There's two schools of thought when it comes to the best way to play CityVille -- that is, whether looking pretty and saving land is more important than cramming things to the hilt and saving Energy. Right now, the prevailing wisdom of players is to value Energy-saving over land space. Today, we already showcased an awesome way to save Energy by using decorations. But if you find yourself running out of space more than Energy, here's some pointers:
CityVille Franchise HQ bonus
1. Franchise HQs don't need Roads to work. They take up 5x5 of space, which is a lot, but you need them to manage your franchises. Most people put these buildings off to the side, but they offer a +2% boost range of 11x11 to businesses. (You can see from the sample image that one HQ can bonus boost up to five businesses.) So put 'em where you can use their bonus boosting power!
CityVille Community Buildings
2. Community buildings (e.g. Post Office, Police, City Hall, etc.) and Storage buildings (e.g. Silo, Red Barn, Sticks, etc.) don't need roads either. Community buildings give out money and owning them allows you to have a bigger population. And Storage buildings let you have more goods. But other than that, these are pretty useless. Profit bonuses from decorations don't work on them. So if you have to put a building in the corner, do it to these two kinds!
CityVille Roads versus Sidewalks
3. Contrary to the headline of this post, roads are important. We all know certain buildings can't earn coins unless they're somehow touching the roads. So what do I mean when I say you don't need them? Well, the game starts you off with some Asphalt Roads already in place. This means most of us are tempted to keep using them, so we buy more for 10 Coins each. But a better substitute is actually the City Sidewalk, which costs 20 Coins. If you care about space, one Asphalt Road takes up 3x3 land, but one City Sidewalk takes up just 1x1 land. Instead of connecting your buildings by using the Asphalt Road, use the City Sidewalk!
(Note: A piece of City Sidewalk must be touching a piece of Asphalt Road to work. See the above image where I put down one piece of road in the middle of nowhere, connected the Sidewalks to it, and the businesses are functional? And that one Coffee Shop has some Sidewalk sticking out of it, but the game says it's "Not connected to road.")
Friday, January 13, 2012
FrontierVille Tips & Tricks: Earn free, bonus Toys by using friends' wall posts
Earlier this evening, we brought you news of the launch of the Toy Factory in FrontierVille. This Toy Factory will see you collecting toys (as the name suggests), which can then be turned in for free Holiday themed decorations and prizes. While we already know that you can simply send gifts to your friends (and receive them from friends) as free gifts, there is another way to earn free presents, that isn't even advertised, but is very much a time saver.
This involves the Wall Posts that you can also post to your friends walls asking for gifts. Since giving Toys is a "Give one, get one" situation, it's in every players' best interest to respond to these posts. In this comes our helpful little trick. If you have a bunch of friends playing FrontierVille, that also happen to be friends with each other, you can use these relationships to your advantage, and score free Toys, even if they haven't been given directly to you.
Since you'll be able to see every post concerning FrontierVille on your news feed, even if the post is one friend posting on another friend's wall (again, not your wall), you can act as though the item was meant for you, and can click on this wall post anyway, giving your friend a free Toy, and earning one for yourself. You'll need to look for the kind of wall post shown in the image above - that's when you know you've found a free Toy.
Don't worry about "stealing" the Toy associated with that request either, as we have tested this trick, and have found in our experience that more than one person can click on each Toy request, thus giving you a chance to earn a free Toy, while not removing the ability for your friends to do so as well. Note: These requests will eventually expire, but from our experience, it isn't until after three or four Toys have been gifted, just as it was with the Thanksgiving Feast dishes, where this trick first came to be.
This is an incredible opportunity to quickly rack up Toys in FrontierVille, especially if you play with a large group of friends. Just watch out for friends to start posting requests on walls and go in for the free Toys! We're sure your friends won't mind earning even more free Toys than they anticipated, and neither will you!
This involves the Wall Posts that you can also post to your friends walls asking for gifts. Since giving Toys is a "Give one, get one" situation, it's in every players' best interest to respond to these posts. In this comes our helpful little trick. If you have a bunch of friends playing FrontierVille, that also happen to be friends with each other, you can use these relationships to your advantage, and score free Toys, even if they haven't been given directly to you.
Since you'll be able to see every post concerning FrontierVille on your news feed, even if the post is one friend posting on another friend's wall (again, not your wall), you can act as though the item was meant for you, and can click on this wall post anyway, giving your friend a free Toy, and earning one for yourself. You'll need to look for the kind of wall post shown in the image above - that's when you know you've found a free Toy.
Don't worry about "stealing" the Toy associated with that request either, as we have tested this trick, and have found in our experience that more than one person can click on each Toy request, thus giving you a chance to earn a free Toy, while not removing the ability for your friends to do so as well. Note: These requests will eventually expire, but from our experience, it isn't until after three or four Toys have been gifted, just as it was with the Thanksgiving Feast dishes, where this trick first came to be.
This is an incredible opportunity to quickly rack up Toys in FrontierVille, especially if you play with a large group of friends. Just watch out for friends to start posting requests on walls and go in for the free Toys! We're sure your friends won't mind earning even more free Toys than they anticipated, and neither will you!
Zombie Party on Facebook: Zombies are coming for your brains, or maybe just your pumpkins
Zombie Party from TipCat Interactive was launched at Facebook at the beginning of December. In the game, the apocalypse has apparently happened, and your city has become infested with armies of the walking dead. You're a survivor, forced to fall back into the safety of your home and fight the undead scourge from within.
With a large variety of both zombies and weaponry, Zombie Party looks to contain enough gameplay for the average player to stay entertained in short bursts. What else does Zombie Party have to offer? Meet us behind the break to find out!
You'll start Zombie Party by creating your avatar, through a character creation system that offers... less than substantial choices for skin and hair colors, to put it politely. Since realistic options seem to be out of the question, you might as well go full tilt in the opposite direction, creating a character with green skin and bright pink hair (like I did - quite satisfying, I must say).
From there, you'll be taken to your very small home, which consists of just 18 squares of real estate (this can be expanded over time). Zombies are shambling around outside, and you'll be left with a series of introductory quests that serve as the game's tutorial. Your home contains machines that can produce new weapons, and you'll also receive items for free just for logging in everyday. As you produce these weapons, your in-game avatar, and those helpers that you hire (more on that in a minute) will automatically attack the zombies outside of your home.
Contrary to what makes sense, the only way to safely kill zombies, at least according to the game, is to place bait items in your lawn that will lure them in. These bait items will slow a zombie down, as they are attracted to the items you placed (different kinds of zombies require different kinds of bait), giving you more time to kill them.
As for adding users to your army, you are given a free "Zombie Friend," and from there, can hire friends to join your army. You can also visit your friends yards and help them out by hovering over zombies and shooting on them when your cursor turns into a target. You can help shoot five zombies on each users' land at a time, and you'll earn coins and building parts in the process.
These buildings parts are used to unlock new technology in the form of both light and heavy weaponry. Light weaponry can consist of slingshots and crossbows, while more heavy artillery comes in the form of banana catapults, stone throwers, and even machine guns or mortars. These weapons must be produced through weapon production machines, and the amount of ammo you'd like will affect how long you'll have to wait for it. For instance, if you want to earn 24 Slingshot pebbles, you'll have to wait just 15 minutes, but for 145 pebbles, the wait is a full day.
As the game contains a large variety of zombie types, there is also an encyclopedia of sorts, that shows you all of the kinds of zombies you've had on your land, what items can be used to lure them in, and any sort of special features they might have (healing, fast moving speed, and so on).
After you've completed the basic tutorial missions, you'll continue to unlock more quests that can be completed, but otherwise, the gameplay doesn't really seem to change. Unless you have a mass amount of ammunition on hand, your workers will stand still, and the zombies will simply shamble in and out of the screen without incident. It's up to you, then, how active you'd like this war against the undead to be, depending on how much ammo you supply your army.
Technically speaking, Zombie Party offers fullscreen gameplay, and the ability to send free gifts to friends. We personally didn't experience any bugs, which is a very positive feature for a game that is so new. All in all, if you'd like to make sure your home can't be overtaken by the zombies, make sure to jump into Zombie Party and start setting up your defenses right away.
With a large variety of both zombies and weaponry, Zombie Party looks to contain enough gameplay for the average player to stay entertained in short bursts. What else does Zombie Party have to offer? Meet us behind the break to find out!
You'll start Zombie Party by creating your avatar, through a character creation system that offers... less than substantial choices for skin and hair colors, to put it politely. Since realistic options seem to be out of the question, you might as well go full tilt in the opposite direction, creating a character with green skin and bright pink hair (like I did - quite satisfying, I must say).
From there, you'll be taken to your very small home, which consists of just 18 squares of real estate (this can be expanded over time). Zombies are shambling around outside, and you'll be left with a series of introductory quests that serve as the game's tutorial. Your home contains machines that can produce new weapons, and you'll also receive items for free just for logging in everyday. As you produce these weapons, your in-game avatar, and those helpers that you hire (more on that in a minute) will automatically attack the zombies outside of your home.
Contrary to what makes sense, the only way to safely kill zombies, at least according to the game, is to place bait items in your lawn that will lure them in. These bait items will slow a zombie down, as they are attracted to the items you placed (different kinds of zombies require different kinds of bait), giving you more time to kill them.
As for adding users to your army, you are given a free "Zombie Friend," and from there, can hire friends to join your army. You can also visit your friends yards and help them out by hovering over zombies and shooting on them when your cursor turns into a target. You can help shoot five zombies on each users' land at a time, and you'll earn coins and building parts in the process.
These buildings parts are used to unlock new technology in the form of both light and heavy weaponry. Light weaponry can consist of slingshots and crossbows, while more heavy artillery comes in the form of banana catapults, stone throwers, and even machine guns or mortars. These weapons must be produced through weapon production machines, and the amount of ammo you'd like will affect how long you'll have to wait for it. For instance, if you want to earn 24 Slingshot pebbles, you'll have to wait just 15 minutes, but for 145 pebbles, the wait is a full day.
As the game contains a large variety of zombie types, there is also an encyclopedia of sorts, that shows you all of the kinds of zombies you've had on your land, what items can be used to lure them in, and any sort of special features they might have (healing, fast moving speed, and so on).
