Games.com Blog: “Killer FarmVille pic of the day: Chicken faces impending doom” plus 19 more |  |
- Killer FarmVille pic of the day: Chicken faces impending doom
- Social News Wrap: Real-life Mafia Wars and Zynga's 'f*&# the users' methods
- FarmVille dogs will be functional as well as adorable
- Social City Cheats & Tips: Six Easy Ways to Get Ahead
- 'Progress Wars' parody takes a well-placed jab at Facebook games
- Happy Aquarium: Spring has sprung with new tulips, cherry blossom tree, more
- Games.com Spring Fever Giveaway: Win FarmVille Cash Cards!
- More YoVille madness with new whimsical costumes
- Hotel City on Facebook: Check in and you won't want to check out
- Hey, psst! PetVille backyards are still 'coming soon'
- PetVille new fab accessories: Designer handbags and cell phones
- FarmVille dog update: Golden retriever appears in market, then disappears
- FarmVille unreleased Black Stallion spotted in the wild
- FarmVille Dogwood Tree: Look but don't touch
- FarmVille Percheron Horse trots into the market
- FarmVille unreleased item: Oak tree
- FarmVille Cottage size change was a big 'oops!'
- FarmVille French Chateau: Say Oui to new Horse Sculpture and Bike with Basket
- FarmVille French Chateau: Cafe & Provencal Shed - Oh la la!
- FarmVille unreleased: Ribbon images get an overhaul
| Killer FarmVille pic of the day: Chicken faces impending doom Posted: 19 Mar 2010 11:33 AM PDT  This poor chicken flew the coop in search of freedom, only to get jumped by an angry gang of hungry kittens. Source: Farmville Forums Have a Killer FarmVille pic/video of the day? Submit it to us by pointing your browser to Seed.com. (Just an FYI, signup is required).
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| Social News Wrap: Real-life Mafia Wars and Zynga's 'f*&# the users' methods Posted: 19 Mar 2010 11:30 AM PDT  This was a big week for Facebook games, social gaming. All of our games were flooded with leprechauns, green clovers and various pots of gold for St. Patrick's Day and we finally got a sneak peek at those FarmVille dogs we've been hearing about for eons. Outside of the game, however, it was a big news week as well -- mostly building on the over-arching premise that, 'Hey, Facebook gaming is blowing up!' See the can't-miss headlines from this week: Real Mafia Wars: Mafia Kingpen caught thanks to Facebook addiction You know Mafia Wars on Facebook, right? In a twist of irony, a real life mafia kingpin was busted due to his Facebook addiction. His facebook nom de plume? Scarface. Way to be discreet, genius. [via BBC News] ScamVille strikes again ... on iPhone Looks like Offerpal is at it again, this time serving up scammy direct marketing ads to iPhone gamers, including "SMS-subscription offers, which trick users into putting long term subscriptions on their mobile phones." Remember: if something sounds too good, it probably is. [via TechCrunch] Zynga has an 'F*ck the users approach' to game development In a rant about social games, David Hayward from Pixel-Lab drops the f-bomb when he describes how Zynga approaches game making, i.e. "extract revenue and multiply users in every way possible." Ouch. [via Pixel-Love] Seven features that should be in every social game An article from Social Times which offers some decent suggestions on how to improve social games -- like leaderboards, challenges and, well, the rest -- you'll have to see for yourself. [via Social Times] Facebook more popular than Google; Zynga Pay Pal's Second Largest Customer, Behind eBay Last week, Facebook was actually more popular than Google and Zynga is PayPal's second largest customer after Ebay, which actually owns PayPal. Meaning? People like to hang out with friends online and they like to play social games -- not exactly a newsflash to those of us in the know. [Via Inside Social Games, Business Insider] Playdom lays $5 million on social games start-up, Metro Games Playdom, which recently launched Social City, is expanding its horizons by investing $5 million in a company called MetroGames, after buying Offbeat Creations a few week ago. Note: if you're a social gaming startup looking for cash, be sure to give Playdom a call. [Via Virtual Goods News]
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| FarmVille dogs will be functional as well as adorable Posted: 19 Mar 2010 10:00 AM PDT FarmVille's been hinting -- rather pointedly -- that dogs will be arriving soon, and we also got a sneak peek at a few more details courtesy of PetVille and players who were privy to a quick glance at a Golden Retriever in the in-game market.  Recently, we met with FarmVille GM Bill Mooney, who says he was looking forward to satisfying player's overwhelming request for dogs. Mooney was tight lipped about more details except that these dogs will do more than "be passive," i.e. sit and look cute on your farm. He hints that these dogs will actually serve a function on the farm.  In fact, we're fairly certain we got another big wink from FarmVille about that functionality in the PetVille clues -- the English sheep dogs "are great at herding sheep," the Golden Retrievers are "good at fetching" and the Border Collies are great at "commanding other animals." Just keep that in mind when thinking about dogs and their roles they might take on when they (finally!) arrive.  Mooney also gave another cryptic hint about FarmVille dogs, saying, "Notice the little dog feet... and the puppy feet. There's going to be some fun with that..." possibly hinting that players will either be able to raise dogs and maybe breed more as well.
