Zuma Blitz player scores over 2 million in single session

One Zuma Blitz player has achieved what many thought might be the impossible: over 2 million points in a single play session. We've watched the video multiple times and still have trouble figuring out just how YouTube user Causaelity made it happen. All we can say is that it took incredible speed, timing and a whole lot of gap shots and Time Balls. That explosive Hot Frog must have been helpful too.

Well, after all the Time Balls smashed this player had over two minutes to reach that score. Not to mention that this apparent Zuma Blitz master is a Level 80 Battle Frog. Sadly, if the high score indicator speaks the truth, this isn't even close to his best. It's about time we all get our Zuma on if we want to even come close to a score like this. (And to think I was proud of breaking 100,000.) Excellent ball busting, Causaelity!

Will Facebook revive game discovery through genre suggestions?

We sure as hell hope so. (We need some new blood around here.) Sean Ryan, Director of Games Partnerships at Facebook, announced during the Casual Connect keynote in San Francisco that Facebook will be making some changes to how the platform virally spreads new games, Inside Social Games reports. The changes made to the platform last year, not to mention the recent disappearance of the Facebook app directory, essentially brought game discovery to a screeching halt on the platform.

But Ryan has a plan to alleviate that. In addition to working with developers to find better ways of producing News Feed stories players will want to click on, Ryan looks to sort games by genre so that Facebook can recommend new games to players of a similar genre to what they tend to play.

The idea seems pretty nebulous at this point, but hey, at least they're talking about it. For instance, if you're playing Bejeweled Blitz, Facebook could recommend similar match-three games like Diamond Dash to you. Then, Ryan went on to plea for developers to stop copying one another (finally!), according to ISG, and provided a list of untapped genres:

    Fishing - There's only one actual fishing game on the platform so far.
    Christian - An untapped market, as 42% of the United States is evangelical.
    Urban - By which Ryan means games that speak authentically to that audience.
    Role-Playing Games - Here, Ryan characterizes RPGs as Diablo (not Mafia Wars)
    Fighting - A genre that's just starting to take off.
    Romance - A very big literary category, and yet there are no social games for it (we're not sure if It Girl counts)
    First-Person Shooter - So far, there are only two, but Ryan admits that there are limitations on this genre that come from the browser.

We'd like to see almost all of these genres get more attention on Facebook, especially more RPGs. Ryan went on to say that, despite the big players in the social games space like Zynga and EA having already staked their claim, there is plenty of room left. "There is a massive amount of value creation still going on here," Ryan said. "Social games are driving the revenue on mobile, the revenue on web. If you're not building social games on a platform, you're building for a shrinking market."

Ryan also mentioned the companies that Facebook pays most attention to: Zynga, Playdom, Crowdstar and Playfish, 6waves (now 6waves Lolapps), Kabam, Kixeye, PopCap, GSN, Digital Chocolate, Wooga, Double Down Casino and Playtika. With this many major companies munching on the Facebook pie, I guess there's still some crust left ... somewhere.

Survey: Nearly 20 percent of social game fans are brand new gamers

And you claim to "dabble" in FarmVille and the like--we're onto you. A new survey by Bejeweled Blitz maker PopCap and Information Solutions Group found that 68 percent of social gamers play said games at least once daily. That amounts to 81 million players, while a still-impressive 49 million (41 percent) report playing social games multiple times daily.

The survey was completed by 1,201 people (801 in the U.S. and 400 in the UK) who reported playing social games more than 15 minutes a week. All in all, according to this survey, social games are on the rise, but you already knew that. What's important to note is that 17 percent of all social gamers have never played a video game before. (According to the survey, they're mostly 50 plus women.) While much smaller than you might have imagined, it's without a doubt that the genre has literally created a new breed of gamer.

As these new social gamers continue to invest themselves in their favorite Facebook games more traditional companies will undoubtedly attempt to garner their attention. Of course, these folks will have different expectations of what a video game actually is, and therefore change how games are made ... perhaps across the board.

