Games.com Blog: “Greenopolis launches eco-friendly Facebook game” plus 13 more |  |
- Greenopolis launches eco-friendly Facebook game
- Zuma Blitz on Facebook First Look
- More million-sellers for Xbox Live
- PlayFirst's Chocolatier: Sweet Society gives ladies what they crave
- Playstation Home sees real-estate boom
- FarmVille Crafting Buildings Appear in Farmers Market
- PopCap's Zuma's Revenge wins Great Game of the Year
- Virtual Villagers: A First Look at Playing God
- Virtual Villagers: Facebook's 'first true God game' debuts
- Job posting points to Facebook videoconference Charades game
- Big Fish Games pens exclusive deal with Woman's Day
- Games.com blog takes on Casual Connect in Seattle
- Pet Society Chocolate Boxes Glow in the Dark
- New study predicts we'll spend 1.5 billion in social games by 2014
| Greenopolis launches eco-friendly Facebook game Posted: 20 Jul 2010 12:04 PM PDT A lot of companies want to get into the games business. The most recent entrant is Waste Management, who reported revenues of $11.8 billion in 2009.
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| Zuma Blitz on Facebook First Look Posted: 20 Jul 2010 12:00 PM PDT Filed under: Bejeweled Blitz  At Casual Connect in Seattle, PopCap gave select members of the press a first look at their upcoming Facebook game, Zuma Blitz. Much like Bejeweled Blitz, the Facebook version of the popular game gives you 60 seconds to bust as many balls as possible. The one-minute thing is a bit of a misnomer, however. You can actually shoot special balls that will extend time a little longer, which gives you just enough time to maximize your score. There are also balls with special multipliers that will help you send your score soaring to the heavens. The social parts of the game are pretty limited right now, and those in the game right now are similar to those in Bejeweled Blitz. There's a living leaderboard at the bottom of the page, and once you get your big score, you have the option to post it to your Facebook Wall for bragging rights. There's talk behind the scenes about adding more social features, namely a way to 'curse' your friends in the game. Once you beat a friend, you can curse them, and turn their Facebook photo on the leaderboard into something else, say, a picture of a sheep or cow. To get rid of the 'curse,' you'll have to beat your challenger's score and pass the curse back to them. Unlike Bejeweled Blitz, Zuma Blitz will definitely include virtual currency (as in paid for with real-life-cash) that can be used to buy power-ups, which were not finalized in the version of the game we played today. Zynga higher ups have been looking for ways to make money on their social games, and Zuma Blitz will apparently be the first test case. The game will also include experience points system as well. So far the game seems to possess the same addictive quality as Bejeweled Blitz -- it's just challenging enough that you'll keep going back to see if you can beat your high score. Just make sure you take a break from mousing occasionally so you don't get the dreaded 'Zuma Claw.' (It's real! Honest!) Zuma Blitz will be in beta within the next few weeks, stay turned for more details (and images from the game). Note: The image above is from Zuma's Revenge, not Zuma Blitz.
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| More million-sellers for Xbox Live Posted: 20 Jul 2010 09:50 AM PDT Xbox Live Arcade has come a long way since Geometry Wars. According to Scott Austin, the director of marketplace games for the Microsoft service, arcade experiences are getting higher and higher quality to remain competitive. "Some of these titles are competing with retail for share-of-wallet."
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| PlayFirst's Chocolatier: Sweet Society gives ladies what they crave Posted: 20 Jul 2010 09:00 AM PDT    According to PlayFirst CEO, Mari Baker, "In limited release, we've already reached over a quarter million players and we're confident this game will please the sweet tooth of Facebook gamers everywhere." Right now, the player statistics for daily and monthly usage on AppData are good, but pretty modest -- hovering around 74k and 390k, respectively. 
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| Playstation Home sees real-estate boom Posted: 20 Jul 2010 08:57 AM PDT If you've ever worried about the size of your apartment, chances are Playstation Home offers a solution-a larger virtual apartment to accommodate all of your friends at once. According to senior manager of Sony's developer support group, Justin Cooney, "People are wanting to do things in Home - they're spending a lot of time in Home." The most popular is the Summer House. Says Cooney: "This apartment did over $350,000 in [North America] alone."
