It seems that Zynga has seen the lack of pioneers that have completed the Prairie Pox Goals in FrontierVille (i.e. me) and decided to give them a freebie. Eucalypt, a FrontierVille forum contributor, was greeted by the above message upon logging in recently. Basically, taking the cure will relieve you and yours' Prairie Pox infection instantly, subverting the lengthy Goal series entirely. Several players have reported replying "No Thanks!" as they're either almost through the series or are simply purists. As for me, you better believe I'm pressing that green button!
[Image Credit: Eucalypt]
Have you seen this message appear on your homestead yet? Would you choose to take the cure or do it all the hard way?
Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 1, 2012
Thứ Ba, 3 tháng 1, 2012
CrowdStar's Social Girl: An iOS game that is neither Top Girl nor social
Confusing, we know. CrowdStar recently released Social Girl for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. And no, this isn't an update for the developer's existing iOS and Android social game, Top Girl. This is a brand new game challenges players to become to most popular girl in town by making virtual friends and creating the boy toy of their dreams.
How this is any different from previous "Girl" games by CrowdStar, we haven't in the slightest. Nevertheless, Social Girl is the developer's most successful mobile game to date, garnering over 1 million downloads in the past week. Such numbers helped the girly game become the sixth most grossing game on the App Store this week, displacing the almighty Angry Birds.
In Social Girl, players befriend different cliques of up to 25 virtual friends and unlock new and special outfits for unique dates with a boyfriend of their own creation. Still, we're not seeing the differences. At any rate, this take on CrowdStar's successful "Girl" franchise seems to focus far less on social (that's strange) play between friends and more on a self-engineered experience.
Social Girl in action
The game is another phase in CrowdStar's Project Trident, its mission to gain foothold on Facebook, mobile and global platforms. But at first glance, Social Girl doesn't seem to live up to its title: The only remotely social feature found within is Game Center achievements. Perhaps these will come in a future update, but Social Girl could have used a more fitting name.
Click here to download Social Girl for Free Now >
Have you tried out Social Girl yet? What do you think of the game compare to previous "Girl" games from CrowdStar?
How this is any different from previous "Girl" games by CrowdStar, we haven't in the slightest. Nevertheless, Social Girl is the developer's most successful mobile game to date, garnering over 1 million downloads in the past week. Such numbers helped the girly game become the sixth most grossing game on the App Store this week, displacing the almighty Angry Birds.
In Social Girl, players befriend different cliques of up to 25 virtual friends and unlock new and special outfits for unique dates with a boyfriend of their own creation. Still, we're not seeing the differences. At any rate, this take on CrowdStar's successful "Girl" franchise seems to focus far less on social (that's strange) play between friends and more on a self-engineered experience.
Social Girl in action
The game is another phase in CrowdStar's Project Trident, its mission to gain foothold on Facebook, mobile and global platforms. But at first glance, Social Girl doesn't seem to live up to its title: The only remotely social feature found within is Game Center achievements. Perhaps these will come in a future update, but Social Girl could have used a more fitting name.
Click here to download Social Girl for Free Now >
Have you tried out Social Girl yet? What do you think of the game compare to previous "Girl" games from CrowdStar?
Buzz! maker Relentless Software snags EA staffer for social games
Are hits like The Sims Social and (supposedly) SimCity for Facebook on the way not enough? Another EA employee has left the nest to take a crack at social games elsewhere. Relentless Software, best known for the Buzz! quiz game series for consoles, announced that it has hired former EA staffer James Wright as executive producer of its new social games division.
"We're serious about social and mobile games and that's why we have taken the logical step to separate these activities from the console business," Relentless Software executive director Andrew Eades said. "We've hired James Wright as Executive Producer who has a decade of experience in developing and publishing mobile games and has been involved in a number of top ten tittles including Draw Race 2. Our original IP will be steered from the Digital division and already includes Blue Toad Murder Files and Quiz Climber."
In short, Relentless Software wants to get into social games in a big way, and it wants Wright at the forefront of its initiative. The UK-based developer already has brief experience on Facebook with games like Quiz Climber. "The formalization of the Digital Division is a valuable starting point to take over from Relentless' self-publishing strategy," Wright said. "It will bring more fun, accessible and ground-breaking titles across several platforms for non-gamers."
It's that "non-gamers" bit that hangs us up. Perhaps Relentless Software has a different view of the 300 some million social gamers on Facebook and even more on mobile devices. Are the games currently available on social and mobile platforms not really games in the studio's eyes? At any rate, Relentless might want to get Buzz! on Facebook and mobile fast--it would kill it.
Do you think a studio like Relentless Software find more success on Facebook and mobile with a dedicated division? Would you like to see Buzz! on social and mobile game platforms?