And, according to the survey, more folks between 18 and 29 years old are playing social games, who have more likely than not played video games before. When new demographics crop up in any industry, they're almost immediately targeted. The social games movement will be no different, and color us intrigued to see the results. Click here to see the full survey.

You'll only find Ford's 2013 Escape through a sweet triple-word score

The next thing we think of when thinking SUVs certainly isn't word games, but we'll bite. Zynga has announced that Ford Motor Company will reveal its 2013 Ford Escape through Words With Friends starting tomorrow, Nov. 15, on Facebook. Social wordsmiths in the U.S. will get to play a larger version of the game along with actress Jenny McCarthy live.

Again, not seeing the connection, but we'll humor it. From what's gathered in the announcement, Jenny will play Words With Friends on a giant game board in Los Angeles tomorrow from 8 to 9 p.m. EST at the Hollywood & Highland Center. Players from around the country can tune into the live game as an online broadcast through the Ford Escape Facebook page and Ford's Livestream page, and submit their own word choices to Jenny.

"We're always looking for fun ways to celebrate and give back to our players," Zynga With Friends GM Paul Bettner said in a release. "Creating a huge, live game, and pitting our players against Jenny on a single day is going to be a lot of fun, and we're excited Ford has helped put our game up in lights."

The whole promotion is reminiscent of Toyota's recent Social Network Racer, which was designed to unveil the company's new concept car. It's still unclear how exactly playing Words With Friends will ultimately reveal the brand new compact SUV in just an hour (not to mention what Jenny McCarthy has to do with it), but you'll just have to play along tomorrow to find out.

Could games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft work on Facebook?

Who knows (and definitely not at the moment), but Facebook's European head of gaming partnerships Julien Codorniou hopes "every successful game that exists on PC, consoles, should come on the Facebook platform at some point." According to PocketGamer.biz, Codorniou made the forward-looking remark during this year's Social Gaming Summit in London.

The European mirror to Facebook's Sean Ryan did, however, point out what's keeping the industry from getting to that point. Simply put, the rampant copycatting needs to stop. As PocketGamer.biz's Will Wilson put it: 'Please stop making FarmVille-style games, we've already got enough, thanks.' Codorniou went on to praise games like Social Point's Social Empires for sourcing its inspirations elsewhere, like the popular Age of Empires PC strategy franchise.

And while Codorniou wishes for the best games on consoles to also hit Facebook, he knows where the immediate future is. "We believe the mobile web platform is the future for the gaming industry," Codorniou concluded. "Bet on mobile, HTML5. This is really the future of gaming for us."

Alright, so you know that already. But let's stop and think for a second: Could the best of traditional gaming really make it to Facebook? Well, we're certainly getting there. From advancements in the Unity Player and Flash Player (the primary tool for making Facebook games) to the Unreal Engine arriving on Facebook, we're inching ever closer to that reality. These types of games on the web are simply an eventuality--the audience for them, however, is far from that.

GreenSpace on Facebook wants you to make the (distant) future tidy

With the way waste management around the globe is going, the Earth probably won't look so hot in a few decades. Canadian social game maker RocketOwl Inc. asks gamers to fast forward a couple hundred years in its new Facebook game GreenSpace. In that time--assuming we've yet to destroy ourselves--our planet will likely be inhabitable if we maintain this track, and it's up to you to reclaim a previously colonized and, of course, dirtied up planet one piece of litter at a time.

GreenSpace has officially exited its open beta period today, and is now available for all to play hopefully bug-free. The game tasks players with managing a colony as they transform it from a heap of trash into a lush, green mountain valley. While GreenSpace's presentation doesn't seem terribly different from games like CityVille, RocketOwl touts the game's animations, artwork and addictive cleaning actions. Fast-paced mini games are also said to play a role in GreenSpace.
GreenSpace in action
"We've been working with players over the past few months to fine-tune the game,"RocketOwl CEO Graeme Barlow said in a statement. "Now that GreenSpace is coming out of beta, the entire team is really excited to see the public reception of the launch. We could not be happier with the final product and hope that you enjoy playing it as much as we've enjoyed putting it together."

