Battle in Age of Champions
Fantasy social games are almost dime a dozen, but what are they missing? Why, half naked men spilling the blood of goblins and other beasts, of course. In Age of Champions on Facebook, players take the role of one of three races: a human, an elf or a minotaur as they vie for the throne of an emperor who recently kicked the can. As it turns out, so is everyone else. After choosing which of the three warring factions that you'll be siding with in this sprawling conflict, you'll be launched into battle with a band of goblins, your warriors sprinting across a green, war-torn field, bronze daggers flailing. After witnessing the green, gooey bloodshed as your avatar guts the goblin leader, you realize that this is not standard fantasy fare on Facebook.
Find out more about Age of Champions and our impressions after the break.
Defeating the Orge
If you hadn't noticed by now, this game isn't necessarily for the little ones. There will be blood in Age of Champions, lots of it. Developed by Sacramento, CA-based studio KlickNation, this game's primary focus is on two important things: story and gameplay. Absolutely filled to the brim with quest text designed to give purpose to otherwise mundane tasks, Age of Champions contains a plot that weaves throughout the game's primary mode of spending Energy--a social game staple--quests.
However, Energy is plentiful in Age of Champions' early levels as opposed to other social games. You'll frequently level up through questing, restoring your Energy each time. (However, the game does offer Blue Crystals, a paid currency, to replenish Energy and Stamina.) Quests are completed through the Travel menu, which opens up the game's story in a book-shaped menu, offering the plot in chapters that almost always contain at least one session on the battlefield and one boss monster to defeat. Rewards from quests are normally the standard gold coins, which are used to hire more soldiers and outfit your army with weapons and armor, and experience points. Leveling up also rewards players with points to enhance their primary character's Energy, Attack strength, Stamina (used to battle other players) and Health. While Energy and Stamina will allow you to play the game for longer sessions without having to pay up for more, Attack and Health are extremely important in combat.
Questing Book
Ah, yes, the meat and potatoes of Age of Champions. Combat scenarios are somewhat rare treats, but are most definitely not to be underestimated. These special quests are marked with an icon shaped like a shield adorned with two swords. Clicking on "Go to Battle" will open up the battlefield. While battles play out automatically based on the size of your army compared to the enemy's, it all happens in real time and takes equipment statistics into account as well. It's not until all of your units fall that your main avatar will rush into the fray, duking it out with the opposing commander. In the early stages of the game, your army will almost always be wiped out, but that doesn't mean you lose them forever. However, improving their equipment by buying quantities of armor and weapons that match your squad's numbers will increase their lasting power. There is the option to skip each battle sequence, but why would you want to do that?
While combat and questing are plenty entertaining, Age of Champions does include some fairly deep social elements. Throughout the game, players can attempt to craft items that are more powerful than what can be bought in the store, but some of the ingredients can only be found through Gifting. Thankfully, social interaction goes deeper than that with Raids, or massive enemies that require cooperation from friends to defeat. Furthermore, players can join Guilds, which are groups of friends within the game that can collaborate without the need of being Facebook friends. In other words, you won't find too many request-athons here, but more teamwork through the game's Raid bosses and Battle system.
Raid on the Ice Dragon
With an interesting albeit violent approach to combat, an engaging story for those who take the time to read it and social features similar to other, more current social games like Knights of the Crystals and Legacy of a Thousand Suns, Age of Champions delivers on nearly all fronts aside from a few annoying bugs such as losing access to the top of game screen at times. Just ignore the fact that your avatar will be without pants for quite a while and you should have a grand time.
Legit site to earn money from home
Showing posts with label facebook games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label facebook games. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Playdom co-founder: Facebook farming games aren't social games
Rick Thompson, co-founder of Disney-owned social game studio Playdom, is not happy with the lot of social games. During an interview with All Things Digital (ATD), Thompson was asked if he finds many Facebook games enjoyable. "I think they are fairly scarce," Thompson told ATD. While he did shout out to games like Kixeye's Backyard Monsters and Gardens of Time by his own former company, Thompson said that the established powers in social games are having a hard time raising the bar.
"I tend to think that those will not be very interesting in another two years, and they aren't social games," Thompson said to ATD, referring specifically to the myriad of Facebook games that insist on farming mechanics. "They are single-player games with the possibility of visiting your friend's aquarium – that's not social." (And you should already know just where Thompson is pointing.)
Despite this, Thompson says that the maturity of Facebook games is leaps and bounds beyond what it was just three years ago, mostly because of how much it costs developers to acquire new users ever since Facebook changed things up. But Thompson--now a social gaming veteran that has invested in companies like Funzio of Crime City fame to Idle Games--still sees companies that focus primarily on increasing players numbers as, well, doing it wrong.
Thompson isn't alone here, either. A number of analysts and designers alike are calling the industry out. Most recently, Eedar analyst Jesse Divnich claimed that we're on the verge of the next generation of social games. Designers like Braid creator Jonathan Blow, however, simply see the current lot of Facebook games as exploitative and not much more. (And we all know how Ian Bogost feels about the games.) Sadly, it likely won't be until arguably forward-thinking games like IdleWorship become as profitable as, say, FarmVille that Facebook games begin to agree with Thompson's sentiments on a wide scale.
"I tend to think that those will not be very interesting in another two years, and they aren't social games," Thompson said to ATD, referring specifically to the myriad of Facebook games that insist on farming mechanics. "They are single-player games with the possibility of visiting your friend's aquarium – that's not social." (And you should already know just where Thompson is pointing.)
Despite this, Thompson says that the maturity of Facebook games is leaps and bounds beyond what it was just three years ago, mostly because of how much it costs developers to acquire new users ever since Facebook changed things up. But Thompson--now a social gaming veteran that has invested in companies like Funzio of Crime City fame to Idle Games--still sees companies that focus primarily on increasing players numbers as, well, doing it wrong.
Thompson isn't alone here, either. A number of analysts and designers alike are calling the industry out. Most recently, Eedar analyst Jesse Divnich claimed that we're on the verge of the next generation of social games. Designers like Braid creator Jonathan Blow, however, simply see the current lot of Facebook games as exploitative and not much more. (And we all know how Ian Bogost feels about the games.) Sadly, it likely won't be until arguably forward-thinking games like IdleWorship become as profitable as, say, FarmVille that Facebook games begin to agree with Thompson's sentiments on a wide scale.
