farmville tuscan wedding rewards
The Tuscan Wedding event is in full swing in FarmVille. Some hard working FarmVille Freaks have already redeemed their collected favors (Eggs, Olives, Goat Milk, and Truffles) to earn all the Tuscan Wedding rewards. Even though we've already showed you a sneak peek of the rewards, now you can see how they look on the farm!
farmville tuscan wedding rewards
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
FarmVille Tuscan Decorations: Bellissimo Falls, Florella Fountain, Tall Bush, & Tuscan Table Set
Tonight another round of limited edition Tuscan decorations were added to the Market. These items can be purchased for both $FV and coins, and will be available for the next 16 days.
Bellissimo Falls 36$FV
Florella Fountain 24$FV
Tall Bush 2$FV (this item has been brought back)
Tuscan Table Set 12,000 coins
What other Tuscan Decorations would you like to see in FarmVille?
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Bellissimo Falls 36$FV
Florella Fountain 24$FV
Tall Bush 2$FV (this item has been brought back)
Tuscan Table Set 12,000 coins
What other Tuscan Decorations would you like to see in FarmVille?
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Tuscan Buildings: Castello, Tuscan Villa & Rosetta Hall
farmville tuscan buildings
There is a new Villa in town! FarmVille is continuing with the limited edition Tuscan theme and introduced three new buildings tonight- the Castello, Tuscan Villa, and Rosetta Hall.
All three of these limited edition buildings can be purchased with farm cash in the FarmVille Market during the next 16 days only. They will be retired items after expiring from the market.
Pictures of the new buildings continue after the link.
farmville castello farmville tuscan villa farmville rosetta hall
June 1st Tuscan Buildings Released:
Castello – 64 FV$
Tuscan Villa – 54 FV$
Rosetta Hall – 46 FV$
farmville tuscan buildings
farmville tuscan buildings
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
There is a new Villa in town! FarmVille is continuing with the limited edition Tuscan theme and introduced three new buildings tonight- the Castello, Tuscan Villa, and Rosetta Hall.
All three of these limited edition buildings can be purchased with farm cash in the FarmVille Market during the next 16 days only. They will be retired items after expiring from the market.
Pictures of the new buildings continue after the link.
farmville castello farmville tuscan villa farmville rosetta hall
June 1st Tuscan Buildings Released:
Castello – 64 FV$
Tuscan Villa – 54 FV$
Rosetta Hall – 46 FV$
farmville tuscan buildings
farmville tuscan buildings
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille: The Reality of Level 70
farmville level 70
FarmVille Freak Merry sent an email concerning Level 70 and beyond.
Hello!
Is farmville going to add more levels? I, as many, have reached level 70. It would be nice to have many more levels. Have you heard anything about adding more levels?
Thank-you!
Merry
The last level of FarmVille is 70 and requires 433,000 Xp. To new farmers 'Club 70′ may seem very far off, but players who are already members or closing in must all wonder, whats next? What are the current advantages of Level 70? Some major cool points amongst your neighbors, 70 is sign of a diligent and hard working farmer. But, no more excitement of leveling up, no more free 1$FV per level, only more and more Xp as you play. There are no special prizes, bonuses, or in game advantages such as items/crops specifically available for Level 70 farmers.
"World Champ Fair" farmers sit all the way to the right of peoples neighbors bar, waiting for new levels. Maybe the mundane fashion of hitting Level 70 suggests that more levels are in the works; surely Zynga must have something more eventful in store. Lexilicious stated back in a January podcast that "yes, we are indeed working on adding additional levels for our players in the future".
With people now hitting 1,000,000 Xp (more than double the requirement of 70), many farmers are wondering when this will happen and maybe more importantly what will happen? If the new levels are partitioned by Xp, will players be credited 1$FV per level? Will there be new advantages for higher level farmers?
FarmVille Freak Blogger and Moderator Darkfarmer has accumulated just over 1 million Xp and has kept a positive attitude "Zynga will eventually add more levels, just keep farming, keep decorating. I think they give us enough to keep us occupied. All we're really missing out on is 1 FV$ per level and we've gotten lots of promos to help make that up".
So FarmVille Freak Merry, no we haven't recently heard anything new about upcoming level changes or additions. But we are all certainly wondering when and waiting patiently right along with you. As FarmVille Freak Darkfamer said "just keep farming, keep decorating" and we will hope for more levels soon.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Freak Merry sent an email concerning Level 70 and beyond.
Hello!
Is farmville going to add more levels? I, as many, have reached level 70. It would be nice to have many more levels. Have you heard anything about adding more levels?
Thank-you!
Merry
The last level of FarmVille is 70 and requires 433,000 Xp. To new farmers 'Club 70′ may seem very far off, but players who are already members or closing in must all wonder, whats next? What are the current advantages of Level 70? Some major cool points amongst your neighbors, 70 is sign of a diligent and hard working farmer. But, no more excitement of leveling up, no more free 1$FV per level, only more and more Xp as you play. There are no special prizes, bonuses, or in game advantages such as items/crops specifically available for Level 70 farmers.
"World Champ Fair" farmers sit all the way to the right of peoples neighbors bar, waiting for new levels. Maybe the mundane fashion of hitting Level 70 suggests that more levels are in the works; surely Zynga must have something more eventful in store. Lexilicious stated back in a January podcast that "yes, we are indeed working on adding additional levels for our players in the future".
With people now hitting 1,000,000 Xp (more than double the requirement of 70), many farmers are wondering when this will happen and maybe more importantly what will happen? If the new levels are partitioned by Xp, will players be credited 1$FV per level? Will there be new advantages for higher level farmers?
FarmVille Freak Blogger and Moderator Darkfarmer has accumulated just over 1 million Xp and has kept a positive attitude "Zynga will eventually add more levels, just keep farming, keep decorating. I think they give us enough to keep us occupied. All we're really missing out on is 1 FV$ per level and we've gotten lots of promos to help make that up".
So FarmVille Freak Merry, no we haven't recently heard anything new about upcoming level changes or additions. But we are all certainly wondering when and waiting patiently right along with you. As FarmVille Freak Darkfamer said "just keep farming, keep decorating" and we will hope for more levels soon.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Unreleased Belted Cow and Belted Calf
farmville belted calf
FarmVille Community Manager, Lexilicious, mentioned via a FarmVille Podcast that a Belted Cow would be coming soon to FarmVille in the future. FarmVille Freak Martijn found what the still unreleased Belted Cow and Calf may look like.
Continue reading to see the Belted Cow and Calf in action.
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market. Zynga is the sole owner of all their copyrighted images.
Sources:
FarmVille Freak Unreleased Belted Cow – Zynga FarmVille Image | Animation
FarmVille Freak Unreleased Belted Calf – Zynga FarmVille Image | Animation
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Community Manager, Lexilicious, mentioned via a FarmVille Podcast that a Belted Cow would be coming soon to FarmVille in the future. FarmVille Freak Martijn found what the still unreleased Belted Cow and Calf may look like.
Continue reading to see the Belted Cow and Calf in action.
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market. Zynga is the sole owner of all their copyrighted images.
Sources:
FarmVille Freak Unreleased Belted Cow – Zynga FarmVille Image | Animation
FarmVille Freak Unreleased Belted Calf – Zynga FarmVille Image | Animation
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sneaky Games launches Vanguard Program for alpha testing
Do you play a lot of Facebook games? Are you interested in finding out about new games before anyone else, and can you keep secrets from your friends while you're playing them? You might consider being an alpha tester for Sneaky Games. Sneaky Games are a new Facebook games developer who has created Strife of Sevens, and their more popular game, Fantasy Kingdoms (shown above). They are looking for people who will test new games and features for them and provide feedback along the way.
Have you ever wanted to play a game BEFORE anyone else could play it? Interested in telling the game developers what you think about it? Do you really want your opinion to be heard? If you do, you should be part of our Vanguard Alpha team!
To sign up for the Vanguard Alpha team, click here and fill out the form on Sneaky Games' website. This could be a great opportunity to have input on the direction of the next big Facebook game.
Have you ever wanted to play a game BEFORE anyone else could play it? Interested in telling the game developers what you think about it? Do you really want your opinion to be heard? If you do, you should be part of our Vanguard Alpha team!
To sign up for the Vanguard Alpha team, click here and fill out the form on Sneaky Games' website. This could be a great opportunity to have input on the direction of the next big Facebook game.
Make ponds and rivers with new water in Social City
Social City players are very happy tonight, as the game now allows you to place water terrain. Previously, the only way you could have water in your city was if a building or amusement item happened to come with a little pond outside. Now, players can place individual water tiles that allow them to make a freeform body of water - be it a river, lake, pond, or pool.
The new water terrain is available both as a free gift to send to your friends, and also as a regular in-store item. To buy water terrain, you will have to pay 1 City Bucks per tile, which could definitely add up. It's probably a better idea to have your friends send you the water. This feature seems long overdue, but beggars can't be choosers!
What have you made with your new water terrain?
The new water terrain is available both as a free gift to send to your friends, and also as a regular in-store item. To buy water terrain, you will have to pay 1 City Bucks per tile, which could definitely add up. It's probably a better idea to have your friends send you the water. This feature seems long overdue, but beggars can't be choosers!
What have you made with your new water terrain?
Cafe World: Lightning Super Stove now easier to build
It's a regular occurrence that Zynga ends up "nerfing" their collection/buildables, making them easier over time. They did it with the Cafe World Spice Rack, and the Super Stove, after all. Now, the Lightning Super Stove is easier to build and requires less pieces in order to complete.
Previously, the Lightning Super Stove took 10 of each piece, or a total of 40 parts. Now, the Tesla Coil only requires 7 parts, and the Flux Switch only requires 8 parts. For those who aren't math gurus, this brings the total savings down by five. Whether you were planning to collect all of the parts or by them with Cafe Cash outright, it helps that Zynga have given us a break on the requirements. Perhaps something new to build is coming soon? What could it be?
The Lightning Super Stove makes all of your cooking 10% faster, plus it removes the need to do any ingredient sub-steps, therefore making cooking a quicker and more enjoyable experience.
Previously, the Lightning Super Stove took 10 of each piece, or a total of 40 parts. Now, the Tesla Coil only requires 7 parts, and the Flux Switch only requires 8 parts. For those who aren't math gurus, this brings the total savings down by five. Whether you were planning to collect all of the parts or by them with Cafe Cash outright, it helps that Zynga have given us a break on the requirements. Perhaps something new to build is coming soon? What could it be?
The Lightning Super Stove makes all of your cooking 10% faster, plus it removes the need to do any ingredient sub-steps, therefore making cooking a quicker and more enjoyable experience.
Treasure Isle releases browser toolbar for easier gameplay
Those of you who play FarmVille might be used to the concept of installing a game toolbar. Now, Zynga have released a browser toolbar for their popular digging game, Treasure Isle.
This new toolbar gives several added benefits. First, it tracks your energy so that you can always see when you're ready to go back and dig more. It also alerts you when your crops have grown and are ready to harvest. The one game bar works for all of your favorite Zynga games, so you can easily switch back and forth across games. And finally, you get 25 free Island Cash simply for installing the toolbar. You will earn 5 Island Cash each day for the first 5 days. Even if you decide to uninstall after the first 5 days, this is still an excellent option to earn 25 free Island Cash.
I personally consider Treasure Isle to be my main game, as its the one I log into every day and I'm relatively high in level (55). This is something that I will definitely install in Firefox so I can keep track of my harvestable fruit.
Will you be installing the Treasure Isle toolbar? What do you think?
This new toolbar gives several added benefits. First, it tracks your energy so that you can always see when you're ready to go back and dig more. It also alerts you when your crops have grown and are ready to harvest. The one game bar works for all of your favorite Zynga games, so you can easily switch back and forth across games. And finally, you get 25 free Island Cash simply for installing the toolbar. You will earn 5 Island Cash each day for the first 5 days. Even if you decide to uninstall after the first 5 days, this is still an excellent option to earn 25 free Island Cash.
I personally consider Treasure Isle to be my main game, as its the one I log into every day and I'm relatively high in level (55). This is something that I will definitely install in Firefox so I can keep track of my harvestable fruit.
Will you be installing the Treasure Isle toolbar? What do you think?
FishVille dives down to the Deep Sea abyss
Atlantis is coming to an end in FishVille, therefore all of the mysterious items will be leaving the store to make room for the new Deep Sea theme. In addition, the Pearl Stash will be leaving as well, so those of you who have been hoarding your precious pearls should probably consider trading them in before it's too late. So far, there are only a handful of Deep Sea items, and here is the list:
Fish:
Black Angler - 12 Sand Dollars
Black Devil Angler - 10 Sand Dollars
Decor:
Brisingid Starfish - 5 Sand Dollars
Sunken Propeller - 31,250 coins
Submarine Wreck - 312,500 coins
Green Anemone - 10 Sand Dollars
Deep Sea FishVille
This won't be the last of the Deep Sea items in FishVille. Keep an eye on Games.com - The Blog for the latest releases!
Fish:
Black Angler - 12 Sand Dollars
Black Devil Angler - 10 Sand Dollars
Decor:
Brisingid Starfish - 5 Sand Dollars
Sunken Propeller - 31,250 coins
Submarine Wreck - 312,500 coins
Green Anemone - 10 Sand Dollars
Deep Sea FishVille
This won't be the last of the Deep Sea items in FishVille. Keep an eye on Games.com - The Blog for the latest releases!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
FarmVille's Lost Turtle Returns
FarmVille Freak Ashely's Lost Turtle
FarmVille's adoptable lost Turtle made its return over the weekend!
Note to newbie farmers, the Lost Turtle is not a new adoptable. FarmVille rotates the lost adoptable animals and the Turtle had been out of rotation for some time.
FarmVille Lost Turtle Returns FaceBook Notice
You can adopt your very own Turtle from one of your FarmVille neighbors via FaceBook newsfeed. If you find one on your own farm, you cannot keep it for yourself.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille's adoptable lost Turtle made its return over the weekend!
Note to newbie farmers, the Lost Turtle is not a new adoptable. FarmVille rotates the lost adoptable animals and the Turtle had been out of rotation for some time.
FarmVille Lost Turtle Returns FaceBook Notice
You can adopt your very own Turtle from one of your FarmVille neighbors via FaceBook newsfeed. If you find one on your own farm, you cannot keep it for yourself.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille: Honeybees of lazy farmers are flying away
FarmVille Freak oh No! Honeybees Flew Away Notice
In recent days, many FarmVille Freaks have been reporting missing HoneyBees.
Please see the FarmVille notice above, and take note that if you do not tend to your Beehive each day, some of your Bees will "fly away" or be stolen by the Zynga gods.
Although diligent farmers login everyday to tend to their farms, do you think this is another way to encourage the lazy farmers to return more frequently?
What do you think?
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
In recent days, many FarmVille Freaks have been reporting missing HoneyBees.
Please see the FarmVille notice above, and take note that if you do not tend to your Beehive each day, some of your Bees will "fly away" or be stolen by the Zynga gods.
Although diligent farmers login everyday to tend to their farms, do you think this is another way to encourage the lazy farmers to return more frequently?
What do you think?
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Marc Jacobs wants to Bang you in new Facebook adver-game
Remember those heady days before Farmville when Facebook users seems content to interact with each other via random verbs? You know -- Poking, Biting, throwing sheep, etc. Well fashion designer and frangrance-ier Marc Jacobs is trying to bring back those heady days with his new adver-game, "Bang, You're It."
As the name suggests, the virtual verb in question this time around is "Bang," which also happens to be the name of Jacob's new fragrance (coincidence? Probably not). After giving over loads of personal data to the game, you get to sift through pages of distorted black-and-white pictures of other players, deciding which ones you want to "bang" and which ones to skip (how naughty... if you're in 5th grade). There are bonus points for late-night and international banging, and real-life prizes like cologne and clothing will be given to random players.
The game deserves praise for a streamlined interface and loads of statistics to keep track of all the banging. That said, the game probably won't have much staying power for anyone who got their fill of Hot or Not back in 2001, when it was a new idea.
As the name suggests, the virtual verb in question this time around is "Bang," which also happens to be the name of Jacob's new fragrance (coincidence? Probably not). After giving over loads of personal data to the game, you get to sift through pages of distorted black-and-white pictures of other players, deciding which ones you want to "bang" and which ones to skip (how naughty... if you're in 5th grade). There are bonus points for late-night and international banging, and real-life prizes like cologne and clothing will be given to random players.
The game deserves praise for a streamlined interface and loads of statistics to keep track of all the banging. That said, the game probably won't have much staying power for anyone who got their fill of Hot or Not back in 2001, when it was a new idea.
Quote of the Moment: Howard just don't understand
"I've got to be honest: I don't get [social gaming]. I look at it and try to understand but for now I've just decided to ignore it (laughter). I think, one day, maybe I'll figure it out, but until then, I don't see the allure of those kinds of games."
"There might be a way to connect people. I think that's always a good goal: to connect people through your game. So I've kind of looked into that, how we might be able to do some of those things. But as far as a game on there, I don't know."
-Bethesda's Todd Howard dashes our hopes for an Facebook version of Oblivion in a recent interview with IndustryGamers
"There might be a way to connect people. I think that's always a good goal: to connect people through your game. So I've kind of looked into that, how we might be able to do some of those things. But as far as a game on there, I don't know."
-Bethesda's Todd Howard dashes our hopes for an Facebook version of Oblivion in a recent interview with IndustryGamers
PetVille: Meet and own the cast of Twilight Dusk
Twilight PetVille Bella vampire with Edward
Unlike earlier attempts by Facebook games doing Twilight themed releases, this one actually remembered to include Bella! Only here, instead of Isabella Marie "Bella" Swan, she's called Stella Fawn (28 Pet Cash). Look at her fangs and those red glowing eyes! One minute, she's a shy sweetie pie, and the next, "That's Mrs. Edward Cullen to you!"
