Just today, we told you that there would soon be a way to craft Love Potions in FarmVille, allowing users to have more control over their Sheep and Pig Breeding. Apparently "soon" meant "this evening," as we've seen the release of not only a new Love Potion crafting recipe to the game, but also recipes that will let you craft Wooden Boards, Nails, and Bricks out of Bushels.
Sure, the idea of receiving wooden, or even metal items from crops is a bit outlandish, but if this is the only way Zynga could get it done, then we'll let go of reality. For the Potions, all users will be able to craft them inside the Pub in the English Countryside. A single Potion requires four Field Beans Bushels, 3 Pink Asters Bushels, and 5 English Peas Bushels. That's a heck of a lot of planting and farming for a single Love Potion, but I suppose if you're desperate to breed as many Sheep or Pigs as you can, it's something we'll have to accept.
As for the Wooden Board, Nail, and Brick recipes, these three are split between the three different kinds of general crafting buildings. That is, each type of building only has access to one recipe, so you'll only be able to craft one of the three items unless you shell out the Farm Cash to buy the other crafting buildings as well. The Spa, for instance, has access to crafting the Wooden Board, as you can see below. The Wooden Board takes four Morning Glory Bushels, five Lilac Bushels and three Sunflower Bushels.
If you have a Bakery, you'll be able to create Bricks, which require five Coffee Bushels, three Pepper Bushels, and four Ginger Bushels.
Finally, while we don't have an image of the Nail being crafted inside the Winery, we can tell you that it requires five White Grape Bushels, four Rice Bushels and three Grapes Bushels. We're working on bringing you an image of that recipe as soon as we can, but in the meantime, you can also spend your time stocking up on Love Potions, if you plan on breeding Sheep or Pigs in the near future.
What do you think of these interesting crafting recipes? Sure, it's great to be able to have access to these items, but does the fact that they're made out of crop Bushels bother you? What would you rather use instead?
Great Site to Earn Money Online
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
FarmVille: Giant Wedding Tree appearing from Mystery Seedlings
While I never seem to be lucky enough to receive one of these level 2 seedlings before they're released in the FarmVille marketplace, FVNation now has the news that a new tree is randomly appearing from Mystery Seedlings. The tree is the Giant Wedding Tree, which we first saw a glimpse of under a different name - the Crystal Trees - in a recent FarmVille Sneak Peek.
As usual, we expect that this Giant Wedding Tree will launch in the game's store officially in a matter of days - likely Sunday evening, when the entire store should receive an item update. For now though, be sure to be on the lookout for posts from your friends who've come across these trees and grown them, or for any Mystery Seedlings that they may share along the way.
[Image Credit: FVNation]
Have you received a Giant Wedding Tree from a Mystery Seedling? Let us know in the comments.
As usual, we expect that this Giant Wedding Tree will launch in the game's store officially in a matter of days - likely Sunday evening, when the entire store should receive an item update. For now though, be sure to be on the lookout for posts from your friends who've come across these trees and grown them, or for any Mystery Seedlings that they may share along the way.
[Image Credit: FVNation]
Have you received a Giant Wedding Tree from a Mystery Seedling? Let us know in the comments.
FarmVille Royal Wedding Sneak Peek: Balloon Arch, Cake, Swing, and more
So, we already told you that Zynga will be celebrating the Royal Wedding of Price William and Kate Middleton in FarmVille's English Countryside, but now we have more images to prove that this won't just be a passing glance at royalty - it will apparently be an entire theme. As you can see above, we have images of royal decorations, including the Wedding Swing, a Wedding Horse Carriage, a Wedding Cake, a Wedding Balloon Arch, and a Wedding Archway.
Sure, this is only a set of five items, but as we know, Zynga tends to do things big, so it's likely that we'll see more items released in this theme before all is said and done with the Royal Wedding in the real world. No word yet as to whether or not this will just be an item theme, leaving you to create a Royal Wedding of your own imagination, or whether or not this will be a grand feature with actual activities to complete, but we wouldn't be surprised if there were. We'll let you know either way.
What do you think of this royally inspired item theme? Will you create a Royal Wedding atmosphere on your own farm?
Sure, this is only a set of five items, but as we know, Zynga tends to do things big, so it's likely that we'll see more items released in this theme before all is said and done with the Royal Wedding in the real world. No word yet as to whether or not this will just be an item theme, leaving you to create a Royal Wedding of your own imagination, or whether or not this will be a grand feature with actual activities to complete, but we wouldn't be surprised if there were. We'll let you know either way.
What do you think of this royally inspired item theme? Will you create a Royal Wedding atmosphere on your own farm?
FarmVille Animal Sneak Peek: White Wolf Cub, White Stork, Royal Guard Duck & More
Five new animals will (apparently) be launching FarmVille as early as tomorrow evening, with this batch of animals looking to be split between those that will be part of the upcoming Mystery Game, and those that will continue in the English Countryside limited edition item theme. As is stands, we have a White Wolf Cub and a White Stork. Along with the White Shire Horse we brought you a sneak peek of earlier in the week, this gives us a pretty good indication that this week's Mystery Game will have a "white" theme, and will likely cost anywhere from 16 to 20 Farm Cash to play (or even more if Zynga is having a particularly "greedy" week... err, did I say that?).
The other animals are the Royal Guard Duck and the Royal Pied Horse and Foal. While it's pretty self-explanatory that these animals will be part of the English Countryside item theme, it's unknown right now if these animals have any direct connection with the Royal Wedding event set to launch in the game as well. We'll make sure to keep an eye on the game's store and free gifts page, and will let you know if any of these animals make an early appearance.
What do you think of a "white" Mystery Game? Would you prefer to see more color themes launch in the game?
The other animals are the Royal Guard Duck and the Royal Pied Horse and Foal. While it's pretty self-explanatory that these animals will be part of the English Countryside item theme, it's unknown right now if these animals have any direct connection with the Royal Wedding event set to launch in the game as well. We'll make sure to keep an eye on the game's store and free gifts page, and will let you know if any of these animals make an early appearance.
What do you think of a "white" Mystery Game? Would you prefer to see more color themes launch in the game?
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash from Kellogg's Promotion
Many of you FarmVille players likely start your days off with a bowl of Kellogg's cereal, and Zynga is looking to offer you a few free Farm Cash for being fans of not only FarmVille but Kellogg's itself with a new promotion circulating players' farms. As usual, you can find this promotion underneath the FarmVIlle gameplay area, but be fast! These promotions likely come and go quicker than you can blink! Ok, so maybe you can blink a few times before they disappear, but you get the idea.
This promotion is called "Share Your Breakfast," and it has you simply entering in the two letter abbreviation for your state and then choosing from a list of normal breakfast items that you may have had for breakfast this morning (or the particular morning that you're completing this promotion). It's that simple - just submit that information and voila! Your 2 free Farm Cash will automatically update to your in-game total, but if it doesn't, a quick refresh of the game should force them to appear.
Via this promotion, Kellogg's is looking to share breakfasts with children who may otherwise not have any, so not only will you receive something for completing it (free Farm Cash), but children in need will as well - it's a win-win!
This promotion is called "Share Your Breakfast," and it has you simply entering in the two letter abbreviation for your state and then choosing from a list of normal breakfast items that you may have had for breakfast this morning (or the particular morning that you're completing this promotion). It's that simple - just submit that information and voila! Your 2 free Farm Cash will automatically update to your in-game total, but if it doesn't, a quick refresh of the game should force them to appear.
Via this promotion, Kellogg's is looking to share breakfasts with children who may otherwise not have any, so not only will you receive something for completing it (free Farm Cash), but children in need will as well - it's a win-win!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
FarmVille Irish Decorations: Irish Cottage, Foxglove Flowerbed, Irish Girl Gnome and more
Tonight's FarmVille update (released early due to the upcoming Memorial Day holiday) saw the launch of the limited edition Ireland item theme. With this release, we see the launch of seven new buildings and decorations in the game's store. The two new buildings are the Irish Farmhouse and the Irish Cottage. The Irish Farmhouse - the more visually impressive of the two items - goes for 30 Farm Cash, while the Irish Cottage costs 300,000 coins.
Both of these buildings will reward you with 3,000 experience points for purchasing them, so keep that in mind if you're very close to leveling up and simply don't want to wait to earn those points the old-fashioned way.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other new items released this afternoon.
For the new decorations, there are two that go for Farm Cash, while the other three cost standard coins. The two Farm Cash items are the Irish Girl Gnome and the Irish Falls (a waterfall item with some lovely rocks surrounding it). The Irish Girl Gnome has the standard gnome price tag of 15 Farm Cash, while the Irish Falls costs 22 Farm Cash.
If you're more in the mood to spend coins, you can pick up a Mossy Bridge for 250,000 coins, a Red Valerian plant for 10,000 coins, or a Foxglove Flowerbed (a bundle of flowers in a dark brown crate) for 7,000 coins.
All of these items will expire from the store in 17 days, with the extra three days allowing those users that didn't expect a Friday update to still have plenty of time to purchase them once things presumably go back to normal next week.
Will you purchase any of these Irish decorations or buildings in FarmVille? Are you tired of the European themes in the game? What other countries would you like to see represented through item themes?
Both of these buildings will reward you with 3,000 experience points for purchasing them, so keep that in mind if you're very close to leveling up and simply don't want to wait to earn those points the old-fashioned way.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the other new items released this afternoon.
For the new decorations, there are two that go for Farm Cash, while the other three cost standard coins. The two Farm Cash items are the Irish Girl Gnome and the Irish Falls (a waterfall item with some lovely rocks surrounding it). The Irish Girl Gnome has the standard gnome price tag of 15 Farm Cash, while the Irish Falls costs 22 Farm Cash.
If you're more in the mood to spend coins, you can pick up a Mossy Bridge for 250,000 coins, a Red Valerian plant for 10,000 coins, or a Foxglove Flowerbed (a bundle of flowers in a dark brown crate) for 7,000 coins.
All of these items will expire from the store in 17 days, with the extra three days allowing those users that didn't expect a Friday update to still have plenty of time to purchase them once things presumably go back to normal next week.
Will you purchase any of these Irish decorations or buildings in FarmVille? Are you tired of the European themes in the game? What other countries would you like to see represented through item themes?
Raptr: Gaming social network adds community driven news feed
Raptr, a social network designed with people who play games in mind, has been around for about three years -- and tracks all of your gaming activities, whether its playing FarmVille on Facebook or games on consoles, such as Xbox and the PlayStation 3.
Starting this week, the social network has added a new dimension to its service -- a custom, community-created news feed based on the games you play. So, for instance, if you're a big fan of FarmVille and, say, all games for the Nintendo Wii -- you can log into Raptr and check out news, videos, screenshots, reviews and status updates on those particular topics.
The Raptr social news platform works similar to sites like Digg or Reddit -- the Raptr community can post links to articles, et al, and the community can vote those articles up or down. The more votes an article gets, the higher it shows up in the news feed (and, of course, that means more people will be able to read it as well).
Currently the gamer's social network has 8 million registered users, tracks more than 23 million game sessions a month and 1.2 billion minutes of gameplay a month.
Of course, one of the more compelling parts of Raptr is the sheer amount of data it collects from its many members. Not only can that data be used to recommend new games (or in the users' case, to learn about games) but can also unearth some interesting factoids -- like how many people to play Madden football also play FarmVille. It's more than you might think.
Starting this week, the social network has added a new dimension to its service -- a custom, community-created news feed based on the games you play. So, for instance, if you're a big fan of FarmVille and, say, all games for the Nintendo Wii -- you can log into Raptr and check out news, videos, screenshots, reviews and status updates on those particular topics.
The Raptr social news platform works similar to sites like Digg or Reddit -- the Raptr community can post links to articles, et al, and the community can vote those articles up or down. The more votes an article gets, the higher it shows up in the news feed (and, of course, that means more people will be able to read it as well).
Currently the gamer's social network has 8 million registered users, tracks more than 23 million game sessions a month and 1.2 billion minutes of gameplay a month.
Of course, one of the more compelling parts of Raptr is the sheer amount of data it collects from its many members. Not only can that data be used to recommend new games (or in the users' case, to learn about games) but can also unearth some interesting factoids -- like how many people to play Madden football also play FarmVille. It's more than you might think.
Game of the Day: Liong - The Dragon's Dance
The Game of the Day asks is a puzzle really a good time? Liong - The Dragon's Dance: It's mahjong with a puzzle twist! The magical Liong dragons have been stolen and you must save the day. Use your matching skills to stop the Liongs before they reach the gate! Along your journey, you'll visit hundreds of unique locations and collect an assortment of beautiful masks, amazing awards, and clever fortunes.
Click --> Play Liong - The Dragon's Dance
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> Play Liong - The Dragon's Dance
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
FarmVille: Users given free GagaVille rewards for goal glitch
Many of you might have been a bit soured by the technical issues that plagued one of FarmVille's GagaVille goals last week. The problems with the goal - Higher! - were two-fold. For one, when the goal launched in the evening, it had "Visit GagaVille" as a requirement. Many users then simply went about their business, not expecting to have to put in any other work to finish the goal, as they would simply plant their 100 Crystals and Chrome Daisies and be done with it.
Only upon awaking the next morning did we realize that the goal had been changed from visiting GagaVille to collecting five Secret Ingredients. Not only has we lost 12 or so hours that could have been used to finish this goal after it changed, but due to some technical issues, many users could never actually reach the "five" requirement. I know for myself, I sat at having four the entirety of the day, never receiving another, even though I had been asking friends like mad to catch up.
All is not lost, however, as Zynga has decided to reward all users that it has found couldn't complete this goal due to the technical issues. You'll receive a pop-up like the one above, giving you 100 XP and 2,500 coins, along with a Crystal Mushroom. No, we won't receive the Gaga Instant Grow that other users received, but I suppose this is better than nothing.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here. >
Were you able to complete the "Higher!" goal before it expired? What do you think of the rewards that Zynga has offered those affected by technical issues?
Only upon awaking the next morning did we realize that the goal had been changed from visiting GagaVille to collecting five Secret Ingredients. Not only has we lost 12 or so hours that could have been used to finish this goal after it changed, but due to some technical issues, many users could never actually reach the "five" requirement. I know for myself, I sat at having four the entirety of the day, never receiving another, even though I had been asking friends like mad to catch up.
All is not lost, however, as Zynga has decided to reward all users that it has found couldn't complete this goal due to the technical issues. You'll receive a pop-up like the one above, giving you 100 XP and 2,500 coins, along with a Crystal Mushroom. No, we won't receive the Gaga Instant Grow that other users received, but I suppose this is better than nothing.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here. >
Were you able to complete the "Higher!" goal before it expired? What do you think of the rewards that Zynga has offered those affected by technical issues?
FarmVille: Expand your English farm to 26x26 for Farm Cash
Is your second FarmVille farm in the English Countryside growing a bit too small? Do you have more decorations, animals, and crop plots than you can hold? If you said yes, you now have the option to expand your English farm to the 26x26 English Expanse by purchasing the expansion in the market. Don't get too excited though - this expansion is currently only available for Farm Cash. Oh, that's 100 Farm Cash by the way (because we know every farmer just has that lying around).
If you'd like to splurge, there's no time limit for how long this expansion will be available. If you'd rather not run out and purchase a Game Card or eCard just for the Farm Cash to expand (I don't blame you), you might be waiting a long time for a coin option, as it's not even listed on the screen as "coming soon" or "locked." That's a scary thought, thinking that Zynga may never release a coin option, but I wouldn't go that far just yet. Check back in a few weeks and I'm sure the (very expensive) expansion will eventually become available.
Will you spend a whopping 100 Farm Cash to expand your English Countryside farm? How many coins do you hope this expansion releases for? How many would you be willing to pay?
If you'd like to splurge, there's no time limit for how long this expansion will be available. If you'd rather not run out and purchase a Game Card or eCard just for the Farm Cash to expand (I don't blame you), you might be waiting a long time for a coin option, as it's not even listed on the screen as "coming soon" or "locked." That's a scary thought, thinking that Zynga may never release a coin option, but I wouldn't go that far just yet. Check back in a few weeks and I'm sure the (very expensive) expansion will eventually become available.
Will you spend a whopping 100 Farm Cash to expand your English Countryside farm? How many coins do you hope this expansion releases for? How many would you be willing to pay?
FarmVille GagaVille Bedazzled Cottage: Everything you need to know
A new GagaVille-themed building was quietly launched in FarmVille this week. The Bedazzled Cottage is now available to purchase for just 5,000 coins, but don't be deceived by the lack of information in the store. This building is actually upgradable, as we told you earlier this week.
To start, you'll have a building that's smaller and less, well, bedazzled than the final product, and you can upgrade it by collecting 15 each of the new building ingredients we saw released alongside the Craftshops: Concrete, Spools of Twine, and Hammers.
Meet us behind the break for a full look at how to finish this upgrade.
