Social games will help Facebook become Facebank by 2015

According to Metal International founder and president Ken Rutkowski, social games will boost Facebook Credit sales and account holdings more than anything else on the platform, TechWorld reports. But that's not all, Rutkowski believes that thanks to social games, Facebook and its Credits platform could become the largest bank in the world by 2015. If you use the term loosely, he might have a point, but Rutkowski is completely serious. "Facebook will be the largest bank by 2015," Rutkowski said. "I hear you say 'how can they be a bank' what's going on?"

TechWorld reports that Rutkowski believes Facebook is already making deals with major, real banks to bring credit profiles to Facebook. Wait, that's still not outlandish enough for him:

    In China and a lot of the Asian areas right now that is becoming a massive revenue source and that currency is going to start spreading and Facebook is doing deals with banks around the world right now to create an exchange mechanism. Why is its important to have a profile? They are going to start using that to determine what your credit worthiness is.

Did he just say that banks will use our Facebook profiles in replace of credit scores? So let's get this straight. Facebook shopping will be so widespread and ingrained into our culture in just four years that Facebook profiles will be used to gauge our eligibility to, say, get a loan? And it's all thanks to our rampant crop harvests in FarmVille spiking Facebook Credit sales?

While it's tough to dismiss his background--Rutkowski launches about 1 thousand companies a year through his Founders Institute in Los Angeles, Calif.--to say that Facebook will literally become an online-only bank through Facebook Credits in just four years is hasty. Though, I can't wait to see if he was right come 2015. I can see it now: "Facebank."

[Image Credit: Long Straws]

What do you think of Rutkowski's outlandish predictions for Facebook and games? If you had a choice, would you want to do your banking through Facebook?

FarmVille-maker Zynga's looking for a few good men (and women) to enlist in its new Fan Army

In an attempt to bolster its rabid fanbase -- better known as the Zynga Fan Army -- FarmVille creator Zynga has rolled out a new community hub that gives players access to Zynga contests, giveaways, wallpapers, game tips and a chance to be highlighted as a Fan of the Week.

zynga fan army page

The whole 'Fan of the Week' concept seems to be the most compelling part of this new experience. To be considered for the spot, players must submit a photo and their "greatest Zynga game moment," whether that's discovering a great tip for a particular game or *cue sappy romance tune* falling in love with a fellow player. People who have the most compelling entries will be highlighted in the 'Spotlight' section of the new Zynga community site.

To join the Zynga Fan Army (or just check out this new site), point your browser to www.zynga.com/community/.

FrontierVille Cheats and Tips: Finding Adobe Bricks

Another lengthy FrontierVille Goal series, another elusive item required to complete them. Since Zynga introduced the Ponderosa Lodge and Fancy Cabin to the game, many pioneers have been crying, "Where are the Adobe Bricks? I can't find them. Waaa!" While we doubt any of you cried like 7-year-olds, surely a good lot of you are frustrated, so here's how to find Adobe Bricks for both the Ponderosa Lodge and the Fancy Cabin.

Ponderosa Lodge:

Goal: A Man's Home is His Castle:

    Collect 10 Throne Plungers
    Have 500 wood
    Plant 20 Sunflowers


Adobe BricksThis fourth and final Goal in the Ponderosa Lodge series will reward you with all 15 Adobe Bricks needed to complete the Lodge. Throne Plungers will be requested from friends through the quest's menu window. Having 500 Wood at the time is as easy as chopping down some trees. Planting 20 Sunflowers will cost you 6,200 coins total and take at least 18 hours to harvest. Do this and the Adobe Bricks are yours.

Fancy Cabin:

Goal: Granny's Rocker

    Craft or have 4 Saltpeter
    Craft or have 40 Planks
    Tend 40 Cotton


Continuing the new trend, completing this final Goal in the Granny's Home series will reward you with all 20 Adobe Bricks for the Fancy Cabin. The 4 Saltpeter are obtained through the Manure Collection, which of course is completed by tending to animals and beating up varmints. The 40 Planks can be crafted in the Wagon for 7 Wood and 250 coins a piece, which will cost 280 Wood and 10 thousand coins total. The 40 Cotton will cost 24 thousand coins and take three days to harvest.

While it's going to take quite some time, this is how you'll find Adobe Bricks for both of the new buildings in FrontierVille. Happy manure hunting and tree chopping!

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.

Have you had trouble finding the Adobe Bricks? What do you think of Zynga's new gated approach to new content?

Gartner: Gamification will ... gamify 50 percent of companies by 2015

Boy, there sure are a lot of folks looking at 2015 already, huh? The hype train known as the gamification movement (thanks, Foursquare) has officially left the station now that Gartner, technology research and advisory company, foresees the game layer blanketing at least 50 percent of companies in just four years.

Gartner analysts also see gamification becoming as important to companies' marketing departments as Facebook, Twitter, eBay or Amazon. Some might see the idea of the game layer as over-incentivizing human behavior or replacing feelings of inspiration and ambition with an overwhelming carrot-on-the-stick mentality.

Who knows, they could be right, but it's comforting at least that non-game environments such as innovation, marketing, training, employee performance, health and social change [will be affected]," said Brian Burke, an analyst at Gartner. The firm was even so kind as to provide tips for developers to drive engagement through gamification.

    Gartner identified four principal means of driving engagement using gamification:

    1. Accelerated feedback cycles. In the real world, feedback loops are slow (e.g., annual performance appraisals) with long periods between milestones. Gamification increases the velocity of feedback loops to maintain engagement.

    2. Clear goals and rules of play. In the real world, where goals are fuzzy and rules selectively applied, gamification provides clear goals and well-defined rules of play to ensure players feel empowered to achieve goals.

    3. A compelling narrative. While real-world activities are rarely compelling, gamification builds a narrative that engages players to participate and achieve the goals of the activity.

    4. Tasks that are challenging but achievable. While there is no shortage of challenges in the real world, they tend to be large and long-term. Gamification provides many short-term, achievable goals to maintain engagement.

Well folks, this is it. These people are serious about changing the way in which you live, for better or worse. Whether you gel with the idea of your interactions with not only brands, but services and ultimately people being, well, gamified is worth some thought. Because, believe it or not, the game layer is already here (Zynga and RewardVille, no?) and--if Gartner's right--there's plenty more of it around the corner.

[Via VentureBeat]

[Image Credit: VentureBeat]

Are you a fan of gamification already with apps like Foursquare and SCVNGR? Where do you see the game layer going, and does that excite or worry you?

Playfish hires ex-Planet Moon Studios CEO Aaron Loeb as GM

Now that it's nabbing CEOs, EA must really want to catch up to and strangle Zynga. The omnipotent gaming company's social game development arm Playfish, just hired former Planet Moon Studios CEO Aaron Loeb as general manager.

Loeb will do much of what he did at Planet Moon Studios: "development of original and brand-oriented social games as well as the rapid expansion of the studio," Playfish says. During his 10 years as overlord of the Moon (never thought I'd get to say that in my career), Loeb oversaw the sequel to Drawn to Life on Nintendo DS for Wii.

Most recently, he saw tie-in games for Disney film Tangled on both Nintendo consoles from start to finish. And for some trivia, Loeb was also the founding editor-in-chief of gaming news site UGO, so he has that all-too-unique advantage of experience on both ends of the industry. (Lightning Round: He also is an award-winning playwright. Awesome!) Now, with potential talent powerhouses like Loeb, it's time to see what EA can do to gain some steam.

[Image Credit: Playwrights Foundation]

Do you think this hire will help EA and Playfish gain lost ground in the epic battle against the might Zynga? How do you think Loeb's experience in the editorial world will help him at Playfish?

CityVille: Celebrate Moms with new businesses and 20% off City Cash

As with many other Zynga games, CityVille is hosting its own Mother's Day event, offering users the chance to purchase two new businesses, along with offering a discount on City Cash. The two businesses are the Perfume Shop and the Candle Shop, with the Perfume Shop being available only for the next week.

The Perfume Shop, being the more exclusive item, costs City Cash - 32 City Cash, to be exact. You'll supply the business with 150 Goods to get started, and can then collect 800 coins from the building by default. The Candle Shop, meanwhile, costs just 2,500 coins to build, and requires only 100 Goods to run. You'll earn 420 coins each time you collect from the building, without the help of any surrounding bonus decorations.

As for the City Cash "discount," this is again a situation where bonus might have been a more appropriate word. For all players that redeem a Game Card (bought in the real world) or an eCard (bought online), you'll receive 20% more City Cash than you would normally. You won't save any money on your purchase of the Gift Card or eCard - your money will just go to buy more City Cash in the long run. This sale will be available until May 8 at 9PM PST, so don't miss your chance at free City Cash while it's available!

Zynga puts the FarmVille podcast out to pasture

It's the end of an era here, folks. This afternoon, FarmVille Community Manager Lexilicious had the sad job of informing players that the Official FarmVille Podcast will no longer be recorded. Apparently, there just weren't enough farmers listening to the Podcast for Zynga to justify the writing, recording and producing efforts required to create one.

What does this mean for the coming soon sneak peeks? Luckily, Lexi alleviated concerns by stating that the coming soon information will be posted on the game's official forums, under the Announcements section. This will still be done once every other Friday, keeping with the Podcast's schedule, just in a completely text format instead.

Regardless of the change (which, ultimately, is rather small) we at Games.com - The Blog! aren't going anywhere, and will continue to bring you all of the latest rumors, news, tips and tricks for FarmVille, allowing you to make the most of the game as possible.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Turn Bushels into new items via Craftshops

It's not often that Zynga itself releases a sneak peek for us to take a look at, but this morning, we found a new FarmVille loading screen showing off a new feature that will be coming to the game (presumably in the very, very near future). A new "Craftshops" building will be added to the game, and it looks like we'll be able to use our excess Bushels to create new decorations, consumables like Fertilize Alls, and more.

