9,125 coins. In order to craft 10 Cakes, you will need to have finished the Inn, which is the Workbench for this item. Then, you'll need a total of 20 Fire and 40 Batter. The Fire is crafted in the Wagon using Wood and Cloth, and 20 of them would call for 140 Wood and 50 Cloth. The 40 Batter requires even more Food, 800 to be exact. In other words, start conserving your Energy.
Trouble on the Trail
Trouble on the Trail Part X of XII
Craft 12 Clothing (This will be consumed)
Craft 4 Comforters (This will also be consumed)
Collect 20 Heavy Boots (All items will be donated to complete the mission)
To craft the Clothing and Comforters, you will need at least the basic Cabin. But to make 12 pieces of Clothing, you will need at least 72 Cloth and 6 thousand coins. If you own the recent Ponderosa Lodge, cut those figures in half. The Comforter requires a finished Chicken Coop as the Workbench, and four of them will cost 60 more Cloth and 4 Downy Feathers, which are part of the Chicken Coop and Goose Collections. The 20 Heavy Boots will likely be yet another item to request from your friends.
Trouble on the Trail Part XI of XII
Tend 30 Neighbor Pigs
Harvest 30 Corn on Your Homestead
Revive 20 Withered Crops on Your Neighbor's Homestead
To harvest 30 Corn, you will need at least 6,750 coins and 12 hours to spare. As for the other two requirements, just let the generosity begin.
Trouble on the Trail Part XII of XII
Clobber 8 Bears
Craft 5 Powder Kegs (This will be consumed)
Collect 20 Huntin' Knives (This will also be consumed)
Those eight clobbered Bears could easily deforest your homestead with how rare they are, so consider planting some Trees from the Market first. To create five Powder Kegs, you will need the Foundry finished and ready to go. Then, collect five Saltpeter by turning in the Manure Collection five times. To craft the 25 Fire needed for these Powder Kegs, bring 175 Wood and 125 Cloth to the Wagon and craft away. All things considered, you're going to have to earn your place in the Oregon Trail.
[Source and Image Credit: FrontierVille Forums]
Ma McBaggins will soon leave you a letter explaining her family's plight, and will later offer one Goal daily for 12 days to help them. It's sort of like the 12 Days of Christmas Goals, only with something far cooler waiting on the other side. Join us behind the break for a full guide on how to complete all 12 Goals and reach the Oregon Trail.
Frontier Jack Letter
Once you agree to help Ma McBaggins and her family, your homestead will expand to display the whole miserable gang. Click on the family and a window containing all 12 Goals will appear. However, only one Goal will become available daily, though you don't need to complete them in succession. Complete all 12 Goals and you'll earn your very own Conestoga Wagon and a map to the trail. In other words, it looks like there's no other around it: You'll have to finish these Goals to get to the Oregon Trail expansion content.
Trouble on the Trail Part I of XII
Harvest 10 Crops on Your Homestead
Tend 10 Apple Trees on Your Homestead
Tend 10 Sheep on Your Homestead
It seems that harvesting any crop counts toward this Goal, so just plant 10 Clovers and call it a day. If you don't have 10 Sheep or 10 Apple Trees, they cost 280 and 800 coins, respectively.
Trouble on the Trail Part II of XII
Clear 20 Debris on Your Homestead
Collect 12 Dead Bugs (These will be consumed)
Tend 40 Pigs on Your Homestead
The 12 Dead Bugs don't seem to exist yet in FrontierVille, so we're going to assume this is an item you'll need to collect from friends through the Goal window. Tending 40 Pigs will take some time, but if you're loaded, it'll cost you 14,600 coins to complete this requirement almost instantly.
Ma McBaggins
Trouble on the Trail Part III of XII
Collect 3 Building Bonuses
Chop Trees 15 Times on Your Homestead
Visit Eight Neighbors
All of this is pretty self-explanatory, but remember that you can grab some Sharp Axes from leveling up in Mafia Wars. That is, if you're up to being apart from the homestead for a while.
Trouble on the Trail Part IV of XII
Tend 20 Neighbor Crops
Collect 12 Gnawed Bones (These will be consumed)
Tend 20 Neighbor Sheep
The 12 Gnawed Bones are likely another item to be requested from friends. As for the other two requirements, we're sure you can finish that in a day's worth of Neighbor visits. Otherwise, find some friends in the comments!
Trouble on the Trail Part V of XII
Clobber 3 Groundhogs
Clobber 1 Bear
Harvest 10 Peaches
To make sure Groundhogs pop up even more quickly, plant and harvest lots of Potatoes. All you can do to attract the Bear is chop those trees down. As for the Peaches, we're going to assume this was meant to say, "Tend to 10 Peach Trees," as these are not crops in the game.
Broken Down Wagon
Trouble on the Trail Part VI of XII
Purchase 5 Meals from the Market
Hire 5 Friends on Your Homestead
Collect 12 Prospectin' Gear (These will be consumed)
At the very least, buying five Meals from the Market will cost 300 Food, so be prepared. Hiring friends is as easy as clicking on their portrait on the Friends bar and choosing "Hire." However, you can only hire two friends at a time, so this Goal is going to take at least two days. The Prospectin' Gear is likely another friend request item.
Trouble on the Trail Part VII of XII
Tend 25 Neighbor Cows
Tend 15 Neighbor Oxen
Craft 5 Sawhorses (These'll be used up to complete the mission)
Unless all of your friends have loads of Cow and Oxen, this Goal could easily take a few days. To craft the five Sawhorses, you'll need to have at least the Barn finished, as it's your workbench for this crafted item. To finish all five, you'll need 25 Planks and 10 Tools. The Planks are crafted using Wood and coins in the Wagon, and Tools are acquired by being hired or posting them your Wish List.
Trouble on the Trail Part VIII of XII
Harvest 30 Peppermint
Clear 15 Wildflowers
Collect 20 Glass Vials (These'll be used up to complete the mission)
The 30 Peppermint is going to cost you a total of 6 thousand coins, while finding 15 Wildflowers will prove to be much more difficult. To increase your chances of finding them, check out this guide. As for the 20 Glass Vials, they're found through posting to the News Feed.
Trouble on the Trail Part IX of XII
Have 500 Food (This will be consumed)
Sell 25 Fully Grown Pigs
Craft 10 Cakes (This will also be consumed)
Now things get serious. After spending at least 300 Food, you'll have to amass 500 more, only for it to be spent completing this Goal. To sell 25 fully grown Pigs, it will cost you at least 9,125 coins. In order to craft 10 Cakes, you will need to have finished the Inn, which is the Workbench for this item. Then, you'll need a total of 20 Fire and 40 Batter. The Fire is crafted in the Wagon using Wood and Cloth, and 20 of them would call for 140 Wood and 50 Cloth. The 40 Batter requires even more Food, 800 to be exact. In other words, start conserving your Energy.
Trouble on the Trail
Trouble on the Trail Part X of XII
Craft 12 Clothing (This will be consumed)
Craft 4 Comforters (This will also be consumed)
Collect 20 Heavy Boots (All items will be donated to complete the mission)
To craft the Clothing and Comforters, you will need at least the basic Cabin. But to make 12 pieces of Clothing, you will need at least 72 Cloth and 6 thousand coins. If you own the recent Ponderosa Lodge, cut those figures in half. The Comforter requires a finished Chicken Coop as the Workbench, and four of them will cost 60 more Cloth and 4 Downy Feathers, which are part of the Chicken Coop and Goose Collections. The 20 Heavy Boots will likely be yet another item to request from your friends.
Trouble on the Trail Part XI of XII
Tend 30 Neighbor Pigs
Harvest 30 Corn on Your Homestead
Revive 20 Withered Crops on Your Neighbor's Homestead
To harvest 30 Corn, you will need at least 6,750 coins and 12 hours to spare. As for the other two requirements, just let the generosity begin.
Trouble on the Trail Part XII of XII
Clobber 8 Bears
Craft 5 Powder Kegs (This will be consumed)
Collect 20 Huntin' Knives (This will also be consumed)
Those eight clobbered Bears could easily deforest your homestead with how rare they are, so consider planting some Trees from the Market first. To create five Powder Kegs, you will need the Foundry finished and ready to go. Then, collect five Saltpeter by turning in the Manure Collection five times. To craft the 25 Fire needed for these Powder Kegs, bring 175 Wood and 125 Cloth to the Wagon and craft away. All things considered, you're going to have to earn your place in the Oregon Trail.
[Source and Image Credit: FrontierVille Forums]
CityVille Eating Contest Goals: Everything you need to know
What better way to celebrate the start of Spring than to stuff your mouth silly, eating anything and everything in site? Ok, so maybe that doesn't exactly scream of a Spring-like activity (maybe Summer, if you're an American), but either way, Zynga has decided to celebrate gluttony with a new goal series in CityVille, beginning with a quest called "Eating Contest."
As you might have guessed, Eating Contest deals with food, with you having to plant two crops to complete this first quest:
Ask friends for 3 Napkins
Harvest 40 Strawberries
Harvest 25 Corn
At least the napkins are a nice touch - we won't look completely sloppy while stuffing our faces. As for the crops, you'll be able to harvest Strawberries after just five minutes, while Corn takes one full day to grow.
After completing this goal, you'll move onto "Paul Packs It In," a goal that's more about puns than it is about actually eating anything. You'll need to visit some Packing Stores, hence the name of the goal (Get it? Packing it in? Packing Store? Yeah, it's a corny one).
Visit 3 Neighbors' Packing Stores
Have 10 Shade Trees in your City
If you don't have ten Shade Trees before this mission starts, you can buy a single tree from the store for just 50 coins. You earn a single 1% bonus for each tree you place, so you'll at least gain something from the addition of all of this greenery.
Moving on, you'll reach the Training On Track goal, which deals with Charlie and (you guessed it) your town's Train.
Send 6 Trains
Ask friends for 4 Mustards
Remember, the quickest way to complete any train requirement is to send a train that only takes five minutes to return. In that way, you can finish this entire step (and even the entire mission, if you have helpful enough friends) in 30 minutes flat. Not bad, all things considered.
The eating-themed fun isn't over yet, as we'll move onto the Vote for Eating goal next. This one brings Phil back to the story as he tries to win the "Eat to Win" campaign.
Supply your Franchises 5 Times
Visit 10 Neighbors
Water 30 Neighbors' Crops
While the story in this entire goal series has been light, It think one takes the cake (no pun intended). How does supplying franchises help someone prepare for an eating contest? Ah well, we'll let that one slide, and we'll move onto the actual Eating Contest itself in the next goal.
It's Eating Time looks is the last goal currently available in this mission series, and it asks you to complete three actual food-related tasks:
Have 3 Strawberry Shortcakes
Have 2 Pumpkin Breads
Have 1 Corn Bread
If you're been holding onto your crop collection items, you'll likely have these on hand already. If you don't, you'll be able to earn them by harvesting strawberries (five minute crop), pumpkins (eight hour crop) and corn (one day crop). Finishing this goal leads the story to a bit of a shocking upset, but I won't spoil that for those who haven't made it that far yet. Hint: The winner will surprise you!
Finishing these goals will allow you access to two unlocked rewards. The first is the Hotdog Kiosk, which earns 450 coins for every 90 Goods supplied. The other item is a decoration - the Hotdog Eating Contest - that offers a bonus 12% payout to surrounding buildings.
While there's no actual expiration date on these items, it is possible that they won't be around forever. Finish these missions sooner, rather than later, to have the best chance at finishing them.
[Quest 2-5 Via CityVille Goals]
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Let us know what you think of these goals in the comments. Do you think an eating-themed mission set would have been better suited to summer?
As you might have guessed, Eating Contest deals with food, with you having to plant two crops to complete this first quest:
Ask friends for 3 Napkins
Harvest 40 Strawberries
Harvest 25 Corn
At least the napkins are a nice touch - we won't look completely sloppy while stuffing our faces. As for the crops, you'll be able to harvest Strawberries after just five minutes, while Corn takes one full day to grow.
After completing this goal, you'll move onto "Paul Packs It In," a goal that's more about puns than it is about actually eating anything. You'll need to visit some Packing Stores, hence the name of the goal (Get it? Packing it in? Packing Store? Yeah, it's a corny one).
Visit 3 Neighbors' Packing Stores
Have 10 Shade Trees in your City
If you don't have ten Shade Trees before this mission starts, you can buy a single tree from the store for just 50 coins. You earn a single 1% bonus for each tree you place, so you'll at least gain something from the addition of all of this greenery.
Moving on, you'll reach the Training On Track goal, which deals with Charlie and (you guessed it) your town's Train.
Send 6 Trains
Ask friends for 4 Mustards
Remember, the quickest way to complete any train requirement is to send a train that only takes five minutes to return. In that way, you can finish this entire step (and even the entire mission, if you have helpful enough friends) in 30 minutes flat. Not bad, all things considered.
The eating-themed fun isn't over yet, as we'll move onto the Vote for Eating goal next. This one brings Phil back to the story as he tries to win the "Eat to Win" campaign.
Supply your Franchises 5 Times
Visit 10 Neighbors
Water 30 Neighbors' Crops
While the story in this entire goal series has been light, It think one takes the cake (no pun intended). How does supplying franchises help someone prepare for an eating contest? Ah well, we'll let that one slide, and we'll move onto the actual Eating Contest itself in the next goal.
It's Eating Time looks is the last goal currently available in this mission series, and it asks you to complete three actual food-related tasks:
Have 3 Strawberry Shortcakes
Have 2 Pumpkin Breads
Have 1 Corn Bread
If you're been holding onto your crop collection items, you'll likely have these on hand already. If you don't, you'll be able to earn them by harvesting strawberries (five minute crop), pumpkins (eight hour crop) and corn (one day crop). Finishing this goal leads the story to a bit of a shocking upset, but I won't spoil that for those who haven't made it that far yet. Hint: The winner will surprise you!
Finishing these goals will allow you access to two unlocked rewards. The first is the Hotdog Kiosk, which earns 450 coins for every 90 Goods supplied. The other item is a decoration - the Hotdog Eating Contest - that offers a bonus 12% payout to surrounding buildings.
While there's no actual expiration date on these items, it is possible that they won't be around forever. Finish these missions sooner, rather than later, to have the best chance at finishing them.
[Quest 2-5 Via CityVille Goals]
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Let us know what you think of these goals in the comments. Do you think an eating-themed mission set would have been better suited to summer?
Monday, December 26, 2011
FarmVille GagaVille: Enter the Lady Gaga Decorating Contest for a chance at 1,000 Farm Cash and a Purple Unicorn
If you're getting as into the GagaVille theme in FarmVIlle as we are, you might want to take a stab at Zynga's "Lady Gaga Decorating Contest," being held over on the game's official forums. There, you'll learn that Zynga is looking for the best themed farms using the new GagaVille limited edition items (along with any other items you want to use to add to the theme).
You'll need to post pictures of your farm to enter, with bonus points being awarded to those "little monsters" that tell Zynga why they love GagaVille when they enter. This contest isn't just open to one grand prize winner, as ten users will receive the full grand prize (each)! This is one of the biggest prizes I can recall in FarmVille contest history as each of the ten winners will receive 1,000 Farm Cash, one million coins, and an unreleased (exclusive) Purple Unicorn [pictured].
The current Farm Cash prices put the 1,000 Farm Cash at a value of over $166 US. Just think - you could be one of the lucky winners to walk away with enough Farm Cash to last you through the GagaVille promotion and even months into the future! Not to mention, you'd be one of the few players to show off a fancy Purple Unicorn, that currently can't be found anywhere else. Good luck to all who enter!
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
Will you enter the Lady Gaga Decorating Contest?
You'll need to post pictures of your farm to enter, with bonus points being awarded to those "little monsters" that tell Zynga why they love GagaVille when they enter. This contest isn't just open to one grand prize winner, as ten users will receive the full grand prize (each)! This is one of the biggest prizes I can recall in FarmVille contest history as each of the ten winners will receive 1,000 Farm Cash, one million coins, and an unreleased (exclusive) Purple Unicorn [pictured].
The current Farm Cash prices put the 1,000 Farm Cash at a value of over $166 US. Just think - you could be one of the lucky winners to walk away with enough Farm Cash to last you through the GagaVille promotion and even months into the future! Not to mention, you'd be one of the few players to show off a fancy Purple Unicorn, that currently can't be found anywhere else. Good luck to all who enter!
