This week the FarmVille Biplane was introduced. The Biplane can be purchased for 30,000 coins and will instantly fertilize your entire crop with Insta-Grow. While the first flight is free, additional flights will cost varying rates of farm cash depending on how much time is remaining until your crops are ready to harvest.
There is no set price as it dependent on several factors including what crop you are growing, the time remaining, and how many plots you have.
FarmVille Freak Ingeborg hypothesizes that there is a formula used to calculate the cost of Biplane flights. Here is her thoughtful explanation described below. Thank you for sharing with us FVFreak Ingeborg.
Hi,
I know the calculation for costs on the Biplane:
* 2000 first hours = 1 FV$ (farm cash)
* +1 FV$ for every additional 1000 hours.
* Use 24 hours for 1 day, not the 23 hours Zynga usually uses.
Example: 100 plots of watermelons =9600 hours= 9 FV$. If they are 50% ready it'll be 4800 hours= 4FV$
It's a theory, but it works every time I checked! A lot of people keep asking on the forums how to calculate the costs and I can keep answering but i think it's more effective if FarmVille Freak makes a post about it!
The exact formula will be : (X*H*P)/1000-1= # FV$ ( round up! )
in which:
X= Number of plots
H= Grow time of the crop in hours (Carrots=12, Watermelons=96, Peas=24 etc.)
P= (100-percentage of the crop)/100. This means: if a crop is 50% ready P= (100-50)/100=0.5
If the crop is freshly planted P=1. If a crop is at 90% ready P=0,1
Happy farming ;)
FarmVille Freak Ingeborg
Did this Biplane Flight Formula work for you in calculating the cost of your flight?
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Thứ Tư, 15 tháng 2, 2012
FarmVille: Husband gifts Exclusive Button from 7-Eleven Clerk to Wife
FarmVille Freak Terri's FarmVille Button
Farmville Freak Terri sent us pics of her very exclusive FarmVille Button that her husband was able to acquire from none other than a 7-Eleven clerk!
"Do I have the best husband in the whole wide world, or what?? He went to 7-Eleven this evening and came home with a Farmville button for me. A button that the clerk was wearing! I can't believe he talked the man out of his button. I just love a man who feeds my addiction!!
You can bet I will be wearing it every time I sit down to play.
Farmingly yours,
-Farmville Freak Terri"
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Farmville Freak Terri sent us pics of her very exclusive FarmVille Button that her husband was able to acquire from none other than a 7-Eleven clerk!
"Do I have the best husband in the whole wide world, or what?? He went to 7-Eleven this evening and came home with a Farmville button for me. A button that the clerk was wearing! I can't believe he talked the man out of his button. I just love a man who feeds my addiction!!
You can bet I will be wearing it every time I sit down to play.
Farmingly yours,
-Farmville Freak Terri"
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Unreleased Lemon Balm Crop & Lemon Balm Mastery Sign
FarmVille Unreleased Lemon Balm Crop
Thank you to FarmVille Freak FarmVille Code Hunters for finding these unreleased Lemon Balm Crop and Lemon Balm Mastery Sign.
Sources:
FarmVille Unreleased Lemon Balm Crop – Zynga FarmVille
FarmVille Unreleased Lemon Balm Mastery Sign – Zynga FarmVille
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Thank you to FarmVille Freak FarmVille Code Hunters for finding these unreleased Lemon Balm Crop and Lemon Balm Mastery Sign.
Sources:
FarmVille Unreleased Lemon Balm Crop – Zynga FarmVille
FarmVille Unreleased Lemon Balm Mastery Sign – Zynga FarmVille
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
It's official: FarmVille's coming to iPhone at the end of June
We've heard for months that FarmVille would be headed to iPhone, and at the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference 2010 in San Franciso, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus announced that the farming game officially make its way to the Apple phone at the end of June.
There are not a lot of details on how this version of the game will be different than that on Facebook, other than the fact that it will sync with the Facebook version of the game (unlike the Mafia Wars iPhone app), players will be able to buy items without leaving the app, and it will have push notifications for withering crops. Pincus also seems to hint that the harvesting system may be a little bit different as well. "I'm most excited about how good tractoring just got," Pincus says during the game's demo.
We've contacted Zynga to learn more details on this new version of FarmVille, and to see if an official iPad version will be arriving shortly as well.
farmville on iphonesteve jobs intoduces mark pincus from zynga
There are not a lot of details on how this version of the game will be different than that on Facebook, other than the fact that it will sync with the Facebook version of the game (unlike the Mafia Wars iPhone app), players will be able to buy items without leaving the app, and it will have push notifications for withering crops. Pincus also seems to hint that the harvesting system may be a little bit different as well. "I'm most excited about how good tractoring just got," Pincus says during the game's demo.
We've contacted Zynga to learn more details on this new version of FarmVille, and to see if an official iPad version will be arriving shortly as well.
farmville on iphonesteve jobs intoduces mark pincus from zynga
PetVille and FishVille: Free Maxima Clam and Clean Bomb for fans
Zynga knows that fans will keep coming for those game freebies. Today, it released a free PetVille Clean Bomb and a free FishVille Maxima Clam on those games' official Facebook fanpages.
The Clam is a decorative item that's usually offered through the gifts page. It can't be resized, but it can be sold for 150 Coins and it's animated to open and shut while blowing tiny bubbles upwards.
To get your freebies, log into Facebook, make sure you're a fan of both games' fanpages, and click on the above "free" links.
The Clam is a decorative item that's usually offered through the gifts page. It can't be resized, but it can be sold for 150 Coins and it's animated to open and shut while blowing tiny bubbles upwards.
To get your freebies, log into Facebook, make sure you're a fan of both games' fanpages, and click on the above "free" links.
Thứ Bảy, 11 tháng 2, 2012
FarmVille Swiss Alps Animal: Simmental Cow
A new limited edition Swiss themed Simmental Cow was added to the FarmVille Market today.
This new animal will be available for the next 20 days and costs $FV 14.
Simmental cows are some of the most common cattle breeds in the world.
..."Recorded since theMiddle Ages, the Simmental breed has contributed to the creation of several other famous European breeds including the Montbeliarde (France), the Razzeta d'Oropa (Italy) and the Fleckvieh (Germany)."
Source: Wikipedia
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you be purchasing this new cow, even when so many are losing their animals?
This new animal will be available for the next 20 days and costs $FV 14.
Simmental cows are some of the most common cattle breeds in the world.
..."Recorded since theMiddle Ages, the Simmental breed has contributed to the creation of several other famous European breeds including the Montbeliarde (France), the Razzeta d'Oropa (Italy) and the Fleckvieh (Germany)."
Source: Wikipedia
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you be purchasing this new cow, even when so many are losing their animals?
Two Free FarmVille Cash from game sponsor: Kia Soul
free farmville cash
Farmers now have the opportunity to earn 2 free $FV by clicking on a link available below the FarmVille game screen and completing a short activity. This new promotion is funded by the car company Kia Soul. After following the given link you will have the opportunity to create your very Kia Soul music video! Simply drag and drop 6 frames into the empty spaces below.
farmville kia soul
You will then have the opportunity to view and/or edit your Kia Soul music video and then share your work via the Facebook homefeed.
farmville free cash
On completion of the above steps, you will be brought to a new screen saying that you have earned your free FarmVille Cash.
farmville free cash
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Its always nice to get free $FV from Zynga or their sponsors! Will you be participating in this new promotion?
Farmers now have the opportunity to earn 2 free $FV by clicking on a link available below the FarmVille game screen and completing a short activity. This new promotion is funded by the car company Kia Soul. After following the given link you will have the opportunity to create your very Kia Soul music video! Simply drag and drop 6 frames into the empty spaces below.
farmville kia soul
You will then have the opportunity to view and/or edit your Kia Soul music video and then share your work via the Facebook homefeed.
farmville free cash
On completion of the above steps, you will be brought to a new screen saying that you have earned your free FarmVille Cash.
farmville free cash
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Its always nice to get free $FV from Zynga or their sponsors! Will you be participating in this new promotion?
FarmVille Permanent Crop: Elderberry
FarmVille released a new permanent crop, Elderberry on July 2nd 2010!
Elderberry is unlocked for level 39 and above farmers. Those under level 39 will not have access to purchase Elderberry seeds.
The Elderberry seeds can be purchased for 195 coins, take 12 hours to grow, and yield 270 coins and 2 XP with a profit of 75 coins.
Since Elderberry is a permanent crop, it is not expiring from the FarmVille Market and Crop Master will be available!
Elderberry, also known as Sambucus, has a wide range of medicinal uses including the treatment of influenza B and flu symptoms, the berries themselves have been used traditionally throughout Europe to make wines, jams, teas, and syrups. However, the twigs and leaves of Elderberry can be poisonous. Some other interesting facts about the folklore surrounding Elderberry include, "
"The Elder Tree was supposed to ward off evil influence and give protection from witches, a popular belief held in some cultures. If an elder tree was cut down, a spirit known as the Elder Mother would be released and take her revenge. The tree could only safely be cut while chanting a rhyme to the Elder Mother."
"The most powerful wand in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a wand made of sambucus known as the "Elder Wand".
"In some regions, superstition, religious belief, or tradition prohibits the cutting of certain trees for bonfires, most notably in Witchcraft customs the Elderberry tree; "Elder be ye Lady's tree, burn it not or cursed ye'll be" –A rhyme from an Oral tradition." (Source: Wikipedia)
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you grow Elderberry on your farm?
Elderberry is unlocked for level 39 and above farmers. Those under level 39 will not have access to purchase Elderberry seeds.
The Elderberry seeds can be purchased for 195 coins, take 12 hours to grow, and yield 270 coins and 2 XP with a profit of 75 coins.
Since Elderberry is a permanent crop, it is not expiring from the FarmVille Market and Crop Master will be available!
Elderberry, also known as Sambucus, has a wide range of medicinal uses including the treatment of influenza B and flu symptoms, the berries themselves have been used traditionally throughout Europe to make wines, jams, teas, and syrups. However, the twigs and leaves of Elderberry can be poisonous. Some other interesting facts about the folklore surrounding Elderberry include, "
"The Elder Tree was supposed to ward off evil influence and give protection from witches, a popular belief held in some cultures. If an elder tree was cut down, a spirit known as the Elder Mother would be released and take her revenge. The tree could only safely be cut while chanting a rhyme to the Elder Mother."
"The most powerful wand in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a wand made of sambucus known as the "Elder Wand".
"In some regions, superstition, religious belief, or tradition prohibits the cutting of certain trees for bonfires, most notably in Witchcraft customs the Elderberry tree; "Elder be ye Lady's tree, burn it not or cursed ye'll be" –A rhyme from an Oral tradition." (Source: Wikipedia)
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you grow Elderberry on your farm?
FarmVille Adoptable Black Pony!
A new FarmVille adoptable animal, the Black Pony, is lost, lonely, and roaming around a farm near you!
Make sure to adopt your very own Black Pony via the FaceBook newsfeed from one of your FarmVille neighbors.
farmville adoptable black pony
Remember, that if you find a Black Pony on your farm you cannot keep it for yourself, but can share it with your FarmVille neighbors and give them the opportunity to adopt.
Black Ponies cannot be purchased in the FarmVille Market and are available by adoption only.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Are you excited about this new adoptable animal? Send pics of your Black Pony to editors@games.com and we may feature them here.
Make sure to adopt your very own Black Pony via the FaceBook newsfeed from one of your FarmVille neighbors.
farmville adoptable black pony
Remember, that if you find a Black Pony on your farm you cannot keep it for yourself, but can share it with your FarmVille neighbors and give them the opportunity to adopt.
Black Ponies cannot be purchased in the FarmVille Market and are available by adoption only.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Are you excited about this new adoptable animal? Send pics of your Black Pony to editors@games.com and we may feature them here.
New Update From Zynga On FarmVille Technical Issues
farmville technical issues fixed
This past week players have been losing construction materials, progress on buildings and animals. This has been a tough time for farmers but Lexilicious stated today on the Official FarmVille Forums the issues have now been resolved.
"Hey Farmers!
We have resolved this week's technical issues that have been causing some users to experience white screens, loading issues, Out of Sync errors, loss of animals and loss of constructable building progress/materials.
It is now safe for you to play on your farms and interact with your animal buildings and storage buildings without losing items.
Now that these issues have been resolved, we are currently investigating restoration options. We ask that you please be patient with us while we work towards finding a solution for our users.
We will provide you with more information about restoration as soon as it becomes available to us.
As always, thank you for your continued dedication to FarmVille and your patience with us during this time."
Source: Official FarmVille Forums
So, there us no word yet when we will have our lost animals returned to us but the rest of our animals should now be safe.
Please return my White Stallion now! Maybe for safe keeping I will should start spreadsheet of all limited edition items as FarmGoddess suggested.. just in case.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you start interacting with your animal and storage buildings again? When do you think we will see the return of our beloved animals?
This past week players have been losing construction materials, progress on buildings and animals. This has been a tough time for farmers but Lexilicious stated today on the Official FarmVille Forums the issues have now been resolved.
"Hey Farmers!
We have resolved this week's technical issues that have been causing some users to experience white screens, loading issues, Out of Sync errors, loss of animals and loss of constructable building progress/materials.
It is now safe for you to play on your farms and interact with your animal buildings and storage buildings without losing items.
Now that these issues have been resolved, we are currently investigating restoration options. We ask that you please be patient with us while we work towards finding a solution for our users.
We will provide you with more information about restoration as soon as it becomes available to us.
As always, thank you for your continued dedication to FarmVille and your patience with us during this time."
Source: Official FarmVille Forums
So, there us no word yet when we will have our lost animals returned to us but the rest of our animals should now be safe.
Please return my White Stallion now! Maybe for safe keeping I will should start spreadsheet of all limited edition items as FarmGoddess suggested.. just in case.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you start interacting with your animal and storage buildings again? When do you think we will see the return of our beloved animals?
Thứ Năm, 9 tháng 2, 2012
Google snaps up virtual currency platform Social Gold for $75 million [Rumor]
Google is still staying mum on the rumors that it's planning to launch a game-driven social network called 'Google Me' in the near future. However, it's undeniable that the search giant is making a serious play for the social gaming space, having -- in the past months -- invested a big chunk of change in FarmVille-creator Zynga, purchased SuperPoke Pets! creator Slide, and now, has also acquired Jambool, which owns Social Gold, one of several platforms for virtual currency payments in the business. Essentially, if you've developed a social game and are looking to add software that will power the virtual good/payments part of your game -- Social Gold might be one of your go-to guys ... if you haven't already committed to using Facebook Credits, that is.
Google nor Jambool have officially confirmed the purchase yet, but sources tell TechCrunch that Jambool was bought for $55 million, plus another roughly $20 million "in an earnout." It has also been reported that Google has recently been in talks with several social gaming companies, including Playfish and Playdom (which was purchased by Disney weeks ago) to be part of the company's Facebook rival that they've been working on behind the scenes.
Google nor Jambool have officially confirmed the purchase yet, but sources tell TechCrunch that Jambool was bought for $55 million, plus another roughly $20 million "in an earnout." It has also been reported that Google has recently been in talks with several social gaming companies, including Playfish and Playdom (which was purchased by Disney weeks ago) to be part of the company's Facebook rival that they've been working on behind the scenes.
YoVille: Group Buying Returns
This is an official post by Zynga's Platinum Ninja.
The group buying feature will be returning very very soon due to popular demand! This feature will operate as it did before and allow you to receive certain YoVille Items for Massive discounts. For those of you that weren't around for this feature before let's check it out now!
What is Group Buying?
Group Buying is an opportunity for players to get some awesome deals on items! The catch is that you have to spread the word among your friends and get a certain amount of people to sign up before the timer is up to receive the deal! Everyone that opts in and signs up will get the deal if you reach 100,000 so make sure to let your friends know!
How Do I become part of Group Buying?
To become a part of Group buying you will click on the Group Buying Banner. This will take you to the Group Buying page and allow you to click "Count Me in". Once you click this you can watch the numbers rise of other players that are signing up as well you should receive confirmation email that you signed up.
If enough people sign up you'll receive another email with a link to buy the items advertised at a discount. Please be patient as once you potentially hit the 100,000 mark it may take some time to roll out these announcement emails to everyone. You will have this chance to buy these items for approximately 3 Days ! Please note that if you opt in for these deals there is no obligation to buy.
Just in case make sure to set change your spam settings on your email account to avoid any issues of emails being directed to your wrong folders ;)
How do I share this with My Friends?
To share this opportunity with your friends and help get more players to sign up make sure to click the "Like" option at the upper left hand corner. This will allow you to post a feed and let everyone know.
