This might be the first and last time you see these words from me: I cannot wait to hit the bayou. GameHouse just announced that its next Facebook game, Bayou Blast, is scheduled to hit the platform this October. Keeping with the recurring "Blast" theme started with Collapse! Blast, this game tasks players with matching gems to make them explode. Sound familiar?
Of course it does, but judging from an early look at the game courtesy of GameHouse CEO Matt Hulett, Bayou Blast brings a fresh twist to the sub genre. You are Bayou, the last remaining firefly of the swamp who must save his friends from a voodoo frog that has captured them in various gems. But rather than simply matching them à la Bejeweled Blitz, you must draw lines of lightning through as many identical gems as you can to destroy them.
Bayou Blast takes this hook and crams it into 60-second game sessions in a race for the high score. Much like its competitors and previous offerings from GameHouse on Facebook, Bayou Blast features weekly tournaments between friends and power-ups that unlock over time and can be bought using either in-game currency or Facebook Credits. These include staples like time extensions, exploding gems and score multipliers.
Bayou Blast gameplay
The game takes on a charming, cartoonish art style, and rewards players for blowing up gems with greater speed. In fact, match fast enough and the game board will burst into flame, which we assume means much more points. "We've really focused on the quality of the game," Hulett tells us. "I've got people outside my office who are constantly looking at different art effects. Like, 'Is the lightning looking the right way when [players] drag the mouse cursor?' The amount of detail they're putting into this game is really great."
According to Hulett, games like Collapse! Blast and soon Bayou Blast mark a significant shift in where the company is headed. About 50 percent of the GameHouse staff is now focused on creating social games for Facebook and mobile devices. (GameHouse was originally focused on downloadable casual games.) Speaking of which, both of these games will receive Facebook-connected versions for the iPhone and iPad early next year. And Hulett is confident that GameHouse's new direction will pay off.
"We have a good shot of being in the Top 10," Hulett gushes. "I think we've gotten really good at Facebook games over the past three to five months. Maybe Bayou Blast will be our first game [with 1 million daily players]." We'll see if Bayou Blast lives up to Hulett's ambitions this October. Until then, check out the trailer below.
Earn Money from Home
Friday, September 30, 2011
FarmVille iOS Update: Sail to Lighthouse Cove on iPhone, iPad
FarmVille for iOS is keeping up with the Joneses. Zynga just released Version 2.3 of FarmVille for iPhone and iPad, a major update that grants access to the brand new Lighthouse Cove expansion. Now, you can take your coastal farming village with you on your iPhone and iPad. The update doesn't contain much else, but let's not look too ungrateful--these updates are rare.
The update also includes "a barn-full of bug fixes and crash fixes," but what's more important is now we can finally hit up Lighthouse Cove on our tiny, touchy screens. To access the new content, just touch options button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and then "Travel to..." and Lighthouse Cove. The transition is surprisingly smooth.
However, you need to have already visited Lighthouse Cove on FarmVille for Facebook before you can check it out on your iOS device of choice. The mobile version of Lighthouse Cove even comes with a brand new theme song that sounds decidedly western, oddly enough.
FarmVille iPhone Lighthouse Cove
While you can access all the new crops, animals and trees the expansion has to offer, you won't be able to fix the place up while playing from your iPhone or iPad. Hey, at least you can keep up with things while in line at the grocery store, you know, buying real fruits and vegetables.
Click here to download FarmVille for iOS Version 2.3 Now >
Have you visited Lighthouse Cove through your iPhone or iPad yet? What do you think of how Zynga handles the mobile version of FarmVille? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
The update also includes "a barn-full of bug fixes and crash fixes," but what's more important is now we can finally hit up Lighthouse Cove on our tiny, touchy screens. To access the new content, just touch options button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and then "Travel to..." and Lighthouse Cove. The transition is surprisingly smooth.
However, you need to have already visited Lighthouse Cove on FarmVille for Facebook before you can check it out on your iOS device of choice. The mobile version of Lighthouse Cove even comes with a brand new theme song that sounds decidedly western, oddly enough.