Study: Social games will make $5.6 billion outside Facebook by 2014
Maybe there's a future for social games beyond Facebook, after all. That is, of course, if you ask the right people. A study by SuperData Research and commissioned by Viximo, a leading social games platform, estimates that social games that exist outside of Facebook's grubby paws will reel in a whopping $5.6 billion in revenue by 2014. Non-Facebook social games are expected to reach $3.2 billion in revenue this year alone.
While it's important to keep in mind just who commissioned this study, we should at least consider that social games do exist on other platforms around the globe. In fact, the study reports to have found that Asia is the largest market for social games, and that Facebook accounts for a third of all social network traffic around the world. The SuperData study made these estimations based on 774,158 unique transactions by 152,159 individuals in the six-month period ending on June 1, 2011.
From that, the study found that the largest western nations for social gaming aren't even in North America, but are Russia and Brazil with 35 million and 32.6 million players, respectively. "The social web beyond Facebook is often overlooked when it comes to games and applications," Viximo CEO Dale Strang said in a release. As it turns out, social networks beyond Facebook represent a non-trivial--in fact, significant--and fertile ground for games and apps."
With global competitors like Google+, the Mobage network and whatever in the world Gree is cooking up with OpenFeint, Strang certainly has a point. And let's not forget the number of developers and publisher across the globe that are quickly gaining notoriety like wooga, Nordeus and Spil Games. Facebook, it looks like you're surrounded.
While it's important to keep in mind just who commissioned this study, we should at least consider that social games do exist on other platforms around the globe. In fact, the study reports to have found that Asia is the largest market for social games, and that Facebook accounts for a third of all social network traffic around the world. The SuperData study made these estimations based on 774,158 unique transactions by 152,159 individuals in the six-month period ending on June 1, 2011.
From that, the study found that the largest western nations for social gaming aren't even in North America, but are Russia and Brazil with 35 million and 32.6 million players, respectively. "The social web beyond Facebook is often overlooked when it comes to games and applications," Viximo CEO Dale Strang said in a release. As it turns out, social networks beyond Facebook represent a non-trivial--in fact, significant--and fertile ground for games and apps."
With global competitors like Google+, the Mobage network and whatever in the world Gree is cooking up with OpenFeint, Strang certainly has a point. And let's not forget the number of developers and publisher across the globe that are quickly gaining notoriety like wooga, Nordeus and Spil Games. Facebook, it looks like you're surrounded.
Top 25 Facebook Games - October 2011: FarmVille falls even further
FarmVille I Quit
Things are just not looking up in the world of digital agriculture. This month, FarmVille gets knocked down yet another spot to fourth place with nearly 35.4 million monthly players, ousted by Zynga's brand new Adventure World. Admittedly, we were afraid of what would happen to the Zynga Boston debut given its terribly slow start, but it has amassed 35.7 million monthly players. (Keep in mind that FarmVille still has more daily players than Adventure World.)
The massive developer's two most popular Facebook games are now CityVille--still at number one with 74.6 million monthly players--and Adventure World in third place. That leaves The Sims Social, arguably the biggest upset in Facebook gaming since, well, Zynga first beat itself at its own game, trailing close behind at number two with 66.5 million monthly players. Many wonder whether EA's wildly successful Facebook game can completely beat Zynga, and at the moment it seems to have peaked, according to AppData.
Top 25 Facebook Games October
Aside from FarmVille seemingly nearing the end of its life on top despite even a new expansion, Lighthouse Cove, it looks like Zynga's most threatening competitors are solidifying their positions. As games like Gaia Online's Monster Galaxy drop over 10 places from the list completely and Cie Games's Car Town are knocked from the list one a few of the little guys remain. Ninja Saga hangs tight on the list, dropping one spot to 23rd place with 5.9 million players, while Social Point makes a major dent in the charts with Social Empires gaining over 2 million players to hit the 18 spot.
Other than Playtika's Slotomania at number 19 and King.com even bumping one spot up to 20th place with Bubble Saga, it's important to notice what's happening here. Aside from a few strong and likely savvy smaller developers, the Top 25 is slowly becoming dominated by the biggest names in social gaming. The giants of Facebook gaming are asserting their supremacy just as they did in the traditional games space, and it's likely only going to get harder for indie creators to find this level of success on Facebook. Hey, there's always Google+ Games, right?
Things are just not looking up in the world of digital agriculture. This month, FarmVille gets knocked down yet another spot to fourth place with nearly 35.4 million monthly players, ousted by Zynga's brand new Adventure World. Admittedly, we were afraid of what would happen to the Zynga Boston debut given its terribly slow start, but it has amassed 35.7 million monthly players. (Keep in mind that FarmVille still has more daily players than Adventure World.)
The massive developer's two most popular Facebook games are now CityVille--still at number one with 74.6 million monthly players--and Adventure World in third place. That leaves The Sims Social, arguably the biggest upset in Facebook gaming since, well, Zynga first beat itself at its own game, trailing close behind at number two with 66.5 million monthly players. Many wonder whether EA's wildly successful Facebook game can completely beat Zynga, and at the moment it seems to have peaked, according to AppData.
Top 25 Facebook Games October
Aside from FarmVille seemingly nearing the end of its life on top despite even a new expansion, Lighthouse Cove, it looks like Zynga's most threatening competitors are solidifying their positions. As games like Gaia Online's Monster Galaxy drop over 10 places from the list completely and Cie Games's Car Town are knocked from the list one a few of the little guys remain. Ninja Saga hangs tight on the list, dropping one spot to 23rd place with 5.9 million players, while Social Point makes a major dent in the charts with Social Empires gaining over 2 million players to hit the 18 spot.
Other than Playtika's Slotomania at number 19 and King.com even bumping one spot up to 20th place with Bubble Saga, it's important to notice what's happening here. Aside from a few strong and likely savvy smaller developers, the Top 25 is slowly becoming dominated by the biggest names in social gaming. The giants of Facebook gaming are asserting their supremacy just as they did in the traditional games space, and it's likely only going to get harder for indie creators to find this level of success on Facebook. Hey, there's always Google+ Games, right?