*Please note this opportunity will only be available via Facebook*
- Platinum Ninja
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
The group buying feature will be returning very very soon due to popular demand! This feature will operate as it did before and allow you to receive certain YoVille Items for Massive discounts. For those of you that weren't around for this feature before let's check it out now!
What is Group Buying?
Group Buying is an opportunity for players to get some awesome deals on items! The catch is that you have to spread the word among your friends and get a certain amount of people to sign up before the timer is up to receive the deal! Everyone that opts in and signs up will get the deal if you reach 100,000 so make sure to let your friends know!
How Do I become part of Group Buying?
To become a part of Group buying you will click on the Group Buying Banner. This will take you to the Group Buying page and allow you to click "Count Me in". Once you click this you can watch the numbers rise of other players that are signing up as well you should receive confirmation email that you signed up.
If enough people sign up you'll receive another email with a link to buy the items advertised at a discount. Please be patient as once you potentially hit the 100,000 mark it may take some time to roll out these announcement emails to everyone. You will have this chance to buy these items for approximately 3 Days ! Please note that if you opt in for these deals there is no obligation to buy.
Just in case make sure to set change your spam settings on your email account to avoid any issues of emails being directed to your wrong folders ;)
How do I share this with My Friends?
To share this opportunity with your friends and help get more players to sign up make sure to click the "Like" option at the upper left hand corner. This will allow you to post a feed and let everyone know.
*Please note this opportunity will only be available via Facebook*
- Platinum Ninja
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
YoVille Alligator is here and YoVille Lounge is giving one away
YoVille Audubon Help the Gulf Alligator
The fourth charity pet is now on sale. Get the cute alligator for 30 YoCash and help save the gulf as 50% of all proceeds will go to Audubon.
We are giving away a free alligator to a lucky player. Find the alligator status on our Facebook Fan Page, and reply to it for a chance to win a cute green pet.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Bookmark this site!
The fourth charity pet is now on sale. Get the cute alligator for 30 YoCash and help save the gulf as 50% of all proceeds will go to Audubon.
We are giving away a free alligator to a lucky player. Find the alligator status on our Facebook Fan Page, and reply to it for a chance to win a cute green pet.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Bookmark this site!
FarmVille Unreleased Crops: Bluebell, Foxglove, & Hot Pink Aster
Thank you to FarmVille Freak Teresa for finding these unreleased FarmVille Bluebell Crop, Foxglove Crop, and Hot Pink Aster Crop items!
FarmVille Unreleased Crops: Bluebell, Foxglove, & Hot Pink Aster
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Unreleased Crops: Bluebell, Foxglove, & Hot Pink Aster
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Unreleased Bounce House, Hippo Fountain & Upper Falls
Thank you to FarmVille Freak Teresa for finding these unreleased FarmVille Bounce House, Hippo Fountain, & Upper Falls.
FarmVille Unreleased Bounce House, Hippo Fountain & Upper Falls
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Unreleased Bounce House, Hippo Fountain & Upper Falls
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Thứ Hai, 6 tháng 2, 2012
PetVille Backwards Caption Contest: It's your pets' turn to fill in the blanks
PetVille Reverse Caption Contest Example
Contests in Zynga's social games are a dime a dozen these days, but now it wants you to try something completely different in PetVille. The PetVille community team is taking the traditional caption contest and putting it on it's head with their Backwards Caption Contest.
Running now until September 16, your mission is to take this caption: "Well, do you know what rats spell backward? STAR!!!!!!," and use your pets and any other items you might have to illustrate the scene. The grand prize winner will receive the item of their choice from the game.
The PetVille Community Team will choose their ten favorite screen shots and post them to the game's forums for the players to decide who wins. Check out the forum post for official rules and good luck! Anything goes with this one folks, so let your creativity shine (in the goofiest way possible, of course).
Contests in Zynga's social games are a dime a dozen these days, but now it wants you to try something completely different in PetVille. The PetVille community team is taking the traditional caption contest and putting it on it's head with their Backwards Caption Contest.
Running now until September 16, your mission is to take this caption: "Well, do you know what rats spell backward? STAR!!!!!!," and use your pets and any other items you might have to illustrate the scene. The grand prize winner will receive the item of their choice from the game.
The PetVille Community Team will choose their ten favorite screen shots and post them to the game's forums for the players to decide who wins. Check out the forum post for official rules and good luck! Anything goes with this one folks, so let your creativity shine (in the goofiest way possible, of course).
FarmVille 'Stats' bar makes it easier keep tabs on achievements
Did you happen to notice the new 'Stats' icon that appears underneath your FarmVille farm's name? My FarmVille buddy/co-worker Sharon pointed it out to me this week. If you haven't seen it yet, look in the upper right-hand corner of the screen while on your farm -- and you should see a little brown button that says 'Stats' on it and three blue lines that kind of look like the signal reception bars on a cell phone.
After you find the icon, click on it. A small menu will drop down and will let you know just how much you have achieved in FarmVille so far.
farmville stats menu
This bar lists your stats for the following:
Your level
Achievement Ribbons
Crop Masteries
Co-op Farming Medals
Collections Completed
Constructed Buildings
Right now, you can only see your stats on your farm, but if you go to a neighbor's farm, you will not be able to view their stats. While I always love a good stats bar, it would be great to be able to share it with others, with the intent to spark up a little friendly competition with my fellow virtual farmers.
FarmVille Stats bar -- did you even notice it on your page? What do you think?
After you find the icon, click on it. A small menu will drop down and will let you know just how much you have achieved in FarmVille so far.
farmville stats menu
This bar lists your stats for the following:
Your level
Achievement Ribbons
Crop Masteries
Co-op Farming Medals
Collections Completed
Constructed Buildings
Right now, you can only see your stats on your farm, but if you go to a neighbor's farm, you will not be able to view their stats. While I always love a good stats bar, it would be great to be able to share it with others, with the intent to spark up a little friendly competition with my fellow virtual farmers.
FarmVille Stats bar -- did you even notice it on your page? What do you think?
Mafia Wars Super Pignata: New free gift with more (mostly) sweet loot
First, Mafia Wars introduced us to the Pignata and, now, the Super Pignata. This masked pinata contains a mystery gift and can be sent as a free gift to your mafia. You can only accept five (5) Super Pignatas per day and the one you'll want to get is the one holding the rare Gray Wolf with some fairly impressive stats: 127 Attack, 94 Defense.
Take a look at what these paper piggies have hiding inside (see the full loot list after the jump):
mafia-wars-super-pignata
mafia wars trio soprano mafia wars super pignata loot
mafia wars super pignata loot 2
[Via Mafia Wars Wiki]
Bookmark this site!
Take a look at what these paper piggies have hiding inside (see the full loot list after the jump):
mafia-wars-super-pignata
mafia wars trio soprano mafia wars super pignata loot
mafia wars super pignata loot 2
[Via Mafia Wars Wiki]
Bookmark this site!
Mafia Wars free property upgrade -- less than 24 hours to claim your free boost
As promised, Mafia Wars rolled out the free property upgrade this weekend, so that means you have about, oh, 24 hours or so to claim this freebie. You can use this one time on any property that is upgradeable and it will upgrade the property one level. Some players seem to think this is a rip-off, but I'll take any help I can get.
When you upgrade, you'll obviously want to choose to upgrade whichever property will give you the biggest payout. I chose to upgrade my Las Vegas casino restaurant because that upgrade would pay the most of my existing Sin City buildings. Though another sound choice would be to use this on the Chop Shop and Weapons Shop in New York.
Another note: When you upgrade the property, your existing building materials will stay put. So if you had, say, 2/6 Steel Girders before you upgraded your restaurant, you will still have 2/6 Steel Girders after the upgrade as well.
mafia wars free property upgrade
mafia wars free property upgrade
mafia wars free upgrade weekend only
Do you think Mafia Wars' free property upgrade was helpful or a total rip-off?
When you upgrade, you'll obviously want to choose to upgrade whichever property will give you the biggest payout. I chose to upgrade my Las Vegas casino restaurant because that upgrade would pay the most of my existing Sin City buildings. Though another sound choice would be to use this on the Chop Shop and Weapons Shop in New York.
Another note: When you upgrade the property, your existing building materials will stay put. So if you had, say, 2/6 Steel Girders before you upgraded your restaurant, you will still have 2/6 Steel Girders after the upgrade as well.
mafia wars free property upgrade
mafia wars free property upgrade
mafia wars free upgrade weekend only
Do you think Mafia Wars' free property upgrade was helpful or a total rip-off?
FarmVille 'Fertilize All' limited edition gift was a little too 'limited'
While accepting FarmVille gifts this weekend, I noticed that there's a new free gift going around called 'Fertilize All.' After doing a little research, turns out that 'Fertilize All' was a limited edition gift that appeared in the Free Gifts section briefly before it disappeared again. Not sure if this vanished due to a bug or if this was a truly 'limited' edition gift.
If you were lucky enough to score this amazing gift, accept it from your feed and then open your gifts menu in the game. Click 'use' to instantly fertilize ALL of your crops! Next thing you know, your little farmer will be surrounded by sparkly crops that will yield extra experience points and other bonuses.
Not sure if this generous gift will resurface soon or if this was a one-time deal. Stay tuned.
If you were lucky enough to score this amazing gift, accept it from your feed and then open your gifts menu in the game. Click 'use' to instantly fertilize ALL of your crops! Next thing you know, your little farmer will be surrounded by sparkly crops that will yield extra experience points and other bonuses.
Not sure if this generous gift will resurface soon or if this was a one-time deal. Stay tuned.
Thứ Bảy, 4 tháng 2, 2012
Happy Pets Butterflies flutter into your home for super cheap
Happy Pets Butterflies
If you're looking for one final reminder of Summer, CrowdStar added Butterflies today to Happy Pets. These new pets come in four different color varieties and are on sale until 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Three of the four Karner Butterflies come in purple, blue and red for 18 Facebook Credits, or $1.80 USD, which is much better than their normal asking price of 26 Facebook Credits ($2.60). There is a fourth, Yellow Karner Butterfly that requires you have a whopping 21 neighbors and costs 99,795 coins.
Each butterfly grows in just one day, needs to be fed every four hours and--as if you would ever want to--sells for 780 coins. If bugs are your sort of thing (can you tell they're not mine?), at least $1.80 isn't nearly as costly as up to $12 for a psychedelic Cat.
If you're looking for one final reminder of Summer, CrowdStar added Butterflies today to Happy Pets. These new pets come in four different color varieties and are on sale until 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Three of the four Karner Butterflies come in purple, blue and red for 18 Facebook Credits, or $1.80 USD, which is much better than their normal asking price of 26 Facebook Credits ($2.60). There is a fourth, Yellow Karner Butterfly that requires you have a whopping 21 neighbors and costs 99,795 coins.
Each butterfly grows in just one day, needs to be fed every four hours and--as if you would ever want to--sells for 780 coins. If bugs are your sort of thing (can you tell they're not mine?), at least $1.80 isn't nearly as costly as up to $12 for a psychedelic Cat.
Wheel of Fortune for Facebook could lead to even more GSN social games
Wheel Of Fortune on Facebook
Wheel of Fortune, the crazy popular game show hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, was digitized (and socialized) as a Facebook game in September. It was revealed by Mass High Tech that the game was created by Waltham, Mass.-based GSN Digital Labs, a division of GSN--formerly known as the Game Show Network--dedicated to creative social games.
According to GSN Digital Labs president Jeremy Shea, Wheel of Fortune for Facebook already has 250 thousand active users since the game's launch in September. With growth like that, it may be only a matter of time before the studio makes more game show-themed social games with big time names to drive their popularity. With a brand like Wheel of Fortune, it's possible that GSN Digital Labs' creations could give upcoming studios like Digital Chocolate, Lolapps or even CrowdStar a run for their money.
GSN Digital Labs was created out of GSN's Digital Division, which was founded in 2006 after the acquisition of WorldWinner Inc. With 250 thousand more fans in Wheel of Fortune for Facebook and a studio ready for more, GSN might have just struck social game gold.
Wheel of Fortune, the crazy popular game show hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, was digitized (and socialized) as a Facebook game in September. It was revealed by Mass High Tech that the game was created by Waltham, Mass.-based GSN Digital Labs, a division of GSN--formerly known as the Game Show Network--dedicated to creative social games.
According to GSN Digital Labs president Jeremy Shea, Wheel of Fortune for Facebook already has 250 thousand active users since the game's launch in September. With growth like that, it may be only a matter of time before the studio makes more game show-themed social games with big time names to drive their popularity. With a brand like Wheel of Fortune, it's possible that GSN Digital Labs' creations could give upcoming studios like Digital Chocolate, Lolapps or even CrowdStar a run for their money.
GSN Digital Labs was created out of GSN's Digital Division, which was founded in 2006 after the acquisition of WorldWinner Inc. With 250 thousand more fans in Wheel of Fortune for Facebook and a studio ready for more, GSN might have just struck social game gold.
FarmVille Halloween Pumpkin Fountain: A monument to the night of mischief
As cool as this FarmVille Halloween Pumpkin Fountain looks, we have to wonder what the heck is flowing out of it -- pumpkin juice? Orange-Orange Vitamin Water? Regardless, this unreleased water feature looks pretty awesome, though we'll have to reserve our final judgment until it arrives in the Market.
[Via FarmVille Latest]
Find more stories on our 2010 Halloween Guide for FarmVille, Mafia Wars & more.
[Via FarmVille Latest]
Find more stories on our 2010 Halloween Guide for FarmVille, Mafia Wars & more.
FarmVille Skeleton Horse gets dressed up for Halloween
Don't be alarmed, this isn't a zombie skeleton horse. It's merely a horse wearing a skeleton costume! Who says barnyard animals in FarmVille can't wear Halloween costumes, too? Stay tuned to learn how you can get your very own costumed horse in the not-too-distant future.
[Via FarmVille Latest]
Find more stories on our 2010 Halloween Guide for FarmVille, Mafia Wars & more.
[Via FarmVille Latest]
Find more stories on our 2010 Halloween Guide for FarmVille, Mafia Wars & more.
YoVille Halloween Hairstyles take costumes to the next level
yoville halloween hairstyles
Complete your YoVille Halloween costume with a matching YoVille Halloween hairstyle. New hairstyles are now available in the Salon just in time for Halloween! Frankenstein, Zombie and deadly leaf hairstyles are available for 20 YoCash each.
Check them all out above and tell us which ones are your favorite.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Find more stories on our 2010 Halloween Guide for FarmVille, Mafia Wars & more.
Complete your YoVille Halloween costume with a matching YoVille Halloween hairstyle. New hairstyles are now available in the Salon just in time for Halloween! Frankenstein, Zombie and deadly leaf hairstyles are available for 20 YoCash each.
Check them all out above and tell us which ones are your favorite.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Find more stories on our 2010 Halloween Guide for FarmVille, Mafia Wars & more.
Thứ Năm, 2 tháng 2, 2012
Pet Society Giveaway: Win a cute free T-Shirt
pet society giveaway
Update: This contest has ended. Head to Blog.Games.com or our Facebook fanpage for more awesome giveaways.
You made it through the Halloween weekend and you're already halfway through the week. Because you've been doing such a good job, I've decided to do a little Pet Society free T-Shirt giveaway.
In the past when we've given away t-shirts, an overwhelming amount of people have responded. So we made sure to have more than one prize this time around. Today, we're giving away two cute Pet Society T-Shirts.
Continue reading to enter to win pet society giveaway
The two gray Pet Society T-Shirts come as a Women's Small size, making them perfect for a child, or a petite Pet Society player. On the front of the shirt is a little blue Pet Society pet with a big red nose, big ears, a viking helmet, and a tuft of green fur on his forehead. That little guy sure looks pleased about something.
What's also great about the shirt is that it doesn't say Pet Society anywhere on it, so only those who play the game will be able to fully appreciate it. To outsiders, this shirt will just look cute and quirky. It'll be like a little inside joke.
So how can you enter to win? Follow the directions below.
To enter:
Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage: (http://www.facebook.com/gamescom).
Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see the latest Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.
Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and leave a comment telling us a bit about your pets in the real world. Do you have a cat or a dog? Or perhaps something more exotic? What are their names? What made you choose your pet? Did you base your Pet Society pet on your real-life pet? If you don't have a pet, why not?
(I have two cats: Jim and Bob II. I also have a dog named Trixy. I'll be honest, I prefer manly dogs, and Trixy is a poodle thing, which is a bit questionable. Jim and Bob are awesome though. They kill birds and pests, lounge around, and are really friendly. We love them all, they're part of the family.)
After a few days, we'll randomly select two winners, message them on Facebook for their addresses, and send them their free Pet Society T-Shirts. Sound easy enough?
Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for the free Pet Society T-Shirts.