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| Social City Cheats & Tips: Six Easy Ways to Get Ahead Posted: 19 Mar 2010 09:00 AM PDT  Earlier in March, Sorority Life and Mobsters creator Playdom launched a brand-new Facebook game, Social City, challenging players on the social network to build a small town into a thriving metropolis. Longtime gamers might recognize this style of game from popular PC game SimCity -- look at Social City as SimCity Lite, with the addition of (no surprise) hooks and incentives to get your friends to play along with you. These six tips will help you on your way toward creating a booming concrete jungle1. Build factories to earn money The primary way you'll increase your city's prosperity is through building factories and then assigning various contracts to them. There is a limit on how many factories you are able to have in your city depending on your population (more people = more factories). Each factory in turn is allowed to work on one contract at a time -- for example, you might have one factory producing prom dresses for twenty minutes and another churning out 'hit parade' CDs for a full twenty-four hours. Once the contract is completed, you'll have to come back to collect the profits (they expire after a period of time relative to how long it took to manufacture the product -- yup, just like you learned in Farmville and Cafe World), clean up the factory, then select a new contract to work on.  Pro tip: While you may personally want to build your city's economy solely around the manufacture of cute stuffed animals, it's good to vary what you are producing based on how often you'll be able to check back on its progress. Yes, that means sometimes accepting contracts for less-exciting pain pills and tires.  2. Build residential areas to increase your population To increase your city's population, you need to build cottages, apartment complexes, hotels and more to 'generate' people. Like factory contracts, each building will produce a certain number of citizens in a certain length of time. Small cottages will produce only a handful of people but in a very short amount of time, while apartment complexes (which you'll have to wait to unlock at Level 17) generate one thousand people in twenty-four hours. When the building has finished producing people, you'll have to click on the house to add them to your population. It's not as creepy as it sounds, we promise! Pro tip: Keep all residential houses on the same time cycle in a close grid area so you can quickly click through them to 'collect' new residents and then click through again to set them up for repopulation.  3. Build leisure buildings to increase your population cap People need more than just factories and homes in a city -- the third type of building you'll acquire in Social City are 'leisure' buildings. These range from burger joints and schools to tennis courts and pizzerias. There is no 'timed' element to leisure buildings - once you've built them, they'll raise your population cap permanently (although you will need to click on them to 'clean' them up every once in a while). They don't generate money, but they're still an important part of your city that you'll need to invest money into in order to increase the number of people who can live there. Pro tip: Some leisure buildings take up more space than others, like the 2x2 grid movie theater. If you're hurting for space to fit new factories and residential buildings, try getting a small but effective leisure spot like one-grid police station (why a police station adds 'happiness' to your city is beyond us, but we'll trust Playdom on this one).  4. Balance the Number of Each Building Factories, homes and leisure buildings rely on each other in order for your city to grow as a whole. Make sure you strike a good balance between them in order to quickly grow your city's population and economy. Pro tip: Keep track of your population cap on the city information screen, and always keep your population limit well above the actual population so that you don't end up losing citizens.  5. Watch the Time Like any other game where you have to wait for certain items to mature before you're able to collect the money and experience points they offer, Pro tip: If you're sitting down for an hour-long session of Social City, choose contracts and set up residential buildings that can mature multiple times while you're actively playing. Most of the time you'll have a better return on your time/money this way. If you're leaving for work for the day, choose ones that will finish around the time you get home in the evening (same for night ones that will be ready when you wake up).  6. Play With Friends As is the norm in Facebook games, having friends who also play Social City gives you a leg up on earning money. Here, you'll be able to visit your friends' cities once a day to earn a bit of cash by way of 'helping' them out -- stopping a crime wave, saving a kitten from a tree or even just filling up potholes to save motorists. It doesn't require you to be particularly engaged with your friends' cities (you either help them out or just go back to your city) but does encourage you to get a sense of how their cities are laid out and how far they've progressed. Pro tip: If you're averse to mass-adding your friends and worried you'll end up spamming those who aren't actually playing Social City, hit the 'Games' tab on the left-side Facebook column, scroll to 'Social City' and click on the 'Friends' link next to the title of the game. You'll get a popup that tells you which friends have added the application (information that Playdom sneakily hides from you on the in-game 'Invite Friends' area). Play Social City on Facebook > Have any other Social City tips we missed (or just looking for people to play the game with you?) Leave a post in the comments below!