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
Will you enter the Lady Gaga Decorating Contest?
FarmVille GagaVille Sneak Peek: Chrome Cow, Purple Disco Sheep, Giant Crystal Lake and more
While we've already gone completely gaga for the Lady Gaga "GagaVille" farm in FarmVille, it looks as though some of the individual decorations seen on this new farm might be coming to the game's store as items you can purchase for your own farm. We've come across a set of animals and decorative items that look to have some greater purpose in the game outside of the GagaVille neighbor farm, even if it just ends up being that they're awarded to us through any of the GagaVille quests in the game.
The items are the Purple Disco Sheep, the Giant Crystal Lake, a Chrome Cow and Chrome Calf, a Pink Ponytail Horse and Pink Ponytail Foal and a regular Crystal Lake. While I would love to say that these items are 100% coming to the store, we unfortunately don't know that. It's likely that some of these items will be released as quest rewards, as both the Fire Fountain and the Electric Chapel were before them, but right now all we can do is wait and see.
We'll make sure to let you know the exact fate of these new GagaVille-themed items, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
Would you like these items to be given away from quests, or would you like to be able to purchase more than one by having them in the store?
The items are the Purple Disco Sheep, the Giant Crystal Lake, a Chrome Cow and Chrome Calf, a Pink Ponytail Horse and Pink Ponytail Foal and a regular Crystal Lake. While I would love to say that these items are 100% coming to the store, we unfortunately don't know that. It's likely that some of these items will be released as quest rewards, as both the Fire Fountain and the Electric Chapel were before them, but right now all we can do is wait and see.
We'll make sure to let you know the exact fate of these new GagaVille-themed items, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
Would you like these items to be given away from quests, or would you like to be able to purchase more than one by having them in the store?
FrontierVille Building a Saloon: Everything you need to know
Earlier today, we brought you a sneak peek, concerning the upcoming launch of a Saloon in FrontierVille. It turns out that we haven't had to wait long for the building itself to release, as the building (and the four accompanying goals) has now started slowly rolling out to users in the game.
The building itself must be constructed like any other - you'll need to first place the frame on your land, and will then need to collect a large amount of collectible items from friends in order to complete its construction. While you may scoff at having yet another building on your land, this one will allow you to craft drinks that will increase your movement speed, your earned experience points and more, so it's definitely worthwhile.
Meet us behind the break to see how to complete the construction of the Saloon, and for a look at the drinks you can craft inside. To actually build the Saloon, you'll need to collect 15 each of Chandelier Parts, Highball Glasses and Swinging Doors, along with 10 each of Cue Balls, Barstools, and Lucky Dice. Depending on the item, you'll find yourself either asking for the ingredients via individual gift requests, or through general news feed posts that ask all of your friends simultaneously.
Once the Saloon has been built, you'll be able to start crafting drinks inside it and taking advantage of the boosts that those drinks provide. Technically, you'll also need to complete the Saloon Goals (check out our guide) to unlock some of the recipes, but as you'll likely work on both the building and the goals at the same time, you shouldn't have to wait too long to get down to business.
There are three overall concoctions to create, using six different base drinks or fluids. You'll be able to find these crafting ingredients (Iced Tea, Granny's No. 5, Oat Syrup, Filtered Water, Varmint Julep, and Mule Kick Mix) either by completing the Saloon Goals, receiving them as a Daily Bonus when collecting your bonus from the Saloon, by asking your friends to send them to you via the crafting menu, or by purchasing them with Horseshoes. You can also send these ingredients from the free gifts page, but each player will only have access to a portion of the ingredients.
When you use each finished concoction, you'll receive a different temporary boost, along with some visual changes to your avatar or overall game:
Granny's Gut Punch: Pink Skin and a Drunk Avatar, along with Double XP for all game actions for a period for four hours
Quick Draw Quaff: Yellow Skin and a Drunk Avatar, along with a one-hour Fast Hands boost
Green Lightning: Green Skin and a Drunk Avatar, along with a faster movement boost and tending bars that fill faster for two hours
All told, these are some great boosts, for those that are willing to put in the time required to collect the necessary ingredients to mix them. I'm personally a bit surprised that Zynga would go so far as to create a drunken appearance to our avatars, so it will definitely be interesting to see how the public at large reacts to drinking in on their Homestead. Of course, this feature is entirely voluntary, so if you don't feel like it's appropriate, you can simply opt out.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think? Do you think a system of drinking and "drunk" avatars is appropriate for a social game that can be played by teenagers?
The building itself must be constructed like any other - you'll need to first place the frame on your land, and will then need to collect a large amount of collectible items from friends in order to complete its construction. While you may scoff at having yet another building on your land, this one will allow you to craft drinks that will increase your movement speed, your earned experience points and more, so it's definitely worthwhile.
Meet us behind the break to see how to complete the construction of the Saloon, and for a look at the drinks you can craft inside. To actually build the Saloon, you'll need to collect 15 each of Chandelier Parts, Highball Glasses and Swinging Doors, along with 10 each of Cue Balls, Barstools, and Lucky Dice. Depending on the item, you'll find yourself either asking for the ingredients via individual gift requests, or through general news feed posts that ask all of your friends simultaneously.
Once the Saloon has been built, you'll be able to start crafting drinks inside it and taking advantage of the boosts that those drinks provide. Technically, you'll also need to complete the Saloon Goals (check out our guide) to unlock some of the recipes, but as you'll likely work on both the building and the goals at the same time, you shouldn't have to wait too long to get down to business.
There are three overall concoctions to create, using six different base drinks or fluids. You'll be able to find these crafting ingredients (Iced Tea, Granny's No. 5, Oat Syrup, Filtered Water, Varmint Julep, and Mule Kick Mix) either by completing the Saloon Goals, receiving them as a Daily Bonus when collecting your bonus from the Saloon, by asking your friends to send them to you via the crafting menu, or by purchasing them with Horseshoes. You can also send these ingredients from the free gifts page, but each player will only have access to a portion of the ingredients.
When you use each finished concoction, you'll receive a different temporary boost, along with some visual changes to your avatar or overall game:
Granny's Gut Punch: Pink Skin and a Drunk Avatar, along with Double XP for all game actions for a period for four hours
Quick Draw Quaff: Yellow Skin and a Drunk Avatar, along with a one-hour Fast Hands boost
Green Lightning: Green Skin and a Drunk Avatar, along with a faster movement boost and tending bars that fill faster for two hours
All told, these are some great boosts, for those that are willing to put in the time required to collect the necessary ingredients to mix them. I'm personally a bit surprised that Zynga would go so far as to create a drunken appearance to our avatars, so it will definitely be interesting to see how the public at large reacts to drinking in on their Homestead. Of course, this feature is entirely voluntary, so if you don't feel like it's appropriate, you can simply opt out.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think? Do you think a system of drinking and "drunk" avatars is appropriate for a social game that can be played by teenagers?
FrontierVille Saloon Goals: Everything you need to know
I hope you're thirsty partners, as you can now start building your very own Saloon in FrontierVille. Of course, as with most new buildings, there's also a mission set to complete here. The Saloon Goals are slowly rolling out to players, with this four-part mission series requiring you to plant some crops and build the Saloon itself, along with collecting a ton of items with the help of friends.
Part I of IV starts us off simply, by asking us to simply purchase the base of the Saloon from the market.
Purchase a Saloon
Tend 20 Apple Trees on your Homestead
Harvest 20 Corn on your Homestead
Corn grows in 12 hours, while Apple Trees regrow every 30 minutes. Your rewards for finishing this first mission are 150 Food and Oat Syrup, a crafting ingredient that you'll need to create things inside a finished Saloon. Part II of IV will likely take you a bit longer, depending on how many (or how little) coins you have saved up at any one time. You'll also need to start asking friends for items (this is the first of many similar tasks, so don't say I didn't warn you).
Purchase a State License for 100,000 coins
Harvest 30 Potatoes
Collect 10 Saloon Permits
Just as in the real world, an establishment (in this case, your Saloon) can't start serving alcohol without a license, so you'll need to not only collect paper permits from friends, but also purchase the actual license flat out with coins. Meanwhile, Potatoes can be harvested after waiting for four hours. Finishing this second goal marks the halfway point, and rewards you with 200 Food and the unlocking of the Quick Draw Quaff recipe. This is one of the finished products you can craft within your finished Saloon.
Part III of IV takes us to the most time consuming mission of the four, as you'll need to collect enough ingredients to craft some drinks within your Saloon. This is the first goal that actually requires you to have completed the building of the Saloon itself, so check out our guide to doing so if you're having trouble.
Collect Ten Oat Syrup Drinks in in Saloon
Collect Ten Filtered Water Drinks in Saloon
Consume One Granny's Gut Punch in Saloon
Your friends will be able to give you these ingredients via the game's free gifts page (each player will have access to sending different ingredients) or you can initiate the gifting process by asking them to send them to you outright from the Saloon's crafting menu.
Unfortunately, the Oat Syrup and Filtered Water don't work to create the Granny's Gut Punch, so you'll have to spend time asking for Iced Tea and Granny's No. 5 - the two items that do create the Granny's Gut Punch - to actually finish this goal. A bit of a runaround, yes. Finishing this mission rewards you with the Spittoon decoration and one Mule Kick Mix drink.
Finally, Part IV of IV asks you to spend some of your saved food by completing enough random tasks around the Homestead to require you to purchase food energy from the store.
Purchase Ten Lunches
Consume Quick Draw Quaff in Saloon
Collect Ten Bartending Guides
The Bartending Guides are earned as any other collectible in the game - by asking your friends to send them to you. Meanwhile, your Oat Syrups and Filtered Waters from the last mission will come to use here, as you use them to craft the Quick Draw Quaff in the Saloon. For finishing this mission series, you'll unlock the Green Lightning recipe in the Saloon, and will receive the "One Shady Table" decoration.
All told, this is a relatively complex mission series, in terms of the items that you'll need to craft and how you'll obtain the necessary ingredients to do so, but with a little patience and lots of helpful friends, these missions are far from impossible. Now let's walk on up to the bar and order us a drink!
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Saloon goals? Do you think they ask too much for too little rewards, or do you like the idea of a Saloon on your Homestead?
Part I of IV starts us off simply, by asking us to simply purchase the base of the Saloon from the market.
Purchase a Saloon
Tend 20 Apple Trees on your Homestead
Harvest 20 Corn on your Homestead
Corn grows in 12 hours, while Apple Trees regrow every 30 minutes. Your rewards for finishing this first mission are 150 Food and Oat Syrup, a crafting ingredient that you'll need to create things inside a finished Saloon. Part II of IV will likely take you a bit longer, depending on how many (or how little) coins you have saved up at any one time. You'll also need to start asking friends for items (this is the first of many similar tasks, so don't say I didn't warn you).
Purchase a State License for 100,000 coins
Harvest 30 Potatoes
Collect 10 Saloon Permits
Just as in the real world, an establishment (in this case, your Saloon) can't start serving alcohol without a license, so you'll need to not only collect paper permits from friends, but also purchase the actual license flat out with coins. Meanwhile, Potatoes can be harvested after waiting for four hours. Finishing this second goal marks the halfway point, and rewards you with 200 Food and the unlocking of the Quick Draw Quaff recipe. This is one of the finished products you can craft within your finished Saloon.
Part III of IV takes us to the most time consuming mission of the four, as you'll need to collect enough ingredients to craft some drinks within your Saloon. This is the first goal that actually requires you to have completed the building of the Saloon itself, so check out our guide to doing so if you're having trouble.
Collect Ten Oat Syrup Drinks in in Saloon
Collect Ten Filtered Water Drinks in Saloon
Consume One Granny's Gut Punch in Saloon
Your friends will be able to give you these ingredients via the game's free gifts page (each player will have access to sending different ingredients) or you can initiate the gifting process by asking them to send them to you outright from the Saloon's crafting menu.
Unfortunately, the Oat Syrup and Filtered Water don't work to create the Granny's Gut Punch, so you'll have to spend time asking for Iced Tea and Granny's No. 5 - the two items that do create the Granny's Gut Punch - to actually finish this goal. A bit of a runaround, yes. Finishing this mission rewards you with the Spittoon decoration and one Mule Kick Mix drink.
Finally, Part IV of IV asks you to spend some of your saved food by completing enough random tasks around the Homestead to require you to purchase food energy from the store.
Purchase Ten Lunches
Consume Quick Draw Quaff in Saloon
Collect Ten Bartending Guides
The Bartending Guides are earned as any other collectible in the game - by asking your friends to send them to you. Meanwhile, your Oat Syrups and Filtered Waters from the last mission will come to use here, as you use them to craft the Quick Draw Quaff in the Saloon. For finishing this mission series, you'll unlock the Green Lightning recipe in the Saloon, and will receive the "One Shady Table" decoration.
All told, this is a relatively complex mission series, in terms of the items that you'll need to craft and how you'll obtain the necessary ingredients to do so, but with a little patience and lots of helpful friends, these missions are far from impossible. Now let's walk on up to the bar and order us a drink!
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Saloon goals? Do you think they ask too much for too little rewards, or do you like the idea of a Saloon on your Homestead?
FrontierVille Saloon Collection offers a Billiard Table as a reward
While this may sound like a broken record at this point, with the release of every new building in FrontierVille comes a new collection, and such is the case with tonight's launch of the Saloon in the game. The Saloon Collection is now available to complete, with five items dropping either while you're whacking the frame of the Saloon during its construction, or when collecting the Daily Bonus from the building each day.
Here's what to look out for:
Coaster
Bath Tub
Frothy Mug
Dealer's Visor
Can of Peaches
All told, this collection should be one of the easier ones to complete, as we've all been given some massive incentive to collecting the Daily Bonus each and every day - when doing so, you'll also have a chance to randomly receive drink ingredients that can be used to craft concoctions inside the Saloon. With these items allowing you to boost your XP for hours at a time, I think that's pretty good reason to remember to collect the Saloon's Daily Bonus, don't you? Either way, once you finish the collection you'll receive a Billiard Table - a Pool Table - as a reward. Too bad there wasn't any additional XP thrown in along with it.
What do you think of the Saloon Collection, or the Saloon as a whole in the game? Is a building associated with alcohol beverages appropriate for a social game on Facebook?
Here's what to look out for:
Coaster
Bath Tub
Frothy Mug
Dealer's Visor
Can of Peaches
All told, this collection should be one of the easier ones to complete, as we've all been given some massive incentive to collecting the Daily Bonus each and every day - when doing so, you'll also have a chance to randomly receive drink ingredients that can be used to craft concoctions inside the Saloon. With these items allowing you to boost your XP for hours at a time, I think that's pretty good reason to remember to collect the Saloon's Daily Bonus, don't you? Either way, once you finish the collection you'll receive a Billiard Table - a Pool Table - as a reward. Too bad there wasn't any additional XP thrown in along with it.
What do you think of the Saloon Collection, or the Saloon as a whole in the game? Is a building associated with alcohol beverages appropriate for a social game on Facebook?
FarmVille GagaVille Fashion of His Love Quest: Everything you need to know
It's that time again farmers! The second GagaVille quest in FarmVille has now expired, and quest number three - In Fashion - has launched. This quest has another set of incredibly simply requirements, and can be completed in a matter of minutes, allowing you to get straight to the Lady Gaga music goodness of the day.
Your three requirements are:
Visit GagaVille
Buy 1 Sheep
Fertilize 3 Neighbors' Crops
For a complete look at how to complete this quest, along with what you'll receive in rewards, meet us behind the break.
A single white sheep costs 700 coins from the store. Meanwhile, you can perform up to five actions per neighbor that you visit, so you can easily finish this step on the first neighbor you visit. Simply visit GagaVille on your neighbor bar (again), and this quest will be completed, awarding you the spoils! For this third quest, you'll receive 2,500 coins, a Pink Ponytail Horse (which is different from the Ponytail Horse currently available in the market for Farm Cash), and a VIP ticket. Along with that, you'll of course unlock a new song from Lady Gaga's Born This Way album, with tonight's song being "Fashion of His Love."
Again, you'll only have 24 hours to complete this third quest / listen to "Fashion of His Love," so start fast to make the most of your time. We'll make sure to give you the complete lowdown on quest four tomorrow night, so make sure to check back with us then!