To collect these ingredients, remember that you have quite a few options: You can purchase them for 1 Farm Cash each, or click on the "Ask for Part" button in the Cottage's menu (click on it and click "Look Inside") to send individual requests to your friends for parts. You can also claim them from wall posts your friends add to your news feed when they complete a section of the building. Also remember that your Special Delivery boxes might be able to help you out, if you have nothing else currently being constructed on your land at the time.
This building is an interesting one, as, while it has three levels, all of your collecting above will actually take you to level three, straight from level one. Where's level two, you ask? Once you collect about 30 of the 45 needed ingredients above, your Bedazzled Cottage will actually change shape, becoming the second stage. If you'd like to keep it that way, just refrain from adding any additional building parts to it - ever.
If you do go through with the full upgrade, know that the Bedazzled Cottage currently doesn't actually do anything, as it's just a decoration. Is it worth building? I personally think the building's really pretty, so I started work on one right away, but it's a completely voluntary process that you can skip altogether if you choose. Just remember that this building will likely never be available again, so keep that in mind if you're a collector.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here. >
Will you build the Bedazzled Cottage on your land, or will you save your building parts for some future building project?
To start, you'll have a building that's smaller and less, well, bedazzled than the final product, and you can upgrade it by collecting 15 each of the new building ingredients we saw released alongside the Craftshops: Concrete, Spools of Twine, and Hammers.
Meet us behind the break for a full look at how to finish this upgrade.
To collect these ingredients, remember that you have quite a few options: You can purchase them for 1 Farm Cash each, or click on the "Ask for Part" button in the Cottage's menu (click on it and click "Look Inside") to send individual requests to your friends for parts. You can also claim them from wall posts your friends add to your news feed when they complete a section of the building. Also remember that your Special Delivery boxes might be able to help you out, if you have nothing else currently being constructed on your land at the time.
This building is an interesting one, as, while it has three levels, all of your collecting above will actually take you to level three, straight from level one. Where's level two, you ask? Once you collect about 30 of the 45 needed ingredients above, your Bedazzled Cottage will actually change shape, becoming the second stage. If you'd like to keep it that way, just refrain from adding any additional building parts to it - ever.
If you do go through with the full upgrade, know that the Bedazzled Cottage currently doesn't actually do anything, as it's just a decoration. Is it worth building? I personally think the building's really pretty, so I started work on one right away, but it's a completely voluntary process that you can skip altogether if you choose. Just remember that this building will likely never be available again, so keep that in mind if you're a collector.
Check out the rest of our GagaVille coverage right here. >
Will you build the Bedazzled Cottage on your land, or will you save your building parts for some future building project?
Friday, December 23, 2011
Building the FarmVille Sand Castle: Everything you need to know
Who cares if summer started nearly a month ago, let's get it started now in FarmVille. The Sand Castle has arrived in the game, and it's the only way to get some of this year's summer-themed items.
So, it would be in your best interest to go ahead and build it, okay? (Hey, we're pushy because we love you.) Besides, it's not even that tough to build--you'll be fine.
The first step to building the Sand Castle is placing it (duh?). So, once you receive the welcome screen for this feature, you will be thrown into placement mode, just like previous gift container features. If you decide not to place it immediately, it'll hang in your Gift Box until you're ready to go.
Once you open the Sand Castle, you'll see a bunch of options and rewards to fawn over. The most important are "Send Beach Toys" and "Ask for More," and we're fairly certain you can guess what those do. These Beach Toys are what you need to fill this Sand Castle meter up to 150 and redeem all of the fresh items. Each reward requires a certain amount of Beach Toys to redeem, and are as follows:
Sand Castle Menu
Beach Umbrella: 5 Beach Toys
Beach Chair: 10 Beach Toys
Beach Hut: 35 Beach Toys
Poolside Pig: 75 Beach Toys
Scuba Sheep: 100 Beach Toys
Lifeguard Tower: 150 Beach Toys
There are five different varieties of Beach Toys, but they all serve the same purpose of adding to your Sand Castle, which will transform over time according to how many Beach Toys are inside. To put a Beach Toy into your Sand Castle, just click on one in your Gift Box and "Use," then click on the Sand Castle. And remember, you can add Beach Toys even after reaching the 150 item limit, so expect more shore-like items in the Sand Castle in the future.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you started building your Sand Castle yet? Where in the real world do you plan on building a real sand castle this summer?
So, it would be in your best interest to go ahead and build it, okay? (Hey, we're pushy because we love you.) Besides, it's not even that tough to build--you'll be fine.
The first step to building the Sand Castle is placing it (duh?). So, once you receive the welcome screen for this feature, you will be thrown into placement mode, just like previous gift container features. If you decide not to place it immediately, it'll hang in your Gift Box until you're ready to go.
Once you open the Sand Castle, you'll see a bunch of options and rewards to fawn over. The most important are "Send Beach Toys" and "Ask for More," and we're fairly certain you can guess what those do. These Beach Toys are what you need to fill this Sand Castle meter up to 150 and redeem all of the fresh items. Each reward requires a certain amount of Beach Toys to redeem, and are as follows:
Sand Castle Menu
Beach Umbrella: 5 Beach Toys
Beach Chair: 10 Beach Toys
Beach Hut: 35 Beach Toys
Poolside Pig: 75 Beach Toys
Scuba Sheep: 100 Beach Toys
Lifeguard Tower: 150 Beach Toys
There are five different varieties of Beach Toys, but they all serve the same purpose of adding to your Sand Castle, which will transform over time according to how many Beach Toys are inside. To put a Beach Toy into your Sand Castle, just click on one in your Gift Box and "Use," then click on the Sand Castle. And remember, you can add Beach Toys even after reaching the 150 item limit, so expect more shore-like items in the Sand Castle in the future.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you started building your Sand Castle yet? Where in the real world do you plan on building a real sand castle this summer?
Zynga fixes FarmVille One Click Sharing, but kind of misses the point
Farmers, rejoice--wait, no, it's a false alarm. Zynga reported recently that it has "fixed" the dubious One Click Sharing feature in FarmVille. However, the developer seems to have glanced over one major, glaring detail--lined in neon lights and break dancing in the middle of the forums. Here's what was fixed right from the, um, developer's mouth:
If you already accepted the One Click Sharing option, you should automatically have it again.
There is a 25 quick post limit. After hitting the limit, posting will revert back to old fashioned way.
If a player has rejected the One Click Sharing option, you'll get another chance to opt-in this feature within 2 weeks.
Hmm, something seems to be missing here. That's it, you still can't choose who you share News Feeds with through the One Click Sharing option. And for icing on the cake, Zynga actually seems to have reduced its benefit to just 25 posts daily. And the forums will explode in the nerdiest of rages in five, four, three ...
[Source: Zynga]
[Via and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
If you already accepted the One Click Sharing option, you should automatically have it again.
There is a 25 quick post limit. After hitting the limit, posting will revert back to old fashioned way.
If a player has rejected the One Click Sharing option, you'll get another chance to opt-in this feature within 2 weeks.
Hmm, something seems to be missing here. That's it, you still can't choose who you share News Feeds with through the One Click Sharing option. And for icing on the cake, Zynga actually seems to have reduced its benefit to just 25 posts daily. And the forums will explode in the nerdiest of rages in five, four, three ...
[Source: Zynga]
[Via and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Even with a Pokemon iPhone game, Nintendo still isn't cool with mobile
This whole ground-breaking, free Pokemon iPhone and Android game business? Fuhgettaboutit. Well, Nintendo shut that up real quick, didn't it? Bloomberg reports that the stubborn traditional game creator is still not interested in mobile or social games, and that it's strategy to develop games only for its platforms "hasn't changed and won't change," Yasuhiro Minagawa, a spokesman for the Kyoto-based company poised to release its Wii U system, told Bloomberg by phone.
So, how did the Pokemon mobile game, Pokemon Say Tap, get the green light? According to Kotaku, Nintendo only owns 32 percent of the Pokemon Brand, the rest of which presumably owned by developer Game Freak.
Since Nintendo doesn't hold majority rule over Pokemon, it can't dictate where the brand goes, regardless of whether Pokemon has been faithful to the company from the start. Nintendo seems to want fans (and investors) to see this as merely a rare occurrence, and none of Nintendo's in-house brands will leave its consoles.
While the company is interested in opening up its 3DS and later its Wii U console to social channels, Nintendo's relationship with social stops there. So, can this be the final word on Nintendo and mobile/social, or more appropriately free?
So, how did the Pokemon mobile game, Pokemon Say Tap, get the green light? According to Kotaku, Nintendo only owns 32 percent of the Pokemon Brand, the rest of which presumably owned by developer Game Freak.
Since Nintendo doesn't hold majority rule over Pokemon, it can't dictate where the brand goes, regardless of whether Pokemon has been faithful to the company from the start. Nintendo seems to want fans (and investors) to see this as merely a rare occurrence, and none of Nintendo's in-house brands will leave its consoles.
While the company is interested in opening up its 3DS and later its Wii U console to social channels, Nintendo's relationship with social stops there. So, can this be the final word on Nintendo and mobile/social, or more appropriately free?
CivWorld is live on Facebook now, if you want a real challenge
But remember to wait at least a half hour before you dive in. Wait, that's swimming, but it kind of still applies with a Facebook game this massive and ambitious. Developer Firaxis Games has unleashed CivWorld on the Facebook game world in an open beta. And you're invited to join in on the frantic, fraternal fun.
The game, revealed earlier this year and detailed in two preview videos by Firaxis, looks to be as close to the original as possible. Which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you talk to.
Of course, the game has several social features that you've come to love (or hate). However, the game operates in real time and requires some serious collaboration, which may or may not be too demanding for "casual" social gamers. We have our full impressions incoming, but check out the game for yourself while you wait.
The game, revealed earlier this year and detailed in two preview videos by Firaxis, looks to be as close to the original as possible. Which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you talk to.
Of course, the game has several social features that you've come to love (or hate). However, the game operates in real time and requires some serious collaboration, which may or may not be too demanding for "casual" social gamers. We have our full impressions incoming, but check out the game for yourself while you wait.
Empires & Allies update lets players sell planes, people and more
Aw, it's just like the military contractor market in the real world, only it doesn't end in real deaths. Now that you're nice and depressed, we're happy to cheer you up with the news that Zynga has allowed Empires & Allies players to sell their military units.
Now you can put those nifty Dragon Boats or that prized Howitzer on sale for a pretty penny--err--Coin. However, Zynga determines the price of all things sold on the Market, so no insider trading for you.
There is a slew of changes to the game including better mouse-over tool tips that provide more information, speedier load times and more. (Zynga even gave Scarlett a makeover!) Here is the full list of changes, thanks to Zynga:
Additions/Improvements
You can now buy and sell units on the Market!
Beefed up the mouseover tool tips to make it easier to see what's going on in your island.
Fixes
Altered the "Kill X with Y" military quest chains to have simpler goals.
Fixed a bug with the cool downs for some gifts and requests.
Fixed a number of pesky OOS issues.
Load-time optimization for faster gameplay.
Brightened up Scarlett's facial expression on the Independence Week intro screen. She looked a little glum.
Tank for Sale
[Source: Zynga]
[Image Credits: Zynga, William Kent Inc]
Have you started to sell your military units for profit yet? Do you see this feature becoming useful down the road?
Now you can put those nifty Dragon Boats or that prized Howitzer on sale for a pretty penny--err--Coin. However, Zynga determines the price of all things sold on the Market, so no insider trading for you.
There is a slew of changes to the game including better mouse-over tool tips that provide more information, speedier load times and more. (Zynga even gave Scarlett a makeover!) Here is the full list of changes, thanks to Zynga:
Additions/Improvements
You can now buy and sell units on the Market!
Beefed up the mouseover tool tips to make it easier to see what's going on in your island.
Fixes
Altered the "Kill X with Y" military quest chains to have simpler goals.
Fixed a bug with the cool downs for some gifts and requests.
Fixed a number of pesky OOS issues.
Load-time optimization for faster gameplay.
Brightened up Scarlett's facial expression on the Independence Week intro screen. She looked a little glum.
Tank for Sale
[Source: Zynga]
[Image Credits: Zynga, William Kent Inc]
Have you started to sell your military units for profit yet? Do you see this feature becoming useful down the road?
CivWorld hands-on impressions: A Facebook game that's not for the FarmVille set
For about a year now, we've been hearing that the classic PC game Civilization would be making its way to Facebook, in the form of Sid Meier's Civilization World (CivWorld for short). And, at long last, the wait is over. Starting today, real-time strategists and Civ fans can join the game's open beta to test their civilization building (and destruction) skills in this new breed of social game.
And by new breed of social game, I'm not talking about the fact that it's a real-time strategy game, but the fact that it has the complexity and depth that seasoned gamers have been begging to see on Facebook ever since FarmVille launched two years ago.
CivWorld is a classic take on the the strategy genre with a social twist. The goal is to work with others to build a civilization, and keep it safe while taking out the competition (other civilizations made up of other groups of players) by using military might, scientific discovery or cultural influence. In the end, the one who conquers all, wins. The game is filled with multi-level technology trees, complex strategies for conquering the world, a definite end and beginning, plus a social part made up of real-time chat systems used to coordinate with other people in your particular nation/empire. The game is, ya know, Civilization, but it lives on the Facebook gaming platform.
And that's where I see the biggest challenge ahead for this game. It's on Facebook. With everything that's going on in Civ World -- which will no doubt appeal to a small, impassioned segment of social gamers -- my initial impressions of Civ World leave me wondering just how well this game will translate to the Facebook gaming set. I'm talking about those millions of people who have been trained by Zynga games like FarmVille, FrontierVille and its newer Civilization-style game Empires & Allies to expect highly intuitive control schemes, serious hand-holding regarding how to play the game and, overall, a presumption that anyone and everyone should be able to log in and play these games without requiring some additional background knowledge on how strategy games, and in particular Civilization games, should work.
Gallery: Civilization World on Facebook
If you don't have built-in knowledge of this long-running game series, it will be difficult to get started. You are expected to sit through a bare-bones tutorial that attempts to explain the many aspects of the game and then -- at a certain point -- are left hanging without a prompt on what to do next. If I hadn't played other Civilization games previously, it's highly likely I would have grown frustrated and stopped playing in the first 10 minutes.
Some other sticking points in CivWorld:
- It's extremely difficult to find and play a game with your fellow Facebook friends. I spent the better part of an hour trying to sync up with one of my pals, and I even though I knew his game ID number, we still had no luck connecting. I ran through the FAQ in the game's built-in Wikipedia (called the 'Civilopedia') for answers and still found nothing. If the option is available in the game, it's certainly difficult to find and is likely leave other players scratching their heads as they try to do the same.
- Navigating the CivWorld environment is also, at times, unintuitive. The navigation for the game sits at the bottom of the screen, but once you click on a tab or button, it's sometimes challenging to find your way back to the game's main screen. There were times I just kept clicking the 'Play' tab at the top of the screen (my go-to move in other Facebook games) to get back into my game and kept wondering why nothing happened.
- It's hard to sync up with other players in real-time to get stuff done. To win in CivWorld, you must join a nation, comprised of other players, and then work with them to decide what tactics you're going to use to conquer the world. Now, granted, there were a limited number of people playing this game during my initial experience, but many other players were offline and not responding to my chat requests.
- The game is sluggish and often unresponsive. This may be due to the fact that I played it pre-release, but the game loaded slowly and there is a too long of a response time after clicking on buttons. Also, where is the full-screen option?
CivWorld does manage, however, to avoid some of the more irritating pitfalls of other Facebook games. The strategy game is largely free of annoying pop-up ads that try to convince you to use Facebook Credits to buy extras for the game. It's also refreshing that you don't have to constantly beg fellow players to send items or otherwise assist you when building a new structure. And, while I bemoan the game's complexity, I also fully support the idea of creating more mature, in-depth games for Facebook. There just needs to be a better way to help the uninitiated ease into a new experience.
It's difficult to give any final "review" on a Facebook game, especially since they're constantly evolving. While I expect the FarmVille-playing masses will not necessarily latch onto CivWorld, the game will easily fill a certain niche on the Facebook platform, serving up serious real-time strategy like umpteen Civilization games have done since 1991.
And by new breed of social game, I'm not talking about the fact that it's a real-time strategy game, but the fact that it has the complexity and depth that seasoned gamers have been begging to see on Facebook ever since FarmVille launched two years ago.
CivWorld is a classic take on the the strategy genre with a social twist. The goal is to work with others to build a civilization, and keep it safe while taking out the competition (other civilizations made up of other groups of players) by using military might, scientific discovery or cultural influence. In the end, the one who conquers all, wins. The game is filled with multi-level technology trees, complex strategies for conquering the world, a definite end and beginning, plus a social part made up of real-time chat systems used to coordinate with other people in your particular nation/empire. The game is, ya know, Civilization, but it lives on the Facebook gaming platform.
