For those of you (like myself) who are kind of tired of seeing the western world dominate Facebook games, this news should come as breath of fresh air. VentureBeat reports that Istanbul-based company Peak Games has raised $11.5 million and purchased two companies in efforts to become a power player in Facebook games. The developers in question, Umaykut and Erlikhan, were bought in what Peak Games calls "talent acquisitions." Sound familiar?
This move speaks to the rapid growth of Facebook games in regions like Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and South America. As we already know, Peak Games will work with growing publisher RockYou to distribute and localize its games in those regions. At the moment, Peak Games is the 18th most popular developer on Facebook, according to AppData, beating out notables like CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate in daily players.
Its most popular internally-created game is Okey, a social puzzle board game. And if you count its fans across all social networks including Facebook, Peak Games welcome 4 million daily players and 16 million monthly players, according to VentureBeat. Peak Games has made a name for itself in localizing social games from national companies for its audience, which is the the fourth largest on Facebook.
"Our goal is to be the dominant provider of games for emerging markets," Peak Games CSO Rina Onur, told VentureBeat. "The growth has been huge in the last six months. These regions are growing super fast and they are very hungry for games."
Facebook gaming is huge in regions other than the U.S.--companies like DeNA and Gree in Japan, Tencent in China and wooga in Europe are testament to that. But what we're more interested in is seeing creators like Peak Games create successful games for a global audience. Perhaps an injection of cash (from Hummingbird Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and an anonymous strategic investor) and talent will make that happen--Peak Games has an office in San Francisco, after all.
Would you like to see more Facebook games from these regions? Do you think Peak Games has a good chance at climbing up the ladder? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Thứ Sáu, 30 tháng 9, 2011
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Makiziki's lush desert oasis
Howdy folks. Today's featured farm is a handsome design by Makiziki, a player who spends time over at the FarmVille Forums. Makiziki's farm caught my eye because it does something rather novel: paths. Paths may be common in other games such as CityVille, Empires & Allies, and FrontierVille, but in FarmVille, there is no easy way to make paths. All the dirt trails you see are actually created by hand placing the Lush Grass decoration all over the farm.
So not only is this farm a beautiful estate full of crops, animals, and items; but it also serves as a great design guide for other FarmVille artists. Using Lush Grass to cover a farmville tall grass makizikifarm hasn't been done too much, especially considering how nice it looks. Unfortunately, Lush Grass was a limited time English Countryside item that is no longer available. However, a different item, Tall Grass, can be bought in the decorations tab of the market for 1,500 coins apiece. The only difference is that Tall Grass is a little taller, so it will give farms a more wild, natural look.
In addition to the unique use of grass and desert background in order to make paths, the farm has a lot more going on. In an age where FarmVille players have absurd amounts of stuff, Makiziki's farm remains rather organized. Here's what they had to say about their farm:
Well, first of all, I love to design with paths. FarmVille doesn't actually have them yet. And I love a lot of green, so my design looks like a real farm. I worked about 3-4 hours to finsih this farm, and I was so tired when I was done :) But I love my new farm :)
-Makiziki
What do you guys think of Makizki's Lush Grass-filled farm? Add Comment
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.
So not only is this farm a beautiful estate full of crops, animals, and items; but it also serves as a great design guide for other FarmVille artists. Using Lush Grass to cover a farmville tall grass makizikifarm hasn't been done too much, especially considering how nice it looks. Unfortunately, Lush Grass was a limited time English Countryside item that is no longer available. However, a different item, Tall Grass, can be bought in the decorations tab of the market for 1,500 coins apiece. The only difference is that Tall Grass is a little taller, so it will give farms a more wild, natural look.
In addition to the unique use of grass and desert background in order to make paths, the farm has a lot more going on. In an age where FarmVille players have absurd amounts of stuff, Makiziki's farm remains rather organized. Here's what they had to say about their farm:
Well, first of all, I love to design with paths. FarmVille doesn't actually have them yet. And I love a lot of green, so my design looks like a real farm. I worked about 3-4 hours to finsih this farm, and I was so tired when I was done :) But I love my new farm :)
-Makiziki
What do you guys think of Makizki's Lush Grass-filled farm? Add Comment
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.
Entertainment Games looks to revive soap operas in Facebook games
FarmVille may have killed the daytime soap opera, but it seems like soaps might have their heyday after all. Langhorne, Penn.-based Entertainment Games announced that it hired Michael Fairman (pictured below), a leading expert on daytime soaps (bet you didn't know such a job existed, eh?) to help the company develop a soap opera game with Heyday Games.
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Do you think soap opera social games have a chance at being the next big hit? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Do you think soap opera social games have a chance at being the next big hit? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Bubble Saga maker King.com hires Microsoft exec as marketing head
Can none resist the dollar signs allure of Facebook games? King.com, maker of Facebook game ports like Bubble Saga, announced that it has hired ex-Microsoft exec Alex Dale as its chief marketing officer. Dale joins King.com after overseeing Microsoft's marketing efforts on products including Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows Phone.
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Want exclusive freebies in The Sims Social? Register on the forums
I'd put away that credit card, if I were you, at least for the moment. I know, it's burning a hole and blah, blah, blah, but Playfish recently announced that it will give The Sims Social players exclusive freebies on a regular basis, but under one condition: You have to register on the Playfish forums. In fact, the game's community team created a new forum category just for this purpose.
Starting last week, Playfish gave away some free Relaxation--an ingredient used in crafting Fun Potions--in a short 24-hour window. So, it looks like, if you do decide to partake in the freebie-fest, you'll have to visit the Playfish forums on a regular basis to catch the next free giveaway that pops up. Perhaps eventually the developer will start to dole some beefier prizes like decorations for your Sim's house or straight-up Simoleons and Social Points.
EA and Playfish have been on a freebie frenzy as of late for all The Sims Social players. Just recently, the developer announced a week-long event in which it will post even more handouts on its Facebook page. At this point, we can't help but ask: Why? Well, considering just how close The Sims Social is to overtaking Zynga's CityVille as the number one game on Facebook in daily players, we're not surprised that Playfish would be pulling all the stops. To register on the Playfish forums, click right here.
Have you been reaping the rewards from Playfish on the forums and on The Sims Social Facebook page? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment
Starting last week, Playfish gave away some free Relaxation--an ingredient used in crafting Fun Potions--in a short 24-hour window. So, it looks like, if you do decide to partake in the freebie-fest, you'll have to visit the Playfish forums on a regular basis to catch the next free giveaway that pops up. Perhaps eventually the developer will start to dole some beefier prizes like decorations for your Sim's house or straight-up Simoleons and Social Points.
EA and Playfish have been on a freebie frenzy as of late for all The Sims Social players. Just recently, the developer announced a week-long event in which it will post even more handouts on its Facebook page. At this point, we can't help but ask: Why? Well, considering just how close The Sims Social is to overtaking Zynga's CityVille as the number one game on Facebook in daily players, we're not surprised that Playfish would be pulling all the stops. To register on the Playfish forums, click right here.
Have you been reaping the rewards from Playfish on the forums and on The Sims Social Facebook page? What do you think of the game so far? Share with us in the comments. Add Comment
Thứ Năm, 29 tháng 9, 2011
Cafe World Manny's Mobile Meal Catering Order: Everything you need to know
Last week, we gave you a look at the second portion of the Cafe World two-year anniversary event, which takes us to the Philippines to help Manny on a Journey. While that may have been an already complex series of goals (and even a building project), Manny's story becomes even more in-depth today, as the accompanying catering order has finally launched. This order asks you to cook up a storm for a Filipino feast, and comes with the usual free recipe for completing this order with a three star rating.
Unfortunately, this is another order that will likely be impossible for some chefs to complete, unless they've already completed Manny's goals enough times to unlock all of the new Filipino recipes launched in this particular event. To be specific, you'll need to serve Lechon 475 times, Sisig 45 times and Filipino Paella 140 times. I suppose you could get lucky and have some really, really helpful friends do the cooking in these tasks for you (while you showered them with thanks, of course), or you could even pay your way through the goals with Cafe Cash to unlock the dishes more quickly that way. Either way, you're looking at some lengthy gameplay before you can even be eligible for completing this catering order on your own.
While you're cooking (or waiting on your friends to cook), you can ask your friends for the two collectible items in this order: 12 Monster Skewers and 16 Banana Leaves. Both of these are earned by sending out individual requests to friends, so earning all 28 may take you a few days, depending on the number of neighbors you have available to ask for help.
If you can complete this entire order within the first three days, you'll earn the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the Cassava Cake recipe. In addition, since this order is technically part of the two-year anniversary event, finishing with the three star rating also gives you a bonus of 10,000 Travel Passes. If three days proves to be too short, but you can finish within five days, you'll receive two stars, 8 Catering Points, 2,300 Cafe Points and 50,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any point after the first five days have passed, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins. Again, you must finish with the three star rating to unlock the new recipe and the extra Travel Passes, so feel free to "cancel" your order if you run out of time and start over for another try.
What do you think of this newest catering order? How many of these three required dishes have you already unlocked in your cafe? Let us know in the comments.
Unfortunately, this is another order that will likely be impossible for some chefs to complete, unless they've already completed Manny's goals enough times to unlock all of the new Filipino recipes launched in this particular event. To be specific, you'll need to serve Lechon 475 times, Sisig 45 times and Filipino Paella 140 times. I suppose you could get lucky and have some really, really helpful friends do the cooking in these tasks for you (while you showered them with thanks, of course), or you could even pay your way through the goals with Cafe Cash to unlock the dishes more quickly that way. Either way, you're looking at some lengthy gameplay before you can even be eligible for completing this catering order on your own.
While you're cooking (or waiting on your friends to cook), you can ask your friends for the two collectible items in this order: 12 Monster Skewers and 16 Banana Leaves. Both of these are earned by sending out individual requests to friends, so earning all 28 may take you a few days, depending on the number of neighbors you have available to ask for help.
If you can complete this entire order within the first three days, you'll earn the three-star rating, 12 Catering Points, 3,200 Cafe Points, 70,000 coins and the Cassava Cake recipe. In addition, since this order is technically part of the two-year anniversary event, finishing with the three star rating also gives you a bonus of 10,000 Travel Passes. If three days proves to be too short, but you can finish within five days, you'll receive two stars, 8 Catering Points, 2,300 Cafe Points and 50,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any point after the first five days have passed, you'll receive just a single star, 4 Catering Points, 1,400 Cafe Points and 30,000 coins. Again, you must finish with the three star rating to unlock the new recipe and the extra Travel Passes, so feel free to "cancel" your order if you run out of time and start over for another try.
What do you think of this newest catering order? How many of these three required dishes have you already unlocked in your cafe? Let us know in the comments.
CityVille: Finish your Bridge, Dam and more with discounted materials
If you've been putting off building one of the larger structures in CityVille (like the Bridge or Dam, as examples), because you didn't want to gather the required building materials from friends, or simply didn't want to pay the high prices to purchase those materials with City Cash, the team at Zynga is hoping that buy putting these items on sale (well, some of these items anyway), it might be enough to persuade you to open your wallet.
To be specific, a sale is now being held for up to 40% off building materials in the game. The materials are unfortunately limited to a specific set of buildings: the Bridge, Sailboat Hotel, Dam, Mall, Mall 2, Pirate Ship Attraction and Go Kart Attraction, and the rest of the game's many, many buildings are left unaffected. To make matters worse - between the two of us - the sale really isn't that good.
For example, let's say you wanted to finish your Pirate Ship Attraction. This one's building materials still cost 3 City Cash each. Perhaps if that were three City Cash in total for all of a particular ingredient I needed (say, two Ship's Prows or five Overhead Bars), that might be an acceptable price, but in our particular example, we're still looking at six City Cash for the Ship Prows and 15 City Cash for the Overhead Bars. Wouldn't it still be smarter (if not more time consuming) to ask friends for these items instead?
I suppose if you're looking for an easier way of completing these specific buildings, then you'll want to take advantage of this apparently limited time opportunity. Just don't feel any unneeded pressure to purchase building materials; the free way is still available, and doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Will you spend City Cash on any of these discounted building materials, or have you already completed the construction on all of these buildings? Let us know in the comments.
To be specific, a sale is now being held for up to 40% off building materials in the game. The materials are unfortunately limited to a specific set of buildings: the Bridge, Sailboat Hotel, Dam, Mall, Mall 2, Pirate Ship Attraction and Go Kart Attraction, and the rest of the game's many, many buildings are left unaffected. To make matters worse - between the two of us - the sale really isn't that good.
For example, let's say you wanted to finish your Pirate Ship Attraction. This one's building materials still cost 3 City Cash each. Perhaps if that were three City Cash in total for all of a particular ingredient I needed (say, two Ship's Prows or five Overhead Bars), that might be an acceptable price, but in our particular example, we're still looking at six City Cash for the Ship Prows and 15 City Cash for the Overhead Bars. Wouldn't it still be smarter (if not more time consuming) to ask friends for these items instead?
I suppose if you're looking for an easier way of completing these specific buildings, then you'll want to take advantage of this apparently limited time opportunity. Just don't feel any unneeded pressure to purchase building materials; the free way is still available, and doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Will you spend City Cash on any of these discounted building materials, or have you already completed the construction on all of these buildings? Let us know in the comments.
CityVille Governor's Run Family Goals: Everything you need to know
In your quest to become Governor in CityVille, you've had to help the farmers and the toy makers, but now it's time to look a little closer to home. Your third and final portion of Act I of this event will see you earning a family's vote in your campaign. Specifically, you're looking to impress the Stumpford family (remember them from the Family Vacation goals released back in August?). Why the Stumpfords wouldn't automatically be on your side after helping them before is anyone's guess, but here's how to earn their vote of confidence officially.
Family Matters
* Ask friends for 10 Magazine Subscriptions
* Collect from the Executive Driving Range 4 times
* Collect from Community Pool 6 times
As you might have guessed, the Magazine Subscriptions are earned via a general news post you'll post to your wall asking all of your friends to help you at once. As for the Executive Driving Range, this is the game's newest attraction that you can find the guide to building right here. Finally, the Community Pool is a Community Building that can be purchased from the store for 150,000 coins. By finishing this first goal, you'll receive a prize of 85 coins.
