Hard to believe that it was only two years ago that Mafia Wars launched on Facebook, and over that time the game has seen many incremental changes, which has both pleased and teed off devoted fans.
To celebrate this 24-month milestone, the mafioso game's offering double the loot for fighting for the next two days, plus a five free Throwing Knives (+65 attack skill) to help you hit rivals where it hurts. We're not exactly sure why this 'celebration' is focused fighting, though we suspect it might have something to do with the recent announcement that, in Mafia Wars Las Vegas, fighting will be "integral to conquering your enemies and completing your ultimate goal as the lord of the Las Vegas Underworld."
Monday, February 13, 2012
Same-sex marriage available in Frontierville
Zynga's new Farmville-meets-Oregon-Trail simulation Frontierville is so new that we're still wading in to reveal all the game's deepest secrets. That's all by way of explanation as to why we're just now learning that the game apparently allows characters to enter into same sex marriage.
As a blogger over at outsider gamer site Border House notes, marriage in Frontierville comes after a series of letter-delivered quests where the future love of your life demands certain chores be performed in preparation for their arrival. Only after these prerequisites are met do you get to meet and customize your spouse, setting their appearance and gender to your liking.
At first glance the option for same sex marriage seems like a big step forward in open-mindedness and acceptance of alternative lifestyles in the world of social games. Then you realize that the wall post that accompanies your Frontierville marriages still mentions a bride and groom alongside a smiling, heteronormative picture. It's quite possible Zynga just didn't think to go to the trouble of forcing spouses to be different genders, and so this feature is a nod to laziness rather than inclusion.
Either way, that sound you hear is probably an army of culture warriors revving up their outrage engines over the idea of Zynga exposing children to such "controversial" content.
Source
As a blogger over at outsider gamer site Border House notes, marriage in Frontierville comes after a series of letter-delivered quests where the future love of your life demands certain chores be performed in preparation for their arrival. Only after these prerequisites are met do you get to meet and customize your spouse, setting their appearance and gender to your liking.
At first glance the option for same sex marriage seems like a big step forward in open-mindedness and acceptance of alternative lifestyles in the world of social games. Then you realize that the wall post that accompanies your Frontierville marriages still mentions a bride and groom alongside a smiling, heteronormative picture. It's quite possible Zynga just didn't think to go to the trouble of forcing spouses to be different genders, and so this feature is a nod to laziness rather than inclusion.
Either way, that sound you hear is probably an army of culture warriors revving up their outrage engines over the idea of Zynga exposing children to such "controversial" content.
Source
YoVille: New Collectibles and Hollywood sets arrive
Three new YoVille collectibles have hit the furniture store, Animated Gorilla and Planes costing 32 YoCash, Rideable Camera Dolly 32 YoCash and YoWood Sign 16,995 Coins. Also the last set of the Hollywood themed items, these items range from carpets, curtains, ropes and many more items including The World Cup Plushies. Happy Shopping.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Report: Japanese bank invests $147M in Zynga
We can't imagine Farmville-maker Zynga is having any cash problems, what with its myriad sources of revenue and individual players dropping upwards of $25,000 on social games as a whole. But the company is nonetheless continuing to take on cash infusions from willing investors.
The latest investment comes in the form of 13.5 billion yen (about $147 million) invested by Japan's Softbank Corp., according to two anonymous sources who talked to Bloomberg Businessweek. You may remember Softbank as the ones that invested $17 million in social game ad network RockYou back in 2008.
Along with the $180 million invested by a Russian firm late last year, this latest investment would go a small way towards making Zynga's theoretical $5 billion market cap a reality rather than a suppostion. Frankly, we're wondering why the company doesn't just pull a Google and cash in with a public-auction style initial public offering while the iron is still hot.
The latest investment comes in the form of 13.5 billion yen (about $147 million) invested by Japan's Softbank Corp., according to two anonymous sources who talked to Bloomberg Businessweek. You may remember Softbank as the ones that invested $17 million in social game ad network RockYou back in 2008.
Along with the $180 million invested by a Russian firm late last year, this latest investment would go a small way towards making Zynga's theoretical $5 billion market cap a reality rather than a suppostion. Frankly, we're wondering why the company doesn't just pull a Google and cash in with a public-auction style initial public offering while the iron is still hot.