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
What do you think of today's new Lady Gaga song? Are you a new FarmVille player that has joined specifically because of the Lady Gaga promotion?
Your three requirements are:
Visit GagaVille
Buy 1 Sheep
Fertilize 3 Neighbors' Crops
For a complete look at how to complete this quest, along with what you'll receive in rewards, meet us behind the break.
A single white sheep costs 700 coins from the store. Meanwhile, you can perform up to five actions per neighbor that you visit, so you can easily finish this step on the first neighbor you visit. Simply visit GagaVille on your neighbor bar (again), and this quest will be completed, awarding you the spoils! For this third quest, you'll receive 2,500 coins, a Pink Ponytail Horse (which is different from the Ponytail Horse currently available in the market for Farm Cash), and a VIP ticket. Along with that, you'll of course unlock a new song from Lady Gaga's Born This Way album, with tonight's song being "Fashion of His Love."
Again, you'll only have 24 hours to complete this third quest / listen to "Fashion of His Love," so start fast to make the most of your time. We'll make sure to give you the complete lowdown on quest four tomorrow night, so make sure to check back with us then!
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
What do you think of today's new Lady Gaga song? Are you a new FarmVille player that has joined specifically because of the Lady Gaga promotion?
FarmVille Store Update: Fire Fountain, Electric Chapel, Masked Ram now available
With tonight's small FarmVille update, we see an interesting new development launch with the current GagaVille promotion, along with the release of a new pattern for Sheep breeders. For Lady Gaga fans, who may have missed out on the first two quests in the GagaVille promotion (and therefore weren't able to receive the exclusive prizes for completing the quests), you can now purchase both of the main prizes from the first and second quests - the Fire Fountain and the Electric Chapel - for Farm Cash in the store.
Specifically, the Fire Fountain costs 18 Farm Cash, while the Electric Chapel costs 22 Farm Cash. Sure, these are some fairly high prices for items that were free for everyone else, but I suppose that's the (literal) price we'll pay for not completing the quest in time.
For a look at the new Sheep pattern, meet us behind the break.
Meanwhile, an entirely new Ram has been added to the store. The Masked Ram costs 30 Farm Cash, and brings with it the new masked pattern, that can be passed on to Lambs (if you're lucky). Not a very colorful fellow, I can't really see this being much of a draw for anyone other than the Sheep Breeders - especially not when this bad boy is available for less Farm Cash (ok, c'mon, I can't be the only one that squeals when seeing a sheep covered in shiny crystals, can I?).
All three of these items will be available in the game for less than two weeks. It's presumable that all of the Lady Gaga quest reward items will be released in the store after the fact, so remember to check back there if you ever miss one of the quests in the series. Just remember to bring your pocketbook with you when you do.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
Did you miss the first or second GagaVille quest? Will you purchase these decorations to have them, or are you fine letting them go?
Specifically, the Fire Fountain costs 18 Farm Cash, while the Electric Chapel costs 22 Farm Cash. Sure, these are some fairly high prices for items that were free for everyone else, but I suppose that's the (literal) price we'll pay for not completing the quest in time.
For a look at the new Sheep pattern, meet us behind the break.
Meanwhile, an entirely new Ram has been added to the store. The Masked Ram costs 30 Farm Cash, and brings with it the new masked pattern, that can be passed on to Lambs (if you're lucky). Not a very colorful fellow, I can't really see this being much of a draw for anyone other than the Sheep Breeders - especially not when this bad boy is available for less Farm Cash (ok, c'mon, I can't be the only one that squeals when seeing a sheep covered in shiny crystals, can I?).
All three of these items will be available in the game for less than two weeks. It's presumable that all of the Lady Gaga quest reward items will be released in the store after the fact, so remember to check back there if you ever miss one of the quests in the series. Just remember to bring your pocketbook with you when you do.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here >
Did you miss the first or second GagaVille quest? Will you purchase these decorations to have them, or are you fine letting them go?
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Zynga starting a FamilyVille to keep up with The Sims Social?
It looks like we're about to have some good old-fashioned family war on Facebook. (Mark Twain style, yeah!) Zynga has reportedly acquired a domain titled, "familyville.com," according to Fusible. No trademarks, copyrights or patents have been created or signed by Zynga.
But it's clear that the company may very well be responding to EA and its upcoming The Sims Social. The veteran games publisher showed a trailer of the new Facebook game at E3 (a creepy one at that). Here is the news straight from the source:
"Some Whois history and recent name server changes on the domain name Familyville.com are what lead me to believe that Zynga is working on its next mega hit," Fusible writes. "In March 2011, ownership of the domain familyville.com changed from its previous owner (Internet Computing) to Rob Holmes – founder & CEO of IPCybercrime, the very same company that acquired the domain cityville.com on behalf of Zynga for $38,225 at Moniker in June 2010."
Zynga vs, EA
This could have set Zynga off in pursuit of a worthy competitor--The Sims are kind of a big deal, you know? FamilyVille, if it's anything like Empires & Allies was a response to the strategy genre, will do much of what The Sims Facebook game will do. But from there the game will likely branch off into its own interpretation of what Zynga thinks the sub genre should play like. And with rumors brewing of an EA-PopCap buyout priced at over $1 billion, it's already looking like the summer will be a battlefield for Facebook dominance.
But it's clear that the company may very well be responding to EA and its upcoming The Sims Social. The veteran games publisher showed a trailer of the new Facebook game at E3 (a creepy one at that). Here is the news straight from the source:
"Some Whois history and recent name server changes on the domain name Familyville.com are what lead me to believe that Zynga is working on its next mega hit," Fusible writes. "In March 2011, ownership of the domain familyville.com changed from its previous owner (Internet Computing) to Rob Holmes – founder & CEO of IPCybercrime, the very same company that acquired the domain cityville.com on behalf of Zynga for $38,225 at Moniker in June 2010."
Zynga vs, EA
This could have set Zynga off in pursuit of a worthy competitor--The Sims are kind of a big deal, you know? FamilyVille, if it's anything like Empires & Allies was a response to the strategy genre, will do much of what The Sims Facebook game will do. But from there the game will likely branch off into its own interpretation of what Zynga thinks the sub genre should play like. And with rumors brewing of an EA-PopCap buyout priced at over $1 billion, it's already looking like the summer will be a battlefield for Facebook dominance.
FarmVille: Sheep Breeding Level 30 unlocks 50 Sheep slots
How's that for a reward, eh? FarmVille Feed has discovered while Sheep Breeding in FarmVille that Level 30 unlocks a very special prize: another 50 slots for your bred Sheep. Players have cried out for more space for their little woolly friends, and finally with a little work we'll get it.
Well, make that a lot of work. It doesn't necessarily solve the storage issue with Sheep Breeding, but it sure is a nice band-aid.
However, it does appear that there is room for more slots, but they're locked at the moment. (There's still hope!) Until then, breed away, and hoard those Love Potions.
Sheep Breeding Level 30
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Have you unlocked the final prize in Sheep Breeding yet? Could you fill another 50 slots with unique Sheep (try the challenge)?
Well, make that a lot of work. It doesn't necessarily solve the storage issue with Sheep Breeding, but it sure is a nice band-aid.
However, it does appear that there is room for more slots, but they're locked at the moment. (There's still hope!) Until then, breed away, and hoard those Love Potions.
Sheep Breeding Level 30
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Have you unlocked the final prize in Sheep Breeding yet? Could you fill another 50 slots with unique Sheep (try the challenge)?
Super Crayon on Facebook: Drawing you to distraction
Seriously, you will lose serious life minutes to this game. It's called Super Crayon, and its super simple yet potentially gripping play mechanics could keep you coming back for more. Developed by Barcelona-based Social Point, Super Crayon isn't the deepest social game around, but it offers what ultimately all social gamers are looking for, a distraction from work, stress, what have you. And how could you feel stressed when piloting that adorable little pencil?
Gallery: Super Crayon on Facebook
The game throws players into controlling a small pencil with the arrow keys across different image puzzles. Your goal is to reveal as much of the image without hitting your own pencil trail a la' Snake, but monsters are also after your work. If they hit your pencil trail, you only have a fraction of a second to reach an edge of the picture before you're a goner. Luckily for you, there are several power-ups to help you out.
Grab a wing and you'll gain super speed, but inversely stopwatches freeze your enemies. Gobble up a star to get the ability to eat the baddies--just like in Pac-Man. The game takes plenty of inspiration from other games (clearly), but these tropes aren't necessarily new much less the picture puzzle sub genre. The final, probably most important example is the fact that you only have a few lives per run, as if this were an old arcade game.
Super Crayon on Facebook
It's not a coincidence that some folks in the industry have alluded Facebook games to arcade machines. Players can purchase Gold or earn it through playing the game to buy more lives. And this is where Super Crayon's (terribly light) social features come in. As an alternative to Gold, you can ask friends to provide you with lives as well. To support friendly competition, Super Crayon automatically creates leader boards between friends, and provides a global leader board to really put things into perspective. Between its fun if limited visuals and simplistic but calming game play, Super Crayon has the potential to be your next big fling on Facebook.
Gallery: Super Crayon on Facebook
The game throws players into controlling a small pencil with the arrow keys across different image puzzles. Your goal is to reveal as much of the image without hitting your own pencil trail a la' Snake, but monsters are also after your work. If they hit your pencil trail, you only have a fraction of a second to reach an edge of the picture before you're a goner. Luckily for you, there are several power-ups to help you out.
Grab a wing and you'll gain super speed, but inversely stopwatches freeze your enemies. Gobble up a star to get the ability to eat the baddies--just like in Pac-Man. The game takes plenty of inspiration from other games (clearly), but these tropes aren't necessarily new much less the picture puzzle sub genre. The final, probably most important example is the fact that you only have a few lives per run, as if this were an old arcade game.
Super Crayon on Facebook
It's not a coincidence that some folks in the industry have alluded Facebook games to arcade machines. Players can purchase Gold or earn it through playing the game to buy more lives. And this is where Super Crayon's (terribly light) social features come in. As an alternative to Gold, you can ask friends to provide you with lives as well. To support friendly competition, Super Crayon automatically creates leader boards between friends, and provides a global leader board to really put things into perspective. Between its fun if limited visuals and simplistic but calming game play, Super Crayon has the potential to be your next big fling on Facebook.
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Good Egg promotion
Who wants some free Farm Cash? OK, now that we're through with the stupid questions, let's get to it. Another sponsored link has appeared in FarmVille, and this time it's thanks to Good Egg, a program that ensures the natural integrity of eggs from the farm to your breakfast table. Click on the link below your game screen that reads, "Learn about the Good Egg project poll!"
Then, you will be greeted by a pop-up with a faux-wooden boarder to let you know that it's from FarmVille. Then, all you need to do is answer the simple questions as the video plays to the left. Once that's through, text will appear next to the blue "X" in the upper right that will read, "You've earned your Farm Cash."
After that, the 2 Farm Cash should post to your account within 30 minutes, and you're free to close that window. Just be warned, some sponsored links aren't supported outside the US and vise versa. So, whatcha' gonna' buy?
Good Egg FarmVille
Then, you will be greeted by a pop-up with a faux-wooden boarder to let you know that it's from FarmVille. Then, all you need to do is answer the simple questions as the video plays to the left. Once that's through, text will appear next to the blue "X" in the upper right that will read, "You've earned your Farm Cash."
After that, the 2 Farm Cash should post to your account within 30 minutes, and you're free to close that window. Just be warned, some sponsored links aren't supported outside the US and vise versa. So, whatcha' gonna' buy?
Good Egg FarmVille
Buy FarmVille Farm Cash, grab a Black Cherry Horse for free
We know there is tons of free Farm Cash out there, but sometimes ... sometimes is pays to, well, pay. Starting today in FarmVille, players who buy 4, 25 or 115 Farm Cash from Zynga will be rewarded with a special prize: the Black Cherry Horse. Alright, it's not a brand new one, but one that was released earlier this year for Valentine's Day.
Either way, this is a rare Horse that you can no longer attain, if you missed it a few months back. The deal lasts for just the next two days, or 44 hours as of this writing. We're not going to sway you one way or the other--but dang does that Horse look nice.
FarmVille Farm Cash Black Cherry Horse
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Would you buy some Farm Cash if it meant a since discontinued item? What has kept you from buying Farm Cash thus far?
Either way, this is a rare Horse that you can no longer attain, if you missed it a few months back. The deal lasts for just the next two days, or 44 hours as of this writing. We're not going to sway you one way or the other--but dang does that Horse look nice.
FarmVille Farm Cash Black Cherry Horse
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Would you buy some Farm Cash if it meant a since discontinued item? What has kept you from buying Farm Cash thus far?
New CityVille buildings grant a taste of Germany (and brats)
No, not little snot-nosed kids--the delicious Bavarian treat? CityVille has taken a trip to Germany with its next collection of items. This German set of buildings brings Outdoor Halls and even a Bavarian Castle to the game. However, the good stuff goes for City Cash, and they're only here for the next seven days. Hey, at least that gives you time to save. Check out all five new buildings below:
Pink Fachwerk Bavarian Castle Green Fachwerk
Outdoor Hall
Costs 35 City Cash
Earns 2,500 Coins for every 500 Goods
Bavarian Castle
Costs 80 City Cash
Provides 800-1500 Population
432 Coins every 18 hours
Outdoor Hall Orange Fachwerk
Orange, Pink and Green Fachwerks
Cost 25,000 Coins each
Provides 150-250 Population
60 Coins every hour
[Image Credit: Zynga and CityVille Chat]
What do you think of these new German items? Which of them would you buy first? (The castle,
Pink Fachwerk Bavarian Castle Green Fachwerk
Outdoor Hall
Costs 35 City Cash
Earns 2,500 Coins for every 500 Goods
Bavarian Castle
Costs 80 City Cash
Provides 800-1500 Population
432 Coins every 18 hours
Outdoor Hall Orange Fachwerk
Orange, Pink and Green Fachwerks
Cost 25,000 Coins each
Provides 150-250 Population
60 Coins every hour
[Image Credit: Zynga and CityVille Chat]
What do you think of these new German items? Which of them would you buy first? (The castle,
Holy Town: Christian Facebook game plays like hell
Unlike Vatican Wars, which is essentially a Catholic-themed Mafia Wars, Holy Town doesn't resemble any Zynga game, or any Facebook game either. On an aesthetic level, it might have a passing resemblance to FarmVille. But that's too much praise for a game that's currently still in beta, and certainly plays like it. Created by Maiko Martin (a self-described "'90s kid, Game Developer & social media comedian, with a love for GOD, Fibonnaci, vector graphics,and over-sized search fields!"), Holy Town is a painfully amateur title that wouldn't be worth a glance if not for the fact that Christian-themed (or any religious) Facebook games are so rare.
Holy Town mission
To begin, choose one avatar from among four haloed characters that you'll see when the game loads. (That is, if you can even get the game to load in the first place.) Once the game starts, there's little to do since the game's in beta and everything -- other than to Shop and to Preach -- comes up as under construction. No explanation is required for Shop, but Preach is actually a nifty typing mini-game!
Holy Town typing game
What sucks though is that instead of retyping famous Bible passages, you get random Biblical (and some, plain out generic) words instead. Sometimes the words aren't properly formatted. For example, I had to type out "Caesarea Philippi" (an ancient Roman city mentioned in the New Testament) as one word. In another instance, I had to type out something that looked like random bits of code.
Holy Town church
Playing this typing mini-game gets you coins and builds your congregation. You're allowed to 'preach' up to 5 times per day. Congregations appear on your screen as avatars that you need to click on to raise your congregation counter. Coins are used to buy a church building and then to buy items to decorate the inside of your church. This was really glitchy, because as you can see in the above screenshot, I ended up getting two churches that 1) I wasn't suppose to be able to afford, and 2) ended up being placed outside of the screen.
Finally, the game automatically lists your friends as "Heathens" on the bottom of your game. The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "heathen" as "an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible" and "an uncivilized or irreligious person". Needless to say, this is definitely going to offend people.
Holy Town Scripture of the Day
Other friends are listed as "Holy Friends". Since Holy Town doesn't seem to be using the Facebook profile information of players, I'm going to bet that "Holy Friends" refers to friends who already have Holy Town installed and "Heathens" are friends who haven't installed the game yet. For your Holy Friends, you can "Bless Them", and for the Heathens (though calling them "Unholy Friends" isn't any better), you can "Send Them a Scripture" (which I guess, is better than "Damn Them").