A lot of PetVille's Twilight Dusk release is outdoor decor that can only be used in the yards, but there's still new clothes, walls and floor styles. Also, if you head to the game's Premium Showroom section, you can buy PetVille-styled versions of the Twilight Dusk characters for your pet's home. The following is the rest of the cast, not including Edward (or Petward Culven, as the game calls him) since he appeared before the weekend.
Twilight Jacob Black as PetVille Jacob Grey
Team Jacob, represent! Except, here, he's Jaycub Grey (31 Pet Cash) instead of Jacob Black. Like Petward, Jaycub comes in two versions -- Howling Jaycub Grey (35 Pet Cash) has him jump up to transform into a werewolf. If you prefer this more feisty version of Jacob, act quick, since he'll only be around for the next 6 days.
PetVille Twilight Dusk Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale
Alice Cullen, the adopted sister of Edward in Twilight, has been renamed Allison Culven (costs 25 Pet Cash). And because she's a vampire with powers of prognostication (a.k.a. fortune-telling), her PetVille animation has her summoning a blue crystal ball out of thin air.
Another adopted sister of Edward is Rosalie Hale, who's been renamed Josalie Tail (costs 27 Pet Cash). In Twilight, Rosalie grew up with everyone telling her how beautiful she was, and she's always been mad at Edward for not being attracted to her. PetVille has chosen to represent this by having its version of Rosalie whip out her compact mirror to gaze at herself.
Now I know I said no more Edward, but this one screenshot was just too cute to pass up. Like the Howling Jaycub Grey, this version of Edward, called Petward Culven and the Apple (for 35 Pet Cash), is only available for the next 6 days. So grab him while you still can!
PetVille Twilight Dusk Edward Cullen
Unlike earlier attempts by Facebook games doing Twilight themed releases, this one actually remembered to include Bella! Only here, instead of Isabella Marie "Bella" Swan, she's called Stella Fawn (28 Pet Cash). Look at her fangs and those red glowing eyes! One minute, she's a shy sweetie pie, and the next, "That's Mrs. Edward Cullen to you!"
A lot of PetVille's Twilight Dusk release is outdoor decor that can only be used in the yards, but there's still new clothes, walls and floor styles. Also, if you head to the game's Premium Showroom section, you can buy PetVille-styled versions of the Twilight Dusk characters for your pet's home. The following is the rest of the cast, not including Edward (or Petward Culven, as the game calls him) since he appeared before the weekend.
Twilight Jacob Black as PetVille Jacob Grey
Team Jacob, represent! Except, here, he's Jaycub Grey (31 Pet Cash) instead of Jacob Black. Like Petward, Jaycub comes in two versions -- Howling Jaycub Grey (35 Pet Cash) has him jump up to transform into a werewolf. If you prefer this more feisty version of Jacob, act quick, since he'll only be around for the next 6 days.
PetVille Twilight Dusk Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale
Alice Cullen, the adopted sister of Edward in Twilight, has been renamed Allison Culven (costs 25 Pet Cash). And because she's a vampire with powers of prognostication (a.k.a. fortune-telling), her PetVille animation has her summoning a blue crystal ball out of thin air.
Another adopted sister of Edward is Rosalie Hale, who's been renamed Josalie Tail (costs 27 Pet Cash). In Twilight, Rosalie grew up with everyone telling her how beautiful she was, and she's always been mad at Edward for not being attracted to her. PetVille has chosen to represent this by having its version of Rosalie whip out her compact mirror to gaze at herself.
Now I know I said no more Edward, but this one screenshot was just too cute to pass up. Like the Howling Jaycub Grey, this version of Edward, called Petward Culven and the Apple (for 35 Pet Cash), is only available for the next 6 days. So grab him while you still can!
PetVille Twilight Dusk Edward Cullen
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Mall World promotes the MTV Video Music Awards
Mall World has just started a new promotion this weekend that offers a pretty neat collaboration between the game's fashion-oriented theme and MTV's popular award show, the Video Music Awards. If you log in to Mall World right now, you'll see several new elements have been added to the game to promote the VMAs, including a fun Dressing Room Game that lets you match various fashion pieces together to create total outfits. In addition, there is an entire MTV VMA store that sells fashions from favorite stars, including Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and Taylor Swift. Not just any fashions, in fact, but the exact outfits that were worn by the entertainers on the Video Music Awards in the years past. When a neighbor's avatar visits your store, you can also dress their avatar for the VMA Red Carpet and share the new look on the player's wall.
This is a pretty interesting (and perfect) way to promote a real world event inside a social game. Mall World offers the chance to watch a brief video trailer about the VMAs, and then encourages players to become a fan of the official VMA Facebook page. Mall World currently has over 4.7 million monthly players, and with the fashion and store theme we're sure there is a major demographic crossover with the popular television network.
Play Mall World on Facebook >
This is a pretty interesting (and perfect) way to promote a real world event inside a social game. Mall World offers the chance to watch a brief video trailer about the VMAs, and then encourages players to become a fan of the official VMA Facebook page. Mall World currently has over 4.7 million monthly players, and with the fashion and store theme we're sure there is a major demographic crossover with the popular television network.
Play Mall World on Facebook >
Treasure Isle: Increase energy permanently with whales
Treasure Isle whale energy
Treasure Isle has released a selection of whales in the store today, and these aren't just any decorative animals. These whales will actually permanently increase the maximum amount of energy that you have, giving you the option to dig more and uncover more treasure. These whale will cost you though, at a minimum of 40 Island Cash!
The four whales are: Fail Whale, Bowhead Whale, Cake Whale, and Sperm Whale. Of these whales, the Fail Whale costs 55 Island Cash but grants you an additional 2 energy. The other three whales only cost 40 Island Cash, but also only grant you 1 Max Energy. You can buy as many of these as you want, accumulating a ton of extra energy. The whales are placed on your home island, so not only do they provide an extra energy benefit, they also look good too!
These whales will only be in the store for 7 days. Hop on in to Treasure Isle to check them out.
Treasure Isle whale energy
Treasure Isle has released a selection of whales in the store today, and these aren't just any decorative animals. These whales will actually permanently increase the maximum amount of energy that you have, giving you the option to dig more and uncover more treasure. These whale will cost you though, at a minimum of 40 Island Cash!
The four whales are: Fail Whale, Bowhead Whale, Cake Whale, and Sperm Whale. Of these whales, the Fail Whale costs 55 Island Cash but grants you an additional 2 energy. The other three whales only cost 40 Island Cash, but also only grant you 1 Max Energy. You can buy as many of these as you want, accumulating a ton of extra energy. The whales are placed on your home island, so not only do they provide an extra energy benefit, they also look good too!
These whales will only be in the store for 7 days. Hop on in to Treasure Isle to check them out.
Treasure Isle whale energy
Mafia Wars Underwater Crates: Are these the best mystery crates yet?
Mafia Wars has released a new series of mystery crates in the Marketplace, and as usual, you can buy one of them for 12 Reward Points or three at a time for 35 Reward points. This is one of the best crates I've seen yet -- all of the items have respectible attack and defensive ratings, so the probability of feeling ripped off after spending your hard earned reward points on one of these suckers is less likely than usual, IMHO.
mafia wars underwater crates
These crates arrived on September 2 and will be around for an unknown period of time. For a complete list of loot, head to the next page.
mafia wars weapons
mafia wars underwater crate armor
mafia wars underwater crates vehicles
mafia wars underwater crate animals
[Via Mafia Wars Wiki]
What loot did you get from your underwater crates? Do you think this crate is worth the reward points?
mafia wars underwater crates
These crates arrived on September 2 and will be around for an unknown period of time. For a complete list of loot, head to the next page.
mafia wars weapons
mafia wars underwater crate armor
mafia wars underwater crates vehicles
mafia wars underwater crate animals
[Via Mafia Wars Wiki]
What loot did you get from your underwater crates? Do you think this crate is worth the reward points?
Tattoo City lets you run your own parlor and draw sick skin art
Tattoo City Logo
Facebook game developer Wonderhill has made the dream of every Miami Ink (you mean people didn't just watch that for Kat Von D?) fan a reality. In their new game, Tattoo City, you'll be tasked with running a tattoo parlor. Sure this sounds like every other business management game under the sun, but just wait until you get to draw your own B.A. tats.
Tattoo City's first parlor
With already 2.6 million players, you won't be lonesome in a world of tribal bands and "I Love You, Mom" hearts. Your first mission in Tattoo City is to buy booths and hire tattoo artists.
This is the time management portion of the game, a staple of the business management sub-genre. Each artist is basically a freelance employee who will work for a set amount of minutes or hours and you'll need to have artists stationed at all times to increase your cash reserves and experience.
Your main obstacle to progress is the amount of work chairs you have compared to the size of your business, which in turn is reflective of your experience level and money. Draw more tattoos to gain more experience and more money to expand further.
Special edition and luxury items are available through Rubies, the real-life dollar currency of the game. Buy these from the store in packages and use them to buy things like energy to perform more actions and flashy customizations to your parlor.
Tattoo City's Editing tool
Sounds boring enough, but what sets this game apart is that it allows you to create tattoos when customers drop ink along with the money they leave behind (if customers had ink, why even come?). Use these ink capsules to create your own custom tattoos in the studio.
However, the game currently doesn't have any free drawing tools. All you can do is minor edits to existing templates, which is a bummer. Let's hope this feature is implemented in a future update, because who doesn't want to draw their own tats? Just, please don't make any tribal; it was so 1995.
Facebook game developer Wonderhill has made the dream of every Miami Ink (you mean people didn't just watch that for Kat Von D?) fan a reality. In their new game, Tattoo City, you'll be tasked with running a tattoo parlor. Sure this sounds like every other business management game under the sun, but just wait until you get to draw your own B.A. tats.
Tattoo City's first parlor
With already 2.6 million players, you won't be lonesome in a world of tribal bands and "I Love You, Mom" hearts. Your first mission in Tattoo City is to buy booths and hire tattoo artists.
This is the time management portion of the game, a staple of the business management sub-genre. Each artist is basically a freelance employee who will work for a set amount of minutes or hours and you'll need to have artists stationed at all times to increase your cash reserves and experience.
Your main obstacle to progress is the amount of work chairs you have compared to the size of your business, which in turn is reflective of your experience level and money. Draw more tattoos to gain more experience and more money to expand further.
Special edition and luxury items are available through Rubies, the real-life dollar currency of the game. Buy these from the store in packages and use them to buy things like energy to perform more actions and flashy customizations to your parlor.
Tattoo City's Editing tool
Sounds boring enough, but what sets this game apart is that it allows you to create tattoos when customers drop ink along with the money they leave behind (if customers had ink, why even come?). Use these ink capsules to create your own custom tattoos in the studio.
However, the game currently doesn't have any free drawing tools. All you can do is minor edits to existing templates, which is a bummer. Let's hope this feature is implemented in a future update, because who doesn't want to draw their own tats? Just, please don't make any tribal; it was so 1995.
Playfish wants you to name the Pirates Ahoy mascot
You knPirates Ahoy Logoow that parrot that stands just under the logo of Pirates Ahoy, spy glass in hand? Apparently, Playfish feels that it deserves a name. Why? We have no idea.
Not to mention that the company mentions no reward to the winning name nor does the survey record names or e-mail addresses. We can only imagine Playfish is trying to increase the strength of its Pirates Ahoy brand, but at an impressive 6.8 million users we seriously doubt naming a parrot is going to change much. To put things into perspective, Zynga's FarmVille boasts a massive 61.7 million users and its unofficial duck mascot is still nameless.
Want to have a part in naming the mascot of your favorite swashbuckling adventure game? Head on over to the survey page and think up your most fitting name. We like the sound of "First Mate Squawksalot," but we we're no marketing pros.
Not to mention that the company mentions no reward to the winning name nor does the survey record names or e-mail addresses. We can only imagine Playfish is trying to increase the strength of its Pirates Ahoy brand, but at an impressive 6.8 million users we seriously doubt naming a parrot is going to change much. To put things into perspective, Zynga's FarmVille boasts a massive 61.7 million users and its unofficial duck mascot is still nameless.
Want to have a part in naming the mascot of your favorite swashbuckling adventure game? Head on over to the survey page and think up your most fitting name. We like the sound of "First Mate Squawksalot," but we we're no marketing pros.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Ubisoft goes for the kill with Assassin's Creed Facebook game
As a companion to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood set to release November 16,Ubisoft will soon launch Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy for Facebook. The French developer behind the more recent Prince of Persia games is releasing the game in a few days to serve as a tool to fuel excitement for the new console iteration of Assassin's Creed. Beyond that, the Facebook game will also help players along as they progress in the console game. Players will earn points in one game to spend in the other, according to what Ubisoft vice president of digital publishing Chris Early said last night at a press event in San Francisco.
Also, players will be able to unlock content in the Facebook game that can be explored in the console version and vise versa, Early said. He also mentioned that the company has learned from its previous failures on Facebook like Horse Gaga and Tick Tock and has put quite a lot of investment into this cross platform project, including getting game designers to play along.
Assassin's Creed Project Legacy is Ubisoft's first branded social game and Early, who joined the developer six months prior, is trying to bring the company into the social games market in a huge way. But will branded companion games be enough to compete with the big dogs like Zynga and Playdom? We'll see in a few days.
Also, players will be able to unlock content in the Facebook game that can be explored in the console version and vise versa, Early said. He also mentioned that the company has learned from its previous failures on Facebook like Horse Gaga and Tick Tock and has put quite a lot of investment into this cross platform project, including getting game designers to play along.
Assassin's Creed Project Legacy is Ubisoft's first branded social game and Early, who joined the developer six months prior, is trying to bring the company into the social games market in a huge way. But will branded companion games be enough to compete with the big dogs like Zynga and Playdom? We'll see in a few days.
Mafia Wars Cafe World Promotion sends you back to the kitchen
Mafia Wars Cafe World Promo
Zynga is having a ball with cross promotions recently and its most recent project is for Mafia Wars and Cafe World players. This time around, gaining a level in Cafe World will win you a Kitchen Knife in Mafia Wars with 57 Attack and 27 Defense. However, your online chef will have to be above Level 10 before a level gain will count towards the Kitchen Knife.
To start the promotion, just click the knife icon to the left of the Live Updates icon in Mafia Wars and a pop-up will appear that will take you to Cafe World. Then all you need to do is start playing until you reach Level 11 or higher. When looking at the stats on this item, it's clear that this is meant for somewhat new Mafia Wars and Cafe World players, but by all means go for it if you're the collector type. I would have much rather preferred an electric carving knife (it would at least have more Attack power).
Zynga is having a ball with cross promotions recently and its most recent project is for Mafia Wars and Cafe World players. This time around, gaining a level in Cafe World will win you a Kitchen Knife in Mafia Wars with 57 Attack and 27 Defense. However, your online chef will have to be above Level 10 before a level gain will count towards the Kitchen Knife.
To start the promotion, just click the knife icon to the left of the Live Updates icon in Mafia Wars and a pop-up will appear that will take you to Cafe World. Then all you need to do is start playing until you reach Level 11 or higher. When looking at the stats on this item, it's clear that this is meant for somewhat new Mafia Wars and Cafe World players, but by all means go for it if you're the collector type. I would have much rather preferred an electric carving knife (it would at least have more Attack power).
Cafe World is throwing a birthday party in San Francisco and you're invited
On Saturday, October 2, Zynga is throwing a party for Cafe World in the San Francisco Bay Area to celebrate the game's One Year Anniversary. While the company has put quite a lot of festivities into the game, this event will bring online chefs together in the real world to watch live cooking demos by Executive Chef Luis Herrera, alumni of the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
The party will also have cupcake decorating sessions, a Cafe World photo booth and a screen featuring the cafes of those who send pictures while they RSVP. Unfortunately, the details of where the party will be held at are reserved for those who RSVP, which you can do right now by sending an e-mail to cafeworld-feedback@zynga.com. With nearly 22 million fans, someone you know from Cafe World is sure to be at this birthday bash.
The party will also have cupcake decorating sessions, a Cafe World photo booth and a screen featuring the cafes of those who send pictures while they RSVP. Unfortunately, the details of where the party will be held at are reserved for those who RSVP, which you can do right now by sending an e-mail to cafeworld-feedback@zynga.com. With nearly 22 million fans, someone you know from Cafe World is sure to be at this birthday bash.
FarmVille Crafting Building interface gets a much-needed face lift
FarmVille Crafting Building UI
Some of Zynga's games have fairly complicated or clunky user interfaces (UI), which is why they've made the effort to improve the Crafting Building UI in FarmVille, which should prove helpful with the new Co-Op Crafting Jobs. An already complex feature did not need a complex interface, so the team has streamlined the experience so that almost all of your vital crafting information is on the home screen of each crafting building.
Check behind the cut for the low down on what's been changed (for the better).
FarmVille Recipes Window
As opposed to before when everything was hidden behind a tab or a click-through, this new UI brings everything you need dead center so you can get to work even faster. First, you can get goods from your neighbors right on the home screen in the top left. Next to that is the option to Use Goods for Fuel, while the middle of screen is dedicated to showing you the level of your recipes and what bushels you'll need to continue making them. Lastly on the home screen sits your job progress on the left-hand side, telling you how long until each batch is complete as well as your current Crafting Building Level with the option to upgrade it for Farm Cash.