School of Thought
* Ask for 15 Tutors
* Upgrade Middle School to Level 3
* Harvest 70 Brussel Sprouts
The 15 Tutors, again, need to be earned via friends. As for the Middle School, you've been able to upgrade this particular Community Building since late August, but if you don't have it done already, you can check out our guide to doing just that. Finally, Brussel Sprouts are available to plant for 48 coins and are ready to harvest after eight hours. Finishing this second of three goals gives you 4,500 coins.
Exterior Decorator
* Ask friends for 20 Street Sweepers
* Remodel 6 Residences
* Unwither 24 Neighbor Crops
If you have any friends that stopped playing the game and left some crops growing (which most of us probably do), you should have no problem finding 24 individual squares to unwither. Just click on them when visiting friends' towns and you'll finish that task fast. For the residence remodeling task, this can turn into an expensive one, depending on the houses you choose to upgrade and the particular upgrades themselves, but you can see how to start the process in our guide. Finishing this final goal will complete your work with the Stumpfords (although I'm sure they'll be back in another feature in the future), and you'll receive the Mega Nail Salon business as a reward. This is a massive building that requires 410 Goods but supplies 3,050 coins each time those Goods are used.
Again, after you finish helping the Stumpfords (so long as you've also finished with the farmers and toy makers), you'll have finished the first portion of the Governor's Run event, but there's still a lot more waiting down the line. As the event continues to expand, we'll make sure to give you all of the details you need, so keep checking back with us!
[Via CityVille Wiki]
What do you think of these Governor's Run Family goals? Are they the most difficult of the three goal sets in this event so far? Sound off in the comments.
Family Matters
* Ask friends for 10 Magazine Subscriptions
* Collect from the Executive Driving Range 4 times
* Collect from Community Pool 6 times
As you might have guessed, the Magazine Subscriptions are earned via a general news post you'll post to your wall asking all of your friends to help you at once. As for the Executive Driving Range, this is the game's newest attraction that you can find the guide to building right here. Finally, the Community Pool is a Community Building that can be purchased from the store for 150,000 coins. By finishing this first goal, you'll receive a prize of 85 coins.
School of Thought
* Ask for 15 Tutors
* Upgrade Middle School to Level 3
* Harvest 70 Brussel Sprouts
The 15 Tutors, again, need to be earned via friends. As for the Middle School, you've been able to upgrade this particular Community Building since late August, but if you don't have it done already, you can check out our guide to doing just that. Finally, Brussel Sprouts are available to plant for 48 coins and are ready to harvest after eight hours. Finishing this second of three goals gives you 4,500 coins.
Exterior Decorator
* Ask friends for 20 Street Sweepers
* Remodel 6 Residences
* Unwither 24 Neighbor Crops
If you have any friends that stopped playing the game and left some crops growing (which most of us probably do), you should have no problem finding 24 individual squares to unwither. Just click on them when visiting friends' towns and you'll finish that task fast. For the residence remodeling task, this can turn into an expensive one, depending on the houses you choose to upgrade and the particular upgrades themselves, but you can see how to start the process in our guide. Finishing this final goal will complete your work with the Stumpfords (although I'm sure they'll be back in another feature in the future), and you'll receive the Mega Nail Salon business as a reward. This is a massive building that requires 410 Goods but supplies 3,050 coins each time those Goods are used.
Again, after you finish helping the Stumpfords (so long as you've also finished with the farmers and toy makers), you'll have finished the first portion of the Governor's Run event, but there's still a lot more waiting down the line. As the event continues to expand, we'll make sure to give you all of the details you need, so keep checking back with us!
[Via CityVille Wiki]
What do you think of these Governor's Run Family goals? Are they the most difficult of the three goal sets in this event so far? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille: Sheep and Pig Mastery now available
If you've been stocking up on pigs and sheep in FarmVille with the knowledge (or even just hope) that the FarmVille team would launch pig and sheep mastery in the game, your wait is over. Now, if you're wondering how exactly this will work with the literally thousands of possibilities for different kinds of pigs and sheep to be bred in the game, let me calm your fears: this doesn't result in the addition of an equal number of mastery signs; rather, the system is pretty straightforward, once you get past the "rules."
Basically, there are two sets of both sheep and pigs that determine which kind of mastery sign you'll earn. In Sheep Breeding, for an example, if the animal is specifically labeled as a Ram or Ewe, it's considered a "Sheep Pen Ram" or "Sheep Pen Ewe," which makes sense. All Sheep Pen Rams and Sheep Pen Ewes are combined into those two categories and work cumulatively towards a pair of mastery signs. That is, if you have a a purple Ewe on one farm and a pink or yellow Ewe on another farm (or even those with patterns), when harvesting them, they'll all be treated equally, working towards the same mastery sign.
This entire process is replicated when it comes to pigs. If it's a Boar or Sow, it works towards cumulative breeding pig mastery signs. On the other hand, if the animal is a basic pig or basic sheep that can be purchased from the store and doesn't immediately relate to breeding (some examples being a Party Pig, Grape Sheep, Polka Dots Sheep and so on), these do have their own individual signs, giving you plenty of additional signs to work towards.
As you might have guessed, the amount of mastery points required for these cumulative breeding signs are fairly substantial. In the case of pigs, the Pig Pen Boar sign's first star comes at 467 harvests, while the Pig Pen Sow's first star is earned after 588 harvests. For sheep, the Ewe sign's first star is earned at 840 harvests, while the first Ram star is acquired at 560 harvests.
Keep in mind, while pig and sheep mastery is fairly exciting, we still haven't seen the launch of Calf and Foal mastery in the game. That too is "coming soon," and we'll make sure to let you know when it launches in full.
Will you breed more sheep and pigs just to earn these new mastery signs? Will you purchase additional sheep or pigs from the store? Sound off in the comments.
Basically, there are two sets of both sheep and pigs that determine which kind of mastery sign you'll earn. In Sheep Breeding, for an example, if the animal is specifically labeled as a Ram or Ewe, it's considered a "Sheep Pen Ram" or "Sheep Pen Ewe," which makes sense. All Sheep Pen Rams and Sheep Pen Ewes are combined into those two categories and work cumulatively towards a pair of mastery signs. That is, if you have a a purple Ewe on one farm and a pink or yellow Ewe on another farm (or even those with patterns), when harvesting them, they'll all be treated equally, working towards the same mastery sign.
This entire process is replicated when it comes to pigs. If it's a Boar or Sow, it works towards cumulative breeding pig mastery signs. On the other hand, if the animal is a basic pig or basic sheep that can be purchased from the store and doesn't immediately relate to breeding (some examples being a Party Pig, Grape Sheep, Polka Dots Sheep and so on), these do have their own individual signs, giving you plenty of additional signs to work towards.
As you might have guessed, the amount of mastery points required for these cumulative breeding signs are fairly substantial. In the case of pigs, the Pig Pen Boar sign's first star comes at 467 harvests, while the Pig Pen Sow's first star is earned after 588 harvests. For sheep, the Ewe sign's first star is earned at 840 harvests, while the first Ram star is acquired at 560 harvests.
Keep in mind, while pig and sheep mastery is fairly exciting, we still haven't seen the launch of Calf and Foal mastery in the game. That too is "coming soon," and we'll make sure to let you know when it launches in full.
Will you breed more sheep and pigs just to earn these new mastery signs? Will you purchase additional sheep or pigs from the store? Sound off in the comments.
A Bit Lucky goes all in on hardcore Facebook games with Lucky Space
We know you're all thinking it, so we'll just come out and say it: Sci-fi is huge in Facebook games right now. (Like, crazy big.) The next developer to take a crack at the theme is A Bit Lucky with Lucky Space. The San Mateo, Calif.-based developer's second social game launches today, and it's light years away from Lucky Train.
In Lucky Space, players inherit a lifeless, barren alien planet purchased by Dr. X in his final days in search of the riches he was so sure are buried deep beneath its purple crust. You'll establish a thriving space colony with one mission: strip mine the planet for all its worth in rare gems and resources. Of course, it won't be long before you discover that Dr. X was onto more than just shiny rocks and black gold.
As you expand your colony and upgrade its buildings with unique components like the Force Field Dome and Ultra-Power Laser Extractor, you'll slowly uncover the remnants of an alien civilization. Through a series a quests and the help of your friends, you will dig out alien ruins while protecting your colony from a series of natural (to this world, maybe) disasters like meteor strikes. While the game is dubbed "hardcore," it doesn't look or sound as if combat is a focus in Lucky Space.
Gallery: Lucky Space on Facebook
"Lucky Space was inspired by our love of the sci-fi genre and the desire to innovate within the social gaming space," A Bit Lucky CCO Jordan Maynard said in a release. "We've been able to blend social gaming with hardcore PC gameplay mechanics to create a new and engaging experience."
Regardless of the game being deemed "hardcore" with a lack of combat, a tenant of most Facebook games given the silly adjective, Lucky Space sounds like it might have players depend on their friends more than in most social games. You will need friends not just to visit your colony for a few boosts, but to trade rare components and identify mysterious alien artifacts. One thing we know for sure is that the game looks like a vibrant, even jolly take on Facebook games skewed for the hardcore crowd. But don't just take our word for it, check out the trailer below and see for yourself.
Click here to play Lucky Space on Facebook Now >
What do you think of A Bit Lucky's second Facebook game so far? Do you think there's still room for Facebook games within the sci-fi genre, or are you on the lookout for something new? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
In Lucky Space, players inherit a lifeless, barren alien planet purchased by Dr. X in his final days in search of the riches he was so sure are buried deep beneath its purple crust. You'll establish a thriving space colony with one mission: strip mine the planet for all its worth in rare gems and resources. Of course, it won't be long before you discover that Dr. X was onto more than just shiny rocks and black gold.
As you expand your colony and upgrade its buildings with unique components like the Force Field Dome and Ultra-Power Laser Extractor, you'll slowly uncover the remnants of an alien civilization. Through a series a quests and the help of your friends, you will dig out alien ruins while protecting your colony from a series of natural (to this world, maybe) disasters like meteor strikes. While the game is dubbed "hardcore," it doesn't look or sound as if combat is a focus in Lucky Space.
Gallery: Lucky Space on Facebook
"Lucky Space was inspired by our love of the sci-fi genre and the desire to innovate within the social gaming space," A Bit Lucky CCO Jordan Maynard said in a release. "We've been able to blend social gaming with hardcore PC gameplay mechanics to create a new and engaging experience."
Regardless of the game being deemed "hardcore" with a lack of combat, a tenant of most Facebook games given the silly adjective, Lucky Space sounds like it might have players depend on their friends more than in most social games. You will need friends not just to visit your colony for a few boosts, but to trade rare components and identify mysterious alien artifacts. One thing we know for sure is that the game looks like a vibrant, even jolly take on Facebook games skewed for the hardcore crowd. But don't just take our word for it, check out the trailer below and see for yourself.
Click here to play Lucky Space on Facebook Now >
What do you think of A Bit Lucky's second Facebook game so far? Do you think there's still room for Facebook games within the sci-fi genre, or are you on the lookout for something new? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
Chủ Nhật, 25 tháng 9, 2011
Zynga profits plummet 90 percent, raises questions about imminent IPO
Will the big show still go on? That's what many wonder, as Zynga just revealed in an updated regulatory filing that its profits dipped by 90 percent in the June quarter, thanks to increased spending and a lack of major game releases earlier this year, Reuters reports. According to the news service, this raises questions as to whether the company can sustain growth ahead of its long-awaited IPO (initial public offering).
Zynga's net income took a nose dive to $1.4 million from $14 million a year earlier, and its net profit plummeted over 90 percent in three months from $16.8 million in March of this year. Reuters chalks this up to the fact that the filing shows that the FarmVille maker's expenses rose $149 million compared to a year earlier, and $59 million alone from the previous financial quarter.
We'd imagine a major chunk of those expenses are thanks to the 14 companies Zynga gobbled up in the past year. It's also worth noting that the developer didn't really release any major Facebook games in 2011 prior to Empires & Allies. (And no, we're not counting FarmVille English Countryside.) Since then, however, the company has been on a frenzy, launching three more Facebook games this summer: Words With Friends, Pioneer Trail and recently Adventure World.
This news speaks volumes to the fact that Zynga has reached a point where it constantly needs to produce in order to sustain its meteoric growth, and more importantly for them right now, the faith of investors. Since the company's last filing, Zynga conducted a third-party analysis that estimated the probability of an IPO at 75 percent. This is down from the 80 percent probability reported in Zynga's previous filing.
In other words, it looks like the anticipated Zynga IPO could be delayed, just as previous reports suggested, to wait for improved market conditions. However, EA is gaining on the company with The Sims Social, and fast. According to AppData, EA and Playfish's game has just about 1.6 million fewer daily players than CityVille's 12.9 million.
Do you think Zynga has anything to worry about, given the news? Would you ever invest in Zynga if given the chance? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
Zynga's net income took a nose dive to $1.4 million from $14 million a year earlier, and its net profit plummeted over 90 percent in three months from $16.8 million in March of this year. Reuters chalks this up to the fact that the filing shows that the FarmVille maker's expenses rose $149 million compared to a year earlier, and $59 million alone from the previous financial quarter.
We'd imagine a major chunk of those expenses are thanks to the 14 companies Zynga gobbled up in the past year. It's also worth noting that the developer didn't really release any major Facebook games in 2011 prior to Empires & Allies. (And no, we're not counting FarmVille English Countryside.) Since then, however, the company has been on a frenzy, launching three more Facebook games this summer: Words With Friends, Pioneer Trail and recently Adventure World.
This news speaks volumes to the fact that Zynga has reached a point where it constantly needs to produce in order to sustain its meteoric growth, and more importantly for them right now, the faith of investors. Since the company's last filing, Zynga conducted a third-party analysis that estimated the probability of an IPO at 75 percent. This is down from the 80 percent probability reported in Zynga's previous filing.