If we really go in-depth with this image, it also looks like Sheep will have a role in creating items as well. Could this mean we "sacrifice" dud sheep from the Sheep Breeding feature to create Love Potions? Or, could we just be using Wool from the Sheep to create new items? While that's unknown at this point, it does look like the Craftshops will be a replacement feature for the loss of Pig Slop and Truffle Hunting as a use for our excess Bushels.

This all makes me wonder, though. If Pig Slop and Truffle Hunting was so unsuccessful that Zynga felt they needed to remove it from the game, will the Craftshops suffer the same fate? Only time will tell, but as usual, we'll bring you all of the details about Craftshops when they release in the coming days.

What do you think of the idea of a Craftshop on your Farm? Will you use excess Bushels to create Love Potions or formerly retired decorative items?

Earn 2 Free FarmVille Farm Cash from California Milk Promotion

Does Zynga has something special planned for FarmVille? The developer has been releasing free Farm Cash promotions left and right over the past week, making me think that something super expensive might be in the works for a future release (the Craftshops perhaps?). Either way, I'm not one to turn down another free Farm Cash opportunity, and I doubt you are either. That being the case, be on the lookout for a new promotion under your game window sponsored by Real California Milk.

This new promotion is one of the quickest and simplest we've seen to date. While a promotional video will automatically start as soon as you open the Sponsored Link, your only step is to answer a simple question - what's a family pastime that you share with your loved ones? As soon as you submit your answer, your Farm Cash is rewarded, whether the trailer has finished playing or not. All told - you'll walk away with two free Farm Cash in less than 10 seconds (depending on your computer's specs). How easy is that?!

Have you completed the California Milk promotion in FarmVille? Are you saving your Farm Cash for something special, or will you spend it right away?

FarmVille Bug Report: Giant Sheep Pen and Pig Pen will take over your farm

I came across a very, let's say... interesting bug on my FarmVille farm today. When scrolling up to my large animal storage area, I found that my new Sheep Pen and my Pig Pen had become absolutely massive. I immediately snapped a screenshot, and then went to work to try and figure out how to resolve the problem. Travel to the English Countryside and back again - nope, large buildings still there. Remove a Sheep or Pig and replace them? That didn't fix it either (actually, it seemed to make it worse, as the buildings still showed the animals as being inside, even though they weren't). Ultimately, a couple of refreshes did set things straight, but it was an odd experience to say the least.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be the only one suffering from this particular issue, as users have even uploaded YouTube videos documenting the experience. I suppose all we can do now is add this to the long, long line of FarmVille glitches and bugs currently present in the game, and hope that Zynga works to restore things to normal as soon as possible.

Happy Island Facebook game comes back to iPhone/iPad via Island Tycoon

Almost a year ago (July of 2010, to be exact), CrowdStar and Sibblingz launched a paid version of Happy Island on iPhone and iPad. The game cost $0.99 and sold (expectedly) poorly due to the fact that players could simply log onto Facebook and play the game for free (that and it was riddled with bugs). Skip forward to October of last year, and the game was finally made free to download and play, but as it still suffered from bugs and crashes, it was eventually pulled from the App Store altogether.

Skip forward to now, and we see a resurrection of the Happy Island experience with a twist. The new version of the game is called Island Tycoon, and while it doesn't link to your Facebook account (meaning you'll have to start your island over from scratch), it retains the gameplay, graphics, and even soundtrack of its inspiration. You'll be able to download Island Tycoon for free for either iPad or iPhone, and can then start the process of rebuilding the best tourist attraction that you can using a multitude of food stalls, cultural attractions, decorations and so on.


The same basics from Happy Island are retained here, in that your businesses and attractions will gain coins over time and must be cashed out for profits. You can then use those profits to upgrade your businesses to produce more funds over time, or to simply purchase additional items and decorations for your island. While the user interface isn't incredibly appealing (with very simplistic font and a lack of theme retention), at least this game runs fairly smoothly.

In fact, through our time to level 10, I only experienced one complete app crash, when trying to place a food stall that gave me enough experience points to simultaneously go up a level. Sure, any crashing is bad, but no app is perfect, and Island Tycoon has definitely come a long, long way.

Again, you won't be able to connect to your Facebook account, so you will need to start over with this version of the game, and it also doesn't appear as though you can add friends or visit others' island yet either. Island Tycoon has only been around for less than a month, so that very well may be added in the future. In the meantime, you can download the game for either your iPad or iPhone right from iTunes.

Create your own levels and play your friends' in 'MyLevel'

MyLevel controlsIf you've loved retro platform games such as Super Mario Bros. or Lode Runner, then MyLevel is after you.

Created by Clinton Shepherd of Foolhardy Games with funding from Jumbuck Entertainment, MyLevel is a recently launched Facebook game that's equipped with a level editor so players can design their own game levels. Each level basically involves getting a character from point A to point B by avoiding various obstacles and pitfalls to make his or her way to the exit door -- which is essentially all the hallmark elements of a platform game.

But MyLevel becomes a social game on Facebook by allowing you the ability to play other people's level creations, for others to play yours, offers high score leaderboards to see who the best players are, and the option for taunts on Facebook walls.

So far, it's a niche title at best (presently running with under 300 players) and pretty limited in options (you can't change that annoying music), but it's always nice to see new games that try to do something different. Shepherd certainly talks a good talk, "Your average friend probably doesn't care two hoots if you just built a barn or found a cow. But if you say 'Hey, check out this level I made!' or take some time brag about how you beat your friend's latest level then you're actually communicating something of value and not just giving your friends status updates on your current progress through the game."

To play MyLevel, click here. Its official Facebook fan page can be found here.

PyramidVille on Facebook: The Zynga effect is no mirage

It's not exactly in good form to sum up a new game to the features of its predecessors, but with a name like PyramidVille that's basically unavoidable. Kobojo's runaway hit with over 2.2 million monthly players simply cannot escape the lens of popular games like FrontierVille and CityVille with how closely it attempts to emulate their success. Though, there are a few outstanding features in the game that Zynga would (and more than likely will) be smart to learn from. And while PyramidVille runs without a hitch and features an exquisitely animated presentation, there are moments in the game that will inspire the ultimate question: why?

If you're familiar with Zynga's stable of 'Ville games--which we'll just assume you are--PyramidVille doesn't present much of a learning curve, if one at all. Though, even if this is your first time playing a property management Facebook game, the tutorial does an excellent job of ironing out the basics. You are an Egyptian landlord of sorts, guided by Cleopatra herself to turn your single hut with a few workers into a sprawling sand-ridden city. To do this, you must (you guessed it!) plant crops, building new structures, and supply those buildings with Goods that sprout from said crops. See, we told you this one would be familiar.

PyramidVille in actions
However, what's interesting is that Kobojo has somehow taken elements more than likely inspired by FrontierVille and CityVille, and merged them into a single game. For instance, your avatar is fully customizable, and your actions are done through it--just like in FarmVille and FrontierVille. Actions that, of course, exhaust Energy that refills over time or can be restored instantly with Gems, the game's paid currency. Though, housing structures that increase your overall population of workers must be filled with Goods sourced from farming, a fundamental mechanic to CityVille. Did we mention you must also clear debris to place new buildings and decorations at the cost of Energy--sound familiar?

This process is essentially the cycle you'll encounter for the rest of the game. The game features several resources including Wood, Fibers, Metal and Clay. But unfortunately they're treated as items and not resources like in other property management games, meaning their not displayed in the interface but rather relegated to the Inventory system. Of course, these are unnecessary clicks that could have been avoided.

Gallery: PyramidVille on Facebook

To the game's credit, PyramidVille handles the creation of special buildings (like the Saw Mill that produces Wood products) far better than any Zynga game has, at least in its early levels. Instead of simply requiring you to either ask friends for unique materials or for them to fill staff within a specific building, those situations aren't nearly as prominent. For instance, to complete the Saw Mill you're required to harvest the land for Wood, Fiber and Clay, but you must ask friends to provide you with two Baskets. It's refreshing to see that PyramidVille isn't as reliant on friend interaction as its inspirations, and takes on a healthy balance of the two.

However, there are some glaring omissions that, when put under the scope of its predecessors, almost detract from the experience. Namely the fact that when interacting with objects, your rewards fall onto the ground, though picking them up by clicking has no effect whatsoever on, well, anything. There is no "bonus bar" that rewards you for picking up these items, so why even have them drop to the ground?

PyramidVille preview
Though, the game's most obvious mistake is, simply put, that it takes on too many features and mechanics from its more-established counterparts, all of which require Energy. This essentially leaves you motionless within what feels like seconds of playing, waiting for that blue meter to refill. PyramidVille certainly looks and moves beautifully, an accomplishment where even some of the big league players have failed. But Kobojo has created what seems to be a game that aspires to be a buffet of features that feels more like leftovers. If anything, PyramidVille is an incredibly alluring palette swap for those who have grown tired of the Old West.

Like the Sims Social Facebook page to unlock in-game rewards

While the simple fact that the Sims is finally coming to Facebook is enough to send players like myself into a virtual tizzy (ok, maybe a real world tizzy too), try this bit of news on for size: If you become one of the thousands of players that "Like" the Sims Social official Facebook fan page, you'll help all players (including yourself, of course) unlock some exclusive freebies in the game at launch.

So far, the fan page has gained over 150,000 Likes, and we've unlocked three new items for our trouble: a basic BBQ grill, a keyboard and an artist's easel. If the fan page can reach a million Likes, we'll unlock three more items along the way: a modern bookshelf, a white marble fireplace, and a blue claw foot tub. Want some more? There are spaces for three additional prizes, but we don't know what they are just yet. What do this mean? Simple: ask every man, woman, child, and heck - even animal - in your social circle to Like this fan page! We just can't wait to see what these new prizes can do!