FarmVille Farmer's Market
When looking for bushels tied to a particular recipe, you'll access the new recipe window that displays how many bushels you have of each requirement and how to get more of them. If you're just looking to get more of an individual bushel or manage your current ones, the Farmer's Market window contains every bushel you have access to with the option to request more or use them for boosts. You can also get goods or use them from this window.
All in all, the new UI looks much snappier than before. Most of your actions can be done in fewer clicks than before, which is the goal of a good interface. Now, how about cleaning up some things in Vampire Wars and Mafia Wars to get the games within one screen?
Some of Zynga's games have fairly complicated or clunky user interfaces (UI), which is why they've made the effort to improve the Crafting Building UI in FarmVille, which should prove helpful with the new Co-Op Crafting Jobs. An already complex feature did not need a complex interface, so the team has streamlined the experience so that almost all of your vital crafting information is on the home screen of each crafting building.
Check behind the cut for the low down on what's been changed (for the better).
FarmVille Recipes Window
As opposed to before when everything was hidden behind a tab or a click-through, this new UI brings everything you need dead center so you can get to work even faster. First, you can get goods from your neighbors right on the home screen in the top left. Next to that is the option to Use Goods for Fuel, while the middle of screen is dedicated to showing you the level of your recipes and what bushels you'll need to continue making them. Lastly on the home screen sits your job progress on the left-hand side, telling you how long until each batch is complete as well as your current Crafting Building Level with the option to upgrade it for Farm Cash.
FarmVille Farmer's Market
When looking for bushels tied to a particular recipe, you'll access the new recipe window that displays how many bushels you have of each requirement and how to get more of them. If you're just looking to get more of an individual bushel or manage your current ones, the Farmer's Market window contains every bushel you have access to with the option to request more or use them for boosts. You can also get goods or use them from this window.
All in all, the new UI looks much snappier than before. Most of your actions can be done in fewer clicks than before, which is the goal of a good interface. Now, how about cleaning up some things in Vampire Wars and Mafia Wars to get the games within one screen?
Happy Pets Experience Idol returns to burn your wallets
Happy Pets Experience Idol
CrowStar has brought back the one item that garnered a heated debate in their forums this Spring, along with a nice chunk of money, the Experience Idol in Happy Pets. For 398 Facebook Credits, or nearly $40 USD (it was originally $50), this item will permanently double the experience you earn forever.
But is it worth more than most Nintendo DS games? Can you even quantify something like this in terms of what it's worth next to something else? That's quite a lot of money to put up for something intangible, but if the return on investment is high enough, perhaps it is worth it.
This debate isn't new, however. Some of you may remember when Blizzard, creator of World of WarCraft, released an item in their MMO for $25, the Celestial Steed. As the wait for the item reached a queue of epic proportions, writers, forum-goers and players everywhere cried foul at the developer for asking so much.
When it comes down to it, an item whether it be tangible or digital is only worth what folks like you and I would pay. If Happy Pets players are going to pay $40 or a considerable boost in their favorite game, than CrowStar is going to ask for it if not more. Debating whether something is worth a certain amount of money or time on an objective level when the issue at hand is individual, subjective is just silly. No one can tell you whether a $40 experience boost is worth the money but yourself, just be sure that if do buy the idol, you'll be playing Happy Pets for a long time.
CrowStar has brought back the one item that garnered a heated debate in their forums this Spring, along with a nice chunk of money, the Experience Idol in Happy Pets. For 398 Facebook Credits, or nearly $40 USD (it was originally $50), this item will permanently double the experience you earn forever.
But is it worth more than most Nintendo DS games? Can you even quantify something like this in terms of what it's worth next to something else? That's quite a lot of money to put up for something intangible, but if the return on investment is high enough, perhaps it is worth it.
This debate isn't new, however. Some of you may remember when Blizzard, creator of World of WarCraft, released an item in their MMO for $25, the Celestial Steed. As the wait for the item reached a queue of epic proportions, writers, forum-goers and players everywhere cried foul at the developer for asking so much.
When it comes down to it, an item whether it be tangible or digital is only worth what folks like you and I would pay. If Happy Pets players are going to pay $40 or a considerable boost in their favorite game, than CrowStar is going to ask for it if not more. Debating whether something is worth a certain amount of money or time on an objective level when the issue at hand is individual, subjective is just silly. No one can tell you whether a $40 experience boost is worth the money but yourself, just be sure that if do buy the idol, you'll be playing Happy Pets for a long time.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Quick Halloween Costume Ideas: FrontierVille's Frontier Jack
halloween costume frontierville jack
October has arrived, and if you're like us, you've already started brainstorming Halloween costume ideas. But time is running out, the big day is this Sunday and if you don't have a costume yet, you could really take advantage of our Quick Halloween Costume Ideas.
Instead of taking the cliched route and dressing like a witch, pirate wench or sexy Sherlock Holmes, try something inspired from one of the most popular games of all time -- dress up as FrontierVille's Frontier Jack.
Continue reading to find a complete list of items you need for the perfect Frontier Jack Halloween costume (along with links on where to buy them online).
halloween costume frontierville jack
FrontierVille's Frontier Jack Halloween Costume Shopping List:
Frayed Cowboy Hat
$30
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Grey Beard
$6
Amazon.com
Red Bandana
$1
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Red Plaid Shirt
$17
Amazon.com farmville halloween costume
Fringe Jacket
$35
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Cowboy Boots
$35
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Corncob Pipe
$3
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
As for FrontierVille Frontier Jack's pants, any old blue jeans will do. If you really feel like being authentic you can also carry around a pick-axe like he does. You could also put a flower in your hat and grow an old western beard like he has. That would be awesome.
Let us know what you think of this Frontier Jack Quick Halloween Costume Idea. Happy Halloween!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2010 coverage right here.
October has arrived, and if you're like us, you've already started brainstorming Halloween costume ideas. But time is running out, the big day is this Sunday and if you don't have a costume yet, you could really take advantage of our Quick Halloween Costume Ideas.
Instead of taking the cliched route and dressing like a witch, pirate wench or sexy Sherlock Holmes, try something inspired from one of the most popular games of all time -- dress up as FrontierVille's Frontier Jack.
Continue reading to find a complete list of items you need for the perfect Frontier Jack Halloween costume (along with links on where to buy them online).
halloween costume frontierville jack
FrontierVille's Frontier Jack Halloween Costume Shopping List:
Frayed Cowboy Hat
$30
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Grey Beard
$6
Amazon.com
Red Bandana
$1
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Red Plaid Shirt
$17
Amazon.com farmville halloween costume
Fringe Jacket
$35
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Cowboy Boots
$35
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
Corncob Pipe
$3
Amazon.com halloween costume frontierville jack
As for FrontierVille Frontier Jack's pants, any old blue jeans will do. If you really feel like being authentic you can also carry around a pick-axe like he does. You could also put a flower in your hat and grow an old western beard like he has. That would be awesome.
Let us know what you think of this Frontier Jack Quick Halloween Costume Idea. Happy Halloween!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2010 coverage right here.
Mafia Wars Italy Special Loot Items now available in the Marketplace
Hidden Charge Rail Ticket Severed Pinky Smart Phone
Moneys talks pretty loudly these days, doesn't it? The Italy Special Loot items that Mafia Wars players have been raving about for the past few days are now available in the Marketplace for Reward Points in sets of 10 for 15 Reward Points, 50 for 75, 100 for 150 and 250 for 375. (Who would need that many is still a mystery). Considering each job requires at least 65 Special Loot items with some calling for nearly 200, you could be spending as much as around $15 to $20--if not more--to complete just one job.
The Special Loot items made for sale include the Smart Phone, Rail Ticket, Hidden Charges, Severed Pinky and Cooked Books. While they will certainly still drop from the jobs in Italy attached to them, this will make acquiring them that much sillier easier. If you want to take the fast track to mastering the Italy jobs, you can purchase as many Special Loot items as you need... or you can follow our simple guides linked above. The choice is yours.
Moneys talks pretty loudly these days, doesn't it? The Italy Special Loot items that Mafia Wars players have been raving about for the past few days are now available in the Marketplace for Reward Points in sets of 10 for 15 Reward Points, 50 for 75, 100 for 150 and 250 for 375. (Who would need that many is still a mystery). Considering each job requires at least 65 Special Loot items with some calling for nearly 200, you could be spending as much as around $15 to $20--if not more--to complete just one job.
The Special Loot items made for sale include the Smart Phone, Rail Ticket, Hidden Charges, Severed Pinky and Cooked Books. While they will certainly still drop from the jobs in Italy attached to them, this will make acquiring them that much sillier easier. If you want to take the fast track to mastering the Italy jobs, you can purchase as many Special Loot items as you need... or you can follow our simple guides linked above. The choice is yours.
Quick Halloween Costume Ideas: Cafe World's Amelia
October has arrived, and if you're like us, you've already started brainstorming Halloween costume ideas. But time is running out, the big day is this Sunday and if you don't have a costume yet, you should take advantage of our Quick Halloween Costume Ideas.
Instead of dressing like a witch, pirate wench or sexy Sherlock Holmes, try something inspired from one of the most popular games of all time -- dress as Cafe World's Amelia.
Continue reading to find a complete list of items you need for the perfect Cafe World / Amelia Halloween costume (along with links on where to find them online).
Cafe World's Amelia Halloween Costume Shopping List:
Chef's Hat
$10
Target.com
Pink wig
$8.77
Amazon.com
Chef Coat
$22
Fashiondesinz chef whites
Purple Eyeshadow
$17
Urban Decay
Red Chef Kerchief
$4
Happy Chef
red kerchief chef
Purple Ponytail Holder
$3
Amazon.com purple ponytail holder
You can wing it with Amelia's black pants and shoes. Now just be sure to serve up a big helping of sass while wearing this, and you'll have the perfect Cafe World costume. Happy Halloween!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2010 coverage right here.
Instead of dressing like a witch, pirate wench or sexy Sherlock Holmes, try something inspired from one of the most popular games of all time -- dress as Cafe World's Amelia.
Continue reading to find a complete list of items you need for the perfect Cafe World / Amelia Halloween costume (along with links on where to find them online).
Cafe World's Amelia Halloween Costume Shopping List:
Chef's Hat
$10
Target.com
Pink wig
$8.77
Amazon.com
Chef Coat
$22
Fashiondesinz chef whites
Purple Eyeshadow
$17
Urban Decay
Red Chef Kerchief
$4
Happy Chef
red kerchief chef
Purple Ponytail Holder
$3
Amazon.com purple ponytail holder
You can wing it with Amelia's black pants and shoes. Now just be sure to serve up a big helping of sass while wearing this, and you'll have the perfect Cafe World costume. Happy Halloween!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2010 coverage right here.
Pet Society's Halloween Mystery Boxes hide five new costumes inside
Halloween Mystery Boxes
Like Playfish says, "You can't have Halloween without costumes," and we couldn't agree more--but hunts for spooky treasure help. To make good on their own mantra, the team has added five new costumes to be found in Pet Society's Halloween Mystery Box. For just 1,100 coins each, players will have a chance at one of five costumes like the oddly familiar Spooky Clown costume (pictured). But remember, not every box is guaranteed to hold a brand new costume.
If you're willing to press your luck even further, the boxes are available in bundles of five and 13 as well for 4,400 and 11,000 coins, respectively. But you better take a gamble fast as these boxes, like all of the Halloween items in Pet Society, will only be available through Oct. 31.
Check behind the cut for a look at the rest of the costumes you might be lucky enough to find.
Werewolf
Zombie Girl
Mad Scientist
Frankenstein
While it would be simply too easy to say the Spooky Clown is our favorite considering its serious pop culture appeal (is it not obvious?), the Mad Scientist takes the cake. For pure couples costume potential, the Mad Scientist could go with any one of these costumes. Consider it a no-brainer for us.
Like Playfish says, "You can't have Halloween without costumes," and we couldn't agree more--but hunts for spooky treasure help. To make good on their own mantra, the team has added five new costumes to be found in Pet Society's Halloween Mystery Box. For just 1,100 coins each, players will have a chance at one of five costumes like the oddly familiar Spooky Clown costume (pictured). But remember, not every box is guaranteed to hold a brand new costume.
If you're willing to press your luck even further, the boxes are available in bundles of five and 13 as well for 4,400 and 11,000 coins, respectively. But you better take a gamble fast as these boxes, like all of the Halloween items in Pet Society, will only be available through Oct. 31.
Check behind the cut for a look at the rest of the costumes you might be lucky enough to find.
Werewolf
Zombie Girl
Mad Scientist
Frankenstein
While it would be simply too easy to say the Spooky Clown is our favorite considering its serious pop culture appeal (is it not obvious?), the Mad Scientist takes the cake. For pure couples costume potential, the Mad Scientist could go with any one of these costumes. Consider it a no-brainer for us.
ESPNU College Town Halloween Buildings and giant monster terrorize campus
Haunted House Corn Maze
And here you thought the Windows 7 update was it for ESPNU College Town in October. Well, Playdom decided to ring in Halloween in the most collegiate way possible in ESPNU: giant monsters! From now through Oct. 31, players will find a massive lizard (pictured right) thrashing about in their Giant Monstercampus to piercing screams of, "Gojira!"
Alright, that last part's a lie, but wouldn't that be awesome? In addition to having good old Big and Ugly roaming our universities, there are three limited edition Halloween buildings to pick up for Campus Cash. The Haunted House will give your students 600 Happiness and 300 XP for 15 Campus Cash, or about $4. For 12 Campus Cash (about $3.50), both the Corn Maze and Spooky Graveyard will grant players with a hefty 375 XP and 750 Happiness for their students. Not to mention that some team mascots have grown to monstrous sizes with more to come. Is there a Giant Mascots vs. Giant Lizard in the works? Probably not, but again that would be pretty awesome.
And here you thought the Windows 7 update was it for ESPNU College Town in October. Well, Playdom decided to ring in Halloween in the most collegiate way possible in ESPNU: giant monsters! From now through Oct. 31, players will find a massive lizard (pictured right) thrashing about in their Giant Monstercampus to piercing screams of, "Gojira!"
Alright, that last part's a lie, but wouldn't that be awesome? In addition to having good old Big and Ugly roaming our universities, there are three limited edition Halloween buildings to pick up for Campus Cash. The Haunted House will give your students 600 Happiness and 300 XP for 15 Campus Cash, or about $4. For 12 Campus Cash (about $3.50), both the Corn Maze and Spooky Graveyard will grant players with a hefty 375 XP and 750 Happiness for their students. Not to mention that some team mascots have grown to monstrous sizes with more to come. Is there a Giant Mascots vs. Giant Lizard in the works? Probably not, but again that would be pretty awesome.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
New FarmVille Agricultural Alchemy animal and building now available
It's Thursday, which means that we've seen another late-night update launched in FarmVille, with this update seeing Zynga releasing new items in the Harry Po---- err, Agricultural Alchemy theme. Tonight, we see the release of one new animal, and one new building in the theme, and we've got all of the details on how you can add these magical new items to your farm.
The new animal is the Wizard Duck, which costs 14 Farm Cash. Like other ducks, it can be harvested, and at a rate of once every 2 days. Meanwhile, the new building is the Wizard Castle, which is far more expensive at 40 Farm Cash. For making the splurge on this FarmVille version of Hogwarts, you'll receive 1200 bonus experience points.
Remember, for those looking for a gift to send a FarmVille friend, both of these items can be gifted, as they are premium items. But we won't tell if you decide to just keep them for yourself instead - no one would blame you.
The new animal is the Wizard Duck, which costs 14 Farm Cash. Like other ducks, it can be harvested, and at a rate of once every 2 days. Meanwhile, the new building is the Wizard Castle, which is far more expensive at 40 Farm Cash. For making the splurge on this FarmVille version of Hogwarts, you'll receive 1200 bonus experience points.
Remember, for those looking for a gift to send a FarmVille friend, both of these items can be gifted, as they are premium items. But we won't tell if you decide to just keep them for yourself instead - no one would blame you.
FarmVille Agricultural Alchemy Decorations: Long Eared Owl, Wizard Gnome, & Magic Cart
Tonight's FarmVille update saw the release of not only a new animal and building in the Harry Potter inspired Agricultural Alchemy theme, but it also saw Zynga added three new decorative items to the game's store, all in the same theme.
These three items are the Long Eared Owl, the Wizard Gnome, and the Magic Cart. Even though the Long Eared Owl may technically represent an animal, make sure to note that this is purely a decorative item, as the owl can't be harvested from. It can however be purchased for a whopping 30 Farm Cash. The Wizard Gnome costs far less, at 12 Farm Cash, and finally, the Magic Cart costs 80,000 coins.
While you may have to perform some magic to afford the Owl or the Gnome, we're guessing that the Magic Cart's price will be much easier to swallow, as you'd have a much better chance of earning the 80,000 necessary coins within the 12 days that these items will remain in the store.
These three items are the Long Eared Owl, the Wizard Gnome, and the Magic Cart. Even though the Long Eared Owl may technically represent an animal, make sure to note that this is purely a decorative item, as the owl can't be harvested from. It can however be purchased for a whopping 30 Farm Cash. The Wizard Gnome costs far less, at 12 Farm Cash, and finally, the Magic Cart costs 80,000 coins.
While you may have to perform some magic to afford the Owl or the Gnome, we're guessing that the Magic Cart's price will be much easier to swallow, as you'd have a much better chance of earning the 80,000 necessary coins within the 12 days that these items will remain in the store.
FarmVille Thanksgiving Animal & Buildings: Chicken Turkey, Cornucopia Home, & Pilgrim Cabin
It's time for another major item release in FarmVille, and tonight's update brings with it some items that we recently gave you guys some sneak peeks of.