FarmVille Official Podcast June 14th - 'coming soon' announcements
This week's Official FarmVille Podcast announced a couple of exciting updates that are coming soon:
- Changes to Wheat
Because of the important role wheat will play in the Cottage Crafting feature, it has been changed so that it's no longer an epic multi-day crop. It sports a new grow time, cost, yield, and mastery characteristics.
Click here to learn more.
- Dairy barn expansions are coming soon!
- Bees are coming to FarmVille
Coming sometime in the next few weeks, bees are coming to FarmVille. Not only will they be available in the game, but FarmVille is building an entire feature around them. More info on the bee section will be posted soon.
- Changes to Wheat
Because of the important role wheat will play in the Cottage Crafting feature, it has been changed so that it's no longer an epic multi-day crop. It sports a new grow time, cost, yield, and mastery characteristics.
Click here to learn more.
- Dairy barn expansions are coming soon!
- Bees are coming to FarmVille
Coming sometime in the next few weeks, bees are coming to FarmVille. Not only will they be available in the game, but FarmVille is building an entire feature around them. More info on the bee section will be posted soon.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Pet Society Chocolate Boxes Glow in the Dark
Pet Society Glow in the Dark Box
Whee! What a nice surprise to see that the new chocolate boxes glow in the dark! They're even brighter than the skyscrapers in the window.
These boxes cost 550 apiece and give you a different piece of chocolate for the rest of this week. The chocolates themselves are nice, but we really like these beautiful boxes which can be used as decoration long after they've become empty.
We're not sure if the glow-in-the-dark feature was intentional or a mistake. The official Pet Society blog made no mention of it. Either way, we think it's fun, and the boxes get our highest rating of 5 paws. Here they are in the light:
Pet Society Chocolate Box
Which chocolate box is your favorite?
This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.
Whee! What a nice surprise to see that the new chocolate boxes glow in the dark! They're even brighter than the skyscrapers in the window.
These boxes cost 550 apiece and give you a different piece of chocolate for the rest of this week. The chocolates themselves are nice, but we really like these beautiful boxes which can be used as decoration long after they've become empty.
We're not sure if the glow-in-the-dark feature was intentional or a mistake. The official Pet Society blog made no mention of it. Either way, we think it's fun, and the boxes get our highest rating of 5 paws. Here they are in the light:
Pet Society Chocolate Box
Which chocolate box is your favorite?
This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.
Games.com blog takes on Casual Connect in Seattle
I'm feeling a little giddy this morning. Why? It's the first day of Casual Connect in Seattle. For those of you who aren't in the know, Casual Connect is a three-day conference where the who's who of casual games get together and, well, talk about casual games. That also includes social games, which is what we cover religiously on the Games.com blog.
This week, our crew will be meeting with people who make your favorite casual/social games and pick their brains about big trends and, hopefully, get a sneak peek at upcoming games. I'm especially looking forward to the always outspoken Hi5 CTO Alex St. John's Facebook Smackdown event, Playdom's John Pleasant's talk about the future of social games, hearing Ohai's Susan Wu's thoughts on what's next for social games after FrontierVille and World of Warcraft and learning more about the upcoming Google Games.
casual connect in seattle
And, like all trade shows, there will be lots of after-hours socializing. Why should you care? That means we'll get a chance to squeeze out more information on what games will be headed your way this year. If you want to stay abreast what's happening at Casual Connect, bookmark http://blog.games.com/tag/casualconnect/and follow us on Twitter.
This week, our crew will be meeting with people who make your favorite casual/social games and pick their brains about big trends and, hopefully, get a sneak peek at upcoming games. I'm especially looking forward to the always outspoken Hi5 CTO Alex St. John's Facebook Smackdown event, Playdom's John Pleasant's talk about the future of social games, hearing Ohai's Susan Wu's thoughts on what's next for social games after FrontierVille and World of Warcraft and learning more about the upcoming Google Games.
casual connect in seattle
And, like all trade shows, there will be lots of after-hours socializing. Why should you care? That means we'll get a chance to squeeze out more information on what games will be headed your way this year. If you want to stay abreast what's happening at Casual Connect, bookmark http://blog.games.com/tag/casualconnect/and follow us on Twitter.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)