Update: This contest has ended. Head to Blog.Games.com or our Facebook fanpage for more awesome giveaways.
You made it through the Halloween weekend and you're already halfway through the week. Because you've been doing such a good job, I've decided to do a little Pet Society free T-Shirt giveaway.
In the past when we've given away t-shirts, an overwhelming amount of people have responded. So we made sure to have more than one prize this time around. Today, we're giving away two cute Pet Society T-Shirts.
Continue reading to enter to win pet society giveaway
The two gray Pet Society T-Shirts come as a Women's Small size, making them perfect for a child, or a petite Pet Society player. On the front of the shirt is a little blue Pet Society pet with a big red nose, big ears, a viking helmet, and a tuft of green fur on his forehead. That little guy sure looks pleased about something.
What's also great about the shirt is that it doesn't say Pet Society anywhere on it, so only those who play the game will be able to fully appreciate it. To outsiders, this shirt will just look cute and quirky. It'll be like a little inside joke.
So how can you enter to win? Follow the directions below.
To enter:
Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage: (http://www.facebook.com/gamescom).
Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see the latest Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.
Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and leave a comment telling us a bit about your pets in the real world. Do you have a cat or a dog? Or perhaps something more exotic? What are their names? What made you choose your pet? Did you base your Pet Society pet on your real-life pet? If you don't have a pet, why not?
(I have two cats: Jim and Bob II. I also have a dog named Trixy. I'll be honest, I prefer manly dogs, and Trixy is a poodle thing, which is a bit questionable. Jim and Bob are awesome though. They kill birds and pests, lounge around, and are really friendly. We love them all, they're part of the family.)
After a few days, we'll randomly select two winners, message them on Facebook for their addresses, and send them their free Pet Society T-Shirts. Sound easy enough?
Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for the free Pet Society T-Shirts.
Dragon Age Legends on Facebook: BioWare's epic role-player goes social
Dragon Age, Bioware's popular role-playing game available on PC and game consoles will be making its way onto Facebook in the form of Dragon Age Legends. You will return to Theadas and save a viscount's son while battling demons and darkspawn.
OK, so it all kind of sounds like the lyrics from a Tenacious D song, but if this social game is anything like it's bigger brothers, it'll keep you engrossed for hours on end. Here's hoping anyway. Playing this game will also unlock items in Dragon Age II, which is set to arrive in stores in March 2011.
EA 2D General Manager Mark Spenner says their goal is to use Dragon Age Legends to raise the 'quality bar' in social games. "Dragon Age Legends will deliver a deep, sophisticated experience, and we will continue to delight gamers by adding new features and content far into the future," he says.
Dragon Age Legends will also give players a taste of the Free Marches, which will be the main setting in Dragon Age II, and it will have a 'gratifying' character customization options. Players will take on quests, earn loot and play the game with their fellow Facebook friends.
These details are a little vague, but if you're interested in being one of the first to get involved, you can sign up to be part of the game's January beta here.
OK, so it all kind of sounds like the lyrics from a Tenacious D song, but if this social game is anything like it's bigger brothers, it'll keep you engrossed for hours on end. Here's hoping anyway. Playing this game will also unlock items in Dragon Age II, which is set to arrive in stores in March 2011.
EA 2D General Manager Mark Spenner says their goal is to use Dragon Age Legends to raise the 'quality bar' in social games. "Dragon Age Legends will deliver a deep, sophisticated experience, and we will continue to delight gamers by adding new features and content far into the future," he says.
Dragon Age Legends will also give players a taste of the Free Marches, which will be the main setting in Dragon Age II, and it will have a 'gratifying' character customization options. Players will take on quests, earn loot and play the game with their fellow Facebook friends.
These details are a little vague, but if you're interested in being one of the first to get involved, you can sign up to be part of the game's January beta here.
Social City update keeps City Bucks items from newbies, adds three new buildings
Pillar Rock Hot Springs Resort
What better day to update your favorite city planner game than Wednesday? With hopefully just enough content to hold players over until the weekend, Playdom updated Social City with three new buildings. First up is the Pillar Rock, a decoration item that will add 25,000 Happiness and grant you 785 XP for 25 City Bucks, or $4.99. Next in line is the Hot Springs Resort, which for 45 City Bucks (about $9) will reward players with 50,000 Happiness and 2,305 XP on top of 3,000 coins every day and a half. Lastly is the Louvre Square. Based on the world famous art museum in Paris, France, this building costs a whopping 59 City Bucks (slightly over $10), but will provide you with 5,000 coins every 12 hours and 3,845 XP--not to mention 66,000 Happiness.
While these flashy new buildings are certainly a treat, what's even more interesting is that Playdom has barred players below Level 3 from buying items that cost City Bucks. While there was no official explanation for the change, we imagine the developer wants to keep new players from making purchases before they've become invested in the game world. Not to mention players of such a low level--or what the kids these days call "noobs"--have no real use for an item that costs $10. So, for the--ahem--noobs out there: get a better feel for the game before you run around spending your hard-earned cash.
Update: Players can now "Like" each others' city layouts. These "Likes" will post to your friends' News Feeds just like normal.
What better day to update your favorite city planner game than Wednesday? With hopefully just enough content to hold players over until the weekend, Playdom updated Social City with three new buildings. First up is the Pillar Rock, a decoration item that will add 25,000 Happiness and grant you 785 XP for 25 City Bucks, or $4.99. Next in line is the Hot Springs Resort, which for 45 City Bucks (about $9) will reward players with 50,000 Happiness and 2,305 XP on top of 3,000 coins every day and a half. Lastly is the Louvre Square. Based on the world famous art museum in Paris, France, this building costs a whopping 59 City Bucks (slightly over $10), but will provide you with 5,000 coins every 12 hours and 3,845 XP--not to mention 66,000 Happiness.
While these flashy new buildings are certainly a treat, what's even more interesting is that Playdom has barred players below Level 3 from buying items that cost City Bucks. While there was no official explanation for the change, we imagine the developer wants to keep new players from making purchases before they've become invested in the game world. Not to mention players of such a low level--or what the kids these days call "noobs"--have no real use for an item that costs $10. So, for the--ahem--noobs out there: get a better feel for the game before you run around spending your hard-earned cash.
Update: Players can now "Like" each others' city layouts. These "Likes" will post to your friends' News Feeds just like normal.
Lunchtime Poll: McDonalds Facebook game - would you play?
It's hard to turn on the TV or visit a news site without hearing about McDonald's this week. First, there's the big news that the Golden Arches is bringing back the McRib sandwich for a limited time, and now we're reading that they're banning toys from mcdonald's mcribHappy Meals in San Francisco. A few weeks ago, there was a big McDonald's promotion in FarmVille.
With McDonald's on the brain and this recent story about how big brands are getting ready to explode on Facebook -- wouldn't it be crazy if (bear with me here) McDonald's launched its very own social game and, more importantly, would you play? Maybe you could try your hand at slinging virtual Big Macs for hungry customers in a Diner Dash-style time management game.
McDonalds Facebook game: Would you play?
With McDonald's on the brain and this recent story about how big brands are getting ready to explode on Facebook -- wouldn't it be crazy if (bear with me here) McDonald's launched its very own social game and, more importantly, would you play? Maybe you could try your hand at slinging virtual Big Macs for hungry customers in a Diner Dash-style time management game.
McDonalds Facebook game: Would you play?
Cafe World Cheats & Tips: Collections Cabinet gifting links
cafe world collections cabinet gifting links
Hello Cafe-folks, It's Mr. Cheats here with the down-low on the things you shouldn't know.
Today, The Facegamer released a batch of Cafe World gifting links for the new Collections Cabinet. Your going to need a whole lot of parts to finish this one up. But luckily with my Cafe World Collections Cabinet gifting links, you should be done in no time. All you're going to need is a little help from your friends and my gifting links below.
To use the Cafe World Collections Cabinet gifting links, click the picture of the part you'd like to send, then select the friends you'd like to send it to. When you're done, link your friends to this page so they can return the favor and send you some Collections Cabinet parts.
You're going to need ten of each part, so let's get started building that Collections Cabinet:
cafe world collections cabinet gifting links cafe world collections cabinet gifting links
cafe world collections cabinet gifting links cafe world collections cabinet gifting links
Click on an image to send the part as a gift to your friends.
For cheats & more, check out The Facegamer.
Note: The parts may not appear in your Zynga Message Center, so go to your Facebook requests page to accept them normally.
Hello Cafe-folks, It's Mr. Cheats here with the down-low on the things you shouldn't know.
Today, The Facegamer released a batch of Cafe World gifting links for the new Collections Cabinet. Your going to need a whole lot of parts to finish this one up. But luckily with my Cafe World Collections Cabinet gifting links, you should be done in no time. All you're going to need is a little help from your friends and my gifting links below.
To use the Cafe World Collections Cabinet gifting links, click the picture of the part you'd like to send, then select the friends you'd like to send it to. When you're done, link your friends to this page so they can return the favor and send you some Collections Cabinet parts.
You're going to need ten of each part, so let's get started building that Collections Cabinet:
cafe world collections cabinet gifting links cafe world collections cabinet gifting links
cafe world collections cabinet gifting links cafe world collections cabinet gifting links
Click on an image to send the part as a gift to your friends.
For cheats & more, check out The Facegamer.
Note: The parts may not appear in your Zynga Message Center, so go to your Facebook requests page to accept them normally.
Thứ Tư, 1 tháng 2, 2012
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Holiday Train & Winter Train Tracks
While users in FarmVIlle have been able to create an Evergreen train set on their farm for a few weeks now, it looks as though Zynga will be adding to the virtual train set idea this holiday season, as we've come across new images offering a sneak peek of an unreleased Holiday Train, and a re-do of the current train track pieces in the game to match with the winter spirit (that is, they've been covered in fallen snow).
The Holiday Train (the name could change at any time) will apparently be comprised of four individual pieces, or items that will likely be available to purchase separately. They are the Holiday Train Engine, the Passenger Car, the Caboose, and the Cart (filled with toys).
As for the train track set, there are four new pieces that will be apparently be added to the store - a Winter Train Track Crossing, and three corners, allowing you to build an extensive, customized pattern for your train to "follow," even if only in your imagination.
As usual, there's no information as to when these items will actually be released in FarmVille, but if they are, we're guessing that both the train and train track items will be split between those items that are premium (Farm Cash only) and those that go for coins, so start saving a bit of both now if you want to build a Winter Train on your farm.
The Holiday Train (the name could change at any time) will apparently be comprised of four individual pieces, or items that will likely be available to purchase separately. They are the Holiday Train Engine, the Passenger Car, the Caboose, and the Cart (filled with toys).
As for the train track set, there are four new pieces that will be apparently be added to the store - a Winter Train Track Crossing, and three corners, allowing you to build an extensive, customized pattern for your train to "follow," even if only in your imagination.
As usual, there's no information as to when these items will actually be released in FarmVille, but if they are, we're guessing that both the train and train track items will be split between those items that are premium (Farm Cash only) and those that go for coins, so start saving a bit of both now if you want to build a Winter Train on your farm.
FrontierVille: Serve the Thanksgiving Feast for free collectibles
Happy Thanksgiving partners! If you have a few spare moments this holiday, make sure to log into FrontierVille to serve your virtual neighbors their own Thanksgiving Feast!
This is done by clicking on your Thanksgiving Feast table and then clicking on the "Serve" buttons associated with each step of the feast. If you've yet to complete the final part of the Thanksgiving Feast missions, that being the step requiring 40 of each of the food items, then you can still serve the courses that you have completed.
What's the point in doing so, you ask? Simple - after each course served, you will see your table animate as the your feast's hungry guests start stuffing their faces. Plus, you'll earn a load of free goodies each time a course is served. These bonuses come in the form of collection items (both for the new Thanksgiving-themed collections, and for other general collections), free coins, food, experience points, and even energy items like Dinners and Lunches.
If you've completed the entire set of Thanksgiving Feast missions, you'll be able to collect four sets of rewards for doing little more than clicking on the table. It requires no energy to do so, so what are you waiting for? Serve those hungry guests of yours before they starve!
This is done by clicking on your Thanksgiving Feast table and then clicking on the "Serve" buttons associated with each step of the feast. If you've yet to complete the final part of the Thanksgiving Feast missions, that being the step requiring 40 of each of the food items, then you can still serve the courses that you have completed.
What's the point in doing so, you ask? Simple - after each course served, you will see your table animate as the your feast's hungry guests start stuffing their faces. Plus, you'll earn a load of free goodies each time a course is served. These bonuses come in the form of collection items (both for the new Thanksgiving-themed collections, and for other general collections), free coins, food, experience points, and even energy items like Dinners and Lunches.
If you've completed the entire set of Thanksgiving Feast missions, you'll be able to collect four sets of rewards for doing little more than clicking on the table. It requires no energy to do so, so what are you waiting for? Serve those hungry guests of yours before they starve!
Black Friday Giveaway: Win free Facebook Credits
Update: This contest has ended. Head to Blog.Games.com or our Facebook fanpage for more awesome giveaways.
It's Black Friday! And thanks to Target, the first retailer to sell Facebook Credits Gift Cards, we have a special treat for our fans. To celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, we're giving away ten of Target's exclusive $15 Facebook Credits Gift Cards.
Retailers everywhere are offering huge Black Friday sales and discounts to kick off the holiday shopping season. But while they're offering gigantic price mark-downs, they aren't giving anything away for free. Games.com The Blog on the other hand, is giving away all ten Facebook Credits Gift Cards completely free! Now that's a deal that can't be beat!
Continue reading to find out how you can win a free Facebook Credits Gift Card.
free facebook credits black friday giveaway
To enter:
Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage - http://www.facebook.com/gamescom
Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see the latest Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.
Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and in a comment, tell us about your Thanksgiving day celebration. Did you get the whole family together? What did you eat? Which dish was your favorite? Let us know on the fanpage!
(This year I spent Thanksgiving at my mother's house. In addition to my brothers, her boyfriend and a couple friends joined us. Everyone brought a dish and contributed to a massive Thanksgiving feast. My favorite part had to be the turkey. I swear my mom's perfected the art of turkey cooking. Yum! And the best part? There's leftovers for sandwiches today! Score.)
On Monday, we'll randomly select ten winners, message them on Facebook for their address, and send them their free $15 Facebook Credits Gift Card. Sound easy enough?
Note: Make sure your Facebook privacy settings allow strangers (me) to send you messages. Otherwise how else can I inform you that you've won?
Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for a free Facebook Credits Gift Card.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
It's Black Friday! And thanks to Target, the first retailer to sell Facebook Credits Gift Cards, we have a special treat for our fans. To celebrate the day after Thanksgiving, we're giving away ten of Target's exclusive $15 Facebook Credits Gift Cards.
Retailers everywhere are offering huge Black Friday sales and discounts to kick off the holiday shopping season. But while they're offering gigantic price mark-downs, they aren't giving anything away for free. Games.com The Blog on the other hand, is giving away all ten Facebook Credits Gift Cards completely free! Now that's a deal that can't be beat!
Continue reading to find out how you can win a free Facebook Credits Gift Card.
free facebook credits black friday giveaway
To enter:
Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage - http://www.facebook.com/gamescom
Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see the latest Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.
Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and in a comment, tell us about your Thanksgiving day celebration. Did you get the whole family together? What did you eat? Which dish was your favorite? Let us know on the fanpage!
(This year I spent Thanksgiving at my mother's house. In addition to my brothers, her boyfriend and a couple friends joined us. Everyone brought a dish and contributed to a massive Thanksgiving feast. My favorite part had to be the turkey. I swear my mom's perfected the art of turkey cooking. Yum! And the best part? There's leftovers for sandwiches today! Score.)
On Monday, we'll randomly select ten winners, message them on Facebook for their address, and send them their free $15 Facebook Credits Gift Card. Sound easy enough?
Note: Make sure your Facebook privacy settings allow strangers (me) to send you messages. Otherwise how else can I inform you that you've won?
Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for a free Facebook Credits Gift Card.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Treasure Isle Black Friday Super Sale: Collect balloons for nifty in-game items
Black Friday -- the biggest shopping day of the year -- has arrived and while people are busting down doors in real-life stores for crazy deals, you can do the same in several of your favorite Facebook games including Treasure Isle.