Cafe World Grandma's Lost Dishes: Everything you need to know

If you've ever missed out on a limited time recipe in Cafe World, you're going to love the news I have for you now. Zynga has launched a new feature in the game called "Grandma's Lost Recipes," which will allow you to unlock six dishes that you may have missed otherwise. These six dishes are the Choco-Scotch Clusters, Corn Flake Chicken, Perfect Tuna Casserole, Angel Slices, Chef's Salad and Beef Skewers.

In order to unlock these dishes, you'll need to complete a series of goals, with one goal being available for each particular recipe. Sure, these goals are rather time-consuming, but consider the alternative of never having these recipes in our cookbooks, and I'm sure you'll see the value in completing them. We'll start with the Angel Slices dish, which is earned by completing the goal of the same name.

Cook 50 Dishes
Ask for 10 Translation Books
Ask for 8 Magnifying Glasses

Notice the wording here: Just cooking 50 Dishes is incredibly easy, and can actually be fairly cost effective if you choose to "cook" a very inexpensive dish. Just set dishes to cook, delete them from your stoves, and start all over again to quickly finish this task. Meanwhile, you'll need to ask your friends to send you the Books and Magnifying Glasses. Finish this goal, and just like that you'll have access to serving Angel Slices in your Cafe.


Unlock Tuna Casserole:

Cook 50 Dishes
Ask for 8 Translation Books
Ask for 13 Magnifying Glasses

Unlock Corn Flake Chicken:

Serve 70 Dishes
Ask for 8 Translation Books
Ask for 12 Magnifying Glasses

Unlock Choco-Scotch Clusters:

Earn 500,000 coins
Ask for 15 Translation Books
Ask for 15 Magnifying Glasses

Unlock Chef's Salad:

Spice 10 Friends' Stoves
Ask for 8 Translation Books
Ask for 10 Magnifying Glasses

Unlock Beef Skewers:

Serve 50 Dishes
Ask for 10 Translation Books
Ask for 8 Magnifying Glasses

As you can see, these goals are all incredibly similar, and share the common thread of requiring you to ask lots of friends for even more help to complete them. For the Choco-Scotch recipe tasks, if you're having trouble earning 500,000 coins, remember that you can sell things from your inventory (say, duplicate decorations and other items you no longer want) to give you a bonus in profit; it doesn't have to just come from serving and selling food.

Once you complete these six goals, you'll have access to these recipes just as though you had unlocked them weeks or even months ago. We'll make sure to let you know if Zynga adds more recipes to be unlocked through similar goals, so keep checking back.

Empires & Allies: Build an Opera House or Mint for a big boost in max population

If you're a higher level Empires & Allies player (say, above level 35), you may currently be disappointed in the lack of content, specifically Government buildings, that are available to you. In an effort to solve that, and give you guys something to look forward to building, today Zynga released the Opera House and Mint to the game's store.

The Opera House can only be built after you're level 35, and adds 750 citizens to your total population limit. It's a big money-earner as well, paying out 3,500 coins each day. The other building, the Mint, is more limited, only be available once you've crossed into level 45. For your efforts in building it (and heck, in hitting level 45 to begin with), you'll be given a boost of 1,000 citizens to your maximum population allowed, and can collect a whopping 6,000 coins from the Mint once each day.

There doesn't appear to be any sort of time limit on how long you'll be allowed to construct these buildings, so don't panic if you're nowhere near their required levels. They'll (in theory) still be there by the time you're ready. In the meantime, why not check out our in-depth Empires & Allies character guide, so you'll have a better grasp on your in-game neighbors as you work your way to those higher levels?

Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here.

Are you ready and able to build either of these two Government Buildings in your Empire? What do you think of their payout amounts? Are the profits too low for the amount of space each building takes up?

FarmVille: Former iPhone exclusive Rainbow Barrel available as limited time free gift

Back in June of 2010, Zynga released a series of decorations, animals and trees to the iPhone version of FarmVille that (then) weren't available in the Facebook-proper version of the game. If you've always held a grudge about those items as you didn't have access to them, you'll be happy to know that one of the items is now available on the game's free gifts page, but only for a limited time.

The Rainbow Barrel is a small wine barrel filled with rainbow colored apples. Don't be deceived by the game's free gifts page, farmers. Even though this item doesn't have "Limited Time" written underneath it (as of this writing), some in-game text confirms that it won't be around forever, so you'll want to send and ask for as many as you can, while you still can!

With the past few weeks seeing a resurgence in these formerly exclusive items, as they're being made available in other ways (the Silver Pony can be purchased from the store, for instance), it leaves us to wonder if the Rainbow Cart filled with apples will be next. I certainly hope so, and we'll make sure to let you know if that does end up being the case.

Do you already have Rainbow Barrels on your farm(s)? Will you ask for any of these items from your friends before they expire, or do you not care about small decorative items such as this?

CityVille: Influence the future of gameplay by joining the Citizen's Advisory Board

Here's a scenario for you. What would you do if you were given the opportunity to speak directly to Zynga about the things you like (or don't) in CityVille, knowing that they would actually listen to what you had to say? That'd be a pretty good scenario, right? The ability to actually cause change? Few can argue that the game has suffered its fair share of ups and downs, but now, Zynga is looking for a group of dedicated game players that are willing to share their every thought about the game on a new Citizen's Advisory Board, with the hope of improving it.

Think of this as a sort of town-hall meeting. You, along with a group of other players, will be able to discuss your thoughts on as-of-now-unknown topics (best guess would be recently released features, or perhaps those in development), all with the goal of something constructive coming out of each discussion. While Zynga looks to appreciate players' opinions, they do warn that you'll need to be able to listen to counter-arguments and other players' thoughts that will be different from your own without causing a fuss.

This being the case, not every player can be on the Citizen's Advisory Board, and you must first submit a formal application to be considered. You don't need to be a hardcore, I-play-12-hours-everyday kind of player either. So long as you're knowledgeable about what makes CityVille tick, and are willing to share your opinion in a polite way, you can apply. There's no telling how many users will be allowed on this board, or how often these future discussions will take place, but if you've ever wanted to speak your mind and know your voice was being heard (let's face it, there are too many forum posts for each to be read constructively), this is a great opportunity. Hopefully, Zynga will actually use fan reactions to actually improve the game, rather than ignore the fan base entirely as seems to be the case elsewhere...

Will you sign up to be a member of the Citizen's Advisory Board? What sorts of suggestions would you make for Zynga if they ask for your opinions on CityVille?

FarmVille Super Crops: Earn more XP and Bushels with these super-sized crops

Earlier this month, we brought you a sneak peek of a new Super Crops feature that we suspected would be launching in FarmVille sometime the near future. Well, our prediction holds true, as some users on the FarmVille forums are starting to receive the new Super Crop feature via a slow rollout (which means you could have received them too!). With this new feature, you'll be able to grow updated, super versions of a few crops, so long as you've already completely mastered their "normal" forms. For instance, you won't be able to plant Super Strawberries until you've already completely mastered the original Strawberry crop.

You'll also have to do a bit of work to unlock these Super Crops, even after you've fulfilled the prior mastery requirement. You'll need to earn the help of six friends, who must approve of your Super Crops before you can actually grow them. Once done, you'll be able to grow these Super Crops from the game's store just as any other crop. For our convenience, there's even a new "Super Crop" sorting option in the store's Seeds & Trees section, but it currently only functions (of course) if the Super Crops have actually rolled around to your farm. Unfortunately, it won't "force" the update as has been the case with other features in the past.

As of right now, it looks like only the following crops are available in Super forms (although we expect many more to be released in the future): Cotton, Cranberries, Grapes, Peppers, Pink Asters, Pumpkins, Strawberries, Watermelon and Yellow Melon.

As you plant these Super Crops, you'll be able to track your progress via the game's Mastery Menu [pictured above], and will earn all new dark brown and gold mastery signs for your trouble (you know, so you don't have two identical strawberry or pumpkin signs sitting right next to each other). If you're a dedicated farmer that has mastered all of the originally available crops in the game, along with those launched in the English Countryside, this will definitely give you something to work on for a while.

[Store Image Credits: Forums user GraceLebo]

Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.

Will you work on mastering these new Super Crops? Do you already have them available in your store? Which crop will you work on first?

Activision actively working on Facebook games, says CEO Bobby Kotick

At the end of June, Activision Blizzard Publishing head Eric Hirshberg gave off the impression that Activision would be focusing on Call of Duty: Elite and Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure as their main casual and social properties, but it turns out that the company's jump into Facebook might actually be coming sooner than we might have originally thought. As reported by Business Insider, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick confirms that "a lot of work is being done on Facebook games" within the company. The delay, he says, was due to the time required to build up a social games division after analyzing the particular kinds of talent needed to develop in the space.

Speaking with Forbes, Kotick explained: "[T]he skills that are required to do social games on a Facebook platform include analytical skills that are different than what we have in our business intelligence unit today. So we've had to go out and find people who have these unique kinds of skills –and there are very few of them that actually have proven their skills. So you have to find people who have the characteristics of being able to develop systems to analyze game play or game behavior."

As for what kind of games the company is currently developing, Kotick didn't say, although he did say that Activision has come to understand that many of the most popular Facebook games are ultimately resource management games, bringing back a genre that was incredibly popular a decade ago. Could this mean that Activision's Facebook games will include some form of resource management? Or, will they pull a 180 and take a risk to develop something never before seen on the platform? As more details of Activision's future social projects come to light, we'll make sure to let you know

With the big players like Zynga and EA holding the majority of the Facebook gaming pie, is it too late for Activision to come in and take a slice? Should they stick with the basic Facebook gaming mechanics of farming and city-building, or should they just adapt some of their console games for a social experience?

FrontierVille Inn L'Amour Goals: Everything you need to know

As the days creep on toward an eventual release of The Pioneer Trail, more Goals have appeared in FrontierVille to keep us occupied. Zynga has released the Inn L'Amour, a brand new Inn upgrade.