And that's where I see the biggest challenge ahead for this game. It's on Facebook. With everything that's going on in Civ World -- which will no doubt appeal to a small, impassioned segment of social gamers -- my initial impressions of Civ World leave me wondering just how well this game will translate to the Facebook gaming set. I'm talking about those millions of people who have been trained by Zynga games like FarmVille, FrontierVille and its newer Civilization-style game Empires & Allies to expect highly intuitive control schemes, serious hand-holding regarding how to play the game and, overall, a presumption that anyone and everyone should be able to log in and play these games without requiring some additional background knowledge on how strategy games, and in particular Civilization games, should work.
Gallery: Civilization World on Facebook
If you don't have built-in knowledge of this long-running game series, it will be difficult to get started. You are expected to sit through a bare-bones tutorial that attempts to explain the many aspects of the game and then -- at a certain point -- are left hanging without a prompt on what to do next. If I hadn't played other Civilization games previously, it's highly likely I would have grown frustrated and stopped playing in the first 10 minutes.
Some other sticking points in CivWorld:
- It's extremely difficult to find and play a game with your fellow Facebook friends. I spent the better part of an hour trying to sync up with one of my pals, and I even though I knew his game ID number, we still had no luck connecting. I ran through the FAQ in the game's built-in Wikipedia (called the 'Civilopedia') for answers and still found nothing. If the option is available in the game, it's certainly difficult to find and is likely leave other players scratching their heads as they try to do the same.
- Navigating the CivWorld environment is also, at times, unintuitive. The navigation for the game sits at the bottom of the screen, but once you click on a tab or button, it's sometimes challenging to find your way back to the game's main screen. There were times I just kept clicking the 'Play' tab at the top of the screen (my go-to move in other Facebook games) to get back into my game and kept wondering why nothing happened.
- It's hard to sync up with other players in real-time to get stuff done. To win in CivWorld, you must join a nation, comprised of other players, and then work with them to decide what tactics you're going to use to conquer the world. Now, granted, there were a limited number of people playing this game during my initial experience, but many other players were offline and not responding to my chat requests.
- The game is sluggish and often unresponsive. This may be due to the fact that I played it pre-release, but the game loaded slowly and there is a too long of a response time after clicking on buttons. Also, where is the full-screen option?
CivWorld does manage, however, to avoid some of the more irritating pitfalls of other Facebook games. The strategy game is largely free of annoying pop-up ads that try to convince you to use Facebook Credits to buy extras for the game. It's also refreshing that you don't have to constantly beg fellow players to send items or otherwise assist you when building a new structure. And, while I bemoan the game's complexity, I also fully support the idea of creating more mature, in-depth games for Facebook. There just needs to be a better way to help the uninitiated ease into a new experience.
It's difficult to give any final "review" on a Facebook game, especially since they're constantly evolving. While I expect the FarmVille-playing masses will not necessarily latch onto CivWorld, the game will easily fill a certain niche on the Facebook platform, serving up serious real-time strategy like umpteen Civilization games have done since 1991.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
CityVille Barley crop will quickly clear out your City Cash reserves
Another limited edition crop has been released in CityVille this week, costing just a bit less City Cash than other limited / premium crops, but still costing enough that you can quickly find yourself in virtual poverty all the same. The crop is Barley, and it can be planted for 4 City Cash per square.
For that price, you'll have (of course) a crop that grows instantly, but you'll only earn 127 Goods per square planted. As a comparison, the Taro crop that's also currently available to plant in the store gives you 158 Goods per 5 City Cash, so whether or not the one City Cash savings is worth the Goods difference will be up to you.
Either way, you'll need to make your decision quickly, as you only have four days to take advantage of this crop's bonuses. It can be mastered, if that increases your desire to plant it, with the first star of mastery coming at just three harvests (you'll also gain a 20% bonus to the Goods you receive from each Barley crop planted thereafter). Three harvests does still equal 12 City Cash though, so please remember to keep the high City Cash cost in mind before diving in!
Do you frequently plant the limited edition crops in CityVille that offer you instant Goods? How many of them have you mastered? Will you plant Barley as well?
For that price, you'll have (of course) a crop that grows instantly, but you'll only earn 127 Goods per square planted. As a comparison, the Taro crop that's also currently available to plant in the store gives you 158 Goods per 5 City Cash, so whether or not the one City Cash savings is worth the Goods difference will be up to you.
Either way, you'll need to make your decision quickly, as you only have four days to take advantage of this crop's bonuses. It can be mastered, if that increases your desire to plant it, with the first star of mastery coming at just three harvests (you'll also gain a 20% bonus to the Goods you receive from each Barley crop planted thereafter). Three harvests does still equal 12 City Cash though, so please remember to keep the high City Cash cost in mind before diving in!
Do you frequently plant the limited edition crops in CityVille that offer you instant Goods? How many of them have you mastered? Will you plant Barley as well?
CityVille Family Vacation Goals: Everything you need to know
Before summer ends, and the kids all have to go back to school, the Stumpford family has requested your help in CityVille. They'd like to have one last hurrah of the summer on a road trip for the whole family (mom, dad and the two kids), but they can't do it without you. In comes a set of four new goals in the game, called "Family Vacation."
The Family Vacation goals offer you a trio of decorations inspired by road trips or the great outdoors, so let's go ahead and jump right in, shall we? Note: You must be at least level 30 to access these goals.
My Way or the Highway
Ask for 4 Maps
Collect two times from any Library
Harvest 50 Carrots
Fortunately, this Library step really does mean "any," so you can collect once from a regular Library and again from a College Library within seconds and have that step completed. As for the Carrots, they cost 46 coins per square and take eight hours to grow, which gives you plenty of time to ask your friends to send you the four maps necessary to finish this one off. Doing so rewards you with the Giant Ball of Twine, a 2x2 decoration that offers a 5% bonus payout to surrounding homes and businesses.
Detour Guide
Have one Giant Ball of Twine in your city
Collect five times from any Diner
Send 5 Tour Buses to Burger Joints
Remember, you'll need to visit your friends' towns to send out Tour Buses, so hopefully at least a few of your neighbors have kept Burger Joints, rather than exchanging them for more profitable businesses. Your reward for this goal is 400 Goods.
Camping My Style
Have 6 Fitness Collection collectibles
Ask friends for 4 Mosquito Repellent
Pitch two Tents
Don't panic with this one; the Tents aren't some building project that must be undertaken - they're simply available to purchase as a decorative item in the store (a single Tent costs 5,000 coins and offers a 4% bonus to payout). Finishing this third goal rewards you with the Wooden Dino. This decoration offers just a 1% payout bonus, but it's a cute item all the same.
Hoax Busters
Have one Wooden Dino in your city
Ask for 10 Pictures of Bigfoot for proof
Collect two times from any Level 2 Emergency Clinic
Apparently, the Stumpfords have stumbled upon something in the forest on their road trip, on top of some Poison Ivy - ouch! You'll need to ask your friends for the Pictures of Bigfoot, but after these three steps are done, you'll have finished this family's vacation, and will be rewarded with the pretty Hidden Lake item. This item takes up a 4x4 square area on your land, but you'll gain a 20% bonus payout to surrounding structures so it's worth the few extra squares it sits on.
All told, these goals shouldn't take you the rest of the summer, but luckily, there doesn't seem to be any time limit on completing them if you'd like to take your time.
[Goals 2-4 Via CityVille Wiki]
Have you already started helping the Stumpfords on their Family Vacation? What do you think of the difficulty level of these goals?
The Family Vacation goals offer you a trio of decorations inspired by road trips or the great outdoors, so let's go ahead and jump right in, shall we? Note: You must be at least level 30 to access these goals.
My Way or the Highway
Ask for 4 Maps
Collect two times from any Library
Harvest 50 Carrots
Fortunately, this Library step really does mean "any," so you can collect once from a regular Library and again from a College Library within seconds and have that step completed. As for the Carrots, they cost 46 coins per square and take eight hours to grow, which gives you plenty of time to ask your friends to send you the four maps necessary to finish this one off. Doing so rewards you with the Giant Ball of Twine, a 2x2 decoration that offers a 5% bonus payout to surrounding homes and businesses.
Detour Guide
Have one Giant Ball of Twine in your city
Collect five times from any Diner
Send 5 Tour Buses to Burger Joints
Remember, you'll need to visit your friends' towns to send out Tour Buses, so hopefully at least a few of your neighbors have kept Burger Joints, rather than exchanging them for more profitable businesses. Your reward for this goal is 400 Goods.
Camping My Style
Have 6 Fitness Collection collectibles
Ask friends for 4 Mosquito Repellent
Pitch two Tents
Don't panic with this one; the Tents aren't some building project that must be undertaken - they're simply available to purchase as a decorative item in the store (a single Tent costs 5,000 coins and offers a 4% bonus to payout). Finishing this third goal rewards you with the Wooden Dino. This decoration offers just a 1% payout bonus, but it's a cute item all the same.
Hoax Busters
Have one Wooden Dino in your city
Ask for 10 Pictures of Bigfoot for proof
Collect two times from any Level 2 Emergency Clinic
Apparently, the Stumpfords have stumbled upon something in the forest on their road trip, on top of some Poison Ivy - ouch! You'll need to ask your friends for the Pictures of Bigfoot, but after these three steps are done, you'll have finished this family's vacation, and will be rewarded with the pretty Hidden Lake item. This item takes up a 4x4 square area on your land, but you'll gain a 20% bonus payout to surrounding structures so it's worth the few extra squares it sits on.
All told, these goals shouldn't take you the rest of the summer, but luckily, there doesn't seem to be any time limit on completing them if you'd like to take your time.
[Goals 2-4 Via CityVille Wiki]
Have you already started helping the Stumpfords on their Family Vacation? What do you think of the difficulty level of these goals?
CityVille Dam Goals: Everything you need to know
We brought you a sneak peek of CityVille's upcoming Dam feature earlier this month, but now we know that there will be an entire set of goals surrounding the launch of the Dam, thanks to information found by CityVille Goals. These goals reveal quite a bit about the new feature, including its overall purpose: to increase your maximum energy bar. While these goals are still unreleased and could therefore change at any time, here's a best-guess for what we'll be looking at when the Dam launches in the near future.
Power Your City
Place your Dam
Plant on 15 Plots
Apparently, this Dam will be an incredibly large structure (fittingly, of course), as we're told that we may have to expand our land to place it, but in exchange, we'll receive some free land "once you do." We'd guess that the Dam will likely act as other building objects, requiring various building materials to complete, and once its done, will allow us to raise our maximum amount of energy points over time. Remember, this is still a bit of speculation, but we're doing the best we can on little information.
Get the Dam Working
Finish your Dam
Supply your Dam
Ask for 6 Reflector Units
Here's something that's interesting. Will the Dam be a large business, rather than a community building, or even something unique? We're interested in learning more about why the Dam needs to be "supplied," but perhaps this is a case where we must invest a few energy into the Dam only to receive a massive boost on the other end.
Making Progress
Harvest 20 Plots
Send out 10 Ships
Increase your Energy Cap by three
Apparently, as we continue to use and reuse the Dam, we'll have the opportunity to raise our Energy Point cap by three points to finish this goal, but don't worry - we'll be able to increase it even more in the next goal.
Fill'er Up
Collect City Works 2 times
Unwither 20 Plots in your friends' cities
Increase your Energy Cap by seven
See? I told you the next goal would see an even larger increase in our maximum energy caps. At the end of this goal, we'll apparently reach the end of these Dam Goals, but I wouldn't be surprised if more goals were added to the line in the future. After all, it seems like with the release of the Dam, Zynga has created a feature that will forever be able to sustain the increasing of energy caps, so the CityVille team could just add more layers as they're needed.
Either way, we'll make sure to give you all of the concrete details about the Dam and its goals when it launches in the game in the future. For now though, use these goals as a sort of timeline to plan ahead.
Are you excited about the Dam? Will you use the feature if it means increasing your overall energy cap?
Power Your City
Place your Dam
Plant on 15 Plots
Apparently, this Dam will be an incredibly large structure (fittingly, of course), as we're told that we may have to expand our land to place it, but in exchange, we'll receive some free land "once you do." We'd guess that the Dam will likely act as other building objects, requiring various building materials to complete, and once its done, will allow us to raise our maximum amount of energy points over time. Remember, this is still a bit of speculation, but we're doing the best we can on little information.
Get the Dam Working
Finish your Dam
Supply your Dam
Ask for 6 Reflector Units
Here's something that's interesting. Will the Dam be a large business, rather than a community building, or even something unique? We're interested in learning more about why the Dam needs to be "supplied," but perhaps this is a case where we must invest a few energy into the Dam only to receive a massive boost on the other end.
Making Progress
Harvest 20 Plots
Send out 10 Ships
Increase your Energy Cap by three
Apparently, as we continue to use and reuse the Dam, we'll have the opportunity to raise our Energy Point cap by three points to finish this goal, but don't worry - we'll be able to increase it even more in the next goal.
Fill'er Up
Collect City Works 2 times
Unwither 20 Plots in your friends' cities
Increase your Energy Cap by seven
See? I told you the next goal would see an even larger increase in our maximum energy caps. At the end of this goal, we'll apparently reach the end of these Dam Goals, but I wouldn't be surprised if more goals were added to the line in the future. After all, it seems like with the release of the Dam, Zynga has created a feature that will forever be able to sustain the increasing of energy caps, so the CityVille team could just add more layers as they're needed.
Either way, we'll make sure to give you all of the concrete details about the Dam and its goals when it launches in the game in the future. For now though, use these goals as a sort of timeline to plan ahead.
Are you excited about the Dam? Will you use the feature if it means increasing your overall energy cap?
FarmVille: Third 'New Hampshire' farm may have these unreleased crops
Here's some exciting news, farmers! While we still haven't heard any official confirmation that FarmVille will be receiving a new, third farm (that is, in addition to our Home Farms, and that in the English Countryside), the rumors surrounding the New Hampshire / New England inspired farm have just gained a little more validity thanks to some unreleased crop images spotted by FarmVille Freak.
These images may look like a set of ordinary crops and mastery signs, but we'll take a closer look at them after this list:
American Cranberry
Chandler Blueberry
Darrow Blackberry
Butter and Sugar Corn
Dandelion
Kennebec Potatoes
Dill
Hay
Tarragon
Here's a connection to get the ground rolling: Butter and Sugar Corn is one of the most popular varieties of corn in and around New Hampshire. For another, Kennebec Potatoes may be a great potato for home gardeners across the US, but they grow particularly well in the soil of Maine, making them popular in the state. An even clearer connection can be made when looking at the American Cranberry, which grows throughout the New England area, but rarely further south than North Carolina.
Can we pick out distinct connections between each of these crops and the New England area? Some might be harder to find than others, but I'm willing to make an educated guess that they'll all release at once. It's not everyday that we see this many crops, complete with mastery signs, being spotted in the game, especially in an otherwise limited edition capacity, so it only makes sense that they would be connected with the supposed release of a third farm.
We won't go out on a limb and guarantee anything at this point, so please remember that this is just speculation. Still, it doesn't hurt to get just a little excited, does it? We'll make sure to give you any other details concerning these crops or a third farm as we know more.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Would you like to see a third farm made available in the game? What sorts of changes to Bushels and Crafting would you want to see happen if we suddenly had another farm full of crops to worry about?
These images may look like a set of ordinary crops and mastery signs, but we'll take a closer look at them after this list:
American Cranberry
Chandler Blueberry
Darrow Blackberry
Butter and Sugar Corn
Dandelion
Kennebec Potatoes
Dill
Hay
Tarragon
Here's a connection to get the ground rolling: Butter and Sugar Corn is one of the most popular varieties of corn in and around New Hampshire. For another, Kennebec Potatoes may be a great potato for home gardeners across the US, but they grow particularly well in the soil of Maine, making them popular in the state. An even clearer connection can be made when looking at the American Cranberry, which grows throughout the New England area, but rarely further south than North Carolina.
Can we pick out distinct connections between each of these crops and the New England area? Some might be harder to find than others, but I'm willing to make an educated guess that they'll all release at once. It's not everyday that we see this many crops, complete with mastery signs, being spotted in the game, especially in an otherwise limited edition capacity, so it only makes sense that they would be connected with the supposed release of a third farm.
We won't go out on a limb and guarantee anything at this point, so please remember that this is just speculation. Still, it doesn't hurt to get just a little excited, does it? We'll make sure to give you any other details concerning these crops or a third farm as we know more.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Would you like to see a third farm made available in the game? What sorts of changes to Bushels and Crafting would you want to see happen if we suddenly had another farm full of crops to worry about?