Instead of just offering a straight up discount on virtual items, TI has turned the whole Black Friday experience into a mini-game. Collect black balloons from friends and then trade them in for in-demand items, like, for instance, an extra garden plot, which normally cost 100 Island Cash (roughly $20). So -- all in all -- begging friends for balloons can be worth your while. (On that note, if any of you would like to send me a black balloon, I'd certainly be tickled pink).
treasure isle black friday super sale items
If you're a double dipper, like myself, and also play FarmVille, you'll be more than familiar with Treasure Isle's Black Friday mini-game. Yes, you'll have to kneel on bended knee and ask friends to gift you black balloons (or if you don't like to beg, you can buy balloons using Island Cash). Once you've collected a certain number of balloons, you'll be able to trade them in for rare items. As I mentioned above, I say the Garden Plot is the must-have item (and the Fail Whale seems like the must-have decoration, just for the LOLs). Either way, here's a complete trade-in list below:
3 Black Balloons: Coffee Tray (Decoration)
13 Black Balloons: Raccoon Table
30 Black Balloons: Big Barn
56 Black Balloons: Fail Whale
60 Black Balloons: Swan Boat
100 Black Balloons: Garden Plot
treasure isle black friday super sale
There's also a gift stand part of this BF promotion, place it on your island, and as you collect more balloons the stand will grow more ornate. There was a glitch placing the stand this morning -- the pop-up window below prompted me to place my stand, but then there was no stand to be found. Not sure if many others are experiencing this -- if so, please sound off in the comments below. OK, I found my stand sitting right next to my Gem Mine, which is still under construction (see image below). Since my Treasure Isle island is littered with construction projects, it's hard to tell what's what. Or, maybe it's time to whip out the bifocals. Anyway...
treasure isle gift stand
Instead of just offering a straight up discount on virtual items, TI has turned the whole Black Friday experience into a mini-game. Collect black balloons from friends and then trade them in for in-demand items, like, for instance, an extra garden plot, which normally cost 100 Island Cash (roughly $20). So -- all in all -- begging friends for balloons can be worth your while. (On that note, if any of you would like to send me a black balloon, I'd certainly be tickled pink).
treasure isle black friday super sale items
If you're a double dipper, like myself, and also play FarmVille, you'll be more than familiar with Treasure Isle's Black Friday mini-game. Yes, you'll have to kneel on bended knee and ask friends to gift you black balloons (or if you don't like to beg, you can buy balloons using Island Cash). Once you've collected a certain number of balloons, you'll be able to trade them in for rare items. As I mentioned above, I say the Garden Plot is the must-have item (and the Fail Whale seems like the must-have decoration, just for the LOLs). Either way, here's a complete trade-in list below:
3 Black Balloons: Coffee Tray (Decoration)
13 Black Balloons: Raccoon Table
30 Black Balloons: Big Barn
56 Black Balloons: Fail Whale
60 Black Balloons: Swan Boat
100 Black Balloons: Garden Plot
treasure isle black friday super sale
There's also a gift stand part of this BF promotion, place it on your island, and as you collect more balloons the stand will grow more ornate. There was a glitch placing the stand this morning -- the pop-up window below prompted me to place my stand, but then there was no stand to be found. Not sure if many others are experiencing this -- if so, please sound off in the comments below. OK, I found my stand sitting right next to my Gem Mine, which is still under construction (see image below). Since my Treasure Isle island is littered with construction projects, it's hard to tell what's what. Or, maybe it's time to whip out the bifocals. Anyway...
treasure isle gift stand
Mafia Wars Black Friday Raid: Buy more to win more
Black Friday Raid
Tired yet? In the wake of the extended Mafia Wars Thanksgiving weekend, Zynga launched a massive sale event the game for the whole weekend. In Black Friday Raid, shopping has become a mission: the more Reward Points you buy and spend, the more cool rewards you'll win.
Any player who buys 15 items in the Marketplace this weekend will receive the Berzerker vehicle, a fierce-looking Humvee with 123 Attack and 60 Defense. But, of course, there's more when you spend:
500-999 Reward Points: win a Mafia Wars dog tag necklace
1000-1999 RPs: win a Mafia Wars dog tag necklace and a Mafia Wars Hat
2000+ RPs: win a Mafia Wars dog tag necklace, a Mafia Wars Hat and an autographed Mafia Wars poster
In other words, Zynga wants you to spend money... lots of it. Not to mention that Zygna is hosting door-buster sales every hour on the hour with items up to 70 percent off. If you're looking to score this exclusive swag, you only have until the end of Cyber Monday at midnight. But always, always remember to read the fine print: This sale event does not apply to items 5 RP or less, Fight Club items or loyalty program items. I sure hope you have a real Mafia Wars family to help you spend $240 on Mafia Wars gear. But for the truly dedicated, this is nothing, right?
Tired yet? In the wake of the extended Mafia Wars Thanksgiving weekend, Zynga launched a massive sale event the game for the whole weekend. In Black Friday Raid, shopping has become a mission: the more Reward Points you buy and spend, the more cool rewards you'll win.
Any player who buys 15 items in the Marketplace this weekend will receive the Berzerker vehicle, a fierce-looking Humvee with 123 Attack and 60 Defense. But, of course, there's more when you spend:
500-999 Reward Points: win a Mafia Wars dog tag necklace
1000-1999 RPs: win a Mafia Wars dog tag necklace and a Mafia Wars Hat
2000+ RPs: win a Mafia Wars dog tag necklace, a Mafia Wars Hat and an autographed Mafia Wars poster
In other words, Zynga wants you to spend money... lots of it. Not to mention that Zygna is hosting door-buster sales every hour on the hour with items up to 70 percent off. If you're looking to score this exclusive swag, you only have until the end of Cyber Monday at midnight. But always, always remember to read the fine print: This sale event does not apply to items 5 RP or less, Fight Club items or loyalty program items. I sure hope you have a real Mafia Wars family to help you spend $240 on Mafia Wars gear. But for the truly dedicated, this is nothing, right?
Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Disco Pony & Disco Cow
With the new year quickly approaching in FarmVille, and therefore the current Winter Holiday theme soon to come to an end, one of the big questions on my mind is "What will be the next limited edition theme in the game?" According to some recently leaked unreleased item images, we may have found our answer.
Two new animals will apparently be coming to the game sometime in the future, and they know how to get down and party. They are the Disco (Elvis?) Pony and the Disco Cow. As Zynga is always willing to add a bit of whimsy in with the realism, both of these animals are decked out and ready to party. The Disco Cow has a black afro wig, bellbottom hoof sleeves, and purple sunglasses, while the Disco Pony is wearing an outfit that looks like a toned-down version of an Elvis costume. And of course, there's a Disco Pony Foal to match.
While these items might very well be coming along with a new theme in the game, there is another possibility, in that these items could be a part of the upcoming New Year's celebration in the game. We already know that we'll be throwing a huge party out by a new barn, but could these be a few of the animal participants? Only time will tell at this point.
As usual, there is no guarantee that these items will actually make appearances in the game, so keep that in mind.
Two new animals will apparently be coming to the game sometime in the future, and they know how to get down and party. They are the Disco (Elvis?) Pony and the Disco Cow. As Zynga is always willing to add a bit of whimsy in with the realism, both of these animals are decked out and ready to party. The Disco Cow has a black afro wig, bellbottom hoof sleeves, and purple sunglasses, while the Disco Pony is wearing an outfit that looks like a toned-down version of an Elvis costume. And of course, there's a Disco Pony Foal to match.
While these items might very well be coming along with a new theme in the game, there is another possibility, in that these items could be a part of the upcoming New Year's celebration in the game. We already know that we'll be throwing a huge party out by a new barn, but could these be a few of the animal participants? Only time will tell at this point.
As usual, there is no guarantee that these items will actually make appearances in the game, so keep that in mind.
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Candy Cane Chicken & Candy Cane Mystery Eggs
FarmVille has had a running theme this year of Candy Cane themed items being released to the game, and it looks like the FarmVille team at Zynga will be adding yet another before the current Winter Holiday theme ends.
The new animal is the Candy Cane Chicken, and, as you might have guessed, comes with a lovely red and white striped set of tail feathers, and a more solidly patterned red and white body. Along with this new chicken comes more evidence that the animal will in fact be released, as we've come across unreleased images of the Candy Cane Mystery Egg, that would be found at random when collecting from a Chicken Coop that holds a Candy Cane Chicken, and then shared with friends on your wall.
We're hoping that this animal will be released for coins, but considering that the other Winter Holiday animals have been available only for Farm Cash, we're not holding our breath.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
How much would you be willing to pay for a Candy Cane Chicken in FarmVille?
The new animal is the Candy Cane Chicken, and, as you might have guessed, comes with a lovely red and white striped set of tail feathers, and a more solidly patterned red and white body. Along with this new chicken comes more evidence that the animal will in fact be released, as we've come across unreleased images of the Candy Cane Mystery Egg, that would be found at random when collecting from a Chicken Coop that holds a Candy Cane Chicken, and then shared with friends on your wall.
We're hoping that this animal will be released for coins, but considering that the other Winter Holiday animals have been available only for Farm Cash, we're not holding our breath.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
How much would you be willing to pay for a Candy Cane Chicken in FarmVille?
FarmVille Holiday Sneak Peek: Winter Castle, Kissing Ducks, Reindeer Balloon, Lighted Cactus & More
We've come across another round of unreleased FarmVille items, which look to offer a sneak peek of items that may or may not be released in the Winter Holiday theme before the theme leaves the game in a matter of days/weeks. These new items include decorative animals, a new building, and even a new tree, so keep reading to see what we expect to see released in the game soon.
The new decorative items are the Kissing Ducks (a pair of adorable ducks standing under mistletoe), a Reindeer Hot Air Balloon (similar to the Turkey hot air balloon released back at Thanksgiving), a Gold Nutcracker, a Lighted Cactus, and a string of Chili Lights. Those items can be seen at the top of this post.
As for the new building, it is the Winter Castle, and it looks to be quite the large building, as any castle should be. Finally, there is a new tree that will apparently be making an appearance, and it comes in the form of a Silver Holiday Tree. This tree looks to be masterable, as there is a leaked image of a Silver Holiday Tree Mastery Sign as well.
Remember, there is no guarantee that any of these items will actually be released in the game, and for what price, so keep that in mind. However, you'll be the first to know when and if these items do become available, so keep checking back!
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Which of these items would you most like to add to your farm this holiday season?
The new decorative items are the Kissing Ducks (a pair of adorable ducks standing under mistletoe), a Reindeer Hot Air Balloon (similar to the Turkey hot air balloon released back at Thanksgiving), a Gold Nutcracker, a Lighted Cactus, and a string of Chili Lights. Those items can be seen at the top of this post.
As for the new building, it is the Winter Castle, and it looks to be quite the large building, as any castle should be. Finally, there is a new tree that will apparently be making an appearance, and it comes in the form of a Silver Holiday Tree. This tree looks to be masterable, as there is a leaked image of a Silver Holiday Tree Mastery Sign as well.
Remember, there is no guarantee that any of these items will actually be released in the game, and for what price, so keep that in mind. However, you'll be the first to know when and if these items do become available, so keep checking back!
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Which of these items would you most like to add to your farm this holiday season?
Pocket God iPhone game makes its way to Facebook with female Pygmies, brand new powers
Bolt Creative has brought their hit iPhone game Pocket God to Facebook, with an all-new Facebook game of the same name, complete with Facebook exclusive features to give those non-believers a reason to convert. For those unfamiliar with the iPhone game, you're asked simply "What kind of God would you be?" If given the chance, would you be a loving, understanding God, or would you sacrifice all of your followers just to prove a point?
In Pocket God on Facebook, you get to answer that question (more of the latter), by spawning Pygmies and then sacrificing them just as quickly in a variety of zany, clever ways. Pygmies live on islands, and the more you play, the larger the island you will have control over. The larger the island, the more Pygmies it can hold, and the more Pygmies you can sacrifice as a result, completing quests along the way.
Want to see what else makes Pocket God on Facebook tick? Meet us behind the break for all of the details.
After the tutorial, the biggest portion of gameplay in Pocket God will be the sacrificing of Pygmies. You'll do this in a manner of ways, with new powers being available to purchase from the store. To start, you'll be able to pick up Pygmies and drop them into the water, drowning them, or clicking and holding on the bottom of a Pygmy and dragging a trajectory to launch them through a makeshift slingshot mechanic into the sky.
Your first actual powers will be those over Gravity and those over Lightning. You'll need to activate your Gravity power from the menu, at which point you can click and drag in a circular motion to send the entire game world spinning. Your Pygmies will hold onto the ground for dear life (literally), at which point you can click on them to make them lose their grip. As for Lightning, you'll need to replace the lovely white fluffy clouds with dark black menacing clouds, which can also be done through the menu. Afterwards, you can click on the dark cloud and drag your mouse to a Pygmy to turn them into a pile of black dust.
Other powers are available as you play the game, like a tornado that can be summoned when the dark clouds are present, the ability to change the cycles of the moon, the power to bring down a massive hailstorm, and even a silly power that summons a drum, causing your Pygmies to dance.
Why kill all of these Pygmies? For one, you'll need to do so (using a variety of your powers) to complete quests, which reward you with experience points and Sacrifice Points (the game's main currency), but even more so, you'll need to sacrifice these Pygmies in order to simply advance in the game. You have a Devotion Statue on your island that can be turned on with a click. Using Devotion Points (Energy Points), you can sacrifice your Pygmies while the statue is turned on to earn experience points and more Sacrifice Points, which must be spent, one point at a time, to summon new Pygmies.
As you go along, you'll be able to decorate your island with coconut trees, a Venus Fly-trap that eats Pygmies, and cactuses that bear explosive fruits. You can purchase a shark that eats Pygmies in the water, and various Idols that reward you with more points per sacrifice.
The entire game is a cycle of death and rebirth for your poor Pygmies, just like in the iPhone game, but the Facebook version of the game features exclusive powers not found in the iPhone version, along with female Pygmies. In addition, the social elements here allow you to sacrifice your own friends, if you'd like to prove a point or just be a bit naughty.
It should be noted that when you first play the game, Pocket God is one that requires you to allow automatic wall posting in order to actually install the game. This can be turned off however via your Privacy Settings page, if you'd prefer not to see an infinite number of Pocket God related posts appear on your wall without your knowledge.
If you'd like to put these adorable, yet helpless little Pygmies through some amusing deaths, or even put your friends on the proverbial chopping block (all in good fun of course), give this one a try.
Play Pocket God on Facebook -->
Have you played Pocket God on the iPhone or Facebook? How do you think this Facebook version stands up to the original?
In Pocket God on Facebook, you get to answer that question (more of the latter), by spawning Pygmies and then sacrificing them just as quickly in a variety of zany, clever ways. Pygmies live on islands, and the more you play, the larger the island you will have control over. The larger the island, the more Pygmies it can hold, and the more Pygmies you can sacrifice as a result, completing quests along the way.
Want to see what else makes Pocket God on Facebook tick? Meet us behind the break for all of the details.
After the tutorial, the biggest portion of gameplay in Pocket God will be the sacrificing of Pygmies. You'll do this in a manner of ways, with new powers being available to purchase from the store. To start, you'll be able to pick up Pygmies and drop them into the water, drowning them, or clicking and holding on the bottom of a Pygmy and dragging a trajectory to launch them through a makeshift slingshot mechanic into the sky.
Your first actual powers will be those over Gravity and those over Lightning. You'll need to activate your Gravity power from the menu, at which point you can click and drag in a circular motion to send the entire game world spinning. Your Pygmies will hold onto the ground for dear life (literally), at which point you can click on them to make them lose their grip. As for Lightning, you'll need to replace the lovely white fluffy clouds with dark black menacing clouds, which can also be done through the menu. Afterwards, you can click on the dark cloud and drag your mouse to a Pygmy to turn them into a pile of black dust.
Other powers are available as you play the game, like a tornado that can be summoned when the dark clouds are present, the ability to change the cycles of the moon, the power to bring down a massive hailstorm, and even a silly power that summons a drum, causing your Pygmies to dance.
Why kill all of these Pygmies? For one, you'll need to do so (using a variety of your powers) to complete quests, which reward you with experience points and Sacrifice Points (the game's main currency), but even more so, you'll need to sacrifice these Pygmies in order to simply advance in the game. You have a Devotion Statue on your island that can be turned on with a click. Using Devotion Points (Energy Points), you can sacrifice your Pygmies while the statue is turned on to earn experience points and more Sacrifice Points, which must be spent, one point at a time, to summon new Pygmies.
As you go along, you'll be able to decorate your island with coconut trees, a Venus Fly-trap that eats Pygmies, and cactuses that bear explosive fruits. You can purchase a shark that eats Pygmies in the water, and various Idols that reward you with more points per sacrifice.
The entire game is a cycle of death and rebirth for your poor Pygmies, just like in the iPhone game, but the Facebook version of the game features exclusive powers not found in the iPhone version, along with female Pygmies. In addition, the social elements here allow you to sacrifice your own friends, if you'd like to prove a point or just be a bit naughty.
It should be noted that when you first play the game, Pocket God is one that requires you to allow automatic wall posting in order to actually install the game. This can be turned off however via your Privacy Settings page, if you'd prefer not to see an infinite number of Pocket God related posts appear on your wall without your knowledge.