After you've completed the basic tutorial missions, you'll continue to unlock more quests that can be completed, but otherwise, the gameplay doesn't really seem to change. Unless you have a mass amount of ammunition on hand, your workers will stand still, and the zombies will simply shamble in and out of the screen without incident. It's up to you, then, how active you'd like this war against the undead to be, depending on how much ammo you supply your army.
Technically speaking, Zombie Party offers fullscreen gameplay, and the ability to send free gifts to friends. We personally didn't experience any bugs, which is a very positive feature for a game that is so new. All in all, if you'd like to make sure your home can't be overtaken by the zombies, make sure to jump into Zombie Party and start setting up your defenses right away.
FarmVille: Here's your last chance at White Pumpkin & Candy Cane crop mastery
In an effort to help you farmers get the most out of your FarmVille experience, I felt it only right to alert you guys to a couple of startling developments. Two of the current limited edition crops are about to expire from the store!
First, the White Pumpkin, which was released back in the Thanksgiving event, will be expired in three days. This is the very last Thanksgiving item that is still available in the store, and it might just be the best, as it allows you to not only earn a profit in coins by growing it, but you'll also have a chance at earning the very exclusive, show-off-worthy White Pumpkin Mastery Sign, awarded to those users that can master the crop to the three star level. If you haven't started growing them yet, you'll need to have a lot of empty plots of land to have a chance at full mastery, but it definitely isn't impossible.
Next, and perhaps more importantly, the Candy Cane crop released as part of a charity promotion with UCSF Benoiff Children's Hospital will be removed from the store after 9:00 PM PST on the 15th - that's tomorrow! For those that have been holding off on purchasing a week-long permit for charity, you have until that time tomorrow night to purchase your permit. Don't worry - even if the crop has expired from the store for everyone else, you will still receive your week long permit to plant and harvest these crops as many times as you'd like. Remember, they will never wither, and can be mastered, offering you an even more exclusive Mastery Sign - one that's only available to those that donated!
If you've already mastered both of these crops, and are looking for another Limited Edition offering to master, how about going after the Poinsettia mastery sign next? Luckily, these flowers will be available for the next 48 days, giving you plenty of time to grow them, if you've been working on other things.
First, the White Pumpkin, which was released back in the Thanksgiving event, will be expired in three days. This is the very last Thanksgiving item that is still available in the store, and it might just be the best, as it allows you to not only earn a profit in coins by growing it, but you'll also have a chance at earning the very exclusive, show-off-worthy White Pumpkin Mastery Sign, awarded to those users that can master the crop to the three star level. If you haven't started growing them yet, you'll need to have a lot of empty plots of land to have a chance at full mastery, but it definitely isn't impossible.
Next, and perhaps more importantly, the Candy Cane crop released as part of a charity promotion with UCSF Benoiff Children's Hospital will be removed from the store after 9:00 PM PST on the 15th - that's tomorrow! For those that have been holding off on purchasing a week-long permit for charity, you have until that time tomorrow night to purchase your permit. Don't worry - even if the crop has expired from the store for everyone else, you will still receive your week long permit to plant and harvest these crops as many times as you'd like. Remember, they will never wither, and can be mastered, offering you an even more exclusive Mastery Sign - one that's only available to those that donated!
If you've already mastered both of these crops, and are looking for another Limited Edition offering to master, how about going after the Poinsettia mastery sign next? Luckily, these flowers will be available for the next 48 days, giving you plenty of time to grow them, if you've been working on other things.
FrontierVille Winter Homestead Story Contest: Share your wintry tale for lots of Horseshoes
You've blanketed your homestead in snow, built the Snowman and perhaps even built your very own Toy Factory, but now it's time to tell the story of how you got there. In FrontierVille's newest contest, only the most eloquent and descriptive pioneers will win up to 500 Horseshoes from Zynga. Titled the "Winter Homestead Story Contest," players will have from now through Jan. 4 of next year to pen their perfect winter tale in 30 sentences or less.
Using up to 10 images of your snow-covered land for visual aid to your story, you will need to wow both the FrontierVille community and your fellow pioneers with your ability to pen an enthralling tale surrounding your wintry homestead. Aside from the max image and sentence limits, the rest is up to you. You could write fiction, non-fiction (we'd love to see that) or maybe even poetry. The top stories will be chosen by the FrontierVille community team, which then only the top three voted on by the game's forum users will win either 500 Horseshoes, 250 Horseshoes or 100 Horseshoes for first, second and third place, respectively. The first place story will also be featured on the FrontierVille fan page for all to see, so make sure that it's your absolute best work. Check out the contest's official rules and where to post your pioneering penmanship.
Using up to 10 images of your snow-covered land for visual aid to your story, you will need to wow both the FrontierVille community and your fellow pioneers with your ability to pen an enthralling tale surrounding your wintry homestead. Aside from the max image and sentence limits, the rest is up to you. You could write fiction, non-fiction (we'd love to see that) or maybe even poetry. The top stories will be chosen by the FrontierVille community team, which then only the top three voted on by the game's forum users will win either 500 Horseshoes, 250 Horseshoes or 100 Horseshoes for first, second and third place, respectively. The first place story will also be featured on the FrontierVille fan page for all to see, so make sure that it's your absolute best work. Check out the contest's official rules and where to post your pioneering penmanship.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Have the (retro) time of your life in Dirty Dancing on Facebook
When we first found that a Dirty Dancing Facebook game was in the works, I admittedly almost thought I was dreaming. But nay, it is, in fact, real and has officially launched on the platform. Toronto-based developer Social Game Universe and Lionsgate have released a retro-inspired social homage to one of the arguably greatest '80s flicks of all time. (Personally, it's not my schtick, but even I wouldn't argue with the 10.9 million fans of Dirty Dancing on Facebook.)
"We wanted to create a game that would not only capture the essence and aesthetic of the Dirty Dancing film, but also offer Facebook gamers an opportunity to experience it in a whole new way," Social Game Universe CEO Nathon Gunn said in a release. "By enabling players to partner with their Facebook friends to generate love and romance at Kellerman's, they can add their own unique spin to the game, creating a different social experience for each player."
Just like we heard before, players will essentially curate an 8-bit version of the Kellerman's Resort from the movie through little blasts of lovey-dovey stuff called Romance Waves, which will make your guests stay longer. Players, guided by either Johnny or Baby from the classic film (Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, respectively), perform dance rehearsals with combinations of different dance techniques to garner more Romance Waves.
Upon starting the game, each player chooses their own style of dance from a small selection, which becomes their permanent style. When recruiting friends asynchronously for dance rehearsals comprised of three dancers, you will unlock new dance combinations and collect even more Romance Waves to keep guests falling in love, sticking around longer, and spending coins on your various attractions.
Dirty Dancing Facebook in Action
To keep faithful to its legendary source material, every Romance Wave blast will let out clips from songs featured in Dirty Dancing's Oscar-winning soundtrack. And as players discover new dance rehearsal combinations, they will unlock secret combinations for big Romance Wave rewards. Of course, you can also boost your progress by spending Watermelons, the game's paid currency, on decorations and attractions to get your guests to spend.
This all creates a cycle of finding new dance routines through combining your friends' dance styles in new ways, bursts of Romance and expanding and restoring your version of the Kellerman's Resort. As you keep you and your friends' feet tapping and romancing, you can take pictures of your resort and share them with friends as well as help them out by visiting. And hey, if you're patiently waiting for the next Dirty Dancing flick to hit in 2013, maybe this will hold you over.
"We wanted to create a game that would not only capture the essence and aesthetic of the Dirty Dancing film, but also offer Facebook gamers an opportunity to experience it in a whole new way," Social Game Universe CEO Nathon Gunn said in a release. "By enabling players to partner with their Facebook friends to generate love and romance at Kellerman's, they can add their own unique spin to the game, creating a different social experience for each player."
Just like we heard before, players will essentially curate an 8-bit version of the Kellerman's Resort from the movie through little blasts of lovey-dovey stuff called Romance Waves, which will make your guests stay longer. Players, guided by either Johnny or Baby from the classic film (Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, respectively), perform dance rehearsals with combinations of different dance techniques to garner more Romance Waves.
Upon starting the game, each player chooses their own style of dance from a small selection, which becomes their permanent style. When recruiting friends asynchronously for dance rehearsals comprised of three dancers, you will unlock new dance combinations and collect even more Romance Waves to keep guests falling in love, sticking around longer, and spending coins on your various attractions.
Dirty Dancing Facebook in Action
To keep faithful to its legendary source material, every Romance Wave blast will let out clips from songs featured in Dirty Dancing's Oscar-winning soundtrack. And as players discover new dance rehearsal combinations, they will unlock secret combinations for big Romance Wave rewards. Of course, you can also boost your progress by spending Watermelons, the game's paid currency, on decorations and attractions to get your guests to spend.
This all creates a cycle of finding new dance routines through combining your friends' dance styles in new ways, bursts of Romance and expanding and restoring your version of the Kellerman's Resort. As you keep you and your friends' feet tapping and romancing, you can take pictures of your resort and share them with friends as well as help them out by visiting. And hey, if you're patiently waiting for the next Dirty Dancing flick to hit in 2013, maybe this will hold you over.
Angry Birds is the top game on Google+ Games, Rovio exec says
Angry Bird explosion
Where else will the Angry Birds crash land into and dominate? Nintendo 3DS? Xbox 360? Your scientific calculator? Who knows, but according to All Things Digital, Rovio SVP of brand advertising and analytics Wibe Wagemans said yesterday at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Wash. that Angry Birds is the number on game on Google+ Games.
Granted, that's out of all 16 games on the platform right now, but some of those games were put there by the likes of major social game creators like Zynga, Wooga, EA and Playdom. Wagemans, formerly an executive on Microsoft's Bing team, went on to say that Rovio has grown faster in the past two years than companies like MySpace, YouTube, Amazon and Skype. He also said, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history," ATD reports.
When you think about it, though: Not only is the Angry Birds game on nearly every gaming platform under the sun, but the little wingless cartoons and their amorphous green piglet enemies have been transformed into plush toys, t-shirts, board games, cook books, a feature film--need I go on?