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Facebook games are kind of like pinball machines, game designer says
Are social gamers more like pinball wizards? UK-based Simple Lifeforms CCO Tadhg Kelly makes exactly that in a recent editorial on Inside Social Games. Rather than his previous analogy of Facebook games to slot machines, Kelly believes that the game mechanics and reward systems behind most social games bear striking resemblance to pinball. The game designer goes into detail, explaining his understanding of the systems within both social games and pinball, but the major takeaway is his thoughts on their similarities.
"Playing a game on Facebook is like standing in an amusement arcade," Kelly writes. "Pinball is primarily available at arcades, and each pinball machine has to fight for its right to be seen and heard by being louder, more visual and more immediately fun than its competitors."
He goes on to size up the instant reward systems of both games as short bursts of enjoyment. More importantly, he touches on the fact that both require players to inevitably pay more quarters or virtual cash to play for long periods of time. Bingo. I think this guy might be onto something here. However, Kelly's chief concern is the importance of environment in game design.
Just as there is no room for an absorbing game like The Legend of Zelda at the arcades, the environment of social games restricts their ability to be deep. What social game makers have realized is that Facebook is so loaded with distraction that deep gameplay is almost impossible to achieve. So the game you are playing has to keep things light, fast and fun because the rest of the player's social graph is only a Notification Request away.
Admittedly, I've never thought of it that way. If Kelly is right, then perhaps there is no hope for the up and coming Facebook MMOs, but no one said anything about 3D.
"Playing a game on Facebook is like standing in an amusement arcade," Kelly writes. "Pinball is primarily available at arcades, and each pinball machine has to fight for its right to be seen and heard by being louder, more visual and more immediately fun than its competitors."
He goes on to size up the instant reward systems of both games as short bursts of enjoyment. More importantly, he touches on the fact that both require players to inevitably pay more quarters or virtual cash to play for long periods of time. Bingo. I think this guy might be onto something here. However, Kelly's chief concern is the importance of environment in game design.
Just as there is no room for an absorbing game like The Legend of Zelda at the arcades, the environment of social games restricts their ability to be deep. What social game makers have realized is that Facebook is so loaded with distraction that deep gameplay is almost impossible to achieve. So the game you are playing has to keep things light, fast and fun because the rest of the player's social graph is only a Notification Request away.
Admittedly, I've never thought of it that way. If Kelly is right, then perhaps there is no hope for the up and coming Facebook MMOs, but no one said anything about 3D.
Dragons of Atlantis for Facebook unleashes the Dragons' Attack
Dragons of Atlantis
Alright, so it's not a Kraken, but no one can deny the cool factor of dragons. Kabam, the Redwood City, Calif.-based social game developer behind Kingdoms of Camelot, has released a brand new feature to its most recent game, Dragons of Atlantis. Called "Dragon Attack," this new option allows players to specifically target which of their enemies gets the extra crispy treatment from our favorite fire-breathers.
Dragons of Atlantis embodies Kabam's recent strategic (no pun intended) focus on massively multiplayer strategy games on Facebook. Like its previous games, players in Dragons of Atlantis are given one week in real time to build their kingdoms and their armies for an all out war for control of Atlantis against their fellow players. The linchpin of your defense in the game has always been the dragons, but with the new Dragon Attack, you can take dragons to the enemy before they know what hit them.
"Dragons of Atlantis is a dynamic world where player choice affects how the fight for Atlantis will unfold," said Andrew Sheppard, Kabam CPO. "The game design reflects Kabam's commitment to developing massively multiplayer social games on social networks by combining deep, immersive gameplay with the social connectivity and interaction provided by social platforms."
For the uninitiated, Dragons of Atlantis is surely an impressive feat on Facebook with large-scale battles occurring in real time against other players. But be prepared for a literal week's worth of preparation before you can leap into the fray. If you're already a fan of Dragons of Atlantis, executive producer Nathan Germish hints at city outposts and a new class of dragon that are on the way.
Alright, so it's not a Kraken, but no one can deny the cool factor of dragons. Kabam, the Redwood City, Calif.-based social game developer behind Kingdoms of Camelot, has released a brand new feature to its most recent game, Dragons of Atlantis. Called "Dragon Attack," this new option allows players to specifically target which of their enemies gets the extra crispy treatment from our favorite fire-breathers.
Dragons of Atlantis embodies Kabam's recent strategic (no pun intended) focus on massively multiplayer strategy games on Facebook. Like its previous games, players in Dragons of Atlantis are given one week in real time to build their kingdoms and their armies for an all out war for control of Atlantis against their fellow players. The linchpin of your defense in the game has always been the dragons, but with the new Dragon Attack, you can take dragons to the enemy before they know what hit them.
"Dragons of Atlantis is a dynamic world where player choice affects how the fight for Atlantis will unfold," said Andrew Sheppard, Kabam CPO. "The game design reflects Kabam's commitment to developing massively multiplayer social games on social networks by combining deep, immersive gameplay with the social connectivity and interaction provided by social platforms."
For the uninitiated, Dragons of Atlantis is surely an impressive feat on Facebook with large-scale battles occurring in real time against other players. But be prepared for a literal week's worth of preparation before you can leap into the fray. If you're already a fan of Dragons of Atlantis, executive producer Nathan Germish hints at city outposts and a new class of dragon that are on the way.
Draw My Thing on Facebook: More awesome than Pictionary
draw my thing facebook
Open any game on Facebook and you're sure to see energy bars, neighbors, and free gifts. Whether set in a city, farm, restaurant, or the wild west, most games on Facebook simply fail to stray from the game formula Zynga made so popular. As a result, these similar Facebook games are all starting to feel a little stale. But there are a few games that depart from that model entirely. OMGPOP's Facebook game, Draw My Thing, is one of those incredibly fresh games.
Draw my thing facebookCan you guess what it is?