This admittedly interesting new feature allows players to take guests into their Inn to increase the Daily Bonus they receive each day. Hey, don't I know this feature from somewhere? Never mind that (it's CityVille), and let's get on with telling you what you need to do to complete these Goals:

A Clean Well-Lit Inn

    Start Inn Upgrade
    Visit 5 Neighbors
    Collect 15 Room Keys


To start your Inn upgrade, click on the Inn and select "Upgrade." Then, Humble Bob will appear to offer you the upgrade, which initially costs 1,000 Coins and 25 Wood. Then, just go from there. The 15 Room Keys come from your friends through requests. For this, enjoy 250 XP, 1 Grannys Gut Punch and 250 Coins.

Inn Upgrade Goals
Stockin' Up On The Goods

    Tend 50 Geese on Your Homestead
    Have or Collect 2 Minty Toothpaste
    Harvest 100 Fruit Trees on Your Homestead


This one might take awhile, unless you have 50 Geese and 100 Fruit Trees. The cheapest options here are, well, Geese for 330 Coins and Cherry Trees for 620 Coins a piece. The Minty Toothpaste comes from Peppermint Collection. Complete these tasks for 500XP, 1 Fuzzy Blanket and 500 Coins.

Finish the Inn La'MourInn Grand Re-Opening

    Have or Collect 2 Milk
    Harvest 50 Sunflowers
    Collect 10 Guestbook Signatures


Milk obviously comes from the Cow Collection, and harvesting 50 Sunflowers will take a whopping 15, 500 Coins and at least 18 hours if you plant them all at once. The 10 Guestbook Signatures seem to come from friend requests ... again. A sweet 750XP, 1 Fast Hands Boost and 750 Coins await the victor.

Feeling Inn L'Amour Tonight

    Have 9 Guests Visit Inn L'Amour
    Collect 2 Inn L'Amour Daily Bonuses
    Customize the Inn L'Amour


Inviting guests to the Inn, once it's built, is as easy as pressing a button. The Inn takes a max of nine guests, so just fill 'er up. Then, collect the Daily Bonus from the new Inn twice--the more guests in your Inn when you collect, the more and better rewards you'll score.


Inside the Inn
The guest list resets daily, so remember to keep stocked with new guests. Customizing the Inn is as simple as it is with any other building--click it and then "Customize." These simple tasks will reward you with a sweet 1, 000XP, 1 Door Man, 1,000 Coins when met.

[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here. >

Have you started the Inn L'Amour Goals yet? What do you think of this feature, and what about Pioneer Trail?

Gameloft beats FarmVille to the Android harvest with Green Farm

Alright, so you Android users and your fancy Flash can run FarmVille from the browser--big deal! It's still not dedicated app, and it looks like Gameloft, the French developer that recently brought Facebook it's unofficial World of Warcraft with Order & Chaos Online, has released Green Farm to the Android Market.

For those looking for a dedicated mobile game to farming on the go, it looks like Green Farm might be the place to go. (That all depends on whether it's fun, of course.) Seriously though, could you deny a game that justifies itself so boldly with bullet points like these:

    ADDICTIVE: Get hooked on farm life as you raise crops, trees & livestock.
    UNIQUE: Earn coins to buy a variety of seeds, animals and buildings.
    AWESOME: Make juice & cheese, or develop specialties like carpentry.
    NEW: The fun never ends thanks to frequent updates!
    And MORE: Customize your avatar, take on missions & utilize tractors, robots and more.


However, the game is only available on certain Android sets, though most seem up-to-date with current phones, according to the download page. Keep in mind one is also the Xperia Play, Sony Ericsson's new PlayStation-branded smartphone. With Gameloft entering the social game field and encroaching upon unclaimed territory, it'll be interesting to see how Zynga responds on Android. HTML5-based FarmVille, anyone?

Click here to download Green Farm for Android Now >

Have you tried Green Life on Android yet? Are you still waiting for a native FarmVille app on Android, or have you moved on?

Will Google wash out Facebook with its Google+ Games Stream?

Like a good, old fashioned Apple rumor, the Google Games effort has shed its layers one by one, revealing sliver after sliver of information as to just what the hell it is.

And today, we now know that Google intends to change how social games appear in a social network. According to Slashgear, the Google+ help pages have revealed the Google+ Games Stream.

This brand new feature will apparently be the hub to of all of your social game notifications. In other words, it looks like social games on Google+ won't be very different from those on Facebook. And yes, that's a good thing. "If you're looking for updates shared from games, check out your Games stream," the Google+ help page reads.

While the link it provides redirects to a 404 page, this is all the confirmation we need that the Google+ Games platform is preparing for battle with Facebook. (We just can't wait to see how this one turns out.)
The Google+ Games Stream



[Image Credit: Slashgear]

Which is your money on: Google or Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

CityVille says Viva Mexico! with new Mexican themed items

To celebrate Mexican Independence, Zynga has launched a full theme of Mexican themed items in CityVille this afternoon. These items range from small decorations to large landmarks, so we'll make sure to give you a complete rundown on these items to know what to expect. Keep in mind, while they do have a longer time limit than usual at anywhere from 12-14 days (the usual being a week), they will eventually vanish from the store, so do some shopping sooner, rather than later. Here's what's available:

Ice Cream Cart (Decoration)

    Costs: 5,000 coins
    Payout Bonus: 3% to surrounding businesses and homes; bonus 3% to Mexico themed items


Guerrero Residence (Home)

    Costs: 40 City Cash
    Population: 600-1200
    Rent: 296 coins every 18 hours


Sombrero Store (Business)

    Costs: 6,800 coins
    Requires: 170 Goods
    Supplies: 1,024 coins


Garcia House (Home)

    Costs: 13,500 coins
    Population: 120-240
    Rent: 18 coins every five minutes


Watch Tower (Decoration)

    Costs: 24 City Cash
    Payout Bonus: 24%; bonus 24% to Mexican themed items



Mayan Pyramid (Decoration)

    Costs: 72,000 coins
    Payout Bonus: 12%; bonus 12% to Mexican themed items
    Not Limited Edition!


Morelos Fort (Community Building)

    Costs: 70 City Cash
    Allows: 2,000 citizens added to max population cap


Hacienda de Dolores (Home)

    Costs: 65 City Cash
    Population: 1850-3650
    Rent: 451 coins every 3.1 days


House of Churros (Business)

    Costs: 40 City Cash
    Requires: 305 Goods
    Supplies: 1648 coins


On top of all of this, there's also a Mexico Mystery Crate available for 40 City Cash that contains one of four items: the Morelos Fort, Hacienda de Dolores, Guerrero Residence or House of Churros. Sure, you'd get two items from this crate at a discounted price, but remember that there's no guarantee you won't receive duplicates when purchasing more than one crate. That is, if you're going for both the Hacienda and the Fort, you may very well end up with two House of Churros instead.

Either way, we'll make sure to let you know if other items are added in this Mexican Independence celebration theme, but we wouldn't be surprised if it's a one-time-deal.

What do you think of this new theme of items? Which ones have you purchased for your town and which ones will you skip?

FarmVille Livestock Pen: Everything you need to know

While we may already have a place to store our Sheep and Pigs, a new Livestock Pen has launched in FarmVille this evening giving you even more room to do just that (on top of storing other kinds of animals, of course). This Livestock Pen allows you to store animals like Goats, Alpacas and Llamas (on top of your Sheep and Pigs) but unfortunately won't let you store any Sheep or Pig that you've created or received by breeding.

As usual, you'll be given the frame to your first Livestock Pen the next time you login to the game. From there, you'll need to collect some building materials, including 10 each of Water Pumps, Wires and Steel Beams. Yes, these Steel Beams are the same items you need to collect for the Lighthouse Cove repair project, so you'll need to prioritize which item you'll place these materials into first.

Once you've finished building the Livestock Pen, you'll be able to browse all of the animals that can possibly be stored inside by looking at the interior menu and then browsing through the 19 pages of animals inside. You'll be given a Red Goat for free when completing your Livestock Pen, and will then have 19 more spaces to fill with animals, for a full capacity of 20 as of this writing.

In terms of breeding, remember that you only need to have one of each kind of animal in your Livestock Pen in order to trigger "breeding." The cribs that you'll receive from your own Livestock Pens are guaranteed to be one of the animals currently placed inside, but when claiming them from friends, they can either be rare or common animals that can also be stored inside. To be specific, orange cribs contain common mystery babies, while purple cribs contains rare animals that may even include former limited edition animals that cost less than 15 Farm Cash when originally released in the store. As with other mystery babies, the common babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30.

All in all, this new Livestock Pen is the fifth of seven eventual animal breeding habitats we'll see released in the game. While we don't have any specific details about what the next two buildings will be, we'll make sure to let you know what they are once they release in the game.

Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.

What do you think of the Livestock Pen? Do you think there was a need for another building that could store Sheep or Pigs

FarmVille Livestock Pen Goals: Everything you need to know

To go along with tonight's launch of the Livestock Pen in FarmVille comes a set of goals (what, you didn't they we'd get away without them, did you?). These goals are of course sheep, goat and llama themed to go along with our new animal breeding building, so read on for how to complete these goals as quickly as possible (and of course receive your rewards).

Farmin' Ain't Easy

    Get 8 Farmer's Overalls
    Place 1 Livestock Pen
    Place 4 Whitewash Fences


Whitewash Fences cost just 300 coins per square, so spend the 1,200 coins on four and then delete them as soon as you're done with this goal. As for the Farmer's Overalls, 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 Grey Mouflon Goat.

These Boots Were Made for Farmin'

    Get 8 Pairs of Farmer's Boots
    Buy 3 Barrels
    Harvest 5 Sheep


Barrels cost 125 coins each, so at least this is another cheap expensive just to finish the goal. Gathering the Farmer's Boots is another task for asking your friends to help. Finishing this goal gives you another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and one White Llama.