During his talk in Seattle, Wageman revealed that Rovio welcomes over 120 million monthly Angry Birds players across the myriad of platforms the game is available on. Simply put, the western world is hooked on Angry Birds (it's science, remember?) and soon so will the East, if Rovio has any say in it. Sure, that's less than half of the 273 million or so monthly players Zynga caters to on Facebook alone, to which Wageman said, "We haven't even launched on Facebook yet." Oh ... oh, no.
Where else will the Angry Birds crash land into and dominate? Nintendo 3DS? Xbox 360? Your scientific calculator? Who knows, but according to All Things Digital, Rovio SVP of brand advertising and analytics Wibe Wagemans said yesterday at the Mobile Future Forward conference in Seattle, Wash. that Angry Birds is the number on game on Google+ Games.
Granted, that's out of all 16 games on the platform right now, but some of those games were put there by the likes of major social game creators like Zynga, Wooga, EA and Playdom. Wagemans, formerly an executive on Microsoft's Bing team, went on to say that Rovio has grown faster in the past two years than companies like MySpace, YouTube, Amazon and Skype. He also said, "We are now the fastest-growing consumer brand in history," ATD reports.
When you think about it, though: Not only is the Angry Birds game on nearly every gaming platform under the sun, but the little wingless cartoons and their amorphous green piglet enemies have been transformed into plush toys, t-shirts, board games, cook books, a feature film--need I go on?
During his talk in Seattle, Wageman revealed that Rovio welcomes over 120 million monthly Angry Birds players across the myriad of platforms the game is available on. Simply put, the western world is hooked on Angry Birds (it's science, remember?) and soon so will the East, if Rovio has any say in it. Sure, that's less than half of the 273 million or so monthly players Zynga caters to on Facebook alone, to which Wageman said, "We haven't even launched on Facebook yet." Oh ... oh, no.
Survey: Bejeweled Blitz could sharpen old noggin in baby boomers
For the young, and now the old, it looks like PopCap games are good for everyone. In a survey of over 10,000 U.S. residents conducted by researcher Susan K. Whitbourne, Ph.D., 47 percent of older adults who play Bejeweled Blitz regularly reported feeling sharper while performing tasks.
Whitbourne, a psychology researcher at University of Massachusetts Amherst, presented her findings at this year's American Psychological Association's (APA) convention in Washington D.C. According to PopCap, Whitbourne believes that Bejeweled Blitz could be a viable platform for improving cognitive skills in older adults because it involves several of the skills that have been shown the be improved after playing video games.
Designed to see whether Whitbourne's inklings checked out, the survey found that 22.4 percent of participants aged 65 and over found their ability to see patterns improved. A small 23.9 percent of the same group reported that they could perform timed tasks more quickly after playing the game regularly. While the survey consisted of 10,331 adults aged 18 to 80-years-old, 41 percent of those were 50-years-old and over (and 83 percent total were women). And it's worth nothing that over 78 percent of participants reported to have a college degree.
Nearly half (47.5 percent) of adults aged 50 and older said that they paid no attention to the 60-second countdown timer in Bejeweled Blitz, and 52.9 percent of those 65-years-old and over reported the same reaction. Both groups of older folks were less likely than those 18 to 24-years-old to report feeling anxious because of the timer. Overall, a whopping 66.4 percent said that the game's multiplier gems were positively motivating.
Whitbourne's findings were well-received by some at the convention, like Dr. Walter Boot, director of the Attention and Training Lab of the Department of Psychology at Florida State University. "I believe the work Dr. Whitbourne and her colleagues are doing, using Bejeweled Blitz, is both critical and exciting, and that more research like this needs to be done exploring not only the types of games that bring about cognitive benefits, but also the types of games older adults are willing to play and why," Boot said. "The best cognitive aging intervention in the world is useless if older adults aren't willing and able to engage in it."
Of course, PopCap has a vested interested in the various applications of its hit games. But these findings are interesting, nevertheless. Well, there you have it: It looks like PopCap games like Bejeweled have become the proverbial Coca-Cola of the games industry--not only are they delicious fun, but they're good for you, too!
Whitbourne, a psychology researcher at University of Massachusetts Amherst, presented her findings at this year's American Psychological Association's (APA) convention in Washington D.C. According to PopCap, Whitbourne believes that Bejeweled Blitz could be a viable platform for improving cognitive skills in older adults because it involves several of the skills that have been shown the be improved after playing video games.
Designed to see whether Whitbourne's inklings checked out, the survey found that 22.4 percent of participants aged 65 and over found their ability to see patterns improved. A small 23.9 percent of the same group reported that they could perform timed tasks more quickly after playing the game regularly. While the survey consisted of 10,331 adults aged 18 to 80-years-old, 41 percent of those were 50-years-old and over (and 83 percent total were women). And it's worth nothing that over 78 percent of participants reported to have a college degree.
Nearly half (47.5 percent) of adults aged 50 and older said that they paid no attention to the 60-second countdown timer in Bejeweled Blitz, and 52.9 percent of those 65-years-old and over reported the same reaction. Both groups of older folks were less likely than those 18 to 24-years-old to report feeling anxious because of the timer. Overall, a whopping 66.4 percent said that the game's multiplier gems were positively motivating.
Whitbourne's findings were well-received by some at the convention, like Dr. Walter Boot, director of the Attention and Training Lab of the Department of Psychology at Florida State University. "I believe the work Dr. Whitbourne and her colleagues are doing, using Bejeweled Blitz, is both critical and exciting, and that more research like this needs to be done exploring not only the types of games that bring about cognitive benefits, but also the types of games older adults are willing to play and why," Boot said. "The best cognitive aging intervention in the world is useless if older adults aren't willing and able to engage in it."
Of course, PopCap has a vested interested in the various applications of its hit games. But these findings are interesting, nevertheless. Well, there you have it: It looks like PopCap games like Bejeweled have become the proverbial Coca-Cola of the games industry--not only are they delicious fun, but they're good for you, too!
Adult Swim Games Arcade brings some shock and awe to Facebook
Robot Unicorn Attack -- the most magical game of all time -- and its darker twin, Heavy Metal, now have company as their developer, Adult Swim Games, has finally decided to launch a stable of their games on Facebook yesterday.
Adult Swim, a cable network (on the same channel as the Cartoon Network) known for dozens of high-quality absurdist and shock comedy shows, runs a games portal that houses over a hundred absurdist and shock comedy online games. (However, there's no overlap between the two in terms of content. That is, you're not going to get a Robot Unicorn Attack show, or a Venture Bros. game, no matter how badly you want one.) Now a fraction of that portal is accessible via Facebook.
To give you an idea of what you'll be walking into, they've got titles like "Five Minutes to Kill Yourself Wedding Day", "Amateur Surgeon", "Pole Dance Party", "Death Row Diner", and "Radioactive Teddy Bear Zombies". Of course, Robot Unicorn Attack is also there, but it's only linked there, since it was released last September as a separate app.
Adult Swim Games Arcade view all games
This new arcade app currently contains 21 games categorized along 6 genres: Action, Adventure, Twitchy, Shooter, Puzzle, and Classic. If you're wondering what "Twitchy" means, it describes games where reaction time is of utmost importance.
Adult Swim Games arcade
Unlike your usual new Facebook game launch, all of these games have stood the test of time on the Adult Swim Games website. However, the arcade app itself is currently in beta, so if something breaks or you've got a kerfuffle, shoot them an email at games@adultswim.com.
Adult Swim, a cable network (on the same channel as the Cartoon Network) known for dozens of high-quality absurdist and shock comedy shows, runs a games portal that houses over a hundred absurdist and shock comedy online games. (However, there's no overlap between the two in terms of content. That is, you're not going to get a Robot Unicorn Attack show, or a Venture Bros. game, no matter how badly you want one.) Now a fraction of that portal is accessible via Facebook.
To give you an idea of what you'll be walking into, they've got titles like "Five Minutes to Kill Yourself Wedding Day", "Amateur Surgeon", "Pole Dance Party", "Death Row Diner", and "Radioactive Teddy Bear Zombies". Of course, Robot Unicorn Attack is also there, but it's only linked there, since it was released last September as a separate app.
Adult Swim Games Arcade view all games
This new arcade app currently contains 21 games categorized along 6 genres: Action, Adventure, Twitchy, Shooter, Puzzle, and Classic. If you're wondering what "Twitchy" means, it describes games where reaction time is of utmost importance.
Adult Swim Games arcade
Unlike your usual new Facebook game launch, all of these games have stood the test of time on the Adult Swim Games website. However, the arcade app itself is currently in beta, so if something breaks or you've got a kerfuffle, shoot them an email at games@adultswim.com.
Kixeye's War Commander blasts onto Facebook for all to conquer
Hardcore gamers have established a beachhead on Facebook, and now can make their next offensive in War Commander. The next social strategy game by San Francisco-based Kixeye has entered public beta is now live and available for all would-be commanders on Facebook to dominate with. The game isn't a far cry from the studio's previous efforts, except for one thing.
Players can finally control individual units on the battle field in real time as they slaughter enemy units and demolish buildings. Clearly inspired by traditional strategy staples like Command and Conquer on the PC, War Commander continues the developer's tradition of real time gameplay with asynchronous interaction between friends ... or enemies.
Based on our time trying out the game's closed beta test, our very own Brandy Shaul found attacking and defending bases to be a largely passive experience, regardless of whether you can now directly control units. Personally, I find the choice to decide which unit gets fired at first by enemy defense turrets a strategic boost, though a small one.
Regardless, this marks Kixeye's next step in its ultimate goal to bring a true RTS (real time strategy) experience to Facebook, Kixeye CEO Will Harbin told VentureBeat. "It's the most advanced strategy game ever created for Facebook," Harbin said. "We're getting closer and closer to real-time strategy titles that you've seen on the PC."
Gallery: War Commander on Facebook
Based on my brief experience with the game, War Commander suffers from brief lag issues at the moment, with intermittent pauses during gameplay. However, Kixeye appears to be hard at work on optimizing the game already. (It is in "open beta," after all.) "We're learning from the past and optimizing the code base more and more," Harbin told VentureBeat.
While Kixeye mentioned that it's "waiting for an onslaught of competition" that it has yet to see, the company does have one worthy opponent that it has already exchanged stern words with over its most recent release, Kabam and Edgeworld. We're sure this rivalry is far from over, so why not check the latest traded blow right now?