Pioneer Trail Collections Guide: Earn free Prize Tickets, Tools and much more
With the launch of the Pioneer Trail, we've seen an absolute explosion in content in the game's Collections feature. While we brought you a look at the Pecan and Turkey Hunting Collections in this new version of FrontierVille, there are so many more collections than that, that have already been made available. Sure, you may not be able to even access all of the collectibles yet (as the Avalanche Pass won't even open up for play until August 22), but here's a great guide to get your started on deciding which prizes you'd most like to go for.
Hickory Tree Collection: Earned by chopping Hickory Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Blackberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Blackberry Bushes
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Wild Lupine Collection: Earned by clearing Wild Lupine
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Pecan Collection: Earned by tending Pecan Trees
Prize: 3,000 coins
Turkey Hunting Collection: Earned by hunting Turkeys in Beaver Valley
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets
Trail Medicine Collection: Earned by collecting Doctor's Bags on the Trail
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
St. Bernard Collection: Earned by gathering medicine from St. Bernards on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Travelin' Tools Collection: Earned by scavenging Toolboxes on the Trail
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Prickly Pear Cactus Collection: Earned by tending Prickly Pear Cactus in Fort Courage
Prize: Prickly Pear Cactus
Canada Goose Collection: Earned by hunting Canadian Geese on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Crabapple Collection: Earned by harvesting Crabapple Trees
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets
Crawdad Collection: Earned by harvesting Crawdad Traps
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Med-Pack Collection: Earned by gathering Med-Packs in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Gnarly-Horned Mountain Goat Collection: Earned by hunting Gnarly-Horned Mountain Goats in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Prairie Lavender Collection: Earned by clearing Prairie Lavender on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Pole Pine Collection: Earned by chopping down Lodge Pole Pines in Fort Courage
Prize: Sharp Axe x5
Manzanita Collection: Earned by clearing Manzanita on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Military Collection: Earned by collecting daily bonuses from the soldiers in Fort Courage
Prize: 4 Cloth, 300 XP
Apothecary Collection: Earned by gathering Mortar and Pestles in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Mountain Blueberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Mountain Blueberries on the Trail
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets
Beast O' Burden Collection: Earned by scavenging through Mule Packs on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Work Chest Collection: Earned by scavenging Steamer Trunks in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Persimmon Collection: Earned by harvesting Persimmon Trees
Prize: 1,500 coins, 100 XP
Pheasant Hunting Collection: Earned by hunting Pheasants in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Red Trillium Collection: Earned by clearing Red Trillium on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Sandstone Collection: Earned by clearing Sandstone debris in Fort Courage
Prize: Tools x4
Snowy Barrel Collection: Earned by scavenging Snowy Barrels in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Snowy Spruce Collection: Earned by chopping Snowy Spruce Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Wild Rice Collection: Earned by harvesting Wild Rice
Prize: 300 coins, 25 XP
Wild Strawberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Wild Strawberries
Prize: 700 coins, 25 XP
Wolf Collection: Earned by hunting Wolves in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Thumbleweed Collection: Earned by clearing Thumbleweeds in Fort Courage
Prize: Thorns, 200 coins
White Oak Collection: Earned by chopping White Oak Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
And there you have it! As of this writing, the complete set of Pioneer Trail collections that detail the tasks you can complete while out on the Trail. While the Pioneer Trail itself is a cycle, that can be completed over again after you've first finished, we wouldn't rule out any additional content (and therefore new collections) being released in the future. We'll make sure to let you know if that happens.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille / Pioneer Trail Guides, Cheats, and Tips right here.
Have you completed any of these collections, or are you still trying to complete missions back on your Homestead, rather than jumping into the Trail?
Hickory Tree Collection: Earned by chopping Hickory Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Blackberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Blackberry Bushes
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Wild Lupine Collection: Earned by clearing Wild Lupine
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Pecan Collection: Earned by tending Pecan Trees
Prize: 3,000 coins
Turkey Hunting Collection: Earned by hunting Turkeys in Beaver Valley
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets
Trail Medicine Collection: Earned by collecting Doctor's Bags on the Trail
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
St. Bernard Collection: Earned by gathering medicine from St. Bernards on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Travelin' Tools Collection: Earned by scavenging Toolboxes on the Trail
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Prickly Pear Cactus Collection: Earned by tending Prickly Pear Cactus in Fort Courage
Prize: Prickly Pear Cactus
Canada Goose Collection: Earned by hunting Canadian Geese on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Crabapple Collection: Earned by harvesting Crabapple Trees
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets
Crawdad Collection: Earned by harvesting Crawdad Traps
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Med-Pack Collection: Earned by gathering Med-Packs in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Gnarly-Horned Mountain Goat Collection: Earned by hunting Gnarly-Horned Mountain Goats in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Prairie Lavender Collection: Earned by clearing Prairie Lavender on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Pole Pine Collection: Earned by chopping down Lodge Pole Pines in Fort Courage
Prize: Sharp Axe x5
Manzanita Collection: Earned by clearing Manzanita on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Military Collection: Earned by collecting daily bonuses from the soldiers in Fort Courage
Prize: 4 Cloth, 300 XP
Apothecary Collection: Earned by gathering Mortar and Pestles in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Mountain Blueberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Mountain Blueberries on the Trail
Prize: 50 Prize Tickets
Beast O' Burden Collection: Earned by scavenging through Mule Packs on the Trail
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Work Chest Collection: Earned by scavenging Steamer Trunks in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Persimmon Collection: Earned by harvesting Persimmon Trees
Prize: 1,500 coins, 100 XP
Pheasant Hunting Collection: Earned by hunting Pheasants in High Plains
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Red Trillium Collection: Earned by clearing Red Trillium on the Trail
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Sandstone Collection: Earned by clearing Sandstone debris in Fort Courage
Prize: Tools x4
Snowy Barrel Collection: Earned by scavenging Snowy Barrels in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 75 Prize Tickets
Snowy Spruce Collection: Earned by chopping Snowy Spruce Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
Wild Rice Collection: Earned by harvesting Wild Rice
Prize: 300 coins, 25 XP
Wild Strawberry Collection: Earned by harvesting Wild Strawberries
Prize: 700 coins, 25 XP
Wolf Collection: Earned by hunting Wolves in Avalanche Pass
Prize: 100 Prize Tickets
Thumbleweed Collection: Earned by clearing Thumbleweeds in Fort Courage
Prize: Thorns, 200 coins
White Oak Collection: Earned by chopping White Oak Trees
Prize: 25 Prize Tickets
And there you have it! As of this writing, the complete set of Pioneer Trail collections that detail the tasks you can complete while out on the Trail. While the Pioneer Trail itself is a cycle, that can be completed over again after you've first finished, we wouldn't rule out any additional content (and therefore new collections) being released in the future. We'll make sure to let you know if that happens.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille / Pioneer Trail Guides, Cheats, and Tips right here.
Have you completed any of these collections, or are you still trying to complete missions back on your Homestead, rather than jumping into the Trail?
FarmVille: Free White Porcupine with Farm Cash purchase
If you have just a short time to spare on Facebook games this morning, make sure to spend a few minutes logging in to FarmVille, as there's a new Farm Cash promotion available, giving all users a free White Porcupine for taking part.
Specifically, you'll see a large pop-up like the one below, offering you three choices for Farm Cash packages, but only for a limited time. You can purchase 4 Farm Cash for $1, 25 Farm Cash for $5 or 115 Farm Cash for $20 (presumably, you could purchase any of the packages and still receive the White Porcupine, but these are the only three packages listed). Honestly, these promotions are the best time to spend just a single dollar, as you may not end up with much Farm Cash, but you'll walk away with (normally) exclusive animals that would cost much more than a dollar if purchased in the store at normal price.
My own in-game ticker places this promotion at just one hour remaining, but your own game may differ slightly. Either way, make sure you login to your farm sooner, rather than later, to see if you can take advantage of this offer (and earn your free White Porcupine) before it's too late.
Will you purchase any of these Farm Cash packages to receive a free White Porcupine?
Specifically, you'll see a large pop-up like the one below, offering you three choices for Farm Cash packages, but only for a limited time. You can purchase 4 Farm Cash for $1, 25 Farm Cash for $5 or 115 Farm Cash for $20 (presumably, you could purchase any of the packages and still receive the White Porcupine, but these are the only three packages listed). Honestly, these promotions are the best time to spend just a single dollar, as you may not end up with much Farm Cash, but you'll walk away with (normally) exclusive animals that would cost much more than a dollar if purchased in the store at normal price.
My own in-game ticker places this promotion at just one hour remaining, but your own game may differ slightly. Either way, make sure you login to your farm sooner, rather than later, to see if you can take advantage of this offer (and earn your free White Porcupine) before it's too late.
Will you purchase any of these Farm Cash packages to receive a free White Porcupine?
FarmVille Raffle Tooth (08/21/11): Gypsy Stallion and Giant Pot Fountain up for grabs
It's Sunday evening, which marks a new round of the FarmVille Raffle Booth, with two new items (out of five) being particularly interesting in this week's selection of prizes. Once you go through the process of turning in your Raffle Tickets from last week (and hopefully winning tons of prizes), you'll be able to view this week's available goodies. The odds may not exactly be in your favor for winning each and every one of these items, or even just the top prize, but remember - Raffle Tickets can be earned for free, so there's no harm in collecting a few!
Here's the lineup of prizes, along with your odds of winning them this week:
10 Special Delivery Boxes: 1:5
3 Arborists: 1:20
5 Love Potions: 1:100
Giant Pot Fountain: 1:500
Gypsy Stallion: 1:2000
Remember, once this week is over, these prizes will be raffled off, so you'll need to collect as many Raffle Tickets between now and then as possible. Good luck - I hope we both walk away with a few prizes of our own!
Which of this week's prizes would you be most interested in? Do you still need a Stallion for your Horse Stable, or are you more interested in the Giant Pot Fountain?
Here's the lineup of prizes, along with your odds of winning them this week:
10 Special Delivery Boxes: 1:5
3 Arborists: 1:20
5 Love Potions: 1:100
Giant Pot Fountain: 1:500
Gypsy Stallion: 1:2000
Remember, once this week is over, these prizes will be raffled off, so you'll need to collect as many Raffle Tickets between now and then as possible. Good luck - I hope we both walk away with a few prizes of our own!
Which of this week's prizes would you be most interested in? Do you still need a Stallion for your Horse Stable, or are you more interested in the Giant Pot Fountain?
FarmVille Mystery Game (08/21/11): Take to the wild with Wildlife Animal prizes
Continuing in FarmVille's recent theme of wildlife animals, this week's Mystery Game offers all farmers a chance at one of six Wildlife animals to celebrate the launch of the Wildlife Habitat in the game. Of course, if you go through with "winning" all six items in this week's game, you'll also receive a bonus animal, but we'll get to that later.
This week's game costs 20 Farm Cash per dart, and there don't look to be any free darts in sight. If you go through with purchasing a Dart (or ten), you'll have a chance at winning the following animals:
American Black Bear
Black-Footed Ferret
Jaguarundi
Kit Fox
Margay
Red Brocket
Again, only if you can earn all six of these items by purchasing individual darts will you be given your bonus animal: a White Reindeer. Remember, you can very well earn duplicates of some of these animals, so you may end up spending hundreds of Farm Cash just to finish your board. Either way, you'll only have a week to make your final decision and get it done, as the game will reset with new items after that point. Good luck if you're going for the White Reindeer! I hope it only takes you six Darts!
Will you try to earn the White Reindeer from this week's game? If you're only going to throw a few Darts, which animals are you hoping to win?
This week's game costs 20 Farm Cash per dart, and there don't look to be any free darts in sight. If you go through with purchasing a Dart (or ten), you'll have a chance at winning the following animals:
American Black Bear
Black-Footed Ferret
Jaguarundi
Kit Fox
Margay
Red Brocket
Again, only if you can earn all six of these items by purchasing individual darts will you be given your bonus animal: a White Reindeer. Remember, you can very well earn duplicates of some of these animals, so you may end up spending hundreds of Farm Cash just to finish your board. Either way, you'll only have a week to make your final decision and get it done, as the game will reset with new items after that point. Good luck if you're going for the White Reindeer! I hope it only takes you six Darts!
Will you try to earn the White Reindeer from this week's game? If you're only going to throw a few Darts, which animals are you hoping to win?
FarmVille Fairy Garden Items: Star Flower Trees, Fairy Cat, Garden Gate and more
The lovely Fairy Garden item theme in FarmVille has grown by quite a bit this evening, as new trees, animals, decorations and more have been launched in the game's store. There are even avatar clothing items here, if you have a few Farm Cash to spend sprucing up your character's clothing. Either way, we won't waste any more time with introductions; let's get straight to our look at these new items!
Trees
Star Flower Tree - 7 Farm Cash
Big Star Flower Tree - 15 Farm Cash
Both of these trees earn their first star of mastery after 75 harvests, and will be ready to harvest every two days (so, they have the same stats as most other recently released trees).
Animals
Fairy Cat - 18 Farm Cash
Fairy Unicorn - 31 Farm Cash
Hold onto something, farmers. Considering how popular Unicorns have been in FarmVille in the past, and how popular fairies are generally, I can definitely see this Fairy Unicorn flying up to the top of the Best Sellers chart in the store, even with its higher-than-normal price tag of 31 Farm Cash. I must admit the Unicorn is very lovely, but whether or not you're willing to pay 31 Farm Cash for a single animal will really be up to you.
Buildings
Green Cottage - 25 Farm Cash
Mossy Den - 15 Farm Cash
As of this writing, these buildings aren't marked as limited edition, but don't let that fool you - they won't be around for long.
Decorations
Ivy Curve Wall - 8,000 coins
Fairy Roses - 10,000 coins
Fairy Garden - 10 Farm Cash
Garden Gate - 30,000 coins
Flowery Fountain - 15 Farm Cash
If the names don't give it away, the Ivy Curve Wall and Garden Gate form a new kind of fencing for this theme, if the plain Wooden Gates and Fences released previously don't do it for you. Unfortunately, the supply of coin-only items here is rather small, but hopefully we'll see a positive change in that area in the future.
Avatar Clothing Items
Ivy Leaves Crown - 2 Farm Cash
Flower Hat - 5 Farm Cash
Tree Fairy Dress - 10 Farm Cash
With the release of this large set of new Fairy Garden items, we have also seen many of the theme's items reach the two day time limit for availability in the store. For these newest items, you'll have two weeks to purchase them, but don't waste too much time or you may miss out on them entirely! We'll make sure to let you know if more Fairy Garden themed items are released in the future, so keep checking back.
What do you think of the Fairy Unicorn? Do you think a Unicorn is worth 31 Farm Cash? Will you purchase any of these buildings or avatar clothing items?
Trees
Star Flower Tree - 7 Farm Cash
Big Star Flower Tree - 15 Farm Cash
Both of these trees earn their first star of mastery after 75 harvests, and will be ready to harvest every two days (so, they have the same stats as most other recently released trees).
Animals
Fairy Cat - 18 Farm Cash
Fairy Unicorn - 31 Farm Cash
Hold onto something, farmers. Considering how popular Unicorns have been in FarmVille in the past, and how popular fairies are generally, I can definitely see this Fairy Unicorn flying up to the top of the Best Sellers chart in the store, even with its higher-than-normal price tag of 31 Farm Cash. I must admit the Unicorn is very lovely, but whether or not you're willing to pay 31 Farm Cash for a single animal will really be up to you.
Buildings
Green Cottage - 25 Farm Cash
Mossy Den - 15 Farm Cash
As of this writing, these buildings aren't marked as limited edition, but don't let that fool you - they won't be around for long.
Decorations
Ivy Curve Wall - 8,000 coins
Fairy Roses - 10,000 coins
Fairy Garden - 10 Farm Cash
Garden Gate - 30,000 coins
Flowery Fountain - 15 Farm Cash
If the names don't give it away, the Ivy Curve Wall and Garden Gate form a new kind of fencing for this theme, if the plain Wooden Gates and Fences released previously don't do it for you. Unfortunately, the supply of coin-only items here is rather small, but hopefully we'll see a positive change in that area in the future.
Avatar Clothing Items
Ivy Leaves Crown - 2 Farm Cash
Flower Hat - 5 Farm Cash
Tree Fairy Dress - 10 Farm Cash
With the release of this large set of new Fairy Garden items, we have also seen many of the theme's items reach the two day time limit for availability in the store. For these newest items, you'll have two weeks to purchase them, but don't waste too much time or you may miss out on them entirely! We'll make sure to let you know if more Fairy Garden themed items are released in the future, so keep checking back.
What do you think of the Fairy Unicorn? Do you think a Unicorn is worth 31 Farm Cash? Will you purchase any of these buildings or avatar clothing items?
FarmVille Model Farm shows off Fairy Garden items with free coins too
Now, here's something to take note of: Normally, the Model Farm in FarmVille is a fairly useless addition to the game, containing limited edition items from whatever theme happens to be prominent in the store at the time. That's still the case this time around, as the current Model Farm is full of Fairy Garden trees and various decorations, but you'll also have some added incentive to visit: some free coins.