Perqs for the Talent

    Get 8 Wool Blankets
    Complete the Livestock Pen
    Harvest 50 Vegetables


Luckily, it doesn't matter which of the vegetable crops you grow, so just pick something you have yet to master, or the shortest growth-time vegetable to finish this one off. As for the Wool Blankets - you guessed it - ask your friends to send them to you. As for completing the Livestock Pen, you can check out our guide to doing so right here. Finish off this goal to earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.

Hay-Ho the Dairy-O!

    Get 8 Piles of Hay
    Harvest the Livestock Pen
    Harvest 75 Flowers


Again, it doesn't look like it matters which kind of flower you harvest, so just pick the lowest harvest-time building and you'll be able to move on. Ask your friends for the Piles of Hay and eventually you'll finish this one off, being rewarded with 50 XP, 2,500 coins and Flower Sheep for your efforts.

Keeping Up With Baby

    Get 8 Livestock Tags
    Raise a Livestock Baby
    Harvest 90 Fruit


Remember, common Livestock Babies take 10 Animal Feed to grow, while rare babies take 30. Once you finish this goal, you'll earn another 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five Animal Feed.

Get Oat!

    Get 9 Oat Sacks
    Master White Llama to Level 1
    Harvest 100 Vegetable Crops


Again, plant whatever vegetable you like just to be done with this one as quickly as possible. As for the Oat Sacks, you might be lucky enough to have some extras on hand from the first set of Lighthouse Cove goals, but if not, just ask your friends to send you the Sacks that you do need. Finishing off this last goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Laxta Sheep.

Luckily, we're given a full two weeks to work on these goals, so if you have others that you need to clear off your plate first, feel free to do so without worrying about these expiring as well.

Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.

What do you think of these Livestock Pen goals, or the Livestock Pen in general

Coco Girl on Facebook: For the fervent fashionista in all of us

Alright, so the fashion game has already been done on Facebook. But Damian Harburger, CEO of Argentina-based social game developer MetroGames, thinks that it hasn't been done right. Well, until now. We know, you're used to seeing hardcore-skewed social games come from the developer like AutoHustle.

Consider this most recent release a fundamental shift for the studio. Harburger tells us that, from here on out, MetroGames will focus largely on women when it comes to Facebook games, and on the more hardcore crowd (mostly men) in its mobile efforts.

Coco Girl is a Facebook game designed for the fashionista in every girl (and guy, in this writer's very particular case). Every girl has her opinions on fashion--some are just more vocal than others, no?--and Coco Girl provides the medium through which to express them.

At every turn in Coco Girl, you're given the opportunity to voice your take on various outfits and in a multitude of situations. In fact, rating your fellow females' outfits is the basis of the game. Sure, players can visit various shops and dress their heavily customized avatar (seriously, even I spent at least 30 minutes fine-tuning my lady). But it's the ability to give other players' clothing choices your two cents, or Rubies in this case, that's the star of this fashion show.

Coco Girl isn't governed by an energy system or too much of a gameplay structure, though you are given daily tasks to complete and quests to embark on. The quests are simply introductory, tiny tasks designed to introduce you to the game's myriad features and customization options. Your Daily Ruby-Maker Checklist is the bread and butter of Coco Girl, and is essentially what's going to get you the Rubies you need to purchase now outfits, make-up and accessories.

Gallery: Coco Girl on Facebook
While in your character's home, you will notice a magazine called Fashion Expert. Every day, you'll open it up and rate at least 20 outfits based on whether you dig them, or whether they're appropriate for certain situations like, say, a job interview or a casting call for a horror movie. However, the amount of Rubies you earn for doing this depends directly upon whether you're opinions gel with the rest of the Coco Girl player base.

While this does well to keep you in line with "what's hot" at the moment, it has the potential to limit daring or unique fashion statements. Nevertheless this is perhaps the most elegant approach yet to having opinions play a meaningful role in a Facebook game. Players can then participate in various mini games in the Coco Carnival to add a dash of variety to simply voting on get-ups, which of course will result in precious Rubies.

The first of which is Fashion Slots, a game in which you must successfully complete an outfit that a fellow lady is looking for. You do this by stopping a spinning wheel of various clothing items in a particular category. As you continue to try and select the correct items, the wheel will spin faster. Then there is Elusive Treasures, a hidden object game that times you on how many, well, hidden objects you can spot within the time limit. The Final mini game is Love Machine, a puzzle game that has players rearranging pipes to create a direct path between two lovers.
Coco Girl Home
All three mini games offer a considerable challenge and refreshing variety to Coco Girl. More importantly, they also provide Tickets, a currency that can only be spent in Coco Carnival on more Rubies or accessories for your avatar to hold. Finally, you can create Daily Looks and Quest Looks--an important aspect of Coco Girl, if you want to be a respected fashion expert in-game.

Every look you create in the game, once saved, can and probably will be voted upon by other players--friend or not--in the Fashion Expert feature. The Daily Looks are voted upon using a star system, while Quest Looks, the outfits you create to best fit certain situations, are a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down affair. And at the end of the day in Coco Girl, it's all about the votes, it seems.

The ultimate Goal of Coco Girl is to have one of your outfits make it into the Daily Looks Hall of Fame. The get-ups that get the most positive votes are featured every day, and those that the score the most of all time get a spot and recognition forever. You can even buy those top-ranking outfits for Facebook Credits, if you want a competitive edge.

Coco Girl, on top of its detailed artwork, slick animations and varied gameplay, is all about what matters in a Facebook game about fashion: the looks and what people think about 'em, because we all have an opinion.

Click here to play Coco Girl on Facebook Now >

Have you tried Coco Girl on Facebook yet? What do you think of Facebook games directly geared towards women? Do you think any game thus far has been one that "gets it?"

Want to taste the FarmVille crops you harvest? Take a trip to Turkey

Oh, how the tables have turned, Zynga. It looks like some industrious folks in Göreme (a small town in the historical Cappadocia region of Turkey) cooked up the brilliant idea of opening their own FarmVille restaurant. There's only one small problem: We're sure Zynga is flattered, but we doubt these super fans have the clearance for such a fine establishment.

Kotaku's Stephen Totilo found the restaurant while on travels through the visibly gorgeous country, and took a few snapshots. The "FarmVille Cafe & Restaurant" even uses the official FarmVille logo and dishes inspired by the game like Shepherd Salad and FarmVille Salad, and more general items like Tuna Fish Salad and Chicken Salad.

There are certainly more dishes available, but these are all we can point up. I guess Turkey has some seriously devoted FarmVille fans ... and even more savvy entrepreneurs. If you want a taste of FarmVille, you better book a flight now--knowing Zynga, this probably won't last much longer. (Sorry, Turkish dudes.)

[Image Credit: Kotaku]

What do you think of this FarmVille inspired restaurant? Would you ever dine at an official FarmVille eatery?

Bossa Studios's Facebook debut, Monstermind, will crush your dreams

But in a good way, we promise. Like the U.S., folks in the UK are super cereal (isn't that what kids are saying these days?) about the social games movement. The Guardian reports that Shine TV has acquired London-based social game startup Bossa Studios for an undisclosed amount.

Elisabeth Murdoch's TV production company (recently bought out by daddy's News Corp) has reportedly been eying social gaming for a long time. And what do you know--her timing could not have been better.

According to The Guardian, 11-month-old Bossa Studios looks to unveil its first project, Monstermind (pictured), next week on Facebook. However, it looks like the game is available now on Facebook, though in an "open beta." (For all intents and purposes, the game is live and available for all to play.)

"We have long identified social gaming as a critical component to this strategy, and in Bossa Studios we discovered an entrepreneurial, creative team that shared our passion for creative excellence," Miss Murdoch told The Guardian. "They have bold ideas for this space which we naturally welcome and will be a significant addition to the Shine Group."

Monstermind looks to be a fresh take on the city-building genre that CityVille has done so well to popularize. Well, fresh in the sense that, in addition to building cities, you can sic giant monsters to crush your friends' towns. The game features nearly full 3D visuals and an art style that screams "The Blob meets Sim City." Check out the game's trailer below to see what we mean.



Click here to play Monstermind on Facebook Now >

Were you waiting for a new approach to city-builders on Facebook? What do you think so far of this new studio's first contribution to Facebook gaming?

FarmVille meets Indiana Jones for real in Adventure World soon

Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game
Since Adventure World's release last week, many media outlets dubbed it "FarmVille meets Indiana Jones." It seems that Zynga took those allusions to heart, as the company has teamed up with Lucasfilm to make good on those hit-generating remarks. Zynga just announced that Indiana Jones will soon make his way into Adventure World this October.

In fact, it appears that the game will be completely rebranded with the Indiana Jones name, according to the above image. The teaser depicts the familiar Adventure World logo, but now reads, "Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game." To us at least, this implies that Zynga Boston's debut game will incorporate the Indiana Jones brand throughout (and perhaps permanently). The wording of Zynga's announcement certainly steers us toward this conclusion:

    Zynga is proud to announce that we're teaming up with Lucasfilm to bring Indiana Jones - the KING of lost idol hunting, bull whipping, holy grail-ing and flying (but not landing) - to your favorite adventure game. Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game will be coming soon to a browser near you.

If this is, in fact, the case, Adventure World would be the first Zynga game built entirely around a single brand, rather than the one-off promotions we see from brands like McDonald's in FarmVille and recently Best Buy in CityVille. Considering the massively ambitious game hasn't been doing so hot its first week out of the gate, this could be second wind it needs.

Is the Indy Jones fan in you excited by this announcement? What do you think of Adventure World so far?

FarmVille's creator: Making a great game is 'like making a cake'

Wait, so this is the analogy behind making a multi-billion dollar game franchise? When asked what makes a great game by The Times of India during his first visit to the country, FarmVille maker Mark Skaggs said, "Think of it like making a cake. You have to get the right ingredients - in this case the art, the technology, the music and the game play. And like a chef, put it all together in the right way."

Skaggs, who serves as Zynga's head of product, is also credited as the mind behind CityVille. That said, the EA veteran is arguably the driving force behind the two best performing social games of all time. So, the guy has to be onto something, right?