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| 'Progress Wars' parody takes a well-placed jab at Facebook games Posted: 19 Mar 2010 08:00 AM PDT Even though millions of people spend time playing Facebook/social games daily, there's always going to be a handful of contrarians. So far we've seen anti-FarmVille posters, special anti-social gaming Facebook groups and, now, Progress Wars, a parody game takes a well-placed jab at our favorite pastime.  Progress Wars, created by Jakob Skjerning, has one goal -- to click the button at the center of the page and fill up the bar, leveling up each time the bar is filled. There are random 'jobs' assigned to the bar, our favorite has to be 'Tickle the Yakuza,' clearly a shot at Zynga's Mafia Wars. Once a job is complete, keep clicking to finish the next job and repeat, ad nauseum. Skjerning says his this clicking game is the result of analyzing "popular Facebook games and distilled their enticing gameplay into their core game mechanics. What's left is only the stuff that makes a game like Mafia Wars tick - none of the fluff." Even though we're obviously wild about social games, you have to admit that this satirist seems to be onto something. Thanks to a regular social gaming regimen, our previously normal index fingers have turned into the Arnold Schwarzenegger of digits, which can click with the precision of a Terminator robot. As an "aside," Skjerning also says this game was born from "a desire to point out the pointlessness of many casual games." That's where we part ways in our thinking. Listen, if people are entertained by hours of clicking, than who are we to judge? The point of playing games is fun and entertainment, and that can be defined many ways for many people. To that point, we definitely got a chuckle from Progress Wars . If you want to check it out, point your browsers to progresswars.com and let the click bonanza begin. [Via Social Times]
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| Happy Aquarium: Spring has sprung with new tulips, cherry blossom tree, more Posted: 19 Mar 2010 07:30 AM PDT  New Happy Aquarium items: New Spring tank decor including a pink tulip, dandelion, cherry blossom tree and a stackable picnic table Release date: March 19, 2010 Where to find them: In the Happy Aquarium store, under Props How much: The dandelion costs 80 coins, the tulip costs 100 coins; the picnic table costs 8 Pearls or 7 Facebook Credits; the Cherry Blossom tree costs 18 Pearls or 15 Facebook Credits  Our take: These bright new items will put a little spring into your tank. Spend a few hundred coins on the bright pink tulips or go big with the cherry blossom tree (ya know, if you're feeling spendy). Your take: Which of these four Spring-themed items are you most likely to buy? If you have pictures of any of these new items in your Happy Aquarium tank, please send a pic (or link to a pic) to libe@games.com, and we'll post it here!
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| Games.com Spring Fever Giveaway: Win FarmVille Cash Cards! Posted: 19 Mar 2010 06:00 AM PDT Spring 2010 officially arrives this weekend, and in honor of the occasion (and as a way to say 'thanks!' for visiting Games.com), we're going to give away five (5) FarmVille Cash cards, each valued at ($10) each, to five winners.  If you've never seen a FarmVille cash card, look at this pic we took at the Games.com headquarters in NYC above (man, we need to wash those windows, eh?). FarmVille cards -- as well as cards for Mafia Wars, Cafe World, etc --can be purchased at Best Buy, Target, 7-11 and Gamestop. Or, you can get one we're giving away -- for free! How do you enter? Step 1: Join our Facebook fan page! If you haven't joined our Facebook fan page yet, now's your chance! Go to facebook.com/gamescom, and hit the "Become a Fan" button at the top. Step 2: Leave us a Wall Post that includes how you plan to dress up your FarmVille farm for Springtime. Include images or a link to an image if possible! We'll pick 5 entries at the beginning of next week and contact the winners via Facebook mail. Then we'll either mail you the card or just send you the code (your choice!). Any questions or comments? Post them in the comments area here and we'll do our best to answer them! Good luck! Spring Fever Giveaway Details: We'll be giving away 5 FarmVille cards, starting March 19, ending at 1 p.m. EST on Monday, March 22. We will pick winners at random and will contact you via Facebook email (please make sure you give us permission to contact you via your Facebook page) to let you know if you won.