Players can finally control individual units on the battle field in real time as they slaughter enemy units and demolish buildings. Clearly inspired by traditional strategy staples like Command and Conquer on the PC, War Commander continues the developer's tradition of real time gameplay with asynchronous interaction between friends ... or enemies.
Based on our time trying out the game's closed beta test, our very own Brandy Shaul found attacking and defending bases to be a largely passive experience, regardless of whether you can now directly control units. Personally, I find the choice to decide which unit gets fired at first by enemy defense turrets a strategic boost, though a small one.
Regardless, this marks Kixeye's next step in its ultimate goal to bring a true RTS (real time strategy) experience to Facebook, Kixeye CEO Will Harbin told VentureBeat. "It's the most advanced strategy game ever created for Facebook," Harbin said. "We're getting closer and closer to real-time strategy titles that you've seen on the PC."
Gallery: War Commander on Facebook
Based on my brief experience with the game, War Commander suffers from brief lag issues at the moment, with intermittent pauses during gameplay. However, Kixeye appears to be hard at work on optimizing the game already. (It is in "open beta," after all.) "We're learning from the past and optimizing the code base more and more," Harbin told VentureBeat.
While Kixeye mentioned that it's "waiting for an onslaught of competition" that it has yet to see, the company does have one worthy opponent that it has already exchanged stern words with over its most recent release, Kabam and Edgeworld. We're sure this rivalry is far from over, so why not check the latest traded blow right now?
Monday, January 9, 2012
FrontierVille Trading Post Collection now available
Along with the release of the new Trading Post (and the accompanying four quests) in FrontierVille, Zynga has also launched the expected new collection to go along with the new building.
This collection is of course called the Trading Post collection, and it will see you collecting five items to receive two rewards:
Inventory List
Clerk Hat
Canoe Paddle
Pemmican
Spice Bowl
Of course, you'll be able to find these items when building the Trading Post (which must be done as part of the new series of missions), and you'll likely be able to receive them after the building as been constructed, through the Daily Bonus feature. Note: If you do happen to get ahold of a Clerk Hat, you might want to save it for the final step of the Trading Post mission series.
If you can manage to collect all five items, you'll be able to turn it in for 1 Fast Hands Boost (perform five actions in one click) and 1,000 coins. Sure, the coin reward really isn't anything special, but the Fast Hands Boost is otherwise only available via purchasing a set of five from the General Store for 25 Horseshoes.
What do you think of the Fast Hands Boost as a reward for completing this collection? Would you rather it be a limited edition collectible, or are you a fan of boosts in the game
This collection is of course called the Trading Post collection, and it will see you collecting five items to receive two rewards:
Inventory List
Clerk Hat
Canoe Paddle
Pemmican
Spice Bowl
Of course, you'll be able to find these items when building the Trading Post (which must be done as part of the new series of missions), and you'll likely be able to receive them after the building as been constructed, through the Daily Bonus feature. Note: If you do happen to get ahold of a Clerk Hat, you might want to save it for the final step of the Trading Post mission series.
If you can manage to collect all five items, you'll be able to turn it in for 1 Fast Hands Boost (perform five actions in one click) and 1,000 coins. Sure, the coin reward really isn't anything special, but the Fast Hands Boost is otherwise only available via purchasing a set of five from the General Store for 25 Horseshoes.
What do you think of the Fast Hands Boost as a reward for completing this collection? Would you rather it be a limited edition collectible, or are you a fan of boosts in the game
New FrontierVille Badges: Repeater, Player, and Trader
If you're a fan of earning Badges, or achievements in FrontierVille, you'll be happy to know that Zynga has released three new Badges that you can earn, mostly dealing with activities that have recently been launched within the game.
First is the Repeater Badge, available for completing Repeatable Missions (the Holiday Gift missions, and the New Years Resolution missions have been repeatable missions, as examples). If you complete any mission that can be completed again afterward for extra bonuses, this counts as one step towards your Badge. You'll earn each stage of this four-part Badge by completing 5, 20, 50, and 100 repeatable missions. You'll receive a series of XP bonuses and Energy food items when you reach each stage. The final reward is 10,000 XP and a 7-Course Feast, along with a +1 boost to your maximum energy.
For those dedicated FrontierVille players, you can now earn the Player Badge, which is given out for logging into the game a certain number of days in a row. The four levels are received at 3 consecutive days, 7 days, 30 days, and 90 full days in a row. The rewards for this series of badges come in the form of XP and coins.
Finally, the third new Badge deals with the newly released Trading Post and is, appropriately enough, called the Trader Badge. To earn this Badge, you'll need to trade in a multitude of items to the store, with any items apparently counting toward this Badge. There are four levels to this Badge, with the first step being rewarded after trading in 10 items, and of course, the amount required for each subsequent step grows from there.
We'll be sure to let you know when and if Zynga adds more Badges to the game, but for now, this set definitely gives you something to work towards. Happy gaming!
First is the Repeater Badge, available for completing Repeatable Missions (the Holiday Gift missions, and the New Years Resolution missions have been repeatable missions, as examples). If you complete any mission that can be completed again afterward for extra bonuses, this counts as one step towards your Badge. You'll earn each stage of this four-part Badge by completing 5, 20, 50, and 100 repeatable missions. You'll receive a series of XP bonuses and Energy food items when you reach each stage. The final reward is 10,000 XP and a 7-Course Feast, along with a +1 boost to your maximum energy.
For those dedicated FrontierVille players, you can now earn the Player Badge, which is given out for logging into the game a certain number of days in a row. The four levels are received at 3 consecutive days, 7 days, 30 days, and 90 full days in a row. The rewards for this series of badges come in the form of XP and coins.
Finally, the third new Badge deals with the newly released Trading Post and is, appropriately enough, called the Trader Badge. To earn this Badge, you'll need to trade in a multitude of items to the store, with any items apparently counting toward this Badge. There are four levels to this Badge, with the first step being rewarded after trading in 10 items, and of course, the amount required for each subsequent step grows from there.
We'll be sure to let you know when and if Zynga adds more Badges to the game, but for now, this set definitely gives you something to work towards. Happy gaming!
Test your math skills with Numulus on Facebook & iOS
While there are plenty of puzzle games available on Facebook (and even iPhone/iPad for the matter), most of these games are of the "match-three" variety, or at least contain some sort of gem, or block theme (like Tetris or Collapse, perhaps), rather than concentrating on numbers. In comes Pedro, who has released one such unique game, first on iPhone, and now on Facebook, in the form of Numulus.
Numulus is a puzzle game that will test not only your basic math skills, but also your observational skills, and your perception as well. Each gameplay session will test you with a series of math questions, however, you won't be shown an equation like 2 + 2 = 4. Rather, you'll be shown a cluster of different colored numbers, all of different sizes, and you'll then be shown a word equation relating to those numbers - "Large Red + Small Blue," for instance.
To see how this affects the gameplay in Numulus, meet us behind the break. You're timed in your gameplay sessions, and when you are ready to answer a question, all you need to do is click on the screen to bring up the answer box, and then answer the question using the number keys on the screen. Answer correctly, and your remaining time increases. Answer incorrectly, and you simply move onto the next equation. While the game sounds incredibly simplistic, time is forever counting down, equations can switch between addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. on the fly, and you're always trying to beat your own high score (or the world's best score), which creates an incredible feeling of tension not found in other timed Facebook games (at least in my experience).
While games like Bejeweled Blitz may be timed, and you'd of course want to earn the highest score possible, you're not actually controlling the flow of time - once your minute (or more, if you use boosts) is up, the game is over. Here, though, the length of a gameplay session lasts only as long as you do. Make too many mistakes, and you'll allow the time to expire, ending your game. Answer a series of questions correctly in rapid succession, and you can actually fill your timer back up - the entirety of your gameplay is dependent on you, and your own observational and light math skills.
In terms of social features, you'll be able to invite your friends to play the game and challenge each others' scores, and if you choose to play the iPhone version, you'll not only be able to unlock achievements as you play, but also play the game "cross-platform," so that your high score will carry over whether or not you're playing online, or on your iPhone/iPad.
All in all, Numulus seems like a fine game with which to spend a couple of minutes every now and again. Will you really want to spend a long time under this high-stress environment? That's all up to you, but the game, in my very humble opinion, is definitely worth checking out, and testing yourself with, at least once.
Numulus is a puzzle game that will test not only your basic math skills, but also your observational skills, and your perception as well. Each gameplay session will test you with a series of math questions, however, you won't be shown an equation like 2 + 2 = 4. Rather, you'll be shown a cluster of different colored numbers, all of different sizes, and you'll then be shown a word equation relating to those numbers - "Large Red + Small Blue," for instance.
To see how this affects the gameplay in Numulus, meet us behind the break. You're timed in your gameplay sessions, and when you are ready to answer a question, all you need to do is click on the screen to bring up the answer box, and then answer the question using the number keys on the screen. Answer correctly, and your remaining time increases. Answer incorrectly, and you simply move onto the next equation. While the game sounds incredibly simplistic, time is forever counting down, equations can switch between addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. on the fly, and you're always trying to beat your own high score (or the world's best score), which creates an incredible feeling of tension not found in other timed Facebook games (at least in my experience).
While games like Bejeweled Blitz may be timed, and you'd of course want to earn the highest score possible, you're not actually controlling the flow of time - once your minute (or more, if you use boosts) is up, the game is over. Here, though, the length of a gameplay session lasts only as long as you do. Make too many mistakes, and you'll allow the time to expire, ending your game. Answer a series of questions correctly in rapid succession, and you can actually fill your timer back up - the entirety of your gameplay is dependent on you, and your own observational and light math skills.
In terms of social features, you'll be able to invite your friends to play the game and challenge each others' scores, and if you choose to play the iPhone version, you'll not only be able to unlock achievements as you play, but also play the game "cross-platform," so that your high score will carry over whether or not you're playing online, or on your iPhone/iPad.
All in all, Numulus seems like a fine game with which to spend a couple of minutes every now and again. Will you really want to spend a long time under this high-stress environment? That's all up to you, but the game, in my very humble opinion, is definitely worth checking out, and testing yourself with, at least once.