"You need art that makes people feel it's inviting and attractive," Skaggs told Times of India. "Music and audio gives you the sense of space and reality. The game play (the rules of play, why something moves in a particular way, how interactions happen etc) determines whether you have fun playing it or whether you get bored." (So says the man behind the main source of inspiration for designer Ian Bogost's Cow Clicker.)

Skaggs went on to praise India for its talent, revealing that a whopping 200 of Zynga's employees are based in the country. Better yet, the man who birthed the 'Ville franchise said that original, global Zynga games developed in India are coming soon. Let's just hope those developers aren't taking Skaggs's analogy to heart--we already have enough of those games.

What do you think of Skaggs's approach to explaining how great games are made? Do you think Skaggs's two primary contributions to Zynga are "great games?"

Zynga releases screens for Hidden Chronicles, coming soon to Facebook

After announcing the development of Hidden Chronicles back at Zynga Unleashed in October, Zynga has since created a Facebook fan page for the company's upcoming hidden object game on Facebook, and has recently started offering some new screenshots and artwork of the game.

We still don't have a release date for the new game, but we can see that the art is reminiscent of many of the genre's most popular PC download titles; that is, some of the environments look as though they're set in the past, with classic pieces of furniture, as but one example. We can also see some underwater art which is particularly pretty (perhaps we'll go snorkeling, looking for the lost treasure of a pirate ship?), and what looks to be a massive castle or temple reaching up into the sky. Could this mean that the game is setup similarly to Playdom's Gardens of Time, with differently themed areas to travel to across the entire game? Regardless, one thing that should be noted is that it looks like some scenes will be less cluttered than others, as the underwater shot above looks to contain only a few household items, while others in the gallery below have far larger junk piles.

Gallery: Hidden Chronicles Facebook


As for further news, we'll make sure to stay on top of things, and will let you know just as soon as Hidden Chronicles launches on Facebook.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of this artwork in the comments. Is this a kind of game you can imagine yourself having fun with, or have you never really tried a hidden object game?

Say 'Happy Holidays' with $50 in digital dragons with Kabam gift cards

What rings in the holidays better than complete online pwnage? Social game domination without the need for a pesky credit card, that's what. Facebook strategy game maker Kabam announced that $25 and $50 gift cards are now available in GameStop and Best Buy locations across the U.S. Of course, players can use these cards to buy in-game boosts for an unfair competitive advantage.

"The introduction of Kabam Game Cards is an important step forward in our continuous search for new and better ways to serve our audience of core gamers," Kabam COO Chris Carvalho said in a release. "The availability of pre-paid Kabam Game Cards at these two leading game retailers validates the rise of hardcore social gaming as a mainstream activity and allows more players to enrich their game experience with powerful in-game items."

By "enrich their game experience" we assume Kabam means "crush their weaker, non-paying foes." But really, the point of the Kabam gift cards is to allow a new portion of social gamers the chance to pay up: those without bank accounts or credit cards. The gift cards are usable through the developer's games hosted on Facebook and Kabam.com, but not Google+.

That said, every Kabam game supports the new gift cards at least somewhere, including the brand new The Godfather: Five Families. Attention stubborn free players: Prepare to have your butt handed to you this winter--Happy Holidays.

Now that you can buy items and boosts in Kabam games without a credit card, is that something you'll consider? What do you think of the option to purchase advantages in competitive social games?

Nintendo: Making mobile games 'flies in the face of what we believe in' [Interview]

The maker of Mario couldn't be in stranger times. As Nintendo prepares for what could be one of its strongest holiday seasons with critically-acclaimed games and the 3DS raring to go, the company expects to report its first financial loss in over 30 years. And let's not forget Nintendo's staunch opinions of mobile and social gaming, which are quickly outpacing Microsoft and Sony as the company's biggest competition.

To get a better sense of what to expect from Nintendo this holiday and why the company refuses to dabble in mobile or social games, we sit down with Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime (pictured below). Spoiler: He's excited, like, really, really excited about the new Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Let's talk holiday releases. We all know what's coming out with Super Mario 3D Land, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Mario Kart 7. What game are you most excited about?

Me personally? It's like asking me which of my children do I love the most. I'm a huge Zelda fan -- my favorite game of all time is Zelda: Link to the Past. One of the benefits of my job is that I get to play games in development. I have a special Wii in my office, and I've been playing Skyward Sword since E3 [in June]. I'm very much looking forward to that game.

As I practiced and got ready to play at Jimmy [Fallon] last night, it rekindled all of the things I love about Zelda. It's puzzle solving, it's the battles, but now with the Wii Motion Plus, every battle is a puzzle to solve. And it's such a big game. The development team said that this is the largest Zelda game that they've ever created.
Super Mario 3D Land
Now, what other parts of the holiday lineup--maybe not necessarily Nintendo releases--are you excited about?

Let's talk a little bit about 3DS. So, I've been playing Super Mario 3D Land [picture above]--another one of my advantages: I get the games early. And that game is fantastic. That is a game that the 3DS was built for. [That's] in terms of taking advantage of the different viewpoints, different ways of navigating to fight Bowser and save the princess.

From a non-Nintendo standpoint this holiday, I think what Activision has done with Skylanders is really innovative. And that's a game that plays extremely well--the 3DS version plays well, the Wii version plays well. So, I'm looking forward to playing Call of Duty. I play all the games, [and] I make sure that I spend time on competitive systems as well.

What are you playing on the competitive systems?

So, I've played Battlefield [3] on the home consoles, I've played it on PC. I've played some Gears of War to see how that played, I played a little Resistance [3]. You know, I think it's important for me to have knowledge, insight on everything that's coming out. I got to see Skyrim at E3, and I'm looking forward to seeing that. But I try to get my hands on everything.

Reggie Fils-AimeHow is Nintendo catering to the casual gamers this holiday? It seems like a lot of the releases of the past few months have been for the hardcore Nintendo fan.

In terms of the more casual gamer, I would highlight a number of things that we're doing. First, from a third party perspective you've got Just Dance 3, Zumba Fitness, so there continues to be new, fresh content for the more casual user. Second thing I would highlight is we recently introduced the line of Nintendo Selects, so these are highest quality, strong selling games now being made available for $19.99. Included in that lineup is the original Wii Sports, so for consumers that bought hardware over the last year or so that didn't come included with Wii Sports, that product is available. But also Super Paper Mario, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Mario Galaxy--I mean, some great, high quality titles that for maybe a new-to-the-Wii buyer, those products are available.

The last thing I would highlight, in terms of content for the more casual consumer, would be the new Kirby game that just came out last month. Classic Kirby: inhaling enemies, picking up new abilities, so I think there's great content out there for the casual gamer. In fact, I think that's what makes Nintendo different, if you will, is this holiday, we've got content for every type of gamer. If you're more active, great. You've got Zelda, Call of Duty on our platform, there's great content for you. But if you're wanting more casual content, great: Just Dance 3, Zumba Fitness, you know, even Black Eye Peas: The Experience.

Speaking of casual, since the 3DS has released it's been largely a system that seems to attract the, like I said, hardcore Nintendo fan. What would you say are Nintendo's plans to increase the appeal to casual gamers for the 3DS?

Well, our two big holiday titles for this year will certainly broaden the audience. Everyone loves Mario, [and] everyone loves to play Mario Kart [pictured below]. And the way those experiences are tailor-made for the 3DS certainly will continue expanding the base. As we look to next year, Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games is coming out on 3DS early next year--that's gonna' continue to broaden. But my expectation is that, come E3, I think we'll be showcasing a range of different titles that, for a more casual consumer, they'll see reasons to jump on board with the Nintendo 3DS.

We've heard that digital transactions are coming to the 3DS, which is pretty big news. How those transactions will work exactly?

In terms of what the next system update will allow, it will allow developers to sell add-on content, and whether that's for a physical game or a digitally released game. In terms of how it will work, it's up to the developer whether they want to make it to buy new levels, new items--all of that is up to their imagination. Essentially, what we're doing is creating the framework for those transactions to happen.

The digital business on the 3DS is very strong, and it's not only the gaming content we're making available through the eShop, but the video content we're making available through Nintendo Video. So, it's already a robust environment and the Nintendo 3DS is our most connected device ever, which is great.

Will Nintendo ever release digital upgrades or add-ons to its games?

We're interested in it to the extent that it makes sense to the consumer. And it's interesting: I've had this conversation with a number of our key developers, and their mentality is, "Reggie, when we sell a game, we want the consumer to feel that they've had a complete experience." Now, in addition, if we want to make other things available, great, and we'll look at that. But what we're unwilling to sell a piece of a game upfront and, if you will, force a consumer to buy more later. That's what they don't want to do, and I completely agree. I think the consumer wants to get, for their money, a complete experience, and then we have opportunities to provide more on top of that.

So, are we speaking to the free-to-play space, in terms of you download the game and pay a dollar for in-game items?

All I'm saying is--your question was--will Nintendo participate in this additional digital content? And the answer is yes, but the way that we'll do it is that whatever we sell initially, we will feel that that is a complete experience. And if that's all the consumer wants to do, that they'd be satisfied.
Mario Kart 7
While we're on the 3DS, it's tough to ignore the launch and the price cut that happened over the summer. What is the number one thing that the 3DS needs to succeed on the same level as the DS Lite?

Content. It's all about the content, and we're gratified when we see reviews for Super Mario 3D Land, for example, giving it a perfect score. We are gratified when we saw that with the launch of Ocarina of Time in 3D. It's those types of games that make the 3DS a must-have piece of hardware. It reaffirmed for us that lesson that software drives hardware, and that the launch and ongoing for the system to be effective, you need to have titles to drive the install base.

President Iwata says Nintendo will be exploring new types of games with the 3DS. Can you tell me more about that?