To be specific, you'll be able to find the Model Farm at the far right of your friends list at the bottom of your game (you'll spot it with the icon of the Fairy Pony). Once you visit, you'll be rewarded with 500 coins. That may not be much, but hey, we normally don't receive anything for visiting, so I appreciate Zynga sparing at least something.
While you're on the Model Farm, remember to take a look at the various Farm Cash items to see how they look on a real farm, if you've been questioning whether or not they're worth the high price. If you think so, you can purchase them directly by clicking on them.
Hopefully, this will be just the first of many new Model Farms that will offer us a prize for visiting, and we'll make sure to let you know if that's the case.
Will you visit the Model Farm for 500 free coins? Which other items would you like to see being given away by visiting the Model Farm, or is coins enough for you?
To be specific, you'll be able to find the Model Farm at the far right of your friends list at the bottom of your game (you'll spot it with the icon of the Fairy Pony). Once you visit, you'll be rewarded with 500 coins. That may not be much, but hey, we normally don't receive anything for visiting, so I appreciate Zynga sparing at least something.
While you're on the Model Farm, remember to take a look at the various Farm Cash items to see how they look on a real farm, if you've been questioning whether or not they're worth the high price. If you think so, you can purchase them directly by clicking on them.
Hopefully, this will be just the first of many new Model Farms that will offer us a prize for visiting, and we'll make sure to let you know if that's the case.
Will you visit the Model Farm for 500 free coins? Which other items would you like to see being given away by visiting the Model Farm, or is coins enough for you?
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Retro World contest: Enter to get your 15 minutes of fame
Still waiting for your 15 minutes of fame? Entertainment Games' new Retro World Photo contest might be your lucky break. Enter and you might win a starring role in this new point-and-click adventure game on Facebook alongside some of Hollywood's most memorable faces, such as Elvis "The Pelvis" Presley, Marilyn Monroe and a much (much) younger rendition of Dick Clark.
retro star contest
To enter the contest, submit a full-body picture of you wearing your best Sixties era getup. Two pictures will be chosen and the winners will star in a new episode of the game. Click here to enter the contest. While you're at it -- give the game a try. Love it or hate it, Retro World certainly offers something a little different than the rest of those 'Ville' games out there.
retro star contest
To enter the contest, submit a full-body picture of you wearing your best Sixties era getup. Two pictures will be chosen and the winners will star in a new episode of the game. Click here to enter the contest. While you're at it -- give the game a try. Love it or hate it, Retro World certainly offers something a little different than the rest of those 'Ville' games out there.
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?
FarmVille's co-creator not sure selling to Zynga was the best idea
Well, duh. Now that Zynga is supposedly looking at $20 billion, thanks largely to FarmVille, we'd feel a tinge of regret too. The game's co-creator, Sizhao Yang (pictured), told FINS Technology about early interactions with CEO Mark Pincus, creating what would spawn an industry-changing revolution and ultimately selling MyMiniLife (and that game) to Zynga in June 2009.
"If I had known then what I know now, I don't think we would have sold [MyMiniLife]," Yang admitted to FINS. "But we did fairly well for ourselves, as well as for our investors." A little over a year later, Yang left Zynga on a day's notice, never looking back. Sure, Yang may seem to regret his decision to sell FarmVille, but his decision to leave came down to a simple idea.
"I left about eight figures in restricted stock on the table," Yang revealed to FINS. "I realized that when I'm 80 or 90 years old, am I going to be more proud of the fact that I created FarmVille and BetterWorks, or more proud of the fact that I have $20 or $40 million in my bank account? For me I was going to be more proud of the things I create and the things I do."
Yang moved on to found other tech startups, most recently BetterWorks, a company that makes Web-based software for small companies to more easily obtain company perks for their employees. Since the FarmVille mastermind's departure, Zynga has gone on to create several more games based on the FarmVille blueprint (which has since been put into question), each more successful than the last. That said, the all new CastleVille has quite a lot to live up to.
[Image Credit: TEDxOrangeCoast]
How do you think the social game scene might have been different had Yang not sold FarmVille? Would you have sold in the same situation?
"If I had known then what I know now, I don't think we would have sold [MyMiniLife]," Yang admitted to FINS. "But we did fairly well for ourselves, as well as for our investors." A little over a year later, Yang left Zynga on a day's notice, never looking back. Sure, Yang may seem to regret his decision to sell FarmVille, but his decision to leave came down to a simple idea.
"I left about eight figures in restricted stock on the table," Yang revealed to FINS. "I realized that when I'm 80 or 90 years old, am I going to be more proud of the fact that I created FarmVille and BetterWorks, or more proud of the fact that I have $20 or $40 million in my bank account? For me I was going to be more proud of the things I create and the things I do."
Yang moved on to found other tech startups, most recently BetterWorks, a company that makes Web-based software for small companies to more easily obtain company perks for their employees. Since the FarmVille mastermind's departure, Zynga has gone on to create several more games based on the FarmVille blueprint (which has since been put into question), each more successful than the last. That said, the all new CastleVille has quite a lot to live up to.
[Image Credit: TEDxOrangeCoast]
How do you think the social game scene might have been different had Yang not sold FarmVille? Would you have sold in the same situation?
The Oregon Trail: American Settler combines Pioneer Trail and CityVille on iOS
In the time that Zynga's Pioneer Trail (formerly FrontierVille) has been available on Facebook, many similar games have been released, but perhaps no other game has been so downright similar (the word "clone" quickly comes to mind) as Gameloft's The Oregon Trail: American Settler. The main difference here is that Pioneer Trail is available for play on Facebook, while American Settler is for iPhone / iPad.
The game starts with your family of three ending their trip on the Oregon Trail and winding up in the overrun wilderness of the open frontier. You'll be asked to construct items like a cabin for your family, farm plots to grow food for your family (and eventually visitors), chop down trees for lumber, and complete quests for your family members and friends alike. That being said, some of these features do introduce slight differences to the experience.
For instance, some buildings, instead of automatically turning a profit every few hours, require food to operate. It's a situation similar to that of another Zynga game, CityVille, in that the food here is the "Goods" there, and you'll receive coins and experience points when they're gone (this could take minutes or hours). In keeping with the CityVille comparisons, we also see decorations being used to offer bonuses to the payout of surrounding items. For some originality, and to bring in a classic "Oregon Trail" element, your family members can get sick. You'll need to collect medicine to help them by asking your friends to send it to you.
Speaking of traditional Oregon Trail elements, you'll also have a chance to go hunting for food by shooting at the random critters that appear while chopping trees and performing other "nature-themed" tasks on your land.
Gallery: The Oregon Trail: American Settler iOS
Once you start building your city out in the frontier, you'll quickly need to build more homes so that you can staff more businesses (again, this is the CityVille element of the game), but will also run into random encounters a la Pioneer Trail. You'll be given a short story and will then need to choose from various options, depending on the risk you're willing to take to be successful, or how many resources you'd like to dedicate to that choice.
Even though I could continue (for quite a while, I'd imagine) with the comparisons to other games, as, let's face it, Gameloft is kind of known for that, The Oregon Trail: American Settler is a pretty fun game in its own right. It runs great technically, and looks pretty sharp as well. The game's social elements are handled directly through either Facebook or Gameloft Live (your choice), and you can post rewards or requests directly to Facebook (after connecting to your account), asking your friends to come play the game with you. Best of all? The game's free to download and is universal, meaning that it will handle equally well on both iPhone or iPad, although I can see there being some issues with the iPhone version, if only due to the size of the screen.
If you've ever wished you could take these sorts of Facebook games with you on the go, why not try out American Settler as a substitute?
Download Oregon Trail: American Settler from iTunes -->
Have you tried the Oregon Trail: American Settler on your iOS device? What do you think of this frontier-themed combination of Pioneer Trail and CityVille gameplay mechanics?
The game starts with your family of three ending their trip on the Oregon Trail and winding up in the overrun wilderness of the open frontier. You'll be asked to construct items like a cabin for your family, farm plots to grow food for your family (and eventually visitors), chop down trees for lumber, and complete quests for your family members and friends alike. That being said, some of these features do introduce slight differences to the experience.
For instance, some buildings, instead of automatically turning a profit every few hours, require food to operate. It's a situation similar to that of another Zynga game, CityVille, in that the food here is the "Goods" there, and you'll receive coins and experience points when they're gone (this could take minutes or hours). In keeping with the CityVille comparisons, we also see decorations being used to offer bonuses to the payout of surrounding items. For some originality, and to bring in a classic "Oregon Trail" element, your family members can get sick. You'll need to collect medicine to help them by asking your friends to send it to you.
Speaking of traditional Oregon Trail elements, you'll also have a chance to go hunting for food by shooting at the random critters that appear while chopping trees and performing other "nature-themed" tasks on your land.
Gallery: The Oregon Trail: American Settler iOS
Once you start building your city out in the frontier, you'll quickly need to build more homes so that you can staff more businesses (again, this is the CityVille element of the game), but will also run into random encounters a la Pioneer Trail. You'll be given a short story and will then need to choose from various options, depending on the risk you're willing to take to be successful, or how many resources you'd like to dedicate to that choice.
Even though I could continue (for quite a while, I'd imagine) with the comparisons to other games, as, let's face it, Gameloft is kind of known for that, The Oregon Trail: American Settler is a pretty fun game in its own right. It runs great technically, and looks pretty sharp as well. The game's social elements are handled directly through either Facebook or Gameloft Live (your choice), and you can post rewards or requests directly to Facebook (after connecting to your account), asking your friends to come play the game with you. Best of all? The game's free to download and is universal, meaning that it will handle equally well on both iPhone or iPad, although I can see there being some issues with the iPhone version, if only due to the size of the screen.
If you've ever wished you could take these sorts of Facebook games with you on the go, why not try out American Settler as a substitute?
Download Oregon Trail: American Settler from iTunes -->
Have you tried the Oregon Trail: American Settler on your iOS device? What do you think of this frontier-themed combination of Pioneer Trail and CityVille gameplay mechanics?
Fact: Women who play online games have more sex
Yes, it's true, says a new survey by Harris Interactive for GameHouse. Women who play online games are not only a little older, a little happier but they're also making whoopie more often than those who don't play games. Hel-lo Mrs. Robinson.
"Maybe if we all watched a little less TV and played more games online, we'd all be having a little more sex," GameHouse Chief Gamer Matt Hulett says. "Joking aside, this survey matches up with our internal data that women are widely embracing online games with 63% of GameHouse players being women. It's nice to know that females who play online games are happy – both in their relationships and even in the bedroom."
OK, so if you take a closer look at the numbers in the infographic (below), only a small percentage of people in this group have sex more than your typical non-game playing woman. But even a slight change in amorous activities may be reason enough to start playing FarmVille or the umpteen other free online games.
The survey also says ladies who play games online have better relationships -- 64% are married or living with someone, 70% are happy with those relationships and about half of the respondants say playing games make them feel both happier and smarter.
As an added bonus, lady online gamers generally do not fit the sedentary, overweight gamer stereotype. In fact, they are just as physically active as someone who doesn't play online games. What kind of activity does that entail? Apparently, workouts both outside and inside the boudoir.
Check out more factoids from the survey in the infographic below.
women who play games online have more sex
"Maybe if we all watched a little less TV and played more games online, we'd all be having a little more sex," GameHouse Chief Gamer Matt Hulett says. "Joking aside, this survey matches up with our internal data that women are widely embracing online games with 63% of GameHouse players being women. It's nice to know that females who play online games are happy – both in their relationships and even in the bedroom."
OK, so if you take a closer look at the numbers in the infographic (below), only a small percentage of people in this group have sex more than your typical non-game playing woman. But even a slight change in amorous activities may be reason enough to start playing FarmVille or the umpteen other free online games.
The survey also says ladies who play games online have better relationships -- 64% are married or living with someone, 70% are happy with those relationships and about half of the respondants say playing games make them feel both happier and smarter.
As an added bonus, lady online gamers generally do not fit the sedentary, overweight gamer stereotype. In fact, they are just as physically active as someone who doesn't play online games. What kind of activity does that entail? Apparently, workouts both outside and inside the boudoir.
Check out more factoids from the survey in the infographic below.
women who play games online have more sex
Monday, December 12, 2011
CityVille Sneak Peek: Halloween spooks up city with new characters
Seeing what Zynga did for Pioneer Trail with Ghost Town, we get the impression the developer really loves Halloween. (Like ... a lot.) And now we see that love spill over into the most popular Zynga game, CityVille, as the team has revealed how a number of the game's main characters plan to dress up for the way underrated holiday. And--what do you know--it's through a survey.
While CityVille's Sam will don a witch's outfit this year, she and Vlad (appearing as, well, himself) will be joined by Misty and Glinda, two ghosts that look straight out of Casper's world. Rounding out the new characters is Brenda(?) the Bellhop, a spooky version of the character you see in the hotels of CityVille. While we're sure Sam is simply dressing up to fit the part.
The last we heard of Halloween in CityVille was a list of items that will soon hit the game in time for the big event. But before that players were visited by a ghost ship, which has yet to be explained. We're sure more information will be slowly revealed, as Zynga is wont to do, at a later date. Don't worry, you're going to get your fix of all things creepy and crawly in CityVille soon enough. Until then, just enjoy the artwork.
CityVille Sam Glinda Vlad Misty Brenda
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you taken the seemingly pointless survey yet just to see the new characters? What do you think the developer plans for everyone's favorite fall holiday (forget Thanksgiving)?
While CityVille's Sam will don a witch's outfit this year, she and Vlad (appearing as, well, himself) will be joined by Misty and Glinda, two ghosts that look straight out of Casper's world. Rounding out the new characters is Brenda(?) the Bellhop, a spooky version of the character you see in the hotels of CityVille. While we're sure Sam is simply dressing up to fit the part.
The last we heard of Halloween in CityVille was a list of items that will soon hit the game in time for the big event. But before that players were visited by a ghost ship, which has yet to be explained. We're sure more information will be slowly revealed, as Zynga is wont to do, at a later date. Don't worry, you're going to get your fix of all things creepy and crawly in CityVille soon enough. Until then, just enjoy the artwork.
CityVille Sam Glinda Vlad Misty Brenda
[Image Credit: Zynga]
Have you taken the seemingly pointless survey yet just to see the new characters? What do you think the developer plans for everyone's favorite fall holiday (forget Thanksgiving)?
Burnout Crash comes to iOS this fall with help from David Hasselhoff [Interview]
Earlier this year, Criterion Games and Electronic Arts released Burnout Crash for XBLA on Xbox 360 and PSN on PlayStation 3. The game takes auto destruction to a new level with plenty of gameplay modes and speed. The game allows you to send cars crashing into one another, detonating massive explosions with the press of a button. Boss vehicles like limos, pizza trucks and ice cream trucks are thrown into the works, with the game still looks to retain a fast-paced environment. While console gamers have already been able to get their fill of this arcade title, mobile gamers will finally be able to do so this holiday season.
Burnout Crash will be launching on iOS this fall, for iPad and iPhone 4. The game has 18 traffic junctions (settings), three different gameplay modes and an '80s inspired soundtrack featuring songs by Vanilla Ice and Gloria Estefan. The game will feature Autolog technology, bringing a major social edge to the experience, as users will be able to connect with others and compare their stats across the game's different modes. You'll also be able to challenge friends directly via "Autolog Challenges," for some head-to-head fun.
While the mobile version of the game has just now been officially announced, the console versions of the game already come with some pretty heavy backing and publicity, thanks to a partnership with the Knight Rider himself–David Hasselhoff. David has been featured in three commercials for the game, each one funnier and crazier than the last, and we were lucky enough to get to speak to David about his experience creating them, and his thoughts on Burnout Crash in general.
We asked David what it was about Burnout Crash that made him want to partner up with EA, and he could answer in a single word: "Explosions." Going into more detail, the Hoff told us that he "love[s] to blow things up," and that even as a child, he was all about the stunts and explosions. He told us of a go-kart he had as a child that he would send off of makeshift ramps, and that his role as Michael Knight in Knight Rider, it was fitting because "Knight Rider had tons of explosions" as well, so these explosions really "drew him" into the game.
But aside from explosions, what else makes Burnout Crash great? According to David, the game is simply "fun and funny," and that it makes you "use your brain to figure things out." With each level in some of the game's modes (both on iPhone and console) allowing you to earn higher and higher scores so long as you keep the explosions going, we suppose he's right.
While the ideas for the three commercials weren't David's, he says that he did ad-lib in the phrases of his "Chicken Man" and "Cheerleader" personas. "I said the things like 'Eat my pom poms' and 'Time to get plucked.'" At first, EA wanted him to dress as a female cheerleader for the second video in the series, but after dressing as a woman in The Producers on stage, he said he would rather stick to the male outfit this time around, "especially after putting on the wig." This isn't to say that David doesn't know how to have a good time. He says he loves "self-effacing humor that the kids will love or relate to." "If you can stay relevant with the kids, then you'll last forever," Hasselhoff tells us.