In other words, it looks like the anticipated Zynga IPO could be delayed, just as previous reports suggested, to wait for improved market conditions. However, EA is gaining on the company with The Sims Social, and fast. According to AppData, EA and Playfish's game has just about 1.6 million fewer daily players than CityVille's 12.9 million.
Do you think Zynga has anything to worry about, given the news? Would you ever invest in Zynga if given the chance? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
FarmVille Cow Pasture Goals: Everything you need to know
Even though last night's FarmVille update brought with it the new Cow Pasture animal habitat, the corresponding goal series didn't appear for many users (myself included) until today. Luckily, we don't seem to have lost any time in the process, as these goals give us a full two weeks to complete them. Interestingly, with the launch of these goals, some users have lost access to previous habitat goal series, so we can only hope that Zynga will sort things out with time. In the meantime, however, here's a look at these Cow Pasture goals, so you'll know what to expect as you move through them.
Cow Cookies
* Get 6 Cow Treats
* Place 1 Cow Pasture
* Harvest 100 Grain Crops
If you're having trouble deciding which crops fit the "Grain" distinction, just head into the store's crops section and click on the "Grains" tab to automatically sort the store to show you just grain crops. Pick the one you like most (perhaps one that takes the shortest time to grow) and plant away. Finishing this first goal gives you 50 XP, a Red Heart Cow and 2,500 coins.
The Tethered Heifer
* Get 6 Cow Tethers
* Buy 2 Cow Topiaries
* Harvest 30 Plain Cows
Just ask your friends for these Cow Tethers and then buy two Cow Topiaries from the store - they cost just 300 coins each. After that, you'll need to harvest 30 original, regular cows (of the brown and white variety) to finish this last step. If you've long outgrown such "normal" animals and need to buy some in the store, you can also do that for 300 coins each. They can be harvested once per day, so make sure you have enough on hand to not slow yourself down too greatly while waiting for them to become ready to harvest. Finish this goal and you'll earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Grey Yak.
Lickety Split!
* Get 6 Salt Licks
* Complete the Cow Pasture
* Place 3 Green Hay Bales
To see what you'll need to complete the construction of a Cow Pasture, check out our guide. The Salt Licks can be earned by posting a general help request on your feed, while Green Hay Bales cost 125 coins each in the store. For making it past this goal, you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Shorthorn Cow.
Born and Grazed
* Get 9 Cow Collars
* Achieve Level 1 Mastery of Cow
* Harvest 125 Strawberries
If you're into animal mastery, you'll likely already have the Cow mastered to this point, but if not, just keep those 30 cows you had (or purchased) earlier and harvest them until you reach that point. As for the Cow Collars, they are also earned via a general request posted on your news feed. As for the Strawberries, please note that Super Strawberries do not count, and you'll simply waste your time by planting them. These must be the original Strawberries only. After completing this goal, you will have cross the halfway mark and will receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five units of Animal Feed.
Milk Master
* Get 9 Milk Buckets
* Harvest one Cow Pasture
* Harvest 150 Vegetables
It doesn't matter which kind of vegetable you choose to harvest here, so feel free to plant something you need bushels for, or just something you've yet to master to complete two tasks in one. The Milk Bucket request is a general one to your news feed, while harvesting the Cow Pasture can happen once every day. Finish off this goal and you'll earn 50 XP, one Grey Jersey Cow and 2,500 coins.
Moovin' In
* Get 9 Brass Cow Bells
* Place 10 Cows in a Cow Pasture
* Harvest 150 Fruit Crops
If you haven't removed your Dairy Barns from your farm (which is a voluntary process, mind you), you can simply pull cows out of them and place them into the Cow Pasture until you've reached ten (don't worry - you can always put them back later). Finally, to collect the Brass Cow Bells, you'll need to - you guessed it - post a general request on your news feed for all of your friends to help. Finishing this final goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a B0v1n3-11 - a very pretty two-toned red alien cow.
Again, these goals, as so many others in the game, are time limited, so you'll have two weeks to finish them off and earn all of the prizes therein. Good luck completing everything in time!
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you received the Cow Pasture goals on your farm? Are you going to keep the Dairy Farms as normal, or are you going to swap them all out for Cow Pastures? Sound off in the comments.
Cow Cookies
* Get 6 Cow Treats
* Place 1 Cow Pasture
* Harvest 100 Grain Crops
If you're having trouble deciding which crops fit the "Grain" distinction, just head into the store's crops section and click on the "Grains" tab to automatically sort the store to show you just grain crops. Pick the one you like most (perhaps one that takes the shortest time to grow) and plant away. Finishing this first goal gives you 50 XP, a Red Heart Cow and 2,500 coins.
The Tethered Heifer
* Get 6 Cow Tethers
* Buy 2 Cow Topiaries
* Harvest 30 Plain Cows
Just ask your friends for these Cow Tethers and then buy two Cow Topiaries from the store - they cost just 300 coins each. After that, you'll need to harvest 30 original, regular cows (of the brown and white variety) to finish this last step. If you've long outgrown such "normal" animals and need to buy some in the store, you can also do that for 300 coins each. They can be harvested once per day, so make sure you have enough on hand to not slow yourself down too greatly while waiting for them to become ready to harvest. Finish this goal and you'll earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Grey Yak.
Lickety Split!
* Get 6 Salt Licks
* Complete the Cow Pasture
* Place 3 Green Hay Bales
To see what you'll need to complete the construction of a Cow Pasture, check out our guide. The Salt Licks can be earned by posting a general help request on your feed, while Green Hay Bales cost 125 coins each in the store. For making it past this goal, you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Shorthorn Cow.
Born and Grazed
* Get 9 Cow Collars
* Achieve Level 1 Mastery of Cow
* Harvest 125 Strawberries
If you're into animal mastery, you'll likely already have the Cow mastered to this point, but if not, just keep those 30 cows you had (or purchased) earlier and harvest them until you reach that point. As for the Cow Collars, they are also earned via a general request posted on your news feed. As for the Strawberries, please note that Super Strawberries do not count, and you'll simply waste your time by planting them. These must be the original Strawberries only. After completing this goal, you will have cross the halfway mark and will receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five units of Animal Feed.
Milk Master
* Get 9 Milk Buckets
* Harvest one Cow Pasture
* Harvest 150 Vegetables
It doesn't matter which kind of vegetable you choose to harvest here, so feel free to plant something you need bushels for, or just something you've yet to master to complete two tasks in one. The Milk Bucket request is a general one to your news feed, while harvesting the Cow Pasture can happen once every day. Finish off this goal and you'll earn 50 XP, one Grey Jersey Cow and 2,500 coins.
Moovin' In
* Get 9 Brass Cow Bells
* Place 10 Cows in a Cow Pasture
* Harvest 150 Fruit Crops
If you haven't removed your Dairy Barns from your farm (which is a voluntary process, mind you), you can simply pull cows out of them and place them into the Cow Pasture until you've reached ten (don't worry - you can always put them back later). Finally, to collect the Brass Cow Bells, you'll need to - you guessed it - post a general request on your news feed for all of your friends to help. Finishing this final goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a B0v1n3-11 - a very pretty two-toned red alien cow.
Again, these goals, as so many others in the game, are time limited, so you'll have two weeks to finish them off and earn all of the prizes therein. Good luck completing everything in time!
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you received the Cow Pasture goals on your farm? Are you going to keep the Dairy Farms as normal, or are you going to swap them all out for Cow Pastures? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Bảy, 24 tháng 9, 2011
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Come Ashore Goals: Everything you need to know
As part of today's launch of the Lighthouse Cove farm in FarmVille to every farmer that's interested (whether they paid for admittance or not), a new goal series has been launched in the game, allowing even those new players a chance to become acquainted with their new farm, while also earning prizes. There are six goals in this new series, and they're limited edition, being available for the next seven days (or just a week).
Come Ashore!
* Get 3 Piles of Hay
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 1
You'll need to earn the Piles of Hay by asking your friends to send them to you. As for the Chandler Blueberries, they take eight hours to grow, so even though you're not required to grow very many, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be done with this one quickly. As for the Lighthouse Cove, you can repair it by collecting Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 100 XP, the Restaurant, a Red Tractor and 2,500 coins. Hopefully you haven't already purchased a Restaurant for your new farm, as this will of course be worthless.
A Beach to Walk on
* Get 6 Supply Boxes
* Harvest 45 Darrow Blueberries
* Place the Restaurant
Hopefully, if you are one of those users that placed the Restaurant before receiving these goals, it will automatically detect that it's present on your farm and complete this task for you. As for the Supply Boxes - you guessed it - just have your friends send you some. Darrow Blueberries, meanwhile, take just four hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll receive 200 XP, a Sailor Cow (a cow in an adorable little sailor's hat and "tie"), a Yellow Seeder and 2,500 coins.
A Quick Tour
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Complete 1 Wildlife Habitat
* Make the Creamed Corn Recipe 1 Time
The Creamed Corn recipe is made inside the Restaurant, and it requires three Butter & Sugar Corn, three Tarragon and one Pepper Bushels. The Butter & Sugar Corn and Tarragon crops are new to the Lighthouse Cove farm, while you might already have some Pepper bushels on hand from your other farms. As for the Wildlife Habitat, you're given the frame of one for free when landing in the cove, and can then complete it by gathering Fence Posts, Shrubs and Grazing Grasses. Check out our complete guide to the Wildlife Habitat right here. Once you finish this third goal, you'll receive 300 XP, a White Cedar Tree, a Blue Harvester and 2,500 coins.
After finishing these first three goals, you will have walked away with a complete farm vehicle set (save for the Combine) that will allow you to complete all of the farming tasks required on your new farm. Of course, you can always purchase a Combine Chassis from the store for that three-in-one farming convenience, but at least you'll have these vehicles to rely on while you're waiting for the Vehicle Parts to pour in.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Lighthouse Cove goals? How far have you made it into the trio? Sound off in the comments.
Come Ashore!
* Get 3 Piles of Hay
* Harvest 10 Chandler Blueberries
* Improve the Cove to Level 1
You'll need to earn the Piles of Hay by asking your friends to send them to you. As for the Chandler Blueberries, they take eight hours to grow, so even though you're not required to grow very many, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be done with this one quickly. As for the Lighthouse Cove, you can repair it by collecting Logs, Stones and Steel Beams. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive 100 XP, the Restaurant, a Red Tractor and 2,500 coins. Hopefully you haven't already purchased a Restaurant for your new farm, as this will of course be worthless.
A Beach to Walk on
* Get 6 Supply Boxes
* Harvest 45 Darrow Blueberries
* Place the Restaurant
Hopefully, if you are one of those users that placed the Restaurant before receiving these goals, it will automatically detect that it's present on your farm and complete this task for you. As for the Supply Boxes - you guessed it - just have your friends send you some. Darrow Blueberries, meanwhile, take just four hours to grow. Finish this goal and you'll receive 200 XP, a Sailor Cow (a cow in an adorable little sailor's hat and "tie"), a Yellow Seeder and 2,500 coins.
A Quick Tour
* Harvest Lighthouse Cove
* Complete 1 Wildlife Habitat
* Make the Creamed Corn Recipe 1 Time
The Creamed Corn recipe is made inside the Restaurant, and it requires three Butter & Sugar Corn, three Tarragon and one Pepper Bushels. The Butter & Sugar Corn and Tarragon crops are new to the Lighthouse Cove farm, while you might already have some Pepper bushels on hand from your other farms. As for the Wildlife Habitat, you're given the frame of one for free when landing in the cove, and can then complete it by gathering Fence Posts, Shrubs and Grazing Grasses. Check out our complete guide to the Wildlife Habitat right here. Once you finish this third goal, you'll receive 300 XP, a White Cedar Tree, a Blue Harvester and 2,500 coins.
After finishing these first three goals, you will have walked away with a complete farm vehicle set (save for the Combine) that will allow you to complete all of the farming tasks required on your new farm. Of course, you can always purchase a Combine Chassis from the store for that three-in-one farming convenience, but at least you'll have these vehicles to rely on while you're waiting for the Vehicle Parts to pour in.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Lighthouse Cove goals? How far have you made it into the trio? Sound off in the comments.
DC Universe Online: Pound on bad guys for free starting next month
If you've always wanted to try out Sony Online Entertainment's DC Universe online (on either PS3 or PC), but didn't want to pay actual money to do so, you'll be happy to know that you'll soon be able to access "the entire game" for free starting next month. As reported by PCWorld, this switch to a freemium pricing plan will still allow users to purchase premium content, but all of the open world gameplay, missions, game updates and patches will be free.
To be specific, DC Universe Online will have three different levels of access. The first and completely free level, gives players access to create just two characters and join a league with other players. From there, the Premium level of users requires that a player spend at least $5 in real money in the game's store to be given that Premium player status for life. This gives them access to larger inventory space, the ability to create more characters and the ability to trade items with others. Finally, if you still want the subscription plan, you can be a Legendary player, paying around $15 a month for access to even more character and inventory slots, along with access to the game's DLC packages at no additional cost. There are plenty of other differences between the three gameplay levels; head over here to check them out.
DC Universe Online is just the latest of many once entirely paid-sub games to go free-to-play in some form. While the most noteworthy case has arguably been World of Warcraft's free-to-play setup for users up to level 20, this is just another case where social and casual players are given an opportunity to break away from Facebook simulators and jump into the world of true MMOs. While the two worlds are (for the most part) entirely different, a bigger selection is definitely not a bad thing.
Will you try out DC Universe Online when it goes free-to-play next month? Let us know in the comments.
To be specific, DC Universe Online will have three different levels of access. The first and completely free level, gives players access to create just two characters and join a league with other players. From there, the Premium level of users requires that a player spend at least $5 in real money in the game's store to be given that Premium player status for life. This gives them access to larger inventory space, the ability to create more characters and the ability to trade items with others. Finally, if you still want the subscription plan, you can be a Legendary player, paying around $15 a month for access to even more character and inventory slots, along with access to the game's DLC packages at no additional cost. There are plenty of other differences between the three gameplay levels; head over here to check them out.