For all of the success we've had with DS, 50 million units here in the U.S., content with a bit more of an edge from key third party publishers really never came to the platform--handful of exceptions. So, one of the first things that will differentiate the 3DS is that we are getting that type of content. And probably the best example of that is the Resident Evil game that will come out next year from Capcom. Beautiful game, and if you love Resident Evil, it's everything that you want.

In terms of other genres, absolutely we will continue to push the envelope with new, unique, differentiated experiences that you can only get on the Nintendo 3DS and that widen the consumer demographic. So, will there be content to appeal to consumers 50 plus the way Brain Age did? Absolutely. Will there be content that's going to appeal to women the way we are able to do with the DS? Absolutely. I can't go into the details of what exactly those titles will be, but stay tuned. There is information that we'll be sharing prior to E3, plus a lot of information at E3 as well.

Pokemon Say TapA recent Bloomberg report says investors want Nintendo to make mobile games. When Pokémon Say Tap was announced for iPhone, Nintendo stock prices spiked. Then, when people learned the game was not from Nintendo, the stock fell back to normal numbers. What do you think about that investor feedback?

First, we're an entertainment company. We don't make devices for the sake of making devices. We make our hardware in order to bring great entertainment experiences to life. Whether that's the DS, the Wii or the 3DS--or even back to the NES and the SNES--that's our philosophy. Therefore, the concept of having our core franchises on other systems really flies in the face of what we believe in, and that's because by understanding the hardware, that's how we're able to bring these great experiences forward.

The two great examples of this, coming this holiday, are Skyward Sword for Wii and Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS. You know, we've made the same development tools available to everybody else creating content for the platforms. But no one has created a game like Skyward Sword that fully leverages the Wii Motion Plus technology in a traditional gamer experience. It hasn't been done before, and this is going to be [the Wii's] sixth holiday.

For the 3DS, people are saying that [Super Mario 3D Land] is the game that the system was built for. And it's because we understand how to maximize the experience. So, I think those are great examples of why we believe that our content can best be brought to life on our hardware. And by following that strategy, in the end, it's the best for our investors.

Companion apps are huge, and Nintendo just announced that the 3DS eShop is coming to iOS and web. Have there been talks about expanding that approach of companion apps to games?

We consider a lot of things, and we'll continue to drive a lot of experimentation not just with Facebook or things that we do from a PC website standpoint. We want to make it easy for all of our fans to be connected to the key franchises they love and the experiences they love. So, we're constantly looking at everything. But in the end, the full game experiences will be brought to life, at least from a first party perspective, on our hardware.

A recent Flurry study says iOS and Android have taken 58 percent of the portable gaming market. So if Nintendo isn't interested in entering that space how does the company plan to keep up with this new competition?

First, I haven't seen the study, and Flurry is a company that consults app developers. So, as we look at our range of companies where we trust their data, and they have a methodology that makes sense--I just can't speak to the data. And I can't speak to the motivations of the company, as they are not a pure research firm. Having said that, the way that we compete is that we compete with our franchises, we compete with our differentiated experiences and we compete by giving the consumer the best value for their money. Nintendo has always been a mass market company. Even from back in the days of the NES, we always want as many consumers to jump into this industry that we love called video games, and to maximize the breadth of our reach. And the only way we can do that is great games, great experiences, differentiated experiences at a great value.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Nintendo President Iwata says every measure will be taken to ensure that the Wii U is a success. What does the Wii U need to succeed when it arrives in 2012?

The Wii U has to deliver a differentiated experience that can only be brought to bear through the use of these two screens. If all we do is a beautiful game in HD, it's been done before. We have to take advantage of the second screen, we need to take advantage of the connectivity that the system will offer and, if we do that, we believe that we will yet again disrupt the market the same way we with DS and Wii.

We've heard murmurs that people are calling Zelda: Skyward Sword the swan song for the Wii. Is there any truth to that?

Well, it is certainly true that the Wii is not over. I was the one who was asked the question originally, and I think some comments were taken out of context. So, what I can say is that there certainly will be more games launched for the Wii. And what I can say is that we believe there are still millions more systems to be sold. And I can say that the Wii will coexist side by side beside the Wii U for some period of time.

I think for any game to compare to Skyward Sword, I think is gonna be a tough challenge. All the reviews aren't out yet, but I counted this morning there are eight perfect scores. I don't know if there's going to be a video game in history that's going to be able to compare to Skyward Sword. So, to clarify my comments on this, there will be more games for the Wii, we'll sell more hardware for the Wii and it will coexist side by side to the Wii U. All those things I can commit to, but I can't commit that there's going to be another game that will score and be of the caliber of Skyward Sword. I don't think there's been one to date.

What are you most excited about in Nintendo's holiday lineup? What do you think of Reggie's opinions on the prospect of Nintendo entering new platforms like mobile?

The Sims creator reveals HiveMind, and we'll have what he's having

Seriously, you'll want to know what he's eating (or otherwise) after reading this VentureBeat exclusive. Will Wright, the man behind both classic city-builder SimCity and family-builder The Sims has revealed HiveMind. Also the name of Wright's new startup, the game designer calls HiveMind a new evolution in games: "personal gaming," according to VentureBeat.

From what's gathered in the terribly cryptic, nebulous announcement, HiveMind will be a mobile social game that will possibly launch on Facebook as well. The point of the game, in theory, is to further connect gamers to reality and enhance their experience by personalizing game play. But don't call it an augmented reality app.

"Rather than craft a game like FarmVille for players to learn and play, we learn about you and your routines and incorporate that into a form of game play," Wright said to VentureBeat. Later Wright said, "If we can learn enough about the player, we can create games about their real life. How do we get you more engaged in reality rather than distract you from it?"

Alright, so that sounds a lot like augmented reality (and nothing like what we first heard about). But services like Foursquare largely serve to distract players from the world around them. According to Wright's vague description of HiveMind, the game will actually help players be a part of interesting happenings around them.

"This has to do with where gaming is going," Wright told the website. "We had our eras in console gaming and social gaming. A lot of this personal gaming will happen on mobile devices. The question here is how can we learn enough about the player to create games about his or her real life." Alright Will, time to give us the hook up.

What do you think the SimCity maker is even talking about? Do you think he could herald yet another new genre in gaming?

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.

Zynga temp worker accused of $100K theft, caught on security camera

Surprise--you're on candid security camera. At least that's what FarmVille maker Zynga seems to think of 21-year-old Keith Brown, a temp worker in the developer's San Francisco headquarters. Brown is accused of stealing $100,000 worth in desktops, laptops and software from the building between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15, the date of his arrest.

According to The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco District Attorney's Office spokesman Omid Talai said that Brown's alleged theft was caught on security camera footage. Brown was escorted from Zynga HQ by security and handed off into police custody. "At this point, he's the only Zynga employee arrested for doing this," Talai told the San Francisco Examiner.

Since Zynga is a multibillion dollar company (with likely very, very strong security) expected to make even more billions in its imminent initial public offering, we're not surprised. Still in custody and said to have been arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court on Wednesday, Brown faces four felony counts of commercial burglary, one of receiving stolen property, one of grand theft and one of embezzlement.

We've certainly heard of theft surrounding Zynga's games and other social games. (We've even heard Zynga itself be accused of theft in a way.) But allegations of physical property stolen directly from the company is a first. We've reached out to Zynga for comment.

[Via Kotaku]

What are your thoughts on the possibility that a Zynga temp worker might have stolen from the company? How would you have handled the same situation?

Call of Duty veterans set crosshairs for 'first-person social game'

That sounds a helluva lot like "first-person shooter game," no? Well, these folks are best known for their contributions to hardcore games like Call of Duty. VentureBeat reports that Activision veterans Dusty Welch and Chris Archer have founded their own social game studio, U4iA. Pronounced "euphoria" (that's cute), the Bellevue, Wash.-based studio aims to bring core games to Facebook in a big way.

Welch (CEO) and Archer (CCO) aim to set the quality bar even higher on Facebook and mobile with a "first-person social game" that matches the caliber of recent free-to-play games like League of Legends, according to VentureBeat. At least from what the U4iA heads see, the future of social games is the arrival of traditional gamers.

"We're making core games for a social audience." Welch told VentureBeat, "We think the hardcore gamers are going to start looking for the core games on the social and mobile networks now." Well, with companies like Kixeye and Kabam gunning for the same audience, at least they're not alone.

"We think we're at the spearhead of a lot of cool things," Welch said to VentureBeat. Since the guy is credited with creating the Call of Duty series--the best-selling game franchise ever--we can't really contest that. This first-person shooter social game will be created for both Facebook and mobile devices using the Unity Player. With expertise like that, we're sure the game will be a technological marvel, but will the audience be there to bear witness?

Would you ever play a hardcore first-person game on Facebook? Do you think shooters could perform well on social networks?

Social UPs games lure in Facebook fans for small businesses with big prizes

Have you been seeing Facebook wall posts from your friends with the dubious offer of big prizes for high-scoring a game? I encountered one last night that promised a free iPad 2 from a Toyota dealer by playing "Bouncing Balls". Google searches revealed no official announcements about this promotion and I worried it was a scam, but the offer was legit after all. Other games and prizes -- such as Sony HDTVs, iPhone 4S, and even an Xbox 360 with Kinect -- are being offered on the Facebook pages of various businesses. All of them are coming from a San Diego-based, social media marketing company called Social UPs, best described as what you'd get if Games And Prizes crossed paths with GamesThatGive.

Games And Prizes is a generic games hub on Facebook that lets players bet on sponsored prizes with currency they earned through gaming. GamesThatGive pairs up socially conscious companies and fundraising organizations with their games, putting a game on the Facebook fan page of a company. But instead of player giveaways, money goes to a charity based on the number of people playing. Companies that have games on their Facebook pages have proven quite successful in driving up their number of fans. After all, fans have to 'Like' a Facebook page to access the goods.
Social Up Tara Gray
A Facebook game that offers big, real-world prizes for play isn't new. PopCap's Bejeweled Blitz used to do weekly drawings, and even handed out a Mazda once. But Social UPs capitalizes this practice by matchmaking businesses to its games, while offering prizes to players. Social UPs' customers currently include RoomStore, The Safe Cig, Vitalyte, Raging Bid, Tara Gray, Casey Jamerson, many local car dealerships and more. Social UPs' game stable includes generic knock-offs of Tetris (they call theirs,"Montris"), Bejeweled ("Gems Swap 2"), and even Pac-Man ("Ghost Man Advanced"). According to AppData, these games are delivered through the company's following Facebook apps: Games and Play & Win.