To keep track of this game, in case it gets better, follow its official Facebook fan page. It may not be well made, but it's still got 16,765 likes.
Holy Town mission
To begin, choose one avatar from among four haloed characters that you'll see when the game loads. (That is, if you can even get the game to load in the first place.) Once the game starts, there's little to do since the game's in beta and everything -- other than to Shop and to Preach -- comes up as under construction. No explanation is required for Shop, but Preach is actually a nifty typing mini-game!
Holy Town typing game
What sucks though is that instead of retyping famous Bible passages, you get random Biblical (and some, plain out generic) words instead. Sometimes the words aren't properly formatted. For example, I had to type out "Caesarea Philippi" (an ancient Roman city mentioned in the New Testament) as one word. In another instance, I had to type out something that looked like random bits of code.
Holy Town church
Playing this typing mini-game gets you coins and builds your congregation. You're allowed to 'preach' up to 5 times per day. Congregations appear on your screen as avatars that you need to click on to raise your congregation counter. Coins are used to buy a church building and then to buy items to decorate the inside of your church. This was really glitchy, because as you can see in the above screenshot, I ended up getting two churches that 1) I wasn't suppose to be able to afford, and 2) ended up being placed outside of the screen.
Finally, the game automatically lists your friends as "Heathens" on the bottom of your game. The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "heathen" as "an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible" and "an uncivilized or irreligious person". Needless to say, this is definitely going to offend people.
Holy Town Scripture of the Day
Other friends are listed as "Holy Friends". Since Holy Town doesn't seem to be using the Facebook profile information of players, I'm going to bet that "Holy Friends" refers to friends who already have Holy Town installed and "Heathens" are friends who haven't installed the game yet. For your Holy Friends, you can "Bless Them", and for the Heathens (though calling them "Unholy Friends" isn't any better), you can "Send Them a Scripture" (which I guess, is better than "Damn Them").
To keep track of this game, in case it gets better, follow its official Facebook fan page. It may not be well made, but it's still got 16,765 likes.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
FarmVille Mystery Game (08/08/11): Purple items reward you with a Snow Stallion
Here's an interesting combination: for the third week in a row, Zynga has decided to add a bonus item to the FarmVille Mystery Game, giving users a chance to receive a special item for free if they first win all six of the items regularly available in the game. But, in our case, this particular prize doesn't really match the others.
As it stands, this week's Mystery Game costs 18 Farm Cash to play, and will grant you a chance at a purple-themed decoration or animal. Here are the six prizes available:
Lavender Bridge
Lavender Butterflies
Lavender Fountain
Lavender Garden
Mini Purple Horse
Purple Stallion
Again, if you win all six of these items (even if it takes you every balloon on the dart board to do), you'll be able walk away with the free Snow Stallion as a prize. This Snow Stallion has been released before (along with other items like the Purple Stallion), so make sure to keep that in mind before throwing dozens of Farm Cash at the board.
If you do decide to take a chance at this week's game, even if the Snow Stallion isn't your motivating factor, just be sure to do so within the next week, as the game will reset then, taking your chance at these purple items (and the Snow Stallion) with it.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Will you play this week's FarmVille Mystery Game? Which of the purple items are you most hoping to walk away with? Will you try your luck at winning all six for the Snow Stallion?
As it stands, this week's Mystery Game costs 18 Farm Cash to play, and will grant you a chance at a purple-themed decoration or animal. Here are the six prizes available:
Lavender Bridge
Lavender Butterflies
Lavender Fountain
Lavender Garden
Mini Purple Horse
Purple Stallion
Again, if you win all six of these items (even if it takes you every balloon on the dart board to do), you'll be able walk away with the free Snow Stallion as a prize. This Snow Stallion has been released before (along with other items like the Purple Stallion), so make sure to keep that in mind before throwing dozens of Farm Cash at the board.
If you do decide to take a chance at this week's game, even if the Snow Stallion isn't your motivating factor, just be sure to do so within the next week, as the game will reset then, taking your chance at these purple items (and the Snow Stallion) with it.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Will you play this week's FarmVille Mystery Game? Which of the purple items are you most hoping to walk away with? Will you try your luck at winning all six for the Snow Stallion?
The Domino's Noid triumphantly returns in ... a Facebook advergame
I've been waiting years, people, years for the Noid to return in something more than a t-shirt. And now, the infamous Domino's Pizza mascot has made his re-entry into the minds of children of the '80s and '90s with ... a Facebook advergame? You know what, after this long since a real Noid video game, I'll take it. Titled "Noid's Super Pizza Shootout," the game looks and plays just like the arcade light gun games of the '90s, and was released to honor the weird bunny suit-wearing toon's 25th anniversary.
The game essentially amounts to a shooting gallery of pizza, tomatoes and Noid. Lots of Noid, and I love it. (I know, I know, it's an advergame. But it's a dang fun one.) Players must use the mouse to aim and shoot at as many pizza pies as possible while Noid throws tomatoes at you for extra points. Shooting a sign with Noid's face on it--or Noid himself as he is so wont to swoop in unannounced--will deduct points from your score.
Perhaps it's an uncontrollable nostalgia for all things retro, or maybe I'm just craving pizza at 10 a.m., but Noid's Super Pizza Shootout is a fun distraction for a few minutes. It's certainly not something you'll revisit over and over again--unless, of course, you really want one of those free pizza coupons at stake. Of course, you need to "Like" the Domino's Facebook page to play, but you could always remove that from your profile later if you're not to keen on associating yourself with it since ... you know.
Domino's Noid Facebook game
[Via Mashable]
Click here to play Noid's Super Pizza Shootout on Facebook >
Do you remember Noid way back in the day? Do you think he deserves a real comeback this time, or are you done with this goofy character?
The game essentially amounts to a shooting gallery of pizza, tomatoes and Noid. Lots of Noid, and I love it. (I know, I know, it's an advergame. But it's a dang fun one.) Players must use the mouse to aim and shoot at as many pizza pies as possible while Noid throws tomatoes at you for extra points. Shooting a sign with Noid's face on it--or Noid himself as he is so wont to swoop in unannounced--will deduct points from your score.
Perhaps it's an uncontrollable nostalgia for all things retro, or maybe I'm just craving pizza at 10 a.m., but Noid's Super Pizza Shootout is a fun distraction for a few minutes. It's certainly not something you'll revisit over and over again--unless, of course, you really want one of those free pizza coupons at stake. Of course, you need to "Like" the Domino's Facebook page to play, but you could always remove that from your profile later if you're not to keen on associating yourself with it since ... you know.
Domino's Noid Facebook game
[Via Mashable]
Click here to play Noid's Super Pizza Shootout on Facebook >
Do you remember Noid way back in the day? Do you think he deserves a real comeback this time, or are you done with this goofy character?
Zynga to FrontierVille players: Sorry for the rollback bug, have some XP!
Did something ... strange happen to your homestead over the weekend? It apparently happened for lots of unfortunate pioneers, so Zynga is doing something about it. Between Friday night and Saturday morning, many FrontierVille players seemingly went, um, back in time.
But what really happened was that the game suffered a bug that caused its servers to roll back on players' progress by a few hours. In response, Zynga has compensated players with a hefty package. Here's the statement from Zynga community manager Stumpgrinder:
"We are aware of an issue that started to occur between roughly 6PM PST Friday (8/5) and 6AM PST Saturday (8/6) where FrontierVille players experienced rollbacks (their homestead was "reset" to a prior state) typically back to when they had first started playing during this 12-hour period. We have a listing of all the players affected by this issue and we will be issuing a compensation package on behalf of Frontier Jack (this will be awarded in-game). We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this issue has caused."
Book of Experience and Tragic Jack Statue
Since a great many players probably lost a level or two, thanks to that time warp rollback bug, Zynga has gifted players a Book of Experience and a Tragic Jack Statue. The Book of Experience will grant you another level instantly, regardless of how much XP it requires. The Tragic Jack Statue is, well, tragic. In fact, it's kind of a pathetic image of Jack riding on a ragged animal that looks like a bear ... maybe. We can't tell. Wouldn't you release more of a pick-me-up than something so, well, ew?
[Source and Image Credit: FrontierVille Info]
Were you affected by this strange bug, and have you been compensated for the time lost? What do you think of how Zynga handled the issue?
But what really happened was that the game suffered a bug that caused its servers to roll back on players' progress by a few hours. In response, Zynga has compensated players with a hefty package. Here's the statement from Zynga community manager Stumpgrinder:
"We are aware of an issue that started to occur between roughly 6PM PST Friday (8/5) and 6AM PST Saturday (8/6) where FrontierVille players experienced rollbacks (their homestead was "reset" to a prior state) typically back to when they had first started playing during this 12-hour period. We have a listing of all the players affected by this issue and we will be issuing a compensation package on behalf of Frontier Jack (this will be awarded in-game). We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this issue has caused."
Book of Experience and Tragic Jack Statue
Since a great many players probably lost a level or two, thanks to that time warp rollback bug, Zynga has gifted players a Book of Experience and a Tragic Jack Statue. The Book of Experience will grant you another level instantly, regardless of how much XP it requires. The Tragic Jack Statue is, well, tragic. In fact, it's kind of a pathetic image of Jack riding on a ragged animal that looks like a bear ... maybe. We can't tell. Wouldn't you release more of a pick-me-up than something so, well, ew?
[Source and Image Credit: FrontierVille Info]
Were you affected by this strange bug, and have you been compensated for the time lost? What do you think of how Zynga handled the issue?
Game of the Day: Short History of the World
Take a thrill ride through time in Short History of the World. From the Ice Age to present day, you'll explore history in dozens of lightning fast mini games. You'll build the Great Wall of China, help Columbus reach America, paint the Mona Lisa, and much much more. Of course, that's assuming your fast enough. Fail too often and you'll be send back in time to the last checkpoint to try again.
Click here to play Short History of the World!
short history of the world game of the day short history of the world game of the day
Pro Tips:
Don't get frustrated. It's takes practice to get a lot of the faster, more complicated mini games down.
If you aren't sure what to do, just click around, figure it out. That way next time you'll be able to complete it without a problem.
On the tracing mini games, go slow and move your cursor carefully. You have more time than you think, don't rush.
Click here to play Short History of the World!
Have any more tips? What level were you able to get to in Short History of the World?
Click here to play Short History of the World!
short history of the world game of the day short history of the world game of the day
Pro Tips:
Don't get frustrated. It's takes practice to get a lot of the faster, more complicated mini games down.
If you aren't sure what to do, just click around, figure it out. That way next time you'll be able to complete it without a problem.
On the tracing mini games, go slow and move your cursor carefully. You have more time than you think, don't rush.
Click here to play Short History of the World!
Have any more tips? What level were you able to get to in Short History of the World?
FrontierVille The Baker's Rebound Timed Goal: Everything you need to know
As we inch closer and closer to the Pioneer Trail, Zynga has released yet another Timed Goal to FrontierVille. (Really, Zynga? Because I'd much rather focus on the one billion Golden Hammers you're looking for.)
This new Goal is titled "The Baker's Rebound," and tasks players with helping out Nettie, a baker that has made her way across the Pioneer Trail. Like the Time Goals before it recently, you must accept this mission by Aug. 31 and complete it within seven days of accepting it.
The Baker's Rebound
Harvest 30 Pumpkins
Collect 20 Brown Sugar Bags
Collect 15 Cinnamon Sticks
To harvest 30 Pumpkins, you'll need at least 1,500 Coins and and hour's time, if you plant them all at once. The 20 Brown Sugar Sticks and the 15 Cinnamon Sticks are likely found from friends. More specifically, one of these will probably require players to ask friends directly, while the other will simply post a request to their News Feed for friends to respond to.
The Baker's Rebound rewards
Your reward for completing this relatively simple Goal is actually quite awesome. You will unlock the new Vanilla Orchid crop in the Market, and score a sweet 300 XP and 300 Coins. The Vanilla Orchid costs 475 Coins to plant, but in 12 hours provides you with 10 XP, 600 Coins and 5 Food.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you seen this Goal appear in your game? Are you holding off on this content before Pioneer Trail releases, or are you scrambling to finish as much as you can?
This new Goal is titled "The Baker's Rebound," and tasks players with helping out Nettie, a baker that has made her way across the Pioneer Trail. Like the Time Goals before it recently, you must accept this mission by Aug. 31 and complete it within seven days of accepting it.
The Baker's Rebound
Harvest 30 Pumpkins
Collect 20 Brown Sugar Bags
Collect 15 Cinnamon Sticks
To harvest 30 Pumpkins, you'll need at least 1,500 Coins and and hour's time, if you plant them all at once. The 20 Brown Sugar Sticks and the 15 Cinnamon Sticks are likely found from friends. More specifically, one of these will probably require players to ask friends directly, while the other will simply post a request to their News Feed for friends to respond to.
The Baker's Rebound rewards
Your reward for completing this relatively simple Goal is actually quite awesome. You will unlock the new Vanilla Orchid crop in the Market, and score a sweet 300 XP and 300 Coins. The Vanilla Orchid costs 475 Coins to plant, but in 12 hours provides you with 10 XP, 600 Coins and 5 Food.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you seen this Goal appear in your game? Are you holding off on this content before Pioneer Trail releases, or are you scrambling to finish as much as you can?
Hone your karate chop in Fruit Ninja Kinect before it slices Facebook
Prepare for your arms to feel like jelly all week. As we patiently await the day when we can slice virtual fruit from the comfort of our Facebook, Halfbrick Studios has released the equally awesome Xbox version of its hit fruit-flaying mobile game, Fruit Ninja.
Titled simply "Fruit Ninja," the game is available now for the Xbox 360 Kinect for 800 Microsoft Points, or $10, in the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game features all the same modes of its mobile versions, meaning Classic, Arcade and Zen modes are all present and accounted for.
The latter two modes are timed affairs--the first of which has special fruit with super powers, while the other is a 90-second romp with no frills and no way to lose. Players can compare scores over Xbox Live, and whenever a friend bests one of your scores in either Classic or Arcade mode, you'll be sent a notification.
Fruit Ninja Kinect Frenzy
There are two new modes unique to Fruit Ninja for Kinect: a Challenge mode and a multiplayer component. We had an early look at Fruit Ninja Frenzy for Facebook at this year's E3, and are psyched to see how it takes advantage of the platform with its Bejeweled Blitz-like power-ups and competitive leaderboards. If anything, consider this a friendly reminder that you'll soon be able to slice fruit on screens that range from a mere four inches to those wider than you are tall. With all of this available training, you officially have no excuse to be anything less than a banana bushido blade.
[Source and Image Credit: Mashable]
Are you a Fruit Ninja fan ready to move on from strawberry slicing to coconut chopping (I could do this all day)? What other mobile or Facebook games do you think would translate well to motion gaming?
Titled simply "Fruit Ninja," the game is available now for the Xbox 360 Kinect for 800 Microsoft Points, or $10, in the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game features all the same modes of its mobile versions, meaning Classic, Arcade and Zen modes are all present and accounted for.
The latter two modes are timed affairs--the first of which has special fruit with super powers, while the other is a 90-second romp with no frills and no way to lose. Players can compare scores over Xbox Live, and whenever a friend bests one of your scores in either Classic or Arcade mode, you'll be sent a notification.
Fruit Ninja Kinect Frenzy
There are two new modes unique to Fruit Ninja for Kinect: a Challenge mode and a multiplayer component. We had an early look at Fruit Ninja Frenzy for Facebook at this year's E3, and are psyched to see how it takes advantage of the platform with its Bejeweled Blitz-like power-ups and competitive leaderboards. If anything, consider this a friendly reminder that you'll soon be able to slice fruit on screens that range from a mere four inches to those wider than you are tall. With all of this available training, you officially have no excuse to be anything less than a banana bushido blade.
[Source and Image Credit: Mashable]
Are you a Fruit Ninja fan ready to move on from strawberry slicing to coconut chopping (I could do this all day)? What other mobile or Facebook games do you think would translate well to motion gaming?
Facebook vs. Google+: Social game makers ready to hang hats on big G's network
Right now, Facebook is the place to be if you want to make social games for the Web. That's great if you're, say, a big fancy company like FarmVille-creator Zynga who has millions of dollars to spend on advertising and a cushy deal with the social network.