The new items come from the Animals and Buildings sections of the FarmVille marketplace, with the new animal being the Chicken Turkey, and the buildings being the Cornucopia Home and Pilgrim Cabin.
With the release of the Chicken Turkey, we finally get to help this little fella escape a sad fate this Thanksgiving, as we can offer the Turkey-in-a-Chicken-disguise a permanent home on our farms. He'll cost you 18 Farm Cash to rescue, and he can be harvested every 2 days (but will thankfully never receive the actual axe).
Meanwhile, the new buildings are the Cornucopia Home and the Pilgrim Cabin, one of which we knew was coming, and the other being a surprise (the latter). The Cornucopia Home is a premium item, costing 15 Farm Cash, while the Pilgrim Cabin will set you back 300,000 coins, and will reward 3000 experience points in return.
All three of these items have a current time limit of 12 days, at which time they will leave the store, presumably for good, or perhaps just until next year's Thanksgiving celebration.
The new items come from the Animals and Buildings sections of the FarmVille marketplace, with the new animal being the Chicken Turkey, and the buildings being the Cornucopia Home and Pilgrim Cabin.
With the release of the Chicken Turkey, we finally get to help this little fella escape a sad fate this Thanksgiving, as we can offer the Turkey-in-a-Chicken-disguise a permanent home on our farms. He'll cost you 18 Farm Cash to rescue, and he can be harvested every 2 days (but will thankfully never receive the actual axe).
Meanwhile, the new buildings are the Cornucopia Home and the Pilgrim Cabin, one of which we knew was coming, and the other being a surprise (the latter). The Cornucopia Home is a premium item, costing 15 Farm Cash, while the Pilgrim Cabin will set you back 300,000 coins, and will reward 3000 experience points in return.
All three of these items have a current time limit of 12 days, at which time they will leave the store, presumably for good, or perhaps just until next year's Thanksgiving celebration.
FarmVille Thanksgiving Decorations: Squirrel Pumpkin, Duck Balloon, & More
Along with the new Thanksgiving animal and buildings that were released in FarmVille this evening, we also see the release of four new decorations that we can be thankful for.
The new decorations are split evenly between those that are premium items and those that go for traditional coins. For those willing to spend some Farm Cash this holiday season, you can pick up the Squirrel Pumpkin (a formerly Sneak Peek item) and the Duck Balloon (which finally makes an appearance - see the release of the Cow and Horse Balloons earlier in the week). The Squirrel Pumpkin costs 15 Farm Cash, while the Duck Balloon costs just 5 Farm Cash.
Meanwhile, if you wish to save your Farm Cash and spend just coins, you can purchase either the Harvest Cart or the Flamingo Grass. The Harvest Cart costs 50,000 coins, and rewards 500 experience points for purchasing, while the Flamingo Grass comes in at the bargain price of 2,000 coins.
All of these items are currently labeled with a 12 day time limit, which should give you plenty of time to decide whether or not to purchase any of these items in between bouts of real-world holiday festivities.
The new decorations are split evenly between those that are premium items and those that go for traditional coins. For those willing to spend some Farm Cash this holiday season, you can pick up the Squirrel Pumpkin (a formerly Sneak Peek item) and the Duck Balloon (which finally makes an appearance - see the release of the Cow and Horse Balloons earlier in the week). The Squirrel Pumpkin costs 15 Farm Cash, while the Duck Balloon costs just 5 Farm Cash.
Meanwhile, if you wish to save your Farm Cash and spend just coins, you can purchase either the Harvest Cart or the Flamingo Grass. The Harvest Cart costs 50,000 coins, and rewards 500 experience points for purchasing, while the Flamingo Grass comes in at the bargain price of 2,000 coins.
All of these items are currently labeled with a 12 day time limit, which should give you plenty of time to decide whether or not to purchase any of these items in between bouts of real-world holiday festivities.
Mall World partners up with Nickelodeon for VicTORious promotion
Mall World Victorious
Mall World has teamed up with Nickelodeon to help promote the second season of the hit show VicTORious. In this TV show, young aspiring star Tori Vega attempts to make it big while navigating high school life at Hollywood Arts. Mall World's promotion of the show includes a brand new store filled with outfits from the show, and also a new theme of Dressing Room Game in which you have to match accessories to an outfit on a character from the show.
The new store features tons of items modeled on cartoon depictions of the characters from the show. Some of the available clothing items and accessories include the Tori Plaid Blazer, Destiny Leather Jacket, Tori's Make It Shine Dress, Vega's Party Dress, and The Jade Lace Sweater.
This is a pretty decent promotional crossover, although we suspect that the Facebook gaming demographic doesn't align directly with the demographic of those who watch Nickelodeon shows about teen girls. This could still end up being a profitable advertisement for VicTORious considering that Mall World has almost 6 million monthly players.
Mall World has teamed up with Nickelodeon to help promote the second season of the hit show VicTORious. In this TV show, young aspiring star Tori Vega attempts to make it big while navigating high school life at Hollywood Arts. Mall World's promotion of the show includes a brand new store filled with outfits from the show, and also a new theme of Dressing Room Game in which you have to match accessories to an outfit on a character from the show.
The new store features tons of items modeled on cartoon depictions of the characters from the show. Some of the available clothing items and accessories include the Tori Plaid Blazer, Destiny Leather Jacket, Tori's Make It Shine Dress, Vega's Party Dress, and The Jade Lace Sweater.
This is a pretty decent promotional crossover, although we suspect that the Facebook gaming demographic doesn't align directly with the demographic of those who watch Nickelodeon shows about teen girls. This could still end up being a profitable advertisement for VicTORious considering that Mall World has almost 6 million monthly players.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
FarmVille Farm of the Week Contest starts now, strut your crops' stuff
Tweety Bird Farm
Do you own a farm that your neighbors could only dream of having? Are your crops shaped to form the image of Tweety Bird and Sylvester Pussycat? Well, the Zynga community team wants to recognize these farming feats of epic proportions with its Farm of the Week Contest in FarmVille. Every Monday, the forums will open up to submissions for the best farm to be decided that Friday at 3p.m. by the community team.
Better yet, there's no specific theme to each week--just bring your best farm and pit it against your fellow farmers' land. As for the winner, they'll be rewarded with 100 Farm Cash and their farm featured on the FarmVille fan page on Facebook. To give you a little guidance, the team of judges will be looking for originality, effort and presentation. All you need to do for entry each week is post a screen capture of your farm every Friday by 3 p.m. EST. Think your farm has what it takes? Then you better start decorating now because some of the earlier entries look mighty impressive.
Do you own a farm that your neighbors could only dream of having? Are your crops shaped to form the image of Tweety Bird and Sylvester Pussycat? Well, the Zynga community team wants to recognize these farming feats of epic proportions with its Farm of the Week Contest in FarmVille. Every Monday, the forums will open up to submissions for the best farm to be decided that Friday at 3p.m. by the community team.
Better yet, there's no specific theme to each week--just bring your best farm and pit it against your fellow farmers' land. As for the winner, they'll be rewarded with 100 Farm Cash and their farm featured on the FarmVille fan page on Facebook. To give you a little guidance, the team of judges will be looking for originality, effort and presentation. All you need to do for entry each week is post a screen capture of your farm every Friday by 3 p.m. EST. Think your farm has what it takes? Then you better start decorating now because some of the earlier entries look mighty impressive.
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash via Step Up 3 promotion
With FarmVille in the midst of its holiday celebration for this year, many users are finding themselves splurging on item after item, not only as gifts for themselves, but as gifts for friends. What better way to help you continue that generous giving spirit than to earn yourself some free Farm Cash (a gift in and of itself, from Zynga to you).
You'll be able to earn 2 free Farm Cash via a new cross-promotion that Zynga has set up with Step Up 3, the third installment in the popular film series about dancing. This promotion can be accessed by heading to FarmVille's game page on Facebook, and then scrolling down to the bottom of the flash gameplay area, where you'll see the "Sponsored Link" area, as seen at the top right of this post.
Clicking on that link will bring up a new window, where you'll be asked to "Watch five Step Up 3 videos and vote for your favorite!" Unfortunately, you can't get out of this without watching at least one video. You can, of course, watch as many of them as you'd like, but as soon as you've watched a single video, you can click on the "Vote" button next to it to be able to move on.
As soon as you submit your answer, you'll see the exciting "You've earned your Farm Cash" text appear in the top right corner of this new window, which can then be closed. Simply refresh the FarmVille game page, and you'll see that your in-game Farm Cash total will have increased by two. Sure, two Farm Cash may not be enough to purchase... well, most anything in the store, but if you keep doing these new activities as they appear in the game, you'll soon have enough to buy something really special for yourself or for your friends this holiday.
You'll be able to earn 2 free Farm Cash via a new cross-promotion that Zynga has set up with Step Up 3, the third installment in the popular film series about dancing. This promotion can be accessed by heading to FarmVille's game page on Facebook, and then scrolling down to the bottom of the flash gameplay area, where you'll see the "Sponsored Link" area, as seen at the top right of this post.
Clicking on that link will bring up a new window, where you'll be asked to "Watch five Step Up 3 videos and vote for your favorite!" Unfortunately, you can't get out of this without watching at least one video. You can, of course, watch as many of them as you'd like, but as soon as you've watched a single video, you can click on the "Vote" button next to it to be able to move on.
As soon as you submit your answer, you'll see the exciting "You've earned your Farm Cash" text appear in the top right corner of this new window, which can then be closed. Simply refresh the FarmVille game page, and you'll see that your in-game Farm Cash total will have increased by two. Sure, two Farm Cash may not be enough to purchase... well, most anything in the store, but if you keep doing these new activities as they appear in the game, you'll soon have enough to buy something really special for yourself or for your friends this holiday.
Wishful Features: Full business rotation in CityVille
In my opinion, one of the best things about Zynga's newest game, CityVille, is the sheer amount of customization players are allowed when it comes to placing items in our cities. We can place individual flower pots, trees, and the like, along with sidewalks, lamp posts, stop signs, and every other functional item a town needs to, well... function.
However, when it comes to placing actual buildings in our town, that customization is a bit two-sided. On one hand, we have the ability to rotate any residential building (Homes, Apartment Complexes, etc.) in four directions, allowing you to have the front of said building facing in any direction that you'd like. This allows you to intricately decorate back yards, create full alleyways and the like, and really make your city come to live.
However, in terms of placing Businesses, these businesses can only be situated to face one of two directions - either to the SW, or to the SE, as pictured in the image at the top of this post. There is no option, currently, to allow for a business to be situated in such a way as to show off its backside, and that seems rather odd to me. Why force users to place roads to connect to the "front" side of these businesses, when we aren't forced to do so for residences? If we could have the same freedom when placing businesses as we do when placing homes, I can only imagine the amount of creativity that users would come up with in designing their towns.
It's conceivable that this feature will be added to the game in the future, as CityVille is still extremely new, but we've learned form experience that the more vocal users are about an issue or wish, the more likely Zynga is to listen, and we sincerely hope that they do here.
However, when it comes to placing actual buildings in our town, that customization is a bit two-sided. On one hand, we have the ability to rotate any residential building (Homes, Apartment Complexes, etc.) in four directions, allowing you to have the front of said building facing in any direction that you'd like. This allows you to intricately decorate back yards, create full alleyways and the like, and really make your city come to live.
However, in terms of placing Businesses, these businesses can only be situated to face one of two directions - either to the SW, or to the SE, as pictured in the image at the top of this post. There is no option, currently, to allow for a business to be situated in such a way as to show off its backside, and that seems rather odd to me. Why force users to place roads to connect to the "front" side of these businesses, when we aren't forced to do so for residences? If we could have the same freedom when placing businesses as we do when placing homes, I can only imagine the amount of creativity that users would come up with in designing their towns.
It's conceivable that this feature will be added to the game in the future, as CityVille is still extremely new, but we've learned form experience that the more vocal users are about an issue or wish, the more likely Zynga is to listen, and we sincerely hope that they do here.
Cafe World Collections Guide: Free Coins, CP, & Spices for all!
Since the Collections Cabinet was launched in Cafe World at the end of October, users everywhere have been clamoring for collection items, which are found through simply cooking (cooking anything in the Cafe World cookbook will give you a chance at randomly finding an item), in an effort to earn the numerous rewards available for turning these collections in.
As of this writing, there are five collections available to finish (each of which has five items, for a total of 25 collectibles), with a wide range of prizes, from simple Cafe Points (the game's experience points) and coins, to Spice packs and even exclusive recipes. As you'll only be able to earn these items by continually cooking in the game, and the chance of receiving items from each collection seem to be quite equal, we thought we would give you guys a detailed look at these new collections, to show you wish items you'll most want to keep a lookout for.
For those that haven't finished building the Collections Cabinet, this will also give you a complete glimpse at what awaits you when you've finished constructing it. All of the details concerning these five collections, including the prizes you'll receive, can be found behind the break.
First and foremost, you'll be able to access your Collections by looking inside your completely built Collections Cabinet, either by clicking on the Collections Cabinet proper (the item that physically stands in your cafe), or by clicking on the stainless steel drawer icon in the game's bottom menu. From there, you'll be able to click on the "Trade In" button next to any particular collection (as seen in the screenshot below) to earn your prizes).
The first collection is called Kitchen Navigation. This collection requires the following five items:
Can Opener
Cutting Board
Salad Bowl
Simple Wine Opener
Wooden Spoon
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
The next collection is Stainless Pots and Pans, and, as you might have guessed, you'll need to collect five different stainless steel cooking pans in order to turn it in. The five items are:
Stainless Frying Pan
Stainless Omlette Pan (this misspelling is native in the game)
Stainless Sauce Pan
Stainless Saute Pan
Stainless Skillet
Rewards for completion: 3 Six--hour Thymes & 500 coins (these Six-hour Thymes lessen the cooking time of any currently cooking dish by three hours)
The third collection is the Simple Dinnerware collection, that has you collecting four plates and one bowl through cooking. The five required items are:
Bread and Butter Plate
Dinner Plate
Salad Plate
Serving Dish
Soup Bowl
Rewards for completion: Unlock the Royal Feast recipe & 500 coins
The Royal Feast recipe is found on just the second page of the in-game Cookbook, under the "Fundamentals" section. It is a 12 hour dish, requiring 840 coins to cook. It offers 600 servings once completed, which are sold for 5 coins each, for a total of 3,000 coins in return. You'll earn 219 Cafe Points in the process of cooking and serving each Royal Feast.
The fourth collection is the Simple Pots and Pans collection. Not to be confused with the Stainless Pots and Pans collection above, these items are entirely different, basic versions of those stainless steel items. In this case, most of the pots are black, with some red and white accents. The five items are:
Frying Pan
Omlette Pan (again, this misspelling is also in the game)
Sauce Pan
Saute Pan
Skillet
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
Finally, the fifth and last available collection (as of this writing), is the Cutting for Beginners collection. While this might sound like a class for those that are easily depressed, rather than a cooking collection, we'll give Zynga the benefit of the doubt here. This is, obviously, a knife collection, requiring the following knives:
Utility Knife
Chef's Knife
Paring Knife
Bread Knife
Carving Knife
Rewards for completion: +5 Energy points & 500 coins (Energy is used when preparing drinks and coffee for your guests before they sit down to dine on your current dishes)
As a note to those who need some of these items for their collections, the first item on all of these lists is the most rare, so you're likely to have a harder time finding them than all other collectibles. Still, with enough continuous gameplay, you're likely to have a full supply of these items - enough to trade them in time and time again, and continue to rake in the rewards.
If you do want to get your hands on a particular item right this second, however, you can add any item to your wishlist via the green plus sign next to each item. Your wishlist can contain up to five items, which your friends may voluntarily send you by hovering over your picture in their friends bar at the bottom of the screen and offering up any item they happen to have. The same goes for you, if you'd like to help your friends instead. Simply hover over your friends' picture in your neighbor bar, and their wishlist will automatically appear. If they need any collectible items, that you have duplicates of, you can make their day by sending one their way.
And there you have it! A complete guide to Cafe World Collections that should have you rolling in riches and fame (well, maybe not fame) in no time flat! Remember, if you've yet to complete building your Collections Cabinet, you can earn a boost in the right direction by using our Quick Gifting links for the ingredients required to build it. Simply offer those to your friends, and you'll have the cabinet completed in no time!
Have you started trading in collections in Cafe World? Do you think the items are easy to earn, or are some of them too rare?
As of this writing, there are five collections available to finish (each of which has five items, for a total of 25 collectibles), with a wide range of prizes, from simple Cafe Points (the game's experience points) and coins, to Spice packs and even exclusive recipes. As you'll only be able to earn these items by continually cooking in the game, and the chance of receiving items from each collection seem to be quite equal, we thought we would give you guys a detailed look at these new collections, to show you wish items you'll most want to keep a lookout for.
For those that haven't finished building the Collections Cabinet, this will also give you a complete glimpse at what awaits you when you've finished constructing it. All of the details concerning these five collections, including the prizes you'll receive, can be found behind the break.
First and foremost, you'll be able to access your Collections by looking inside your completely built Collections Cabinet, either by clicking on the Collections Cabinet proper (the item that physically stands in your cafe), or by clicking on the stainless steel drawer icon in the game's bottom menu. From there, you'll be able to click on the "Trade In" button next to any particular collection (as seen in the screenshot below) to earn your prizes).