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| FarmVille Crafting Buildings Appear in Farmers Market Posted: 20 Jul 2010 08:00 AM PDT Filed under: Farmville      This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
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| PopCap's Zuma's Revenge wins Great Game of the Year Posted: 20 Jul 2010 07:39 AM PDT  PopCap's ball-breaker game Zuma's Revenge took home top honors in this year's Great Game Awards, sponsored by Game House. This is the second year for the event, and PopCap was arguably the star of the show, with nods for Game of the Year, Best Character Design, Most Innovative Game and Top Match-3 games. 2010 GREAT GAME AWARDS WINNERS: GAME OF THE YEAR Zuma's Revenge!(TM) - Adventure by PopCap Games GAME OF THE YEAR - PLAYER'S CHOICE Jewel Quest Mysteries -Trail of the Midnight Heart by iWin BEST ART DESIGN Mystery Legends(TM) - Sleepy Hollow by pixelStorm BEST CHARACTER DESIGN Plants vs. Zombies(TM) by PopCap Games BEST NARRATIVE EXPERIENCE Cate West - The Velvet Keys(TM) by Gamenauts MOST INNOVATIVE GAME Plants vs. Zombies(TM) by PopCap Games MOST ADDICTIVE GAME Faerie Solitaire(TM) by Subsoap UP-AND-COMING DEVELOPER Youda Games: Youda Farmer, Youda Marina, Youda Sushi Chef TOP ADVENTURE GAME Princess Isabella - A Witch's Curse by Gogii Games TOP TIME MANAGEMENT GAME Delicious - Emily's Taste of Fame by GameHouse TOP HIDDEN OBJECT GAME Mystery P.I.(TM) - The New York Fortune by PopCap Games TOP MATCH-3 Zuma's Revenge!(TM) - Adventure by PopCap Games TOP SIM / TYCOON My Kingdom for the Princess by Nevosoft The entire lineup of games are all excellent -- Youda Sushi Chef was a definite fave this year -- but there seems to be something missing from this list, social games. Looks like these Awards are limited to downloadable games, which is nice and all, but it would be even nicer to see all casual games included in next year's awards.
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| Virtual Villagers: A First Look at Playing God Posted: 20 Jul 2010 07:00 AM PDT   John Passfield, the Creative Director of 3 Blokes Studios, who helped make the game, says that Virtual Villagers "is building on games like FrontierVille." This is very obvious to players once the game's Quest icons appears, which work nearly identically to FrontierVille's Goals. The two games even share a Quest or Goal achievement called "Clear the Land." On top of that, crops need to be planted and harvested, buildings require wood to build, and the plant life takes over when you've been away for too long.But plenty of differences allow Virtual Villagers to stand on its own. Unlike FrontierVille, arduous loads of clicking have been replaced with drag-and-drops. Your villagers also don't stay still, and each one comes with his or her own stats page, which will develop over time. And while you start off with one villager, you don't have to work your butt off getting hitched in order to have a second pair of hands to work the land. I got another villager just after hitting Level 3! But, the game warns, "Older villagers start to slow down."   
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| Virtual Villagers: Facebook's 'first true God game' debuts Posted: 20 Jul 2010 06:30 AM PDT  At first glance, this game has a ton of similarities to Zynga's immensely popular FrontierVille, sporting a "persistent game world" that changes over time. But it also vows to provide "real, dynamic multiplayer storytelling that unfolds according to the actions of all the players together." Like FrontierVille, your characters can get hitched. But not only can you have kids in this game, they will also inherit some of the skills from their parents. Your characters will have stats pages. They can acquire special skills over time. They can also grow old, get sick, and be nursed back to health. Basically, this game is promising to do everything that FrontierVille does, and more. We'll be providing additional coverage on this soon. For now, everyone can play god by logging into Facebook and giving the game a spin here.