FarmVille iPhone Lighthouse Cove
While you can access all the new crops, animals and trees the expansion has to offer, you won't be able to fix the place up while playing from your iPhone or iPad. Hey, at least you can keep up with things while in line at the grocery store, you know, buying real fruits and vegetables.
Click here to download FarmVille for iOS Version 2.3 Now >
Have you visited Lighthouse Cove through your iPhone or iPad yet? What do you think of how Zynga handles the mobile version of FarmVille? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
Adventure World rockets to over 9 million players, thanks to promotions
Adventure World Mafia Wars promo
And it did so in just under five days. According to Appdata, Zynga's newest release, Adventure World, has finally found its second wind, gaining over 8 million players in almost five days. If you remember, Zynga Boston's debut game sat stagnant at under 500,000 players for over a week after its release. This wild growth is likely thanks to one thing: cross promotions.
Zynga has finally taken advantage of (some of) its 267 million players to give Adventure World some much needed exposure. During its first week on Facebook, the game enjoyed little to no cross promotion between the company's existing games aside from banner ads and the like. But now, Adventure World can be found in games like Mafia Wars through special promotions.
In this particular case, Mafia Wars players have until Sept. 30 to reach Level 5 in Adventure World and receive a special item for their digital mafia don, an Ancient Hammer. While the item won't exactly wow veteran Mafia Wars players, it at least has value to collectors. Before that, we saw hints of Adventure World being advertised within FarmVille, which has yet to happen.
So, you can only imagine how far Adventure World would go if such involved promotions were featured in FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail and Empires & Allies. However, we were under the impression that this type of cross promotion was through with the release of RewardVille, Zynga's cross-game achievement system that rewards players for using all of its games daily.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the developer can't avoid such arguably invasive practices if it wants all of its games to succeed. And that could ultimately rekindle the ire of its players, many of which are already fed up with resurgent demands to enter new games for items within their favorite games. (Hence the creation of RewardVille.)
Zynga looks like it's more dependent than ever on its swath of existing players, but the developer might want to cook up a more elegant solution of getting those players to play its new games. If not, Zynga might run the risk of losing its most powerful method of growth: the players it already has.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think players would up and leave if Zynga turned up the heat on its in-game cross promotions once again? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
And it did so in just under five days. According to Appdata, Zynga's newest release, Adventure World, has finally found its second wind, gaining over 8 million players in almost five days. If you remember, Zynga Boston's debut game sat stagnant at under 500,000 players for over a week after its release. This wild growth is likely thanks to one thing: cross promotions.
Zynga has finally taken advantage of (some of) its 267 million players to give Adventure World some much needed exposure. During its first week on Facebook, the game enjoyed little to no cross promotion between the company's existing games aside from banner ads and the like. But now, Adventure World can be found in games like Mafia Wars through special promotions.
In this particular case, Mafia Wars players have until Sept. 30 to reach Level 5 in Adventure World and receive a special item for their digital mafia don, an Ancient Hammer. While the item won't exactly wow veteran Mafia Wars players, it at least has value to collectors. Before that, we saw hints of Adventure World being advertised within FarmVille, which has yet to happen.
So, you can only imagine how far Adventure World would go if such involved promotions were featured in FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail and Empires & Allies. However, we were under the impression that this type of cross promotion was through with the release of RewardVille, Zynga's cross-game achievement system that rewards players for using all of its games daily.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the developer can't avoid such arguably invasive practices if it wants all of its games to succeed. And that could ultimately rekindle the ire of its players, many of which are already fed up with resurgent demands to enter new games for items within their favorite games. (Hence the creation of RewardVille.)