DC Universe Online is just the latest of many once entirely paid-sub games to go free-to-play in some form. While the most noteworthy case has arguably been World of Warcraft's free-to-play setup for users up to level 20, this is just another case where social and casual players are given an opportunity to break away from Facebook simulators and jump into the world of true MMOs. While the two worlds are (for the most part) entirely different, a bigger selection is definitely not a bad thing.
Will you try out DC Universe Online when it goes free-to-play next month? Let us know in the comments.
CityVille Rose Garden Goals: Everything you need to know
While summer may quickly be drawing to a close, CityVille hopes to keep the summer fun alive by letting us have a place to grow beautiful flowers. Appropriately enough, this new "building" is called the Rose Garden, and you'll place it in your city when completing the first of four new goals that go along with it.
Garden State
* Place Rose Garden
* Plant a Rose in the Garden
The Rose Garden is a 4x4 structure that works similarly to the Zoo, in that you'll only be able to display three flowers on the outside of the garden, but can actually leave more of them inside. To start, you'll receive a single flower for free (that's right - this one doesn't need to be built at all after placing it in your town): a White Wild Rose. Once you look inside the building, just click on the Plant button and you'll be able to "feature" that rose as one of the three that show up on the outside. Once you finish these two (simple) steps, you'll receive 160 coins as your reward.
A Late Bloomer
* Ask friends for 3 Shovels
* Have 3 Gardens in your City
* Water your Gardens 5 Times
Gardens can be watered once every 18 hours, and yes, you can have more than one in your city. In fact, you'll need to have three before you can finish this goal. Your second and third Rose Gardens would cost 50,000 coins in the store, but luckily, you can also purchase Small Rose Gardens (a smaller version of the regular Rose Garden) for just 8,000 coins. These do count for the completion of this goal. As for the shovels, you'll be able to post a general news item to your wall asking for three. Finishing this goal gives you Sculpted Tree.
It's Showtime!
* Get 10 Rose Bushes
* Have 1 Rose Collection item from the Garden Collection
* Place one Rose Garden Gate in your city
To earn additional bushes, you'll go into your gardens (as seen above) and then click on "Ask for flowers" to ask your friends to send you some bushes. Finishing this goal gives you 32 experience points.
Comin' Up Roses
* Ask friends for 4 Vases
* Have 7 Roses Planted in your Gardens
* Have an upgraded Flower Kiosk
As it looks like each garden can only display three flowers, you'll need to have flowers in at least three Gardens to reach seven. As for updating your Flower Kiosk, you can find our guide for doing just that right here. Finishing this final goal gives you a Roses Fountain.
We'll make sure to let you know if other kinds of gardens are made available in the build menu in the future, but for now - have fun growing and displaying all of those roses!
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Rose Garden feature in CityVille? What do you think of these goals? Sound off in the comments.
Garden State
* Place Rose Garden
* Plant a Rose in the Garden
The Rose Garden is a 4x4 structure that works similarly to the Zoo, in that you'll only be able to display three flowers on the outside of the garden, but can actually leave more of them inside. To start, you'll receive a single flower for free (that's right - this one doesn't need to be built at all after placing it in your town): a White Wild Rose. Once you look inside the building, just click on the Plant button and you'll be able to "feature" that rose as one of the three that show up on the outside. Once you finish these two (simple) steps, you'll receive 160 coins as your reward.
A Late Bloomer
* Ask friends for 3 Shovels
* Have 3 Gardens in your City
* Water your Gardens 5 Times
Gardens can be watered once every 18 hours, and yes, you can have more than one in your city. In fact, you'll need to have three before you can finish this goal. Your second and third Rose Gardens would cost 50,000 coins in the store, but luckily, you can also purchase Small Rose Gardens (a smaller version of the regular Rose Garden) for just 8,000 coins. These do count for the completion of this goal. As for the shovels, you'll be able to post a general news item to your wall asking for three. Finishing this goal gives you Sculpted Tree.
It's Showtime!
* Get 10 Rose Bushes
* Have 1 Rose Collection item from the Garden Collection
* Place one Rose Garden Gate in your city
To earn additional bushes, you'll go into your gardens (as seen above) and then click on "Ask for flowers" to ask your friends to send you some bushes. Finishing this goal gives you 32 experience points.
Comin' Up Roses
* Ask friends for 4 Vases
* Have 7 Roses Planted in your Gardens
* Have an upgraded Flower Kiosk
As it looks like each garden can only display three flowers, you'll need to have flowers in at least three Gardens to reach seven. As for updating your Flower Kiosk, you can find our guide for doing just that right here. Finishing this final goal gives you a Roses Fountain.
We'll make sure to let you know if other kinds of gardens are made available in the build menu in the future, but for now - have fun growing and displaying all of those roses!
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Rose Garden feature in CityVille? What do you think of these goals? Sound off in the comments.
Zynga gives free rides to FarmVille Lighthouse Cove starting today
FarmVille Lighthouse Cove screen
Oh, you patient ones. Now is finally the time to see if waiting in the freebie line was worth it. For those FarmVille players that declined to fork up 55 Farm Cash ($10 USD, to be exact), the Lighthouse Cove expansion will be available to all starting today. We assume, as with all changes or major releases by Zynga, that this release will be a slow roll-out.
Just like players did early last week, they will hop on a sail boat to a New England-esque coastal farming village. Unfortunately, the area has been ravaged by a brutal storm, and Brenda--the town's resident widow--has enlisted you to help restore it. You'll slowly level up your Lighthouse by repairing the lighthouse, dock and more through quests.
However, free players will not receive the exclusive quests and items given to those who put up the dough. Regardless there looks to be a ton of content here with a larger focus on building a village than simply farming crops. For instance, you'll have fewer plots to farm on that unlock over time in Lighthouse Cove, though those crops yield far more coins, XP and Mastery.
In addition to farming, you can harvest the Cove once its restored for ingredients to use in Restaurant recipes like clams and lobster for dishes like New England Clam Chowder and Lobster Rolls. Another interesting change with FarmVille LC in comparison to its first expansion, English Countryside, is that all quests will be timed this time around.
Gallery: FarmVille Lighthouse Cove
And that includes the bonus quests, courtesy of Brenda. Because quests were persistent throughout FarmVille EC, it was easy for friends to speed ahead or slip behind one another in their progress. "It was harder for players to work on the same thing in English Countryside," FarmVille GM Nate Etter explains.
FarmVille Sailor CalfDuring an early look of the game, Etter told us that the team was going for "a FarmVille meets Martha's Vineyard style." "Players seem to love water, which was a major source of inspiration for Lighthouse Cove," Etter recalls. "I think we're constantly listening to players, [and] that will govern where FarmVille will go."
So, while you're enjoying the serene orange glow and brisk autumn breeze of Lighthouse Cove (imagination, people), try to think up where you would like to go next, and take it to the Facebook page or forums--they're all ears. As for why the second expansion was released early to players who paid Farm Cash, a Zynga representative told us, "We have so many passionate players, that we wanted to offer them a first look at the game."
Well, patience has its payoffs, my friends. Namely, it saves you money. So, enjoy that peace of mind, and increase that peace in FarmVille's Lighthouse Cove. Good things come to those who (choose to) wait--that's especially because we have a bevy of content to get you through your first several hours in FarmVille LC. Enjoy.
Did you pay to get into the FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Early? What do you think of all the new content so far? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Oh, you patient ones. Now is finally the time to see if waiting in the freebie line was worth it. For those FarmVille players that declined to fork up 55 Farm Cash ($10 USD, to be exact), the Lighthouse Cove expansion will be available to all starting today. We assume, as with all changes or major releases by Zynga, that this release will be a slow roll-out.
Just like players did early last week, they will hop on a sail boat to a New England-esque coastal farming village. Unfortunately, the area has been ravaged by a brutal storm, and Brenda--the town's resident widow--has enlisted you to help restore it. You'll slowly level up your Lighthouse by repairing the lighthouse, dock and more through quests.
However, free players will not receive the exclusive quests and items given to those who put up the dough. Regardless there looks to be a ton of content here with a larger focus on building a village than simply farming crops. For instance, you'll have fewer plots to farm on that unlock over time in Lighthouse Cove, though those crops yield far more coins, XP and Mastery.
In addition to farming, you can harvest the Cove once its restored for ingredients to use in Restaurant recipes like clams and lobster for dishes like New England Clam Chowder and Lobster Rolls. Another interesting change with FarmVille LC in comparison to its first expansion, English Countryside, is that all quests will be timed this time around.
Gallery: FarmVille Lighthouse Cove
And that includes the bonus quests, courtesy of Brenda. Because quests were persistent throughout FarmVille EC, it was easy for friends to speed ahead or slip behind one another in their progress. "It was harder for players to work on the same thing in English Countryside," FarmVille GM Nate Etter explains.
FarmVille Sailor CalfDuring an early look of the game, Etter told us that the team was going for "a FarmVille meets Martha's Vineyard style." "Players seem to love water, which was a major source of inspiration for Lighthouse Cove," Etter recalls. "I think we're constantly listening to players, [and] that will govern where FarmVille will go."
So, while you're enjoying the serene orange glow and brisk autumn breeze of Lighthouse Cove (imagination, people), try to think up where you would like to go next, and take it to the Facebook page or forums--they're all ears. As for why the second expansion was released early to players who paid Farm Cash, a Zynga representative told us, "We have so many passionate players, that we wanted to offer them a first look at the game."
Well, patience has its payoffs, my friends. Namely, it saves you money. So, enjoy that peace of mind, and increase that peace in FarmVille's Lighthouse Cove. Good things come to those who (choose to) wait--that's especially because we have a bevy of content to get you through your first several hours in FarmVille LC. Enjoy.
Did you pay to get into the FarmVille Lighthouse Cove Early? What do you think of all the new content so far? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
FarmVille: Visit the Capital One farm for a free Capital One Goat
As we told you earlier this week, Zynga has officially launched a three-part cross-promotion with Capital One that sees the brand returning to FarmVille (and also making an appearance in CityVille and the Pioneer Trail). For FarmVille, we see the Capital One farm being added to our neighbor bars, and an incentive being offered for actually visiting said farm.
Once you visit the Capital One farm (don't worry if it doesn't show up in your friends list; an in-game prompt will appear allowing you to access it), you'll find that you don't really need to do anything here, except take in the scenery and click on the "Help Out" button that quickly appears. This sees the Capital One Goat (you'll know it's him as he's wearing sunglasses) harvesting crops and boosting animal storage buildings before being given to you as a gift.
What's more, if you agree to visit the Capital One Facebook Page, and then "Like" it, you'll receive one free application of "Capital One Grow," or instant grow for your farm. On top of this, there's also a Capital One Gift available to send to your friends on the FarmVille free gifts page, that can contain all sorts of goodies, so make sure to send some while you can. It will only be available to send for the next nine days.
Any and all of these prizes will appear in your Gift Box when you return to your farm, so make sure to check them out!
What do you think of this newest Capital One promotion? Will you save your Capital One grow for a Double Mastery event, or will you use it right away? Sound off in the comments.
Once you visit the Capital One farm (don't worry if it doesn't show up in your friends list; an in-game prompt will appear allowing you to access it), you'll find that you don't really need to do anything here, except take in the scenery and click on the "Help Out" button that quickly appears. This sees the Capital One Goat (you'll know it's him as he's wearing sunglasses) harvesting crops and boosting animal storage buildings before being given to you as a gift.
What's more, if you agree to visit the Capital One Facebook Page, and then "Like" it, you'll receive one free application of "Capital One Grow," or instant grow for your farm. On top of this, there's also a Capital One Gift available to send to your friends on the FarmVille free gifts page, that can contain all sorts of goodies, so make sure to send some while you can. It will only be available to send for the next nine days.
Any and all of these prizes will appear in your Gift Box when you return to your farm, so make sure to check them out!
What do you think of this newest Capital One promotion? Will you save your Capital One grow for a Double Mastery event, or will you use it right away? Sound off in the comments.
Thứ Năm, 22 tháng 9, 2011
FarmVille Livestock Pen: Everything you need to know
Check out our Livestock Pen Goals Guide right here!
While we may already have a place to store our Sheep and Pigs, a new Livestock Pen has launched in FarmVille this evening giving you even more room to do just that (on top of storing other kinds of animals, of course). This Livestock Pen allows you to store animals like Goats, Alpacas and Llamas (on top of your Sheep and Pigs) but unfortunately won't let you store any Sheep or Pig that you've created or received by breeding.
As usual, you'll be given the frame to your first Livestock Pen the next time you login to the game. From there, you'll need to collect some building materials, including 10 each of Water Pumps, Wires and Steel Beams. Yes, these Steel Beams are the same items you need to collect for the Lighthouse Cove repair project, so you'll need to prioritize which item you'll place these materials into first.
Once you've finished building the Livestock Pen, you'll be able to browse all of the animals that can possibly be stored inside by looking at the interior menu and then browsing through the 19 pages of animals inside. You'll be given a Red Goat for free when completing your Livestock Pen, and will then have 19 more spaces to fill with animals, for a full capacity of 20 as of this writing.
In terms of breeding, remember that you only need to have one of each kind of animal in your Livestock Pen in order to trigger "breeding." The cribs that you'll receive from your own Livestock Pens are guaranteed to be one of the animals currently placed inside, but when claiming them from friends, they can either be rare or common animals that can also be stored inside. To be specific, orange cribs contain common mystery babies, while purple cribs contains rare animals that may even include former limited edition animals that cost less than 15 Farm Cash when originally released in the store. As with other mystery babies, the common babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30.
All in all, this new Livestock Pen is the fifth of seven eventual animal breeding habitats we'll see released in the game. While we don't have any specific details about what the next two buildings will be, we'll make sure to let you know what they are once they release in the game.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Livestock Pen? Do you think there was a need for another building that could store Sheep or Pigs? Sound off in the comments.
While we may already have a place to store our Sheep and Pigs, a new Livestock Pen has launched in FarmVille this evening giving you even more room to do just that (on top of storing other kinds of animals, of course). This Livestock Pen allows you to store animals like Goats, Alpacas and Llamas (on top of your Sheep and Pigs) but unfortunately won't let you store any Sheep or Pig that you've created or received by breeding.