Cafe World Fry Hard Missions: Everything you need to know
It seems like I've become a broken record at this point, but as if we don't have enough to work on in Cafe World, we have been given yet another set of missions (four this time) dealing with the previously released Deep Fryer. You'll remember that the Deep Fryer was added as a constructable item back around the time of Thanksgiving 2010, but if you're like me, the item has probably sat unused in your cafe ever since. After all, who wants to cook Deep Fried Turkey day after day... after day?
In comes this new series of missions to add more recipes to the deep frying cookbook - three to be exact - the Funnel Cake, Depp Fried Candy Bar and Onion Rings. These three new recipes are only available to cook in the Deep Fryer, but will only be unlocked in your recipe book after completing these Fry Hard goals. Note: If you have so many active goals on your account that you can't see this new series in the right-hand menu of your game, it is still active on your account. All you'll need to do is follow our guide for the steps necessary to complete them, and you'll be able to pass them just the same.
For everything you need to know on completing these goals, meet us behind the break.
The first step in this series of four missions asks you to complete three tasks. If you don't already have the Deep Fryer, you must place one in your cafe (you don't need to finish its construction... yet) before moving on. The other tasks are quite simple, all things considered.
Place the Deep Fryer
Spice 5 Friend Stoves
Cook 5 Spitfire Roasted Chicken
Luckily, this is a situation where "cook" the five dishes means just that - all you need to do is set five Spitfire Roast Chickens into the process of cooking. This is a 1-day dish, if you'd like to actually wait for them to cook, but you can just as easily pass this misson and then delete them in order to free up space on your stoves for more important dishes.
The reward for completing this first mission is 500 Cafe Points and 500 coins.
Fry Hard II comes with another three tasks, one of which asks you to complete the construction on your Deep Fryer, if you haven't done so already.
Complete the Deep Fryer
Cook 30 Bacon Cheeseburgers
Get 3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
Unfortunately, since these Bacon Cheeseburgers only take five minutes to cook, Zynga doesn't allow you to delete them from a stove once they've been cooked. Sure, you don't need to actually serve them to finish this quest, but you'll end up doing so even if inadvertently.
The Flour will need to be earned by asking your individual friends to send them to you. Finally, for information on how to complete the Deep Fryer construction, check out our guide.
The reward for completing Fry Hard II is the unlocking of the Funnel Cakes recipe. This recipe takes just 5 minutes and costs just 70 coins to cook. You'll receive 10 servings that can be sold for 15 coins each, giving you 150 coins in return.
Fry Hard III comes next, and sees you putting that new Funnel Cake recipe to good use.
Serve 5 Funnel Cakes
Get 5 Chocolate Bars
Get 3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
If these tasks don't make it clear, you're about to unlock the Deep Fried Candy Bar recipe, and as such, need to collect some chocolate bars and flour in order to cook the meal. You'll also need to cook and completely serve the Funnel Cake five times (a process lasting at least 25 minutes) in order to finish this mission. Unfortunately, you can't delete the dish while it is cooking and have it still count.
As we said, the reward for Fry Hard III is the Deep Fried Candy Bar recipe. This recipe is a much more costly (and for that matter time consuming) dish than the Funnel Cakes. It is available to cook for 1,980 coins, and cooks in 8 hours. You'll receive 400 servings which are sold for 10 coins each, for a return of 4,000 coins.
Finally, we've made it to Fry Hard IV, the last part of this admittedly fairly simple quest (all things considered - only having to collect 11 items so far is pretty good for Cafe World). You'll have three final tasks to complete, which unfortunately require more item collection (so much for being given a break here).
Serve 3 Deep Fried Candy Bars
Get 5 Cups of Batter
Get 10 Onions
Of course, this final mission will unlock the Onion Rings recipe in your game. This recipe is the most expensive yet, costing 3,800 coins to cook a single time. You'll need to wait 18 hours before the Onion Rings are ready to serve, at which point you'll have 900 servings to sell for 10 coins each, for a return of 9,000 coins.
Fortunately, it doesn't appear that there is any sort of time limit associated with these quests, so feel free to keep pushing along with the New Years goals or Catering missions if you would like. We're sure that this Fry Hard mission set will still be there waiting for you when you get done. Good luck in completing it!
In comes this new series of missions to add more recipes to the deep frying cookbook - three to be exact - the Funnel Cake, Depp Fried Candy Bar and Onion Rings. These three new recipes are only available to cook in the Deep Fryer, but will only be unlocked in your recipe book after completing these Fry Hard goals. Note: If you have so many active goals on your account that you can't see this new series in the right-hand menu of your game, it is still active on your account. All you'll need to do is follow our guide for the steps necessary to complete them, and you'll be able to pass them just the same.
For everything you need to know on completing these goals, meet us behind the break.
The first step in this series of four missions asks you to complete three tasks. If you don't already have the Deep Fryer, you must place one in your cafe (you don't need to finish its construction... yet) before moving on. The other tasks are quite simple, all things considered.
Place the Deep Fryer
Spice 5 Friend Stoves
Cook 5 Spitfire Roasted Chicken
Luckily, this is a situation where "cook" the five dishes means just that - all you need to do is set five Spitfire Roast Chickens into the process of cooking. This is a 1-day dish, if you'd like to actually wait for them to cook, but you can just as easily pass this misson and then delete them in order to free up space on your stoves for more important dishes.
The reward for completing this first mission is 500 Cafe Points and 500 coins.
Fry Hard II comes with another three tasks, one of which asks you to complete the construction on your Deep Fryer, if you haven't done so already.
Complete the Deep Fryer
Cook 30 Bacon Cheeseburgers
Get 3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
Unfortunately, since these Bacon Cheeseburgers only take five minutes to cook, Zynga doesn't allow you to delete them from a stove once they've been cooked. Sure, you don't need to actually serve them to finish this quest, but you'll end up doing so even if inadvertently.
The Flour will need to be earned by asking your individual friends to send them to you. Finally, for information on how to complete the Deep Fryer construction, check out our guide.
The reward for completing Fry Hard II is the unlocking of the Funnel Cakes recipe. This recipe takes just 5 minutes and costs just 70 coins to cook. You'll receive 10 servings that can be sold for 15 coins each, giving you 150 coins in return.
Fry Hard III comes next, and sees you putting that new Funnel Cake recipe to good use.
Serve 5 Funnel Cakes
Get 5 Chocolate Bars
Get 3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
If these tasks don't make it clear, you're about to unlock the Deep Fried Candy Bar recipe, and as such, need to collect some chocolate bars and flour in order to cook the meal. You'll also need to cook and completely serve the Funnel Cake five times (a process lasting at least 25 minutes) in order to finish this mission. Unfortunately, you can't delete the dish while it is cooking and have it still count.
As we said, the reward for Fry Hard III is the Deep Fried Candy Bar recipe. This recipe is a much more costly (and for that matter time consuming) dish than the Funnel Cakes. It is available to cook for 1,980 coins, and cooks in 8 hours. You'll receive 400 servings which are sold for 10 coins each, for a return of 4,000 coins.
Finally, we've made it to Fry Hard IV, the last part of this admittedly fairly simple quest (all things considered - only having to collect 11 items so far is pretty good for Cafe World). You'll have three final tasks to complete, which unfortunately require more item collection (so much for being given a break here).
Serve 3 Deep Fried Candy Bars
Get 5 Cups of Batter
Get 10 Onions
Of course, this final mission will unlock the Onion Rings recipe in your game. This recipe is the most expensive yet, costing 3,800 coins to cook a single time. You'll need to wait 18 hours before the Onion Rings are ready to serve, at which point you'll have 900 servings to sell for 10 coins each, for a return of 9,000 coins.
Fortunately, it doesn't appear that there is any sort of time limit associated with these quests, so feel free to keep pushing along with the New Years goals or Catering missions if you would like. We're sure that this Fry Hard mission set will still be there waiting for you when you get done. Good luck in completing it!
FrontierVille: Energy and Debris items on sale today only!
If you're stuck on a quest in FrontierVille that requires you to clear out a certain number of rocks, thorns, skulls, cacti, or even grass, or if you've been looking for a way to increase your maximum energy in the game, today might be the day to consider purchasing said items from the FrontierVille market, as Zynga has placed all premium debris and energy items on sale for the next 24 hours.
This sale includes the following: Rocks, Skulls, Thorns, Grass, Wildflowers, All You Can Eat, and Beef Jerky. All of these are Horseshoe items, and they are the only items, as of this writing, that have been discounted. Unfortunately, this deal is pitiful to say the least, with most items being discounted - wait for it - just a single Horseshoe.
For the next 24 hours, you'll be able to purchase a Rock, Skull, Thorn, or Cactus for 7 Horseshoes, down from their normal cost of 8 Horseshoes. The All You Can Eat energy meal, which is worth 35 points usually costs 10 Horseshoes, but is "on sale" for 9, and finally, the Beef Jerky, which raises your maximum energy by 1 point, is now on sale for 27 Horseshoes, down from its original price of 30 Horseshoes. As for the Grass and Wildflowers, these items are new to the store, and cost a single Horseshoe each.
I wish I were joking with these sale prices, but unfortunately, I'm not. Seriously Zynga, a 1 Horseshoe discount? If you wanted people to take advantage of this offer, items would need to be at least 50% off, in my opinion. Only then would I even consider purchasing a Beef Jerky, as there's no way I'm spending the current equivalent of almost $4 of my real world money for a single energy point. But maybe I'm alone in this - is this really a good deal, and I'm just too cheap to notice?
This sale includes the following: Rocks, Skulls, Thorns, Grass, Wildflowers, All You Can Eat, and Beef Jerky. All of these are Horseshoe items, and they are the only items, as of this writing, that have been discounted. Unfortunately, this deal is pitiful to say the least, with most items being discounted - wait for it - just a single Horseshoe.
For the next 24 hours, you'll be able to purchase a Rock, Skull, Thorn, or Cactus for 7 Horseshoes, down from their normal cost of 8 Horseshoes. The All You Can Eat energy meal, which is worth 35 points usually costs 10 Horseshoes, but is "on sale" for 9, and finally, the Beef Jerky, which raises your maximum energy by 1 point, is now on sale for 27 Horseshoes, down from its original price of 30 Horseshoes. As for the Grass and Wildflowers, these items are new to the store, and cost a single Horseshoe each.