Zynga looks like it's more dependent than ever on its swath of existing players, but the developer might want to cook up a more elegant solution of getting those players to play its new games. If not, Zynga might run the risk of losing its most powerful method of growth: the players it already has.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think players would up and leave if Zynga turned up the heat on its in-game cross promotions once again? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
Adventure World rockets to over 9 million players, thanks to promotions
Adventure World Mafia Wars promo
And it did so in just under five days. According to Appdata, Zynga's newest release, Adventure World, has finally found its second wind, gaining over 8 million players in almost five days. If you remember, Zynga Boston's debut game sat stagnant at under 500,000 players for over a week after its release. This wild growth is likely thanks to one thing: cross promotions.
Zynga has finally taken advantage of (some of) its 267 million players to give Adventure World some much needed exposure. During its first week on Facebook, the game enjoyed little to no cross promotion between the company's existing games aside from banner ads and the like. But now, Adventure World can be found in games like Mafia Wars through special promotions.
In this particular case, Mafia Wars players have until Sept. 30 to reach Level 5 in Adventure World and receive a special item for their digital mafia don, an Ancient Hammer. While the item won't exactly wow veteran Mafia Wars players, it at least has value to collectors. Before that, we saw hints of Adventure World being advertised within FarmVille, which has yet to happen.
So, you can only imagine how far Adventure World would go if such involved promotions were featured in FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail and Empires & Allies. However, we were under the impression that this type of cross promotion was through with the release of RewardVille, Zynga's cross-game achievement system that rewards players for using all of its games daily.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the developer can't avoid such arguably invasive practices if it wants all of its games to succeed. And that could ultimately rekindle the ire of its players, many of which are already fed up with resurgent demands to enter new games for items within their favorite games. (Hence the creation of RewardVille.)
Zynga looks like it's more dependent than ever on its swath of existing players, but the developer might want to cook up a more elegant solution of getting those players to play its new games. If not, Zynga might run the risk of losing its most powerful method of growth: the players it already has.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think players would up and leave if Zynga turned up the heat on its in-game cross promotions once again? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
And it did so in just under five days. According to Appdata, Zynga's newest release, Adventure World, has finally found its second wind, gaining over 8 million players in almost five days. If you remember, Zynga Boston's debut game sat stagnant at under 500,000 players for over a week after its release. This wild growth is likely thanks to one thing: cross promotions.
Zynga has finally taken advantage of (some of) its 267 million players to give Adventure World some much needed exposure. During its first week on Facebook, the game enjoyed little to no cross promotion between the company's existing games aside from banner ads and the like. But now, Adventure World can be found in games like Mafia Wars through special promotions.
In this particular case, Mafia Wars players have until Sept. 30 to reach Level 5 in Adventure World and receive a special item for their digital mafia don, an Ancient Hammer. While the item won't exactly wow veteran Mafia Wars players, it at least has value to collectors. Before that, we saw hints of Adventure World being advertised within FarmVille, which has yet to happen.
So, you can only imagine how far Adventure World would go if such involved promotions were featured in FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail and Empires & Allies. However, we were under the impression that this type of cross promotion was through with the release of RewardVille, Zynga's cross-game achievement system that rewards players for using all of its games daily.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the developer can't avoid such arguably invasive practices if it wants all of its games to succeed. And that could ultimately rekindle the ire of its players, many of which are already fed up with resurgent demands to enter new games for items within their favorite games. (Hence the creation of RewardVille.)
Zynga looks like it's more dependent than ever on its swath of existing players, but the developer might want to cook up a more elegant solution of getting those players to play its new games. If not, Zynga might run the risk of losing its most powerful method of growth: the players it already has.
What do you think of Adventure World so far? Do you think players would up and leave if Zynga turned up the heat on its in-game cross promotions once again? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments
f8 Developers Conference: Facebook game shares move to the Ticker
Super Mario Facebook Share
You know those annoying pop-ups Facebook displays whenever you try to share something in FarmVille or what have you? Soon, those might be a thing of the past, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook boss announced the change in brief during the f8 Facebook Developers Conference, referring to a particularly hilarious Internet meme.