As usual, you'll be given the frame to your first Livestock Pen the next time you login to the game. From there, you'll need to collect some building materials, including 10 each of Water Pumps, Wires and Steel Beams. Yes, these Steel Beams are the same items you need to collect for the Lighthouse Cove repair project, so you'll need to prioritize which item you'll place these materials into first.
Once you've finished building the Livestock Pen, you'll be able to browse all of the animals that can possibly be stored inside by looking at the interior menu and then browsing through the 19 pages of animals inside. You'll be given a Red Goat for free when completing your Livestock Pen, and will then have 19 more spaces to fill with animals, for a full capacity of 20 as of this writing.
In terms of breeding, remember that you only need to have one of each kind of animal in your Livestock Pen in order to trigger "breeding." The cribs that you'll receive from your own Livestock Pens are guaranteed to be one of the animals currently placed inside, but when claiming them from friends, they can either be rare or common animals that can also be stored inside. To be specific, orange cribs contain common mystery babies, while purple cribs contains rare animals that may even include former limited edition animals that cost less than 15 Farm Cash when originally released in the store. As with other mystery babies, the common babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30.
All in all, this new Livestock Pen is the fifth of seven eventual animal breeding habitats we'll see released in the game. While we don't have any specific details about what the next two buildings will be, we'll make sure to let you know what they are once they release in the game.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Livestock Pen? Do you think there was a need for another building that could store Sheep or Pigs? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Livestock Pen Goals: Everything you need to know
To go along with tonight's launch of the Livestock Pen in FarmVille comes a set of goals (what, you didn't they we'd get away without them, did you?). These goals are of course sheep, goat and llama themed to go along with our new animal breeding building, so read on for how to complete these goals as quickly as possible (and of course receive your rewards).
Farmin' Ain't Easy
* Get 8 Farmer's Overalls
* Place 1 Livestock Pen
* Place 4 Whitewash Fences
Whitewash Fences cost just 300 coins per square, so spend the 1,200 coins on four and then delete them as soon as you're done with this goal. As for the Farmer's Overalls, you'll need to ask your friends to send them to you. Finish this first goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Grey Mouflon Goat.
These Boots Were Made for Farmin'
* Get 8 Pairs of Farmer's Boots
* Buy 3 Barrels
* Harvest 5 Sheep
Barrels cost 125 coins each, so at least this is another cheap expensive just to finish the goal. Gathering the Farmer's Boots is another task for asking your friends to help. Finishing this goal gives you another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and one White Llama.
Perqs for the Talent
* Get 8 Wool Blankets
* Complete the Livestock Pen
* Harvest 50 Vegetables
Luckily, it doesn't matter which of the vegetable crops you grow, so just pick something you have yet to master, or the shortest growth-time vegetable to finish this one off. As for the Wool Blankets - you guessed it - ask your friends to send them to you. As for completing the Livestock Pen, you can check out our guide to doing so right here. Finish off this goal to earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Hay-Ho the Dairy-O!
* Get 8 Piles of Hay
* Harvest the Livestock Pen
* Harvest 75 Flowers
Again, it doesn't look like it matters which kind of flower you harvest, so just pick the lowest harvest-time building and you'll be able to move on. Ask your friends for the Piles of Hay and eventually you'll finish this one off, being rewarded with 50 XP, 2,500 coins and Flower Sheep for your efforts.
Keeping Up With Baby
* Get 8 Livestock Tags
* Raise a Livestock Baby
* Harvest 90 Fruit
Remember, common Livestock Babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30. Once you finish this goal, you'll earn another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Get Oat!
* Get 9 Oat Sacks
* Master White Llama to Level 1
* Harvest 100 Vegetable Crops
Again, plant whatever vegetable you like just to be done with this one as quickly as possible. As for the Oat Sacks, you might be lucky enough to have some extras on hand from the first set of Lighthouse Cove goals, but if not, just ask your friends to send you the Sacks that you do need. Finishing off this last goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Laxta Sheep.
Luckily, we're given a full two weeks to work on these goals, so if you have others that you need to clear off your plate first, feel free to do so without worrying about these expiring as well.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Livestock Pen goals, or the Livestock Pen in general? Sound off in the comments.
Farmin' Ain't Easy
* Get 8 Farmer's Overalls
* Place 1 Livestock Pen
* Place 4 Whitewash Fences
Whitewash Fences cost just 300 coins per square, so spend the 1,200 coins on four and then delete them as soon as you're done with this goal. As for the Farmer's Overalls, you'll need to ask your friends to send them to you. Finish this first goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Grey Mouflon Goat.
These Boots Were Made for Farmin'
* Get 8 Pairs of Farmer's Boots
* Buy 3 Barrels
* Harvest 5 Sheep
Barrels cost 125 coins each, so at least this is another cheap expensive just to finish the goal. Gathering the Farmer's Boots is another task for asking your friends to help. Finishing this goal gives you another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and one White Llama.
Perqs for the Talent
* Get 8 Wool Blankets
* Complete the Livestock Pen
* Harvest 50 Vegetables
Luckily, it doesn't matter which of the vegetable crops you grow, so just pick something you have yet to master, or the shortest growth-time vegetable to finish this one off. As for the Wool Blankets - you guessed it - ask your friends to send them to you. As for completing the Livestock Pen, you can check out our guide to doing so right here. Finish off this goal to earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Hay-Ho the Dairy-O!
* Get 8 Piles of Hay
* Harvest the Livestock Pen
* Harvest 75 Flowers
Again, it doesn't look like it matters which kind of flower you harvest, so just pick the lowest harvest-time building and you'll be able to move on. Ask your friends for the Piles of Hay and eventually you'll finish this one off, being rewarded with 50 XP, 2,500 coins and Flower Sheep for your efforts.
Keeping Up With Baby
* Get 8 Livestock Tags
* Raise a Livestock Baby
* Harvest 90 Fruit
Remember, common Livestock Babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30. Once you finish this goal, you'll earn another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.
Get Oat!
* Get 9 Oat Sacks
* Master White Llama to Level 1
* Harvest 100 Vegetable Crops
Again, plant whatever vegetable you like just to be done with this one as quickly as possible. As for the Oat Sacks, you might be lucky enough to have some extras on hand from the first set of Lighthouse Cove goals, but if not, just ask your friends to send you the Sacks that you do need. Finishing off this last goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Laxta Sheep.
Luckily, we're given a full two weeks to work on these goals, so if you have others that you need to clear off your plate first, feel free to do so without worrying about these expiring as well.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Livestock Pen goals, or the Livestock Pen in general? Sound off in the comments.
Coco Girl on Facebook: For the fervent fashionista in all of us
Alright, so the fashion game has already been done on Facebook. But Damian Harburger, CEO of Argentina-based social game developer MetroGames, thinks that it hasn't been done right. Well, until now. We know, you're used to seeing hardcore-skewed social games come from the developer like AutoHustle.
Consider this most recent release a fundamental shift for the studio. Harburger tells us that, from here on out, MetroGames will focus largely on women when it comes to Facebook games, and on the more hardcore crowd (mostly men) in its mobile efforts.
Coco Girl is a Facebook game designed for the fashionista in every girl (and guy, in this writer's very particular case). Every girl has her opinions on fashion--some are just more vocal than others, no?--and Coco Girl provides the medium through which to express them.
At every turn in Coco Girl, you're given the opportunity to voice your take on various outfits and in a multitude of situations. In fact, rating your fellow females' outfits is the basis of the game. Sure, players can visit various shops and dress their heavily customized avatar (seriously, even I spent at least 30 minutes fine-tuning my lady). But it's the ability to give other players' clothing choices your two cents, or Rubies in this case, that's the star of this fashion show.
Coco Girl isn't governed by an energy system or too much of a gameplay structure, though you are given daily tasks to complete and quests to embark on. The quests are simply introductory, tiny tasks designed to introduce you to the game's myriad features and customization options. Your Daily Ruby-Maker Checklist is the bread and butter of Coco Girl, and is essentially what's going to get you the Rubies you need to purchase now outfits, make-up and accessories.
Gallery: Coco Girl on Facebook
While in your character's home, you will notice a magazine called Fashion Expert. Every day, you'll open it up and rate at least 20 outfits based on whether you dig them, or whether they're appropriate for certain situations like, say, a job interview or a casting call for a horror movie. However, the amount of Rubies you earn for doing this depends directly upon whether you're opinions gel with the rest of the Coco Girl player base.
While this does well to keep you in line with "what's hot" at the moment, it has the potential to limit daring or unique fashion statements. Nevertheless this is perhaps the most elegant approach yet to having opinions play a meaningful role in a Facebook game. Players can then participate in various mini games in the Coco Carnival to add a dash of variety to simply voting on get-ups, which of course will result in precious Rubies.
The first of which is Fashion Slots, a game in which you must successfully complete an outfit that a fellow lady is looking for. You do this by stopping a spinning wheel of various clothing items in a particular category. As you continue to try and select the correct items, the wheel will spin faster. Then there is Elusive Treasures, a hidden object game that times you on how many, well, hidden objects you can spot within the time limit. The Final mini game is Love Machine, a puzzle game that has players rearranging pipes to create a direct path between two lovers.
Coco Girl Home
All three mini games offer a considerable challenge and refreshing variety to Coco Girl. More importantly, they also provide Tickets, a currency that can only be spent in Coco Carnival on more Rubies or accessories for your avatar to hold. Finally, you can create Daily Looks and Quest Looks--an important aspect of Coco Girl, if you want to be a respected fashion expert in-game.
Every look you create in the game, once saved, can and probably will be voted upon by other players--friend or not--in the Fashion Expert feature. The Daily Looks are voted upon using a star system, while Quest Looks, the outfits you create to best fit certain situations, are a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down affair. And at the end of the day in Coco Girl, it's all about the votes, it seems.
The ultimate Goal of Coco Girl is to have one of your outfits make it into the Daily Looks Hall of Fame. The get-ups that get the most positive votes are featured every day, and those that the score the most of all time get a spot and recognition forever. You can even buy those top-ranking outfits for Facebook Credits, if you want a competitive edge.
Coco Girl, on top of its detailed artwork, slick animations and varied gameplay, is all about what matters in a Facebook game about fashion: the looks and what people think about 'em, because we all have an opinion.
Click here to play Coco Girl on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Coco Girl on Facebook yet? What do you think of Facebook games directly geared towards women? Do you think any game thus far has been one that "gets it?" Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Consider this most recent release a fundamental shift for the studio. Harburger tells us that, from here on out, MetroGames will focus largely on women when it comes to Facebook games, and on the more hardcore crowd (mostly men) in its mobile efforts.
Coco Girl is a Facebook game designed for the fashionista in every girl (and guy, in this writer's very particular case). Every girl has her opinions on fashion--some are just more vocal than others, no?--and Coco Girl provides the medium through which to express them.
At every turn in Coco Girl, you're given the opportunity to voice your take on various outfits and in a multitude of situations. In fact, rating your fellow females' outfits is the basis of the game. Sure, players can visit various shops and dress their heavily customized avatar (seriously, even I spent at least 30 minutes fine-tuning my lady). But it's the ability to give other players' clothing choices your two cents, or Rubies in this case, that's the star of this fashion show.
Coco Girl isn't governed by an energy system or too much of a gameplay structure, though you are given daily tasks to complete and quests to embark on. The quests are simply introductory, tiny tasks designed to introduce you to the game's myriad features and customization options. Your Daily Ruby-Maker Checklist is the bread and butter of Coco Girl, and is essentially what's going to get you the Rubies you need to purchase now outfits, make-up and accessories.
Gallery: Coco Girl on Facebook
While in your character's home, you will notice a magazine called Fashion Expert. Every day, you'll open it up and rate at least 20 outfits based on whether you dig them, or whether they're appropriate for certain situations like, say, a job interview or a casting call for a horror movie. However, the amount of Rubies you earn for doing this depends directly upon whether you're opinions gel with the rest of the Coco Girl player base.
While this does well to keep you in line with "what's hot" at the moment, it has the potential to limit daring or unique fashion statements. Nevertheless this is perhaps the most elegant approach yet to having opinions play a meaningful role in a Facebook game. Players can then participate in various mini games in the Coco Carnival to add a dash of variety to simply voting on get-ups, which of course will result in precious Rubies.
The first of which is Fashion Slots, a game in which you must successfully complete an outfit that a fellow lady is looking for. You do this by stopping a spinning wheel of various clothing items in a particular category. As you continue to try and select the correct items, the wheel will spin faster. Then there is Elusive Treasures, a hidden object game that times you on how many, well, hidden objects you can spot within the time limit. The Final mini game is Love Machine, a puzzle game that has players rearranging pipes to create a direct path between two lovers.
Coco Girl Home
All three mini games offer a considerable challenge and refreshing variety to Coco Girl. More importantly, they also provide Tickets, a currency that can only be spent in Coco Carnival on more Rubies or accessories for your avatar to hold. Finally, you can create Daily Looks and Quest Looks--an important aspect of Coco Girl, if you want to be a respected fashion expert in-game.
Every look you create in the game, once saved, can and probably will be voted upon by other players--friend or not--in the Fashion Expert feature. The Daily Looks are voted upon using a star system, while Quest Looks, the outfits you create to best fit certain situations, are a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down affair. And at the end of the day in Coco Girl, it's all about the votes, it seems.
The ultimate Goal of Coco Girl is to have one of your outfits make it into the Daily Looks Hall of Fame. The get-ups that get the most positive votes are featured every day, and those that the score the most of all time get a spot and recognition forever. You can even buy those top-ranking outfits for Facebook Credits, if you want a competitive edge.
Coco Girl, on top of its detailed artwork, slick animations and varied gameplay, is all about what matters in a Facebook game about fashion: the looks and what people think about 'em, because we all have an opinion.