If you'd like to put these adorable, yet helpless little Pygmies through some amusing deaths, or even put your friends on the proverbial chopping block (all in good fun of course), give this one a try.
Play Pocket God on Facebook -->
Have you played Pocket God on the iPhone or Facebook? How do you think this Facebook version stands up to the original?
CityVille Holiday Decorations still without payout increases
While you're building that massive Holiday Tree for your city in CityVille, why not add some places for your citizens to finish that last minute shopping? In a recent update the game, Zynga added a few new Businesses to the game in addition to some decorations, but they still have no stats attached to them. Check it out:
Gingerbread Man (2 City Cash)
Saint Bernard (5 City Cash)
Lawn Carolers (10 City Cash)
Mall Santa (30 City Cash)
In what we hope is a bug, those four decorations have zero payout increases attached to them. A word to the wise, avoid these decorations until an official statement has been made by Zynga in the forums or the developer stealthily changes them. Until then, enjoy some new Businesses to prep your people for the big day.
Find the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Have you purchased any of these decorations yet? Would you buy those decorations regardless of what we hope is a bug?
Gingerbread Man (2 City Cash)
Saint Bernard (5 City Cash)
Lawn Carolers (10 City Cash)
Mall Santa (30 City Cash)
In what we hope is a bug, those four decorations have zero payout increases attached to them. A word to the wise, avoid these decorations until an official statement has been made by Zynga in the forums or the developer stealthily changes them. Until then, enjoy some new Businesses to prep your people for the big day.
Find the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Have you purchased any of these decorations yet? Would you buy those decorations regardless of what we hope is a bug?
Thứ Năm, 12 tháng 1, 2012
FishVille Game Suffers a Case of the 'Blah's Over First Weekend
FishVille, the Facebook game that tasks players with raising and selling fish while maintaining several virtual aquariums, is off to a rocky start on its first weekend. The game, which launched last week, has suffered a temporary case of the blahs (as in all of the popup text in the game simply said 'blah, blah" rather than actual words).
FishVille gets a case of the blahs
On Sunday morning, we logged in to find a notification that FishVille was "not available due to problems with a third-party developer." FishVille community manager Parizad says that the hiccup is "temporary" but there's no ETA when the game will return (and if the fish you've bought will still be alive).
fishville-unavailable
This naturally brings up the larger topic: how resilient are players to games that launch in an incomplete state? So far it largely seems to depend on the game. For games with more universal appeal, i.e. Cafe World and FarmVille, it doesn't seem to be a problem. Is FishVille a compelling enough game to keep people hooked during the debugging phase? We'll see in the next few weeks.
Related Stories:
- FishVille or FarmVille: Which Will You Play?
- FishVille - First Look Video!
- FishVille Bubbles Up on Facebook
FishVille gets a case of the blahs
On Sunday morning, we logged in to find a notification that FishVille was "not available due to problems with a third-party developer." FishVille community manager Parizad says that the hiccup is "temporary" but there's no ETA when the game will return (and if the fish you've bought will still be alive).
fishville-unavailable
This naturally brings up the larger topic: how resilient are players to games that launch in an incomplete state? So far it largely seems to depend on the game. For games with more universal appeal, i.e. Cafe World and FarmVille, it doesn't seem to be a problem. Is FishVille a compelling enough game to keep people hooked during the debugging phase? We'll see in the next few weeks.
Related Stories:
- FishVille or FarmVille: Which Will You Play?
- FishVille - First Look Video!
- FishVille Bubbles Up on Facebook
Playfish Boss Explains EA Buyout: Exclusive Interview!
Following this morning's dramatic announcement that game giant Electronic Arts is buying casual gamer maker Playfish for a reported $400 million, Playfish COO Sebastien de Halleux talked to Games.com first about the implications for the social gaming industry, and for hit games such as Pet Society and Restaurant City.
"The basics is that this is not going to change anything much for users, specifically -- only that some of the franchises in the hardcore space will be looked at more seriously [in terms of social gaming]," de Halleux says.
de Halleux hesitated to tell us any specific EA franchises (like Madden, Burnout, Tiger Woods) that he'd like to turn into social games ("I'd like to turn that question back to you," he says), but he did namecheck Scrabble and Spore specifically during the conversation.
Even though Playfish will be working closely with EA to bring some of its 'hardcore' games to the social gaming world, Playfish will still operate independently (for now) and de Halleux and the other founders will stay with the company post-sale.
"When we started two years ago in a small room in London, we never imagined that this would go so quickly," he says.
As for Electronic Arts tolerance on upselling offers (some considered 'scammy') to consumers in exchange for free virtual currency, de Halleux says the transactions in Pet Society, et al will move forward status quo. "There's no plan to change any of the games or any motivation or techniques that we use, which are all very respectful of the users," he says, adding that a small portion of Playfish's total revenue comes from these offers.
"We are strong believers that the game industry is changing," he says, "and now [with EA behind them] we will be able to affect that change faster than before."
"The basics is that this is not going to change anything much for users, specifically -- only that some of the franchises in the hardcore space will be looked at more seriously [in terms of social gaming]," de Halleux says.
de Halleux hesitated to tell us any specific EA franchises (like Madden, Burnout, Tiger Woods) that he'd like to turn into social games ("I'd like to turn that question back to you," he says), but he did namecheck Scrabble and Spore specifically during the conversation.
Even though Playfish will be working closely with EA to bring some of its 'hardcore' games to the social gaming world, Playfish will still operate independently (for now) and de Halleux and the other founders will stay with the company post-sale.
"When we started two years ago in a small room in London, we never imagined that this would go so quickly," he says.
As for Electronic Arts tolerance on upselling offers (some considered 'scammy') to consumers in exchange for free virtual currency, de Halleux says the transactions in Pet Society, et al will move forward status quo. "There's no plan to change any of the games or any motivation or techniques that we use, which are all very respectful of the users," he says, adding that a small portion of Playfish's total revenue comes from these offers.
"We are strong believers that the game industry is changing," he says, "and now [with EA behind them] we will be able to affect that change faster than before."
Zynga Pulls Controversial 'Offers' from FarmVille, Other Games
After week-long media coverage of scammy offers on FarmVille and other Zynga games which offer free in-game currency in exchange for signing up for subscriptions (some legit, some not) -- the company has pulled the offers from all of its games.
zynga pulls offers
"Zynga has not been able to control the ad content as it is managed by the offer companies we work with," Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says on his blog, "there fore we are removing all CPA offers across Zynga games until we can control their inclusion and presentation ourselves."
This statement is a big deal, considering that these offers purportedly account for 30% of Zynga's revenue. This is all on the heels of being called out for offering customers deals with scammy advertisers, which was followed by an outburst and outing of a CEO from one of the companies that serves these ads to Zynga and many other social gaming companies.
zynga pulls offers
"Zynga has not been able to control the ad content as it is managed by the offer companies we work with," Zynga CEO Mark Pincus says on his blog, "there fore we are removing all CPA offers across Zynga games until we can control their inclusion and presentation ourselves."
This statement is a big deal, considering that these offers purportedly account for 30% of Zynga's revenue. This is all on the heels of being called out for offering customers deals with scammy advertisers, which was followed by an outburst and outing of a CEO from one of the companies that serves these ads to Zynga and many other social gaming companies.
Horror Flick or Mystery Case Files Game Trailer? You Decide
The trailer for the brand new Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove game (launch date TBD, sometime this year) has arrived, and it looks like the latest in the popular hidden object game series is cribbing from horror flicks like Paranormal Activity and the Blair Witch Project. Based on the trailer, it also looks like the new hidden object game will include full-motion video. Will we find objects and then cut to a movie-like cutscene and then back again? Or, will videos be part of the clues we find in each setting?
Big Fish is mum on the details at the moment, but have to admit -- we never expected a so-called "casual" game to have a trailer this compelling (or creepy).
Never played Mystery Case Files? Try them on Games.com now.
- Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
- Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate
- Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
- More Mystery Case Files
Big Fish is mum on the details at the moment, but have to admit -- we never expected a so-called "casual" game to have a trailer this compelling (or creepy).
Never played Mystery Case Files? Try them on Games.com now.
- Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
- Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate
- Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
- More Mystery Case Files
Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove Coming November 25
Tap into your inner gumshoe to crack the case behind four missing college students in this new hidden object game -- Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove. A special edition version of the new hidden object game from Big Fish will be ready for download starting November 25. In addition to the game, you'll get access to hidden content, bonus puzzles, a strategy guide and early access to the game (the regular version of the game will arrive in early December).
mystery case files: dire grove
Like the rest of the popular Mystery Case Files games, players must solve puzzles, which unlock clues used to solve the case. Dire Grove dials up the tension by incorporating Blair Witch Project style shaky cam segments into the game, and -- from what we've seen so far -- give you that feeling of dread right in the stomach.
The Collector's Edition costs $19.99 and is only available to Big Fish Game Club members. The standard version will have a free trial and will cost $6.99.
Related:
Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove Launch Trailer
Never played Mystery Case Files? Try them on Games.com now.
- Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
- Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate
- Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
- More Mystery Case Files
mystery case files: dire grove
Like the rest of the popular Mystery Case Files games, players must solve puzzles, which unlock clues used to solve the case. Dire Grove dials up the tension by incorporating Blair Witch Project style shaky cam segments into the game, and -- from what we've seen so far -- give you that feeling of dread right in the stomach.
The Collector's Edition costs $19.99 and is only available to Big Fish Game Club members. The standard version will have a free trial and will cost $6.99.
Related:
Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove Launch Trailer
Never played Mystery Case Files? Try them on Games.com now.
- Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
- Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate
- Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects
- More Mystery Case Files
Thứ Ba, 10 tháng 1, 2012
Zynga co-founder places bets on Kixeye; is hardcore where it's at?
Zynga co-founder Andrew Trader (pictured) has traded in his plow for a panzer tank. Information Week reports that the other half to Zynga's hugely-successful whole has taken a seat on Backyard Monsters creator Kixeye's board.
"KIXEYE has emerged as the leading innovator of social games for core gamers," the former VP of sales and business development for the FarmVille maker said in a statement. "Gamers want great games, not re-skinned versions of the same thing." (Whoa, was that a left hook I just saw or an uppercut?)
Perhaps this is a reaction to the number of infringement lawsuits filed against his alma mater in the past few months alone from companies like The Learning Company, SocialApps and most recently Brazilian developer Vostu. It's even more interesting that Trader, who left Zynga last year, says this considering hardcore developers like Kabam have come under fire from Kixeye for that very issue. If Trader was looking to get away from the copycat wars between Facebook game developers, he certainly didn't travel far enough.
However, it's worth asking whether hardcore is the future on Facebook when the co-founder of arguably the most valuable gaming company ever has taken deep enough interest in a social game developer for the hardcore niche. (It's strange to call hardcore gaming a "niche" on Facebook, considering it has dominated elsewhere for 30 years.) Maybe Trader is right: There are nearly 80 million Facebook gamers playing these hardcore-style strategy games on Facebook, after all. And if there's anyone with the foresight to point out the next big thing on Facebook, it's the guy who planted seeds that grew into a $20 billion company.
"KIXEYE has emerged as the leading innovator of social games for core gamers," the former VP of sales and business development for the FarmVille maker said in a statement. "Gamers want great games, not re-skinned versions of the same thing." (Whoa, was that a left hook I just saw or an uppercut?)
Perhaps this is a reaction to the number of infringement lawsuits filed against his alma mater in the past few months alone from companies like The Learning Company, SocialApps and most recently Brazilian developer Vostu. It's even more interesting that Trader, who left Zynga last year, says this considering hardcore developers like Kabam have come under fire from Kixeye for that very issue. If Trader was looking to get away from the copycat wars between Facebook game developers, he certainly didn't travel far enough.
However, it's worth asking whether hardcore is the future on Facebook when the co-founder of arguably the most valuable gaming company ever has taken deep enough interest in a social game developer for the hardcore niche. (It's strange to call hardcore gaming a "niche" on Facebook, considering it has dominated elsewhere for 30 years.) Maybe Trader is right: There are nearly 80 million Facebook gamers playing these hardcore-style strategy games on Facebook, after all. And if there's anyone with the foresight to point out the next big thing on Facebook, it's the guy who planted seeds that grew into a $20 billion company.
Words with Friends is live on Facebook; can you spell 'H-O-O-K-E-D?'
We sure hope so, because that's what you'll be this weekend on Facebook. Zynga has officially released Words with Friends to Facebook, and it's basically what millions already love about the mobile game on, well, Facebook. And we say that it's no different because the game will literally import your existing Words with Friends games from your iOS or Android device.
From there, you can pick up and play games from either Facebook or your mobile device and back again.In other words, you officially have no reason to ignore your friends' game requests. Yes, even if you're scared of losing miserably to that one literati friend that preys on your sub-200 scores.
The game brings in a number of new features as well, namely Brag Feeds. These allow players to call out their friends publicly on their News Feed for owning them with that nasty triple word score. And, just like on your iPhone, Words with Friends for Facebook will send your opponent notifications of their turn through requests.
Words with Friends Facebook in action
Finally, you can challenge your friends directly through the News Feed to new games, which of course can be picked up on your iOS or Android device. And keep in mind, this is a first for Zynga, as never before has the company ported one of its mobile games to Facebook. (It's usually the other way around.) Though, this game originally is Newtoy's creation, the developer Zynga purchased this year to create one of its mobile studios, Zynga with Friends. Original game or not, we know exactly where you'll be this weekend. Don't worry, we'll be right there with you, racking up awesome triple word scores as all get out.
From there, you can pick up and play games from either Facebook or your mobile device and back again.In other words, you officially have no reason to ignore your friends' game requests. Yes, even if you're scared of losing miserably to that one literati friend that preys on your sub-200 scores.
The game brings in a number of new features as well, namely Brag Feeds. These allow players to call out their friends publicly on their News Feed for owning them with that nasty triple word score. And, just like on your iPhone, Words with Friends for Facebook will send your opponent notifications of their turn through requests.
Words with Friends Facebook in action
Finally, you can challenge your friends directly through the News Feed to new games, which of course can be picked up on your iOS or Android device. And keep in mind, this is a first for Zynga, as never before has the company ported one of its mobile games to Facebook. (It's usually the other way around.) Though, this game originally is Newtoy's creation, the developer Zynga purchased this year to create one of its mobile studios, Zynga with Friends. Original game or not, we know exactly where you'll be this weekend. Don't worry, we'll be right there with you, racking up awesome triple word scores as all get out.
Saved By The Bell YouTube game revisits Saturday mornings of old
Remember when you used to wake up on Saturday mornings before noon? It was to watch Saved By The Bell, wasn't it? The Fine Brothers, a YouTube video troupe, have launched an interactive YouTube game surrounding your favorite kids show. (And don't try to say it wasn't--everyone loved that show.)
The game pits you in three classic scenarios from the short-lived morning show that unfortunately shaped nearly every actors' career who starred in it. (Honesty, did you know really know Slater as Mario Lopez before he hosted Extra?) Better yet, it's presented exactly how video games were at the time: in beautiful 16-bit, Super Nintendo-style graphics and music.
Whenever the Saved By The Bell theme enters your head, it'll probably be in MIDI form from now on. Of course, the gameplay doesn't reach farther than, "Click this button before something bad happens!" But that doesn't detract from The Fine Brothers' spot-on humor nor the game's undeniable nostalgia level.
Seriously, these guys bring up things from the show that will have you laughing out loud in your cubicle. Get started with the game below, and the links will take you through a series of separate mini videos. Say goodbye to the next 10 minutes of your Friday. You're welcome.
The game pits you in three classic scenarios from the short-lived morning show that unfortunately shaped nearly every actors' career who starred in it. (Honesty, did you know really know Slater as Mario Lopez before he hosted Extra?) Better yet, it's presented exactly how video games were at the time: in beautiful 16-bit, Super Nintendo-style graphics and music.
Whenever the Saved By The Bell theme enters your head, it'll probably be in MIDI form from now on. Of course, the gameplay doesn't reach farther than, "Click this button before something bad happens!" But that doesn't detract from The Fine Brothers' spot-on humor nor the game's undeniable nostalgia level.
Seriously, these guys bring up things from the show that will have you laughing out loud in your cubicle. Get started with the game below, and the links will take you through a series of separate mini videos. Say goodbye to the next 10 minutes of your Friday. You're welcome.
Dragon Age: Legends dev becomes BioWare San Francisco; could a Mass Effect Facebook game be on the way?