This change applies to Facebook apps across the board, but, of course, we're concerned with the games. According to Zuckerberg, sharing activity will be directly and automatically published to the News Feed or the Games Ticker, depending on what exactly it is you're sharing. And with that comes the privacy concerns.
Judging from Zuckerberg's brief mention of the change, this would cause apps to inform users upon installation exactly what activity they will automatically share. This information is extremely early, but we imagine that, if developers like Zynga were to implement this change, that players would have the be informed of those changes.
Later in the presentation, Zuckerberg mentioned that games will take even more advantage of the Games Ticker, which launched earlier this summer. The Facebook chief showed an instance in which a friend played the word "TEXT" against another in Words With Friends, which was displayed on the Games Ticker. He then proceeded to mouse over that Ticker notification, and it displayed a snapshot of the game board.
Words with Friends Share
Of course, you could then jump into the game and start a match with either player. In short, the day of the game-stopping share notification will soon be over. In its place, much of the viral sharing in Facebook games seems as if it will take place in the Games Ticker. It appears that these changes have already taken place in Words With Friends.
When these specific changes will take place has yet to be announced, though we imagine much of them will be up to the developers. And if FarmVille players' reactions to when Zynga made similar changes to its flagship game is any indication, we're opinons will be ... mixed. We'll keep you posted.
What do you think of Facebook doing away with the game share notifications, automating them and moving them into the Games Ticker? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
You know those annoying pop-ups Facebook displays whenever you try to share something in FarmVille or what have you? Soon, those might be a thing of the past, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook boss announced the change in brief during the f8 Facebook Developers Conference, referring to a particularly hilarious Internet meme.
This change applies to Facebook apps across the board, but, of course, we're concerned with the games. According to Zuckerberg, sharing activity will be directly and automatically published to the News Feed or the Games Ticker, depending on what exactly it is you're sharing. And with that comes the privacy concerns.
Judging from Zuckerberg's brief mention of the change, this would cause apps to inform users upon installation exactly what activity they will automatically share. This information is extremely early, but we imagine that, if developers like Zynga were to implement this change, that players would have the be informed of those changes.
Later in the presentation, Zuckerberg mentioned that games will take even more advantage of the Games Ticker, which launched earlier this summer. The Facebook chief showed an instance in which a friend played the word "TEXT" against another in Words With Friends, which was displayed on the Games Ticker. He then proceeded to mouse over that Ticker notification, and it displayed a snapshot of the game board.
Words with Friends Share
Of course, you could then jump into the game and start a match with either player. In short, the day of the game-stopping share notification will soon be over. In its place, much of the viral sharing in Facebook games seems as if it will take place in the Games Ticker. It appears that these changes have already taken place in Words With Friends.
When these specific changes will take place has yet to be announced, though we imagine much of them will be up to the developers. And if FarmVille players' reactions to when Zynga made similar changes to its flagship game is any indication, we're opinons will be ... mixed. We'll keep you posted.
What do you think of Facebook doing away with the game share notifications, automating them and moving them into the Games Ticker? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
FarmVille Pic of the Day: Have fun getting lost in Aliciafay03's farm maze
Don't let the look of this farm fool you. Because the first thing someone would notice about Aliciafay03's FarmVille farm is that she's got "FARM VILLE" spelled out in an outline of red, orange, and blue hay bales, which I know isn't a big whoop. Hay bales as a design element have gotten pretty stale in the landscaping community. Bales are good for spelling out visual shout-outs, portraits, and the occasional fun art (care for a whopper?), but there's rarely any impressive ones anymore. But look closer at Aliciafay03's farm, and you'll realize that it's an interactive maze.
Originally designed to be a cornfield maze, Aliciafay03 was eager to debut her farm for Zynga's official Farm of the Week contest, so she released her entry before the corn had a chance to grow. This is probably better, cause a cornfield would've obscured all the clever lettering. What we know about hay bales is that there's a cheat for players to harvest crops faster by trapping your FarmVille farming avatar in hay bales -- now here's where the interactive part comes in -- so if you click one end of this farm, your avatar can't go anywhere but to run through the maze!