Draw My Thing
Draw My Thing basically brings Pictionary to Facebook, and it's never been so awesome. At the main menu screen, click Play Now and Draw My Thing will place you into a game. Players take turns drawing pictures, while the others attempt to guess what it is. When it becomes your turn, you will be assigned a word and have one minute to draw using a variety of brush sizes and colors. While you draw, the other players will be trying to figure out what your masterpiece might be, and blurting out their guesses in the chat.
draw my thing facebook
The scoring system is just as simple. The first person to guess correctly is awarded three points and everyone after that one point. The artist of the masterpiece is awarded two points if anyone manages to guess correctly. The winner is the person with the highest score at the end of the round.
draw my thing facebookSadly, no one was able to guess this one...
Fine art abound
In Draw My Thing you'll see words like 'Harry Potter' or 'Lightning', harder words like 'Driving', and tricky words like 'Circle'. Some words may be much harder to draw than others, but one thing holds true every turn: drawing with the computer mouse is not easy. Most of the pictures I've seen are hilariously bad (including my own), and bring to mind something a kindergartner might hang on their fridge. You don't need any drawing skills to play, just a little creativity and some quick thinking. In Draw My Thing, you'll spend hours and hours drawing, guessing, and laughing with your friends at some no-doubt remarkably goofy works of art.
Actually play with your friends
Draw My Thing is one of the few Facebook games that actually allows you play with friends in real time (rather than visit their farms, cities, etc). At the home screen, click Choose Friends to set up a game for you and up to six buddies. To invite your friends, click one of the Invite buttons. Then in Facebook Chat or an Instant Message, paste the automatically copied link. When your friends click the link, they'll appear in your game, ready to draw and let the good times roll.
Fun with no gimmicks
Like other Facebook games, Draw My Thing allows you to buy things with Facebook Credits. However, this game can be fully played without spending a dime. Should you decide to spend some Facebook Credits, there's plenty of neat extras to buy on that can help you step up your game.
draw my thing facebook
New drawing tools can be purchased that extend your drawing time or let you to draw perfect circles. You can buy Word Swaps that allow you to pick a different word at the start of your turn. You can even buy Hints to help you guess correctly. And unlike CityVille, Draw My Thing will never require you to spam your friends to progress in the game (but it will allow you to share your finest works).
draw my thing facebook
Draw your thing
So while you can spend Facebook Credits or play with strangers, that's not what Draw My Thing is all about. Draw My Thing is a social game meant to be enjoyed by you and your friends. And while it does have some issues such as a lack of leaderboards and stats, we can look past that. Most importantly, Draw My Thing reminds us that it is possible to have a blast playing with your friends on Facebook; and no, fertilizing your friends' crops is neither "fun" nor "playing with your friends".
Open any game on Facebook and you're sure to see energy bars, neighbors, and free gifts. Whether set in a city, farm, restaurant, or the wild west, most games on Facebook simply fail to stray from the game formula Zynga made so popular. As a result, these similar Facebook games are all starting to feel a little stale. But there are a few games that depart from that model entirely. OMGPOP's Facebook game, Draw My Thing, is one of those incredibly fresh games.
Draw my thing facebookCan you guess what it is?
Draw My Thing
Draw My Thing basically brings Pictionary to Facebook, and it's never been so awesome. At the main menu screen, click Play Now and Draw My Thing will place you into a game. Players take turns drawing pictures, while the others attempt to guess what it is. When it becomes your turn, you will be assigned a word and have one minute to draw using a variety of brush sizes and colors. While you draw, the other players will be trying to figure out what your masterpiece might be, and blurting out their guesses in the chat.
draw my thing facebook
The scoring system is just as simple. The first person to guess correctly is awarded three points and everyone after that one point. The artist of the masterpiece is awarded two points if anyone manages to guess correctly. The winner is the person with the highest score at the end of the round.
draw my thing facebookSadly, no one was able to guess this one...
Fine art abound
In Draw My Thing you'll see words like 'Harry Potter' or 'Lightning', harder words like 'Driving', and tricky words like 'Circle'. Some words may be much harder to draw than others, but one thing holds true every turn: drawing with the computer mouse is not easy. Most of the pictures I've seen are hilariously bad (including my own), and bring to mind something a kindergartner might hang on their fridge. You don't need any drawing skills to play, just a little creativity and some quick thinking. In Draw My Thing, you'll spend hours and hours drawing, guessing, and laughing with your friends at some no-doubt remarkably goofy works of art.
Actually play with your friends
Draw My Thing is one of the few Facebook games that actually allows you play with friends in real time (rather than visit their farms, cities, etc). At the home screen, click Choose Friends to set up a game for you and up to six buddies. To invite your friends, click one of the Invite buttons. Then in Facebook Chat or an Instant Message, paste the automatically copied link. When your friends click the link, they'll appear in your game, ready to draw and let the good times roll.
Fun with no gimmicks
Like other Facebook games, Draw My Thing allows you to buy things with Facebook Credits. However, this game can be fully played without spending a dime. Should you decide to spend some Facebook Credits, there's plenty of neat extras to buy on that can help you step up your game.
draw my thing facebook
New drawing tools can be purchased that extend your drawing time or let you to draw perfect circles. You can buy Word Swaps that allow you to pick a different word at the start of your turn. You can even buy Hints to help you guess correctly. And unlike CityVille, Draw My Thing will never require you to spam your friends to progress in the game (but it will allow you to share your finest works).
draw my thing facebook
Draw your thing
So while you can spend Facebook Credits or play with strangers, that's not what Draw My Thing is all about. Draw My Thing is a social game meant to be enjoyed by you and your friends. And while it does have some issues such as a lack of leaderboards and stats, we can look past that. Most importantly, Draw My Thing reminds us that it is possible to have a blast playing with your friends on Facebook; and no, fertilizing your friends' crops is neither "fun" nor "playing with your friends".
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Microsoft video: Social is the future of Windows, Xbox, mobile gaming
As if the folks in Redmond, Wash. had a choice. This leaked internal Microsoft video reveals the company's vision for the future of gaming on its Xbox, Windows and mobile platforms. Two words pretty much sum up the gist of it: social gaming. As we all know, this emergent genre has spun the entire industry on its head. That said, it's time that not only traditional game designers adapt, but hardware and interface designers as well. In Microsoft's perfect world, social games and sharing features will be built-in across its platforms--either in this generation or the next--Minority Report-style. Jokes aside, expect lots more Kinect and touch integration in the future, not to mention a huge push toward social gaming (and virtual goods) from Microsoft all around. Let's just hope Microsoft's aspirations don't wholly involve FarmVille--guy's gotta' have his Halo.
