farmville cupcake bushel farmville cupcake mastery sign farmville market stall
Attention all Cupcake lovers! FarmVille Freak Martijin from FarmVille Code Hunters, just shared with us this exciting new unreleased Cupcake Crop.
Maybe this crop will be released just in time to celebrate FarmVille's upcoming birthday this weekend. I hope so because I can't wait to grow crops of Cupcakes on my farm!
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market. Zynga is the sole owner of all their copyrighted images.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Game developers give Facebook Credits mixed marks
Now that Facebook game developers have been testing out Facebook Credits in their games for a while now, its about time we found out what those developers thought of the new payment option for in-game items. A recent story in the Wall Street Journal does just that, and the verdict on the Credits so far seems decidedly mixed.
On one side, you have developers like Gonzo Games' Robert Van Gool, who bristle at the idea of paying a 30% fee to Facebook for the privilege of selling items using their currency. "Thirty cents off of every dollar adds up," Van Gool told the Journal. Others quoted in the piece don't like how the portability of Credits could encourage players to easily take their money to other games.
On the other side, there are some developers who've seen the Credits greatly increase their in-game purchase rates. Crowdstar CEO Peter Relan said his company's item sales have doubled since the Credits were introduced, and Arkadium's Kenny Rosenblatt and Jessica Rovell said 10% of their users have bought items with Credits, more than triple the rate for any other payment method. "With Facebook Credits, when someone wants to buy on an impulse, they can do it immediately," Rosenblatt said. "They don't have to leave Facebook to go fill out a form on another site."
On one side, you have developers like Gonzo Games' Robert Van Gool, who bristle at the idea of paying a 30% fee to Facebook for the privilege of selling items using their currency. "Thirty cents off of every dollar adds up," Van Gool told the Journal. Others quoted in the piece don't like how the portability of Credits could encourage players to easily take their money to other games.
On the other side, there are some developers who've seen the Credits greatly increase their in-game purchase rates. Crowdstar CEO Peter Relan said his company's item sales have doubled since the Credits were introduced, and Arkadium's Kenny Rosenblatt and Jessica Rovell said 10% of their users have bought items with Credits, more than triple the rate for any other payment method. "With Facebook Credits, when someone wants to buy on an impulse, they can do it immediately," Rosenblatt said. "They don't have to leave Facebook to go fill out a form on another site."
Happy Aquarium Tree of Giving promises to deliver riches
CrowdStar has released another expensive idol for Happy Aquarium.
The Tree of Giving is available in Happy Aquarium's store for 90 Facebook Credits. This singular gold collector's item promises one Facebook Credit everyday for 14 days. Upon the fifteenth day, paying customers will be rewarded with an eqsuisite premium item. In addition, the Tree of Giving will reward players with coins every day.
Therefore, one could deduce that buying the Tree of Giving only costs 74 Facebook Credits (after the rebate) and offers an exclusive premium item and free coins forever.
Sounds like a fair deal and others seem to agree as there are only 5,000 left. Head to Happy Aquarium to check it out.
Click here to play Happy Aquarium>
The Tree of Giving is available in Happy Aquarium's store for 90 Facebook Credits. This singular gold collector's item promises one Facebook Credit everyday for 14 days. Upon the fifteenth day, paying customers will be rewarded with an eqsuisite premium item. In addition, the Tree of Giving will reward players with coins every day.
Therefore, one could deduce that buying the Tree of Giving only costs 74 Facebook Credits (after the rebate) and offers an exclusive premium item and free coins forever.
Sounds like a fair deal and others seem to agree as there are only 5,000 left. Head to Happy Aquarium to check it out.
Click here to play Happy Aquarium>
Quote of the Moment: Controlling your spending
"There is a misconception that the social gamer goes online to engage in a 'free' game, and then becomes 'tricked' or 'lured' by the developers into spending money. This implies that the social gamer has somehow less control over his expenditure than if he was to go and spend £40 upfront for a new title on the Playstation3.
I would argue that latter is a process whereby the customer is less in control. There is no negotiating how much of that £40 cake he would actually like to eat, or will even be able to eat; this is how it's packaged, like it or not. The payment system in social gaming provides more control, allowing the customer to more accurately get what he wants. It allows the less interested gamer to spend less, and the more interested to spend more."