Click here to play Coco Girl on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Coco Girl on Facebook yet? What do you think of Facebook games directly geared towards women? Do you think any game thus far has been one that "gets it?" Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Want to taste the FarmVille crops you harvest? Take a trip to Turkey
FarmVille Restaurant
Oh, how the tables have turned, Zynga. It looks like some industrious folks in Göreme (a small town in the historical Cappadocia region of Turkey) cooked up the brilliant idea of opening their own FarmVille restaurant. There's only one small problem: We're sure Zynga is flattered, but we doubt these super fans have the clearance for such a fine establishment.
Kotaku's Stephen Totilo found the restaurant while on travels through the visibly gorgeous country, and took a few snapshots. The "FarmVille Cafe & Restaurant" even uses the official FarmVille logo and dishes inspired by the game like Shepherd Salad and FarmVille Salad, and more general items like Tuna Fish Salad and Chicken Salad.
There are certainly more dishes available, but these are all we can point up. I guess Turkey has some seriously devoted FarmVille fans ... and even more savvy entrepreneurs. If you want a taste of FarmVille, you better book a flight now--knowing Zynga, this probably won't last much longer. (Sorry, Turkish dudes.)
[Image Credit: Kotaku]
What do you think of this FarmVille inspired restaurant? Would you ever dine at an official FarmVille eatery? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Oh, how the tables have turned, Zynga. It looks like some industrious folks in Göreme (a small town in the historical Cappadocia region of Turkey) cooked up the brilliant idea of opening their own FarmVille restaurant. There's only one small problem: We're sure Zynga is flattered, but we doubt these super fans have the clearance for such a fine establishment.
Kotaku's Stephen Totilo found the restaurant while on travels through the visibly gorgeous country, and took a few snapshots. The "FarmVille Cafe & Restaurant" even uses the official FarmVille logo and dishes inspired by the game like Shepherd Salad and FarmVille Salad, and more general items like Tuna Fish Salad and Chicken Salad.
There are certainly more dishes available, but these are all we can point up. I guess Turkey has some seriously devoted FarmVille fans ... and even more savvy entrepreneurs. If you want a taste of FarmVille, you better book a flight now--knowing Zynga, this probably won't last much longer. (Sorry, Turkish dudes.)
[Image Credit: Kotaku]
What do you think of this FarmVille inspired restaurant? Would you ever dine at an official FarmVille eatery? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Bossa Studios's Facebook debut, Monstermind, will crush your dreams
But in a good way, we promise. Like the U.S., folks in the UK are super cereal (isn't that what kids are saying these days?) about the social games movement. The Guardian reports that Shine TV has acquired London-based social game startup Bossa Studios for an undisclosed amount.
Elisabeth Murdoch's TV production company (recently bought out by daddy's News Corp) has reportedly been eying social gaming for a long time. And what do you know--her timing could not have been better.
According to The Guardian, 11-month-old Bossa Studios looks to unveil its first project, Monstermind (pictured), next week on Facebook. However, it looks like the game is available now on Facebook, though in an "open beta." (For all intents and purposes, the game is live and available for all to play.)
"We have long identified social gaming as a critical component to this strategy, and in Bossa Studios we discovered an entrepreneurial, creative team that shared our passion for creative excellence," Miss Murdoch told The Guardian. "They have bold ideas for this space which we naturally welcome and will be a significant addition to the Shine Group."
Monstermind looks to be a fresh take on the city-building genre that CityVille has done so well to popularize. Well, fresh in the sense that, in addition to building cities, you can sic giant monsters to crush your friends' towns. The game features nearly full 3D visuals and an art style that screams "The Blob meets Sim City." Check out the game's trailer below to see what we mean.
Click here to play Monstermind on Facebook Now >
Were you waiting for a new approach to city-builders on Facebook? What do you think so far of this new studio's first contribution to Facebook gaming? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
We can almost hear the 3 Blokes team in Australia screaming "Fire everything!" as they hit the proverbial "Launch" button on its first Facebook game under publisher RockYou, Galactic Allies. (It would be most appropriate, no?) Real-time strategy fans can jump in on the thrill of space-faring, asynchronous player vs player combat, complete with 3D visuals.
Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)
Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.
Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >
Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
To go along with the Animal Mastery feature released in Pioneer Trail this weekend, you can now also complete one of three new collections in the game. Two of these collections go with the new animals that have also been released: the Badger and Moose, while the third goes with the 4F Mastery Club itself.
4F Collection
* Rewards Spring Water and 80 XP
Badger Collection
* Rewards Free Critter Milk and 120 XP
Moose Collection
* Free Carrot Juice and 100 XP
As you might expect, you can earn each of these collections' items by tending to the appropriate animals (that is, you'll earn Badger Collection items for tending Badgers, and Moose Collection items for tending Moose), or by collecting the 4F Mastery Club's daily bonus. You'll also have a chance to earn these specific collectibles during the construction of the Mastery Club itself, although I wouldn't expect to receive the full set unless you're really lucky. By the way, if you're that lucky, would you mind letting some of that luck rub off on me?
Are you a fan of the collections in Pioneer Trail and actively try to complete them, or do you just let yourself complete these Collections casually? Let us know in the comments.
Elisabeth Murdoch's TV production company (recently bought out by daddy's News Corp) has reportedly been eying social gaming for a long time. And what do you know--her timing could not have been better.
According to The Guardian, 11-month-old Bossa Studios looks to unveil its first project, Monstermind (pictured), next week on Facebook. However, it looks like the game is available now on Facebook, though in an "open beta." (For all intents and purposes, the game is live and available for all to play.)
"We have long identified social gaming as a critical component to this strategy, and in Bossa Studios we discovered an entrepreneurial, creative team that shared our passion for creative excellence," Miss Murdoch told The Guardian. "They have bold ideas for this space which we naturally welcome and will be a significant addition to the Shine Group."
Monstermind looks to be a fresh take on the city-building genre that CityVille has done so well to popularize. Well, fresh in the sense that, in addition to building cities, you can sic giant monsters to crush your friends' towns. The game features nearly full 3D visuals and an art style that screams "The Blob meets Sim City." Check out the game's trailer below to see what we mean.
Click here to play Monstermind on Facebook Now >
Were you waiting for a new approach to city-builders on Facebook? What do you think so far of this new studio's first contribution to Facebook gaming? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
We can almost hear the 3 Blokes team in Australia screaming "Fire everything!" as they hit the proverbial "Launch" button on its first Facebook game under publisher RockYou, Galactic Allies. (It would be most appropriate, no?) Real-time strategy fans can jump in on the thrill of space-faring, asynchronous player vs player combat, complete with 3D visuals.
Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)
Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.
Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >
Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
To go along with the Animal Mastery feature released in Pioneer Trail this weekend, you can now also complete one of three new collections in the game. Two of these collections go with the new animals that have also been released: the Badger and Moose, while the third goes with the 4F Mastery Club itself.
4F Collection
* Rewards Spring Water and 80 XP
Badger Collection
* Rewards Free Critter Milk and 120 XP
Moose Collection
* Free Carrot Juice and 100 XP
As you might expect, you can earn each of these collections' items by tending to the appropriate animals (that is, you'll earn Badger Collection items for tending Badgers, and Moose Collection items for tending Moose), or by collecting the 4F Mastery Club's daily bonus. You'll also have a chance to earn these specific collectibles during the construction of the Mastery Club itself, although I wouldn't expect to receive the full set unless you're really lucky. By the way, if you're that lucky, would you mind letting some of that luck rub off on me?
Are you a fan of the collections in Pioneer Trail and actively try to complete them, or do you just let yourself complete these Collections casually? Let us know in the comments.
Thứ Tư, 21 tháng 9, 2011
Survey: Bejeweled Blitz could sharpen old noggin in baby boomers
For the young, and now the old, it looks like PopCap games are good for everyone. In a survey of over 10,000 U.S. residents conducted by researcher Susan K. Whitbourne, Ph.D., 47 percent of older adults who play Bejeweled Blitz regularly reported feeling sharper while performing tasks.
Whitbourne, a psychology researcher at University of Massachusetts Amherst, presented her findings at this year's American Psychological Association's (APA) convention in Washington D.C. According to PopCap, Whitbourne believes that Bejeweled Blitz could be a viable platform for improving cognitive skills in older adults because it involves several of the skills that have been shown the be improved after playing video games.
Designed to see whether Whitbourne's inklings checked out, the survey found that 22.4 percent of participants aged 65 and over found their ability to see patterns improved. A small 23.9 percent of the same group reported that they could perform timed tasks more quickly after playing the game regularly. While the survey consisted of 10,331 adults aged 18 to 80-years-old, 41 percent of those were 50-years-old and over (and 83 percent total were women). And it's worth nothing that over 78 percent of participants reported to have a college degree.
Nearly half (47.5 percent) of adults aged 50 and older said that they paid no attention to the 60-second countdown timer in Bejeweled Blitz, and 52.9 percent of those 65-years-old and over reported the same reaction. Both groups of older folks were less likely than those 18 to 24-years-old to report feeling anxious because of the timer. Overall, a whopping 66.4 percent said that the game's multiplier gems were positively motivating.
Whitbourne's findings were well-received by some at the convention, like Dr. Walter Boot, director of the Attention and Training Lab of the Department of Psychology at Florida State University. "I believe the work Dr. Whitbourne and her colleagues are doing, using Bejeweled Blitz, is both critical and exciting, and that more research like this needs to be done exploring not only the types of games that bring about cognitive benefits, but also the types of games older adults are willing to play and why," Boot said. "The best cognitive aging intervention in the world is useless if older adults aren't willing and able to engage in it."
Of course, PopCap has a vested interested in the various applications of its hit games. But these findings are interesting, nevertheless. Well, there you have it: It looks like PopCap games like Bejeweled have become the proverbial Coca-Cola of the games industry--not only are they delicious fun, but they're good for you, too!
Do you believe that games like Bejeweled could be good for your cognitive health? What games do you or older folks in your life play to keep the brain in tip-top shape? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Whitbourne, a psychology researcher at University of Massachusetts Amherst, presented her findings at this year's American Psychological Association's (APA) convention in Washington D.C. According to PopCap, Whitbourne believes that Bejeweled Blitz could be a viable platform for improving cognitive skills in older adults because it involves several of the skills that have been shown the be improved after playing video games.
Designed to see whether Whitbourne's inklings checked out, the survey found that 22.4 percent of participants aged 65 and over found their ability to see patterns improved. A small 23.9 percent of the same group reported that they could perform timed tasks more quickly after playing the game regularly. While the survey consisted of 10,331 adults aged 18 to 80-years-old, 41 percent of those were 50-years-old and over (and 83 percent total were women). And it's worth nothing that over 78 percent of participants reported to have a college degree.
Nearly half (47.5 percent) of adults aged 50 and older said that they paid no attention to the 60-second countdown timer in Bejeweled Blitz, and 52.9 percent of those 65-years-old and over reported the same reaction. Both groups of older folks were less likely than those 18 to 24-years-old to report feeling anxious because of the timer. Overall, a whopping 66.4 percent said that the game's multiplier gems were positively motivating.
Whitbourne's findings were well-received by some at the convention, like Dr. Walter Boot, director of the Attention and Training Lab of the Department of Psychology at Florida State University. "I believe the work Dr. Whitbourne and her colleagues are doing, using Bejeweled Blitz, is both critical and exciting, and that more research like this needs to be done exploring not only the types of games that bring about cognitive benefits, but also the types of games older adults are willing to play and why," Boot said. "The best cognitive aging intervention in the world is useless if older adults aren't willing and able to engage in it."
Of course, PopCap has a vested interested in the various applications of its hit games. But these findings are interesting, nevertheless. Well, there you have it: It looks like PopCap games like Bejeweled have become the proverbial Coca-Cola of the games industry--not only are they delicious fun, but they're good for you, too!
Do you believe that games like Bejeweled could be good for your cognitive health? What games do you or older folks in your life play to keep the brain in tip-top shape? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Adult Swim Games Arcade brings some shock and awe to Facebook
Robot Unicorn Attack -- the most magical game of all time -- and its darker twin, Heavy Metal, now have company as their developer, Adult Swim Games, has finally decided to launch a stable of their games on Facebook yesterday.
Adult Swim, a cable network (on the same channel as the Cartoon Network) known for dozens of high-quality absurdist and shock comedy shows, runs a games portal that houses over a hundred absurdist and shock comedy online games. (However, there's no overlap between the two in terms of content. That is, you're not going to get a Robot Unicorn Attack show, or a Venture Bros. game, no matter how badly you want one.) Now a fraction of that portal is accessible via Facebook.
To give you an idea of what you'll be walking into, they've got titles like "Five Minutes to Kill Yourself Wedding Day", "Amateur Surgeon", "Pole Dance Party", "Death Row Diner", and "Radioactive Teddy Bear Zombies". Of course, Robot Unicorn Attack is also there, but it's only linked there, since it was released last September as a separate app.
Adult Swim Games Arcade view all games
This new arcade app currently contains 21 games categorized along 6 genres: Action, Adventure, Twitchy, Shooter, Puzzle, and Classic. If you're wondering what "Twitchy" means, it describes games where reaction time is of utmost importance.
Adult Swim Games arcade
Unlike your usual new Facebook game launch, all of these games have stood the test of time on the Adult Swim Games website. However, the arcade app itself is currently in beta, so if something breaks or you've got a kerfuffle, shoot them an email at games@adultswim.com.
Click here to play Adult Swim Games Arcade on Facebook now >
Do you find Adult Swim Games disturbing or awesome? Have you ever seen an Adult Swim show? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Adult Swim, a cable network (on the same channel as the Cartoon Network) known for dozens of high-quality absurdist and shock comedy shows, runs a games portal that houses over a hundred absurdist and shock comedy online games. (However, there's no overlap between the two in terms of content. That is, you're not going to get a Robot Unicorn Attack show, or a Venture Bros. game, no matter how badly you want one.) Now a fraction of that portal is accessible via Facebook.
To give you an idea of what you'll be walking into, they've got titles like "Five Minutes to Kill Yourself Wedding Day", "Amateur Surgeon", "Pole Dance Party", "Death Row Diner", and "Radioactive Teddy Bear Zombies". Of course, Robot Unicorn Attack is also there, but it's only linked there, since it was released last September as a separate app.