We asked David what he thought about Burnout Crash coming to iPhone, and he instantly unleashed his excitement. Apparently, the Hoff has become quite the mobile gamer. He says people are often shocked when he tells them "I'm going on a 21 hour flight around the world." They wonder how he can remain sane while being isolated for so long, but he says he thrives on it. "I love it. It lets me catch up with television shows." He also spends some of that time gaming on his iPhone.
"I wasn't always a big mobile gamer," he says, but that a happy accident got him into it. "I needed a roadie, so my 25-year old nephew has started traveling with me. He accidentally loaded all of his games onto my iPhone." He says that it's funny when he's surrounded by people on a plane, and here are these "two grown men are playing with rollercoasters, going ooh!"
We here at Games.com love what the united front of Hasselhoff and EA have been able to put together, so make sure to check out one of David's commercials below, and keep checking back with us as we bring you more details about Burnout Crash on iPhone in the future.
Are you excited about Burnout Crash on iPhone / iPad? Have you already tried the game on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? What do you think of the trio of commercials filmed with David Hasselhoff?
Burnout Crash will be launching on iOS this fall, for iPad and iPhone 4. The game has 18 traffic junctions (settings), three different gameplay modes and an '80s inspired soundtrack featuring songs by Vanilla Ice and Gloria Estefan. The game will feature Autolog technology, bringing a major social edge to the experience, as users will be able to connect with others and compare their stats across the game's different modes. You'll also be able to challenge friends directly via "Autolog Challenges," for some head-to-head fun.
While the mobile version of the game has just now been officially announced, the console versions of the game already come with some pretty heavy backing and publicity, thanks to a partnership with the Knight Rider himself–David Hasselhoff. David has been featured in three commercials for the game, each one funnier and crazier than the last, and we were lucky enough to get to speak to David about his experience creating them, and his thoughts on Burnout Crash in general.
We asked David what it was about Burnout Crash that made him want to partner up with EA, and he could answer in a single word: "Explosions." Going into more detail, the Hoff told us that he "love[s] to blow things up," and that even as a child, he was all about the stunts and explosions. He told us of a go-kart he had as a child that he would send off of makeshift ramps, and that his role as Michael Knight in Knight Rider, it was fitting because "Knight Rider had tons of explosions" as well, so these explosions really "drew him" into the game.
But aside from explosions, what else makes Burnout Crash great? According to David, the game is simply "fun and funny," and that it makes you "use your brain to figure things out." With each level in some of the game's modes (both on iPhone and console) allowing you to earn higher and higher scores so long as you keep the explosions going, we suppose he's right.
While the ideas for the three commercials weren't David's, he says that he did ad-lib in the phrases of his "Chicken Man" and "Cheerleader" personas. "I said the things like 'Eat my pom poms' and 'Time to get plucked.'" At first, EA wanted him to dress as a female cheerleader for the second video in the series, but after dressing as a woman in The Producers on stage, he said he would rather stick to the male outfit this time around, "especially after putting on the wig." This isn't to say that David doesn't know how to have a good time. He says he loves "self-effacing humor that the kids will love or relate to." "If you can stay relevant with the kids, then you'll last forever," Hasselhoff tells us.
We asked David what he thought about Burnout Crash coming to iPhone, and he instantly unleashed his excitement. Apparently, the Hoff has become quite the mobile gamer. He says people are often shocked when he tells them "I'm going on a 21 hour flight around the world." They wonder how he can remain sane while being isolated for so long, but he says he thrives on it. "I love it. It lets me catch up with television shows." He also spends some of that time gaming on his iPhone.
"I wasn't always a big mobile gamer," he says, but that a happy accident got him into it. "I needed a roadie, so my 25-year old nephew has started traveling with me. He accidentally loaded all of his games onto my iPhone." He says that it's funny when he's surrounded by people on a plane, and here are these "two grown men are playing with rollercoasters, going ooh!"
We here at Games.com love what the united front of Hasselhoff and EA have been able to put together, so make sure to check out one of David's commercials below, and keep checking back with us as we bring you more details about Burnout Crash on iPhone in the future.
Are you excited about Burnout Crash on iPhone / iPad? Have you already tried the game on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3? What do you think of the trio of commercials filmed with David Hasselhoff?
FarmVille: Provencal Gate, Egg Fence and Franken Bride come back for Farmer Appreciation Week
Ok, forget a "week." This Farmer Appreciation Event in FarmVille has now carried on for longer than that, with three additional re-released (formerly limited edition) items being available in the store for the next few hours. Granted, we're not complaining that Zynga is continuing to spoil players, but with these additional items being released, I suppose I'm just disappointed that the double mastery has finally been turned off.
As it stands, these three items don't really share a theme, but if you're into Halloween (or Easter), you'll want to pay special attention to this trio. Here's a look at the three:
Provencal Gate
Originally Seen: French Chateau Event 2010
Cost: 10,000 coins (formerly 2,500 coins)
XP Gained: 100
Sells for 500 coins
Egg Fence
Originally Seen: Easter Event 2010
Cost: 7,000 coins (formerly 700 coins)
XP Gained: 70
Sells for: 350 coins
Franken Bride (Gnome)
Originally Seen: Halloween Event 2010
Cost: 150,000 coins (formerly 100,000 coins)
XP Gained: 1,500
Sells for: 7,500
To be clear, the stats for the two fences are for individually pieces of each kind of fence. If you want to purchase an entire series of fence items in bulk, your total cost will raise accordingly. Also, these prices are more expensive than when we originally saw these items released, but when you consider the fact that Zynga didn't have to give us this second chance, I'm willing to look beyond a price hike.
As is stands, I'd truly be shocked if we saw additional Farmer Appreciation Week items released in the game, but then again, I'm surprised to see this trio. We'll just leave it with this: If more items are released, we'll be sure to let you know. For now, make sure to purchase any of these items that interest you while you can - they'll only be around until tonight.
What do you think of this trio of re-released items? Will you take your second chance to purchase any of them, or do you already have everything from previous releases?
As it stands, these three items don't really share a theme, but if you're into Halloween (or Easter), you'll want to pay special attention to this trio. Here's a look at the three:
Provencal Gate
Originally Seen: French Chateau Event 2010
Cost: 10,000 coins (formerly 2,500 coins)
XP Gained: 100
Sells for 500 coins
Egg Fence
Originally Seen: Easter Event 2010
Cost: 7,000 coins (formerly 700 coins)
XP Gained: 70
Sells for: 350 coins
Franken Bride (Gnome)
Originally Seen: Halloween Event 2010
Cost: 150,000 coins (formerly 100,000 coins)
XP Gained: 1,500
Sells for: 7,500
To be clear, the stats for the two fences are for individually pieces of each kind of fence. If you want to purchase an entire series of fence items in bulk, your total cost will raise accordingly. Also, these prices are more expensive than when we originally saw these items released, but when you consider the fact that Zynga didn't have to give us this second chance, I'm willing to look beyond a price hike.
As is stands, I'd truly be shocked if we saw additional Farmer Appreciation Week items released in the game, but then again, I'm surprised to see this trio. We'll just leave it with this: If more items are released, we'll be sure to let you know. For now, make sure to purchase any of these items that interest you while you can - they'll only be around until tonight.
What do you think of this trio of re-released items? Will you take your second chance to purchase any of them, or do you already have everything from previous releases?
FarmVille Count Duckula's Castle: Everything you need to know
Truly kicking off the Halloween event in FarmVille (if the slew of decorations, trees and animals already released this month wasn't enough), Count Duckula's Castle has been released for building. This new castle can be built and upgraded through one of six stages, and you'll be able to "harvest the castle" - think the Haunted House from last year - in order to receive 1-4 Tickets every day for your "Halloween Ticket Basket." This basket hasn't come out just yet, but you can now build the Castle in full to get prepared.
To complete the initial construction of Count Duckula's Castle, you'll need to collect three new building materials in bulk:
12 Haunted Bricks
12 Goo
12 Knockers
As usual, you can gather these materials in a variety of ways, the most prominent of which is simply asking your friends to send them to you. You can send requests to friends for any of these three parts once every four hours. You can also send (and receive) gifts to/from friends by using them on the Free Gifts page, or you can purchase them outright for Farm Cash. Finally, it looks like you might be able to earn these items by opening Special Delivery Boxes, but this doesn't normally happen with new buildings, so don't be surprised if you open a few with no luck here either.
After the initial construction of Count Duckula's Castle is complete, you'll be able to immediately start upgrading it. Upgrading the Castle requires the same building materials you used before, but in larger quantities. For instance, to upgrade to level 2, you'll need to collect 14 of each item, rather than 12. Furthermore, upgrading to level 3 requires 16 of each item, and so on until you eventually get to level 6 (requiring 22 each). However, for Levels 4, 5, and 6, the Haunted Bricks are replaced with Creepy Candles. The process, however, is the same.
As one final note, while you can simply stick with harvesting your own Castle for Tickets, you can also visit your friends' farms and harvest their Castles for extra Tickets as well.
Again, the Tickets earned in from this Castle are apparently available immediately, so you'll need to hang onto them for a few days before we see the "Halloween Ticket Basket" itself release (that could happen sometime this week - perhaps Sunday). Either way, we'll make sure to let you know when the Halloween Ticket Basket launches, and what you can earn in side, so keep checking back!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
Are you happy with Count Duckula's Castle as part of this year's collection event, or would you rather simply reuse your Haunted House to earn Tickets?
To complete the initial construction of Count Duckula's Castle, you'll need to collect three new building materials in bulk:
12 Haunted Bricks
12 Goo
12 Knockers
As usual, you can gather these materials in a variety of ways, the most prominent of which is simply asking your friends to send them to you. You can send requests to friends for any of these three parts once every four hours. You can also send (and receive) gifts to/from friends by using them on the Free Gifts page, or you can purchase them outright for Farm Cash. Finally, it looks like you might be able to earn these items by opening Special Delivery Boxes, but this doesn't normally happen with new buildings, so don't be surprised if you open a few with no luck here either.
After the initial construction of Count Duckula's Castle is complete, you'll be able to immediately start upgrading it. Upgrading the Castle requires the same building materials you used before, but in larger quantities. For instance, to upgrade to level 2, you'll need to collect 14 of each item, rather than 12. Furthermore, upgrading to level 3 requires 16 of each item, and so on until you eventually get to level 6 (requiring 22 each). However, for Levels 4, 5, and 6, the Haunted Bricks are replaced with Creepy Candles. The process, however, is the same.
As one final note, while you can simply stick with harvesting your own Castle for Tickets, you can also visit your friends' farms and harvest their Castles for extra Tickets as well.
Again, the Tickets earned in from this Castle are apparently available immediately, so you'll need to hang onto them for a few days before we see the "Halloween Ticket Basket" itself release (that could happen sometime this week - perhaps Sunday). Either way, we'll make sure to let you know when the Halloween Ticket Basket launches, and what you can earn in side, so keep checking back!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
Are you happy with Count Duckula's Castle as part of this year's collection event, or would you rather simply reuse your Haunted House to earn Tickets?
FarmVille Halloween Items: Cookie Tree, Pumpkin Snowman, Mad Scientist Lab and more
With tonight's FarmVille update, we not only see the release of the new Count Duckula's Castle - a collection event for Tickets as part of the yet-to-be-released "Halloween Ticket Basket," but we also see new items being added to the game's limited edition Halloween item theme. We see some re-released items joining new offerings in this particular update, so let's take a look at everything that's available!
Trees:
Caramel Apple Tree - 5 Farm Cash
Big Caramel Apple Tree - 10 Farm Cash
Halloween Cookie Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Big Halloween Cookie Tree - 14 Farm Cash
If the Caramel Apple Trees look familiar, they should, as they've been available in the game before. This explains their cheaper prices, while the new Halloween Cookie trees come with the now higher pricing for both. Even though some of these trees are re-releases, however, they all share the same mastery stats. All four can be mastered at 75, 150 and 225 harvests for each level, individually for each tree. Remember, there's no reason to purchase the bigger version of each tree either, as the can be earned for free from Mystery Seedlings.
Animals:
Glow Skeleton (Horse) - 26 Farm Cash
Skeleton Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Ghost Goat - 16 Farm Cash
We knew all three of these items were coming to the game shortly, and luckily, our wait hasn't been very long. What has changed, however, is the Skeleton Horse's name. All three of these animals can be mastered, as you'd expect, while the Glow Skeleton can also produce a matching foal.
Buildings:
Haunted Tree House - 30 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, there are no coin buildings available to go along with this one, but this particular building has some fun details, including a "Spooky Bush" that sits outside the Tree House. If you'll recall, this Spooky Bush was released as a stand-alone item in past Halloween events.
Decorations:
Mad Scientist Lab - 20 Farm Cash
Nightmare Owl - 18 Farm Cash
Pumpkin Fence - 5,000 coins
Creepy Tree - 500,000 coins
Pumpkin Snowman - 20,000 coins
Even though the Creepy Tree is rather expensive, it comes with a glowing, evil face in the trunk, so I'll probably be able to personally justify a purchase of one on at least one of my farms. As for the Pumpkin Fence, this is a re-release, so if you have an area you'd like to separate, but didn't save enough Fence pieces from last year, now's your chance to fill in the holes.
Avatar Costumes:
Pumpkin - 20 Farm Cash
Pirate Male - 10 Farm Cash
Pirate Female - 10 Farm Cash
With this trio, you have two options for fairly generic pirate costumes. The girl's version is black and pink with what looks to be some sort of corset as a top, while the male version is black with accents of red, white and brown. As for the Pumpkin, this one comes with a hat, so if you already have a clever hat, know that you'll need to remove it to get the most out of this (admittedly expensive) costume.
All of these items look to be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. And with this week's release, you'll have a chance of earning a Pirate Gnome if you purchase enough of them. We'll let you know when additional items are released in the Halloween theme before the holiday proper, so keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of these newest Halloween-themed items? Which ones will you purchase for your farm(s)? Do you have Halloween items on all three of your farms, or just one?
Trees:
Caramel Apple Tree - 5 Farm Cash
Big Caramel Apple Tree - 10 Farm Cash
Halloween Cookie Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Big Halloween Cookie Tree - 14 Farm Cash
If the Caramel Apple Trees look familiar, they should, as they've been available in the game before. This explains their cheaper prices, while the new Halloween Cookie trees come with the now higher pricing for both. Even though some of these trees are re-releases, however, they all share the same mastery stats. All four can be mastered at 75, 150 and 225 harvests for each level, individually for each tree. Remember, there's no reason to purchase the bigger version of each tree either, as the can be earned for free from Mystery Seedlings.
Animals:
Glow Skeleton (Horse) - 26 Farm Cash
Skeleton Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Ghost Goat - 16 Farm Cash
We knew all three of these items were coming to the game shortly, and luckily, our wait hasn't been very long. What has changed, however, is the Skeleton Horse's name. All three of these animals can be mastered, as you'd expect, while the Glow Skeleton can also produce a matching foal.
Buildings:
Haunted Tree House - 30 Farm Cash
Unfortunately, there are no coin buildings available to go along with this one, but this particular building has some fun details, including a "Spooky Bush" that sits outside the Tree House. If you'll recall, this Spooky Bush was released as a stand-alone item in past Halloween events.
Decorations:
Mad Scientist Lab - 20 Farm Cash
Nightmare Owl - 18 Farm Cash
Pumpkin Fence - 5,000 coins
Creepy Tree - 500,000 coins
Pumpkin Snowman - 20,000 coins
Even though the Creepy Tree is rather expensive, it comes with a glowing, evil face in the trunk, so I'll probably be able to personally justify a purchase of one on at least one of my farms. As for the Pumpkin Fence, this is a re-release, so if you have an area you'd like to separate, but didn't save enough Fence pieces from last year, now's your chance to fill in the holes.
Avatar Costumes:
Pumpkin - 20 Farm Cash
Pirate Male - 10 Farm Cash
Pirate Female - 10 Farm Cash
With this trio, you have two options for fairly generic pirate costumes. The girl's version is black and pink with what looks to be some sort of corset as a top, while the male version is black with accents of red, white and brown. As for the Pumpkin, this one comes with a hat, so if you already have a clever hat, know that you'll need to remove it to get the most out of this (admittedly expensive) costume.
All of these items look to be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. And with this week's release, you'll have a chance of earning a Pirate Gnome if you purchase enough of them. We'll let you know when additional items are released in the Halloween theme before the holiday proper, so keep checking back with us.
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of these newest Halloween-themed items? Which ones will you purchase for your farm(s)? Do you have Halloween items on all three of your farms, or just one?