[Via Uber Gizmo]
[Source: ZDNet]
Is this the type of future you had envisioned for Xbox or console gaming in general? What do you think is missing or needs work in Microsoft's vision for the future?
[Via Uber Gizmo]
[Source: ZDNet]
Is this the type of future you had envisioned for Xbox or console gaming in general? What do you think is missing or needs work in Microsoft's vision for the future?
Quote of the Moment: '[Xbox Live's] too small a demographic' for Zynga
Brian Reynolds of Zynga
"[Xbox Live's] too small a demographic. Think about, of my friends, how many of them own an Xbox 360? Well, I'm a game developer and I even come from a triple-A space so we might even be in the double digits... Twenty or maybe even thirty percent of my friends might have an Xbox 360, but effectively 100 percent of them have Facebook and effectively 100 percent of them have a mobile phone. Of them, probably 90 percent have a smartphone."
Brian Reynolds, chief game designer at Zynga, said this to Industrygamers.com in a recent interview. He's referring to what might be the next move for the omnipotent social game developer. While all signs point to mobile, it's not silly to assume that Microsoft's Xbox Live could be next with its over 30 million players. As it turns out, 30 million just doesn't stack up to Facebook's over 500 million, that of which half is said to play social games. A game like CityVille on Xbox would grab probably over a few million players, but that's small potatoes compared to the 90 million that already play on Facebook. Reynolds continued, explaining that mobile is next, because while plenty of his friends have Xbox 360s, the average social gamer doesn't have as many friends with the console. On the other hand, Reynolds said that at least 90 percent of his friends likely have a smartphone. You do the math. (Sorry, Microsoft.)
[Image Credit: The Baltimore Sun]
What do you think of Zynga's dismissal of Xbox 360? Is the company making a mistake in leaving it out or is the company right on track?
"[Xbox Live's] too small a demographic. Think about, of my friends, how many of them own an Xbox 360? Well, I'm a game developer and I even come from a triple-A space so we might even be in the double digits... Twenty or maybe even thirty percent of my friends might have an Xbox 360, but effectively 100 percent of them have Facebook and effectively 100 percent of them have a mobile phone. Of them, probably 90 percent have a smartphone."
Brian Reynolds, chief game designer at Zynga, said this to Industrygamers.com in a recent interview. He's referring to what might be the next move for the omnipotent social game developer. While all signs point to mobile, it's not silly to assume that Microsoft's Xbox Live could be next with its over 30 million players. As it turns out, 30 million just doesn't stack up to Facebook's over 500 million, that of which half is said to play social games. A game like CityVille on Xbox would grab probably over a few million players, but that's small potatoes compared to the 90 million that already play on Facebook. Reynolds continued, explaining that mobile is next, because while plenty of his friends have Xbox 360s, the average social gamer doesn't have as many friends with the console. On the other hand, Reynolds said that at least 90 percent of his friends likely have a smartphone. You do the math. (Sorry, Microsoft.)
[Image Credit: The Baltimore Sun]
What do you think of Zynga's dismissal of Xbox 360? Is the company making a mistake in leaving it out or is the company right on track?
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Facebook How-To: Add the best apps to your Favorites list
Depending on how active a Facebook gamer you happen to be, the left-hand side of your Home Page might be a bit cluttered, with icons for apps both large and small that you've accessed recently. If you're the kind that frequently tries new games, but may only play them once or twice before giving up on them, it can be a bit inconvenient when your favorite apps fall off of your visible list of apps, forcing you to load your app page and then find the app among every app you have installed on your account just to play them again.
Did you know that you can actually avoid this altogether, by adding apps to your Favorites? For most users, the Favorites section has just a few standard items in it: News Feed, Messages, Events and Friends. If you use this section to store your favorite games, like Bookmarks, you'll be able to avoid the stipulation that shows apps based on how frequently or how recently you played them, creating a (for now) permanent go-to list of your favorite games. Here's a guide on doing just that.
1. Head to the Facebook Home Page by clicking on "facebook" in the top left-hand corner of any page on the site. From there, locate the first game that you'd like to add to your Favorites list, as seen below. In our example, we'll move my FarmVille app link to my Favorites list.
2. Hover your mouse to the right of the vertical black line that separates these Favorites and Apps lists from your News Feed proper. You'll see a small button appear. Click on this button to see three options: Add to Favorites, Edit Settings and Remove App.
3. Click on Add to Favorites to see the app's link immediately jump into the Favorites list, and out of the Apps list. Continue to add apps until you have added all of the games you'd like to have instant, constant access to each time you login to Facebook.
As an aside, you do not want to click on the "Remove App" choice seen in Step 2, as this will uninstall the app entirely from your account, rather than just removing the link from this page.
Again, while the Favorites list might seem a bit useless, remember that the Apps list on the Home Page has been changed. You can no longer collapse and expand your list of most-used apps: You now have to load another page showing you a list of every app you have installed, whether you've used them recently or not.
Unfortunately, with any new change on Facebook, there's a chance (a fairly high one, at that) that these features could change again, or be removed entirely. We'll stay on top of things and will let you know if things become more complicated.
Will you use the Favorites feature to separate your apps that you use the most on your Home page? Which apps will you mark as your favorites?
Did you know that you can actually avoid this altogether, by adding apps to your Favorites? For most users, the Favorites section has just a few standard items in it: News Feed, Messages, Events and Friends. If you use this section to store your favorite games, like Bookmarks, you'll be able to avoid the stipulation that shows apps based on how frequently or how recently you played them, creating a (for now) permanent go-to list of your favorite games. Here's a guide on doing just that.
1. Head to the Facebook Home Page by clicking on "facebook" in the top left-hand corner of any page on the site. From there, locate the first game that you'd like to add to your Favorites list, as seen below. In our example, we'll move my FarmVille app link to my Favorites list.
2. Hover your mouse to the right of the vertical black line that separates these Favorites and Apps lists from your News Feed proper. You'll see a small button appear. Click on this button to see three options: Add to Favorites, Edit Settings and Remove App.