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| More YoVille madness with new whimsical costumes Posted: 19 Mar 2010 04:19 AM PDT The whimsical theme has not ended yet! Three main costumes have been added to the clothing boutique. The good queen costume is available for 4,000 coins while the rabbit with jacket and rabbit with hearts costumes are available for 35,000 coins each. On the other hand, matching accessories for the costumes mentioned above are for YoCash.
Colorful mushroom hats and hand held teapots were also added and are available for YoCash. Enjoy the whimsical month in YoLand. Get your costume now! This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
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| Hotel City on Facebook: Check in and you won't want to check out Posted: 19 Mar 2010 03:00 AM PDT  In the past year, Facebook has been overrun with pet simulation games, farming games and, more recently, city building games. For those tired of plowing, harvesting and cleaning virtual pets, Playfish's brand new game Hotel City, lets you try your hand at something a little different -- running a hotel. In Hotel City, the goal is to turn a two-star establishment into a five-star luxury hotel by adding more sleeping rooms, a gym, swimming pool, bar and other amenities that well-heeled customers expect. Decorations also play a big part in this game -- the better the wallpaper, furniture and accessories in a room, the more customers will pay to stay. As players reach higher levels, there will be room for expansion, which will, in turn, bring in more customers and more cash. All of these upgrades contribute to a star rating at the top of the screen, which serves as a barometer for your hotel's success.  As expected, friends also play an important part in the game. Visit neighbors' hotels to earn extra cash and, of course, send free gifts with the hopes that your oh-so generous friends will send some back. With the release of Poker Rivals and Gangster City, we were wondering if we'd lost the Playfish we've known (and loved) forever. That's clearly not the case. Hotel City has classic Playfish written all over it -- with cute cartoon graphics, funny animations and a soothing soundtrack playing in the background. It's those same 'charming' qualities that make it impossible to resist Playfish's other big hits, Pet Society and Restaurant City. Something else we can appreciate is this hotel game's simplicity. Where other Facebook games seem to be tacking on extra activities weekly, it's nice to get back to playing a game that you can truly spend five minutes playing and then come back later to play again. Or, if you want to stick around a little longer, you can partake in one of our favorite activities in Hotel City -- poking sleeping customers with the hopes that it'll shake some extra coins from their pockets. Weird? Well, yeah, kinda. Delightful? Absolutely. Hotel City doesn't break the mold of Facebook games, but if you're looking for something a little different, check into Hotel City; it's likely you won't want to check out. Do you agree? Is Hotel City going to be the next big thing? Play Hotel City on Facebook >
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| Hey, psst! PetVille backyards are still 'coming soon' Posted: 19 Mar 2010 02:00 AM PDT  Hey, everybody -- guess what? Backyards are coming to Petville. In case you weren't aware of that fact (like that's even possible!), Zynga offers yet another teaser of what your pet's upcoming patch of green will look like. A grill, picnic table and cooler next to a lake? Looks like our pets will be easing into Spring with style -- so much so that we're almost jealous of our virtual pets' care-free lifestyle. How are you going to decorate your PetVille backyard?
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| PetVille new fab accessories: Designer handbags and cell phones Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:00 AM PDT  New PetVille Item: Accessories, i.e. Handbags and a variety of cell phones Release date: March 18, 2010 Where to find them: In the PetVille Premium store How much: All of the items require PetVille cash, between 10 and 100 $PV Standout items: Three limited edition handbags (only 500 each), white Louis Vuitton handbag look-a-like (50 $PV, see image above) and the iPhone look-a-like (40 $PV, see image below)  Our take: Once we get over the fact that our virtual pet would be carrying a better handbag than we do, we'd go on a serious shopping spree on these new accessories (that is, if we hadn't already spent all of our $PV on Tail and Wing Mystery boxes already). If only PetVille could get an authentic Louis Vuitton branded bag as one of the limited edition items -- we wouldn't be able to spend our cash fast enough (Zynga, are you listening?) Your take: Which will you buy first -- a smartphone or a handbag?