"We're serious about social and mobile games and that's why we have taken the logical step to separate these activities from the console business," Relentless Software executive director Andrew Eades said. "We've hired James Wright as Executive Producer who has a decade of experience in developing and publishing mobile games and has been involved in a number of top ten tittles including Draw Race 2. Our original IP will be steered from the Digital division and already includes Blue Toad Murder Files and Quiz Climber."
In short, Relentless Software wants to get into social games in a big way, and it wants Wright at the forefront of its initiative. The UK-based developer already has brief experience on Facebook with games like Quiz Climber. "The formalization of the Digital Division is a valuable starting point to take over from Relentless' self-publishing strategy," Wright said. "It will bring more fun, accessible and ground-breaking titles across several platforms for non-gamers."
It's that "non-gamers" bit that hangs us up. Perhaps Relentless Software has a different view of the 300 some million social gamers on Facebook and even more on mobile devices. Are the games currently available on social and mobile platforms not really games in the studio's eyes? At any rate, Relentless might want to get Buzz! on Facebook and mobile fast--it would kill it.
Do you think a studio like Relentless Software find more success on Facebook and mobile with a dedicated division? Would you like to see Buzz! on social and mobile game platforms?
Sojo Studios partners with Justin Bieber for "social good" Facebook games
Last month, we brought you an in-depth overview of Sojo Studios' WeTopia on Facebook, a game based on the concept of "Play[ing] for Good," where users earn currency called Joy that can be spent on real world charitable projects in both the US and other countries. While the game may not have shown up on everyone's radar just yet, that's likely to change as music phenom Justin Bieber has signed on to provide marketing support for Sojo Studios' lineup of games, starting with WeTopia.
"Playing online games is a lot of fun already, but WeTopia makes it better by helping children around the world. Some of these kids need to go to school or they need clean water," said Bieber in a company release. "I've been so lucky and blessed and that's why I believe so much in giving back, and I know my fans will feel the same way when they play WeTopia."
Combining efforts with the company's first celebrity partner Ellen DeGeneres, Sojo Studios hopes that the reach both entertainers have in their own areas will be enough to inspire fans to take action for great causes within WeTopia (and eventually other games that have yet to be released), such as Save the Children, buildOn and the Children's Health Fund.
"We're thrilled to partner with Justin Bieber, an amazing entertainer and someone who has emerged as one of the most prolific young philanthropists this world has seen," says Lincoln Brown, founder and CEO of Sojo Studios. "Justin is using his voice to inspire millions of fans around the world – including daughters and their moms – to give back. We can't think of a better way to bring the generations together than on WeTopia, which lets players do good while having fun."
Will this turn into a system of themed virtual items, giving Bieber's fans even more incentive to play these Facebook games? That much remains to be seen, but with the ever-increasing power of social media, anything is possible.
Will you play WeTopia because it is now being endorsed by Justin Bieber? Do you need any extra incentive to play a game focused on helping those who otherwise go without?
"Playing online games is a lot of fun already, but WeTopia makes it better by helping children around the world. Some of these kids need to go to school or they need clean water," said Bieber in a company release. "I've been so lucky and blessed and that's why I believe so much in giving back, and I know my fans will feel the same way when they play WeTopia."
Combining efforts with the company's first celebrity partner Ellen DeGeneres, Sojo Studios hopes that the reach both entertainers have in their own areas will be enough to inspire fans to take action for great causes within WeTopia (and eventually other games that have yet to be released), such as Save the Children, buildOn and the Children's Health Fund.
"We're thrilled to partner with Justin Bieber, an amazing entertainer and someone who has emerged as one of the most prolific young philanthropists this world has seen," says Lincoln Brown, founder and CEO of Sojo Studios. "Justin is using his voice to inspire millions of fans around the world – including daughters and their moms – to give back. We can't think of a better way to bring the generations together than on WeTopia, which lets players do good while having fun."
Will this turn into a system of themed virtual items, giving Bieber's fans even more incentive to play these Facebook games? That much remains to be seen, but with the ever-increasing power of social media, anything is possible.
Will you play WeTopia because it is now being endorsed by Justin Bieber? Do you need any extra incentive to play a game focused on helping those who otherwise go without?
Get your (legal) gambling fix on the go with GSN Digital's GSN Casino
It's a wonder anyone has cash to spend on Christmas, what with the myriad casino games on Facebook and elsewhere. The next game maker to take a crack at the gorged gambling genre is GSN Digital with GSN Casino for iPhone, iPad and Android. This free parlor game by Game Show Network's interactive division offers three of the most popular games on GSN.com: Undersea Treasure Slots, Outlaw Video Poker and Video Bingo.
