Earlier this evening, we brought you a look at a new collection that has already gone live in the Pioneer Trail - the Crafting Workshop collection - but doesn't have a building to go along with it... yet. According to the folks at CEGamers, this new building will be constructed like basically all others, via an item collection process that we've seen time and time again.
If these details end up being accurate (that is, when the building starts rolling out in full to all pioneers), you'll be expected to gather the following:
10 Metal Clamps
10 Large Nails
10 Metal Brackets
15 Hacksaws
15 Crafting Gloves
15 Crafting Goggles
From the looks of things, the Metal Clamps, Large Nails and Metal Brackets will be earned through general news items posted on your wall / feed, while the other three items - the Hacksaws, Crafting Gloves and Crafting Goggles - will be earned through individual gift requests sent to those neighbors that you think will be most likely to help you.
It's interesting to think of what this building (after construction) might actually be able to do. Perhaps it can craft new decorations or even craft building materials that you commonly need around the Homestead? Or, maybe it will have some other, completely new function in the game. Whatever the case, we'll stay on top of things, and will let you know when Zynga officially announces the launch of the Crafting Workshop, along with whether or not any goals come with it.
[Image Credit: CEGamers]
Have you received the Crafting Workshop on your Homestead yet? What do you think the building will be able to do once finished on your Homestead?
Chủ Nhật, 11 tháng 12, 2011
King.com hits top 10 Facebook developers, 1B games played a month
But wait, there's more: the company has also opened offices in San Francisco and Romania. King.com, London, England-based creator of hit Facebook games like Bubble Saga, announced it is now a top 10 Facebook app developer, according to AppData. The social game maker and games portal chalks the accomplishment up to reaching 1 billion games played monthly.
While that measure is across all King.com game platforms, the developer welcomes 17.6 million monthly and 4.2 million daily players on Facebook. Of course, the top performing King.com game is Bubble Saga. The company's Romania office will handle its mobile efforts, while North American business development will be led by former Gamelab president Jong Woo, King.com's new senior business development director in San Francisco.
"We are ecstatic to have not only reached a billion monthly gameplays, but to also become a top 10 Facebook developer. It's rewarding to see our games gain so much interest and excitement among our players–across all platforms," King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are taking this recent momentum and expanding our reach through North America by adding an office in San Francisco and new employees to that region so we can more closely connect with our partners and gamers there."
Most recently, King.com released Bubble Witch Saga to Facebook, which boasts more daily players than the company's top game at 1.7 million. Perhaps most importantly, this news confirms King.com's plans to strengthen its mobile presence, as social game makers are so wont to do these days. And something tells us those bubble-loving witches might get the treatment next.
Have you played either of the Bubble Saga games on Facebook yet? Which King.com game do you hope gets a mobile version next?
While that measure is across all King.com game platforms, the developer welcomes 17.6 million monthly and 4.2 million daily players on Facebook. Of course, the top performing King.com game is Bubble Saga. The company's Romania office will handle its mobile efforts, while North American business development will be led by former Gamelab president Jong Woo, King.com's new senior business development director in San Francisco.
"We are ecstatic to have not only reached a billion monthly gameplays, but to also become a top 10 Facebook developer. It's rewarding to see our games gain so much interest and excitement among our players–across all platforms," King.com CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are taking this recent momentum and expanding our reach through North America by adding an office in San Francisco and new employees to that region so we can more closely connect with our partners and gamers there."
Most recently, King.com released Bubble Witch Saga to Facebook, which boasts more daily players than the company's top game at 1.7 million. Perhaps most importantly, this news confirms King.com's plans to strengthen its mobile presence, as social game makers are so wont to do these days. And something tells us those bubble-loving witches might get the treatment next.
Have you played either of the Bubble Saga games on Facebook yet? Which King.com game do you hope gets a mobile version next?
Free Team Fortress 2 turns 20 to 30 percent of players into payers
Show me the mon--wait, scratch that. Valve has already seen it, and co-founder Gabe Newell is interested. During a conference in Seattle, the overseer of hit hardcore game franchises like Portal said that Team Fortress 2--its popular multilplayer shooter that recently went free-to-play--has seen incredible results in how many paying customers it has created.
"And then the conversion rate, when we talk to partners who do free-to-play, a lot of people see about a 2 to 3 percent conversion rate of the people in their audience who actually buy something, and then with Team Fortress 2, which looks more like Arkham Asylum in terms of the user profile and the content, we see about a 20 to 30 percent conversion rate of people who are playing those games who buy something," Newell revealed, according to Geekwire.
Newell alluded to the average number of social gamers that pay for in-game items and boosts. Calling it a fairly recent statistic, the Valve CEO said that's far larger than games like, say, FarmVille experience. "We don't understand what's going on," Newell said. "All we know is we're going to keep running these experiments to try and understand better what it is that our customers are telling us."