The first collection is called Kitchen Navigation. This collection requires the following five items:
Can Opener
Cutting Board
Salad Bowl
Simple Wine Opener
Wooden Spoon
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
The next collection is Stainless Pots and Pans, and, as you might have guessed, you'll need to collect five different stainless steel cooking pans in order to turn it in. The five items are:
Stainless Frying Pan
Stainless Omlette Pan (this misspelling is native in the game)
Stainless Sauce Pan
Stainless Saute Pan
Stainless Skillet
Rewards for completion: 3 Six--hour Thymes & 500 coins (these Six-hour Thymes lessen the cooking time of any currently cooking dish by three hours)
The third collection is the Simple Dinnerware collection, that has you collecting four plates and one bowl through cooking. The five required items are:
Bread and Butter Plate
Dinner Plate
Salad Plate
Serving Dish
Soup Bowl
Rewards for completion: Unlock the Royal Feast recipe & 500 coins
The Royal Feast recipe is found on just the second page of the in-game Cookbook, under the "Fundamentals" section. It is a 12 hour dish, requiring 840 coins to cook. It offers 600 servings once completed, which are sold for 5 coins each, for a total of 3,000 coins in return. You'll earn 219 Cafe Points in the process of cooking and serving each Royal Feast.
The fourth collection is the Simple Pots and Pans collection. Not to be confused with the Stainless Pots and Pans collection above, these items are entirely different, basic versions of those stainless steel items. In this case, most of the pots are black, with some red and white accents. The five items are:
Frying Pan
Omlette Pan (again, this misspelling is also in the game)
Sauce Pan
Saute Pan
Skillet
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
Finally, the fifth and last available collection (as of this writing), is the Cutting for Beginners collection. While this might sound like a class for those that are easily depressed, rather than a cooking collection, we'll give Zynga the benefit of the doubt here. This is, obviously, a knife collection, requiring the following knives:
Utility Knife
Chef's Knife
Paring Knife
Bread Knife
Carving Knife
Rewards for completion: +5 Energy points & 500 coins (Energy is used when preparing drinks and coffee for your guests before they sit down to dine on your current dishes)
As a note to those who need some of these items for their collections, the first item on all of these lists is the most rare, so you're likely to have a harder time finding them than all other collectibles. Still, with enough continuous gameplay, you're likely to have a full supply of these items - enough to trade them in time and time again, and continue to rake in the rewards.
If you do want to get your hands on a particular item right this second, however, you can add any item to your wishlist via the green plus sign next to each item. Your wishlist can contain up to five items, which your friends may voluntarily send you by hovering over your picture in their friends bar at the bottom of the screen and offering up any item they happen to have. The same goes for you, if you'd like to help your friends instead. Simply hover over your friends' picture in your neighbor bar, and their wishlist will automatically appear. If they need any collectible items, that you have duplicates of, you can make their day by sending one their way.
And there you have it! A complete guide to Cafe World Collections that should have you rolling in riches and fame (well, maybe not fame) in no time flat! Remember, if you've yet to complete building your Collections Cabinet, you can earn a boost in the right direction by using our Quick Gifting links for the ingredients required to build it. Simply offer those to your friends, and you'll have the cabinet completed in no time!
Have you started trading in collections in Cafe World? Do you think the items are easy to earn, or are some of them too rare?
Cafe World: Level up in Mafia Wars for a free Lightning Stove
Everyone knows that one of the best things to happen to Cafe World is the addition of Lightning Stoves some months ago, but many players still haven't been able to outfit their entire cafes with these convenient appliances (they allow for one-click cooking after all - none of that "Stirring" or "Dicing" business anymore).
That being the case, Zynga has offered a free Cafe World Lightning Stove to all players that will participate in a new cross-promotional event with Zynga's mob game, Mafia Wars. Users that have been playing Cafe World since these stoves were first introduced will recognize this stove, as it is the red version of the same sort of stove released way back when. All you'll need to do to earn a Lightning Stove for yourself is click on the small lightning stove icon in the top left corner of the screen, and click on the "Play Mafia Wars" link from the pop-up that appears in order to activate the promotion on your account.
From there, simply level up in Mafia Wars 2 times - that's right, just gain 2 levels - and you'll be the proud owner of a bright red Lightning Stove, that will not only cook your food in one-click, but will cook dishes 10% faster than a traditional stove to boot! Once you've completed this task, a new window will pop-up in Mafia Wars, giving you a link to load Cafe World where your new stove will be waiting for you in your inventory (you'll see a x1 next to the stove, which would cost 35 Cafe Cash otherwise).
To be especially clear, only users that make it to a minimum of level 8 will be able to receive this free stove, so before the promotion starts, you'll need to be at at least level 6, to avoid having to level up more than the promotion's standard of two times. Also, the stove you win as a prize is a completely built stove, ready to start cooking on immediately - no building necessary!
There's no telling how long Zynga will keep this promotion active, so make sure take advantage of it while you can!
That being the case, Zynga has offered a free Cafe World Lightning Stove to all players that will participate in a new cross-promotional event with Zynga's mob game, Mafia Wars. Users that have been playing Cafe World since these stoves were first introduced will recognize this stove, as it is the red version of the same sort of stove released way back when. All you'll need to do to earn a Lightning Stove for yourself is click on the small lightning stove icon in the top left corner of the screen, and click on the "Play Mafia Wars" link from the pop-up that appears in order to activate the promotion on your account.
From there, simply level up in Mafia Wars 2 times - that's right, just gain 2 levels - and you'll be the proud owner of a bright red Lightning Stove, that will not only cook your food in one-click, but will cook dishes 10% faster than a traditional stove to boot! Once you've completed this task, a new window will pop-up in Mafia Wars, giving you a link to load Cafe World where your new stove will be waiting for you in your inventory (you'll see a x1 next to the stove, which would cost 35 Cafe Cash otherwise).
To be especially clear, only users that make it to a minimum of level 8 will be able to receive this free stove, so before the promotion starts, you'll need to be at at least level 6, to avoid having to level up more than the promotion's standard of two times. Also, the stove you win as a prize is a completely built stove, ready to start cooking on immediately - no building necessary!
There's no telling how long Zynga will keep this promotion active, so make sure take advantage of it while you can!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Live in a tropical paradise year-round with Beachtown on Facebook
Want to ring in the new year on Facebook by trying out a new game? Hueys Planet hopes that you will give their offering Beachtown a try. The game gives "everyone... their own beach," and you'll be able to customize that beach with a wide assortment of outdoor and water activities (those that you would normally find on a trip to the beach) in a gameplay setup that isn't entirely unlike the Sims.
Your friends will play an integral part in your advancement through Beachtown, as you'll be able to control their actions, and earn experience points and Beach Coins (the game's currency) for not only your actions, but the actions of your friends as well. Luckily, your friends don't actually have to play the game to take part, although it couldn't hurt the experience, if you can actually play with real friends.
Meet us behind the break for a complete look at Beachtown on Facebook.
Bringing in elements of the Sims franchise, each person on your beach is technically computer controlled, but you'll be able to control their actions at any time by simply clicking on them and then dragging them to the area of the beach or water of your choice. Each person has a set of desires, based on activities that they would like to take part in, and while you'll receive points for all actions, if you can match up a character with the activity they would personally like to complete, then you'll earn bonus points.
All sorts of "attractions" or activities can be added to your beach, ranging from spots that allow for Longboarding, Surfing or Snorkling in the water, to areas on the sand like Yoga and Exercise stations, or even Hula spots. Each activity will be completed after a different amount of time, so there will likely always be a spot open for your friends if you stick around long enough into a gameplay session. You can even upgrade these activities as you go along to make them more rewarding.
You'll have a series of light quests to complete on the left side of the screen, and bonus items will appear as you, or your assigned friends complete each task. You'll need to manually collect the prizes for completing tasks, which adds the ability to leave the game and then come back at a later time when the activity has been completed, but the rewards are still available.
Adding to the customization in the game is the ability to decorate your beach with a variety of themed items, including palm trees, beach umbrellas, and beach towels, along with some more unique items, like rock stacks, sundials, tikis, and so on. There are items available to purchase for both Beach Coins and Clams, the game's premium currency.
Another game element comes in the form of your Beach's popularity. As you add activities for your friends to take part in, the popularity goes up, allowing you to have even more friends appear on your Beach at the same time. Obviously, then, the more activities you have to take part in and the more friends you have to do them - the more coins you'll earn as a result and the faster you'll level up. Leveling up unlocks new activities, and thus the cycle continues.
Other gameplay elements include collections that can be completed (shells, starfish, stones, and the like) by clicking on Treasure Chests that appear at random quite frequently as you play. These chests can contain either coins or these collectibles. Trading in collections earns you coins, and you can add items to a Needs List to ask your friends for help in sending them to you.
Speaking of friends, the game's social elements include the ability to send free gifts to your friends, and the ability to visit your friends' beaches. Interestingly, there is no in-game NPC friend, so you'll have to invite some of your own friends to play the game in order to get anything out of these features.
As it stands, Beachtown has attracted almost 25,000 users who have decided to build a beach of their own. Want to join them?
Your friends will play an integral part in your advancement through Beachtown, as you'll be able to control their actions, and earn experience points and Beach Coins (the game's currency) for not only your actions, but the actions of your friends as well. Luckily, your friends don't actually have to play the game to take part, although it couldn't hurt the experience, if you can actually play with real friends.
Meet us behind the break for a complete look at Beachtown on Facebook.
Bringing in elements of the Sims franchise, each person on your beach is technically computer controlled, but you'll be able to control their actions at any time by simply clicking on them and then dragging them to the area of the beach or water of your choice. Each person has a set of desires, based on activities that they would like to take part in, and while you'll receive points for all actions, if you can match up a character with the activity they would personally like to complete, then you'll earn bonus points.
All sorts of "attractions" or activities can be added to your beach, ranging from spots that allow for Longboarding, Surfing or Snorkling in the water, to areas on the sand like Yoga and Exercise stations, or even Hula spots. Each activity will be completed after a different amount of time, so there will likely always be a spot open for your friends if you stick around long enough into a gameplay session. You can even upgrade these activities as you go along to make them more rewarding.
You'll have a series of light quests to complete on the left side of the screen, and bonus items will appear as you, or your assigned friends complete each task. You'll need to manually collect the prizes for completing tasks, which adds the ability to leave the game and then come back at a later time when the activity has been completed, but the rewards are still available.
Adding to the customization in the game is the ability to decorate your beach with a variety of themed items, including palm trees, beach umbrellas, and beach towels, along with some more unique items, like rock stacks, sundials, tikis, and so on. There are items available to purchase for both Beach Coins and Clams, the game's premium currency.
Another game element comes in the form of your Beach's popularity. As you add activities for your friends to take part in, the popularity goes up, allowing you to have even more friends appear on your Beach at the same time. Obviously, then, the more activities you have to take part in and the more friends you have to do them - the more coins you'll earn as a result and the faster you'll level up. Leveling up unlocks new activities, and thus the cycle continues.
Other gameplay elements include collections that can be completed (shells, starfish, stones, and the like) by clicking on Treasure Chests that appear at random quite frequently as you play. These chests can contain either coins or these collectibles. Trading in collections earns you coins, and you can add items to a Needs List to ask your friends for help in sending them to you.
Speaking of friends, the game's social elements include the ability to send free gifts to your friends, and the ability to visit your friends' beaches. Interestingly, there is no in-game NPC friend, so you'll have to invite some of your own friends to play the game in order to get anything out of these features.
As it stands, Beachtown has attracted almost 25,000 users who have decided to build a beach of their own. Want to join them?
Playfish's New Years Event Round-Up: Catch up with Restaurant City, Hotel City, Pet Society & More!
If you're an active player of one of Playfish's many Facebook games, you'll be happy to hear that the developer has some very exciting activities lined up for players in honor of the new year. These New Year themed items / events are taking place in six of their games: Pet Society, Restaurant City, Fifa Superstars, Madden NFL Superstars, Country Story, and Hotel City.
You'll be able to purchase new, exclusive items, earn free coins, participate in contests, and more - all with the help of our handy guide. Want to see what's going in the game of your choice? Meet us behind the break for everything you need to know to bring in the New Year with a bang!
Pet Society:
Playfish's pet-caretaking game is now offering a slew of New Year's themed items. Technically, this week's theme is called the "New York" theme, but there are plenty of New Years banners, and other decorations to purchase that will make sure your pet welcomes the new year with style, just as we all will in the real world.
Some of the items include 2011 Fireworks that glow in the dark, a Happy New Year banner for 600 coins, an animated New Years ball for 2,000 coins, balloons, party hats, an even a "Happy New Year 2011" neon sign, that also glows in the dark. Some of these items will only be available for one week, so purchase them soon so that you don't miss out!
Restaurant City:
Maggie (the game's mascot) is now giving away free coins, every single day you play the game. Starting on January 1 (psst, you might be able to claim some today, if you're lucky - we did), you'll be able to login and receive a free coin bundle for the first time you login that day. This isn't something to sneeze at either, as these coin bags will contain 25,000 coins each! Maggie will be giving away 200,000 coins in total, for the span of eight days, so make sure to keep logging back into the game to make the most of this free coin extravaganza!
As an added note, it's believed that you must be a fan of Restaurant City on Facebook for these coins to automatically appear in your game. Make sure to head to the game's fan page, click on the "Like" button and then check your game's left-hand menu to see when the coin bag arrives in your game. Plus, fans of the game receive free items, most on a daily basis, so being a fan really does serve a noticeable purpose.
Fifa Superstars:
Fifa Superstars is now offering daily deals to players who would like to add an extra edge to their game that will help long into the future. These deals will run until January 6. For today's deal, you can pick up a new Coach for just 1 Coin, the game's basic currency. This is an item that normally costs 12 Playfish Cash! Talk about a bargain! Deals can be anything from Match Credits and Silver Transfers to those dealing with Personal Trainers, and (as we've seen) coaches, so be sure to login once per day to see what the new deal is in the game.
Madden NFL Superstars:
Players of Madden NFL Superstars are now being given a chance to enter the Ultimate Experience contest, just for playing the game during this holiday season. All players that login to the game once per day will earn an entry to win a complete NFL "Ultimate Experience," including a Home Theater System, Xbox 360 game system with Kinect, Madden NFL 11 game, and more! Luckily, the game will allow all users to have the same amount of entries, based on whether or not you log into the game. That being the case, everyone has the same chance of winning, so why not login to the game and make sure you have a chance of winning too?
Country Story:
Country Story's event is a unique one, in that the majority of the event hasn't even started yet. Instead, we've been given a hint that a new animal will be arriving in the game on January 4th, and that it could possibly be the "cutest animal ever," according to the game's fan page. Playfish has created an entire Event (as in, an actual Facebook Event) that users can say that they're "Attending," and as more users RSVP that they will attend the event, the prizes will become greater.
First and foremost, they are giving away an exclusive Playfish Cash Monkey. After that, the prizes are secrets, but are apparently "mind blowing" and "amazing," and you simply won't want to miss out. The developer's goal is to have 100,000 users RSVP that they are attending, but it seems as though they may not actually have to reach that number in order to give away the prizes, as they have released a full schedule of the upcoming event on the event's page. On Jan. 3, a special surprise will be given away, and the free Playfish Cash Monkey will come on January 5. Other days see users being given a free gift on the game's fan page, so keep checking back to see what it is.
Hotel City:
Last but certainly not least, Hotel City will be offering a similar giveaway to that of Restaurant City. Upon your first login to the game from January 3-7, you'll receive 10,000 free coins, just for logging into the game! If you miss a day of logging in, you'll miss those free coins, so make sure to take at least a few seconds to claim your coins everyday in order to make the most of this rare event.
You'll be able to purchase new, exclusive items, earn free coins, participate in contests, and more - all with the help of our handy guide. Want to see what's going in the game of your choice? Meet us behind the break for everything you need to know to bring in the New Year with a bang!
Pet Society:
Playfish's pet-caretaking game is now offering a slew of New Year's themed items. Technically, this week's theme is called the "New York" theme, but there are plenty of New Years banners, and other decorations to purchase that will make sure your pet welcomes the new year with style, just as we all will in the real world.
Some of the items include 2011 Fireworks that glow in the dark, a Happy New Year banner for 600 coins, an animated New Years ball for 2,000 coins, balloons, party hats, an even a "Happy New Year 2011" neon sign, that also glows in the dark. Some of these items will only be available for one week, so purchase them soon so that you don't miss out!
Restaurant City:
Maggie (the game's mascot) is now giving away free coins, every single day you play the game. Starting on January 1 (psst, you might be able to claim some today, if you're lucky - we did), you'll be able to login and receive a free coin bundle for the first time you login that day. This isn't something to sneeze at either, as these coin bags will contain 25,000 coins each! Maggie will be giving away 200,000 coins in total, for the span of eight days, so make sure to keep logging back into the game to make the most of this free coin extravaganza!
As an added note, it's believed that you must be a fan of Restaurant City on Facebook for these coins to automatically appear in your game. Make sure to head to the game's fan page, click on the "Like" button and then check your game's left-hand menu to see when the coin bag arrives in your game. Plus, fans of the game receive free items, most on a daily basis, so being a fan really does serve a noticeable purpose.
Fifa Superstars:
Fifa Superstars is now offering daily deals to players who would like to add an extra edge to their game that will help long into the future. These deals will run until January 6. For today's deal, you can pick up a new Coach for just 1 Coin, the game's basic currency. This is an item that normally costs 12 Playfish Cash! Talk about a bargain! Deals can be anything from Match Credits and Silver Transfers to those dealing with Personal Trainers, and (as we've seen) coaches, so be sure to login once per day to see what the new deal is in the game.
Madden NFL Superstars:
Players of Madden NFL Superstars are now being given a chance to enter the Ultimate Experience contest, just for playing the game during this holiday season. All players that login to the game once per day will earn an entry to win a complete NFL "Ultimate Experience," including a Home Theater System, Xbox 360 game system with Kinect, Madden NFL 11 game, and more! Luckily, the game will allow all users to have the same amount of entries, based on whether or not you log into the game. That being the case, everyone has the same chance of winning, so why not login to the game and make sure you have a chance of winning too?