EA2D may not be a readily familiar name in the social gaming space, but I bet many of you have heard of their popular Facebook game - a tie-in to the popular console game Dragon Age called Dragon Age: Legends. This past week, EA underwent some corporate changes, and a very big change has occurred with EA2D in the process: They've been absorbed into the BioWare developer group, and will be renamed BioWare San Francisco.
While no other details about the company's future games have been released, let's speculate a bit. Since Dragon Age: Legends on Facebook launched at around the same time as Dragon Age 2 on consoles, does this transition to a true BioWare development studio mean that we'll see other Facebook games based on BioWare's hugely successful console properties? With Mass Effect 3 launching next year, will we see a Facebook game tie-in that will allow users to earn rewards for the console game by playing (as was the case with Dragon Age: Legends)? As a huge Mass Effect fan, my brain is drooling at the thought of free, exclusive goodies for my console character, so if this does turn out to be the start of another tie-in (or 12) with BioWare's games on Facebook, we'll make sure to let you know.
While no other details about the company's future games have been released, let's speculate a bit. Since Dragon Age: Legends on Facebook launched at around the same time as Dragon Age 2 on consoles, does this transition to a true BioWare development studio mean that we'll see other Facebook games based on BioWare's hugely successful console properties? With Mass Effect 3 launching next year, will we see a Facebook game tie-in that will allow users to earn rewards for the console game by playing (as was the case with Dragon Age: Legends)? As a huge Mass Effect fan, my brain is drooling at the thought of free, exclusive goodies for my console character, so if this does turn out to be the start of another tie-in (or 12) with BioWare's games on Facebook, we'll make sure to let you know.
The Domino's Noid triumphantly returns in ... a Facebook advergame
I've been waiting years, people, years for the Noid to return in something more than a t-shirt. And now, the infamous Domino's Pizza mascot has made his re-entry into the minds of children of the '80s and '90s with ... a Facebook advergame? You know what, after this long since a real Noid video game, I'll take it. Titled "Noid's Super Pizza Shootout," the game looks and plays just like the arcade light gun games of the '90s, and was released to honor the weird bunny suit-wearing toon's 25th anniversary.
The game essentially amounts to a shooting gallery of pizza, tomatoes and Noid. Lots of Noid, and I love it. (I know, I know, it's an advergame. But it's a dang fun one.) Players must use the mouse to aim and shoot at as many pizza pies as possible while Noid throws tomatoes at you for extra points. Shooting a sign with Noid's face on it--or Noid himself as he is so wont to swoop in unannounced--will deduct points from your score.
Perhaps it's an uncontrollable nostalgia for all things retro, or maybe I'm just craving pizza at 10 a.m., but Noid's Super Pizza Shootout is a fun distraction for a few minutes. It's certainly not something you'll revisit over and over again--unless, of course, you really want one of those free pizza coupons at stake. Of course, you need to "Like" the Domino's Facebook page to play, but you could always remove that from your profile later if you're not to keen on associating yourself with it since ... you know.
Domino's Noid Facebook game
The game essentially amounts to a shooting gallery of pizza, tomatoes and Noid. Lots of Noid, and I love it. (I know, I know, it's an advergame. But it's a dang fun one.) Players must use the mouse to aim and shoot at as many pizza pies as possible while Noid throws tomatoes at you for extra points. Shooting a sign with Noid's face on it--or Noid himself as he is so wont to swoop in unannounced--will deduct points from your score.
Perhaps it's an uncontrollable nostalgia for all things retro, or maybe I'm just craving pizza at 10 a.m., but Noid's Super Pizza Shootout is a fun distraction for a few minutes. It's certainly not something you'll revisit over and over again--unless, of course, you really want one of those free pizza coupons at stake. Of course, you need to "Like" the Domino's Facebook page to play, but you could always remove that from your profile later if you're not to keen on associating yourself with it since ... you know.
Domino's Noid Facebook game
Thứ Hai, 9 tháng 1, 2012
Facebook games partnerships gig given to former LiveJournal CEO
Sean Ryan (pictured), who previously worked for News Corp. creating an online games division, is now director of games partnerships at Facebook, VentureBeat reports. The position had been open since August before the decision was finally made to take Ryan on, who also previously served as CEO for Meez, a virtual world for teenagers and LiveJournal, a once popular blogging service before the turn of the decade.
Now, don't get too excited--Facebook will not be making its own games anytime soon if ever. Ryan will purely foster the social network's relationships with developers like Zynga, Playdom, Playfish and more. In other words, it's this guy's job to keep dudes like Zynga CEO Mark Pincus peachy keen.
This is a smart move by Facebook, which hasn't had a stellar track record of catering both to gamers and non-gamers alike. Though, the company did recently create a new development division solely for improving the gaming experience on the site. It seems as if Facebook is finally serious about the half of its users that enjoy these games, which aren't going away anytime soon.
Now, don't get too excited--Facebook will not be making its own games anytime soon if ever. Ryan will purely foster the social network's relationships with developers like Zynga, Playdom, Playfish and more. In other words, it's this guy's job to keep dudes like Zynga CEO Mark Pincus peachy keen.
This is a smart move by Facebook, which hasn't had a stellar track record of catering both to gamers and non-gamers alike. Though, the company did recently create a new development division solely for improving the gaming experience on the site. It seems as if Facebook is finally serious about the half of its users that enjoy these games, which aren't going away anytime soon.
Starz sending Spartacus Facebook game into the arena this month
Forget Mafia Wars, real warriors fight with sword and shield in hand, nothing but a loin cloth protecting their bodies. No? Well, Starz seems to think so as the network will soon launch a Facebook game surrounding its hit series, Spartacus. Fox News reports that the game, officially titled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and published by 6waves (the same folks working on that mysterious Kobe Bryant game), will be available come Jan. 20. Just in time for the show's six-episode mini-series coming Jan. 21, this will be one of the first TV shows to get its own social game, according to Fox News. Well, unless you count that weird soap opera game in the U.K.
"Given its powerful characters and larger-than-life story lines, few television properties have as much potential for innovative social game play as does 'Spartacus," Marc DeBevoise, SVP of digital media and business development strategy for Starz Media, told Fox News. "We are excited to make our social media gaming debut and be one of the early networks to bring a branded TV property to the social gaming universe."
Unsurprisingly, the game will be similar to Mafia Wars in that it will allow players to run their own gladiator school and partake in Roman role play, according to Fox News. We almost don't want to know what that last part means. Stay tuned for a preview when the game finally launches sometime this month, because now we just gotta' know what this "Roman role play" nonsense is all about.
"Given its powerful characters and larger-than-life story lines, few television properties have as much potential for innovative social game play as does 'Spartacus," Marc DeBevoise, SVP of digital media and business development strategy for Starz Media, told Fox News. "We are excited to make our social media gaming debut and be one of the early networks to bring a branded TV property to the social gaming universe."
Unsurprisingly, the game will be similar to Mafia Wars in that it will allow players to run their own gladiator school and partake in Roman role play, according to Fox News. We almost don't want to know what that last part means. Stay tuned for a preview when the game finally launches sometime this month, because now we just gotta' know what this "Roman role play" nonsense is all about.
CityVille Franchise update patches issue with deleting HQ
Franchise Deleting Confirmation
You can lift your fingers from that big red button now, mayors. Zynga introduced a small update to CityVille yesterday that, when opting to delete a Franchise Headquarters, causes a pop up confirmation message to appear. The message, pictured above, asks players to confirm whether they would like the HQ to be sent to their inventory, which is somewhat old news.
Before this change, all deleting a Franchise HQ did was send it to your inventory. This change, well, informs you of that, giving you a chance to stop it. This must have been a pretty major issue to warrant what appears to be a reactive update. This change comes after several recent tweaks to the game's interface, optimizing several aspects of gameplay that before took several actions to perform. Considering the game is little more than a month old, we doubt this marks the end of game fixes and changes.
You can lift your fingers from that big red button now, mayors. Zynga introduced a small update to CityVille yesterday that, when opting to delete a Franchise Headquarters, causes a pop up confirmation message to appear. The message, pictured above, asks players to confirm whether they would like the HQ to be sent to their inventory, which is somewhat old news.
Before this change, all deleting a Franchise HQ did was send it to your inventory. This change, well, informs you of that, giving you a chance to stop it. This must have been a pretty major issue to warrant what appears to be a reactive update. This change comes after several recent tweaks to the game's interface, optimizing several aspects of gameplay that before took several actions to perform. Considering the game is little more than a month old, we doubt this marks the end of game fixes and changes.
Wishful Features: A FrontierVille animations toggle button
FrontierVille is intense
Ever visit that one Neighbor in FrontierVille who happens to be somewhat of an overachiever? You know who I'm talking about. Almost everyone has that one friend who is Level 150 with the biggest homestead available, every animated decoration out there and his legion of Chickens (see above) for all to see. Did I say "for all to see?" Sorry, what I meant to say was, "for all to cringe in horror as their browsers freeze and processors melt through the surface of their four-year-old laptops."
At least the first part of that vision should be familiar with a good lot of you. And it isn't just the sharp visuals in FrontierVille that are to blame. It's the animations. If you haven't noticed, just about every animal, building and holiday item slash decoration has an animation attached. Sure, most animations are simple one-second-long loops, but multiply that by the amount of items that litter most veteran players' homesteads and it's enough to send the average computer into hiding.
Sure, that Graphics Quality toggle helps a bit, but for those who have yet to--bear with me here--upgrade their primary Facebook-gaming machine in the past few years, Flash-based games (i.e. almost all Facebook games) are going to punish the average computer. It might sound ridiculous that we're talking about computer upgrades on Games.com, but rest assured this is all coming from someone who easily falls into the camp of "average computer" face first with a three-year-old HP Pavilion laptop. I will be the first to tell you that computers do not age like sharp cheese or fine wine, but more like mold on bread or Keith Richards.
With 250 million players, it should be safe to assume that the majority of social gamers are probably in the same boat. So, Zynga, why not add a similar option to the Graphics Quality toggle in FrontierVille? Make it so that players with less-than-favorable computing situations can actually pay their more technologically advanced friends a visit every once in a while. If players are already making liberal use of the Graphics Quality toggle in nearly every game they play (at least I need to), then turning off a few idle character animations isn't going to make the visual FrontierVille experience that much worse. Your fellow pioneers seem to agree.
Ever visit that one Neighbor in FrontierVille who happens to be somewhat of an overachiever? You know who I'm talking about. Almost everyone has that one friend who is Level 150 with the biggest homestead available, every animated decoration out there and his legion of Chickens (see above) for all to see. Did I say "for all to see?" Sorry, what I meant to say was, "for all to cringe in horror as their browsers freeze and processors melt through the surface of their four-year-old laptops."
At least the first part of that vision should be familiar with a good lot of you. And it isn't just the sharp visuals in FrontierVille that are to blame. It's the animations. If you haven't noticed, just about every animal, building and holiday item slash decoration has an animation attached. Sure, most animations are simple one-second-long loops, but multiply that by the amount of items that litter most veteran players' homesteads and it's enough to send the average computer into hiding.
Sure, that Graphics Quality toggle helps a bit, but for those who have yet to--bear with me here--upgrade their primary Facebook-gaming machine in the past few years, Flash-based games (i.e. almost all Facebook games) are going to punish the average computer. It might sound ridiculous that we're talking about computer upgrades on Games.com, but rest assured this is all coming from someone who easily falls into the camp of "average computer" face first with a three-year-old HP Pavilion laptop. I will be the first to tell you that computers do not age like sharp cheese or fine wine, but more like mold on bread or Keith Richards.
With 250 million players, it should be safe to assume that the majority of social gamers are probably in the same boat. So, Zynga, why not add a similar option to the Graphics Quality toggle in FrontierVille? Make it so that players with less-than-favorable computing situations can actually pay their more technologically advanced friends a visit every once in a while. If players are already making liberal use of the Graphics Quality toggle in nearly every game they play (at least I need to), then turning off a few idle character animations isn't going to make the visual FrontierVille experience that much worse. Your fellow pioneers seem to agree.
FrontierVille Playtime II Timed Mission now available
Way back on the 17 of December, we brought you a sneak peek of a then unreleased time mission in FrontierVille that we believed would be coming to the game in the future. Well, the future is now, as the Playtime II Timed Mission is now available to complete for a limited time.
As we told you last month, you'll have just two days after accepting this mission to complete it on your Frontier. the mission requires three tasks to be completed:
Craft 20 Planks
Collect 10 Metal Bars
Collect 10 Wood Rasps
You must accept this mission by January 14 in order to be able to complete it in your game, and you'll receive a See-Saw decorative item, 250 XP, and 1,000 coins for completing the mission before your two days are over.
You'll of course need to have plenty of help from friends in order to finish this mission on time, but it definitely isn't impossible. Happy gaming!
As we told you last month, you'll have just two days after accepting this mission to complete it on your Frontier. the mission requires three tasks to be completed:
Craft 20 Planks
Collect 10 Metal Bars
Collect 10 Wood Rasps
You must accept this mission by January 14 in order to be able to complete it in your game, and you'll receive a See-Saw decorative item, 250 XP, and 1,000 coins for completing the mission before your two days are over.
You'll of course need to have plenty of help from friends in order to finish this mission on time, but it definitely isn't impossible. Happy gaming!
Thứ Bảy, 7 tháng 1, 2012
FarmVille encourages meetups in 250+ cities on February 27
Zynga has just announced a brand new meetup, and it's happening in the city near you. FarmVille is utilizing Meetup.com in order to connect players with each other for a real world meetup on February 27th. To participate, you simply need to visit this site to find the meetup that is closest to you. If you can find one, you can signup as an attendee so that others know you are coming. If you don't find a meetup in your area, you can start one and signup as the organizer for the group.
So far there are 250 meetups ranging from 1 attendee up to 8 attendees, however this was just announced and things are just getting started. There are meetups in large cities such as New York City and Las Vegas and smaller cities like Kenosha, WI. There are also meetups being formed outside the United States, such as Cairo and Sydney.
We're not exactly sure why February 27th was the chosen date, but it is a Sunday and is a few short weeks from now. For more information, view the official FarmVille blog.
Will you be attending a FarmVille meetup?
So far there are 250 meetups ranging from 1 attendee up to 8 attendees, however this was just announced and things are just getting started. There are meetups in large cities such as New York City and Las Vegas and smaller cities like Kenosha, WI. There are also meetups being formed outside the United States, such as Cairo and Sydney.
We're not exactly sure why February 27th was the chosen date, but it is a Sunday and is a few short weeks from now. For more information, view the official FarmVille blog.
Will you be attending a FarmVille meetup?
Win Farm Cash in the official FarmVille Valentine's Contest
Farmville valentines contest
You didn't think a holiday would go by without a FarmVille farm decorating contest, did you? Today, Zynga have announced their newest contest and it's bound to be romantic. All you have to do is submit a screenshot of your farm all decked out in Valentine's Day decorations to be eligible. Of course, with entries like the one above from MRWright1982, the competition seems to be pretty stiff.
The top 10 farms as chosen by Zynga will win 500 Farm Cash and 500,000 coins. Entries will be accepted until February 14th at 6:00pm PST, and the winners will be announced on February 15th. The farms will be judged on originality, effort, and presentation - however no Photoshopped entries will be allowed.
If you'd like to participate, head on over to the official Valentine's Day contest thread and reply with your entry! There is no harm in trying, and the winner gets their farm picture shared to millions of people on the FarmVille wall. Can't beat that!
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2011 coverage right here.
You didn't think a holiday would go by without a FarmVille farm decorating contest, did you? Today, Zynga have announced their newest contest and it's bound to be romantic. All you have to do is submit a screenshot of your farm all decked out in Valentine's Day decorations to be eligible. Of course, with entries like the one above from MRWright1982, the competition seems to be pretty stiff.
The top 10 farms as chosen by Zynga will win 500 Farm Cash and 500,000 coins. Entries will be accepted until February 14th at 6:00pm PST, and the winners will be announced on February 15th. The farms will be judged on originality, effort, and presentation - however no Photoshopped entries will be allowed.
If you'd like to participate, head on over to the official Valentine's Day contest thread and reply with your entry! There is no harm in trying, and the winner gets their farm picture shared to millions of people on the FarmVille wall. Can't beat that!
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Game of the Day: Virtual Villagers
The game of the day pays homage to humans early days. Virtual Villagers is an an online game classic. Manage the lives of your tiny village and help them grow. Control village resources, harvest foods and even grow virtual village families! In Virtual Villagers you have to guide them in learning how to survive in this real-time simulation game.