So, expect more of Valve's game franchises to go free-to-play for its 35 million plus Steam (its popular games distribution service) users. But consider the ripple effect Newell's words might have on other traditional game companies. Other than Valve's games, more hardcore games will undoubtedly go free-to-play. And they'll all have those blasted social games to thank.
[Via Develop]
Will Newell's words inspire even more traditional game companies to go free-to-play? Is this where gaming is headed across the board?
"And then the conversion rate, when we talk to partners who do free-to-play, a lot of people see about a 2 to 3 percent conversion rate of the people in their audience who actually buy something, and then with Team Fortress 2, which looks more like Arkham Asylum in terms of the user profile and the content, we see about a 20 to 30 percent conversion rate of people who are playing those games who buy something," Newell revealed, according to Geekwire.
Newell alluded to the average number of social gamers that pay for in-game items and boosts. Calling it a fairly recent statistic, the Valve CEO said that's far larger than games like, say, FarmVille experience. "We don't understand what's going on," Newell said. "All we know is we're going to keep running these experiments to try and understand better what it is that our customers are telling us."
So, expect more of Valve's game franchises to go free-to-play for its 35 million plus Steam (its popular games distribution service) users. But consider the ripple effect Newell's words might have on other traditional game companies. Other than Valve's games, more hardcore games will undoubtedly go free-to-play. And they'll all have those blasted social games to thank.
[Via Develop]
Will Newell's words inspire even more traditional game companies to go free-to-play? Is this where gaming is headed across the board?
Thứ Sáu, 9 tháng 12, 2011
Avast ye, bingo fans! Gamesville's Pirate Cove Bingo sails on Facebook
Not to be confused with a Zynga game, Gamesville is a large web games portal that's been proudly "Wasting your time since 1996". Back in March, Gamesville debuted their first Facebook game, Super Chef Full Boil, as a Facebook exclusive, along with their usual promises of free cash drawings and prizes for players. But during the summer, the game was quietly dropped from Facebook, and now exists solely on Gamesville.
Undaunted, Gamesville unleashed another Facebook game today, a pirate-themed bingo game, with a rum-lovin' pirate announcer in tow, called Pirate Cove Bingo. Unlike Super Chef Full Boil, a puzzler that required Facebook players to register on Gamesville.com to participate in free cash and prize drawings, Pirate Cove Bingo is Facebook player-friendly.
In Pirate Cove Bingo, there's a $25 USD daily sweepstakes drawing. Every player gets unlimited White Cards and 5 Gold Cards per day to play bingo. If you get a bingo while using a Gold Card, the Gold Card becomes submitted as an entry to the day's daily sweepstakes.
Pirate Cove Bingo
However, only players from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada who are 18 years-old and above are eligible for the sweepstakes. On top of that, Canadians have an extra hurdle where they must "answer a mathematical, time-limited question administered by telephone, mail or email" if they are chosen as winners. (This requirement is likely a quirk of Canadian law, and not the fault of Gamesville, which is based in Waltham, MA.)
Pirate Cove Bingo creators
Like most Facebook games, it's free-to-play, though I suspect Gamesville will eventually allow players to buy more Gold Cards using Facebook Credits. There's already future plans to offer a level and ranking system, new game rooms, and coins later on. The thirty-three seconds between rounds are used to run commercials for the game's sponsors. I've seen one recurring commercial for the Nintendo 3DS so far. As for social elements, there's a chat room and leaderboard of the eleven, most recent sweepstakes winners.
Click here to play Pirate Cove Bingo on Facebook now >
Do you prefer playing bingo in real life or online? Do you have a favorite bingo game on Facebook?
Undaunted, Gamesville unleashed another Facebook game today, a pirate-themed bingo game, with a rum-lovin' pirate announcer in tow, called Pirate Cove Bingo. Unlike Super Chef Full Boil, a puzzler that required Facebook players to register on Gamesville.com to participate in free cash and prize drawings, Pirate Cove Bingo is Facebook player-friendly.
In Pirate Cove Bingo, there's a $25 USD daily sweepstakes drawing. Every player gets unlimited White Cards and 5 Gold Cards per day to play bingo. If you get a bingo while using a Gold Card, the Gold Card becomes submitted as an entry to the day's daily sweepstakes.
Pirate Cove Bingo
However, only players from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada who are 18 years-old and above are eligible for the sweepstakes. On top of that, Canadians have an extra hurdle where they must "answer a mathematical, time-limited question administered by telephone, mail or email" if they are chosen as winners. (This requirement is likely a quirk of Canadian law, and not the fault of Gamesville, which is based in Waltham, MA.)
Pirate Cove Bingo creators
Like most Facebook games, it's free-to-play, though I suspect Gamesville will eventually allow players to buy more Gold Cards using Facebook Credits. There's already future plans to offer a level and ranking system, new game rooms, and coins later on. The thirty-three seconds between rounds are used to run commercials for the game's sponsors. I've seen one recurring commercial for the Nintendo 3DS so far. As for social elements, there's a chat room and leaderboard of the eleven, most recent sweepstakes winners.