3. Click on Add to Favorites to see the app's link immediately jump into the Favorites list, and out of the Apps list. Continue to add apps until you have added all of the games you'd like to have instant, constant access to each time you login to Facebook.
As an aside, you do not want to click on the "Remove App" choice seen in Step 2, as this will uninstall the app entirely from your account, rather than just removing the link from this page.
Again, while the Favorites list might seem a bit useless, remember that the Apps list on the Home Page has been changed. You can no longer collapse and expand your list of most-used apps: You now have to load another page showing you a list of every app you have installed, whether you've used them recently or not.
Unfortunately, with any new change on Facebook, there's a chance (a fairly high one, at that) that these features could change again, or be removed entirely. We'll stay on top of things and will let you know if things become more complicated.
Will you use the Favorites feature to separate your apps that you use the most on your Home page? Which apps will you mark as your favorites?
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Are social games cool now? Gen Y is 30 percent of US social gamers
Social games aren't just going "hardcore", but it seems they're no longer just for old middle-aged folk. According to an eMarketer report citing data from Information Solutions Group (ISG), 30 percent of US social gamers are between 18 and 29 years old. That figure is as of September of this year, and in January 2010, Generation Y made up for just 15 percent.
With that change, the average age of the social gamer has dropped from 45 to just above 41 years old. So, social gamers are getting younger--how did this happen? Well, "hardcore" games are generally for younger audiences, so perhaps the recent boom in strategy games on Facebook accounts for at least some of this shift. Generally speaking, social games are slowly becoming more visually attractive and action-packed. Take The Sims Social, CastleVille and Mafia Wars 2, for instance.
As for what this could mean, social game makers are likely going to create games that are more appealing to this younger crowd. That's especially considering the data from ISG finds that younger social gamers are more likely to pay up for virtual items. Will 2012 be the year of the Facebook shooter? Probably not, but you can probably expect more games like this.
Will social games change now that younger players are getting into the mix? If so, how will they change, and if not, why should they remain the same?
With that change, the average age of the social gamer has dropped from 45 to just above 41 years old. So, social gamers are getting younger--how did this happen? Well, "hardcore" games are generally for younger audiences, so perhaps the recent boom in strategy games on Facebook accounts for at least some of this shift. Generally speaking, social games are slowly becoming more visually attractive and action-packed. Take The Sims Social, CastleVille and Mafia Wars 2, for instance.
As for what this could mean, social game makers are likely going to create games that are more appealing to this younger crowd. That's especially considering the data from ISG finds that younger social gamers are more likely to pay up for virtual items. Will 2012 be the year of the Facebook shooter? Probably not, but you can probably expect more games like this.
Will social games change now that younger players are getting into the mix? If so, how will they change, and if not, why should they remain the same?
Disney, Playdom look to former OnLive exec as head of social games
Former OnLive VP of games and media John Spinale got traditional game publishers interested in streaming their games, perhaps he has a trick or two up his sleeve for Disney. VentureBeat reports that Spinale has joined Disney as its head of social games, essentially taking over Playdom GM (and Disney Interactive Media Group co-president) John Pleasants's duties.
Spinale, now based in DIMG's Palo Alto-Calif. offices, will cover Playdom's day-to-day activities and report to Pleasants, according to VentureBeat. Before coming to Playdom, Spinale handled bringing dozens of new games and publishers on board to OnLive's video game streaming service--quite the feat, if you ask us.
"Playdom has an exciting road map for 2012 and beyond, and John will play an important role in bringing the magic of Disney to the world's most popular social media platforms," Pleasants said. "Social games are a key part of Disney's digital strategy, and will be a critical driver of DIMG's future success."
This news comes just after Business Insider's scathing report on the state of Disney and Playdom, citing nameless sources. One source even said, "Six top executives at the VP level or above have moved on in the last three months including Playdom's Co-COO." If those statements are to be true, then Spinale has quite a lot of work ahead of him. Spinale will have the golden opportunity to oversee Disney's long-awaited entry into social games ... aside from Gnome Town.
Is this the nudge that Disney and Playdom need to make even bigger waves in the social games space? What Disney franchise do you hope hits Facebook first?
Spinale, now based in DIMG's Palo Alto-Calif. offices, will cover Playdom's day-to-day activities and report to Pleasants, according to VentureBeat. Before coming to Playdom, Spinale handled bringing dozens of new games and publishers on board to OnLive's video game streaming service--quite the feat, if you ask us.
"Playdom has an exciting road map for 2012 and beyond, and John will play an important role in bringing the magic of Disney to the world's most popular social media platforms," Pleasants said. "Social games are a key part of Disney's digital strategy, and will be a critical driver of DIMG's future success."
This news comes just after Business Insider's scathing report on the state of Disney and Playdom, citing nameless sources. One source even said, "Six top executives at the VP level or above have moved on in the last three months including Playdom's Co-COO." If those statements are to be true, then Spinale has quite a lot of work ahead of him. Spinale will have the golden opportunity to oversee Disney's long-awaited entry into social games ... aside from Gnome Town.
Is this the nudge that Disney and Playdom need to make even bigger waves in the social games space? What Disney franchise do you hope hits Facebook first?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Capcom feels the power of The Smurf, gets bullish on social games
Seriously, those blue buggers must be hypnotizing or something. Capcom, the Japanese games company behind serious game franchises like Resident Evil, has revealed serious intention to take advantage of the social games movement. 1UP reports that Capcom will employ a laser focus on the social games industry, the same industry that kept it in the black in 2011.
"Capcom has decided to look at the social-game field from the scope of the entire company," Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono told Famitsu Magazine, translated by 1UP. "Instead of framing it in its own section like consoles or mobile games, it's something that all of Capcom development is involved with."
The news comes just as Capcom announced that the next game in the wildly popular (in Japan) Monster Hunter series would appear on mobile phones through Japanese social game publisher Gree. Ono, who will lead the charge, went on to say that this company-wide push into social will ultimately lead to new properties, as not many social gamers are also fans of, say, Street Fighter, even in Japan. (Though, Ono has admitted that fighting games would fit right on Facebook.)
"We discuss all the issues that go behind a platform choice, then go with what we think is the best solution," Ono said. "If we have titles suitable for the overseas market, for example, then Facebook or Google+ are viable choices for that."