If you're a smaller game studio, Facebook has its severe limitations, which include making it next to impossible to getting the word out about a game (not to mention the hefty 30% cut that Facebook demands from all game developers.)
None of the other social gaming platforms -- MySpace, hi5 -- have managed to come close to mimicking Facebook's social gaming success, so many social game makers are looking to Google+ to, possibly, fill that void.
Pot Farm creator and East Side Games CEO Jason Bailey says in this Gamasutra article that that all social game makers are "crossing their fingers and bowing down to the almighty G and saying, 'Please, please let this work and give us a viable second platform where we can build our games.'"
A simple way that Google+ could become 'the' next hotspot for social gaming? Instead of requiring a 30% cut from game makers (like Facebook does), let companies host games on G+ for a lower fee (or the low, low price of free!). Facebook has also done a terrible job at surfacing new and interesting games to its users -- and recently made it more difficult by pulling its app directory from the service. If Google+ can support even the most bare bones recommendation system for games on the network, that could be a big win for people who make games and those of us who like to play them.
If you're a smaller game studio, Facebook has its severe limitations, which include making it next to impossible to getting the word out about a game (not to mention the hefty 30% cut that Facebook demands from all game developers.)
None of the other social gaming platforms -- MySpace, hi5 -- have managed to come close to mimicking Facebook's social gaming success, so many social game makers are looking to Google+ to, possibly, fill that void.
Pot Farm creator and East Side Games CEO Jason Bailey says in this Gamasutra article that that all social game makers are "crossing their fingers and bowing down to the almighty G and saying, 'Please, please let this work and give us a viable second platform where we can build our games.'"
A simple way that Google+ could become 'the' next hotspot for social gaming? Instead of requiring a 30% cut from game makers (like Facebook does), let companies host games on G+ for a lower fee (or the low, low price of free!). Facebook has also done a terrible job at surfacing new and interesting games to its users -- and recently made it more difficult by pulling its app directory from the service. If Google+ can support even the most bare bones recommendation system for games on the network, that could be a big win for people who make games and those of us who like to play them.
The Sims Social: How to make frenemies in The Sims on Facebook [video]
The Sims Social is still not available to the general public, but the public relations campaign for The Sims on Facebook is clearly in full swing. Last week, we talked to the game developer about tricks that you can play on friends (or frenemies) in the game and this new trailer (see below), released today, goes into depth on how exactly that works.
Apparently you can go from friends to enemies to ... archenemies in the game if you're jerky enough to a fellow player. When that happens, the gloves are off (or on, rather, as you and your archenemy can don red boxing gloves and duke it out.)
Gallery: The Sims Social on Facebook
Apparently you can go from friends to enemies to ... archenemies in the game if you're jerky enough to a fellow player. When that happens, the gloves are off (or on, rather, as you and your archenemy can don red boxing gloves and duke it out.)
Gallery: The Sims Social on Facebook
Facebook game aims to save gorillas, tigers and more through play
If Zynga's past donations to Haiti, Japan and other ailing nations have taught us anything, it's the enormous capacity for Facebook games to help others in need. But Good World Games has decided to extend that good will towards others in social gaming to animals, namely gorillas.
Its newest game is called My Conservation Park, and the developer has joined in partnerships with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, WildAid and three more organizations to donate 15 percent of the profits from all in-game purchases to helping those organizations save a wide variety of endangered wildlife.
Players connect to the game through Facebook, and must preserve and protect a series of parks for five different animal species: gorillas, tigers, whales, monkeys and sharks. Each park has its own native animals that players must care for in both its Protect and Erich modes.
In Protection Mode, players have to track down poachers and click them to rid the park of them. Once the nasty poachers are gone, you must clean up and preserve your parks by decorating them with items found in the shop in Enrich mode.
The game doesn't play much differently from standard social games other than the ability to turn the action on and off through Enrich mode and Protect modes. There are also a few mini games to play like Wildlife Tagging, which tasks you with tagging the animals you save, but not twice or you'll lose points. As you progress and successfully protect and preserve more animal habitats, you'll gain access to new parks, items and animals to save.
My Conservation Park gameplay
However, it's up to you to make donations through the game's primary currency, simply known as Gold. But we bet after one look at those adorable cartoon animals--or the extra information (and video courtesy of Sigourney Weaver) Good World Games provides--you'll start reaching for the old wallet. The only thing this game needs is a cameo from Alanis Morissette.
Click here to play My Conservation Park through Facebook Connect Now >
[Via Earth Techling]
What do you think of social games that aim to do good through donations and other methods? Have you ever donated to a cause through a Facebook game before?
Its newest game is called My Conservation Park, and the developer has joined in partnerships with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, WildAid and three more organizations to donate 15 percent of the profits from all in-game purchases to helping those organizations save a wide variety of endangered wildlife.
Players connect to the game through Facebook, and must preserve and protect a series of parks for five different animal species: gorillas, tigers, whales, monkeys and sharks. Each park has its own native animals that players must care for in both its Protect and Erich modes.
In Protection Mode, players have to track down poachers and click them to rid the park of them. Once the nasty poachers are gone, you must clean up and preserve your parks by decorating them with items found in the shop in Enrich mode.
The game doesn't play much differently from standard social games other than the ability to turn the action on and off through Enrich mode and Protect modes. There are also a few mini games to play like Wildlife Tagging, which tasks you with tagging the animals you save, but not twice or you'll lose points. As you progress and successfully protect and preserve more animal habitats, you'll gain access to new parks, items and animals to save.
My Conservation Park gameplay
However, it's up to you to make donations through the game's primary currency, simply known as Gold. But we bet after one look at those adorable cartoon animals--or the extra information (and video courtesy of Sigourney Weaver) Good World Games provides--you'll start reaching for the old wallet. The only thing this game needs is a cameo from Alanis Morissette.
Click here to play My Conservation Park through Facebook Connect Now >
[Via Earth Techling]
What do you think of social games that aim to do good through donations and other methods? Have you ever donated to a cause through a Facebook game before?
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Brayzdin's monster lizard pops up with a roar
Have you ever heard of the Marvel Comics monster lizard known as Fin Fang Foom? He's got a burning desire to mate despite being born without genitals, but even so, he still wears pants. He also enjoys threatening his enemies by saying he will put them in his pants. Don't believe me? Look at this.
Fin Fang Foom put you in his pants.
Now that we've gotten that particular fact settled, I'm sure Fin Fang Foom approves of Brayzdin's FarmVille farm, because it is awesome and because reptilian solidarity is important on a planet which is dominated by homo sapiens.
Anyway, the 3d effect of Braydzin's farm is rather subtle, but once you notice it's there, it hits your eyes like -- WHOA! Then you notice the humongous scaly head with its red slobbery tongue and gecko-esque hands grasping the quasi-craggy cliff sides for an absolutely spectacular view.
[Source: Zynga forums]
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Fin Fang Foom put you in his pants.
Now that we've gotten that particular fact settled, I'm sure Fin Fang Foom approves of Brayzdin's FarmVille farm, because it is awesome and because reptilian solidarity is important on a planet which is dominated by homo sapiens.
Anyway, the 3d effect of Braydzin's farm is rather subtle, but once you notice it's there, it hits your eyes like -- WHOA! Then you notice the humongous scaly head with its red slobbery tongue and gecko-esque hands grasping the quasi-craggy cliff sides for an absolutely spectacular view.
[Source: Zynga forums]
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
OpenFeint powers Chinese mobile social game network Game Zone
Google and the Chinese government have a ... tenuous relationship. And mobile social gaming, namely Android gaming, has suffered as a result. Amidst frequent shutouts of the official Android Market in China, Chinese game company The9 has announced Game Zone, an OpenFeint-powered mobile social game network and distribution channel.
Through Game Zone, Western mobile social game makers can hit Chinese mobile game audiences across 30 Android app stores other than the Android Market. The service was made possible by deals The9 made with all three major Chinese mobile carriers: China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. The deals also allow Game Zone to be preinstalled on Lenovo, HTC, and Motorola Android phones.
While The9 will fund smaller American and European Android game creators through the $100 million-strong Fund9, it's the big league creators that might benefit most from this. PopCap recently announced that Plants vs Zombies will shuffle toward Chinese audiences, which is joined by Rovio's Angry Birds. Several Zynga games have launched in China, and perhaps this opportunity will nudge similar moves by the social game giant on Android.
We often talk about how Japan's mobile social game companies are encroaching upon Western audiences. It looks like the inverse is happening in China, where Western mobile and social game makers are looking to tap into their audience. It makes you wonder why Chinese game companies have yet to try the same at such a scale.
Would Western game companies be smart to enter China through products like Game Zone? When, if ever, will Chinese social game companies push as hard into the West as Japanese companies?
Through Game Zone, Western mobile social game makers can hit Chinese mobile game audiences across 30 Android app stores other than the Android Market. The service was made possible by deals The9 made with all three major Chinese mobile carriers: China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. The deals also allow Game Zone to be preinstalled on Lenovo, HTC, and Motorola Android phones.
While The9 will fund smaller American and European Android game creators through the $100 million-strong Fund9, it's the big league creators that might benefit most from this. PopCap recently announced that Plants vs Zombies will shuffle toward Chinese audiences, which is joined by Rovio's Angry Birds. Several Zynga games have launched in China, and perhaps this opportunity will nudge similar moves by the social game giant on Android.
We often talk about how Japan's mobile social game companies are encroaching upon Western audiences. It looks like the inverse is happening in China, where Western mobile and social game makers are looking to tap into their audience. It makes you wonder why Chinese game companies have yet to try the same at such a scale.
Would Western game companies be smart to enter China through products like Game Zone? When, if ever, will Chinese social game companies push as hard into the West as Japanese companies?
Final Fantasy's big hair and bigger swords go mobile, social on Mobage
We just hope it'll all fit into a 3-inch screen. Japanese game companies Square Enix and DeNA have announced that they're working on the first Final Fantasy social game to launch on Mobage, DeNA's mobile social game network, Gamasutra reports. That is, the first social game to directly revolve around the 24-year-old Final Fantasy role-playing game franchise.
You might remember Square Enix released two Facebook games last year that were loosely based on the Final Fantasy series, Knights of the Crystal and Chocobo's Crystal Tower. According to Gamasutra, the game will be developed in-house at DeNA, and will use familiar characters from the franchise. (We imagine those will come from the 13 numbered Final Fantasy games.)
There's no word on whether the game will hit the Western, Android version of Mobage, but Japanese Final Fantasy fans can already pre-register for the game. As an added incentive, those who buy the brand new Final Fantasy Type-0 (pictured) for the PSP will receive special benefits in the Final Fantasy game for Mobage when it releases. Gamasutra's Kyle Orland (humorously) recalls that, during an interview with Gamasutra earlier this summer, Square Enix CEO Mike Fischer scoffed at social games.
Final Fantasy Mobage
Keep in mind, Fischer dismissed social games even after the company released two Facebook games. Look, if games based on Gundam and The Smurfs from Japanese companies can reel it in, a Final Fantasy social game is going to do just fine.
Do you think a Final Fantasy mobile social game would do well outside of Japan? Are you hopeful that Square Enix and DeNA will release the game in the West?
You might remember Square Enix released two Facebook games last year that were loosely based on the Final Fantasy series, Knights of the Crystal and Chocobo's Crystal Tower. According to Gamasutra, the game will be developed in-house at DeNA, and will use familiar characters from the franchise. (We imagine those will come from the 13 numbered Final Fantasy games.)
There's no word on whether the game will hit the Western, Android version of Mobage, but Japanese Final Fantasy fans can already pre-register for the game. As an added incentive, those who buy the brand new Final Fantasy Type-0 (pictured) for the PSP will receive special benefits in the Final Fantasy game for Mobage when it releases. Gamasutra's Kyle Orland (humorously) recalls that, during an interview with Gamasutra earlier this summer, Square Enix CEO Mike Fischer scoffed at social games.
Final Fantasy Mobage
Keep in mind, Fischer dismissed social games even after the company released two Facebook games. Look, if games based on Gundam and The Smurfs from Japanese companies can reel it in, a Final Fantasy social game is going to do just fine.
Do you think a Final Fantasy mobile social game would do well outside of Japan? Are you hopeful that Square Enix and DeNA will release the game in the West?
Conquer Online MMO rides from China onto Facebook and iPad
Made by Chinese developer NetDragon Websoft Inc. and published by TQ Digital, Conquer Online is a free-to-play, MMO (massively multiplayer online) game for PC that's been around since 2003 and boasts 10 million players worldwide. Earlier this year, NetDragon partnered with a major Japanese mobile network and developer, DeNA, and then unveiled both Facebook and iPad beta versions of its MMO at GamesCom in August.
The Facebook version of Conquer Online launched two weeks ago, but unfortunately has been plagued by lag, log-in issues and strange bugs. (For instance, setting my character on auto-path caused her to bare her arms in a spread-eagle sprint.) The official YouTube trailer also tries so groan-inducingly hard to appeal to Western audiences (music that sounds like the TV opening to Roseanne should not be scored with a game set in ancient China, people!), paying attention to it hurts my brain.
If you do manage to get in, things don't fare any better. Like most Chinese MMOs, you're presented with (at best) passable graphics, music, user interface, and the gameplay is always ridiculously heavy on the grind. There's also something very amateurish about this kind of game. What they lack in finesse and cohesion, they compensate with an aggressive, workman-like execution and gorgeous still art--in this case, the kind of style you'll find in Chinese wuxia comics.
Conquer Online Facebook
This thing might be on Facebook, but no changes have been made to accommodate Facebook gamers. Nexon's MapleStory Adventures does a much better (and certainly fantastic) job of making itself accessible to newcomers. And not just through gameplay, but aesthetics, too. To hammer home the unfriendly nature of this game, a more optimistic reviewer noted Conquer Online is an open PVP (player vs player) environment. This means that random players can come along and just kill you in-game, if you're not careful. On the upside, if you've never played Conquer Online, you can now save yourself the trouble of downloading a several hundred megabyte file and just run the game on Facebook in mere minutes (though it will prompt you to install Kalydo before you can begin).
Click here to play Conquer Online on Facebook now >
How many MMOs have you ever played? Do you think I'm being too harsh on Conquer Online?
The Facebook version of Conquer Online launched two weeks ago, but unfortunately has been plagued by lag, log-in issues and strange bugs. (For instance, setting my character on auto-path caused her to bare her arms in a spread-eagle sprint.) The official YouTube trailer also tries so groan-inducingly hard to appeal to Western audiences (music that sounds like the TV opening to Roseanne should not be scored with a game set in ancient China, people!), paying attention to it hurts my brain.
If you do manage to get in, things don't fare any better. Like most Chinese MMOs, you're presented with (at best) passable graphics, music, user interface, and the gameplay is always ridiculously heavy on the grind. There's also something very amateurish about this kind of game. What they lack in finesse and cohesion, they compensate with an aggressive, workman-like execution and gorgeous still art--in this case, the kind of style you'll find in Chinese wuxia comics.
Conquer Online Facebook
This thing might be on Facebook, but no changes have been made to accommodate Facebook gamers. Nexon's MapleStory Adventures does a much better (and certainly fantastic) job of making itself accessible to newcomers. And not just through gameplay, but aesthetics, too. To hammer home the unfriendly nature of this game, a more optimistic reviewer noted Conquer Online is an open PVP (player vs player) environment. This means that random players can come along and just kill you in-game, if you're not careful. On the upside, if you've never played Conquer Online, you can now save yourself the trouble of downloading a several hundred megabyte file and just run the game on Facebook in mere minutes (though it will prompt you to install Kalydo before you can begin).
Click here to play Conquer Online on Facebook now >
How many MMOs have you ever played? Do you think I'm being too harsh on Conquer Online?
House, CSI: Miami and NCIS games to air on Facebook this winter
Social gamers are naturally very meta people. Come one, who else would watch an episode of CSI, only to play an episode of CSI: Crime City either during the show or afterward? Ubisoft seems to have struck gold with Facebook games based on TV properties, so the company has announced three more: CSI: Miami, House, M.D.: Critical Cases and NCIS: Major Crimes.
Inside Social Games reports that the games will launch either at the end of this year or early in 2012. In other words, they're coming this winter. The games will play out procedurally, like episodes of their television inspirations. Players will search for clues after identifying victims, patients or suspects and solve cases with the help of friends and non-player characters.