Click here to play Pirate Cove Bingo on Facebook now >
Do you prefer playing bingo in real life or online? Do you have a favorite bingo game on Facebook?
The Sims Social and Wendy's: Why ads like this will always make you click
The Sims Social has struck a new advertising deal with Wendy's and, like it or not, you'll probably participate in it. Why? In exchange for watching a brief ad for the new Wendy's W (the chain's new $2.99 monster burger with two patties, double cheese and a butter-slathered bun), you'll be rewarded with a virtual burger that will give your character a +3 energy boost.
sims social wendy's
In the larger scheme of things, a three-point energy boost isn't that big of a reward. In fact, it might be considered stingy. But you'll watch the Wendy's ad anyway because you're getting something for free. Why? The same reason people (maybe even you) jump up when someone announces that there are leftover sandwiches in the office kitchenette. No matter how stale they are, they're free! And free is awesome. And something free in a game that you like to play is twice as awesome. There's also something that makes in-game ads like this seem less insidious if you're rewarded something, anything for your time.
wendys the sims social w
So head to The Sims Social game on Facebook, and look for the Wendy's "Watch and Earn" ad sitting right below the game. Click it and get your free +3 energy. C'mon, you know you wanna.
Fess up: Did you watch the Wendy's ad for the free energy?
sims social wendy's
In the larger scheme of things, a three-point energy boost isn't that big of a reward. In fact, it might be considered stingy. But you'll watch the Wendy's ad anyway because you're getting something for free. Why? The same reason people (maybe even you) jump up when someone announces that there are leftover sandwiches in the office kitchenette. No matter how stale they are, they're free! And free is awesome. And something free in a game that you like to play is twice as awesome. There's also something that makes in-game ads like this seem less insidious if you're rewarded something, anything for your time.
wendys the sims social w
So head to The Sims Social game on Facebook, and look for the Wendy's "Watch and Earn" ad sitting right below the game. Click it and get your free +3 energy. C'mon, you know you wanna.
Fess up: Did you watch the Wendy's ad for the free energy?
The Oregon Trail mozies on over to Wii for a fine 'n dandy price of $20
Well, I reckon that there's a bargain. The fine fellers at Destructoid found that The Oregon Trail has taken a likin' ta ye olde Nintendo Wii console. (Is that annoying yet? Fine, we'll stop.) The game, developed by DoubleTap Games and published by Red Wagon Games under license by--who else?--The Learning Company, will hit stores on Dec. 9 for the budget price $19.99.
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?
At any rate, color us surprised to find out that the Wii has yet to be touched by the legendary franchise, as it's damned near everywhere at this point. Hell, the game even hit Facebook before it was released on the Wii. Consider us even more shocked to remember that this is The Oregon Trail's 40th anniversary of teaching youngin's everywhere the horrors of dysentery.
This version of The Oregon Trail will be far different from the one recently released by Gameloft for smartphones in that it will feature full 3D graphics. Players will also have the pleasure of driving the wagon themselves across the nearly 3,000 mile expanse of the United States in four different storylines spanning three time periods. (So, how different from the 1840s are we talking, here?)
Players will get to partake in many of the familiar activities featured in previous takes on The Oregon Trail, like fishing, hunting and customizing their wagons. Now, hold on. Forgive us for getting stuck on this, but isn't the time period kind of vital to the historical accuracy of the game? The Oregon Trail was an educational tool, after all--ooh, look: you can play it on 3DS, too!
[Via Mashable]
Are you psyched to see The Oregon Trail to hit Wii and 3DS? Do you think this game will be better or worse than previous releases of the game this year?
ForestVille: Zynga's next 'Ville' game headed to iPhone, iPad
Over the weekend, Zynga went on a domain shopping spree for something called ForestVille. Turns out, this is, indeed, yet another 'Ville' game for Zynga, and it will be headed to iPhone and iPad. The game already has an official Facebook fan page and here's a description pulled from the Info page:
"FROM THE MAKERS OF FARMVILLE and CITYVILLE HOMETOWN
Help Daisy the fox and her furry friends build a fabulous forest habitat! Establish farms and fishing spots for food, decorate with natural wonders, and expand your forest to unlock new species. Play ForestVille from Zynga and create the forest of your dreams!"
We can't help but notice Daisy's short shorts and buck teeth/fangs. If that's not a blatant nod to Daisy in Dukes of Hazzard, well, it should be.
"FROM THE MAKERS OF FARMVILLE and CITYVILLE HOMETOWN
Help Daisy the fox and her furry friends build a fabulous forest habitat! Establish farms and fishing spots for food, decorate with natural wonders, and expand your forest to unlock new species. Play ForestVille from Zynga and create the forest of your dreams!"
We can't help but notice Daisy's short shorts and buck teeth/fangs. If that's not a blatant nod to Daisy in Dukes of Hazzard, well, it should be.
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