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| Job posting points to Facebook videoconference Charades game Posted: 20 Jul 2010 06:00 AM PDT  Such is the case with this here posting for a "videoconference social game" from a mysterious outfit called PoserGames.com. Basically, the game described in the attached documents is an online, multiplayer version of charades (or "celebrities") where players take turns acting out silent clues to get their teammates to guess a secret term or person. Up to eight people will be able to play at once through video conference windows that shift around and change sizes as new players come up for their three minute rounds. After reading through the description, this seems like a no-brainer idea for online social networks, and with the mass availability of webcams and high bandwidth connections capable of handling multiple streaming video, it seems like it might finally be technically feasible. It also got us wondering what other dinner-party-style games could make the transition online. Pictionary is already well represented, as are most card and board games, but with maybe this video conferencing idea could be put towards something like Truth or Dare or Spin the Bottle next, eh?
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| Big Fish Games pens exclusive deal with Woman's Day Posted: 20 Jul 2010 05:00 AM PDT Big Fish Games, the casual game company behind those insanely addictive Mystery Case Files games, has signed an exclusive deal with Woman's Day. Starting Tuesday, July 20, head to WomansDay.com to check out 2,500 games from Big Fish, which include hidden object games to puzzle games and time management games.  "Our games are a great fit for Woman's Day readers ... Casual games are relaxing, mentally stimulating, and fun," says Big Fish CEO Jeremy Lewis in a press release. Woman's Day has an audience of 24 million women ages 25 to 65 -- so that means we can expect more ladies to learn that hidden object and time management games (which sound like a chore) are more addictive than a frosty pint of Haagen Daas' Caramel Cone.  Woman's Day and Big Fish Games will also include "a special offer" for readers in the September issue of the magazine, available on stands in August. The details on that have not been disclosed yet, but we know that more of these offers -- like this free version of Mystery Case Files Ravenhurst -- will be rolling out during the partnership.
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| Games.com blog takes on Casual Connect in Seattle Posted: 20 Jul 2010 03:30 AM PDT  I'm feeling a little giddy this morning. Why? It's the first day of Casual Connect in Seattle. For those of you who aren't in the know, Casual Connect is a three-day conference where the who's who of casual games get together and, well, talk about casual games. That also includes social games, which is what we cover religiously on the Games.com blog. This week, our crew will be meeting with people who make your favorite casual/social games and pick their brains about big trends and, hopefully, get a sneak peek at upcoming games. I'm especially looking forward to the always outspoken Hi5 CTO Alex St. John's Facebook Smackdown event, Playdom's John Pleasant's talk about the future of social games, hearing Ohai's Susan Wu's thoughts on what's next for social games after FrontierVille and World of Warcraft and learning more about the upcoming Google Games.  And, like all trade shows, there will be lots of after-hours socializing. Why should you care? That means we'll get a chance to squeeze out more information on what games will be headed your way this year. If you want to stay abreast what's happening at Casual Connect, bookmark http://blog.games.com/tag/casualconnect/and follow us on Twitter.
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| Pet Society Chocolate Boxes Glow in the Dark Posted: 20 Jul 2010 03:00 AM PDT Filed under: Pet Society  These boxes cost 550 apiece and give you a different piece of chocolate for the rest of this week. The chocolates themselves are nice, but we really like these beautiful boxes which can be used as decoration long after they've become empty. We're not sure if the glow-in-the-dark feature was intentional or a mistake. The official Pet Society blog made no mention of it. Either way, we think it's fun, and the boxes get our highest rating of 5 paws. Here they are in the light:  This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.
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| New study predicts we'll spend 1.5 billion in social games by 2014 Posted: 20 Jul 2010 01:02 AM PDT  While the real-life economy continues to tank, the virtual economy for games on social networks is booming. A new study from Screen Digest says that FarmVille junkies and their ilk have been fueling this relatively new economy by opening their wallets and buying one-to-10 dollar items with wild abandon. In 2009, social gamers spend $639 million and those numbers are expected to grow to 1.5 billion in 2014. While playing games on a social network has turned non-gamers into virtual farmers, mobsters, etc, this explosive economy has also come at the expense of the rest of the portal-driven casual games business, which has a big cross-over audience. This must be at least part of the reason casual gaming companies like Big Fish and PopCap have worked to get their games on Facebook over the past year, and I'm sure we'll hear more about this in the not-too-distant future. The study also predicts that spending on social network games will start to slow down this year, forcing publishers to look at social networks outside of Facebook to expand their empire and -- the part I like the most -- force publishers to create better (as in better quality) games. If that translates into companies releasing more creative games on Facebook, well, that's something I can get behind.
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