Have you ever played in a real cornfield maze? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
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.
Originally designed to be a cornfield maze, Aliciafay03 was eager to debut her farm for Zynga's official Farm of the Week contest, so she released her entry before the corn had a chance to grow. This is probably better, cause a cornfield would've obscured all the clever lettering. What we know about hay bales is that there's a cheat for players to harvest crops faster by trapping your FarmVille farming avatar in hay bales -- now here's where the interactive part comes in -- so if you click one end of this farm, your avatar can't go anywhere but to run through the maze!
Have you ever played in a real cornfield maze? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
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.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Social game network Hi5 suffers 'significant' layoffs, pushes onward
Hopefully not sounding too crass, but this is one of the unfortunate if efficient advantages of technology. TechCrunch reports that Hi5, a social game network looking to compete with Google+ Games and Facebook in 2012, has laid off 28 employees. The decision, confirmed by infamous pundit and Hi5 president and CTO Alex St. John, was made in response to new tech:
"We have also been building the next generation site in a new architecture, .NET framework, and have moved away from Open Source and Java technology," St. John told TechCrunch. "As we have recently turned the corner on our technology migration efforts we have been able to significantly reduce the number of positions required to support the older hi5 site and are in the process of re-organizing the company to focus entirely on the development and deployment of our next generation social play site."
Simply put, technological advances in how the future Hi5 website will work has led to automation in web support that was before handled by multiple employees. Since the new website can handle much of those tasks on its own, 28 of those full-time and contract workers were deemed no longer necessary. TechCrunch recalls this is far from the first time Hi5 has trimmed the fat, so to speak.
The company, originally a general-use social network, has since pivoted toward capitalizing on social gaming. Early next year, it will unveil its next generation social gaming network with 28 fewer people to celebrate, sadly. "The departing folks were very talented and we hated to let them go but our business is changing rapidly now," St. John said to TechCrunch. "We hope that other great companies in this area snap them up quickly."
Even with its automated enhancements, it will be interesting to see just whether Hi5 can hop into the ring with the big league players, Facebook and Google. Its strategy doesn't seem to be one of scale, so we're intrigued to see what's up St. John's sleeve. Regardless, best wishes to those 28 unfortunate folks--may you find super awesome gigs elsewhere.
What do you think of this news just as Hi5 prepares to enter its next phase of social gaming? Do you think the company could become a viable competitor to Facebook and Google in social games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
"We have also been building the next generation site in a new architecture, .NET framework, and have moved away from Open Source and Java technology," St. John told TechCrunch. "As we have recently turned the corner on our technology migration efforts we have been able to significantly reduce the number of positions required to support the older hi5 site and are in the process of re-organizing the company to focus entirely on the development and deployment of our next generation social play site."
Simply put, technological advances in how the future Hi5 website will work has led to automation in web support that was before handled by multiple employees. Since the new website can handle much of those tasks on its own, 28 of those full-time and contract workers were deemed no longer necessary. TechCrunch recalls this is far from the first time Hi5 has trimmed the fat, so to speak.
The company, originally a general-use social network, has since pivoted toward capitalizing on social gaming. Early next year, it will unveil its next generation social gaming network with 28 fewer people to celebrate, sadly. "The departing folks were very talented and we hated to let them go but our business is changing rapidly now," St. John said to TechCrunch. "We hope that other great companies in this area snap them up quickly."
Even with its automated enhancements, it will be interesting to see just whether Hi5 can hop into the ring with the big league players, Facebook and Google. Its strategy doesn't seem to be one of scale, so we're intrigued to see what's up St. John's sleeve. Regardless, best wishes to those 28 unfortunate folks--may you find super awesome gigs elsewhere.
What do you think of this news just as Hi5 prepares to enter its next phase of social gaming? Do you think the company could become a viable competitor to Facebook and Google in social games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
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