Adult Swim Games Arcade view all games
This new arcade app currently contains 21 games categorized along 6 genres: Action, Adventure, Twitchy, Shooter, Puzzle, and Classic. If you're wondering what "Twitchy" means, it describes games where reaction time is of utmost importance.
Adult Swim Games arcade
Unlike your usual new Facebook game launch, all of these games have stood the test of time on the Adult Swim Games website. However, the arcade app itself is currently in beta, so if something breaks or you've got a kerfuffle, shoot them an email at games@adultswim.com.
Click here to play Adult Swim Games Arcade on Facebook now >
Do you find Adult Swim Games disturbing or awesome? Have you ever seen an Adult Swim show? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Thứ Ba, 20 tháng 9, 2011
Get your booze on in Malibu Rum's Beach Club on Facebook
developers can make Facebook games in which you grow and sell a certain controversial plant and not hear "boo," I guess a game revolving around the firewater can slide. Because the sales of Malibu Rum tend to dip ... a lot in the colder months, Pernod Ricard, the company behind Malibu Rum, created a Facebook game to promote the awareness of its brand.
The game, which launched today, is known simply as Beach Club, and frankly, it's a pretty impressive branded Facebook game. (Look, more and more companies are going to be up to this in the future, and the games are only becoming more detailed, elaborate and visually impressive.) The game, which has Malibu Rum branding aplenty, tasks players with running their very own beach island.
Beach Club, developed by Aegis Media Group's Isobar, is said to block underage Facebook users from playing by relying on both the birth dates in their profiles and an age verification immediately after installing the app. They're not exactly airtight methods of keeping the kiddies out, but do more to keep the game in front of 21 to 35-year-olds than other Facebook games surrounding questionable topics.
According to AdAge, Malibu made a conscious effort to keep the game geared toward adults through more than just age verification. The game makes liberal use of more mature-looking artwork than other games aimed at the same crowd. "In our game the drawing of the avatars are more mature, they are clearly adults walking around this beach," Malibu senior brand manager AnnaMarie Battiloro told AdAge.
Beach Club overview
Oddly enough, the game isn't governed by an energy system or much of anything that limits your play time, unlike most games. While the game is available globally on Facebook, U.S. players earn points that go toward a vacation to Barbados, the rum's birthplace, that Malibu is giving away through Beach Club.
You'll earn these valuable points by keeping the guests of your resort happy through landscaping and adding new attractions to your tropical getaway. The most notable of which is a beach-side bar. Guests will approach the bar, and clicking on it unveils a mini game of sorts in which players have to bartend a series of Malibu Rum-themed drinks. You'll take guests' orders and have to fill them accordingly and quickly by clicking and dragging various ingredients.
Beach Club bartending
And it's all done to the sound of a 30-minute long club soundtrack with some of this past summer's most popular original tracks. Battiloro told AdAge that Malibu doesn't want Beach Club to be "overtly tied to the brand." "We actually are not trying to earn fans from this at all, Battiloro said. "We are trying to earn more brand loyalty, recognition and association."
But when a beach comber drives past our beach resort, leaving the Malibu Rum logo in its wake, we seriously doubt that. But you know what, this is one of the more full-featured, smoothly-animated branded games we've seen in awhile on Facebook. And if this is the direction brands will go when making games on Facebook, I'm not sure I mind that much.
Click here to play Beach Club on Facebook Now >
After hopping into the game, what do you think of Beach Club so far? What do you think of branded games on Facebook? Could they ever reach the quality of original Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The game, which launched today, is known simply as Beach Club, and frankly, it's a pretty impressive branded Facebook game. (Look, more and more companies are going to be up to this in the future, and the games are only becoming more detailed, elaborate and visually impressive.) The game, which has Malibu Rum branding aplenty, tasks players with running their very own beach island.
Beach Club, developed by Aegis Media Group's Isobar, is said to block underage Facebook users from playing by relying on both the birth dates in their profiles and an age verification immediately after installing the app. They're not exactly airtight methods of keeping the kiddies out, but do more to keep the game in front of 21 to 35-year-olds than other Facebook games surrounding questionable topics.
According to AdAge, Malibu made a conscious effort to keep the game geared toward adults through more than just age verification. The game makes liberal use of more mature-looking artwork than other games aimed at the same crowd. "In our game the drawing of the avatars are more mature, they are clearly adults walking around this beach," Malibu senior brand manager AnnaMarie Battiloro told AdAge.
Beach Club overview
Oddly enough, the game isn't governed by an energy system or much of anything that limits your play time, unlike most games. While the game is available globally on Facebook, U.S. players earn points that go toward a vacation to Barbados, the rum's birthplace, that Malibu is giving away through Beach Club.
You'll earn these valuable points by keeping the guests of your resort happy through landscaping and adding new attractions to your tropical getaway. The most notable of which is a beach-side bar. Guests will approach the bar, and clicking on it unveils a mini game of sorts in which players have to bartend a series of Malibu Rum-themed drinks. You'll take guests' orders and have to fill them accordingly and quickly by clicking and dragging various ingredients.
Beach Club bartending
And it's all done to the sound of a 30-minute long club soundtrack with some of this past summer's most popular original tracks. Battiloro told AdAge that Malibu doesn't want Beach Club to be "overtly tied to the brand." "We actually are not trying to earn fans from this at all, Battiloro said. "We are trying to earn more brand loyalty, recognition and association."
But when a beach comber drives past our beach resort, leaving the Malibu Rum logo in its wake, we seriously doubt that. But you know what, this is one of the more full-featured, smoothly-animated branded games we've seen in awhile on Facebook. And if this is the direction brands will go when making games on Facebook, I'm not sure I mind that much.
Click here to play Beach Club on Facebook Now >
After hopping into the game, what do you think of Beach Club so far? What do you think of branded games on Facebook? Could they ever reach the quality of original Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Will Zynga finally promote Adventure World in FarmVille and elsewhere?
According to the numbers, it just might have to. FarmVille Freak has found an unreleased piece of Adventure World in Zynga's first big time Facebook game, FarmVille. The website discovered that soon (if not already), Zynga might cross promote the first Facebook game by its Boston studio through the familiar billboard method that players are used to seeing.
This might come in addition to a neighbor card featuring the Adventure World logo that will likely take players directly to the brand new game. Adventure World, Zynga's largest, most ambitious (and different) Facebook game to date isn't doing so hot after its first week of existence, according to AppData.
The game has only managed to garner just over 419,000 monthly players since its launch last week, and just a maximum of over 203,000 daily players. What's worse is that number is already on the decline, as today it reads just over 190,000. This news may seem premature, as the game has only been on Facebook publicly for a week. However, consider games like Empires & Allies and CityVille, which soared within their first two weeks on Facebook to tens of millions of players.
Adventure World doesn't seem like it will enjoy that astronomical growth, judging from what the first seven days have shown us. In the game's defense, Adventure World hasn't enjoyed much cross promotion between Zynga's existing games, if any at all. Based on the differences from my early look at the game and playing it since, there are some features to the game I could do without, such as the Base Camp (let's just focus on the adventures, hm?).
Nevertheless, if there is one Zynga game that deserves at least the same growth Empires & Allies earned in the first few weeks after its release, it's Adventure World. While it includes a few of the common trappings that many believe hold Facebook games back today, it's also treading new ground with its interactive environments and huge scope. So, here's to hoping Zynga Boston's debut finds its second wind--and fast.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think the game deserves the millions of players that the company's more traditional games cater to? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
This might come in addition to a neighbor card featuring the Adventure World logo that will likely take players directly to the brand new game. Adventure World, Zynga's largest, most ambitious (and different) Facebook game to date isn't doing so hot after its first week of existence, according to AppData.
The game has only managed to garner just over 419,000 monthly players since its launch last week, and just a maximum of over 203,000 daily players. What's worse is that number is already on the decline, as today it reads just over 190,000. This news may seem premature, as the game has only been on Facebook publicly for a week. However, consider games like Empires & Allies and CityVille, which soared within their first two weeks on Facebook to tens of millions of players.
Adventure World doesn't seem like it will enjoy that astronomical growth, judging from what the first seven days have shown us. In the game's defense, Adventure World hasn't enjoyed much cross promotion between Zynga's existing games, if any at all. Based on the differences from my early look at the game and playing it since, there are some features to the game I could do without, such as the Base Camp (let's just focus on the adventures, hm?).
Nevertheless, if there is one Zynga game that deserves at least the same growth Empires & Allies earned in the first few weeks after its release, it's Adventure World. While it includes a few of the common trappings that many believe hold Facebook games back today, it's also treading new ground with its interactive environments and huge scope. So, here's to hoping Zynga Boston's debut finds its second wind--and fast.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think the game deserves the millions of players that the company's more traditional games cater to? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
PlaySay uses Facebook friends as language lessons to get you to 'Hola'
Following its debut at TechCrunch Disrupt, the giant startup launch conference in San Francisco, PlaySay is now playable for budding linguists and aspiring polyglots on Facebook.
Founder Ryan Meinzer, who has already acquired over $570K in funding, as well as a partnership with McGraw Hill, came up with PlaySay while trying to learn Japanese in Japan. Right now, PlaySay is only teaching Spanish. But Meinzer wants to use players' Facebook friends as social lures to spread interest in non-English languages.
PlaySay does this with random Flickr photos (under the Creative Commons license) and tagged photos of your Facebook friends. This part of it works like flash cards. You'll look at photos and get asked questions en español, such as, "Is your friend in this photo?", "Which friend is this?" or "Is this a photo of a girl?" Not very sophisticated stuff, but when audio is included, the potential for tougher lessons grows.
You can also post a status to Facebook via PlaySay, and then friends can click on it and get a small quiz about the meaning of what you posted. Meinzer's logic is, "Your Facebook friends are your new classmates. Check ins, status updates and pictures are your course materials." Basically, he's banking on your most curious and nosy friends to go the extra mile.
Trivia and quiz games aside (e.g. Who Want to Be a Millionaire), there really aren't any educational Facebook games right now. At one point, I fantasized that Crowdstar's Happy Aquarium or Zynga's FishVille would actually teach people about real aquarium-keeping because both use virtualized real fish in their games, but no dice. Instead, Zynga flailed in the tank with things like Fish Battle Arena.
Gallery: PlaySay
One downside to PlaySay's reliance on tagged photos is that people don't always tag photos that have them in it. And sometimes, friends tag other friends onto something to circumvent privacy settings or to just get their attention. Hence, I got asked by PlaySay, "Is one of your friends in this photo?" while I was shown a photo of a sneaker, and then told I got my answer wrong when I said the sneaker wasn't my friend. All Facebook beta game launches undergo some buggy rite of passage, but PlaySay will have to anticipate problems that no bug fixes will solve. Mind you, it's not that I particularly want them solved, because seeing that sneaker was actually pretty darn funny.
To keep track of PlaySay's development follow its official Facebook fan page.
Click here to play PlaySay on Facebook now >
How important do you think it is to learn another language? Would you like to see more educational games on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Founder Ryan Meinzer, who has already acquired over $570K in funding, as well as a partnership with McGraw Hill, came up with PlaySay while trying to learn Japanese in Japan. Right now, PlaySay is only teaching Spanish. But Meinzer wants to use players' Facebook friends as social lures to spread interest in non-English languages.
PlaySay does this with random Flickr photos (under the Creative Commons license) and tagged photos of your Facebook friends. This part of it works like flash cards. You'll look at photos and get asked questions en español, such as, "Is your friend in this photo?", "Which friend is this?" or "Is this a photo of a girl?" Not very sophisticated stuff, but when audio is included, the potential for tougher lessons grows.
You can also post a status to Facebook via PlaySay, and then friends can click on it and get a small quiz about the meaning of what you posted. Meinzer's logic is, "Your Facebook friends are your new classmates. Check ins, status updates and pictures are your course materials." Basically, he's banking on your most curious and nosy friends to go the extra mile.
Trivia and quiz games aside (e.g. Who Want to Be a Millionaire), there really aren't any educational Facebook games right now. At one point, I fantasized that Crowdstar's Happy Aquarium or Zynga's FishVille would actually teach people about real aquarium-keeping because both use virtualized real fish in their games, but no dice. Instead, Zynga flailed in the tank with things like Fish Battle Arena.
Gallery: PlaySay
One downside to PlaySay's reliance on tagged photos is that people don't always tag photos that have them in it. And sometimes, friends tag other friends onto something to circumvent privacy settings or to just get their attention. Hence, I got asked by PlaySay, "Is one of your friends in this photo?" while I was shown a photo of a sneaker, and then told I got my answer wrong when I said the sneaker wasn't my friend. All Facebook beta game launches undergo some buggy rite of passage, but PlaySay will have to anticipate problems that no bug fixes will solve. Mind you, it's not that I particularly want them solved, because seeing that sneaker was actually pretty darn funny.
To keep track of PlaySay's development follow its official Facebook fan page.
Click here to play PlaySay on Facebook now >
How important do you think it is to learn another language? Would you like to see more educational games on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Dunkin' Donuts pushes its brand with a free Sims Social Lawn Chair
Dunkin' Donuts strikes again in The Sims Social. On top of all the free fan gifts from Playfish and EA rolling out daily on the game's official fan page, the American coffee-and-donuts chain has chipped in for the first Sims Social-branded virtual item in the form of an exclusive Dunkin' Donuts Lawn Chair.
To get the chair, you've got to 'like' the official Dunkin' Donuts Facebook page here and then head over to the section of the page titled "DD & The Sims Social".
Owning the lawn chair adds 250 points to your house value, which is a modest, but no small amount. It also sells for 15 Simoleons, which is chump change, but hey, free furniture! And lastly, the chair comes with a bit of extra animation.
Just click on the chair, and your Sim will get the option to "Sit" or "Drink Dunkin' Donuts Coffee". So kick back, and watch your Sim lie down on the chair to sip from a steamy cup.
Do you enjoy branded goods in games? Do you think it makes them more realistic? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
To get the chair, you've got to 'like' the official Dunkin' Donuts Facebook page here and then head over to the section of the page titled "DD & The Sims Social".