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| FarmVille dog update: Golden retriever appears in market, then disappears Posted: 19 Mar 2010 12:00 AM PDT  As the most anticipated item in FarmVille, the Dogs have been "coming soon" for a long time now.With the recent podcast hints and FarmVille loading screen teaser, we are yet even closer to the release. So far, we know that these Dogs will be Pets that are also highly interactive and more than just harvestable animals. This leaves everyone wondering what will be the cost of the FarmVille Dog!? Well, here are some FarmVille notifications and FarmVille Market screenshots, provided by FarmVille Freak Andrew, for you to see! From time to time, some farmers get early access to items before everyone else. It seems that with features such as Expansion, Hot Rod Tractors, and now the Dog, the release is limited for testing purposes. Even though some farmers may see the Dog in their FarmVille Market, they still cannot purchase. Please note, the Dog has not been officially released, and until that time things including pricing may change. Some FarmVille Freaks have reported that the cost for the Dog in their FarmVille Market is anywhere from 20 to 80 FV$. Official Word from FarmVille Community Manager Lexilicious: "Pets Teaser: A small percentage of our users will see the new Golden Retriever Puppy in the Market for varying prices. Some users will see the Puppy with a "coming soon" message below the icon in the Market. Please know that this is nothing more than a teaser for our newest feature and clicking on this icon will not charge your account any Farm Cash, nor will you receive a Puppy. The prices that the Puppies will be when they are released are not yet finalized."  FarmVille Freak Andrew's Golden Retriever Notice  FarmVille Freak Andrew's Golden Retriever Coming Soon Notice
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| FarmVille unreleased Black Stallion spotted in the wild Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:53 PM PDT Thank you to FarmVille Freak Mike for telling us about this FarmVille Unreleased Black Stallion.  FarmVille Freak Unreleased Black Stallion Sources:
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| FarmVille Dogwood Tree: Look but don't touch Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:52 PM PDT  The FarmVille Dogwood Tree was released on 03.18.10.  If you are having trouble locating the Dogwood Tree in the FarmVille Market, look under the "Decorations" tab. It may look familiar since it was featured previously as an unreleased item. Do you like the Dogwood Tree?
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| FarmVille Percheron Horse trots into the market Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:50 PM PDT On 03.18.10 FarmVille introduced a new animal, the Percheron Horse!  FarmVille Percheron Horse The Percheron Horse is purchasable with farm cash only and will cost 20 FV$. It does not currently have an expiration time from the FarmVille Market. The Percheron Horse can be placed in the Horse Stable.  Historically, the muscular Percheron Horses originated in the Perche Valley in France and were used as work horses. They are recognized for their strength, intelligence, and willingness to work. Did you purchase a Percheron Horse?
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| FarmVille unreleased item: Oak tree Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:49 PM PDT Thank You to FarmVille Freak FarmViller for finding this unreleased Oak Tree!  FarmVille Unreleased Tree Oak Source:
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| FarmVille Cottage size change was a big 'oops!' Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:48 PM PDT With Tuesday's FarmVille Updates, Cottages and the Greenhouse became smaller. No notice was given about the size reduction or why. Many of you were concerned about the change and were wondering what happened. FarmVille Community Manager, Lexilicous addresses the issue below:
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| FarmVille French Chateau: Say Oui to new Horse Sculpture and Bike with Basket Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:47 PM PDT Continuing with the them of limited edition French Chateau decorations, FarmVille added a Horse Sculpture and Bike with Basket on 03.16.10.
Both the Horse Sculpture and Bike with Basket can be purchased with coins and will be available for the next 12 days in the FarmVille Market. The Horse Sculpture- 5,000 coins Bike with Basket- 2,000 coins What do you think of the Horse Sculpture and Bike with Basket?
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| FarmVille French Chateau: Cafe & Provencal Shed - Oh la la! Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:46 PM PDT On 03.18.10 FarmVille added two new buildings to the collection of limited edition French Chateau decorations.  FarmVille Cafe & Toolshed Icon  Farmville French Chateau Cafe & Tool Shed Announcement The Cafe and Provencal Shed can be purchased with farm cash only and will be available in the FarmVille Market for the next 12 days.
Will you purchase the Cafe or Provencal Shed? Send pics of your new buildings to farmgoddess@farmvillefreak.com and we will feature them on FarmVille Freak.
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| FarmVille unreleased: Ribbon images get an overhaul Posted: 18 Mar 2010 11:43 PM PDT  'Thank you for FarmVille Freak Thai for giving us a heads up on this! Sources:
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