And these three (digital) coin-eaters are just the beginning, as GSN Digital plans to introduce more casino-themed games to the app throughout 2012. When players first join the game and connect it to either their GSN.com or Facebook account, they'll receive 12,500 tokens for free and more to bet with daily. And thanks to this connection, the tokens you earn within GSN Casino can be used in the games offered on GSN.com.
"Our new GSN Casino mobile offering is the first major step in our commitment to bringing exciting games to our players where, when and how they want them," GSN Digital SVP Mark Cullinane said in a release. "Our success on GSN.com and Facebook provides a fantastic foundation to build off of for the launch of this product. We're excited to drive a whole new wave of GSN consumers as well as extend our mobile offering to the millions of players we entertain every day on existing GSN platforms."
GSN Casino Slots
GSN Digital beats a few of the big time social game makers in getting a suite of casino games onto iPhone and Android, namely Zynga and supposedly PopCap. Players can buy more tokens from withing GSN Casino, but like all online casino games, they cannot win actual money from playing. And yet, somehow, these games make money like gang busters.
Click here to download GSN Casino for Free on the App Store or here on the Android Market >
Are you an online casino game fan? If so, what's the draw for you (we really want to know)? If not, why do you stay away?
And these three (digital) coin-eaters are just the beginning, as GSN Digital plans to introduce more casino-themed games to the app throughout 2012. When players first join the game and connect it to either their GSN.com or Facebook account, they'll receive 12,500 tokens for free and more to bet with daily. And thanks to this connection, the tokens you earn within GSN Casino can be used in the games offered on GSN.com.
"Our new GSN Casino mobile offering is the first major step in our commitment to bringing exciting games to our players where, when and how they want them," GSN Digital SVP Mark Cullinane said in a release. "Our success on GSN.com and Facebook provides a fantastic foundation to build off of for the launch of this product. We're excited to drive a whole new wave of GSN consumers as well as extend our mobile offering to the millions of players we entertain every day on existing GSN platforms."
GSN Casino Slots
GSN Digital beats a few of the big time social game makers in getting a suite of casino games onto iPhone and Android, namely Zynga and supposedly PopCap. Players can buy more tokens from withing GSN Casino, but like all online casino games, they cannot win actual money from playing. And yet, somehow, these games make money like gang busters.
Click here to download GSN Casino for Free on the App Store or here on the Android Market >
Are you an online casino game fan? If so, what's the draw for you (we really want to know)? If not, why do you stay away?
Shocker: Zynga didn't have the most popular Facebook game in 2011?
Finding things that are hidden was the most popular game activity on Facebook this year, followed by controlling a person's every move and running an entire city. Facebook has released its take on the most popular social games of 2011, and Playdom's Gardens of Time beat out both The Sims Social by Playfish and Zynga's CityVille for the number one spot.
Facebook organized the list based on "which [games] drew the most active users and received the highest user recommendations," according to a post on the Facebook blog. Other than that, it's not 100 percent clear how Facebook came to its conclusions, as AppData's findings (as of this writing) are quite different. Perhaps user recommendations were weighed more heavily in Facebook's list. It's also possible that the recent change to how Facebook calculates monthly active players in its games affected this list.
With The Sims Social and CityVille in second and third place, respectively, the list contains a number of unexpected winners. For instance, DoubleDown Casino, Bingo Blitz and Slotomania all made the overall top 10 list. This isn't to say that these games aren't deserving of such acclaim, but none of these games performed as well as, say, Zynga Poker in 2011.
This leads us to believe that user recommendations were weighed more heavily than active players in Facebook's calculations. Who knows, perhaps recommendations are a better metric than simply the number of players when rating a game's popularity. Facebook made a point to include a bunch of other notable mentions from 2011, so check out the full list below:
Most Popular Games in 2011:
Gardens of Time (By Playdom)
The Sims Social (By EA)
Cityville (By Zynga)
DoubleDown Casino (by DoubleDown Interactive)
Indiana Jones Adventure World (By Zynga)
Words With Friends (By Zynga)
Bingo Blitz (By Buffalo Studios)
Empires & Allies (By Zynga)
Slotomania-Slot Machines (By Playtika)
Diamond Dash (By wooga)
Top Up-and-Comers:
Battle Pirates (By Kixeye)
Dragons of Atlantis (By Kabam)
Gourmet Ranch (By RockYou!)
Top Games with 50,000-100,000 Users
Super Slot Machines (By Davy Campano, David Livingston Kirby and Robby Campano)
WestWars (By Innogames)
MouseHunt (By HitGrab)
Top Casino Games in 2011
Zynga Poker (By Zynga)
Slotomania – Slot Machines (By Playtika)
DoubleDown Casino (By DoubleDown Interactive)
Top Sports Games in 2011
TopEleven – Be a Football Manager (By Nordeus)
Pool Live Tour (By Geewa)
EA Sports: FIFA Superstars (By EA)
Top Fashion Games in 2011
Mall World (By 50 Cubes)
ItGirl (By CrowdStar)
Coco Girl (By Metrogames)
Do you think Gardens of Time deserves to be on top? What do you think of the conclusions Facebook came to?