Click here to play Virtual Villagers
Click here to play Virtual Villagers
Carmen Sandiego on Facebook: Promote this gem to comissioner
Carmen Sandiego City Screen
Remember bringing an encyclopedia to school on computer class day just to increase your chances at bringing Carmen Sandiego to justice? Alright, maybe I was the only kid who was that devoted, but Oregon Trail creator Blue Fang and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's The Learning Company understand. Both based in Massachusetts, the two companies joined forces to bring the international detective series into the social age of gaming. Players assume the role of an international detective, following clues across the globe with the help of their friends and eventually locking up suspects. They will increase in level and gain promotions with friend recommendations, which will open more cases and ultimately lead to hunting down the elusive Carmen Sandiego.
"When we approached [Carmen Sandiego], we wanted to make the best Carmen Sandiego experience period," says Blue Fang studio director Eduardo Baraf. "It wasn't about necessarily about building it to the definitions of the Facebook platform." And after a detailed preview with Laura Rapalski, the game's producer, it's hard to not feel at least optimistic.
Case Select Screen
It's immediately noticeable upon entering the game that Blue Fang was faithful to the source material. While this edition of Carmen Sandiego takes on a more modern look than its predecessors, its influences are apparent through both the game's layout and presentation. It's refreshing to see how faithful Blue Fang remained to the locations in the game as well, displaying the signs of buildings in a country's native language. (Remember, Carmen Sandiego is an educational game.) Just like the original you will take on cases, find clues narrowing down the potential suspect, issue a warrant and make the arrest.
Not much has changed when it comes to this core (if repetitive) play style, but it's the enhanced social interaction and how the game takes advantage of the Facebook platform that make it unique. While on your travels, every stop made internationally consumes time. Each case can only be solved in a certain amount of time, so paying attention to the clues carefully pays off. But think of the time you have as if it were Energy in another social game; players can pay up in Facebook Credits or tap their friends to save travel time. But that still doesn't save you from figuring out the clues and using them effectively.
Luckily you have your Facebook friends to help you. Players can ping one another for help with clues via News Feed posts. This clever feature isn't linear in that a friend responds to the request by pressing a button-they'll have to answer as best they can naturally. "The effect with some of the questions is that's how people end up having a conversation about the cities and where they've been," Baraf says. "Ultimately, starting the dialog and having these exchanges will be rewarding as well because Carmen Sandiego has always been an international product."
Received a Clue
It looks like this will promote brainstorming and critical thinking as well, but there's always Google. In fact, the team even expects you to use search engines in replace of the encyclopedia we all had at our side while playing as kids. Once a case is solved, it's essentially rinse and repeat. But finding Ms. Sandiego will later become much more dangerous.
While your friends can help you during cases in many ways, that might not be their purpose forever. Blue Fang hinted that players can define their own features through a character sheet as if they were suspects. Currently, this is just for show, but as the game progresses this information will become extremely important. Again, it's clear why Blue Fang was chosen to take on this series. Regardless of whether Blue Fang can pull off a smooth launch, Carmen Sandiego for Facebook looks like more than just a social adaptation of the original games. This is the next step for the franchise.
Remember bringing an encyclopedia to school on computer class day just to increase your chances at bringing Carmen Sandiego to justice? Alright, maybe I was the only kid who was that devoted, but Oregon Trail creator Blue Fang and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's The Learning Company understand. Both based in Massachusetts, the two companies joined forces to bring the international detective series into the social age of gaming. Players assume the role of an international detective, following clues across the globe with the help of their friends and eventually locking up suspects. They will increase in level and gain promotions with friend recommendations, which will open more cases and ultimately lead to hunting down the elusive Carmen Sandiego.
"When we approached [Carmen Sandiego], we wanted to make the best Carmen Sandiego experience period," says Blue Fang studio director Eduardo Baraf. "It wasn't about necessarily about building it to the definitions of the Facebook platform." And after a detailed preview with Laura Rapalski, the game's producer, it's hard to not feel at least optimistic.
Case Select Screen
It's immediately noticeable upon entering the game that Blue Fang was faithful to the source material. While this edition of Carmen Sandiego takes on a more modern look than its predecessors, its influences are apparent through both the game's layout and presentation. It's refreshing to see how faithful Blue Fang remained to the locations in the game as well, displaying the signs of buildings in a country's native language. (Remember, Carmen Sandiego is an educational game.) Just like the original you will take on cases, find clues narrowing down the potential suspect, issue a warrant and make the arrest.
Not much has changed when it comes to this core (if repetitive) play style, but it's the enhanced social interaction and how the game takes advantage of the Facebook platform that make it unique. While on your travels, every stop made internationally consumes time. Each case can only be solved in a certain amount of time, so paying attention to the clues carefully pays off. But think of the time you have as if it were Energy in another social game; players can pay up in Facebook Credits or tap their friends to save travel time. But that still doesn't save you from figuring out the clues and using them effectively.
Luckily you have your Facebook friends to help you. Players can ping one another for help with clues via News Feed posts. This clever feature isn't linear in that a friend responds to the request by pressing a button-they'll have to answer as best they can naturally. "The effect with some of the questions is that's how people end up having a conversation about the cities and where they've been," Baraf says. "Ultimately, starting the dialog and having these exchanges will be rewarding as well because Carmen Sandiego has always been an international product."
Received a Clue
It looks like this will promote brainstorming and critical thinking as well, but there's always Google. In fact, the team even expects you to use search engines in replace of the encyclopedia we all had at our side while playing as kids. Once a case is solved, it's essentially rinse and repeat. But finding Ms. Sandiego will later become much more dangerous.
While your friends can help you during cases in many ways, that might not be their purpose forever. Blue Fang hinted that players can define their own features through a character sheet as if they were suspects. Currently, this is just for show, but as the game progresses this information will become extremely important. Again, it's clear why Blue Fang was chosen to take on this series. Regardless of whether Blue Fang can pull off a smooth launch, Carmen Sandiego for Facebook looks like more than just a social adaptation of the original games. This is the next step for the franchise.
FrontierVille Valentine's Day Card made lovingly with (virtual) Roses
It was only a matter of time before someone put FrontierVille's Rose crops to good use. Pioneer and FrontierVille Info reader Alpha 595 has created likely the cutest gesture ever to spawn from a Facebook game. He crafted a Valentine's Day e-card by meticulously planting White and Red Roses to spell his girlfriend's name, Sami, and draw a heart. Throw in some crafty PhotoShop work and--voila--a Valentine's Card brimming with cute. You know you guys out there almost man-teared when looking at this (was it just me?). We just hope the lucky lady is also a FrontierVille player or this likely won't get the same heartfelt reception.
[Image Credit: FrontierVille Info]
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Have you made any lovely Valentine's gestures via social games? What's your preferred method of saying "I love you" on that special day?
[Image Credit: FrontierVille Info]
Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Have you made any lovely Valentine's gestures via social games? What's your preferred method of saying "I love you" on that special day?
Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 1, 2012
Poll: Should FarmVille, Zynga in-game ad promotions be global?
McDonalds
Zynga recently released its Stouffer's frozen foods in-game promotion in FarmVille. All players were given a free Mac & Cheese tree as well as a free Instant Grow for their crops. Well, we shouldn't say "all" players as the promotion is only available for FarmVille players in the US. Of course, this mad several farmers in our comments sections furious, and rightfully so.
However, is it even in Zynga's best interest to make its advertising campaigns universal? For instance, Stouffer's frozen dinners aren't available all over the world. (Though, they are available in Canada, which did not receive the promotion.) Or remember way back to what was supposed to be the first ever sponsored crop, peanuts? Yet at the last minute, either Israeli sponsor Saatchi and Saatchi pulled out or Zynga deemed them unfit for a US promotion. So with all that said:
Should Zynga's in-game ad promotions be global?
Of course! How are they going to forget such a big audience?No. Not if the product isn't sold in those markets.Yes, but Zynga should stick with global brands in that case.I live in the US, so I don't really care.
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Zynga recently released its Stouffer's frozen foods in-game promotion in FarmVille. All players were given a free Mac & Cheese tree as well as a free Instant Grow for their crops. Well, we shouldn't say "all" players as the promotion is only available for FarmVille players in the US. Of course, this mad several farmers in our comments sections furious, and rightfully so.
However, is it even in Zynga's best interest to make its advertising campaigns universal? For instance, Stouffer's frozen dinners aren't available all over the world. (Though, they are available in Canada, which did not receive the promotion.) Or remember way back to what was supposed to be the first ever sponsored crop, peanuts? Yet at the last minute, either Israeli sponsor Saatchi and Saatchi pulled out or Zynga deemed them unfit for a US promotion. So with all that said:
Should Zynga's in-game ad promotions be global?
Of course! How are they going to forget such a big audience?No. Not if the product isn't sold in those markets.Yes, but Zynga should stick with global brands in that case.I live in the US, so I don't really care.
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FrontierVille 'Purple Dog' glitch stumps players, forum moderators
Have any of you seen that purple doggie on the FrontierVille homestead? You know, the one with the waggly tail ... and the word "Temp" painted on its body? Unfortunately, it appears that this purple pup is not for sale, but a coding glitch that appeared around the same time the Injured Critter Goals were introduced. Several players on the forums report seeing this Purple Dog and have been asking why, but the moderators' guess is as good as ours.
"This has been discussed a few times now, Mizz Faith said, a FrontierVille forums Super Moderator. "The overall consensus is, we're baffled. I'm gonna ask again and see if it was ever figured out. It's quite a creepy looking little thing!" So if the moderators don't know a thing, it's likely that we won't either. My best guess is that this little scrapper is a placeholder for future items or animals. Perhaps it's used in testing new features before the artwork for items and animals is finalized. That said, it's just as likely that we'll never know and all we'll have to work with are screen shots. So, if you see the Purple Dog, be sure to snap a picture of it as you might never see this elusive creature again.
[Image Credit: iRonX]
Have you seen the Purple Dog on your homestead? What do you think it represents to the FrontierVille studios?
"This has been discussed a few times now, Mizz Faith said, a FrontierVille forums Super Moderator. "The overall consensus is, we're baffled. I'm gonna ask again and see if it was ever figured out. It's quite a creepy looking little thing!" So if the moderators don't know a thing, it's likely that we won't either. My best guess is that this little scrapper is a placeholder for future items or animals. Perhaps it's used in testing new features before the artwork for items and animals is finalized. That said, it's just as likely that we'll never know and all we'll have to work with are screen shots. So, if you see the Purple Dog, be sure to snap a picture of it as you might never see this elusive creature again.
[Image Credit: iRonX]
Have you seen the Purple Dog on your homestead? What do you think it represents to the FrontierVille studios?
Aliens vs. Predator developer Rebellion opens social games division
Unfortunately, this does not necessarily mean that AvP is coming to Facebook. Develop reports that Rebellion, the UK-based studio behind the Aliens vs. Predator games, has opened a social gaming division. This internal team will focus on Facebook games after having recently released Evil Genius, its first social game. Rebellion will still focus on creating high-profile games with high production values, but after seeing its first social game leave the nest, Rebellion appears hungry for more.
"The release of Evil Genius has given us an appetite to look at other opportunities in the area," said Rebellion co-founder Jason Kingsley. "One thing that has become increasingly apparent over the last few years is that gamers can't be defined as just people who own consoles – people who use social media like Facebook or use smart phones all play games and this is an exciting new opportunity that we want to explore."
Rebellion follows several traditional gaming companies into the Facebook scene like EA, Konami, Sega and Ubisoft. If anything, this move is yet another example of massive shifts in the gaming industry. In other words, expect to see more (and even bigger) companies follow suit in 2011.
[Via Shacknews]
[Image Credit: Squidoo]
How do you think Rebellion will fare in the social games space? Do you think it's to traditional developers' benefit that they focus at least some talent toward Facebook?
"The release of Evil Genius has given us an appetite to look at other opportunities in the area," said Rebellion co-founder Jason Kingsley. "One thing that has become increasingly apparent over the last few years is that gamers can't be defined as just people who own consoles – people who use social media like Facebook or use smart phones all play games and this is an exciting new opportunity that we want to explore."
Rebellion follows several traditional gaming companies into the Facebook scene like EA, Konami, Sega and Ubisoft. If anything, this move is yet another example of massive shifts in the gaming industry. In other words, expect to see more (and even bigger) companies follow suit in 2011.
[Via Shacknews]
[Image Credit: Squidoo]
How do you think Rebellion will fare in the social games space? Do you think it's to traditional developers' benefit that they focus at least some talent toward Facebook?
CityVille: Energy supplies now limited via Inventory Cap
If you're a CityVille player that has yet to take advantage of the stockpiling energy strategy to complete your tasks in CityVille; that is, if you don't already have dozens or even hundreds of Batteries in your inventory, I'm sorry to say that you won't be able to in the future either, as Zynga has introduced a seemingly small, but actually huge alteration to the way inventory works in the game.
First and foremost, all items currently in your inventory are unaffected, and you will not lose anything that you have. However, a new energy (Battery) limit has been introduced that will all you to only have 15 of each kind of Battery (+1, +2, or +3 energy) in your inventory at once. Again, if you have more than this number, you will not lose these items, but you will also be unable to add anymore to your inventory until the number drops back down below 15.
So much for a never-ending supply of energy. Zynga says that this previous stockpiling issue has negatively impacted the game's balance, and that they would like users to be strategic with their energy use, just as they encourage strategy with building new businesses or expanding your land. It's possible that this limit might change in the future, based on user feedback, so if you'd like to share yours, make sure to give it to Zynga in the appropriate thread.
What do you think of this new change? Will this make the game more fair for users that didn't have enough friends available to send them mass amounts of energy, or should users be able to accumulate as many energy points as possible?
First and foremost, all items currently in your inventory are unaffected, and you will not lose anything that you have. However, a new energy (Battery) limit has been introduced that will all you to only have 15 of each kind of Battery (+1, +2, or +3 energy) in your inventory at once. Again, if you have more than this number, you will not lose these items, but you will also be unable to add anymore to your inventory until the number drops back down below 15.
So much for a never-ending supply of energy. Zynga says that this previous stockpiling issue has negatively impacted the game's balance, and that they would like users to be strategic with their energy use, just as they encourage strategy with building new businesses or expanding your land. It's possible that this limit might change in the future, based on user feedback, so if you'd like to share yours, make sure to give it to Zynga in the appropriate thread.
What do you think of this new change? Will this make the game more fair for users that didn't have enough friends available to send them mass amounts of energy, or should users be able to accumulate as many energy points as possible?
CityVille: Sweeping inventory changes have users ready to quit
Zynga has made some... questionable changes to CityVille this week, that has many users virtually screaming at the developer, and quitting the game altogether. In addition to the new Energy cap that allows users to only hold 15 of each variety of Battery in their inventory, Zynga has also capped a number of other items to, as Zynga says, help the game's balance and introduce another element of strategy to the game.
The new caps concern items that are used most frequently in the game, so I suppose I can understand why users are crying foul.
Zoning Permits are now capped at 60, while Marble, City Seals, Building Grants, Gold Plating, and Ribbons are capped at 25. If you have more than this number of items in your inventory, you won't lose the extras, but you also won't be able to add anymore to your account until the number drops back below 25, or 60, depending on the item.
Another change worth noting is that you are now unable to user batteries from your inventory if your energy is at its maximum - it looks like energy stockpiling has been squashed in all forms, I'm afraid. If you try to accept a free gift from your friends, offering you one of these items, you will simply be told that you have too many, and that the item has not been added to your inventory.
This was enough to have users swamping the Feedback thread for this release over on the game's official forums, which has reached a whopping 173 pages in less than 24 hours.
Most users' posts are those like this of claymore1977's, who says:
Yep, that's the last nail in the coffin. ....or the straw that will break the back of the players. I was actually enjoying Cityville 10x better than all your other games and *almost* got myself to the point where I was going to start putting money into it. I'm a believer in free software, but I also believe in paying for a good game. Good thing you all made this change *before* i started shelling out my hard earned money.
Another player, bashlee, sums up the fear that even I have due to this change. That the game's userbase is going to drop... and fast.
This is the most horrible thing you have done with the game yet. Wth can i do with 15 +3 energies?? That doesn't even cover everything in my city. This was a stupid decision on your part zynga. And your popular game is going to lose a ton of players because of this nonsense.
It will be interesting to see how Zynga responds to this overwhelming cry from users. Ultimately, it's unlikely that the almost 93 million current players will all stop and leave the game at once, but I can definitely see many of these upset users keeping true to their word of not playing, or at least not putting anymore money into the game until Zynga can "see the light."
While having a large player base is one thing, Zynga needs to make sure that those users are happy enough to spend money on the product (it is a business after all), and it looks like they might have just really hurt themselves, and the game's money-making potential, with this one.
We'll make sure to let you know if Zynga goes back on any of these changes, or at least alters the caps to something more "reasonable." Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of these game-changing updates? Do you stockpile energy, or will these changes not affect the way you play the game?
The new caps concern items that are used most frequently in the game, so I suppose I can understand why users are crying foul.