Capcom's strictly-social subsidiary, Beeline Interactive, has enjoyed immense success in the U.S. with games like Smurfs' Village. That said, we'd be surprised if this new found social initiative didn't creep over into Capcom's Western efforts. Facebook gamers: Better start practicing your Hadouken.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Do you think Capcom is making a smart move in focusing more on social games company-wide? What Capcom franchise do you hope hits Facebook or Google+ first?
"Capcom has decided to look at the social-game field from the scope of the entire company," Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono told Famitsu Magazine, translated by 1UP. "Instead of framing it in its own section like consoles or mobile games, it's something that all of Capcom development is involved with."
The news comes just as Capcom announced that the next game in the wildly popular (in Japan) Monster Hunter series would appear on mobile phones through Japanese social game publisher Gree. Ono, who will lead the charge, went on to say that this company-wide push into social will ultimately lead to new properties, as not many social gamers are also fans of, say, Street Fighter, even in Japan. (Though, Ono has admitted that fighting games would fit right on Facebook.)
"We discuss all the issues that go behind a platform choice, then go with what we think is the best solution," Ono said. "If we have titles suitable for the overseas market, for example, then Facebook or Google+ are viable choices for that."
Capcom's strictly-social subsidiary, Beeline Interactive, has enjoyed immense success in the U.S. with games like Smurfs' Village. That said, we'd be surprised if this new found social initiative didn't creep over into Capcom's Western efforts. Facebook gamers: Better start practicing your Hadouken.
[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Do you think Capcom is making a smart move in focusing more on social games company-wide? What Capcom franchise do you hope hits Facebook or Google+ first?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
BringIt puts games in your Facebook games, so you can ... gamble?
If you're the type who enjoys wasting their money gambling, have we got some news for you. In select Facebook games by CrowdStar, East Side Games, Sometrics and Mall World, you can wager your hard-earned, paid game currency with your friends in custom mini games by BringIt. A real-time transactional platform for social games, BringIt announced that its head-to-head competitions for virtual currency are now available in games from these developers.
According to BringIt, 8 million players have participated in these mini games within their favorite social games, and the asynchronous, head-to-head competitions will increase their number of daily players to 2.1 million. Players can wager any amount of virtual currency they choose, and post challenges to multiple friends at once. These challenges are sent to players who then can respond with their own wagers and post their scores in said games--the winner takes all.
For instance, Happy Aquarium fans can now challenge each other in a game of match-three, Aqua Blast, which is strikingly similar to Bejeweled. Using speed and various power ups, players must score as many points as possible in 60 seconds after wagering so many Pearls (the game's paid currency). Then, players can post that score to whomever's News Feed that they challenged.
If a friend responds with a wager of Pearls and a score that beats the challenger's score, they win whatever the challenger wagered. If the friend happens to score less than what the challenger did, then whoever posted the challenge wins whatever amount of Pearls that the loser wagered.
Payments are said to be posted automatically, but as of Sept. 11, there have been issues with the speed of payment, though BringIt is cataloging all payments to ensure that all winnings are met with payments. (At least this applies to Happy Aquarium.) Other BringIt partners like East Side Games, have different BringIt-powered mini games such as Gold Rush in Pot Farm.
Developers like East Side Games hope to make lots of dough from this form of in-game gambling. BringIt claims that the novelty of wagering paid currency could turn more freeloading social gamers into ones that pay up to play. And we guess it's all kosher, because the money at stake isn't "real" money. Though, if you paid for it with real cash originally, it kind of is, no?
Would you ever gamble wager your hard-earned Pearls or other paid currency in these mini games by BringIt? What are your thoughts on online wagering, generally speaking? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
According to BringIt, 8 million players have participated in these mini games within their favorite social games, and the asynchronous, head-to-head competitions will increase their number of daily players to 2.1 million. Players can wager any amount of virtual currency they choose, and post challenges to multiple friends at once. These challenges are sent to players who then can respond with their own wagers and post their scores in said games--the winner takes all.
For instance, Happy Aquarium fans can now challenge each other in a game of match-three, Aqua Blast, which is strikingly similar to Bejeweled. Using speed and various power ups, players must score as many points as possible in 60 seconds after wagering so many Pearls (the game's paid currency). Then, players can post that score to whomever's News Feed that they challenged.
If a friend responds with a wager of Pearls and a score that beats the challenger's score, they win whatever the challenger wagered. If the friend happens to score less than what the challenger did, then whoever posted the challenge wins whatever amount of Pearls that the loser wagered.
Payments are said to be posted automatically, but as of Sept. 11, there have been issues with the speed of payment, though BringIt is cataloging all payments to ensure that all winnings are met with payments. (At least this applies to Happy Aquarium.) Other BringIt partners like East Side Games, have different BringIt-powered mini games such as Gold Rush in Pot Farm.
Developers like East Side Games hope to make lots of dough from this form of in-game gambling. BringIt claims that the novelty of wagering paid currency could turn more freeloading social gamers into ones that pay up to play. And we guess it's all kosher, because the money at stake isn't "real" money. Though, if you paid for it with real cash originally, it kind of is, no?
Would you ever gamble wager your hard-earned Pearls or other paid currency in these mini games by BringIt? What are your thoughts on online wagering, generally speaking? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Bubble Saga maker King.com hires Microsoft exec as marketing head
Can none resist the dollar signs allure of Facebook games? King.com, maker of Facebook game ports like Bubble Saga, announced that it has hired ex-Microsoft exec Alex Dale as its chief marketing officer. Dale joins King.com after overseeing Microsoft's marketing efforts on products including Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows Phone.
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 2 Comments
Friday, September 30, 2011
Clarins looks to beautify Facebook with Spa Life, its first social game
Is it only a matter time now before mom pants get their own Facebook game? Clarins, a well-known French brand of beauty products, recently released its own Facebook game, Spa Life. The game doesn't stray far away from games like Cafe World or Restaurant City, but applies the same principles to managing a spa rather than an eatery. Developed by Freshplanet, Spa Life has players managing an influx of customers looking for everything from a "mani-pedi" to facials and more.