FarmVille Count Duckula's Castle Goals: Everything you need to know
Along with the release of the Count Duckula Castle in FarmVille's Halloween event comes a series of six new goals that will both introduce you to the collection feature itself, and also reward you with some fun and even themed prizes. Of course, these goals are timed, with you having two weeks to finish them. As of this writing, these goals are on a slow rollout, and may not appear in your own farm right now, but you can use our guide as a way to plan ahead for when they officially release. Note: These goals are subject to change at any time.
A Frightening Feast
Get 8 Banquet Invitations
Place Count Duckula's Castle
Harvest 75 Pumpkins
For this goal, you won't have to have completed even the base of Count Duckula's Castle - just place the building itself on your farm and that task will be complete. As for the Banquet Invitations, you'll need to ask your friends to send them to you. Finish this first goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Red Cat.
Lively Libations
Get 8 Spooky Grails
Harvest the Red Cat
Harvest 100 Grains
Yet again, you're left with the task of asking friends to send you some items - this time the Spooky Grails. As for the Red Cat, make sure to place it inside your Pet Run as it will come up to harvest much sooner than simply placing it on your land by itself. Finally, for the Grain crop, just pick any type of Grain crop from the store (Wheat and the like) and harvest it to finish this goal. You'll receive 50 XP, three Raven birds and 2,500 coins for finishing this one.
A Spooky Scene
Get 10 Scary Decorations
Upgrade Count Duckula's Castle to "Spooky"
Harvest 100 Fruit
You'll need to ask your friends for the Spooky Decorations. Meanwhile, the "Spooky" level of the Castle is simply the first level, which requires just 12 each of Haunted Bricks, Goo and Knockers. Finishing this next goal gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a pair of Spider Web covered trees (decorative).
Fun in the Dark
Get 10 Blindfolds
Master Red Cat to Level 1
Harvest 75 Golden Poppies
The Blindfolds are another item that you'll need to gather from friends, while the Red Cat can be mastered by simply making sure to harvest it every day. Depending on whether or not you have your Red Cat (the prize from before) in a Pet Run, and on if you've received any Mystery Babies at random from it, you may have already met this task's requirement before beginning the goal. For finishing this fourth goal, you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Purple Pumpkin Gnome.
Setting the Table
Get 12 Table Centerpieces
Master Red Cat to Level 2
Harvest 150 Vegetables
All of these goals seem to be fairly self-explanatory, so just keep plugging along, planting any vegetable crop you choose, along with asking your friends for Table Centerpieces, and you'll eventually finish this one off. For doing so, you'll receive 50 XP, a Pumpkin Snowman and 2,500 coins.
Finishing Touches
Get 13 Party Favors
Harvest 3 Ravens
Upgrade Count Duckula's Castle to "Eerie"
The "Eerie" level of the upgrade process is Level 2, requiring 14 additional Haunted Bricks, Goos and Knockers to finish. Meanwhile, you received the Ravens earlier, so make sure to pull them out of your gift box as soon as you receive them, so they'll have time to become "ready" by the time you make it this far. Once you complete this final goal in the series, you'll receive 50 XP, a Court Jester costume for your avatar and 2,500 coins.
All told, this goal series (when finished) at least guarantees you to have some sort of costume for your avatar for Halloween, if you decide not to purchase any of those available for Farm Cash in the store. Either way, we'll make sure to keep an eye on when the Halloween TIcket Basket will launch (the entire reason for Count Duckula's Castle to exist), so keep checking back with us!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
[Via FarmVille Freak]
What do you think of these new goals? Are the prizes worth the time you'll spend completing them?
A Frightening Feast
Get 8 Banquet Invitations
Place Count Duckula's Castle
Harvest 75 Pumpkins
For this goal, you won't have to have completed even the base of Count Duckula's Castle - just place the building itself on your farm and that task will be complete. As for the Banquet Invitations, you'll need to ask your friends to send them to you. Finish this first goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Red Cat.
Lively Libations
Get 8 Spooky Grails
Harvest the Red Cat
Harvest 100 Grains
Yet again, you're left with the task of asking friends to send you some items - this time the Spooky Grails. As for the Red Cat, make sure to place it inside your Pet Run as it will come up to harvest much sooner than simply placing it on your land by itself. Finally, for the Grain crop, just pick any type of Grain crop from the store (Wheat and the like) and harvest it to finish this goal. You'll receive 50 XP, three Raven birds and 2,500 coins for finishing this one.
A Spooky Scene
Get 10 Scary Decorations
Upgrade Count Duckula's Castle to "Spooky"
Harvest 100 Fruit
You'll need to ask your friends for the Spooky Decorations. Meanwhile, the "Spooky" level of the Castle is simply the first level, which requires just 12 each of Haunted Bricks, Goo and Knockers. Finishing this next goal gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a pair of Spider Web covered trees (decorative).
Fun in the Dark
Get 10 Blindfolds
Master Red Cat to Level 1
Harvest 75 Golden Poppies
The Blindfolds are another item that you'll need to gather from friends, while the Red Cat can be mastered by simply making sure to harvest it every day. Depending on whether or not you have your Red Cat (the prize from before) in a Pet Run, and on if you've received any Mystery Babies at random from it, you may have already met this task's requirement before beginning the goal. For finishing this fourth goal, you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Purple Pumpkin Gnome.
Setting the Table
Get 12 Table Centerpieces
Master Red Cat to Level 2
Harvest 150 Vegetables
All of these goals seem to be fairly self-explanatory, so just keep plugging along, planting any vegetable crop you choose, along with asking your friends for Table Centerpieces, and you'll eventually finish this one off. For doing so, you'll receive 50 XP, a Pumpkin Snowman and 2,500 coins.
Finishing Touches
Get 13 Party Favors
Harvest 3 Ravens
Upgrade Count Duckula's Castle to "Eerie"
The "Eerie" level of the upgrade process is Level 2, requiring 14 additional Haunted Bricks, Goos and Knockers to finish. Meanwhile, you received the Ravens earlier, so make sure to pull them out of your gift box as soon as you receive them, so they'll have time to become "ready" by the time you make it this far. Once you complete this final goal in the series, you'll receive 50 XP, a Court Jester costume for your avatar and 2,500 coins.
All told, this goal series (when finished) at least guarantees you to have some sort of costume for your avatar for Halloween, if you decide not to purchase any of those available for Farm Cash in the store. Either way, we'll make sure to keep an eye on when the Halloween TIcket Basket will launch (the entire reason for Count Duckula's Castle to exist), so keep checking back with us!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
[Via FarmVille Freak]
What do you think of these new goals? Are the prizes worth the time you'll spend completing them?
FarmVille: Plant Black Tulips for Halloween
If you've already completed Candy Corn and Jack O Lantern mastery in FarmVille's Halloween event for this year, but still want to fill your fields with haunted, spooky crops, you're in luck! A new Black Tulip crop was released in the game this evening, and you'll have a full month to plant (and more importantly - master) it.
The Black Tulip is unlocked already, without requiring Farm Cash, so you have no excuse not to plant it, other than simply not liking the look of the crop itself. Here are the Black Tulip's stats:
Cost: 50 coins per square
XP Gained: 3 per square
Harvest Time: 1 day
Harvests for: 200 coins
While the Black Tulip does give you a ton of XP when planted across a widespread area of land, the fact that you have to wait a full day to harvest (and then plant again) does limit your "leveling up potential." Still, these crops are oddly pretty, for as dark as they are, being more of a dark, navy blue than actual black. Plus, if you're into crop mastery, this one's required to "have them all."
Again, the Black Tulips will be available to grow for the next 29 days (give or take a few hours), so you should have no problem mastering them in full, especially if you plant them across multiple farms. The first star comes at just 410 harvests, so work diligently and you'll have that exclusive mastery sign in no time!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
Will you plant Black Tulips on your farms? Do you just want the mastery sign, or will you plant them because they are Halloween in theme?
The Black Tulip is unlocked already, without requiring Farm Cash, so you have no excuse not to plant it, other than simply not liking the look of the crop itself. Here are the Black Tulip's stats:
Cost: 50 coins per square
XP Gained: 3 per square
Harvest Time: 1 day
Harvests for: 200 coins
While the Black Tulip does give you a ton of XP when planted across a widespread area of land, the fact that you have to wait a full day to harvest (and then plant again) does limit your "leveling up potential." Still, these crops are oddly pretty, for as dark as they are, being more of a dark, navy blue than actual black. Plus, if you're into crop mastery, this one's required to "have them all."
Again, the Black Tulips will be available to grow for the next 29 days (give or take a few hours), so you should have no problem mastering them in full, especially if you plant them across multiple farms. The first star comes at just 410 harvests, so work diligently and you'll have that exclusive mastery sign in no time!
Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.
Will you plant Black Tulips on your farms? Do you just want the mastery sign, or will you plant them because they are Halloween in theme?
Zombie Life on iPhone: A delightful dissertation on the drudgery of life
Leave it to flesh-eating cadavers to get you to laugh about the monotony of everyday life. The Playforge has released Zombie Life to iOS devices, its second game that takes the developer's beloved zombies from the farm and plops them into, well, life. Really, there isn't a more fitting description of Zombie Life: It's your job to successfully assimilate this zombie into human life.
You'll rise from your grave into your very own house, greeted by a talking earthworm that will guide you along the path to successfully blending in with the rest of society. And you might laugh out loud once or twice along the way. Your first order of business is to get rid of the stink of decayed flesh, so what do you do? Put on some deodorant like everyone else, silly. As you traverse from menial job to humble career, expending energy along the way, your freshness will deteriorate and give you away to passersby.
Yes, to successfully become a part of human society, you're going to have to get one of those ... jobs. And zombies hate them as much as you might, especially when zombies have to start at rock bottom. (I guess zombies are part of the 99 percent, too?) Your first gig, after reporting to the employment office, will be as a janitor at the local burger joint. While you can enter any building and buy items like clothing for your customized zombie, furniture for your house or items like deodorant to keep fresh, you're going to need to work to earn the coin to do so.
Gallery: Zombie Life on iPhone
Each job seems to amount to a mini game of tapping on various objects, whether they be puddles, grocery bags or broken pipes, before they disappear. Doing so in good time will improve your performance score and hopefully net you a promotion. While you can work each job until you earn five promotions and a full uniform, you can move on to the next gig much earlier. And this is the main hook of Zombie Life, according to The Playforge CEO Vince McDonnell: Bettering your zombified self through hard work and dedication, and seeing the fruits of your labor in the clothes you wear and the things you own.
Well, that's what the studio hopes will keep you hooked until it adds Facebook Connect-powered social features through which your zombie friends will roam your neighborhood, showing off what they've accomplished. (This all sounds vaguely familiar, no?) For a little game that takes place within your 4-inch or 10-inch screen, Zombie Life is a shockingly affecting if adorable statement on everyday life. And a hilarious one at that.
Zombie Life gameplay
With its lackadaisical, piano-driven tune on loop as you roam the streets, chomping on citizens to boost your happiness just before clocking into your humdrum job, it's hard not to let out a smirk or a chuckle for how close Zombie Life hits home. (Look, if there was never a time in your life when you didn't feel like a zombie, well, then you haven't worked like the rest of us.) It's only by coincidence that Zombie Life was released in the thick of the Occupy Wall Street movement, but it couldn't be more timely.
Of course, Zombie Life is a free-to-play game that's supported by microtransactions for premium items like flashy duds or more energy to keep working. You know, like those games on Facebook you dig so much? While the game is missing some of the features that will make it truly tick such as your friends, you might want to get a leg-up on the competition now. You wouldn't want to find out that your friend's zombie is a Level 5 Repairman while you're still a lowly Level 2 Janitor, now would you?
Click here to download Zombie Life for Free on iOS Now >
Have you tried Zombie Life yet, or perhaps Zombie Farm? What do you think of The Playforge's approach to iPhone games?
You'll rise from your grave into your very own house, greeted by a talking earthworm that will guide you along the path to successfully blending in with the rest of society. And you might laugh out loud once or twice along the way. Your first order of business is to get rid of the stink of decayed flesh, so what do you do? Put on some deodorant like everyone else, silly. As you traverse from menial job to humble career, expending energy along the way, your freshness will deteriorate and give you away to passersby.
Yes, to successfully become a part of human society, you're going to have to get one of those ... jobs. And zombies hate them as much as you might, especially when zombies have to start at rock bottom. (I guess zombies are part of the 99 percent, too?) Your first gig, after reporting to the employment office, will be as a janitor at the local burger joint. While you can enter any building and buy items like clothing for your customized zombie, furniture for your house or items like deodorant to keep fresh, you're going to need to work to earn the coin to do so.
Gallery: Zombie Life on iPhone
Each job seems to amount to a mini game of tapping on various objects, whether they be puddles, grocery bags or broken pipes, before they disappear. Doing so in good time will improve your performance score and hopefully net you a promotion. While you can work each job until you earn five promotions and a full uniform, you can move on to the next gig much earlier. And this is the main hook of Zombie Life, according to The Playforge CEO Vince McDonnell: Bettering your zombified self through hard work and dedication, and seeing the fruits of your labor in the clothes you wear and the things you own.
Well, that's what the studio hopes will keep you hooked until it adds Facebook Connect-powered social features through which your zombie friends will roam your neighborhood, showing off what they've accomplished. (This all sounds vaguely familiar, no?) For a little game that takes place within your 4-inch or 10-inch screen, Zombie Life is a shockingly affecting if adorable statement on everyday life. And a hilarious one at that.
Zombie Life gameplay
With its lackadaisical, piano-driven tune on loop as you roam the streets, chomping on citizens to boost your happiness just before clocking into your humdrum job, it's hard not to let out a smirk or a chuckle for how close Zombie Life hits home. (Look, if there was never a time in your life when you didn't feel like a zombie, well, then you haven't worked like the rest of us.) It's only by coincidence that Zombie Life was released in the thick of the Occupy Wall Street movement, but it couldn't be more timely.
Of course, Zombie Life is a free-to-play game that's supported by microtransactions for premium items like flashy duds or more energy to keep working. You know, like those games on Facebook you dig so much? While the game is missing some of the features that will make it truly tick such as your friends, you might want to get a leg-up on the competition now. You wouldn't want to find out that your friend's zombie is a Level 5 Repairman while you're still a lowly Level 2 Janitor, now would you?
Click here to download Zombie Life for Free on iOS Now >
Have you tried Zombie Life yet, or perhaps Zombie Farm? What do you think of The Playforge's approach to iPhone games?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Deepak Chopra on Leela, social games and ... biotechnology? [Video]
What do social games, mandalas and neural plasticity have in common? Well, you're about to find out. Mega popular author and mind/body wellness specialist Deepak Chopra has released Leela, his new game for Xbox 360 Kinect and Nintendo Wii. The game is said to serve as a meditation tool, feature 43 mini games designed to engage the human body's chakras.
Each mini game is a practice in exercising one of the seven chakras, or spiritual centers in the human body. Players partake in activities such as soaring though tunnels of light and launching fireballs at rocks to do just that. The game also contains a social feature in which players create mandalas--geometric figures with meditative effects--and share them on Facebook.
We recently say down with Deepak to find out more about his involvement in the creation of Leela, published by THQ and developed by N-Fusion Interactive and Curious Pictures. We also asked him what he thought about Facebook games. His response is ... interesting. Check it out below.
Do you happen to practice meditation? How effective do you think a video game could be in that process?
Each mini game is a practice in exercising one of the seven chakras, or spiritual centers in the human body. Players partake in activities such as soaring though tunnels of light and launching fireballs at rocks to do just that. The game also contains a social feature in which players create mandalas--geometric figures with meditative effects--and share them on Facebook.
We recently say down with Deepak to find out more about his involvement in the creation of Leela, published by THQ and developed by N-Fusion Interactive and Curious Pictures. We also asked him what he thought about Facebook games. His response is ... interesting. Check it out below.
Do you happen to practice meditation? How effective do you think a video game could be in that process?
Poll: Give us your CastleVille impressions; how's the latest 'Ville?
The next game in the famous 'Ville franchise on Facebook is officially live. CastleVille is open for all the play, and in just one day the game has amassed 140,000 players, according to AppData. We know that developer Zynga Dallas is already quite proud of the game. And aside from a few game-freezing bugs, we're enjoying the game as well (at least this writer is).
Most notable are the game's soundtrack and artwork, which are probably the most robust seen in this type of Facebook game to date. And we're especially digging the game's focus on choice and clever, strategic kingdom design to get ahead. The game rewards players for being smart about the way in which they position things and how they choose to explore the world.
While CastleVille features many of the same trappings as its predecessors, little touches like these are certainly welcome. But we want to know what your gut reactions to CastleVille are:
What do you think of CastleVille so far?
Love it! This is the best 'Ville yet.Hate it! Thumbs down for CastleVille.I haven't had a chance to play it yet.I'm indifferent at the moment.
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
Have anything unique to say about CastleVille?