I wish I were joking with these sale prices, but unfortunately, I'm not. Seriously Zynga, a 1 Horseshoe discount? If you wanted people to take advantage of this offer, items would need to be at least 50% off, in my opinion. Only then would I even consider purchasing a Beef Jerky, as there's no way I'm spending the current equivalent of almost $4 of my real world money for a single energy point. But maybe I'm alone in this - is this really a good deal, and I'm just too cheap to notice?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
FarmVille Fairy Tale Trees: Caramel Apple I, Confetti Tree, & Sugar Plum Tree re-released
To go along with the launch of the Fairy Tale theme in FarmVille, Zynga has re-released three formerly limited edition (and retired) trees to the game's store as part of the theme. Of course, these are three trees that have more whimsical "fruit," meaning that they fit in with the Fairy Tale theme, which is of course, all about imagination.
The trees are the Caramel Apple I, Confetti Tree, and Sugar Plum Tree. These trees were first released in the Halloween 2010, New Year 2010/2011, and Winter Holiday 2010 themes, respectively. If you picked up these trees in those themes, then feel free to skip them now, as their prices haven't decreased - they all cost 5 Farm Cash - and your mastery points from currently owned trees have not been affected. If you skipped purchasing them before, however, now is definitely your chance for retribution.
Remember, placing these trees in Orchards will reward you with other trees as Mystery Seedlings. the Sugar Plum Tree rewards you with a Mint Candy Tree seedling, the Confetti Tree spawns the Disco Ball Tree seedling, and the Caramel Apple I offers the Caramel Apple II tree.
You'll have your second chance at purchasing these trees for the next two weeks, at which point they will once again be retired from the game. Will we see them again? Only time will tell at this point, but do you really want to take the chance that your second opportunity to purchase these trees will be your last?
Did you purchase these trees the first time they were released, or are you picking them up for the first time now?
The trees are the Caramel Apple I, Confetti Tree, and Sugar Plum Tree. These trees were first released in the Halloween 2010, New Year 2010/2011, and Winter Holiday 2010 themes, respectively. If you picked up these trees in those themes, then feel free to skip them now, as their prices haven't decreased - they all cost 5 Farm Cash - and your mastery points from currently owned trees have not been affected. If you skipped purchasing them before, however, now is definitely your chance for retribution.
Remember, placing these trees in Orchards will reward you with other trees as Mystery Seedlings. the Sugar Plum Tree rewards you with a Mint Candy Tree seedling, the Confetti Tree spawns the Disco Ball Tree seedling, and the Caramel Apple I offers the Caramel Apple II tree.
You'll have your second chance at purchasing these trees for the next two weeks, at which point they will once again be retired from the game. Will we see them again? Only time will tell at this point, but do you really want to take the chance that your second opportunity to purchase these trees will be your last?
Did you purchase these trees the first time they were released, or are you picking them up for the first time now?
FarmVille Fairy Tale Building: Princess Tower
If you've been waiting for a chance to have your FarmVille avatar yell at Rapunzel to let her hair hang down, after seeing our sneak peek of the upcoming Princess Tower, wait no longer - the tall building is now available to purchase from the store! What's more, this item is available to purchase for coins - even better!
The Princess Tower is an incredibly tall building by FarmVille standards, and costs 250,000 coins to purchase. Unfortunately, the Princess Tower doesn't animate (I guess making her hair blow in the wind was too much to ask?), but it still makes for an impressive addition to your farm, if you should choose to purchase it.
For those looking for an experience point boost, you'll receive 2500 experience points for purchasing the Princess Tower, but only if you do so within the next two weeks, before the building is removed from the store. It seems odd to be posting about items in FarmVille that don't relate to one of the many winter holidays, but hopefully this theme will expand with more items that will continue this nice change of pace. We'll make sure to let you know if it does.
The Princess Tower is an incredibly tall building by FarmVille standards, and costs 250,000 coins to purchase. Unfortunately, the Princess Tower doesn't animate (I guess making her hair blow in the wind was too much to ask?), but it still makes for an impressive addition to your farm, if you should choose to purchase it.
For those looking for an experience point boost, you'll receive 2500 experience points for purchasing the Princess Tower, but only if you do so within the next two weeks, before the building is removed from the store. It seems odd to be posting about items in FarmVille that don't relate to one of the many winter holidays, but hopefully this theme will expand with more items that will continue this nice change of pace. We'll make sure to let you know if it does.
FarmVille Fairy Tale Decorations: Prince and Princess Gnome, Enchanted Forest, & More
As part of tonight's FarmVille update, we see the release the Fairy Tale theme in the game, which contains (as of this writing) five different decorative items that you can use to decorate your farm like a fairytale wonderland. Two of these items go for coins (luckily, the most impressive decoration is one of them), while the other three decorations are premium, Farm Cash items.
The two coin items are the Enchanted Forest and the Golden Rose Arch. The Golden Rose Arch costs 10,000 coins, and looks exactly like most other arches in the game, save for its inclusion of golden roses. Meanwhile, the Enchanted Forest costs 200,000 coins, but might just be worth the high cost, as it is an animated item, with trees that drop multicolored leaves onto the colorful grassy area below.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other Fairy Tale decorations that were released in this update.
The three new Farm Cash items are the Prince Gnome and Princess Gnome (obviously a matching pair), and a Pumpkin Carriage, a la the fairytale of Cinderella. The Pumpkin Carriage here, however, is a mixture of what the carriage looks like while Cinderella is using it at the ball, and after it turns back into the orange pumpkin it originated from. You can add this animated item (complete with moving horses and chinchillas) for 18 Farm Cash.
Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess Gnome can be purchased individually for 15 Farm Cash each. Keep in mind, if you'd like the matching pair on your farm, that's a whopping 30 Farm Cash in total, unless you have a friend nice enough to buy you one of the pair and send it to you as a gift. If you do go through with purchasing any of these items (including the carriage), you'll receive either 1500 or 1800 experience points as a bonus, depending on the original cost of the item.
These Fairy Tale items will only be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. If Zynga adds more items to this theme in the meantime, we'll be sure to let you know.
The two coin items are the Enchanted Forest and the Golden Rose Arch. The Golden Rose Arch costs 10,000 coins, and looks exactly like most other arches in the game, save for its inclusion of golden roses. Meanwhile, the Enchanted Forest costs 200,000 coins, but might just be worth the high cost, as it is an animated item, with trees that drop multicolored leaves onto the colorful grassy area below.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other Fairy Tale decorations that were released in this update.
The three new Farm Cash items are the Prince Gnome and Princess Gnome (obviously a matching pair), and a Pumpkin Carriage, a la the fairytale of Cinderella. The Pumpkin Carriage here, however, is a mixture of what the carriage looks like while Cinderella is using it at the ball, and after it turns back into the orange pumpkin it originated from. You can add this animated item (complete with moving horses and chinchillas) for 18 Farm Cash.
Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess Gnome can be purchased individually for 15 Farm Cash each. Keep in mind, if you'd like the matching pair on your farm, that's a whopping 30 Farm Cash in total, unless you have a friend nice enough to buy you one of the pair and send it to you as a gift. If you do go through with purchasing any of these items (including the carriage), you'll receive either 1500 or 1800 experience points as a bonus, depending on the original cost of the item.
These Fairy Tale items will only be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. If Zynga adds more items to this theme in the meantime, we'll be sure to let you know.
Game of the Day: Catch-21
The Game of the Day wants you to get your lucky rabbits foot out. Catch-21 is a mix one part blackjack with one part solitaire game. Speed through the deck to make as many 21s as you can. Black jacks are wild and the action is wilder - find out for yourself!
Play Catch-21 now >
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Play Catch-21 now >
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
FarmVille Scam Alert: Stay away from 'Kung Fu Duck' Facebook posts
Boy, these FarmVille scam artists are getting mighty creative, eh? FarmVille Freak has found the most recent FarmVille News Feed Post scam and it involves a particularly awesome Kung Fu Duck. Too bad it's fake and will likely cost your computer its last sliver of privacy. If the above image appears in your News Feed, do not click on it. Zynga has not offered the Kung Fu Duck, one of the rarest animals to be featured in the Mystery Game, for free.
In fact, FarmVille Freak notices that if you look closely, you'll see that the image is a poor, pixelated copy of the original. Furthermore, the scammers fail to emulate Zynga's signature lines such as "Yeehaw" and use incorrect grammar and punctuation throughout.
FarmVille Duck Scam adoption
Due to rampant scams as of late, we recommend being vigilant when clicking on News Feed posts for free gifts from Zynga. All phony posts like this can contain is malware that can irrevocably damage your computer. If you have friends that happen to be new to the game, be sure to educate them as to what a legit News Feed offer looks like as opposed to these increasingly clever scam posts. And if you really want that Kung Fu Duck, you'll have to keep throwing those darts.
In fact, FarmVille Freak notices that if you look closely, you'll see that the image is a poor, pixelated copy of the original. Furthermore, the scammers fail to emulate Zynga's signature lines such as "Yeehaw" and use incorrect grammar and punctuation throughout.
FarmVille Duck Scam adoption
Due to rampant scams as of late, we recommend being vigilant when clicking on News Feed posts for free gifts from Zynga. All phony posts like this can contain is malware that can irrevocably damage your computer. If you have friends that happen to be new to the game, be sure to educate them as to what a legit News Feed offer looks like as opposed to these increasingly clever scam posts. And if you really want that Kung Fu Duck, you'll have to keep throwing those darts.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
FarmVille St. Patrick's Day Animals: Irish Cob Horse & Irish Hare
Tonight's FarmVille update (which was delayed due to the change in Daylight Saving Time) brings with it two new animals in the current St. Patrick's Day limited edition item theme, but these animals are far more realistic than those we've seen in the past (that is, no green bodies and shamrock patterns here). The two animals are the Irish Cob Horse (which we brought you a sneak peek of in the past) and an Irish Hare.
Both of these animals are premium, as we've come to expect. The Irish Cob Horse costs 26 Farm Cash, and will spawn an Irish Cob Foal when placed inside your Horse Stable and allowed to breed (which happens randomly). You'll gain 2600 experience points for purchasing the horse, which can be harvested once every three days if not placed inside the Horse Stable where you can harvest it daily. The Irish Hare, meanwhile, costs just 12 Farm Cash and will reward you with 1200 experience points for purchasing it, which is still a rather large sum for the price.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next two weeks.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Do you like either of these animals, or do you prefer the ones that take the theme more literally (green animals for St. Patrick's Day - pink animals for Valentine's Day and so on)?