The French game publisher also announced a deal with Loot Drop, designer John Romero's studio that has yet to release its first game, Cloudforest Expedition. No details were given regarding the game, but this marks the third game set to come out of Loot Drop, its first two with publisher RockYou. Ubisoft will also release Ghost Recon Commander for Facebook.
The game will serve as a companion to the publisher's two upcoming Ghost Recon games: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for console and Ghost Recon: Online for PCs. According to ISG, players will be able to advance in either core game through the Facebook companion and vice versa. We've seen how high-profile companion games do already, but House is poised to be a winner--have you seen how many "Likes" it has on Facebook?
Are you excited by any of these announcements by Ubisoft? Which of these games do you think will do best on Facebook?
Inside Social Games reports that the games will launch either at the end of this year or early in 2012. In other words, they're coming this winter. The games will play out procedurally, like episodes of their television inspirations. Players will search for clues after identifying victims, patients or suspects and solve cases with the help of friends and non-player characters.
The French game publisher also announced a deal with Loot Drop, designer John Romero's studio that has yet to release its first game, Cloudforest Expedition. No details were given regarding the game, but this marks the third game set to come out of Loot Drop, its first two with publisher RockYou. Ubisoft will also release Ghost Recon Commander for Facebook.
The game will serve as a companion to the publisher's two upcoming Ghost Recon games: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for console and Ghost Recon: Online for PCs. According to ISG, players will be able to advance in either core game through the Facebook companion and vice versa. We've seen how high-profile companion games do already, but House is poised to be a winner--have you seen how many "Likes" it has on Facebook?
Are you excited by any of these announcements by Ubisoft? Which of these games do you think will do best on Facebook?
Jurassic Park to (hopefully) bring Mr. DNA to mobile, Facebook in 2012
It's just not Jurassic Park without the little guy. Ludia, the Vancouver-based creator of branded Facebook and mobile games like Family Feud and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, has announced that it will bring a Jurassic Park social game to mobile devices in 2012. This deal with Universal Studios marks the company's move into the movie industry through branded games.
"This exciting license is our gateway to the movie industry and reinforces our strategy of turning high-profile brands into successful interactive entertainment experiences," Ludia CEO Alex Thabet said in a release, according to Inside Social Games. But it sounds as if the game will be far less about dinosaurs wreaking havoc than about keeping dinosaurs in check.
In other words, it's going to be another property management game. (Ugh.) Ludia will throw players onto the ill-fated island shortly after the events of the first movie, and they'll be able to help rebuild Jurassic Park into a thriving, money printing machine. What sounds most interesting is the ability to breed dinosaurs using new DNA strands discovered in pieces of amber. See? There's no way Ludia can leave out Mr. DNA now.
Of course, players will need to seek the help of their Facebook friends to keep dino-related disasters from happening and more tourists forking over the cash. The game has yet to receive an official title, and will release on mobile devices before hitting social networks like Facebook.
Are you excited to see Jurassic Park become a social game? What are your thoughts on branded mobile and social games?
"This exciting license is our gateway to the movie industry and reinforces our strategy of turning high-profile brands into successful interactive entertainment experiences," Ludia CEO Alex Thabet said in a release, according to Inside Social Games. But it sounds as if the game will be far less about dinosaurs wreaking havoc than about keeping dinosaurs in check.
In other words, it's going to be another property management game. (Ugh.) Ludia will throw players onto the ill-fated island shortly after the events of the first movie, and they'll be able to help rebuild Jurassic Park into a thriving, money printing machine. What sounds most interesting is the ability to breed dinosaurs using new DNA strands discovered in pieces of amber. See? There's no way Ludia can leave out Mr. DNA now.
Of course, players will need to seek the help of their Facebook friends to keep dino-related disasters from happening and more tourists forking over the cash. The game has yet to receive an official title, and will release on mobile devices before hitting social networks like Facebook.
Are you excited to see Jurassic Park become a social game? What are your thoughts on branded mobile and social games?
The Peanut Gallery runs Snoopy's Street Fair on iOS Nov. 17 [Video]
We're not usually the type to fawn over game trailers, but after hearing that lovely piano tune it's hard not to. Capcom and Beeline Interactive's Snoopy's Street Fair is set to launch on the App Store for free Nov. 17, TouchGen reports. At first glance, the game looks a lot like Beeline's Smurfs' Village. And, in theory, it probably is. But what's important here is the authenticity.
Seeing the game in motion looks like the strip come to life. (You know, aside from the TV specials.) Everything from the hand drawn graphics to the interface looks as if the venerable Mr. Schulz drew the artwork himself for the game. Players will help Chuck and the gang throw their own street fair, complete with attractions like Lucy's Psychiatric Help and lemonade stands.
The game looks like just another property management underneath the layer of nostalgia, but Beeline has mixed things up with a slew of mini games. Players will get to roast marshmallows, mix watercolors and squeeze lemons for lemonade in unique, timed romps for the high score. It looks like the game will have a number of collectible draws as well.
Capcom made a smart move getting into the branded games biz when it did, as IndustryGamers reports the Japanese publisher suffered a 28.1 percent loss in revenue year over year. Despite this, the company hailed mobile social game Smurfs' Village as the "driving force" behind an 89 percent jump in net sales since last year. Hey, if that means more adorable nostalgia fests like this, then count us in.
Are you going to download Snoopy's Street Fair when it launches next month? What do you think of Capcom's approach to mobile social games?
Seeing the game in motion looks like the strip come to life. (You know, aside from the TV specials.) Everything from the hand drawn graphics to the interface looks as if the venerable Mr. Schulz drew the artwork himself for the game. Players will help Chuck and the gang throw their own street fair, complete with attractions like Lucy's Psychiatric Help and lemonade stands.
The game looks like just another property management underneath the layer of nostalgia, but Beeline has mixed things up with a slew of mini games. Players will get to roast marshmallows, mix watercolors and squeeze lemons for lemonade in unique, timed romps for the high score. It looks like the game will have a number of collectible draws as well.
Capcom made a smart move getting into the branded games biz when it did, as IndustryGamers reports the Japanese publisher suffered a 28.1 percent loss in revenue year over year. Despite this, the company hailed mobile social game Smurfs' Village as the "driving force" behind an 89 percent jump in net sales since last year. Hey, if that means more adorable nostalgia fests like this, then count us in.
Are you going to download Snoopy's Street Fair when it launches next month? What do you think of Capcom's approach to mobile social games?
Monday, December 12, 2011
FarmVille Halloween items: Candy Corn Tree, Halloween Cottage, Jack-O'-Lantern and more
With tonight's FarmVille update, we see the game switch to Halloween-mode, as the first set of Halloween related items has been released in the store. This particular update sees the launch of both new items and old, so if you happen to regret not purchasing some items from last year's Halloween theme, take a look at our overview of these items to see if they've come back around.
Crops
Jack O Lantern - 10 Farm Cash
To be specific, the Jack O Lantern crop comes as an exclusive, permit-only crop that can be unlocked for 10 Farm Cash. For that price, you'll gain access to planting the crop as many times as you'd like for a seven day period. Once purchased and planted, you'll be able to harvest the Jack O Lanterns after 12 hours, and will gain three experience points for each and every square planted. The crop is masterable, with the first star coming at 400 harvests.
Trees
Candy Corn Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Candy Corn Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Halloween Candy Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Big Halloween Candy Tree - 14 Farm Cash
If you're like me, the thought of bright and whimsical trees will likely have you ready to whip out your credit card. These trees are no exception, as the Halloween Candy trees keep their purple color constantly, while the Candy Corn trees start out in different shades of green, only to mature into the classic white, yellow and orange trio of colors we're familiar with from the candy. As usual, the Level 1 (cheaper) trees are the only ones you really need to worry about purchasing outright for your collection, as you'll likely earn the larger trees in each pair for free via Mystery Seedlings.
Animals
Candy Corn Cat - 12 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Pony - 24 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Unicorn - 30 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Stallion - 35 Farm Cash
For these animals, the Candy Corn Pony was released last year (also for 24 Farm Cash), so you might already have one on your farm. If you'd like to purchase these items for your new Lighthouse Cove farm, however, you will have to purchase multiples (duplicates) as there is no way to transfer storage to your new farm as of this writing.
Buildings
Halloween Cottage - 30 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Home - 18 Farm Cash
The Halloween Cottage has to be one of the most intricately detailed buildings I've seen released in FarmVille in quite some time, if not ever. The building is covered in various spiderwebs and has candy, pumpkins and what appear to be twigs resting in the windowsills, around the front "porch" and the sides. Even the weather vane on the roof is in the design of the bat - how neat! As for the Candy Corn Home, it takes on a cuter appearance, with smaller candy corn pieces branching off from the main home as separate rooms. It's just a shame that both of these items cost Farm Cash, rather than going for coins.
Decorations
Candy Corn Gate - 10,000 coins
Candy Corn (Fountain) - 15 Farm Cash
Jack-O'-Lantern - 3,000 coins
Candy Corn Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Fence - 5,000 coins
If this Jack-O'-Lantern trio looks familiar, it's because this is one item that has been a stable in FarmVille's Halloween events for the last few years, first appearing in 2009. The price has increased somewhat, but at 3,000 coins, it's still a bargain (especially considering that they glow as though lit with a candle).
Avatar Clothing
Banana Costume - 5 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Costume - 7 Farm Cash
While I'm fairly confident additional costumes will be launched in the game's store between now and Halloween proper, if you're looking to get into the spirit early, or just really like Bananas or Candy Corn, you can spend a few Farm Cash to dress your avatar up appropriately. Remember, you can try on items to see if you like the way your avatar looks in them before purchasing.
All of these items (with the exception of the crop) will be available in the game for the next 13 days. To top all of this off, however, if you happen to purchase seven items in this theme so far within the next seven days, you'll receive a free Nightmare Rider: a Halloween-themed sheep with a pumpkin hat and an orange and black flame motorcycle. We'll make sure to let you know when additional Halloween items and features launch in the game in the coming weeks, so keep checking back with us!
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
Are you excited to see FarmVille transition into Halloween-themed mode this year? Which of these items is your favorite so far?
Crops
Jack O Lantern - 10 Farm Cash
To be specific, the Jack O Lantern crop comes as an exclusive, permit-only crop that can be unlocked for 10 Farm Cash. For that price, you'll gain access to planting the crop as many times as you'd like for a seven day period. Once purchased and planted, you'll be able to harvest the Jack O Lanterns after 12 hours, and will gain three experience points for each and every square planted. The crop is masterable, with the first star coming at 400 harvests.
Trees
Candy Corn Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Candy Corn Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Halloween Candy Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Big Halloween Candy Tree - 14 Farm Cash
If you're like me, the thought of bright and whimsical trees will likely have you ready to whip out your credit card. These trees are no exception, as the Halloween Candy trees keep their purple color constantly, while the Candy Corn trees start out in different shades of green, only to mature into the classic white, yellow and orange trio of colors we're familiar with from the candy. As usual, the Level 1 (cheaper) trees are the only ones you really need to worry about purchasing outright for your collection, as you'll likely earn the larger trees in each pair for free via Mystery Seedlings.
Animals
Candy Corn Cat - 12 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Pony - 24 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Unicorn - 30 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Stallion - 35 Farm Cash
For these animals, the Candy Corn Pony was released last year (also for 24 Farm Cash), so you might already have one on your farm. If you'd like to purchase these items for your new Lighthouse Cove farm, however, you will have to purchase multiples (duplicates) as there is no way to transfer storage to your new farm as of this writing.
Buildings
Halloween Cottage - 30 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Home - 18 Farm Cash
The Halloween Cottage has to be one of the most intricately detailed buildings I've seen released in FarmVille in quite some time, if not ever. The building is covered in various spiderwebs and has candy, pumpkins and what appear to be twigs resting in the windowsills, around the front "porch" and the sides. Even the weather vane on the roof is in the design of the bat - how neat! As for the Candy Corn Home, it takes on a cuter appearance, with smaller candy corn pieces branching off from the main home as separate rooms. It's just a shame that both of these items cost Farm Cash, rather than going for coins.
Decorations
Candy Corn Gate - 10,000 coins
Candy Corn (Fountain) - 15 Farm Cash
Jack-O'-Lantern - 3,000 coins
Candy Corn Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Fence - 5,000 coins
If this Jack-O'-Lantern trio looks familiar, it's because this is one item that has been a stable in FarmVille's Halloween events for the last few years, first appearing in 2009. The price has increased somewhat, but at 3,000 coins, it's still a bargain (especially considering that they glow as though lit with a candle).
Avatar Clothing
Banana Costume - 5 Farm Cash
Candy Corn Costume - 7 Farm Cash
While I'm fairly confident additional costumes will be launched in the game's store between now and Halloween proper, if you're looking to get into the spirit early, or just really like Bananas or Candy Corn, you can spend a few Farm Cash to dress your avatar up appropriately. Remember, you can try on items to see if you like the way your avatar looks in them before purchasing.
All of these items (with the exception of the crop) will be available in the game for the next 13 days. To top all of this off, however, if you happen to purchase seven items in this theme so far within the next seven days, you'll receive a free Nightmare Rider: a Halloween-themed sheep with a pumpkin hat and an orange and black flame motorcycle. We'll make sure to let you know when additional Halloween items and features launch in the game in the coming weeks, so keep checking back with us!
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
Are you excited to see FarmVille transition into Halloween-themed mode this year? Which of these items is your favorite so far?
FarmVille: Horses return to the store in celebration of Horse Paddock
As has become a new (but temporary) ritual in FarmVille, every time another animal breeding building releases in the game, a set of matching animals are re-released in the game's store allowing you to fill it with a variety of limited edition animals. Such is the case with this final breeding habitat - the Horse Paddock - as you can now purchase a variety of Horses to fill it from the store for a limited time. Remember, you don't need a Stallion inside your Horse Paddock to trigger breeding; you just need a single kind of a particular Horse to produce a Foal at random you harvest from the Paddock. Here's a look at the animals you can now purchase.
Disco Pony - 24 Farm Cash
Pinto Pony - 26 Farm Cash
Clydesdale Stallion - 40 Farm Cash
Mini Appaloosa - 26 Farm Cash
Palouse Horse - 28 Farm Cash
Haflinger - 24 Farm Cash
E-QUESTR10N - 24 Farm Cash
Mini Purple Unicorn - 35 Farm Cash
White Pegasus - 35 Farm Cash
Andalusian Horse - 26 Farm Cash
King Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Pink Ponytail Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Pinto Mini Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Fairy Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Comtois Horse - 26 Farm Cash
There are plenty of Horse collectors in FarmVille, and it shows here, with a whopping 15 horses/ponies being released once again for players to add to their collections. If you joined the game later than other farmers, or just started your collection recently, this is a fantastic (albeit incredibly expensive) way to flesh out your collection into something that's definitely worth showing off. Just remember, these Horses will only be available in the store for the next week. After that point, they'll go into retirement, with no guarantee of when (if ever) they'll come back again.
Will you purchase any of these re-released Horses, or is your collection of Horses already large enough to fill plenty of Horse Paddocks?
Disco Pony - 24 Farm Cash
Pinto Pony - 26 Farm Cash
Clydesdale Stallion - 40 Farm Cash
Mini Appaloosa - 26 Farm Cash
Palouse Horse - 28 Farm Cash
Haflinger - 24 Farm Cash
E-QUESTR10N - 24 Farm Cash
Mini Purple Unicorn - 35 Farm Cash
White Pegasus - 35 Farm Cash
Andalusian Horse - 26 Farm Cash
King Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Pink Ponytail Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Pinto Mini Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Fairy Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Comtois Horse - 26 Farm Cash
There are plenty of Horse collectors in FarmVille, and it shows here, with a whopping 15 horses/ponies being released once again for players to add to their collections. If you joined the game later than other farmers, or just started your collection recently, this is a fantastic (albeit incredibly expensive) way to flesh out your collection into something that's definitely worth showing off. Just remember, these Horses will only be available in the store for the next week. After that point, they'll go into retirement, with no guarantee of when (if ever) they'll come back again.
Will you purchase any of these re-released Horses, or is your collection of Horses already large enough to fill plenty of Horse Paddocks?
FarmVille Horse Mystery Box: What's inside?