Most notable are the game's soundtrack and artwork, which are probably the most robust seen in this type of Facebook game to date. And we're especially digging the game's focus on choice and clever, strategic kingdom design to get ahead. The game rewards players for being smart about the way in which they position things and how they choose to explore the world.
While CastleVille features many of the same trappings as its predecessors, little touches like these are certainly welcome. But we want to know what your gut reactions to CastleVille are:
What do you think of CastleVille so far?
Love it! This is the best 'Ville yet.Hate it! Thumbs down for CastleVille.I haven't had a chance to play it yet.I'm indifferent at the moment.
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
Have anything unique to say about CastleVille?
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Christmas arrives a month early on Tamilyn3's farm
We haven't even been through Thanksgiving yet, but that hasn't stopped Tamilyn3 from embracing the Christmas spirit early this year in FarmVille. This spectacular farm sports incredible optical illusions and a plethora of carefully placed festive FarmVille winter items.
Though the farm is rather crowded compared to some other farms we've seen, the precise symmetry and patterns definitely make up for it. The optical illusions on Tamilyn3's farm are so good I almost forgot there isn't a "build wall" or "raise ground" tool in FarmVille. All you farm artists stand to learn something from Tamilyn3's design. By placing trees on top of her optical illusion walls, it appears as though the mountain actually rises up in front and above the boundary of the farm, creating a more believable effect. Usually, one of the shortcomings of such an illusion is that the raised ground is bound by the farm's walls, making it pretty clear that there is some hay bale and item trickery going on.
The only potential complaint I have about Tamilyn3's farm is that there is no snow on the ground! Perhaps this was a deliberate decision on behalf of the farm artist, but I personally would have opted for the white winter wonderland skin to go along with those great holiday items. That's quite a collection Tamilyn3. Thanks for getting us all in the holiday spirit a little early. Keep up the good work!
What do you think of Tamilyn3's winter farm?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist.
Though the farm is rather crowded compared to some other farms we've seen, the precise symmetry and patterns definitely make up for it. The optical illusions on Tamilyn3's farm are so good I almost forgot there isn't a "build wall" or "raise ground" tool in FarmVille. All you farm artists stand to learn something from Tamilyn3's design. By placing trees on top of her optical illusion walls, it appears as though the mountain actually rises up in front and above the boundary of the farm, creating a more believable effect. Usually, one of the shortcomings of such an illusion is that the raised ground is bound by the farm's walls, making it pretty clear that there is some hay bale and item trickery going on.
The only potential complaint I have about Tamilyn3's farm is that there is no snow on the ground! Perhaps this was a deliberate decision on behalf of the farm artist, but I personally would have opted for the white winter wonderland skin to go along with those great holiday items. That's quite a collection Tamilyn3. Thanks for getting us all in the holiday spirit a little early. Keep up the good work!
What do you think of Tamilyn3's winter farm?
If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist.
Sony shows off social savvy with Japanese PlayStation social network
But we doubt it's as fly as our mad alliteration skillz. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has revealed a web-based social network for its players. Andriasang reports that the new section of the Japanese PlayStation website is called "Play Community," and it serves as a social network for fans. Players can make friends, form groups and send messages to others through the new PlayStation-centric social network.
Most importantly, however, is that users can seek out other players for game sessions and create a "My Page" with a list of the games they play. This all sounds vaguely familiar--wait, didn't Microsoft just update its Xbox website with a social network of sorts? Why yes, yes it did. Just as Google+ and Facebook have started a duel when it comes to games, could it be that Sony and Microsoft have walked their paces?
It certainly seems that way. (Gentlemen, prepare your slapping gloves!) To jump start use of the new website, Sony has offered PlayStation Vita systems to three people--Japanese, we assume--who register with the network, make three friends and submit a comment to this blog post. Unfortunately, there's no word of Play Community hitting Western shores. But considering Sony looks to take the "social gaming revolution" worldwide with the Vita, we can't imagine this portion not following suit.
[Via IndustryGamers]
Could Play Community be a response to the recent changes to Xbox.com? Do you hope this network comes to Western PlayStation players? What's up with all the console-based social networks.
Most importantly, however, is that users can seek out other players for game sessions and create a "My Page" with a list of the games they play. This all sounds vaguely familiar--wait, didn't Microsoft just update its Xbox website with a social network of sorts? Why yes, yes it did. Just as Google+ and Facebook have started a duel when it comes to games, could it be that Sony and Microsoft have walked their paces?
It certainly seems that way. (Gentlemen, prepare your slapping gloves!) To jump start use of the new website, Sony has offered PlayStation Vita systems to three people--Japanese, we assume--who register with the network, make three friends and submit a comment to this blog post. Unfortunately, there's no word of Play Community hitting Western shores. But considering Sony looks to take the "social gaming revolution" worldwide with the Vita, we can't imagine this portion not following suit.
[Via IndustryGamers]
Could Play Community be a response to the recent changes to Xbox.com? Do you hope this network comes to Western PlayStation players? What's up with all the console-based social networks.
You named your Sim that, really?
In this new video, Sims Social creators talk about the names they gave their virtual counterparts. I was fully expecting to hear punny names like Richard Simmons or Captain Sim T. Kirk, but instead get a round of less-than-inspired noms de plume.
There's Hannah who named her sim Hannah M ("What the M stands for is a secret," she says) and another guy who hops into the wayback machine to revive Seymour Butts from an old Simpsons episode. Blah.
Well, on second viewing I guess they're not all that bad. I like Chorna the Trekkie's "Jim Bones," and how can you not love Lauren's ode to Brad Pitt (her Sim's is named "Lauren Pitt'). As for that "Awesome" guy -- not sure how much a name like that helps you flirt with the ladies, but I guess anything's possible in the simulated town of Littlehaven.
What do you think of these Sim names?
There's Hannah who named her sim Hannah M ("What the M stands for is a secret," she says) and another guy who hops into the wayback machine to revive Seymour Butts from an old Simpsons episode. Blah.
Well, on second viewing I guess they're not all that bad. I like Chorna the Trekkie's "Jim Bones," and how can you not love Lauren's ode to Brad Pitt (her Sim's is named "Lauren Pitt'). As for that "Awesome" guy -- not sure how much a name like that helps you flirt with the ladies, but I guess anything's possible in the simulated town of Littlehaven.
What do you think of these Sim names?
Pioneer Trail Wikiwah Tribe Goals: Everything you need to know
After the launch of the Little Crow event in Pioneer Trail, Bess has tried to form a friendship with Little Crow, and now wants to show her what it's like to be a cowgirl. You'll achieve this through a new event called "Thunder Moon and the Wikiwah Tribe." Apparently, Thunder Moon doesn't respect Bess quite enough to allow for such "tutoring," so you'll need to help Bess earn that respect through a series of goals, with some being one-time-only and some being repeatable.
First, the main goals.
Running to Dad
Have a Shaman Lodge
Harvest 30 Flax on your Homestead
Collect 10 Kippy's Belts
First and foremost, if you haven't completed the construction your Shaman Lodge yet, this guide will apparently automatically complete it for you. Too bad we all hadn't known that weeks ago, when we took the time to complete it ourselves, but that's another argument altogether. For the Kippy Belts, you'll need to ask your friends through a general gift request to send it to you. Flax, meanwhile, takes eight hours to grow. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 300 XP, 500 coins and a Holstein Cow.
Earn Your Feathers
View Respect Meter
Complete 4 Wikiwah Respect Goals
Tend a Spirit Eagle on your Homestead
A Spirit Eagle is earned by having 500 Wikiwah Respect. The only way you'll earn that much Respect is by going through a series of three goals over and over again until you've accumulated that much. Since there are only three goals, you'll need to complete at least one a second time for the second task above anyway, so I hope you're prepared for a long, drawn-out process to earn the Respect you require.
As you complete these three goals, you'll have a chance to earn five items, including the Spirit Eagle:
Medical Stick - 50 Respect
Ritual Drums - 100 Respect
Elderberry Tree - 175 Respect
White Sage - 300 Respect
Spirit Eagle - 500 Respect
Now, what are the goals exactly that will help you earn this Respect? Why, I thought you'd never ask!
Tend the Wild Frontier
Find and Heal and Injured Otter
Tend 20 Adult Moose on your Homestead
Tend 20 Adult Sheep on Neighbors' Homsteads
To find an Otter, you'll need to either tend debris, or hit the "Find Otter" button within this goal's window to automatically generate one. You'll need to gather Otter Milk to nurse it back to full health. Finishing this goal gives you 25 Wikiwah Respect points, along with 300 XP and 600 coins.
Respect the Tribe
Make an Offering in the Shaman Lodge
Harvest 40 Peas on your Homestead
Harvest 30 Apricot Trees on your Homestead
And now it makes so much sense why the Shaman Lodge was required here. Instead of having a new building to complete, you'll instead need to collect materials for an offering at the lodge. You need eight each of Smudge Fans, Prayer Feathers and Long-burning Logs (each of which are earned by sending out individual requests to friends), along with six each of Spiritual Visions, Ceremonial Fires and Cedar Incenses, which are all earned through general news items posted on your wall. Finishing this second repeatable goal gives you 600 XP, 75 Respect and a Spirit Vision Mystery Box.
Living Off the Land
Craft 2 Native Moccasins
Clear 10 Rocks on your Homestead
Clear 15 Stumps on your Homestead
The Native Moccasins are crafted inside the Shaman Lodge, using two Moccasins and three Colored Beads each. However, the Moccasins themselves are also a craft project, requiring 10 Leather Hides and eight Moccasin Soles each. You can earn these items by asking your friends to send them to you. When you finish this third goal, you'll receive 125 Respect, 900 XP and two Spirit Vision Mystery Boxes.
At this point, you'll need to go back and complete as many of these goals as is required to hit the 500 Respect total, that is, if you care about completing the main goal above. There doesn't look to be a time limit on finishing these goals, so go ahead and finish off some other things - perhaps the Stolen Flames timed goal - before making your way into this lengthy process.
[Image Credit: Zynga]
What do you think of this Wikiwah Tribe set of goals? Are you a fan of repeatable goals in Pioneer Trail, or would you prefer to get something over and done with just once?
First, the main goals.
Running to Dad
Have a Shaman Lodge
Harvest 30 Flax on your Homestead
Collect 10 Kippy's Belts
First and foremost, if you haven't completed the construction your Shaman Lodge yet, this guide will apparently automatically complete it for you. Too bad we all hadn't known that weeks ago, when we took the time to complete it ourselves, but that's another argument altogether. For the Kippy Belts, you'll need to ask your friends through a general gift request to send it to you. Flax, meanwhile, takes eight hours to grow. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 300 XP, 500 coins and a Holstein Cow.
Earn Your Feathers
View Respect Meter
Complete 4 Wikiwah Respect Goals
Tend a Spirit Eagle on your Homestead
A Spirit Eagle is earned by having 500 Wikiwah Respect. The only way you'll earn that much Respect is by going through a series of three goals over and over again until you've accumulated that much. Since there are only three goals, you'll need to complete at least one a second time for the second task above anyway, so I hope you're prepared for a long, drawn-out process to earn the Respect you require.
As you complete these three goals, you'll have a chance to earn five items, including the Spirit Eagle:
Medical Stick - 50 Respect
Ritual Drums - 100 Respect
Elderberry Tree - 175 Respect
White Sage - 300 Respect
Spirit Eagle - 500 Respect
Now, what are the goals exactly that will help you earn this Respect? Why, I thought you'd never ask!
Tend the Wild Frontier
Find and Heal and Injured Otter
Tend 20 Adult Moose on your Homestead
Tend 20 Adult Sheep on Neighbors' Homsteads
To find an Otter, you'll need to either tend debris, or hit the "Find Otter" button within this goal's window to automatically generate one. You'll need to gather Otter Milk to nurse it back to full health. Finishing this goal gives you 25 Wikiwah Respect points, along with 300 XP and 600 coins.
Respect the Tribe
Make an Offering in the Shaman Lodge
Harvest 40 Peas on your Homestead
Harvest 30 Apricot Trees on your Homestead
And now it makes so much sense why the Shaman Lodge was required here. Instead of having a new building to complete, you'll instead need to collect materials for an offering at the lodge. You need eight each of Smudge Fans, Prayer Feathers and Long-burning Logs (each of which are earned by sending out individual requests to friends), along with six each of Spiritual Visions, Ceremonial Fires and Cedar Incenses, which are all earned through general news items posted on your wall. Finishing this second repeatable goal gives you 600 XP, 75 Respect and a Spirit Vision Mystery Box.
Living Off the Land
Craft 2 Native Moccasins
Clear 10 Rocks on your Homestead
Clear 15 Stumps on your Homestead
The Native Moccasins are crafted inside the Shaman Lodge, using two Moccasins and three Colored Beads each. However, the Moccasins themselves are also a craft project, requiring 10 Leather Hides and eight Moccasin Soles each. You can earn these items by asking your friends to send them to you. When you finish this third goal, you'll receive 125 Respect, 900 XP and two Spirit Vision Mystery Boxes.
At this point, you'll need to go back and complete as many of these goals as is required to hit the 500 Respect total, that is, if you care about completing the main goal above. There doesn't look to be a time limit on finishing these goals, so go ahead and finish off some other things - perhaps the Stolen Flames timed goal - before making your way into this lengthy process.
[Image Credit: Zynga]
What do you think of this Wikiwah Tribe set of goals? Are you a fan of repeatable goals in Pioneer Trail, or would you prefer to get something over and done with just once?
Cafe World Fall Feast Event: Everything you need to know
I have some bad news chefs. Whether you're into multitasking in Cafe World or not, there's no denying that the Cook-A-Thon event of 100 goals is something to behold. Sure, some power users may have already completed that entire event, but I'd take a pretty confident guess that most of you aren't even close (which is fine, by the way, as I'm not either). Adding another meal, if you will, to our already full plates, Zynga has launched the Fall / Thanksgiving themed event in the game, surrounding a Festive Table and a collectible item called Fall Invites.
So far, only a set of five goals - given by Amelia - is available to complete in the game (complete guide coming soon), and in the first goal, you'll be asked to build this Festive Table in your Cafe. The Festive Table's base is free, and it requires the following:
8 Gravy Boats
7 Linen Napkins
8 Serving Platters
9 Fall Centerpieces
The Gravy Boats and Serving Platters are earned through general news items posted on your wall, while the Linen Napkins and Fall Centerpieces are earned through individual requests sent out to friends.
Throughout this entire event, you'll have a chance to complete two goal series along with two Catering Orders. You'll be able to unlock eight dishes and two stoves along the way, and collect invites for finishing these activities that will give you chances to win Cafe Cash. In addition, you'll collect Traditional Recipe Cards throughout this event, with each friend that responds being given a spot at your Festive Table in your own game. It's like you're asking your friends over for Thanksgiving dinner, but with just as much work as in the real world!
For the Traditional Recipe Cards, you can only ask the same friend to send another once every 48 hours, but once they respond to a single request (regardless of how long it takes, or how many individual requests you've sent them), they will not be able to send you anymore cards. One friend equals one card, I'm sad to say.
We'll make sure to bring you detailed looks at the event's goals and catering orders just as soon as things start to launch in full in the game. In the meantime, this event has already been given a 19 day time limit, so don't delay!
Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving content right here.
What do you think of this Fall Feast Event in Cafe World? Are you going to abandon your progress in the Cook-A-Thon event to start these Thanksgiving-themed activities, or will you try to complete everything at once?
So far, only a set of five goals - given by Amelia - is available to complete in the game (complete guide coming soon), and in the first goal, you'll be asked to build this Festive Table in your Cafe. The Festive Table's base is free, and it requires the following:
8 Gravy Boats
7 Linen Napkins
8 Serving Platters
9 Fall Centerpieces
The Gravy Boats and Serving Platters are earned through general news items posted on your wall, while the Linen Napkins and Fall Centerpieces are earned through individual requests sent out to friends.
Throughout this entire event, you'll have a chance to complete two goal series along with two Catering Orders. You'll be able to unlock eight dishes and two stoves along the way, and collect invites for finishing these activities that will give you chances to win Cafe Cash. In addition, you'll collect Traditional Recipe Cards throughout this event, with each friend that responds being given a spot at your Festive Table in your own game. It's like you're asking your friends over for Thanksgiving dinner, but with just as much work as in the real world!
For the Traditional Recipe Cards, you can only ask the same friend to send another once every 48 hours, but once they respond to a single request (regardless of how long it takes, or how many individual requests you've sent them), they will not be able to send you anymore cards. One friend equals one card, I'm sad to say.
We'll make sure to bring you detailed looks at the event's goals and catering orders just as soon as things start to launch in full in the game. In the meantime, this event has already been given a 19 day time limit, so don't delay!
Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving content right here.
What do you think of this Fall Feast Event in Cafe World? Are you going to abandon your progress in the Cook-A-Thon event to start these Thanksgiving-themed activities, or will you try to complete everything at once?
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