Country Story:
Country Story's event is a unique one, in that the majority of the event hasn't even started yet. Instead, we've been given a hint that a new animal will be arriving in the game on January 4th, and that it could possibly be the "cutest animal ever," according to the game's fan page. Playfish has created an entire Event (as in, an actual Facebook Event) that users can say that they're "Attending," and as more users RSVP that they will attend the event, the prizes will become greater.
First and foremost, they are giving away an exclusive Playfish Cash Monkey. After that, the prizes are secrets, but are apparently "mind blowing" and "amazing," and you simply won't want to miss out. The developer's goal is to have 100,000 users RSVP that they are attending, but it seems as though they may not actually have to reach that number in order to give away the prizes, as they have released a full schedule of the upcoming event on the event's page. On Jan. 3, a special surprise will be given away, and the free Playfish Cash Monkey will come on January 5. Other days see users being given a free gift on the game's fan page, so keep checking back to see what it is.
Hotel City:
Last but certainly not least, Hotel City will be offering a similar giveaway to that of Restaurant City. Upon your first login to the game from January 3-7, you'll receive 10,000 free coins, just for logging into the game! If you miss a day of logging in, you'll miss those free coins, so make sure to take at least a few seconds to claim your coins everyday in order to make the most of this rare event.
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash from Pretty Little Liars promotion
In a new FarmVille Farm Cash promotion, Zynga is now offering two free Farm Cash to users that wish to participate. The promotion is with the ABC Family television show Pretty Little Liars, and the promotion itself can be found by clicking on the Sponsored Link window as seen at the right of this post.
The promotion will launch in a new window, where you'll be shown a survey asking "Would you keep a dark secret to protect your friend?" This of course fits with the subject matter of the television show, but you can luckily answer in any way that you'd like in order to receive credit.
You'll know that you've received your Farm Cash when the "You've earned your Farm Cash" line appears in the top right corner of this new window. You can then close that window and reload FarmVille to ensure that your two free Farm Cash have been added to your account (if you don't see them pop in automatically).
If you don't see this promotion on your account, you may have other promotions that are cycling through first that must be completed before this newest one will show up. Also, this promotion is only available for those playing the game in the US, so international players are unfortunately not eligible.
The promotion will launch in a new window, where you'll be shown a survey asking "Would you keep a dark secret to protect your friend?" This of course fits with the subject matter of the television show, but you can luckily answer in any way that you'd like in order to receive credit.
You'll know that you've received your Farm Cash when the "You've earned your Farm Cash" line appears in the top right corner of this new window. You can then close that window and reload FarmVille to ensure that your two free Farm Cash have been added to your account (if you don't see them pop in automatically).
If you don't see this promotion on your account, you may have other promotions that are cycling through first that must be completed before this newest one will show up. Also, this promotion is only available for those playing the game in the US, so international players are unfortunately not eligible.
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash from Microsoft Technology promotion
Another free Farm Cash promotion has been spotted, making its rounds to the American users of FarmVille on Facebook, with this newest promotion coming from Microsoft. We've seen other Microsoft promotions before (for Microsoft Office and Bing), but rest assured, this is a new promotion, dealing with a year-end survey.
You'll be able to participate in this 2 free Farm Cash promotion by clicking on the Sponsored Link window seen at the right side of this post - it will appear for you in your own game underneath the FarmVille gameplay area. If you don't spot it the next time you load the game, we're assuming it is on a slow rollout, or you could have other promotions that are "in the way" that must be completed before this newest one will appear.
The activity itself will load in a new window, where you'll be able to fill out a survey, telling Microsoft what your favorite technology was of 2010 - the choices are of course Microsoft related (Windows 7, Kinect for Xbox 360, and Windows Phones), but you can make any choice and still have your vote count. You'll know you've received your Farm Cash when a phrase such as "You've earned your Farm Cash" appears in the top right corner of this new window. You can then close the activity window and refresh FarmVille to ensure that your 2 free Farm Cash is added to your account.
You'll be able to participate in this 2 free Farm Cash promotion by clicking on the Sponsored Link window seen at the right side of this post - it will appear for you in your own game underneath the FarmVille gameplay area. If you don't spot it the next time you load the game, we're assuming it is on a slow rollout, or you could have other promotions that are "in the way" that must be completed before this newest one will appear.
The activity itself will load in a new window, where you'll be able to fill out a survey, telling Microsoft what your favorite technology was of 2010 - the choices are of course Microsoft related (Windows 7, Kinect for Xbox 360, and Windows Phones), but you can make any choice and still have your vote count. You'll know you've received your Farm Cash when a phrase such as "You've earned your Farm Cash" appears in the top right corner of this new window. You can then close the activity window and refresh FarmVille to ensure that your 2 free Farm Cash is added to your account.
FrontierVille: Where have all of the Bears gone?
As we told you yesterday, the last 12 Days of Christmas mission in FrontierVille seems to have very simple requirements - one of those being to "Scare a Bear." Under normal circumstances, one need only to chop down one or perhaps two fully grown trees to lure out a Bear, that can subsequently be scared away, but since the launch of this mission, that has completely changed.
Many users, myself included, have gone through a veritable forest's worth of trees, chopping down everything in sight, and have yet to receive a single bear. It's always seemed that when you are on an active quest for an item, the item will be less likely to appear on your land, in order to offer challenge in completing whatever quest you may be working on at the time, but this has gone a little bit too far, in the eyes of many players.
The official FrontierVille forums have exploded with thread after thread discussing the lack of bears. One thread in particular has 200 posts, most from users that have chopped down multiple trees (more than a dozen, in some cases) and have yet to receive a bear. Some lucky users did receive a bear after just one or two trees, but for those that haven't, a very real concern has now developed, that being - "Will we get a bear in time, before the mission expires?"
Every 12 Days of Christmas mission will expire on January 7. While most of the other missions have been completed by users some time ago, this final mission for Day One offers a real threat of expiring without completion due to this sudden disappearance of bears in the game. While a week may seem like plenty of time to accomplish a task, when we take into account the time it takes for new trees to grow, so that they can chopped down as users try once again to lure out a bear, it isn't nearly enough time at all.
While a simple change in the rarity of bears to add challenge to the mission is one thing, other users believe that something far more sinister is going on. Could this be Zynga's way of "forcing" users to spend Horseshoes, just so that they can complete the mission in time? Unlocking the task from the mission's menu costs 20 Horseshoes, a little more than $2.00 US. One can also purchase fully grown trees from the market for either 10 or 12 Horseshoes each, but again, there's no guarantee that you'll actually receive a bear when chopping them down. We want to believe this isn't the case, and yet....
Many users, myself included, have gone through a veritable forest's worth of trees, chopping down everything in sight, and have yet to receive a single bear. It's always seemed that when you are on an active quest for an item, the item will be less likely to appear on your land, in order to offer challenge in completing whatever quest you may be working on at the time, but this has gone a little bit too far, in the eyes of many players.
The official FrontierVille forums have exploded with thread after thread discussing the lack of bears. One thread in particular has 200 posts, most from users that have chopped down multiple trees (more than a dozen, in some cases) and have yet to receive a bear. Some lucky users did receive a bear after just one or two trees, but for those that haven't, a very real concern has now developed, that being - "Will we get a bear in time, before the mission expires?"
Every 12 Days of Christmas mission will expire on January 7. While most of the other missions have been completed by users some time ago, this final mission for Day One offers a real threat of expiring without completion due to this sudden disappearance of bears in the game. While a week may seem like plenty of time to accomplish a task, when we take into account the time it takes for new trees to grow, so that they can chopped down as users try once again to lure out a bear, it isn't nearly enough time at all.
While a simple change in the rarity of bears to add challenge to the mission is one thing, other users believe that something far more sinister is going on. Could this be Zynga's way of "forcing" users to spend Horseshoes, just so that they can complete the mission in time? Unlocking the task from the mission's menu costs 20 Horseshoes, a little more than $2.00 US. One can also purchase fully grown trees from the market for either 10 or 12 Horseshoes each, but again, there's no guarantee that you'll actually receive a bear when chopping them down. We want to believe this isn't the case, and yet....
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Shrek would fit right in with CastleVille's characters [Video]
Zynga sure knows how to hold onto a good thing when it has one. The company has released the teaser trailer for CastleVille, the next game in its famed 'Ville franchise. And this might be the most well-produced Zynga game trailer to date. It's on the short side at just a mere 48 seconds, but touts some 3D animation that, while not on a Dreamworks level, certainly looks the part.
In fact, we were almost expecting an ogre-like creature to appear on-screen at some point. Of course, that doesn't happen. But what we do get to see is a few of the characters that we'll meet in CastleVille like Tom the Cupcake Dragonslayer, Rafael the Playboy and Yvette the Fair Maiden. The gameplay in CastleVille, based on what's shown in the trailer, has players build their kingdoms from scratch and embark on "an epic quest for true happiness." (Whatever that means.)
CastleVille was revealed at the recent Zynga Unleashed press event, and boasts a soundtrack recorded by a full orchestra, a first for a Zynga game ... and likely any social game, for that matter. Before the game hits, you can "Like" its Facebook page to have a say in how much the company donates to Direct Relief, Save the Children and Water.org. Of course, there are some unlockable in-game goodies for you, too. The next 'Ville is almost here, but can it top the last?
In fact, we were almost expecting an ogre-like creature to appear on-screen at some point. Of course, that doesn't happen. But what we do get to see is a few of the characters that we'll meet in CastleVille like Tom the Cupcake Dragonslayer, Rafael the Playboy and Yvette the Fair Maiden. The gameplay in CastleVille, based on what's shown in the trailer, has players build their kingdoms from scratch and embark on "an epic quest for true happiness." (Whatever that means.)
CastleVille was revealed at the recent Zynga Unleashed press event, and boasts a soundtrack recorded by a full orchestra, a first for a Zynga game ... and likely any social game, for that matter. Before the game hits, you can "Like" its Facebook page to have a say in how much the company donates to Direct Relief, Save the Children and Water.org. Of course, there are some unlockable in-game goodies for you, too. The next 'Ville is almost here, but can it top the last?
RockYou to lay off 100 staff, will not publish John Romero's CloudForest Expedition on Facebook
Hard times have come to Facebook game developer RockYou, as the company has announced that it will lose 100 of its staff, leaving it with about 90 employees in all. As told to TechCrunch, CEO Lisa Marina says that this move will allow for the company to become profitable. "Last year was about finding a business model. This year, it's about making the company healthy and profitable," Marino says. With that profitability comes sacrifices, one of which will be the Playdemic studio that RockYou acquired back in January.
Playdemic will be sold back to its original owners for an undisclosed amount of money, and the Facebook game Gourmet Ranch, along with around 40 employees will go with it. As for what remains (after RockYou itself loses 56 employees), Marino has stated that RockYou will not be publishing CloudForest Expedition, the John Romero game we brought you a preview of earlier this year.
While Marino didn't give an exact reason for why Cloudforest Expedition is being shuttered (we could assume the worst - that RockYou no longer contains the manpower to develop it), she did state that perhaps RockYou had been a bit too creative in its past endeavors. "We went too far down the creative path and lost our way in terms of being a profitable organization."
Needless to say, it's disappointing that profits have been chosen over creativity in this case; however, it's not impossible that CloudForest Expedition will still see the light of day. A long shot? Sure, but if someone else were to suddenly jump in and take the reigns, we may be able to explore the jungle landscapes of CloudForest after all.
Playdemic will be sold back to its original owners for an undisclosed amount of money, and the Facebook game Gourmet Ranch, along with around 40 employees will go with it. As for what remains (after RockYou itself loses 56 employees), Marino has stated that RockYou will not be publishing CloudForest Expedition, the John Romero game we brought you a preview of earlier this year.
While Marino didn't give an exact reason for why Cloudforest Expedition is being shuttered (we could assume the worst - that RockYou no longer contains the manpower to develop it), she did state that perhaps RockYou had been a bit too creative in its past endeavors. "We went too far down the creative path and lost our way in terms of being a profitable organization."
Needless to say, it's disappointing that profits have been chosen over creativity in this case; however, it's not impossible that CloudForest Expedition will still see the light of day. A long shot? Sure, but if someone else were to suddenly jump in and take the reigns, we may be able to explore the jungle landscapes of CloudForest after all.
Moonga deals in on Facebook with fantasy trading card battles [Video]
Ever since Warstorm was axed earlier this year by Zynga, Facebook has been devoid of the nerdiest of dreams: fantasy card battles. (Well, aside from that Big Bang Theory game, we guess.) French game maker Everdreamsoft has formally announced Moonga for Facebook. The game allows players to compete in high fantasy battles through--what else--tradable cards with cool artwork on them.
Ah, our not-so-closet days of Magic: The Gathering are coming back to us. The game, which was released to the web in January 2010, is in an open beta test on Facebook. (In other words, it's live.) Moonga has existed on iOS for a bit longer, and was reportedly number one in role-playing games on the App Store in the summer of 2010. The gameplay appears to be your standard card battle game, but between friends on Facebook and in much shorter spurts.
Players build hands of five unique cards featuring monsters and weapons that duel in one-on-one combat. The idea behind the game isn't far different from most: Create a winning strategy by combining cards that work well together to reduce your enemy's defenses to zero. The game's iOS version doesn't appear to have any social features.
Regardless, Everdreamsoft CEO Shaban Shaame showed off the game's NFC technology that allows players to buy physical cards and import them into the iOS game. It's clear that Everdreamsoft looks to create the next Magic: The Gathering on Facebook and mobile. If the company can somehow incorporate a similar technology into Moonga's Facebook version, then the game maker might be onto something.
Ah, our not-so-closet days of Magic: The Gathering are coming back to us. The game, which was released to the web in January 2010, is in an open beta test on Facebook. (In other words, it's live.) Moonga has existed on iOS for a bit longer, and was reportedly number one in role-playing games on the App Store in the summer of 2010. The gameplay appears to be your standard card battle game, but between friends on Facebook and in much shorter spurts.
Players build hands of five unique cards featuring monsters and weapons that duel in one-on-one combat. The idea behind the game isn't far different from most: Create a winning strategy by combining cards that work well together to reduce your enemy's defenses to zero. The game's iOS version doesn't appear to have any social features.
Regardless, Everdreamsoft CEO Shaban Shaame showed off the game's NFC technology that allows players to buy physical cards and import them into the iOS game. It's clear that Everdreamsoft looks to create the next Magic: The Gathering on Facebook and mobile. If the company can somehow incorporate a similar technology into Moonga's Facebook version, then the game maker might be onto something.
Oregon Trail makers just can't scratch that mobile, social game itch
Blue Fang Games made two critical hits (but commercial flops) on Facebook, The Oregon Trail and Carmen Sandiego, before it shut down this summer. The Boston, Mass.-based developers known for PC game Zoo Tycoon still can't get enough of social, as former Blue Fang CEO Hank Howie (animatedly pictured) told Gamasutra about his new mobile and social game studio, Beach Cooler Games.
Still based in Boston, Howie is joined by ex-art director and lead designer Lou Catanzaro in heading the new company. While Beach Cooler Games intends to make social games, Howie told Gamasutra that mobile will be its primary focus. And new game projects are already underway. "We think we can make this work, and it should work pretty well, so we'll see if we can get it to work," Howie said to Gamasutra. "And again -- I'm knocking on wood here, as I often do -- so far it's working great. It's pretty eye-opening, I have to admit."
The studio isn't giving any details on its existing products, but said that it isn't set on working with original intellectual property. This means that Beach Cooler Games could be working with another brand, like the team did with The Learning Company as Blue Fang. Howie and Catanzaro are hot off the heels since Blue Fang's shutdown in September, and took a portion of the former studio's team with them. Based on the love Blue Fang Games gave those two childhood classics, it's safe to be excited for what Beach Cooler Games thinks up.
Still based in Boston, Howie is joined by ex-art director and lead designer Lou Catanzaro in heading the new company. While Beach Cooler Games intends to make social games, Howie told Gamasutra that mobile will be its primary focus. And new game projects are already underway. "We think we can make this work, and it should work pretty well, so we'll see if we can get it to work," Howie said to Gamasutra. "And again -- I'm knocking on wood here, as I often do -- so far it's working great. It's pretty eye-opening, I have to admit."
The studio isn't giving any details on its existing products, but said that it isn't set on working with original intellectual property. This means that Beach Cooler Games could be working with another brand, like the team did with The Learning Company as Blue Fang. Howie and Catanzaro are hot off the heels since Blue Fang's shutdown in September, and took a portion of the former studio's team with them. Based on the love Blue Fang Games gave those two childhood classics, it's safe to be excited for what Beach Cooler Games thinks up.
Now DeNA is ready for global domination; Mobage exits open beta
"Alright, guys, time-in." If the mobile social games space were a game of tag in the schoolyard, that's essentially what Japanese social game maker DeNA just said. The company announced that the ngmoco-powered Mobage platform for Western Android devices is out of open beta. Ngmoco CEO Neil Young said, "Mobage has come out of beta," according to GamesIndustry.biz.
Certainly an apt description of current events, but we'll take it. Since Mobage launched this July, the service hasn't enjoyed much success. Despite that, a number of games from Zombie Farm to We Rule already hit the top 25 on the Android Market while on Mobage. However, according to Young, that was just a test.
"The beta period allowed us to test, refine and prove the service, assuring a superb user experience with Mobage and our world-class suite of games," Young said. "We now start the process of scaling the service and it is great to already see our games ranking high in the charts."