Both of these animals are premium, as we've come to expect. The Irish Cob Horse costs 26 Farm Cash, and will spawn an Irish Cob Foal when placed inside your Horse Stable and allowed to breed (which happens randomly). You'll gain 2600 experience points for purchasing the horse, which can be harvested once every three days if not placed inside the Horse Stable where you can harvest it daily. The Irish Hare, meanwhile, costs just 12 Farm Cash and will reward you with 1200 experience points for purchasing it, which is still a rather large sum for the price.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next two weeks.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Do you like either of these animals, or do you prefer the ones that take the theme more literally (green animals for St. Patrick's Day - pink animals for Valentine's Day and so on)?
FarmVille St. Patrick's Day Decorations: Shamrock Manor, Clover Flower Bed, Mossy Stone & More
Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it quite a few new decorative items to the game in the current St. Patrick's Day limited edition theme - five items to be exact, with one building and four true decorations being available to purchase from the in-game market. The new building is the Shamrock Manor, which is quite large in size, being comparable in size to something like a large barn, rather than a smaller cottage. The building comes with an equally large price of 40 Farm Cash.
For that price, you'll receive a bonus of 4,000 experience points for purchasing the building, and should you choose to sell the building when the holiday has passed, you can do so to receive 20,000 coins in return. Of course, most users would agree that you aren't likely to spend that many Farm Cash just to sell an item a few weeks later, but the option is there if you want it.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other four items released in tonight's update.
Two of these new decorative items cost Farm Cash, and come in the form of a Leprechaun Girl gnome and a Rainbow Fountain. The Leprechaun Girl gnome costs 15 Farm Cash, but we can't say we're surprised at the fairly high price, as all gnomes tend to be fairly expensive. The Rainbow Fountain, meanwhile, costs slightly more at 18 Farm Cash. For the price, you'll receive a four-tiered fountain made of clouds and dark blue water, with three sections of rainbow connecting the levels. It's actually quite a lovely item, and it would go great with any Rainbow Trees you happen to have on your farm.
Meanwhile, if you'd rather save your Farm Cash and spend coins instead, you also have two new items to choose from, although these are less impressive visually (as can be expected). A Clover Flower Bed is available for 10,000 coins, while a Mossy Stone decorations is available for 50,000 coins.
Regardless of the item you'd like to purchase, all come with the same expiration date in the store - that being two weeks from now. Yes, this means that these items will be available in the game even after St. Patrick's Day has passed, but at least this will give you a chance to stock up on items for next year.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of these new decorations in FarmVille? Will you purchase any of them for your farm?
For that price, you'll receive a bonus of 4,000 experience points for purchasing the building, and should you choose to sell the building when the holiday has passed, you can do so to receive 20,000 coins in return. Of course, most users would agree that you aren't likely to spend that many Farm Cash just to sell an item a few weeks later, but the option is there if you want it.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other four items released in tonight's update.
Two of these new decorative items cost Farm Cash, and come in the form of a Leprechaun Girl gnome and a Rainbow Fountain. The Leprechaun Girl gnome costs 15 Farm Cash, but we can't say we're surprised at the fairly high price, as all gnomes tend to be fairly expensive. The Rainbow Fountain, meanwhile, costs slightly more at 18 Farm Cash. For the price, you'll receive a four-tiered fountain made of clouds and dark blue water, with three sections of rainbow connecting the levels. It's actually quite a lovely item, and it would go great with any Rainbow Trees you happen to have on your farm.
Meanwhile, if you'd rather save your Farm Cash and spend coins instead, you also have two new items to choose from, although these are less impressive visually (as can be expected). A Clover Flower Bed is available for 10,000 coins, while a Mossy Stone decorations is available for 50,000 coins.
Regardless of the item you'd like to purchase, all come with the same expiration date in the store - that being two weeks from now. Yes, this means that these items will be available in the game even after St. Patrick's Day has passed, but at least this will give you a chance to stock up on items for next year.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of these new decorations in FarmVille? Will you purchase any of them for your farm?
FarmVille: Lucky vehicles return for St. Patrick's Day
Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it a return of the three "Lucky" farm vehicles released in last year's St. Patrick's Day theme. These vehicles are the Lucky Tractor, Lucky Seeder, and Lucky Harvester. Joining them is the new Lucky Combine, which of course combines all three of the former vehicles' abilities into one convenient (albeit expensive) package.
Like last year, the Lucky Tractor costs 5,000 coins while the Lucky Harvester and Seeder cost 30,000 coins each. If you've yet to add one of these vehicles to your land, or you just want a green option to show off for St. Patrick's Day, then these are at least fairly cheap options.
Meanwhile, the new item is the Lucky Combine, which is premium. The Lucky Combine costs 110 Farm Cash, which equates to around $20 US with the current Farm Cash exchange rate. If anything, at least this vehicle is decidedly St. Patrick's Day in theme, as it has a shamrock on its roof, while the other three are just green in color. If you choose to purchase these vehicles, they can be stored in your Garage and upgraded to tend more squares of land at a time, just as with other vehicles.
These green farm vehicles will be available in the game for the next two weeks. We'll make sure to let you know if more themed vehicles are released in the future.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Do you like these green vehicles enough to replace your other vehicles on your farm? Or, will you simply purchase these as fun decorations to place around the farm?
Like last year, the Lucky Tractor costs 5,000 coins while the Lucky Harvester and Seeder cost 30,000 coins each. If you've yet to add one of these vehicles to your land, or you just want a green option to show off for St. Patrick's Day, then these are at least fairly cheap options.
Meanwhile, the new item is the Lucky Combine, which is premium. The Lucky Combine costs 110 Farm Cash, which equates to around $20 US with the current Farm Cash exchange rate. If anything, at least this vehicle is decidedly St. Patrick's Day in theme, as it has a shamrock on its roof, while the other three are just green in color. If you choose to purchase these vehicles, they can be stored in your Garage and upgraded to tend more squares of land at a time, just as with other vehicles.
These green farm vehicles will be available in the game for the next two weeks. We'll make sure to let you know if more themed vehicles are released in the future.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Do you like these green vehicles enough to replace your other vehicles on your farm? Or, will you simply purchase these as fun decorations to place around the farm?
FarmVille Mystery Game (3/13/2011): St. Patrick's Day items now available
The Mystery Game in FarmVille has been updated this evening with a new set of six animals and decorations available to win. This week's theme is "St. Patrick's Day," meaning that you'll be able to find plenty of green items here, along with some that are simply inspired by Ireland.
There are three animals and three decorations to win here. Here's a list of what you can win:
Shamrock Unicorn
Green Gazebo
Greenwig Duck
Green Parrots
Irish Elk
Green Farm House
Luckily, even with the inclusion of a unicorn (which is a highly sought after species of animal in the game), this week's Mystery Game only costs the standard 16 Farm Cash for a single dart to throw at the board. Of course, you're not guaranteed the Shamrock Unicorn when you play the game, but at least you won't lose more than the minimum Farm Cash in your attempt.
As usual, this Mystery Game set will only be available for the next week, at which point the available prizes will be swapped out for new items.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which of these prizes would you most like to win on your farm? Are you hoping for the Shamrock Unicorn, or is another animal more your style?
There are three animals and three decorations to win here. Here's a list of what you can win:
Shamrock Unicorn
Green Gazebo
Greenwig Duck
Green Parrots
Irish Elk
Green Farm House
Luckily, even with the inclusion of a unicorn (which is a highly sought after species of animal in the game), this week's Mystery Game only costs the standard 16 Farm Cash for a single dart to throw at the board. Of course, you're not guaranteed the Shamrock Unicorn when you play the game, but at least you won't lose more than the minimum Farm Cash in your attempt.
As usual, this Mystery Game set will only be available for the next week, at which point the available prizes will be swapped out for new items.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which of these prizes would you most like to win on your farm? Are you hoping for the Shamrock Unicorn, or is another animal more your style?
Ratchet & Clank maker Insomniac Games reveals social games division
With the way things are going, you'd think the next big E3 console reveal will be Facebook 2. Yet another console developer, Insomniac Games, plans to open a social games division called Insomniac Click, Gamasutra reports. The minds behind the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance series will open Insomniac Click as what Insomniac CCO Brian Hastings calls a "pragmatic necessity" in a blog post. While the company will always create "core" games, Hastings is looking to attract a new audience.
Of course, that new audience is the legion of casual and social gamers that seem to be all but dominating the industry these days. It's almost silly for traditional game studios not to get involved. However, Insomniac and Hastings seem to be approaching this relatively "new frontier," as he calls it, with the expectation to create deeper social games. Hastings lays out what appears to be Insomniac Click's mission statement, though he calls it his "Contract with the Audience." While a focus on making social interaction fun and reducing the disruptive nature of increasing user retention is exciting, we found this most intriguing:
Gameplay Depth. We want to create worlds to explore, challenges to master and a continuing story to discover. We promise to deliver the richness of gameplay content that you would expect from a console game, but freely playable online.
If Hastings and his team can deliver on what every traditional game designer has promised upon entering the space, that would certainly set a new standard for the genre. Hastings says that the five-person strong (including Hastings) studio division will have more information in the coming months, which would lead one to believe that their first Facebook game will launch in 2011.
What type of social game do you guess Insomniac Click is working on? How do you think this new venture from a traditional developer will fare against the giants?
Of course, that new audience is the legion of casual and social gamers that seem to be all but dominating the industry these days. It's almost silly for traditional game studios not to get involved. However, Insomniac and Hastings seem to be approaching this relatively "new frontier," as he calls it, with the expectation to create deeper social games. Hastings lays out what appears to be Insomniac Click's mission statement, though he calls it his "Contract with the Audience." While a focus on making social interaction fun and reducing the disruptive nature of increasing user retention is exciting, we found this most intriguing:
Gameplay Depth. We want to create worlds to explore, challenges to master and a continuing story to discover. We promise to deliver the richness of gameplay content that you would expect from a console game, but freely playable online.
If Hastings and his team can deliver on what every traditional game designer has promised upon entering the space, that would certainly set a new standard for the genre. Hastings says that the five-person strong (including Hastings) studio division will have more information in the coming months, which would lead one to believe that their first Facebook game will launch in 2011.