If the recently re-released set of Horses available in the FarmVille marketplace aren't enough to satisfy your Horse-collecting needs, why not look into purchasing one of the new Horse Mystery Boxes that have also been released in the game's store? Remember, these Mystery Boxes are found under the Decorations tab of the store, even if they contain animals, so don't worry if you don't see them where they likely should be.
As for this particular box, it comes stocked with six Horses, but remember - you'll have no way of knowing which Horse you'll receive when opening a single box up. They come with the expected Horse price tag of 24 Farm Cash per box, and for that price, you're guaranteed to receive one of the following:
Black Shire Horse
Chrome Pegasus
Rainbow Mini Horse
Rainbow Pony
Rainbow Stallion
White Unicorn
Unfortunately, another problem inherent with these Mystery Boxes is that they also don't guarantee you to not receive duplicates if you decide to open more than one. Depending on how many of these Horses you already have on your farms from previous releases, that fact alone could actually make this box too much of a risk to purchase. Either way, you'll need to make up your mind about a purchase fairly quickly, as the box (and its contents) will expire from the store in a week's time.
Will you purchase a Horse Mystery Box for your game? Which Horse are you hoping to find inside? Which one did you actually receive?
As for this particular box, it comes stocked with six Horses, but remember - you'll have no way of knowing which Horse you'll receive when opening a single box up. They come with the expected Horse price tag of 24 Farm Cash per box, and for that price, you're guaranteed to receive one of the following:
Black Shire Horse
Chrome Pegasus
Rainbow Mini Horse
Rainbow Pony
Rainbow Stallion
White Unicorn
Unfortunately, another problem inherent with these Mystery Boxes is that they also don't guarantee you to not receive duplicates if you decide to open more than one. Depending on how many of these Horses you already have on your farms from previous releases, that fact alone could actually make this box too much of a risk to purchase. Either way, you'll need to make up your mind about a purchase fairly quickly, as the box (and its contents) will expire from the store in a week's time.
Will you purchase a Horse Mystery Box for your game? Which Horse are you hoping to find inside? Which one did you actually receive?
FarmVille Halloween Model Farm offers free Arborists and more
While I know I've expressed my problems with the Model Farm in FarmVille in the past, with the new Halloween Model Farm that launched this evening, I might have to eat my words. Not only is it great to see Halloween-themed items (from one of my favorite holidays) in all of their "life-size glory," but this particular Model Farm also combines these Halloween items with Lighthouse Cove items so that we can see how that looks without spending our own money beforehand.
To add to this, you're even given free prizes just for visiting, giving us even more incentive to do so. Tonight's free prize, for example, is an Arborist. While it's unclear as to whether or not that prize is static just for today's date on the calendar or for each user's first visit to the Model Farm, but either way, it doesn't hurt to just spend a few seconds allowing the farm to load each day to receive your free prize. It could be anything from functional items to coins and beyond so isn't the mystery alone enough reason to check it out?
No? Well, also remember that you can purchase items directly from the farm if you happen to see something you like but that the store never gave you enough detail to before. I suppose that's the real purpose of the Model Farm, after all, so feel free to put it to good use.
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
What prizes have you received from the new Halloween Model Farm? Do you find the Model Farm feature useful, or is it just wasted space in your eyes?
To add to this, you're even given free prizes just for visiting, giving us even more incentive to do so. Tonight's free prize, for example, is an Arborist. While it's unclear as to whether or not that prize is static just for today's date on the calendar or for each user's first visit to the Model Farm, but either way, it doesn't hurt to just spend a few seconds allowing the farm to load each day to receive your free prize. It could be anything from functional items to coins and beyond so isn't the mystery alone enough reason to check it out?
No? Well, also remember that you can purchase items directly from the farm if you happen to see something you like but that the store never gave you enough detail to before. I suppose that's the real purpose of the Model Farm, after all, so feel free to put it to good use.
Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.
What prizes have you received from the new Halloween Model Farm? Do you find the Model Farm feature useful, or is it just wasted space in your eyes?
PopCap feels the power of 'free,' more freemium games incoming
Perhaps "PopCap feels the power of Facebook" is more like it. During an interview with PocketGamer.biz, PopCap senior director of mobile product and business strategy Giordano Contestabile revealed that the Bejeweled Blitz creator has plenty more plans for freemium mobile games. That's especially since its recent Plants vs Zombies freemium-inspired update.
"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.
"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."
While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.
Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games?
"While we typically don't disclose much about our future plans, I can say that you're in for a lot of surprises for us in the coming months, and that in-app transactions and the freemium model are going to feature prominently," Contestabile told PocketGamer.biz. The PopCap exec believes that the play first, (maybe) pay later model of mobile games will likely take over.
"I think that, one year from now, 95 percent or more of iOS game downloads might come from freemium games, and 80 percent or more of the revenue could be associated with them," Contestabile told the website. "The freemium model is extremely powerful because it allows developers to reach the biggest possible audience, and it allows players to choose if and how to pay for content, after having tried it out."
While Contestabile did say that there's still a place for premium game experiences, or pay-to-play games, that approach is losing its luster for most games. It wouldn't be terribly inaccurate to call this "The Facebook Effect." The fact that companies like Zynga and EA (which now owns PopCap) have made serious dough with free-to-play Facebook games has certainly had a visible impact on mobile gaming, which has a distribution model fairly similar to social networks. Almost Free is here to stay, and it looks like PopCap wants to lead the charge.
Are you excited to hear that more free-to-play games are coming from PopCap? Which property do you hope gets the free treatment next, or are you hoping for more original games?
The Sims Social Summer Blowout Week decor shows its pearly whites
With a freebie frenzy of sorts and a new feature in Land Expansions, Playfish has been rather busy with The Sims Social. Just recently, the team released a number of new summer-themed items in its Summer Blowout Week to ring out the brightest season ... again.
At any rate, there are quite a few items to check out both for Simoleons and SimCash. But we're going to focus on the decorations, so moving right along:
LuxLite Wonder
Costs: 8 SimCash
House Value: 1,200
Sunflower
Costs: 9 SimCash
House Value: 1,500
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Lemonade For All
Level 13 Required
House Value: 350
Contempo Chair
Costs: 14 SimCash
House Value: 2,050
Basix Lounger
Costs: 450 Simoleons
House Value: 300
Sleep: 11
Bladder: -1
Twisted Topiary
Costs: 15 SimCash
House Value: 2,200
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Heart Topiary SolTrain Gazebo LuxLite Lamp
Contempo Table
Costs: 19 SimCash
House Value: 2,800
Stunning Palm
Costs: 19 SimCash
House Value: 2,800
Fun: 3
Social: 3
ArchPine Chair
Level 12 Required
House Value: 650
Star Parasol Rose/Pale
Level 13 Required
House Value: 650
Heart Topiary
Costs: 25 SimCash
House Value: 3,700
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Contempo Bench
Costs: 25 SimCash
House Value: 3,700
Lizard Lounger
Costs: 800 Simoleons
House Value: 700
Sleep: 11
Bladder: -1
SolTrain Lounger
Costs: 29 SimCash
House Value: 4,300
Sleep: 11
Bladder: -1
ArchPine Table
Level 12 Required
House Value: 1,100
Contempo Lux
Costs: 35 SimCash
House Value: 5,150
Sunflower Font of all Awesome Pale Star Parasol
ArchPine Bench
Level 12 Required
House Value: 1,300
Mini Palm
Costs: 1,350 Simoleons
House Value: 1,450
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Aquatix Thrill
Costs: 55 SimCash
House Value: 8,150
Atlas Fountain
Costs: 1,750 Simoleons
House Value: 1,650
Font of All Awesome
Costs: 2,250 Simoleons
House Value: 1,800
Spheres Topiary
Level 23 Required
House Value: 3,250
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Dolphin Topiary
Costs: 4,500 Simoleons
House Value: 3,400
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Elephant Topiary
Costs: 6,500 Simoleons
House Value: 4,650
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Air and Air Pool
Level 12 Required
House Value: 9,500
Fun: 19
Sleep: 11
While a majority of these item unfortunately cost SimCash, a good amount of them go for Simoleons. The best bang for your buck? I'd recommend going for any of the topiaries to give your House Value an instant boost. Also, keep in mind that a number of new wall and floor patterns were added, too, most of which cost Social Points. So, keep visiting your friends if you want to change the overall palette of your Sim's home.
At any rate, there are quite a few items to check out both for Simoleons and SimCash. But we're going to focus on the decorations, so moving right along:
LuxLite Wonder
Costs: 8 SimCash
House Value: 1,200
Sunflower
Costs: 9 SimCash
House Value: 1,500
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Lemonade For All
Level 13 Required
House Value: 350
Contempo Chair
Costs: 14 SimCash
House Value: 2,050
Basix Lounger
Costs: 450 Simoleons
House Value: 300
Sleep: 11
Bladder: -1
Twisted Topiary
Costs: 15 SimCash
House Value: 2,200
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Heart Topiary SolTrain Gazebo LuxLite Lamp
Contempo Table
Costs: 19 SimCash
House Value: 2,800
Stunning Palm
Costs: 19 SimCash
House Value: 2,800
Fun: 3
Social: 3
ArchPine Chair
Level 12 Required
House Value: 650
Star Parasol Rose/Pale
Level 13 Required
House Value: 650
Heart Topiary
Costs: 25 SimCash
House Value: 3,700
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Contempo Bench
Costs: 25 SimCash
House Value: 3,700
Lizard Lounger
Costs: 800 Simoleons
House Value: 700
Sleep: 11
Bladder: -1
SolTrain Lounger
Costs: 29 SimCash
House Value: 4,300
Sleep: 11
Bladder: -1
ArchPine Table
Level 12 Required
House Value: 1,100
Contempo Lux
Costs: 35 SimCash
House Value: 5,150
Sunflower Font of all Awesome Pale Star Parasol
ArchPine Bench
Level 12 Required
House Value: 1,300
Mini Palm
Costs: 1,350 Simoleons
House Value: 1,450
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Aquatix Thrill
Costs: 55 SimCash
House Value: 8,150
Atlas Fountain
Costs: 1,750 Simoleons
House Value: 1,650
Font of All Awesome
Costs: 2,250 Simoleons
House Value: 1,800
Spheres Topiary
Level 23 Required
House Value: 3,250
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Dolphin Topiary
Costs: 4,500 Simoleons
House Value: 3,400
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Elephant Topiary
Costs: 6,500 Simoleons
House Value: 4,650
Bladder: 9
Fun: 3
Air and Air Pool
Level 12 Required
House Value: 9,500
Fun: 19
Sleep: 11
While a majority of these item unfortunately cost SimCash, a good amount of them go for Simoleons. The best bang for your buck? I'd recommend going for any of the topiaries to give your House Value an instant boost. Also, keep in mind that a number of new wall and floor patterns were added, too, most of which cost Social Points. So, keep visiting your friends if you want to change the overall palette of your Sim's home.
Enrique Iglesias says, 'I Like How It Feels' in CityVille, visits next week
Man, why can't an act like Metallica crash CityVille? Oh, excuse my inner metal head, but you ladies out there are gonna' love this one: Zynga has announced that Grammy-winning pop star Enrique Iglesias is coming to its top Facebook game. Starting next week on Oct. 4, players will get the chance to help Mr. Iglesias kick off his recently-launched Euphoria Tour in-game.
Once Enrique lands in CityVille--and if you're over Level 6--you will be graced by his digitized presence in the game. But there' far more to this promotion than just clicking on the guy to hear witty sayings: Players will be able to collect various items fond to Enrique to score a thematic speed boat and Miami high-rise to place in their cities. The event will run through Oct. 10, and there is a grand finale in store for Enrique fans.
Enrique Iglesias in CityVille
Toward the end of the event, you will have the chance to build Enrique his very own Euphoria Arena in-game. Once you do, the guy will be so nice as to show you a sneak preview of his brand new music video, "I Like How It Feels" (featuring Pitbull and The WAVs). Of course, this is far from the first time a Zynga game has enjoyed celebrity exposure.
Just recently, the company announced that Indiana Jones will swoop into Adventure World through its work with Lucasfilm, and who can forget when Lady Gaga ran FarmVille for a few weeks earlier this spring? Even before that, both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg had their fun with Mafia Wars. Are you sensing a trend yet? Good, because we doubt this is the last time a celeb will hit Zynga with a touch of fame. In fact, if you ask Facebook's major game creators, branded games are on the up and up.
Are you psyched to see that Enrique will hit up CityVille on his Euphoria Tour? Which celebrity or artist do you hope makes their way into a Zynga game next?
Once Enrique lands in CityVille--and if you're over Level 6--you will be graced by his digitized presence in the game. But there' far more to this promotion than just clicking on the guy to hear witty sayings: Players will be able to collect various items fond to Enrique to score a thematic speed boat and Miami high-rise to place in their cities. The event will run through Oct. 10, and there is a grand finale in store for Enrique fans.
Enrique Iglesias in CityVille
Toward the end of the event, you will have the chance to build Enrique his very own Euphoria Arena in-game. Once you do, the guy will be so nice as to show you a sneak preview of his brand new music video, "I Like How It Feels" (featuring Pitbull and The WAVs). Of course, this is far from the first time a Zynga game has enjoyed celebrity exposure.
Just recently, the company announced that Indiana Jones will swoop into Adventure World through its work with Lucasfilm, and who can forget when Lady Gaga ran FarmVille for a few weeks earlier this spring? Even before that, both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg had their fun with Mafia Wars. Are you sensing a trend yet? Good, because we doubt this is the last time a celeb will hit Zynga with a touch of fame. In fact, if you ask Facebook's major game creators, branded games are on the up and up.
Are you psyched to see that Enrique will hit up CityVille on his Euphoria Tour? Which celebrity or artist do you hope makes their way into a Zynga game next?
Vostu goes for Goooaaal with GolMania on Facebook, Orkut [Video]
And boy, does it look intense. Vostu--you know, the Brazilian social game maker trading legal blows with Zynga--has released what is likely its most ambitious social game yet with GolMania. Available now on Facebook and Orkut in English, Portuguese and Spanish, this social soccer game touts real-time, directly-controlled soccer matches between friends in a cute art style.
And, according to a Vostu representative, "real-time" means live, arcade-style gameplay between two friends over Facebook or Orkut, Google's wildly popular social network in South America. The game pits players against one another on the field, but has friends cooperate off of the green to build up each other's stadiums and to gain energy and money for more matches.
As player progress in GolMania by mastering its keyboard controls and dominating opponents live, they will unlock special maneuvers. You will also be able to organize private tournaments between friends and participate in global cups amongst the game's top players--you can even play soccer in low gravity on the moon. And Vostu already has even bigger plans for its now flagship social soccer game.
Gallery: GolMania on Facebook
Vostu's Mystery Fantasy Game on Facebook
"GolMania brings Vostu's fun social experience to a casual sports game," Vostu Chief Scientist Mario Schlosser said in a release. "We look forward to our millions of users getting to play GolMania and like with all of our games, we will then quickly react to their feedback and our deep analytics about player behavior to unveil new features that take into account how users make the game their own."
The game was developed Vostu's recent acquisition MP Studio, and employs the publisher's Vostu Game Network, meaning friends can play with one another in real time across social networks. Vostu also teased to us an unnamed social game (found in the gallery above) with a deep, cartoonish fantasy setting that's set to launch this fall as well. But until then, check out GolMania below and see if it gives your fingers a real challenge.
Click here to play GolMania on Facebook Now >
What do you think of Vostu's first real-time action sports social game? Do you see these types of games taking off on Facebook?
And, according to a Vostu representative, "real-time" means live, arcade-style gameplay between two friends over Facebook or Orkut, Google's wildly popular social network in South America. The game pits players against one another on the field, but has friends cooperate off of the green to build up each other's stadiums and to gain energy and money for more matches.
As player progress in GolMania by mastering its keyboard controls and dominating opponents live, they will unlock special maneuvers. You will also be able to organize private tournaments between friends and participate in global cups amongst the game's top players--you can even play soccer in low gravity on the moon. And Vostu already has even bigger plans for its now flagship social soccer game.
Gallery: GolMania on Facebook
Vostu's Mystery Fantasy Game on Facebook
"GolMania brings Vostu's fun social experience to a casual sports game," Vostu Chief Scientist Mario Schlosser said in a release. "We look forward to our millions of users getting to play GolMania and like with all of our games, we will then quickly react to their feedback and our deep analytics about player behavior to unveil new features that take into account how users make the game their own."