A wild success or not, DeNA is already ahead of its arch nemesis, Gree. The competing Japanese mobile social game network has yet to release its OpenFeint-backed global games network, though it has said that it's coming ... in 2012. Of course, there's also the mighty Zynga to worry about, which might have a few mobile tricks up its sleeves with Project Z. It looks like we'll have to wait another year to see the mobile social games race pick up the pace.
Certainly an apt description of current events, but we'll take it. Since Mobage launched this July, the service hasn't enjoyed much success. Despite that, a number of games from Zombie Farm to We Rule already hit the top 25 on the Android Market while on Mobage. However, according to Young, that was just a test.
"The beta period allowed us to test, refine and prove the service, assuring a superb user experience with Mobage and our world-class suite of games," Young said. "We now start the process of scaling the service and it is great to already see our games ranking high in the charts."
A wild success or not, DeNA is already ahead of its arch nemesis, Gree. The competing Japanese mobile social game network has yet to release its OpenFeint-backed global games network, though it has said that it's coming ... in 2012. Of course, there's also the mighty Zynga to worry about, which might have a few mobile tricks up its sleeves with Project Z. It looks like we'll have to wait another year to see the mobile social games race pick up the pace.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
FarmVille cake achieves Level 3 Deliciousness Mastery
FarmVIlle Cake
FarmVille-inspired foods are nothing new, but it's rare that a team of cake builders like those found on Cake Boss create a farm-themed cake. FarmVille Freak has found one of the most delicious-looking FarmVille cakes I have ever seen created by Fiesta Fun Cakes in Puerto Rico.
FarmVille Cake 2
The cake features many of the crops found in FarmVille like pumpkins, carrots and the ubiquitous Strawberries. Fiesta Fun Cakes even got the FarmVIlle logo on the plank of wood just right. It's almost lunch time on the East Coast, so we're already thinking about food. But thanks to this crop-filled cake, many of us are likely one step ahead: dessert.
FarmVille-inspired foods are nothing new, but it's rare that a team of cake builders like those found on Cake Boss create a farm-themed cake. FarmVille Freak has found one of the most delicious-looking FarmVille cakes I have ever seen created by Fiesta Fun Cakes in Puerto Rico.
FarmVille Cake 2
The cake features many of the crops found in FarmVille like pumpkins, carrots and the ubiquitous Strawberries. Fiesta Fun Cakes even got the FarmVIlle logo on the plank of wood just right. It's almost lunch time on the East Coast, so we're already thinking about food. But thanks to this crop-filled cake, many of us are likely one step ahead: dessert.
FarmVille Duck Pond and Duckling fixes arrive, more are on the way
Don't sigh of relief just yet, duck lovers. Official FarmVille Blog writer Tim reports that some fixes to the list of issues with the Duck Pond and Ducklings have gone live in FarmVille. This includes fixes to an issue that prevented players from picking a Duck when neighbors help out. The problem in which players were receiving an incorrect message when accepting a Duck help request has also been fixed.
Unfortunately, the Zynga team is still working on of the major issues that is preventing players from asking for help with their Ducklings. The Duck Pond and Ducklings have been troubled since they were introduced to the game. But hey, at least this a start. Hang in there, little guys.
What issues have you experienced with the Duck Pond and Ducklings? Have you found any workarounds or have these bugs turned you away from Ducklings entirely?
Unfortunately, the Zynga team is still working on of the major issues that is preventing players from asking for help with their Ducklings. The Duck Pond and Ducklings have been troubled since they were introduced to the game. But hey, at least this a start. Hang in there, little guys.
What issues have you experienced with the Duck Pond and Ducklings? Have you found any workarounds or have these bugs turned you away from Ducklings entirely?
CityVille on Facebook adds 20 new levels
One of the big trends in Facebook gaming is that more and more 'name' franchises are finding their way onto the social network. Yesterday, we saw the release of Monopoly on Facebook and Dragon Age Legends (based on the popular 'Dragon Age' video game series') kicks off its closed beta.
Dragon Age Legends is taking on the challenge of creating an in-depth role-playing game on Facebook, and seems to be off to a good start. You can custom create a character and choose their class (warrior, mage or rogue) and then take them into battle. During battle, you can choose from a selection of weapons and spells and, when its over, loot items that can be used to further customize your characters. The game also has a skill tree, where you can buy new moves/powers for your character as well as a castle where you spend your hard-earned coin buying rooms that will, for instance, let you create health potions and other helpful items that can be used in the heat of battle.
Gallery: Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
As far as depth, Dragon Age Legends has done an impressive job -- but the real question is -- will people find it fun to play? For me, some of the best parts about the Dragon Age video game is the storytelling and the sense of exploration, and that seems to be missing (so far, at least) in this Facebook version of the game. I'll have a more in-depth look at the game soon.
In the meantime, if you're interested in spearing a few Darkspawn on Facebook, you can sign up for the beta on https://beta.dragonagelegends.com/. Once you're in, you'll be able to play through the game, and you'll have a head start when the game officially opens to everyone later in March. If you buy and login to play the upcoming Dragon Age II game by March 15, you will get the Dragon Age Legends BioWare Signature pack that includes Hawke, the protagonist in DA II, and a bundle of exclusive in-game items.
Dragon Age Legends is taking on the challenge of creating an in-depth role-playing game on Facebook, and seems to be off to a good start. You can custom create a character and choose their class (warrior, mage or rogue) and then take them into battle. During battle, you can choose from a selection of weapons and spells and, when its over, loot items that can be used to further customize your characters. The game also has a skill tree, where you can buy new moves/powers for your character as well as a castle where you spend your hard-earned coin buying rooms that will, for instance, let you create health potions and other helpful items that can be used in the heat of battle.
Gallery: Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
As far as depth, Dragon Age Legends has done an impressive job -- but the real question is -- will people find it fun to play? For me, some of the best parts about the Dragon Age video game is the storytelling and the sense of exploration, and that seems to be missing (so far, at least) in this Facebook version of the game. I'll have a more in-depth look at the game soon.
In the meantime, if you're interested in spearing a few Darkspawn on Facebook, you can sign up for the beta on https://beta.dragonagelegends.com/. Once you're in, you'll be able to play through the game, and you'll have a head start when the game officially opens to everyone later in March. If you buy and login to play the upcoming Dragon Age II game by March 15, you will get the Dragon Age Legends BioWare Signature pack that includes Hawke, the protagonist in DA II, and a bundle of exclusive in-game items.
Dragon Age Legends on Facebook kicks off closed beta
One of the big trends in Facebook gaming is that more and more 'name' franchises are finding their way onto the social network. Yesterday, we saw the release of Monopoly on Facebook and Dragon Age Legends (based on the popular 'Dragon Age' video game series') kicks off its closed beta.
Dragon Age Legends is taking on the challenge of creating an in-depth role-playing game on Facebook, and seems to be off to a good start. You can custom create a character and choose their class (warrior, mage or rogue) and then take them into battle. During battle, you can choose from a selection of weapons and spells and, when its over, loot items that can be used to further customize your characters. The game also has a skill tree, where you can buy new moves/powers for your character as well as a castle where you spend your hard-earned coin buying rooms that will, for instance, let you create health potions and other helpful items that can be used in the heat of battle.
Gallery: Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
As far as depth, Dragon Age Legends has done an impressive job -- but the real question is -- will people find it fun to play? For me, some of the best parts about the Dragon Age video game is the storytelling and the sense of exploration, and that seems to be missing (so far, at least) in this Facebook version of the game. I'll have a more in-depth look at the game soon.
In the meantime, if you're interested in spearing a few Darkspawn on Facebook, you can sign up for the beta on https://beta.dragonagelegends.com/. Once you're in, you'll be able to play through the game, and you'll have a head start when the game officially opens to everyone later in March. If you buy and login to play the upcoming Dragon Age II game by March 15, you will get the Dragon Age Legends BioWare Signature pack that includes Hawke, the protagonist in DA II, and a bundle of exclusive in-game items.
Dragon Age Legends is taking on the challenge of creating an in-depth role-playing game on Facebook, and seems to be off to a good start. You can custom create a character and choose their class (warrior, mage or rogue) and then take them into battle. During battle, you can choose from a selection of weapons and spells and, when its over, loot items that can be used to further customize your characters. The game also has a skill tree, where you can buy new moves/powers for your character as well as a castle where you spend your hard-earned coin buying rooms that will, for instance, let you create health potions and other helpful items that can be used in the heat of battle.
Gallery: Dragon Age Legends on Facebook
As far as depth, Dragon Age Legends has done an impressive job -- but the real question is -- will people find it fun to play? For me, some of the best parts about the Dragon Age video game is the storytelling and the sense of exploration, and that seems to be missing (so far, at least) in this Facebook version of the game. I'll have a more in-depth look at the game soon.
In the meantime, if you're interested in spearing a few Darkspawn on Facebook, you can sign up for the beta on https://beta.dragonagelegends.com/. Once you're in, you'll be able to play through the game, and you'll have a head start when the game officially opens to everyone later in March. If you buy and login to play the upcoming Dragon Age II game by March 15, you will get the Dragon Age Legends BioWare Signature pack that includes Hawke, the protagonist in DA II, and a bundle of exclusive in-game items.
Hospitopia on Facebook will give players a cause to 'Share' [Interview]
While social game developers like Zynga have been leveraging their millions of fans to contribute to noble causes, it's only recently that games devoted entirely to a cause have sprouted up. Hospitopia by CausePlay, has teamed up with Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH) nationwide to contribute 10 percent of all revenue brought in by the game to its over 170 hospitals.
We chatted with founding partner and President of CausePlay Jonas Hudson, Aubrey Cichelli, VP of Communications at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and Joe Mason, Senior Vice President of Consumer Services for Intersections Inc. (a marketing partner with CausePlay) about how CausePlay plans to give players a cause to share their social gaming experience.
Why did you decide on the hospital theme and specifically Children's Miracle Network?
Jonas Hudson: CausePlay is a social gaming company that has been founded on the focus of delivering social games that are relevant to cause-related marketing. We needed to find a benefactor that was a blue chip brand, if you will. It's interesting when you're looking for benefactors that meet the quality and standards that you're looking for, there is very few and far in between that have such broad appeal, strong infrastructure, far reach, etc. The beauty was that when we called Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH) they not only accepted our call, but also jumped at the opportunity.
Aubrey Cichelli: Here at CMNH, we have anxiously watched the social space like many other non-profits and really tried to figure out the best way to leverage it for awareness. So, when we were approached by CausePlay, it was a good fit for us. CausePlay was willing to put it together and have us just benefit from it, which is ideal for a charity that doesn't create social games (laughs).
Hospitopia in action
What type of gameplay can players expect from Hospitopia?
Hudson: The neat thing about Hospitopia is that we have created two areas of interest that we believe is going to change the way this gameplay is done. First and foremost is the art. Most games you play in the social game space use hand-drawn art that is cartoon, if you will, we have chosen to go with full 3D rendering on everything. We think it's going to change interaction and make for just a better game experience.
Second is the video metrics platform and, simply put, it's a video wall. Players will be able to watch content that's relevant to the partners that we're working with. For example, you could earn points by watching CMNH PSAs. You could earn points by looking at products that the CMNH want to launch.
So, you've got a more social engine behind this, because people can take these videos, embed them their friends' Facebook walls and they earn points for doing all this. We can actually showcase commercials [from its branding partners like Intersections Identity Guard] where people can view them and earn points for doing it.
While it's been said that all donations will be a flat rate of 10 percent of revenue, how will that work on players' end?
Hudson: At launch, you will be able to choose a local Children's Network Hospital through a drop down menu. If you're in Los Angeles and you want to choose the LA hospital or the San Francisco one, etc. After choosing that hospital, you're going to be earning that hospital special incentive prizes while raising money across the entire network of CMNH hospitals.
Cichelli: CMNH acts much differently than other charities in that all of the funds raised stay local. So, Joe, where are you based?
Hospitopia Set up
I live in Philadelphia.
Cichelli: So, CHOP [Children's Hospital of Philadelphia] in Philadelphia. When you first went in a logged into Hospitopia, you would be asked to choose the CMNH you'd like to benefit. And you can select either CHOP or if you grew up in a different area or consider something else your home hospital, you can select that.
Hudson: There are three types of ways in the game that funds are generated. The purchase of digital goods, through basic advertising and through in-game corporate branding exercises. What we do is take all of that and put it into one lump sum, call it revenue and we donate off the top line 10 percent. There's nothing happening behind the scenes. It's just a top line dollar amount. It's a lot easier for the players to understand where their time and money is going.
Do you see social games for social good as a trend for the genre in general? Do you believe that more developers or networks will leverage these social networks to spur change?
Hudson: When CausePlay was developed, we looked at the time people spent on Facebook, playing social games and its incredible. Some of the last numbers I read were if you added all the time spent it would be millions of years. The real truth behind the social game is nothing really to do with the gameplay, in essence, but it's really about the social interaction.
We thought that what better way to provide an outreach for people who wanted to socially interact is create a real cause behind what they're doing. We thought this gives a much better reason to reach out your average 150 Facebook [friends] and get them to see what you're doing. We hope this is going to pave a path not just our company both other companies in general to build upon this cause marketing.
Intersections' Identity Guard
What plans are there for the future of Hospitopia?
Hudson: Hospitopia will be mobilized within the first 75 days of gameplay. We're going to take it to the iPhone and Android platforms. The ability to mobilize social games is basically the future of all gaming. And if you don't have that in your plan I think you're dead in the water. The players that are playing these games are getting on smarter phones and as the iPhone and Android platforms take over it all, we're going to be right in the middle of it. We're also building it for dumbed down phones, so you will be able to do texting to get in and out of the gameplay.
I think the beauty of [Hospitopia] is going to be the gamers that play it. There's over 170 CMNH hospitals and they're going to be in control of where this game will be going. The build and the game's design was inspired by a book that the CMNH gave us. So, our game will be following the input of our users. And what you see today will not look the same from three months, six months or a year from now.
We chatted with founding partner and President of CausePlay Jonas Hudson, Aubrey Cichelli, VP of Communications at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and Joe Mason, Senior Vice President of Consumer Services for Intersections Inc. (a marketing partner with CausePlay) about how CausePlay plans to give players a cause to share their social gaming experience.
Why did you decide on the hospital theme and specifically Children's Miracle Network?
Jonas Hudson: CausePlay is a social gaming company that has been founded on the focus of delivering social games that are relevant to cause-related marketing. We needed to find a benefactor that was a blue chip brand, if you will. It's interesting when you're looking for benefactors that meet the quality and standards that you're looking for, there is very few and far in between that have such broad appeal, strong infrastructure, far reach, etc. The beauty was that when we called Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH) they not only accepted our call, but also jumped at the opportunity.
Aubrey Cichelli: Here at CMNH, we have anxiously watched the social space like many other non-profits and really tried to figure out the best way to leverage it for awareness. So, when we were approached by CausePlay, it was a good fit for us. CausePlay was willing to put it together and have us just benefit from it, which is ideal for a charity that doesn't create social games (laughs).
Hospitopia in action
What type of gameplay can players expect from Hospitopia?
Hudson: The neat thing about Hospitopia is that we have created two areas of interest that we believe is going to change the way this gameplay is done. First and foremost is the art. Most games you play in the social game space use hand-drawn art that is cartoon, if you will, we have chosen to go with full 3D rendering on everything. We think it's going to change interaction and make for just a better game experience.
Second is the video metrics platform and, simply put, it's a video wall. Players will be able to watch content that's relevant to the partners that we're working with. For example, you could earn points by watching CMNH PSAs. You could earn points by looking at products that the CMNH want to launch.
So, you've got a more social engine behind this, because people can take these videos, embed them their friends' Facebook walls and they earn points for doing all this. We can actually showcase commercials [from its branding partners like Intersections Identity Guard] where people can view them and earn points for doing it.
While it's been said that all donations will be a flat rate of 10 percent of revenue, how will that work on players' end?
Hudson: At launch, you will be able to choose a local Children's Network Hospital through a drop down menu. If you're in Los Angeles and you want to choose the LA hospital or the San Francisco one, etc. After choosing that hospital, you're going to be earning that hospital special incentive prizes while raising money across the entire network of CMNH hospitals.
Cichelli: CMNH acts much differently than other charities in that all of the funds raised stay local. So, Joe, where are you based?
Hospitopia Set up
I live in Philadelphia.
Cichelli: So, CHOP [Children's Hospital of Philadelphia] in Philadelphia. When you first went in a logged into Hospitopia, you would be asked to choose the CMNH you'd like to benefit. And you can select either CHOP or if you grew up in a different area or consider something else your home hospital, you can select that.
Hudson: There are three types of ways in the game that funds are generated. The purchase of digital goods, through basic advertising and through in-game corporate branding exercises. What we do is take all of that and put it into one lump sum, call it revenue and we donate off the top line 10 percent. There's nothing happening behind the scenes. It's just a top line dollar amount. It's a lot easier for the players to understand where their time and money is going.
Do you see social games for social good as a trend for the genre in general? Do you believe that more developers or networks will leverage these social networks to spur change?
Hudson: When CausePlay was developed, we looked at the time people spent on Facebook, playing social games and its incredible. Some of the last numbers I read were if you added all the time spent it would be millions of years. The real truth behind the social game is nothing really to do with the gameplay, in essence, but it's really about the social interaction.
We thought that what better way to provide an outreach for people who wanted to socially interact is create a real cause behind what they're doing. We thought this gives a much better reason to reach out your average 150 Facebook [friends] and get them to see what you're doing. We hope this is going to pave a path not just our company both other companies in general to build upon this cause marketing.
Intersections' Identity Guard
What plans are there for the future of Hospitopia?