Facebook organized the list based on "which [games] drew the most active users and received the highest user recommendations," according to a post on the Facebook blog. Other than that, it's not 100 percent clear how Facebook came to its conclusions, as AppData's findings (as of this writing) are quite different. Perhaps user recommendations were weighed more heavily in Facebook's list. It's also possible that the recent change to how Facebook calculates monthly active players in its games affected this list.
With The Sims Social and CityVille in second and third place, respectively, the list contains a number of unexpected winners. For instance, DoubleDown Casino, Bingo Blitz and Slotomania all made the overall top 10 list. This isn't to say that these games aren't deserving of such acclaim, but none of these games performed as well as, say, Zynga Poker in 2011.
This leads us to believe that user recommendations were weighed more heavily than active players in Facebook's calculations. Who knows, perhaps recommendations are a better metric than simply the number of players when rating a game's popularity. Facebook made a point to include a bunch of other notable mentions from 2011, so check out the full list below:
Most Popular Games in 2011:
Gardens of Time (By Playdom)
The Sims Social (By EA)
Cityville (By Zynga)
DoubleDown Casino (by DoubleDown Interactive)
Indiana Jones Adventure World (By Zynga)
Words With Friends (By Zynga)
Bingo Blitz (By Buffalo Studios)
Empires & Allies (By Zynga)
Slotomania-Slot Machines (By Playtika)
Diamond Dash (By wooga)
Top Up-and-Comers:
Battle Pirates (By Kixeye)
Dragons of Atlantis (By Kabam)
Gourmet Ranch (By RockYou!)
Top Games with 50,000-100,000 Users
Super Slot Machines (By Davy Campano, David Livingston Kirby and Robby Campano)
WestWars (By Innogames)
MouseHunt (By HitGrab)
Top Casino Games in 2011
Zynga Poker (By Zynga)
Slotomania – Slot Machines (By Playtika)
DoubleDown Casino (By DoubleDown Interactive)
Top Sports Games in 2011
TopEleven – Be a Football Manager (By Nordeus)
Pool Live Tour (By Geewa)
EA Sports: FIFA Superstars (By EA)
Top Fashion Games in 2011
Mall World (By 50 Cubes)
ItGirl (By CrowdStar)
Coco Girl (By Metrogames)
Do you think Gardens of Time deserves to be on top? What do you think of the conclusions Facebook came to?
An Angry Birds 'social' game (and three others) is in the works for 2012
Angry Birds Facebook
So, we're just going to assume that by "social", Rovio game designer Jaako Iisalo means "Facebook". During the Social Games and Virtual Goods World conference in London, England, the Angry Birds designer told Pocket Gamer that four new Angry Birds games will launch next year. More specifically, one of them will be a "social" game.
And, will you look at that, Angry Birds is already on Google+. Granted, there are versions of the iconic everywhere mobile game on Facebook, but none of which seem legitimate. (One even seems to stream the Google Chrome version of Angry Birds through to Facebook.) While this could just as easily mean an Angry Birds game on a mobile platform with heavier social features, the developer has said in the past that the franchise will hit Facebook.
Honestly, how Angry Birds is available on the Intel AppUp store and in retail stores across Europe before officially on Facebook is beyond us. At any rate, we can likely expect these other three Angry Birds games to tap into new genres, since Rovio has expressed interest in exploring new types of games for its irate avian creatures. And just when you started to grow bored of it.
Would you play Angry Birds on Facebook more than elsewhere? What other genres would you like to see the Angry Birds characters take a part in?
So, we're just going to assume that by "social", Rovio game designer Jaako Iisalo means "Facebook". During the Social Games and Virtual Goods World conference in London, England, the Angry Birds designer told Pocket Gamer that four new Angry Birds games will launch next year. More specifically, one of them will be a "social" game.
And, will you look at that, Angry Birds is already on Google+. Granted, there are versions of the iconic everywhere mobile game on Facebook, but none of which seem legitimate. (One even seems to stream the Google Chrome version of Angry Birds through to Facebook.) While this could just as easily mean an Angry Birds game on a mobile platform with heavier social features, the developer has said in the past that the franchise will hit Facebook.
Honestly, how Angry Birds is available on the Intel AppUp store and in retail stores across Europe before officially on Facebook is beyond us. At any rate, we can likely expect these other three Angry Birds games to tap into new genres, since Rovio has expressed interest in exploring new types of games for its irate avian creatures. And just when you started to grow bored of it.
Would you play Angry Birds on Facebook more than elsewhere? What other genres would you like to see the Angry Birds characters take a part in?
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