Zoning Permits are now capped at 60, while Marble, City Seals, Building Grants, Gold Plating, and Ribbons are capped at 25. If you have more than this number of items in your inventory, you won't lose the extras, but you also won't be able to add anymore to your account until the number drops back below 25, or 60, depending on the item.
Another change worth noting is that you are now unable to user batteries from your inventory if your energy is at its maximum - it looks like energy stockpiling has been squashed in all forms, I'm afraid. If you try to accept a free gift from your friends, offering you one of these items, you will simply be told that you have too many, and that the item has not been added to your inventory.
This was enough to have users swamping the Feedback thread for this release over on the game's official forums, which has reached a whopping 173 pages in less than 24 hours.
Most users' posts are those like this of claymore1977's, who says:
Yep, that's the last nail in the coffin. ....or the straw that will break the back of the players. I was actually enjoying Cityville 10x better than all your other games and *almost* got myself to the point where I was going to start putting money into it. I'm a believer in free software, but I also believe in paying for a good game. Good thing you all made this change *before* i started shelling out my hard earned money.
Another player, bashlee, sums up the fear that even I have due to this change. That the game's userbase is going to drop... and fast.
This is the most horrible thing you have done with the game yet. Wth can i do with 15 +3 energies?? That doesn't even cover everything in my city. This was a stupid decision on your part zynga. And your popular game is going to lose a ton of players because of this nonsense.
It will be interesting to see how Zynga responds to this overwhelming cry from users. Ultimately, it's unlikely that the almost 93 million current players will all stop and leave the game at once, but I can definitely see many of these upset users keeping true to their word of not playing, or at least not putting anymore money into the game until Zynga can "see the light."
While having a large player base is one thing, Zynga needs to make sure that those users are happy enough to spend money on the product (it is a business after all), and it looks like they might have just really hurt themselves, and the game's money-making potential, with this one.
We'll make sure to let you know if Zynga goes back on any of these changes, or at least alters the caps to something more "reasonable." Keep checking back with us for more.
What do you think of these game-changing updates? Do you stockpile energy, or will these changes not affect the way you play the game?
Thứ Tư, 4 tháng 1, 2012
MapleStory takes another stab at iPhone, iPad in Cave Crawlers
MapleStory creator Nexon has been a bunch of busy bees lately, what with going public and selling more digital pets than some of us will make in dollars in decades. Now, the pioneer of free-to-play gaming is looking to try its hands at mobile again, but in a very not free way. Nexon released MapleStory: Cave Crawlers for the iPhone and iPad for $2.99. That's not free at all.
A far departure from previous effort Cygnus Knights, Cave Crawlers sends players into dungeons in a first-person, retro-themed play experience with many of the familiar tropes and characters from the series. Players can choose to embark on these adventures as either a brawny Fighter or a sneaky, stabby Thief. (What, no flashy magic love?)
The game only offers five randomized dungeons to play kill monsters and collect loot in, but Nexon promises that more content is on the way. Hopefully that means some more characters classes are incoming, too. (Guy's gotta' have his fireballs.) Nexon has yet to replicate the same wild success it's had on the web in the mobile arena. Frankly, we're surprised these games have yet to take on the "freemium" approach to distribution that it's web counterparts popularized.
That's especially considering how widespread free-to-play has already become in iPhone and Android games. At any rate, MapleStory fans will be happy to know that this take on the game is decidedly different from its predecessors, even at first glance.
Click here to download MapleStory: Cave Crawlers Now >
Are you a MapleStory fan? Where do you prefer to get your fix: The web, Facebook or mobile?
A far departure from previous effort Cygnus Knights, Cave Crawlers sends players into dungeons in a first-person, retro-themed play experience with many of the familiar tropes and characters from the series. Players can choose to embark on these adventures as either a brawny Fighter or a sneaky, stabby Thief. (What, no flashy magic love?)
The game only offers five randomized dungeons to play kill monsters and collect loot in, but Nexon promises that more content is on the way. Hopefully that means some more characters classes are incoming, too. (Guy's gotta' have his fireballs.) Nexon has yet to replicate the same wild success it's had on the web in the mobile arena. Frankly, we're surprised these games have yet to take on the "freemium" approach to distribution that it's web counterparts popularized.
That's especially considering how widespread free-to-play has already become in iPhone and Android games. At any rate, MapleStory fans will be happy to know that this take on the game is decidedly different from its predecessors, even at first glance.
Click here to download MapleStory: Cave Crawlers Now >
Are you a MapleStory fan? Where do you prefer to get your fix: The web, Facebook or mobile?
Zynga stock market debut lags behind expectations at $9.50 a share
It's now the end of the business day (and week, phew), and more importantly the end of the Zynga's first day on the Nasdaq. Well, how did it do? As it turns out, not so hot. When the company hit the market this morning, it was asking for an even $10 a share, but now its public stock sits at $9.50 a share, a 5 percent dip from asking price.
It turns out we were right in asking whether the Nexon initial public offering (IPO) spelled bad news for Zynga, and the MapleStory maker only suffered a 2 percent drop on its opening day. Still, the company earned $1 billion today at a $8.9 billion valuation. Because Zynga still came out on top of direct competitor EA, which is worth just $6.7 billion, many are still excited about the results of the IPO.
However, with a 5 percent loss on the first day out, it's unclear whether the CityVille maker can sustain on the market. Does this mean it can only go down from here? Not necessarily, but something drastic and inspiring would have to occur, as potential investors may already be set in their ways as to how much Zynga is worth.
Believe or not, but a lot rides on this offering beyond just a company making a lot of money. This IPO, if successful, serves to validate the business of easily-accessible, free-to-play games for a mass audience. (If not, well, the free-to-play market might start to lose its luster.) However, also if a money-maker, it could validate the worst of criticisms lobbed at social games: That only the status quo makes for a lucrative, popular--and thus an existing--social game.
What do you think of Zynga's performance on the stock market today? Do you think this means anything for the games industry?
It turns out we were right in asking whether the Nexon initial public offering (IPO) spelled bad news for Zynga, and the MapleStory maker only suffered a 2 percent drop on its opening day. Still, the company earned $1 billion today at a $8.9 billion valuation. Because Zynga still came out on top of direct competitor EA, which is worth just $6.7 billion, many are still excited about the results of the IPO.
However, with a 5 percent loss on the first day out, it's unclear whether the CityVille maker can sustain on the market. Does this mean it can only go down from here? Not necessarily, but something drastic and inspiring would have to occur, as potential investors may already be set in their ways as to how much Zynga is worth.
Believe or not, but a lot rides on this offering beyond just a company making a lot of money. This IPO, if successful, serves to validate the business of easily-accessible, free-to-play games for a mass audience. (If not, well, the free-to-play market might start to lose its luster.) However, also if a money-maker, it could validate the worst of criticisms lobbed at social games: That only the status quo makes for a lucrative, popular--and thus an existing--social game.
What do you think of Zynga's performance on the stock market today? Do you think this means anything for the games industry?
Woman embezzles $166,000 ... and spends a bit of it on Mafia Wars
Believe it or not, but social games have driven people to do crazier things. Nevertheless, 54-year-old Augusta, Maine woman Bettysue Higgins pleaded guilty in court to embezzling $166,000 from Maine Trial Lawyers where she was an administrative assistant. According to Kennebec Journal, Kennebec County Superior Court prosecutor claimed much of it was spent on social games.
Namely Mafia Wars and YoVille, the prosecutor found. In addition to 220 checks written out in Higgins's name since 2006, the former assistant wrote 78 checks in her name between January 2010 and Sept. 10, 2010. The funds from all 78 checks deposited into her account went directly to Zynga's games. Defense attorney Ronald Bourget said that, according to her bank account statement for February 2010, Higgins had spent $4,000 on the games. Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin said, "Apparently she was buying virtual coins for virtual property in a virtual world."
Higgins covered her tracks by doctoring accounting records, but the company's executive director, David Prince, found out about the embezzlement when a check he wrote for $5,500 had bounced. Now, the woman faces six years in prison and three years of probation, but only if she pays up to $700 more than what she stole. Considering her home is in foreclosure, that's unlikely.
Crime and social games is nothing new: Men have stolen from the elderly for game cash, and women have all but neglected their children to get more time with their digital poison of choice. But elaborate embezzlement schemes to fuel said addictions sounds like a new approach.
[Via Kotaku]
What do you think of this case as it relates to getting hooked on social games? What's the craziest thing you've done to get in some game time or even buy some in-game cash?
Namely Mafia Wars and YoVille, the prosecutor found. In addition to 220 checks written out in Higgins's name since 2006, the former assistant wrote 78 checks in her name between January 2010 and Sept. 10, 2010. The funds from all 78 checks deposited into her account went directly to Zynga's games. Defense attorney Ronald Bourget said that, according to her bank account statement for February 2010, Higgins had spent $4,000 on the games. Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin said, "Apparently she was buying virtual coins for virtual property in a virtual world."
Higgins covered her tracks by doctoring accounting records, but the company's executive director, David Prince, found out about the embezzlement when a check he wrote for $5,500 had bounced. Now, the woman faces six years in prison and three years of probation, but only if she pays up to $700 more than what she stole. Considering her home is in foreclosure, that's unlikely.
Crime and social games is nothing new: Men have stolen from the elderly for game cash, and women have all but neglected their children to get more time with their digital poison of choice. But elaborate embezzlement schemes to fuel said addictions sounds like a new approach.
[Via Kotaku]
What do you think of this case as it relates to getting hooked on social games? What's the craziest thing you've done to get in some game time or even buy some in-game cash?
FarmVille maker CEO: 'Our employees have a real love for Zynga'
Zynga went public this past Friday, and the results were ... less than favorable. But on top of a slipping stock price, investors and recruiters alike have voiced concerns that the company's offering will inspire staffers to cash out, or sell their stock in the company and abandon ship. Not according to what CEO and founder of the FarmVille creator, Mark Pincus, told Fortune.
"I'm not sure why there's been all that speculation other than that we've been in a quiet period," Pincus told Fortune. "Our company has historically had very low attrition, much lower than other public or private companies in Silicon Valley. I know that hasn't been reported on, but it's true. We also continue to have an amazing inflow of resumes and talent."
The man behind CityVille was referring to suspicions sparked by a scathing New York Times report in which an EA recruiter said that Zynga's intense culture might drive employees to sell their shares and join other companies. (In this recruiter's case, hopefully EA.) "Our employees have a real love for Zynga and real pride," Pincus told Fortune. "We've asked them not to go out and defend us in the press or blogs, so I don't think that's come through publicly yet."
However, even before Zynga filed to go public, employees have spoken out on the company's culture and Pincus's approach to the business of making games. As of this writing, Zynga shares hover around $8.80--over a dollar less than the company's initial $10 asking price. If Zynga employees are going to sell, now's the time to do it.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Do you think the Zynga IPO could result in an employee exodus? Would you leave the company now if you had enough shares in it?
"I'm not sure why there's been all that speculation other than that we've been in a quiet period," Pincus told Fortune. "Our company has historically had very low attrition, much lower than other public or private companies in Silicon Valley. I know that hasn't been reported on, but it's true. We also continue to have an amazing inflow of resumes and talent."
The man behind CityVille was referring to suspicions sparked by a scathing New York Times report in which an EA recruiter said that Zynga's intense culture might drive employees to sell their shares and join other companies. (In this recruiter's case, hopefully EA.) "Our employees have a real love for Zynga and real pride," Pincus told Fortune. "We've asked them not to go out and defend us in the press or blogs, so I don't think that's come through publicly yet."
However, even before Zynga filed to go public, employees have spoken out on the company's culture and Pincus's approach to the business of making games. As of this writing, Zynga shares hover around $8.80--over a dollar less than the company's initial $10 asking price. If Zynga employees are going to sell, now's the time to do it.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Do you think the Zynga IPO could result in an employee exodus? Would you leave the company now if you had enough shares in it?
Carmen Sandiego, Oregon Trail on Facebook will be no more next year
It's a sad state of affairs for games that try something different these days, it seems. Both Carmen Sandiego and The Oregon Trail on Facebook will shut their doors for good come Jan. 6, 2012. While we pretty much knew this one was coming since Mass.-based Blue Fang Games shut down over the summer, the news still comes with that pang of mild depression.
The Learning Company, which holds licenses for both games, delivered the somber news via in-game messages within both games before players enter. Unfortunately, it is not offering any compensation for existing players.
That pang is probably more like a flare of rage for those that spent money in either game. That said, the fact that these two social games will shut down is a bummer for a far more important reason. Both Carmen Sandiego and The Oregon Trail were visibly different than your average Facebook game. Each game touted refreshing play hooks in its own right, and some of the most vibrant art styles filled with character we've seen even by year's end.
The games also approached social gaming mechanics in unprecedented ways, so much so that one appeared to be quite the inspiration for a release by a far more popular and powerful social game maker. You'd think that such recognizable brands like The Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego would be enough to drive millions to play. Sadly, it seems as if that wasn't the case. Well, cheers to Blue Fang Games for attempting to innovate and bring childhood classics to the forefront once again.
Are you bummed that both of these games are shutting down? What do you think contributed most to their closures?
The Learning Company, which holds licenses for both games, delivered the somber news via in-game messages within both games before players enter. Unfortunately, it is not offering any compensation for existing players.
That pang is probably more like a flare of rage for those that spent money in either game. That said, the fact that these two social games will shut down is a bummer for a far more important reason. Both Carmen Sandiego and The Oregon Trail were visibly different than your average Facebook game. Each game touted refreshing play hooks in its own right, and some of the most vibrant art styles filled with character we've seen even by year's end.
The games also approached social gaming mechanics in unprecedented ways, so much so that one appeared to be quite the inspiration for a release by a far more popular and powerful social game maker. You'd think that such recognizable brands like The Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego would be enough to drive millions to play. Sadly, it seems as if that wasn't the case. Well, cheers to Blue Fang Games for attempting to innovate and bring childhood classics to the forefront once again.
Are you bummed that both of these games are shutting down? What do you think contributed most to their closures?
Zynga CEO Mark Pincus doesn't like it when fans play for too long
Right. During an interview with MIT's Technology Review, FarmVille creator Zynga's CEO Mark Pincus said, "I don't like it when I find out that people are averaging long session times in any of our games. All of the newer games that we bring out are trying to reduce those session times. Because one of the biggest reasons people don't play games is they say that they don't have the time."
According to Technology Review, this comment was made before the CityVille maker agreed to a quiet period prior to its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). The butt of that quote may be true, but Pincus's words strike us as odd. They're especially odd considering the not-so-tiny 5 percent of paying players--about 54 million people--is likely the crop of players that spend the most time in games like Adventure World and CastleVille.
Technology Review says that the burst-style gameplay of its games can spur players to eventually pay up, quoting one player in particular that plays up to four hours daily in short 15-minute spurts. "You start spending time playing a game, and you find that you care about it for any host of reasons, if we [design] it well," Pincus told Technology Review, "and at some point you may see that by spending some money you can save yourself a bunch of time [or] get something that has status or changes your friends' view of you."
Sure, these in-game boosts can save players time, but they can also serve to keep players in-game for longer. The more virtual items bought outright, the less energy spent on procuring them, and thus more time spent doing other things in the game. This writer is willing to bet that the average whale, a casino term used to describe social gamers that spend large amounts of money, spends way more time than the average player that throws up maybe a few bucks a week. And we're sure Zynga likes them just teeny, tiny bit more.
Would you consider yourself a "whale" or know someone that might be a whale? How much time do you or they spend playing Facebook games daily?
According to Technology Review, this comment was made before the CityVille maker agreed to a quiet period prior to its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). The butt of that quote may be true, but Pincus's words strike us as odd. They're especially odd considering the not-so-tiny 5 percent of paying players--about 54 million people--is likely the crop of players that spend the most time in games like Adventure World and CastleVille.
Technology Review says that the burst-style gameplay of its games can spur players to eventually pay up, quoting one player in particular that plays up to four hours daily in short 15-minute spurts. "You start spending time playing a game, and you find that you care about it for any host of reasons, if we [design] it well," Pincus told Technology Review, "and at some point you may see that by spending some money you can save yourself a bunch of time [or] get something that has status or changes your friends' view of you."
Sure, these in-game boosts can save players time, but they can also serve to keep players in-game for longer. The more virtual items bought outright, the less energy spent on procuring them, and thus more time spent doing other things in the game. This writer is willing to bet that the average whale, a casino term used to describe social gamers that spend large amounts of money, spends way more time than the average player that throws up maybe a few bucks a week. And we're sure Zynga likes them just teeny, tiny bit more.
Would you consider yourself a "whale" or know someone that might be a whale? How much time do you or they spend playing Facebook games daily?
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