Hudson: Hospitopia will be mobilized within the first 75 days of gameplay. We're going to take it to the iPhone and Android platforms. The ability to mobilize social games is basically the future of all gaming. And if you don't have that in your plan I think you're dead in the water. The players that are playing these games are getting on smarter phones and as the iPhone and Android platforms take over it all, we're going to be right in the middle of it. We're also building it for dumbed down phones, so you will be able to do texting to get in and out of the gameplay.
I think the beauty of [Hospitopia] is going to be the gamers that play it. There's over 170 CMNH hospitals and they're going to be in control of where this game will be going. The build and the game's design was inspired by a book that the CMNH gave us. So, our game will be following the input of our users. And what you see today will not look the same from three months, six months or a year from now.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Halfbrick to bring Fruit Ninja to Facebook - fruit slicing has never been so social!
Back in April of 2010, Halfbrick launched Fruit Ninja on the App Store. In the time since, the game has experienced phenomenal success, as millions of players haven't been able to get enough of slicing and dicing their way through a smorgasbord of yummy fruit. However, Fruit Ninja costs 99 cents or $2.99 on iPhone and iPad, respectfully, so Halfbrick has decided to release a new version of the game that's absolutely free to play - and on Facebook to boot.
Fruit Ninja Frenzy doesn't have a release day as of yet, but our friends at Joystiq say that Halfbrick has promised "60 second gameplay with many powerups, unlockables and achievements" to be included in this new version of the game. While the game will be free-to-play, you will be able to collect something called "Juice," the game's premium currency, which can also be purchased with real money. Perhaps this Juice will be used to purchase power-ups that are unavailable anywhere else? That's one possibility, but of course we'll bring you all of the specifics when we know more.
Look for beta tests to be "announced soon."
Fruit Ninja Frenzy doesn't have a release day as of yet, but our friends at Joystiq say that Halfbrick has promised "60 second gameplay with many powerups, unlockables and achievements" to be included in this new version of the game. While the game will be free-to-play, you will be able to collect something called "Juice," the game's premium currency, which can also be purchased with real money. Perhaps this Juice will be used to purchase power-ups that are unavailable anywhere else? That's one possibility, but of course we'll bring you all of the specifics when we know more.
Look for beta tests to be "announced soon."
FarmVille Mardi Gras Sneak Peek: Mardi Gras Tree & Giant Mardi Gras Tree
Similar to last year in FarmVille, it looks like Zynga will be bringing back a Mardi Gras theme to the game in the very near future, as we've come across images of two new Mardi Gras trees. As you might expect from the past few months of releases, the two trees are the Mardi Gras Tree and the Giant Mardi Gras Tree. While they might not look to be much different in size, look closely and you will see that one is larger than the other.
Not to be confused with the Carnival Trees released last year (see at right), these Mardi Gras trees are just the palm tree portions of those previously released trees (with a new hat), without the masks on sticks. In other words - these trees look more like actual trees, rather than some larger decorative item. These new trees will also apparently be masterable, which is more than I can say for the Carnival Tree, even if you still have them on your land (like I do).
Once again, these trees will create bead necklaces, but only purple and gold this time, unlike the purple, green, and gold option from last year. These are different trees - make no mistake. We'll make sure to give you all of the details about these unreleased trees as they become available, so keep checking back.
Note: Some users have started reporting that some Mystery Seedlings are turning into Giant Mardi Gras Trees when watered. The release of trees as Mystery Seedlings normally happens just a few days before the tree itself is officially released in the game's store, so it's likely that the Mardi Gras theme will launch this weekend (we'd guess Sunday evening). For now, make sure to keep a lookout for these Giant Mardi Gras Trees being posted by your friends on the news feed.
Not to be confused with the Carnival Trees released last year (see at right), these Mardi Gras trees are just the palm tree portions of those previously released trees (with a new hat), without the masks on sticks. In other words - these trees look more like actual trees, rather than some larger decorative item. These new trees will also apparently be masterable, which is more than I can say for the Carnival Tree, even if you still have them on your land (like I do).
Once again, these trees will create bead necklaces, but only purple and gold this time, unlike the purple, green, and gold option from last year. These are different trees - make no mistake. We'll make sure to give you all of the details about these unreleased trees as they become available, so keep checking back.
Note: Some users have started reporting that some Mystery Seedlings are turning into Giant Mardi Gras Trees when watered. The release of trees as Mystery Seedlings normally happens just a few days before the tree itself is officially released in the game's store, so it's likely that the Mardi Gras theme will launch this weekend (we'd guess Sunday evening). For now, make sure to keep a lookout for these Giant Mardi Gras Trees being posted by your friends on the news feed.
FarmVille Mardi Gras Sneak Peek: Mask Fountain, Avatar Mask, French Hotel, & More
It looks like this year's Mardi Gras theme in FarmVille will be something to behold, as we've come across a slew of new images of unreleased decorations and items that we believe will be launching in the game in the near future. For this Sneak Peek, we have five items in total, the first of which is the background for the Mardi Gras items as they will appear in the store, which almost guarantees they're existence in full in the game.
As for the items themselves, we have a Mask Fountain, a French Hotel (a building like those you'd see on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the home of Mardi Gras), a Mardi Gras Float, and what appears to be a Mardi Gras Mask for your FarmVille avatar. The names of these items haven't been set in stone, but the images are enough to hold us over for now - just look how bright and colorful they are!
You can check out the Mask Fountain in its full animated glory below, and we'll make sure to let you know when (if) these items officially launch in the game, so keep checking back with us.
As for the items themselves, we have a Mask Fountain, a French Hotel (a building like those you'd see on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the home of Mardi Gras), a Mardi Gras Float, and what appears to be a Mardi Gras Mask for your FarmVille avatar. The names of these items haven't been set in stone, but the images are enough to hold us over for now - just look how bright and colorful they are!
You can check out the Mask Fountain in its full animated glory below, and we'll make sure to let you know when (if) these items officially launch in the game, so keep checking back with us.
FarmVille Mardi Gras Sneak Peek: Carnival Horse & Carnival Foal
Along with the new trees and new decorative items that we believe will be launching in a new Mardi Gras theme in FarmVille (in the near future), we've come across a pair of new horses that you'll want to take a look at. The horse, we believe, will be called the Carnival Horse. This horse is all decked out in green, yellow, and purple carnival attire, as though it were ready to walk in a parade. What's more, this horse is animated, blowing a noise-maker in its mouth.
You'll be able to put the Carnival Horse into the Horse Stable, where you'll have the chance of spawning the Carnival Foal, which you can see a screenshot of at right as well. This foal seems to have on the same party gear as its parent, but of course those decorations are exaggerated due to the Foal's smaller size.
No word yet on how the Carnival Horse will be made available - that is, if it will be released in the store for Farm Cash, or if perhaps it will be involved in an upcoming Mystery Game. Keep checking back with us for all of the details about this pair as they become available, and for now, check out the animations of the two horses in motion below.
What do you think of this downright adorable Carnival Foal? Will you purchase a Carnival Horse in the hopes of spawning these foals for your friends, or will you just wait and see if a friend posts a free foal for you instead?
You'll be able to put the Carnival Horse into the Horse Stable, where you'll have the chance of spawning the Carnival Foal, which you can see a screenshot of at right as well. This foal seems to have on the same party gear as its parent, but of course those decorations are exaggerated due to the Foal's smaller size.
No word yet on how the Carnival Horse will be made available - that is, if it will be released in the store for Farm Cash, or if perhaps it will be involved in an upcoming Mystery Game. Keep checking back with us for all of the details about this pair as they become available, and for now, check out the animations of the two horses in motion below.
What do you think of this downright adorable Carnival Foal? Will you purchase a Carnival Horse in the hopes of spawning these foals for your friends, or will you just wait and see if a friend posts a free foal for you instead?
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Yellow Unicorn, White Kitten, Pale Blue Hay Bale & More
If you're in the mood for some unreleased images for items and animals that we believe will be coming to FarmVille in the near future, then you're in the right place, as we have a whole slew of items available for you this evening. This Sneak Peek shows off two animals, some decorations that might be coming to the Pot of Gold in the future, and some other decorative items that don't seem to fit into any exact theme as of this writing.
For the two animals, we have a Yellow Unicorn and White Kitten. Since Zynga has closed the Fairy Tale theme to new item additions, it's most likely that we'll see the Yellow Unicorn being released in a new Mystery Game. And where there is one new animal in a mystery, there are likely more - could this be where the White Kitten comes in as well? Or, could this be a teaser for a new animal building, giving us a place to store and breed our cats? Sure, that's an unlikely guess, but it's something to think about all the same.
Take a look at these two animals in action, along with the new decorative items behind the break. Won't you meet us there?
As for the other items, we have a decorative pair of birds called Green Broadbills (we assume they are decorative as most birds on branches tend to be), a Pale Blue Hay Bale (lovely, isn't it?), and a Butterfly Fountain. This Butterfly Fountain is very "Spring-like" in nature, so this very well could be one of the items released in a second page of Pot of Gold awards, should Zynga have a second page in mind. We say this as last year's Pot of Gold had a general Spring Pond as a prize, so this would only be fitting.
Regardless of how these animals / items are made available in the game, we have sneak peeks of a few of their animations (the Yellow Unicorn and White Kitten) below, so make sure to check them out.
For the two animals, we have a Yellow Unicorn and White Kitten. Since Zynga has closed the Fairy Tale theme to new item additions, it's most likely that we'll see the Yellow Unicorn being released in a new Mystery Game. And where there is one new animal in a mystery, there are likely more - could this be where the White Kitten comes in as well? Or, could this be a teaser for a new animal building, giving us a place to store and breed our cats? Sure, that's an unlikely guess, but it's something to think about all the same.
Take a look at these two animals in action, along with the new decorative items behind the break. Won't you meet us there?
As for the other items, we have a decorative pair of birds called Green Broadbills (we assume they are decorative as most birds on branches tend to be), a Pale Blue Hay Bale (lovely, isn't it?), and a Butterfly Fountain. This Butterfly Fountain is very "Spring-like" in nature, so this very well could be one of the items released in a second page of Pot of Gold awards, should Zynga have a second page in mind. We say this as last year's Pot of Gold had a general Spring Pond as a prize, so this would only be fitting.
Regardless of how these animals / items are made available in the game, we have sneak peeks of a few of their animations (the Yellow Unicorn and White Kitten) below, so make sure to check them out.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
FarmVille: Sussex Chicken now in Chicken Coop
Just yesterday, we brought you a sneak peek of a new Sussex Chicken that we believe will be coming to the English Countryside theme in FarmVille in the near future. That prediction was all but confirmed this morning, as we've seen that the Sussex Chicken has already been given a home inside the Chicken Coop, as it is listed as the very last Chicken in the menu - as the level 18 Chicken, to be exact.
We've seen through this update that the Sussex Chicken will offer you another chance at receiving English Mystery Eggs (check out their contents in our guide), and will apparently add 64 coins to your harvest total when you collect from your Chicken Coop everyday.
There's no exact release date for the Sussex Chicken, but it could be released as early as this evening. We'll make sure to let you know if that's the case.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Will you purchase a Sussex Chicken in your English farm or your Home Farm?
We've seen through this update that the Sussex Chicken will offer you another chance at receiving English Mystery Eggs (check out their contents in our guide), and will apparently add 64 coins to your harvest total when you collect from your Chicken Coop everyday.
There's no exact release date for the Sussex Chicken, but it could be released as early as this evening. We'll make sure to let you know if that's the case.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Will you purchase a Sussex Chicken in your English farm or your Home Farm?
FrontierVille: Clear debris to find Spring Bear Cub injured critter
In addition to the White Buffalo and Black Deer that have previously been available as injured critters in FrontierVille, a new randomly-appearing animal has been added to the list in the form of a Spring Bear Cub. The Spring Bear Cub can be found by completing tasks on your land, like clearing debris. I, for instance, had a Spring Bear Cub pop out while clearing a rock from my Homestead.
The Spring Bear Cub isn't technically an injured animal, as the game simply says that the bear is so shy that she won't come out of her burrow, rather than saying she's injured. The process is the same, however, and you'll need to gather Juicy Berries from friends to lure the Bear Cub out of her hole. You can do this by clicking on the "Asl for 'Em" button and then posting a general news item to your wall asking your friends for help.
We'll make sure to let you know if more critters are added to the game in the future.
The Spring Bear Cub isn't technically an injured animal, as the game simply says that the bear is so shy that she won't come out of her burrow, rather than saying she's injured. The process is the same, however, and you'll need to gather Juicy Berries from friends to lure the Bear Cub out of her hole. You can do this by clicking on the "Asl for 'Em" button and then posting a general news item to your wall asking your friends for help.
We'll make sure to let you know if more critters are added to the game in the future.
FarmVille LE English Countryside Trees: Crab Apple Tree & Damson Tree
Two new trees have been added to the limited edition English Countryside item theme in FarmVille this evening, and those farmers that have chosen to focus on their Home Farms rather than making the trip over the pond will be happy to know that these trees are available to place on either farm.
The Damson Tree costs 5 Farm Cash, while the Crab Apple Tree costs 10 Farm Cash. Upon placing the Damson Tree in your Orchard, you'll see that the Crab Apple Tree is the tree that you'll have a chance of receiving from a Mystery Seedling, so feel free to skip purchasing the Crab Apple Tree altogether if you think you'll have luck in randomly receiving one as a Mystery Seedling.
Both of these trees will be available in the game for the next two weeks. Remember, if you'd like to have these trees on both of your farms, you'll need to purchase them twice.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Will you purchase either of these trees for your farm, or had you already received a Crab Apple Tree as a Mystery
seedling?
The Damson Tree costs 5 Farm Cash, while the Crab Apple Tree costs 10 Farm Cash. Upon placing the Damson Tree in your Orchard, you'll see that the Crab Apple Tree is the tree that you'll have a chance of receiving from a Mystery Seedling, so feel free to skip purchasing the Crab Apple Tree altogether if you think you'll have luck in randomly receiving one as a Mystery Seedling.
Both of these trees will be available in the game for the next two weeks. Remember, if you'd like to have these trees on both of your farms, you'll need to purchase them twice.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Will you purchase either of these trees for your farm, or had you already received a Crab Apple Tree as a Mystery
seedling?
FarmVille Mystery Game (03/27/11): Birds take flight as new prizes
This week's Mystery Game in FarmVille isn't technically labeled as coming with a standard English Countryside theme, as it instead introduces us to a set of six birds, ready to take flight right onto your farm. The game is called "English Wings," and it will offer you England-inspired birds as prizes.
Some of these birds are those we've given you a sneak peek of in the past, including the Sussex Chicken which we brought you news of just this morning. Here's a complete rundown of this week's prizes:
English Partridge
Gray Heron
King Fisher
Sussex Chicken
Tufted Duck
White Barn Owl
This week's Mystery Game strikes a balance between last week's price of 20 Farm Cash per dart and the normal price of 16 Farm Cash, as it will cost you 18 Farm Cash to play the game this week. Each dart offers you a chance at one of these feathered friends, but remember, you don't have a choice as to which prize you'll win.
If you'd like one of these birds, make sure to play the game within the next week, as next Sunday will see the game being updated with a new set of items, perhaps even in a new theme.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these birds are you hoping to win this week?
Some of these birds are those we've given you a sneak peek of in the past, including the Sussex Chicken which we brought you news of just this morning. Here's a complete rundown of this week's prizes:
English Partridge
Gray Heron
King Fisher
Sussex Chicken
Tufted Duck
White Barn Owl
This week's Mystery Game strikes a balance between last week's price of 20 Farm Cash per dart and the normal price of 16 Farm Cash, as it will cost you 18 Farm Cash to play the game this week. Each dart offers you a chance at one of these feathered friends, but remember, you don't have a choice as to which prize you'll win.
If you'd like one of these birds, make sure to play the game within the next week, as next Sunday will see the game being updated with a new set of items, perhaps even in a new theme.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these birds are you hoping to win this week?
FarmVille LE English Countryside Animals: Shetland Pony, Devon Cow & Bagot Goat
If you like checking out our FarmVille sneak peeks, filled with unreleased images of items coming to the game, you'll recognize tonight's trio of animals that have officially been released in the game's store under the limited edition English Countryside theme. The three animals are the Shetland Pony, the Devon Cow, and the Bagot Goat.
The Bagot Goat is the solo item here, being available for 14 Farm Cash. Meanwhile, if you purchase either the Shetland Pony or the Devon Cow, remember that this opens up the opportunity to breed these animals in their respective animal storage building, for either a Shetland Foal or a Devon Calf. Both of these animals are more expensive as a result, with the Shetland Pony costing 24 Farm Cash and the Devon Cow going for 22 Farm Cash.
All three of these animals will be available in the store for the next two weeks, so purchase them while you can so that you don't miss out. Remember, while all three of these items are available to purchase on either your Home Farm or the English Countryside, if you'd like to have them on both farms, you'll need to purchase two.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
What do you think of these new animals?
The Bagot Goat is the solo item here, being available for 14 Farm Cash. Meanwhile, if you purchase either the Shetland Pony or the Devon Cow, remember that this opens up the opportunity to breed these animals in their respective animal storage building, for either a Shetland Foal or a Devon Calf. Both of these animals are more expensive as a result, with the Shetland Pony costing 24 Farm Cash and the Devon Cow going for 22 Farm Cash.
All three of these animals will be available in the store for the next two weeks, so purchase them while you can so that you don't miss out. Remember, while all three of these items are available to purchase on either your Home Farm or the English Countryside, if you'd like to have them on both farms, you'll need to purchase two.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
What do you think of these new animals?
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