Tara Gray, who "was formerly Miss Alabama and is currently a host on the Direct Shopping Network", was prominently featured in a video on the Social UPs website promoting their services. She's seen with the Gems Swap 2 game in the background (pictured above). Currently, the prize on her page is an opal pendant and the winner is selected via random drawing, but the contest methods of each company vary across the board.

Gallery: SocialUPs

For example, the Gem Swap 2 game on Dave White Acura's Facebook page will end when it reaches 200,000 "Likes". Only one person will get to nab "a 42 inch Flat Screen TV", but winning is determined via a random drawing of the top 50 scorers left at the end of the promotional period. Moreover, you've got to be at the dealership building in Sylvania, OH to pick it up.

In contrast, Raging Bid is running their contest until November 21st. They're offering a Sony Bravia 3D HDTV or a $150.00 USD Shell gas gift card. There will be two winners out of the 25 top players. The drawing will not be random, but determined by votes on the company's official fan page. Because of these differences, I recommend that interested players read all the rules very carefully.

Have you come across any of Social UPs games yet? Do you think Social UPs is a boon for small businesses?

FarmVile maker Zynga CBO steps down, becomes adviser ahead of IPO

As it nears what's expected to be the initial public offering (IPO) of the year, people can't stop talking about Zynga. And with reports like these, we're sure the company wishes it would stop. Now, AllThingsD reports that Zynga chief business officer Owen Van Natta has stepped down from his executive role at the company to become a strategic adviser.

The website found out the news in Zynga's new filing with the Security and Exchanges Commission. According to AllThingsD, Van Natta came to Zynga founder and CEO Mark Pincus years ago to help him grow the company. Now, the former exec will relegate himself to the board and help the company with major partnerships. "Owen is a valuable business partner," Pincus confirmed to AllThingsD. "He's made great contributions to Zynga and continues to be an important part of our team."

However, Van Natta will have to surrender millions in pre-IPO shares as a result of the move. But AllThingsD reports that this move is not connected to the stock-related debacle reported by The Wall Street Journal recently. Recent hire and former EA exec John Schappert will now assume full command over the business end of Zynga, according to VentureBeat.

Our take on this news is that Zynga is simply getting its ducks in a row before supposedly going public after Thanksgiving, removing redundancies in its lineup of high-level execs. You know, the same IPO that AllThingsD guesses will bring Zynga close to $20 billion? Van Natta or not, it's going to be very merry Christmas.

Do you think Van Natta's shift will affect the company at all as it approaches its IPO? If given the opportunity, would you invest in Zynga?

Scott Steinberg: Facebook could be in music games' future [Interview]

"It was too many games in too short a time, playing to too niche of an audience at too high a price--in the middle of the worst recession possible." According to technology analyst and public speaker Scott Steinberg, this was what essentially killed the enormous music gaming franchises, Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The age of sitting around your living room with three friends, plucking and fiddling with plastic instruments to Rush's Tom Sawyer is all but over ... for now.

Well, at least those exorbitant pieces of plastic are through. Steinberg details the rise, fall, and imminent resurrection of music-based video games in his new novel, "Music Games Rock: Rhythm Gaming's Greatest Hits of All Time," which you can read for free right here. (If you're so inclined to support the guy, it's also available on iBooks, Kindle and in paperback.)

According to Steinberg, music games inspired by Guitar Hero and Rock Band's wild success will get their second shot in the limelight on Facebook and in your smartphones. We recently sat down with Steinberg to hear his thoughts on just how Facebook games can take advantage of this golden opportunity, why it hasn't happened just yet and what the killer Facebook music game might be like.

What advantages would you say social games have to capitalize on the downfall of music games?

There's a number of advantages, right? Free-to-play and incredibly low barriers to entry. You certainly don't have high-end system requirements, and you don't have to buy pricey plastic peripherals. They can tap into your existing music collection or stream it live, and you have millions of players connected to a platform that's uniform.

You don't have to worry, for the most part, about bugs or errors, because everybody is playing the same thing at the same time. So, what you have is a ready made audience, say, on Facebook alone of 800 million people who are incredibly connected. [They] used to playing with one another and are taking part in a platform that's uniquely tailor-made to take advantage of digital music--and oh, by the way, it's completely free to play.

When you take it in this context, coupled with the fact that every human being on this planet is hardwired to enjoy music, that really is the common unifier. Social games really are uniquely poised to take the genre to the next level.

Music Games RockIn your book, you mention that the music genre has enjoyed a revival on social networks through Facebook games like Nightclub City and Dirty Dancing--largely simulator games. But what about games that more closely resemble the now-defunct rhythm games like Pump It? Which of the two do you think has a better chance at thriving on Facebook?

Actually, I would argue that some of the better ones that have a chance of surviving may not even be traditional games at all. Look at a service like Turntable.fm: Wouldn't consider it a game per se, except it's powered completely by gamification elements. You're creating custom play lists, you're interacting with other players in a social environment and ultimately you're competing for the approval of other users by liking the songs.

Or, if you look at other games like YooStar Playground or apps like VidRhythm--these are the titles that are to do particularly well. That said, simulation titles [have a] strong audience for them and proven capability, and certainly because that's where so many games got their roots [on Facebook]. There's likely to be a lot of people interested. I've even seen a number of unreleased games that are in prototype that essentially allow you to take on the role of managing or performing in a rock band--I think they're uniquely well-suited.

I think what's not going to translate over well is simply the standard tap in time with the on-screen indicator type games. Though, these can continue to succeed on mobile platforms, because in the mobile context you're typically looking to play maybe with one hand in a span of five or six minutes. Whereas social games may only be a 15-minute spurt, you're sitting down in front of a PC and you're typically more engaged.

There are some music creation social games on the fringe already, like BreakOutBand, that rely on players to share content to succeed. How important would that be in a social game centered around music?

I think user-created content, as it relates to social games, is massively important, because at the end of the day the developers can only take a game so far. And it's the players' ability to interact with and reshape that music or related content that really creates a sense of community, and allows a title to constantly keep feeling fresh and people coming back for more.

It's essentially a win-win, because for the developer it's a very affordable way to keep adding content to the game and keep people talking about it, and coming back after weeks and weeks. Players aren't constrained by office politics, licensing issues, and--to be frank--everybody loves to mix and mash creations.

But how much of that is going to be super-high quality, or chart-topping hits shall we say, versus underground little diddies? This is social interaction at its core, right? So, if you don't have that level of user interactivity, at the end of the day what you have is essentially a game with a bunch of canned content. And not much reason--unless it's saying you need to recruit other players to earn money for your band or unlock new stuff--there's not much incentive to pass it along.

A good amount of music games already exist on Facebook, but none are taking off like music games did before the turn of the decade. What do you think it would take for a music-based social game to enjoy success and notoriety like Guitar Hero?

You need to have a concept with extremely wide appeal that allows players to enjoy rock star wish fulfillment in a matter of minutes without the painful side effects. What also is important is to have recognizable band scenarios, you know, licensed music. But also the ability for players to put their own spin on it and a reason for them to engage with one another.

The problem is, to succeed on social networks where you literally have thousands of titles competing, dozens of them coming out every single week--all of which are completely free to play versus Guitar Hero, which was completely brand new. To have that success on Facebook or another social network, I almost think what you're going to see is a title that's going to have to align itself with Spotify or another one of these streaming services to tap into a massive database of real-world artists and then finds new ways for you to interact with that music.
Dirty Dancing Facebook game
Back to the branded music games like Dirty Dancing (pictured). As you know, they're reaching critical mass, so what do you think is the likelihood of a monster brand like Guitar Hero or Rock Band appearing on Facebook?

Oh, it's a certainty. It's not a question of 'if,' but just a question of 'when.' I think a lot of that is because the game makers aren't unawares. Activision, Harmonix, Mad Catz: They understand the power of social networks as a platform. The problem is that their business has been thus far founded in either selling peripherals--good mark up on those plastic guitars--or selling software for 60 bucks a pop.

They haven't had as much incentive to scurry and think, 'How do we make a free-to-play platform where we're probably going to make a lot less money in the immediate?' But slowly and surely, as so many game players are migrating to these platforms, convenience is winning. It's almost as if they're being forced to acknowledge it. It's a completely new approach to game design--Wal-Mart's not going to order a million units. They'll embrace it; it's just a question of 'when.'

Try to describe your dream music-based Facebook game to me. In other words, what do you think would be the ultimate approach to a music game on Facebook?

The ultimate Facebook music game would not only be able to tap into your full library of digital music, but also stream millions of songs on demand. [It would] allow you to set up on stage custom concerts for your friends, featuring this music or original music you created. [You would] style your avatars, build your own bands, create your own followings, sell your own virtual merchandise and connect over shared love of music with millions of players across the world.

It would effectively recreate the rock and recording industry experience, only in a virtual setting. What I mean is a combo listening service, social network, slash simulation game that effectively allows you to build a rock band and recording industry career from the ground up. I don't see any reason why you couldn't create avatars for your band--it's own look, logo, virtual stickers, t-shirts. You could buy branded gear like Gibson's or Marshall's, earn cash from touring, build your own virtual labels. I don't see any reason why a platform wouldn't be able to break new artists.

Wow, I think it's time for you to call the patent office. Thanks for taking the time to chat, Scott.

What do you think of the prospects of a wildly successful music game hitting Facebook? Who do you think could be the first to create the ultimate music game on Facebook?