The game was developed Vostu's recent acquisition MP Studio, and employs the publisher's Vostu Game Network, meaning friends can play with one another in real time across social networks. Vostu also teased to us an unnamed social game (found in the gallery above) with a deep, cartoonish fantasy setting that's set to launch this fall as well. But until then, check out GolMania below and see if it gives your fingers a real challenge.
Click here to play GolMania on Facebook Now >
What do you think of Vostu's first real-time action sports social game? Do you see these types of games taking off on Facebook?
Gree's OpenFeint hires ex-Glu Mobile exec, more social games coming?
The mobile social game wars are heating up, as OpenFeint just took on former Glu Mobile executive Sarah Thompson (pictured) as its director of developer relations, SocialTimes reports. In other words, OpenFeint, owned by Japanese mobile social gaming powerhouse Gree, hired Thomson to strategically acquire build relationships with independent developers.
Namely, SocialTimes's Azam Khan guesses those developers will be primarily social and mobile social game creators, given Thomson's past exploits in the industry with Glu Mobile and IUGO Entertainment before that. And frankly, we couldn't agree more. Considering OpenFeint is a social network for mobile games at heart, and Gree's existing status, it simply makes sense.
"OpenFeint is going through an exciting phase of growth right now and Sarah is exactly the kind of person we need to keep up the momentum," OpenFeint SVP Marketing and Developer Relations Eros Resmini said in a release. "Sarah's deep history in mobile gaming paired with her connections to the developer community made her a great fit for OpenFeint."
We can't help but recall what just went down between OpenFeint and Gree: The former's co-founder and CEO Jason Citron resigned, and Gree CFO Naoki Aoyagi took his place. (Though, VentureBeat reckons the move was less ... cut-and-dry.) But back to Gree and OpenFeint's future plans, the simple fact is mobile social games are growing at an exponential rate on iOS and Android devices.
"I've always admired OpenFeint for its constant innovation in the mobile gaming space," Thomson said in a release. "As the company continues to change with the market, I'm excited to help OpenFeint continue growing." And we think we have an idea of just where Thomson would like to go. It starts with an "S" and--oh, forget it. You get the point already.
Do you think this puts OpenFeint in a better place to compete with opponents like DeNA and Zynga in mobile games? Don't you wish you could have rockin' tattoos and a big time exec gig?
Namely, SocialTimes's Azam Khan guesses those developers will be primarily social and mobile social game creators, given Thomson's past exploits in the industry with Glu Mobile and IUGO Entertainment before that. And frankly, we couldn't agree more. Considering OpenFeint is a social network for mobile games at heart, and Gree's existing status, it simply makes sense.
"OpenFeint is going through an exciting phase of growth right now and Sarah is exactly the kind of person we need to keep up the momentum," OpenFeint SVP Marketing and Developer Relations Eros Resmini said in a release. "Sarah's deep history in mobile gaming paired with her connections to the developer community made her a great fit for OpenFeint."
We can't help but recall what just went down between OpenFeint and Gree: The former's co-founder and CEO Jason Citron resigned, and Gree CFO Naoki Aoyagi took his place. (Though, VentureBeat reckons the move was less ... cut-and-dry.) But back to Gree and OpenFeint's future plans, the simple fact is mobile social games are growing at an exponential rate on iOS and Android devices.
"I've always admired OpenFeint for its constant innovation in the mobile gaming space," Thomson said in a release. "As the company continues to change with the market, I'm excited to help OpenFeint continue growing." And we think we have an idea of just where Thomson would like to go. It starts with an "S" and--oh, forget it. You get the point already.
Do you think this puts OpenFeint in a better place to compete with opponents like DeNA and Zynga in mobile games? Don't you wish you could have rockin' tattoos and a big time exec gig?
Very sneaky, Zynga: Mafia Wars Shakedown revealed for iOS devices
Jeez, these guys are just terrible at keeping secrets, huh? (Alright, so this one looks like it was intentional, but nobody told us!) Zynga has announced yet another game, Mafia Wars Shakedown for iOS devices. However, the company went with a more low key approach for this announcement, which is far from its style. Exhibit A: Mafia Wars 2.
News of the game appeared when it replaced the Facebook page for Mafia Wars: Atlantic City, which was shuttered earlier this month in preparation for a "a much more exciting destination," the Mafia Wars Blog reads. What that implies to us is that Atlantic City may have been a failed experiment in HTML5 game creation, hence Shakedown. No other information about the game has been revealed other than it will first release for iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad.
Well, that and these tiny pieces of artwork. It's unknown whether this new iPhone game will come within a dedicated app like FarmVille and CityVille Hometown for iOS or through HTML5 like its predecessor. Frankly, HTML5--a web-based coding language capable of game development across multiple platforms simultaneously--is capable of more than Atlantic City.
Mafia Wars Shakedown Banner
Shakedown has all but replaced the web presence for Atlantic City (even the Twitter account has been taken over). My guess is that this new game will be a native iOS app like previous Zynga Mobile games, especially considering this news comes just as Zynga Mobile's David Ko told The Guardian he thinks HTML5 is still too early. We've reached out to Zynga for comment.
What are your guesses about this brand new Mafia Wars game for iOS devices? Are you bummed at all that Atlantic City has been closed down?
News of the game appeared when it replaced the Facebook page for Mafia Wars: Atlantic City, which was shuttered earlier this month in preparation for a "a much more exciting destination," the Mafia Wars Blog reads. What that implies to us is that Atlantic City may have been a failed experiment in HTML5 game creation, hence Shakedown. No other information about the game has been revealed other than it will first release for iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad.
Well, that and these tiny pieces of artwork. It's unknown whether this new iPhone game will come within a dedicated app like FarmVille and CityVille Hometown for iOS or through HTML5 like its predecessor. Frankly, HTML5--a web-based coding language capable of game development across multiple platforms simultaneously--is capable of more than Atlantic City.
Mafia Wars Shakedown Banner
Shakedown has all but replaced the web presence for Atlantic City (even the Twitter account has been taken over). My guess is that this new game will be a native iOS app like previous Zynga Mobile games, especially considering this news comes just as Zynga Mobile's David Ko told The Guardian he thinks HTML5 is still too early. We've reached out to Zynga for comment.
What are your guesses about this brand new Mafia Wars game for iOS devices? Are you bummed at all that Atlantic City has been closed down?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Sims Social Big Trouble in Littlehaven mission busted [Update]
The Sims Social just rolled out a new mission called Big Trouble in Littlehaven (a nod to the awesome '80s flick, Big Trouble in Little China starring Kurt Russell and a much younger Kim Catrall), and many players, including myself, ran into a big, nasty bug. In the third part of the mission, you're required to buy four indoor Japan-themed items from the store (see image above). After you buy the items -- and spend potentially thousands of Simoleons or Social Points -- the game doesn't seem to register that they have been purchased.
There's no official word from Sims Online yet, so fingers crossed that a fix is on its way in the not-too-distant future. And for those of us who spend virtual, or real, cash on Japan items, let's hope that fix will include some kind of refund as well. And if you're reading this and haven't started the new mission yet -- consider yourself warned.
UPDATE: According to a Sims Social game moderator, the only way to complete this goal is to buy four pieces of Japan-themed furniture, rather than decorations (see the eligible items below). The directions are a little misleading. As an "I'm sorry," Sims Online is giving out 2,500 Simoleons. Click here to claim it.
sims online furniture japan
Also, if you don't have enough Social Points to buy the Karate Mat in this mission (it costs 1,000 SP), then head over to the Sims Social fanpage where you scan score 500 SPs on the house. Click here to snag 'em.
Did you run into this bug in the new Sims Social mission?
There's no official word from Sims Online yet, so fingers crossed that a fix is on its way in the not-too-distant future. And for those of us who spend virtual, or real, cash on Japan items, let's hope that fix will include some kind of refund as well. And if you're reading this and haven't started the new mission yet -- consider yourself warned.
UPDATE: According to a Sims Social game moderator, the only way to complete this goal is to buy four pieces of Japan-themed furniture, rather than decorations (see the eligible items below). The directions are a little misleading. As an "I'm sorry," Sims Online is giving out 2,500 Simoleons. Click here to claim it.
sims online furniture japan
Also, if you don't have enough Social Points to buy the Karate Mat in this mission (it costs 1,000 SP), then head over to the Sims Social fanpage where you scan score 500 SPs on the house. Click here to snag 'em.
Did you run into this bug in the new Sims Social mission?
Now DeNA is ready for global domination; Mobage exits open beta
"Alright, guys, time-in." If the mobile social games space were a game of tag in the schoolyard, that's essentially what Japanese social game maker DeNA just said. The company announced that the ngmoco-powered Mobage platform for Western Android devices is out of open beta. Ngmoco CEO Neil Young said, "Mobage has come out of beta," according to GamesIndustry.biz.
Certainly an apt description of current events, but we'll take it. Since Mobage launched this July, the service hasn't enjoyed much success. Despite that, a number of games from Zombie Farm to We Rule already hit the top 25 on the Android Market while on Mobage. However, according to Young, that was just a test.
"The beta period allowed us to test, refine and prove the service, assuring a superb user experience with Mobage and our world-class suite of games," Young said. "We now start the process of scaling the service and it is great to already see our games ranking high in the charts."
A wild success or not, DeNA is already ahead of its arch nemesis, Gree. The competing Japanese mobile social game network has yet to release its OpenFeint-backed global games network, though it has said that it's coming ... in 2012. Of course, there's also the mighty Zynga to worry about, which might have a few mobile tricks up its sleeves with Project Z. It looks like we'll have to wait another year to see the mobile social games race pick up the pace.
How do you connect with friends in your mobile games? Which of these three companies do you think will provide the best service?
Certainly an apt description of current events, but we'll take it. Since Mobage launched this July, the service hasn't enjoyed much success. Despite that, a number of games from Zombie Farm to We Rule already hit the top 25 on the Android Market while on Mobage. However, according to Young, that was just a test.
"The beta period allowed us to test, refine and prove the service, assuring a superb user experience with Mobage and our world-class suite of games," Young said. "We now start the process of scaling the service and it is great to already see our games ranking high in the charts."
A wild success or not, DeNA is already ahead of its arch nemesis, Gree. The competing Japanese mobile social game network has yet to release its OpenFeint-backed global games network, though it has said that it's coming ... in 2012. Of course, there's also the mighty Zynga to worry about, which might have a few mobile tricks up its sleeves with Project Z. It looks like we'll have to wait another year to see the mobile social games race pick up the pace.
How do you connect with friends in your mobile games? Which of these three companies do you think will provide the best service?
Pioneer Trail Bug Report: Old Goals reappear, wipe players' progress
Update: Zynga has provided a temporary fix for the issue. Here's a portion of the statement from Zynga: "At approximately 9:15 P.M. PST on 11/3/11 we released a hot-fix that should stop the issue of roll backs from occurring. This doesn't mean that your progress is restored to what it was previously."
No, that isn't the power of almighty nostalgia in Pioneer Trail. According to Zynga forum moderator BigDelicious, a nasty bug has struck the game that's causing old, completed Goals to reappear in players' Goal queue as if they're new. Zynga has told players to ignore the bug, and more importantly, to avoid completing these old Goals. But the problem isn't that simple.
Players are also reporting that they've lost progress on some of their current Goals, as a result of this glitch. "I have some older missions I've been trying to clear up and some current new ones that glitched out on me and some of my progress is gone," Pioneer Trail forum user Rusti823 writes. "I harvested grapes yesterday morning, made progress on the one mission, then last night it was back to needing to plant and harvest 40 grapes."
Zynga's official statement says that it is "currently investigating the issue and hope to get it resolved soon." Unfortunately, this is but a small problem that Zynga has on it hands when it comes to Pioneer Trail. According to AppData, the game has been hemmoraghing players since soon after the game-changing expansion hit this summer. With that, Zynga has called for its biggest fans to come to Zynga HQ and talk it out for a few hours. Well, the customer is always right.
Have you experienced this bug in Pioneer Trail? What do you think needs to be done to the game in order to bring players back?
No, that isn't the power of almighty nostalgia in Pioneer Trail. According to Zynga forum moderator BigDelicious, a nasty bug has struck the game that's causing old, completed Goals to reappear in players' Goal queue as if they're new. Zynga has told players to ignore the bug, and more importantly, to avoid completing these old Goals. But the problem isn't that simple.
Players are also reporting that they've lost progress on some of their current Goals, as a result of this glitch. "I have some older missions I've been trying to clear up and some current new ones that glitched out on me and some of my progress is gone," Pioneer Trail forum user Rusti823 writes. "I harvested grapes yesterday morning, made progress on the one mission, then last night it was back to needing to plant and harvest 40 grapes."
Zynga's official statement says that it is "currently investigating the issue and hope to get it resolved soon." Unfortunately, this is but a small problem that Zynga has on it hands when it comes to Pioneer Trail. According to AppData, the game has been hemmoraghing players since soon after the game-changing expansion hit this summer. With that, Zynga has called for its biggest fans to come to Zynga HQ and talk it out for a few hours. Well, the customer is always right.
Have you experienced this bug in Pioneer Trail? What do you think needs to be done to the game in order to bring players back?
Zynga really wants to see better HTML5 games, but it's a "pain machine'
It's like they say: "No pain, no gain." During the New Game Conference in San Francisco, Zynga Germany HTML5 guru Paul Bakaus urged game creators to work past the glaring shortcomings of HTML5 games, Gamasutra reports. You know, because HTML5 is the future of games, and all that jazz. Despite his love for the emergent platform, Bakaus was brutally honest.
"Audio is still broken -- and we need audio to create rich interactive games," Bakaus said. "In addition, there are all kinds of issues with certain devices,: Bakaus said. "For instance, the iPhone can only play one sound at a time." But that's not all: Game makers aren't exactly in love with WebGL, a 3D graphics creation tool compatible with HTML5.
"I have high hopes for WebGL, but if you look at the demo scene today, it reminds me of the Flash demos in the '90s," Bakaus said. "WebGL has another problem, and that problem applies to web developers, because you have to learn a new language, you can't just work with Javascript."
Bakaus then likened HTML5 game creation to a Pain Machine (pictured), an electrified Pong cabinet that shocks anyone that loses a match. But as much disdain Bakaus seems to have for HTML5 in its current state, he still believes it has potential. "What we need are AAA and social game makers to commit to making full scale and beautiful games in HTML5, and not just porting something over," Bakaus said.
"I think we're really getting closer to making HTML5 gaming a reality. I don't think were completely there yet, but we're really close," the designer concluded. And his parent company seems to agree. Just this month, Zynga released three HTML5 games for mobile browsers. With a guy like Bakaus in Zynga's ranks, there's likely more where that came from.
[Image Credit: Blogoscoped]
What do you think of the HTML5 games Zynga recently released? Is there a future in HTML5 social game creation, and should Zynga continue to pursue it?
"Audio is still broken -- and we need audio to create rich interactive games," Bakaus said. "In addition, there are all kinds of issues with certain devices,: Bakaus said. "For instance, the iPhone can only play one sound at a time." But that's not all: Game makers aren't exactly in love with WebGL, a 3D graphics creation tool compatible with HTML5.
"I have high hopes for WebGL, but if you look at the demo scene today, it reminds me of the Flash demos in the '90s," Bakaus said. "WebGL has another problem, and that problem applies to web developers, because you have to learn a new language, you can't just work with Javascript."
Bakaus then likened HTML5 game creation to a Pain Machine (pictured), an electrified Pong cabinet that shocks anyone that loses a match. But as much disdain Bakaus seems to have for HTML5 in its current state, he still believes it has potential. "What we need are AAA and social game makers to commit to making full scale and beautiful games in HTML5, and not just porting something over," Bakaus said.
"I think we're really getting closer to making HTML5 gaming a reality. I don't think were completely there yet, but we're really close," the designer concluded. And his parent company seems to agree. Just this month, Zynga released three HTML5 games for mobile browsers. With a guy like Bakaus in Zynga's ranks, there's likely more where that came from.
[Image Credit: Blogoscoped]
What do you think of the HTML5 games Zynga recently released? Is there a future in HTML5 social game creation, and should Zynga continue to pursue it?
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