-Clubv3's Ciaran O'Connor argues that social gamers aren't just profligate morons in his new white paper, entitled "What is the Appeal of Social Games"
I would argue that latter is a process whereby the customer is less in control. There is no negotiating how much of that £40 cake he would actually like to eat, or will even be able to eat; this is how it's packaged, like it or not. The payment system in social gaming provides more control, allowing the customer to more accurately get what he wants. It allows the less interested gamer to spend less, and the more interested to spend more."
-Clubv3's Ciaran O'Connor argues that social gamers aren't just profligate morons in his new white paper, entitled "What is the Appeal of Social Games"
Restaurant City: Chill out in the new Lounge Bar with a Coco Colada
restaurant city lounge bar
Restaurant City is allowing players to unlock a new Lounge Bar for their restaurants. Much like the Sushi Bar, to unlock this swanky addition to any eatery, the player must master a new menu item. The menu item is the new Coco Colada beverage and it must be leveled up 10 times to unlock the lounge.
restaurant city lounge bar
The Coco Colada is not an easy beverage to level. It requires three ingredients per level: pineapple, coconut, and cherry. Fortunately, there are many ways to get ingredients:
restaurant city lounge bar
restaurant city coco coladaCherry is an all new ingredient and you can expect to be seeing it in more menu items in the future. Playfish has been kind enough to start everyone off with a free cherry: click here to get your free ingredient.
Once unlocked, the Lounge Bar will need to be operated by a friend, appointed as bartender. Drinks that have been mastered will be displayed on its shelves. Head over to Restaurant City to get started on this excellent means of serving drinks.
Click here to play Restaurant City>
Restaurant City is allowing players to unlock a new Lounge Bar for their restaurants. Much like the Sushi Bar, to unlock this swanky addition to any eatery, the player must master a new menu item. The menu item is the new Coco Colada beverage and it must be leveled up 10 times to unlock the lounge.
restaurant city lounge bar
The Coco Colada is not an easy beverage to level. It requires three ingredients per level: pineapple, coconut, and cherry. Fortunately, there are many ways to get ingredients:
restaurant city lounge bar
restaurant city coco coladaCherry is an all new ingredient and you can expect to be seeing it in more menu items in the future. Playfish has been kind enough to start everyone off with a free cherry: click here to get your free ingredient.
Once unlocked, the Lounge Bar will need to be operated by a friend, appointed as bartender. Drinks that have been mastered will be displayed on its shelves. Head over to Restaurant City to get started on this excellent means of serving drinks.
Click here to play Restaurant City>
Friday, February 10, 2012
Virtual Villagers: A First Look at Playing God
With today's release of Virtual Villagers, everyone can now play god on Facebook. But official PR aside, how good is it?
Virtual Villagers Quest Clear the LandJohn 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."
Virtual Villager Detail
Also, compared to the boxed homestead setup on FrontierVille, where you're constricted by walls of trees, the play area of Virtual Villagers is vast. You're on a huge freakin' island and your villagers have full run of the place. It'll take you a minute or two just to walk your characters around. But if you want to speed up the process, you're also allowed to use your mighty godfingers to pick 'em up and drop 'em willy-nilly.
Virtual Villagers: Huge Island
If you're waiting between energy refills in FrontierVille and want to try something new, claim your godhood in Virtual Villagers here. Your worshippers are waiting!
Virtual Villagers praying at Idol of Thunder
Virtual Villagers Quest Clear the LandJohn 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."
Virtual Villager Detail
Also, compared to the boxed homestead setup on FrontierVille, where you're constricted by walls of trees, the play area of Virtual Villagers is vast. You're on a huge freakin' island and your villagers have full run of the place. It'll take you a minute or two just to walk your characters around. But if you want to speed up the process, you're also allowed to use your mighty godfingers to pick 'em up and drop 'em willy-nilly.
Virtual Villagers: Huge Island
If you're waiting between energy refills in FrontierVille and want to try something new, claim your godhood in Virtual Villagers here. Your worshippers are waiting!
Virtual Villagers praying at Idol of Thunder
PopCap's Zuma's Revenge wins Great Game of the Year
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.
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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