Of course, just like its inspirations, players can decorate, upgrade and add new services to their spa. But players can only do this if they serve their terribly impatient customers in time to make the most cash from them. And in true Facebook game fashion, players can always buy their way out of waiting for the next upgrade with Facebook Credits.
According to Mashable, Clarins's North American CEO Jonathan Zrihen saw Facebook as a golden opportunity to reach its audience. And considering we all know by now that the average Facebook gamer is a middle-aged mother, he's probably right on the money. "I knew about the craziness of Zynga games, but I didn't realize the demographic was so much in line with the demographics of our products," Zrihen told Mashable. "I was also impressed by the level of engagement these games create."
Yes, this is yet another branded game, though it's odd that players aren't inundated with the brand until much later in the game. Another interesting nod is that Spa Life attempts to use your friends' names as customers to add more social awareness to the game. Building off of that, you'll need plenty more friends to run your various services, just like you need them to staff buildings in CityVille.
Spa Life in action
Branded games are exploding on Facebook. In fact, studios like Ecko|Code are focusing all of their efforts on creating games for brands such as Showtime shows like Weeds and Dexter. Facebook game developers like Zynga and Playdom have integrated brands into their games for awhile through promotions, it's only recently that they've begun to build games around a single brand.
For instance, it looks as if Adventure World will become Zynga's first game to completely embrace a brand. In October, the game will become "Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game" with the help of Lucasfilm. Sure, original games will continue to release, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see less of them moving forward.
Click here to Play Spa Life on Facebook Now >
Are you a Clarins fan--enough to check out this Facebook game? What do you think of branded games on Facebook and the fact that they're growing? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Of course, just like its inspirations, players can decorate, upgrade and add new services to their spa. But players can only do this if they serve their terribly impatient customers in time to make the most cash from them. And in true Facebook game fashion, players can always buy their way out of waiting for the next upgrade with Facebook Credits.
According to Mashable, Clarins's North American CEO Jonathan Zrihen saw Facebook as a golden opportunity to reach its audience. And considering we all know by now that the average Facebook gamer is a middle-aged mother, he's probably right on the money. "I knew about the craziness of Zynga games, but I didn't realize the demographic was so much in line with the demographics of our products," Zrihen told Mashable. "I was also impressed by the level of engagement these games create."
Yes, this is yet another branded game, though it's odd that players aren't inundated with the brand until much later in the game. Another interesting nod is that Spa Life attempts to use your friends' names as customers to add more social awareness to the game. Building off of that, you'll need plenty more friends to run your various services, just like you need them to staff buildings in CityVille.
Spa Life in action
Branded games are exploding on Facebook. In fact, studios like Ecko|Code are focusing all of their efforts on creating games for brands such as Showtime shows like Weeds and Dexter. Facebook game developers like Zynga and Playdom have integrated brands into their games for awhile through promotions, it's only recently that they've begun to build games around a single brand.
For instance, it looks as if Adventure World will become Zynga's first game to completely embrace a brand. In October, the game will become "Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game" with the help of Lucasfilm. Sure, original games will continue to release, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see less of them moving forward.
Click here to Play Spa Life on Facebook Now >
Are you a Clarins fan--enough to check out this Facebook game? What do you think of branded games on Facebook and the fact that they're growing? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Facebook game lets you solve anagrams to save Canada's forests
True to its name, in order to play Donate2Play Media's first new game, Wordraiser, you're going to have to pony up some change. Wordraiser is an anagram game that has players make as many words as possible out of one word.
If you manage to guess the key word, you get to level up. After leveling up a few times, you'll be asked to buy "Karma Points" that enable you to play more games.
Donation packages range from $1 to $20 USD, where $1 USD equals 10 Karma Points, which is good for buying one game. But right now, it seems that there's nothing stopping you from playing as much as you want. We're not sure if this is a bug, as the game just launched during the previous weekend.
While Wordraiser is supposedly free-to-play, it's also the offspring of Donate2Play's partnership with The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a Canadian grassroots organization devoted to finding the balance between forestry jobs and preserving British Columbia's ancient woodlands (defined as tree populations that are over 120 years old). So half of the money given to Wordraiser will be split between AFA and Donate2Play.
Gallery: Wordraiser
Lastly, there's a top ten high scores leaderboard that displays players' names followed by their levels, and two of AFA's founders, TJ Watts and Ken Wu, are currently on the board in ninth and third place, respectively. According to its Facebook page, Wordraiser currently has 202 monthly users.
Keep in mind, though, that Donate2Play is doing all the heavy lifting here, with no risk or prior investment from AFA. Outreach for the game is done via automatic Facebook wall posts. Players will also receive facts about British Columbian forests during load screens and photos of these forests by TJ Watt.
[Hat-tip: Times Colonist]
Click here to play Wordraiser on Facebook now >
Would you rather donate to a charity directly than through a Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you manage to guess the key word, you get to level up. After leveling up a few times, you'll be asked to buy "Karma Points" that enable you to play more games.
Donation packages range from $1 to $20 USD, where $1 USD equals 10 Karma Points, which is good for buying one game. But right now, it seems that there's nothing stopping you from playing as much as you want. We're not sure if this is a bug, as the game just launched during the previous weekend.
While Wordraiser is supposedly free-to-play, it's also the offspring of Donate2Play's partnership with The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a Canadian grassroots organization devoted to finding the balance between forestry jobs and preserving British Columbia's ancient woodlands (defined as tree populations that are over 120 years old). So half of the money given to Wordraiser will be split between AFA and Donate2Play.
Gallery: Wordraiser
Lastly, there's a top ten high scores leaderboard that displays players' names followed by their levels, and two of AFA's founders, TJ Watts and Ken Wu, are currently on the board in ninth and third place, respectively. According to its Facebook page, Wordraiser currently has 202 monthly users.
Keep in mind, though, that Donate2Play is doing all the heavy lifting here, with no risk or prior investment from AFA. Outreach for the game is done via automatic Facebook wall posts. Players will also receive facts about British Columbian forests during load screens and photos of these forests by TJ Watt.
[Hat-tip: Times Colonist]
Click here to play Wordraiser on Facebook now >
Would you rather donate to a charity directly than through a Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Adventure World: Redeem a Zynga Game Card for 15 free energy packs
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
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