What type of social game do you guess Insomniac Click is working on? How do you think this new venture from a traditional developer will fare against the giants?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Like the Sims Social Facebook page to unlock in-game rewards
While the simple fact that the Sims is finally coming to Facebook is enough to send players like myself into a virtual tizzy (ok, maybe a real world tizzy too), try this bit of news on for size: If you become one of the thousands of players that "Like" the Sims Social official Facebook fan page, you'll help all players (including yourself, of course) unlock some exclusive freebies in the game at launch.
So far, the fan page has gained over 150,000 Likes, and we've unlocked three new items for our trouble: a basic BBQ grill, a keyboard and an artist's easel. If the fan page can reach a million Likes, we'll unlock three more items along the way: a modern bookshelf, a white marble fireplace, and a blue claw foot tub. Want some more? There are spaces for three additional prizes, but we don't know what they are just yet. What do this mean? Simple: ask every man, woman, child, and heck - even animal - in your social circle to Like this fan page! We just can't wait to see what these new prizes can do!
What do you think of these prizes? Would you Like more fan pages if it meant more prizes in games?
So far, the fan page has gained over 150,000 Likes, and we've unlocked three new items for our trouble: a basic BBQ grill, a keyboard and an artist's easel. If the fan page can reach a million Likes, we'll unlock three more items along the way: a modern bookshelf, a white marble fireplace, and a blue claw foot tub. Want some more? There are spaces for three additional prizes, but we don't know what they are just yet. What do this mean? Simple: ask every man, woman, child, and heck - even animal - in your social circle to Like this fan page! We just can't wait to see what these new prizes can do!
What do you think of these prizes? Would you Like more fan pages if it meant more prizes in games?
Exclusive! Putting the 'social' into The Sims Social [video + interview]
If there's one blockbuster game from that's practically begging for a Facebook release, it's The Sims. The life simulation game series has been one of the best-selling PC games since its arrival in 2000 and it has particularly resonated with women, who wouldn't otherwise consider themselves gamers. This is the same audience that turned games like FarmVille and CityVille into computer game phenomenons.
Several months ago, Electronic Arts announced that the best-selling game franchise would be making its way to the social network, and with launch just mere weeks away, Games.com News brings you an exclusive sneak peek at what exactly puts the 'social' into The Sims Social.
Get the scoop on the game's social aspects in the brand new trailer above. I also talked to John Earner, general manager of Playfish's London studio, to get more details on how exactly the game will work -- including whether or not your beloved Sim will be able to do regular Sims things like make WooHoo and kick the bucket.
sims play tricks
What is both the most helpful and most horrific thing you can do to a friend in The Sims Social?
Generally you can do nice and helpful things for friends, and horrible things only to enemies. There's nothing worse than having your food stolen or fake spiders placed in precarious places, I find. As for being helpful to friends, players can clean your bathroom, repair broken items, and even do some gardening around your house.
Do you have the option to 'Dismiss' or reject what your friends have done to your Sims or their house?
No, but then nor can players do any permanent damage to your place. Any negative actions are fun and cosmetic. Relationships in The Sims are predominantly a game helping one another and positive interactions. Even rivalries, frenemies, and the other negative relationships in our game are in good fun and meant to be between friends.
sims social facebook preview
How often can you visit friends' Sims and do nice/naughty things for them?
As often as you like! Activities are accomplished using an energy system, but we provide bonus energy each day for each unique friend you visit to help you out.
How exactly does the whole romance thing work? What if you don't' want random people coming in and smooching on your Sim -- is there a way to restrict that? (That could get creepy fast).
There are three relationship paths in The Sims: friends, enemies, and lovers. Major relationship milestones like dating require a two-way handshake between players. It takes two to tango, so to speak.
sims social facebook preview
What about making WooHoo in the game? How does that work? (I assume that requires two consenting Sims, yes)?
WooHoo requires two Sims to be in a romantic relationship path: dating or further. Even then, you can only ask your Sim to, you know, WooHoo with their significant other. Whether they actually do it is up to them. Like traditional Sims games, Sims have a mind of their own. Our platform constraints require that mind be a bit smaller and less complex, but the general idea of a player assuming the role of god and sim playing role of fickle human subject still applies.
Other games -- like FrontierVille, FarmVille -- also let you see what your friends do when they visit your version of the game -- how is this feature different in The Sims Social?
Friend visits are a longstanding social gaming feature staple. Where The Sims Social differs from its social gaming predecessors is that the game now creates meaningful and varied relationships between players' Sims, just like in real life. You don't just have neighbors - you have girlfriends and frenemies and BFFs. Depending on the nature of your relationship, the nature of each visit and what you can do during a visit, is different and certainly more meaningful.
When a friend becomes an 'enemy" or you become an 'enemy' -- how does that change the game experience at large? Once you're deemed an enemy, can you work your way back toward being a friend in the game?
You can always work your way back, but you can't erase the past. Two Sims who used to date are ex-lovers (awkward!). Relationship statuses create new interaction options not available in other relationships.
sims social preview
Like the regular Sims -- can your Sim die in The Sims Social?
You never know. Generations is something we continue to spend a lot of time talking about for down the road. Remember, we're just getting started at launch. It could add replayability to the game. The flip side is that with a free-to-play business model, players aren't a fan of the virtual stuff they spend real money on going off and dying on them. It's a manageable problem, but not an easy one. The story of the Sims franchise is something like this. The Sims 1: They live. The Sims 2: They die. The Sims 3: they can explore a world beyond their house. The Sims Social: Back to "they live," but they live with your real friends. Our platform and our audience require us to simplify the game in some respects, but allow us to enrich it in others due to the social nature of the game. Also, our game is a service. We can travel along a similar journey as the PC and console gaming Sims franchise have done via frequent updates. We're just getting started.
Several months ago, Electronic Arts announced that the best-selling game franchise would be making its way to the social network, and with launch just mere weeks away, Games.com News brings you an exclusive sneak peek at what exactly puts the 'social' into The Sims Social.
Get the scoop on the game's social aspects in the brand new trailer above. I also talked to John Earner, general manager of Playfish's London studio, to get more details on how exactly the game will work -- including whether or not your beloved Sim will be able to do regular Sims things like make WooHoo and kick the bucket.
sims play tricks
What is both the most helpful and most horrific thing you can do to a friend in The Sims Social?
Generally you can do nice and helpful things for friends, and horrible things only to enemies. There's nothing worse than having your food stolen or fake spiders placed in precarious places, I find. As for being helpful to friends, players can clean your bathroom, repair broken items, and even do some gardening around your house.
Do you have the option to 'Dismiss' or reject what your friends have done to your Sims or their house?
No, but then nor can players do any permanent damage to your place. Any negative actions are fun and cosmetic. Relationships in The Sims are predominantly a game helping one another and positive interactions. Even rivalries, frenemies, and the other negative relationships in our game are in good fun and meant to be between friends.
sims social facebook preview
How often can you visit friends' Sims and do nice/naughty things for them?
As often as you like! Activities are accomplished using an energy system, but we provide bonus energy each day for each unique friend you visit to help you out.
How exactly does the whole romance thing work? What if you don't' want random people coming in and smooching on your Sim -- is there a way to restrict that? (That could get creepy fast).
There are three relationship paths in The Sims: friends, enemies, and lovers. Major relationship milestones like dating require a two-way handshake between players. It takes two to tango, so to speak.
sims social facebook preview
What about making WooHoo in the game? How does that work? (I assume that requires two consenting Sims, yes)?
WooHoo requires two Sims to be in a romantic relationship path: dating or further. Even then, you can only ask your Sim to, you know, WooHoo with their significant other. Whether they actually do it is up to them. Like traditional Sims games, Sims have a mind of their own. Our platform constraints require that mind be a bit smaller and less complex, but the general idea of a player assuming the role of god and sim playing role of fickle human subject still applies.
Other games -- like FrontierVille, FarmVille -- also let you see what your friends do when they visit your version of the game -- how is this feature different in The Sims Social?
Friend visits are a longstanding social gaming feature staple. Where The Sims Social differs from its social gaming predecessors is that the game now creates meaningful and varied relationships between players' Sims, just like in real life. You don't just have neighbors - you have girlfriends and frenemies and BFFs. Depending on the nature of your relationship, the nature of each visit and what you can do during a visit, is different and certainly more meaningful.
When a friend becomes an 'enemy" or you become an 'enemy' -- how does that change the game experience at large? Once you're deemed an enemy, can you work your way back toward being a friend in the game?
You can always work your way back, but you can't erase the past. Two Sims who used to date are ex-lovers (awkward!). Relationship statuses create new interaction options not available in other relationships.
sims social preview
Like the regular Sims -- can your Sim die in The Sims Social?
You never know. Generations is something we continue to spend a lot of time talking about for down the road. Remember, we're just getting started at launch. It could add replayability to the game. The flip side is that with a free-to-play business model, players aren't a fan of the virtual stuff they spend real money on going off and dying on them. It's a manageable problem, but not an easy one. The story of the Sims franchise is something like this. The Sims 1: They live. The Sims 2: They die. The Sims 3: they can explore a world beyond their house. The Sims Social: Back to "they live," but they live with your real friends. Our platform and our audience require us to simplify the game in some respects, but allow us to enrich it in others due to the social nature of the game. Also, our game is a service. We can travel along a similar journey as the PC and console gaming Sims franchise have done via frequent updates. We're just getting started.
The Sims Social: How to make frenemies in The Sims on Facebook [video]
The Sims Social is still not available to the general public, but the public relations campaign for The Sims on Facebook is clearly in full swing. Last week, we talked to the game developer about tricks that you can play on friends (or frenemies) in the game and this new trailer (see below), released today, goes into depth on how exactly that works.
Apparently you can go from friends to enemies to ... archenemies in the game if you're jerky enough to a fellow player. When that happens, the gloves are off (or on, rather, as you and your archenemy can don red boxing gloves and duke it out.)
Gallery: The Sims Social on Facebook
Apparently you can go from friends to enemies to ... archenemies in the game if you're jerky enough to a fellow player. When that happens, the gloves are off (or on, rather, as you and your archenemy can don red boxing gloves and duke it out.)
Gallery: The Sims Social on Facebook
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