Owning the lawn chair adds 250 points to your house value, which is a modest, but no small amount. It also sells for 15 Simoleons, which is chump change, but hey, free furniture! And lastly, the chair comes with a bit of extra animation.
Just click on the chair, and your Sim will get the option to "Sit" or "Drink Dunkin' Donuts Coffee". So kick back, and watch your Sim lie down on the chair to sip from a steamy cup.
Pioneer Trail Ice Shed: Everything you need to know
Just days ago, we saw the launch of the Potting Shed in Pioneer Trail, and now we've seen another "shed" added to the game. This one, the Ice Shed, will allow you to "keep your milk cold," while receiving Critter Milk for free everyday. You'll unlock two new animals via the construction of this building, and will also have a couple of goals to complete along the way. Here's a complete guide to the Ice Shed, so get our your hammers and get ready to build! Note: This feature may not be available to all players as of this writing.
Once this update rolls around to you, you can either place the base right away, or you can purchase it from the store at a later time if you choose to finish some other tasks first. Once you place it, you'll need to gather plenty of building ingredients: 10 each of Rivets, Sheet Metal and Warm Gloves, along with 15 each of Ice Boxes, Saw Dust piles and Insulation. These final three items are earned through individual gift requests sent to friends, while the former trio are earned through general news feed posts.
Once built, your Ice Shed will give you access to free Critter Milk everyday when collecting the building's Daily Bonus, and you'll also receive a free Dairy Cow (that goes by the name of Daisy) once you finish the building's two goals:
Milk Cooler
* Place Ice Shed
* Tend 25 Adult Cows
* Collect 15 Blocks of Ice
You'll need to ask your friends for the Blocks of Ice, as you might expect. For finishing this first of two goals, you'll receive 500 XP, 1,000 coins and a single bottle of Critter Milk.
Stockpiling
* Tend 15 Neighbor Goats
* Tend 15 Pigmy Goats
* Collect 15 Glass Milk Bottles
Again, you'll finish this collection task by asking your friends to help you, while you'll need to visit at least three neighbors for all of those regular Goats. As for the Pygmy Goat, it becomes available to purchase in the store once you've completed your Ice Shed. If your friends beat you to it, it looks like you can tend their Pygmy Goats instead. Finish this goal and you'll receive 800 XP and the Daisy Dairy Cow that I told you about earlier.
All told, this is a fairly simple and straightforward building project and goal series (albeit probably a bit time consuming), so just make sure to take a few seconds out of your day to ask for these building pieces and you'll eventually finish both off.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here. >
What do you think of the Ice Shed in Pioneer Trail? What other sorts of items would you like to receive free from buildings, if not Critter Milk? Sound off in the comments.
Once this update rolls around to you, you can either place the base right away, or you can purchase it from the store at a later time if you choose to finish some other tasks first. Once you place it, you'll need to gather plenty of building ingredients: 10 each of Rivets, Sheet Metal and Warm Gloves, along with 15 each of Ice Boxes, Saw Dust piles and Insulation. These final three items are earned through individual gift requests sent to friends, while the former trio are earned through general news feed posts.
Once built, your Ice Shed will give you access to free Critter Milk everyday when collecting the building's Daily Bonus, and you'll also receive a free Dairy Cow (that goes by the name of Daisy) once you finish the building's two goals:
Milk Cooler
* Place Ice Shed
* Tend 25 Adult Cows
* Collect 15 Blocks of Ice
You'll need to ask your friends for the Blocks of Ice, as you might expect. For finishing this first of two goals, you'll receive 500 XP, 1,000 coins and a single bottle of Critter Milk.
Stockpiling
* Tend 15 Neighbor Goats
* Tend 15 Pigmy Goats
* Collect 15 Glass Milk Bottles
Again, you'll finish this collection task by asking your friends to help you, while you'll need to visit at least three neighbors for all of those regular Goats. As for the Pygmy Goat, it becomes available to purchase in the store once you've completed your Ice Shed. If your friends beat you to it, it looks like you can tend their Pygmy Goats instead. Finish this goal and you'll receive 800 XP and the Daisy Dairy Cow that I told you about earlier.
All told, this is a fairly simple and straightforward building project and goal series (albeit probably a bit time consuming), so just make sure to take a few seconds out of your day to ask for these building pieces and you'll eventually finish both off.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here. >
What do you think of the Ice Shed in Pioneer Trail? What other sorts of items would you like to receive free from buildings, if not Critter Milk? Sound off in the comments.
Chủ Nhật, 11 tháng 9, 2011
Graphs & Virgins: Evil Cult
Evil Cult [latest version]. One of my favorite games. A 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) turn-based game with little micro-management so far (I consider this a huge plus).
The developer recently posted a blog update. You can follow him on Twitter. Much development discussion is going on in this thread.
I made two videos of the gameplay: a 5x time lapse and an Let's Play for your pleasure.
Regarding 4x games: There's an ongoing Master of Orion 2 rewrite. Latest activity in the repository: Mon Apr 11 11:55:42 2011 +0200. Here's a custom news feed if you want to follow the project. (I won't be adding custom feeds to the planet for now).
I also created a news feed generator for FreeOrion.
Cashflow for Open Game Projects via Flattr without investment
So far you had to invest at least 2€ to be part of the service. Now you can use it for free.
So every project that is a one-person project or has a donation infrastructure: please add flattr to your site.
If neiter fits: start thinking about how you would share donations with the team if you got any and add a flattr button when you're done. :)
Thanks to Grumbel for reminding via his post.
AGS: Adventure Game Studio open sourced
Better late then never they say... so today I bring you the news that the grand-daddy of point and click adventure game creation software, AGS, has been open-sourced recently.
For AGS there are literally thousands of fan made games available (picture taken from this one), and even though most of them (all?) are not FOSS, it is definitely nice to have the engine and the editor now under the pretty liberal and GPL compatible Artistic License 2.0.
For AGS there are literally thousands of fan made games available (picture taken from this one), and even though most of them (all?) are not FOSS, it is definitely nice to have the engine and the editor now under the pretty liberal and GPL compatible Artistic License 2.0.
Naev Sound and Xonotic Map Devolution
Spoiler alert regarding a video of a NAEV mission that shows off the sound capacities of the game. The project relies on OpenAL Soft.
You should come for the sound [10MB vorbis rip]* or for the HD version.
You should come for the sound [10MB vorbis rip]* or for the HD version.
Effects to notice:* It'd be great if more project took so much care of audio licensing so there could be f-a-i-f game sound walks. Great distraction from urban noise. Game soundtracks are disturbing though mostly.
- Positional sound (basic for OpenAL)
- Doppler Effect (depends on velocity)
- Air absorption factor (sounds like you’re under water)
- Reverb (also helps make it sound like you’re underwater)
- Speed of sound changes (depends on nebula density – also for sounding underwater)
An amazing screens-video of the different stages of modernizing/Xonoticisizing CBCTF1 - Space CTF to Newtonian Nightmare was posted.
LanPower Game Key v2
LanPower Game Key v2
The GameKey light serie 2 is a compilation of portable FOSS games, mostly compatible with both Windows and Linux.English, German, French, Italian and Spanish translations are available for the GUI. If you would like to add your translation to the mix, here are the translation files: English | French. (contact: asso.lanpower A✜T free.fr)
Assorted strategy game news
Quick Sunday afternoon rundown of recent strategy game updated...
0AD got a new beta 5 release, which improvements in rendering & AI code, a completely new faction (Iberians), and a new map:
MegaGlest also got updated recently (Version 3.5.1), bringing various fixes and performance improvements. Furthermore I can report that both the sable and the development version of Battle for Wesnoth have been updated, and I strongly recommend everyone (who has not played this game for a while) to retry this classic in the newest development version.
EvolutionRTS, a nice looking (but sadly CC-by-NC-ND licensed) game based on the SpringRTS engine also saw an update to version 1.3 this month (check out this gameplay video).
Hmmm, what else? Ahh, UFO:AI was ported to Android, and and the change of Warzone2100 from SDL to qt (which is not exactly a game framework) raised some eyebrows, but will probably make the game more easily portable and better integrated into your favorite desktop.
0AD got a new beta 5 release, which improvements in rendering & AI code, a completely new faction (Iberians), and a new map:
MegaGlest also got updated recently (Version 3.5.1), bringing various fixes and performance improvements. Furthermore I can report that both the sable and the development version of Battle for Wesnoth have been updated, and I strongly recommend everyone (who has not played this game for a while) to retry this classic in the newest development version.
EvolutionRTS, a nice looking (but sadly CC-by-NC-ND licensed) game based on the SpringRTS engine also saw an update to version 1.3 this month (check out this gameplay video).
Hmmm, what else? Ahh, UFO:AI was ported to Android, and and the change of Warzone2100 from SDL to qt (which is not exactly a game framework) raised some eyebrows, but will probably make the game more easily portable and better integrated into your favorite desktop.
LibriVox Hacked
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The public domain audibook project LibriVox got hacked (not the first time it seems). There was no open announcement yet [edit: here's the blog post] but as a forum user I received an email:
I would like to appeal to the community to look out for each other and report strange activities like spam posts or random content deletion to site admins, pointing out this recent hacking. Everybody who had a LibriVox account and used their password elsewhere should change it ASAP, especially if moderative or administrative accounts are involved!
... Let me just add a little bit of positive open content news though: I was looking for car blinker sounds, contacted three Freesound contributors and got permission from all of them to re-distribute under CC0, which I did on OpenGameArt. j1987 even added a "all my sounds are public domain" note. :)
A hacker broke into the LibriVox forum and got access to our completedatabase including emails and encrypted passwords. We have locked them outof the system, and we’ve fixed the vandalism, but they still have ourdatabase.Well, I'm glad they are open about this. A great time to update the passwords I use to more secure ones. :)
In the interests of full disclosure, here is some extra information:(1) The database contained every piece of communications sent through theforum, including all private messages. This information is now in thepossession of the hacker.
(2) All forum passwords in the database are encrypted. However, if yourpassword was very simple, it will be trivial for the hacker to break theencryption using "brute-force" techniques. They will likely attempt exactlythis, so if you use the same password on any other Internet service, youshould immediately change your password at those services.
We are very sorry that this happened, and once this is sorted out as bestas it can be, we’ll be doing a more thorough security review.
I would like to appeal to the community to look out for each other and report strange activities like spam posts or random content deletion to site admins, pointing out this recent hacking. Everybody who had a LibriVox account and used their password elsewhere should change it ASAP, especially if moderative or administrative accounts are involved!
... Let me just add a little bit of positive open content news though: I was looking for car blinker sounds, contacted three Freesound contributors and got permission from all of them to re-distribute under CC0, which I did on OpenGameArt. j1987 even added a "all my sounds are public domain" note. :)
bfxr = sfxr + flash + omg awesome
Sfxr is a simple retro sound machine. It has undergone some iterations and the latest software based on its principle is bfxr, which also has valuable management tools.
Their feature list:
Their feature list:
- 5 new waveforms : triangle, breaker, tan, whistle, and pink noise.
- 3 new filters : compression, harmonics, and bitcrusher.
- Ability to lock parameters during mutation/randomization.
- Expanded pitch-jumping abilities - good for arpeggiation effects.
- Visualisation
- Mixer
- Keeps your sounds and mixes in persistant lists.
- Can reverse synths
- Ability to link directly to sounds
Needs flash. Might be a problem. Can anybody with free flash implementations run this?
Battle for Wesnoth Architecture
The popular open source game Battle for Wesnoth has been featured in the new free online book The Architecture of Open Source Applications.
We believe that the beauty of the Battle for Wesnoth as a program is how it made coding accessible to a wide variety of individuals. To achieve this aim, the project often made compromises that do not look elegant whatsoever in the code. It should be noted that many of the project's more talented programmers frown upon WML for its inefficient syntax. Yet this compromise enabled one of the project's greatest successes. Today Wesnoth can boast of hundreds of user-made campaigns and eras, created mostly by users with little or no programming experience.Read the full section online for further insight into the design and design decisions of Battle for Wesnoth.
Naev 0.5 released!
A new release of the 2D space trading and combat game Naev is out and available as binaries for Lin/Mac/Win here.
List of changes since 0.4.2:
For Players
For those using Ubuntu (or other Debian-derived distributions), Naev is available from PlayDeb. Naev is also available in Arch Linux, Gentoo, and from the openSUSE Games repository.Have a changelog:
List of changes since 0.4.2:
For Players
- Larger universe
- Expanded Dvaered, Frontier, Empire and Pirate territories
- All-new Sirius and Soromid territory
- Big systems
- More planets per system
- Much larger planets, many new planet and station graphics
- Players must fly to jump points before jumping to another system
- Overlay map for in-system navigation
- Mouse interactivity
- Planet, ship and jump point targeting
- Contextual click actions (board, hail, land, etc.)
- Optional mouse-controlled flying
- Electronic warfare
- Ships have cloaking and detection abilities
- Sensor range depends on cloak vs detection
- Turrets no longer track all ships equally
- Time model changes
- In-game time progresses in real-time
- Dynamic time compression speeds up long journeys
- On-map security rating abandoned in favour of faction presence indicators
- System backgrounds (nebulae, stars and more!)
- Fancier new GUI
- Brand-new tutorial that is independent from the main game
- Outfit slots now have sizes
- Weapon sets allow easy configuration of different weapon combinations for each ship
- Ship and weapon heat system
- Weapons start with perfect accuracy, and become inaccurate as they overheat
- Severe overheating causes rate of fire to drop
- Damage absorption and penetration system
- More diverse planetary inventories (see the tech system below)
- Random bar NPCs
- Sound system improvements
- Smarter autonav behaviour
- … and plenty more (new missions, ships, outfits, portraits, etc.)
Nongame: Killer
The Killer is a flash/as3-based nongame. Talking more about it might spoil it so if you're OK with that, there's a discussion going on at TigForums.
The source is "what you want" and hosted on github. Perhaps this could be ported to Haxe/Fixel.
The developer has an interesting "support me" implementation. Exclusive updates and postcards. :)
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