GreenSpace strikes us as quite similar to a recent green-themed Facebook game, Guerillapps's Trash Tycoon. Both games revolve around reclaiming a territory from the clutches of clutter, though the latter is attached to real-life organizations looking to do the same in the world around us. Based on the looks of GreenSpace, RocketOwl seems to be dedicated to at least raising awareness of the same issues, but make that call for yourself.


Click here to play GreenSpace on Facebook Now >

Do you think Facebook games are a good place to raise awareness of issues of waste and other "green" concerns? Do you think GreenSpace could do or does a good job of this?

CityZen on Facebook struggles to stand outside CityVille's shadow

CityZen in action
Look, Metamoki, we know you felt burned when Zynga took Mob Wars and spun it into Mafia Wars, one of the most successful social games to date. (And rightfully so.) And now they've done it again with CityVille, which released months after CityZen. CityZen is the second and latest game to come from Metamoki, and while it appeared long before CityVille, it cannot be helped but to look at the game from underneath Zynga's shadow. However, CityZen does introduce some interesting features like commute proximity when building homes and businesses, things CityVille would do well to learn from it. Unfortunately, its lack of conveniences and heavy polish that are easily found in CityVille only emphasize the shadow cast.
CityZen building proximity
Aside from the omission of Goods and focus on even distribution of homes and businesses, CityZen doesn't do much else to stand out from its better established ... inspiration. If you've played CityVille, this game will come as second nature. Players must build businesses and homes in conjunction to create a thriving city. However, every business is directly employed by the population that each home provides--a business will generate money automatically after its employees are assigned. Each business covers an area in which, if homes are placed there, employees from those homes will provide a production bonus. This is the most interesting mechanic in CityZen because it adds a thin layer of realism, and it's something Zynga can learn a great deal from. In fact, the company is probably working on an "adaptation" of it as we speak.

Of course, players are governed by Energy and can visit their friends to provide bonuses. You can even build Landmarks inspired by real-life monuments--another feature snagged by CityVille. But instead of requiring players to fill the staff of their buildings with friends, CityZen gives you the option of introducing players into your city through hiring them as managers. This will increase your business's productivity by a whopping 25 percent and score both of you $5 thousand. Yet there is always a catch: If your friend doesn't visit your city every day, they'll be fired immediately. Although it's not as expansive as even the broken Franchise system in CityVille, it is unique and perhaps more user-friendly than constructing buildings in other city-building games.

CityZen upgrading
Despite the few attempts that Metamoki makes to stand CityZen outside of its competitor's shadow, this game can't help but be darkened by it. It's a shame too, because if not for Zynga, CityZen could grow beyond its limitations and become popular. If you're interested in seeing one of CityVille's many "inspirations" on its road to glory, give the game a shot and decide for yourself which is better.


Click here to try CityZen on Facebook Now>

Have you played CityZen yet? What are your thoughts on games that appear to be clones of others?

Bubble Saga on Facebook brings soothing strategy to a stale genre

First hearing word of Bubble Saga evoked just one thought: "Another bubble bursting game on Facebook, seriously?" Many of you might have had the same exact reaction. Well, stop it. Right now. Bubble Saga, for all of its creepy character art and somewhat limited social features, is one of the most original additions to the pantheon of bubble-bursting games this writer has seen in a long time. Developed by King.com, Bubble Saga introduces a framework of a plot that cuts right to the point: blowin' up some bubbles. (If you're interested, Princess Love is looking to reunite with her Prince who happens to be trapped on a small planet, which can only be reached by ... popping bubbles? Never mind.) At first glance, this is just another adaptation of classics like Bubble Bobble, but after a single shot you'll notice what makes this one in particular so special.

Because the colored bubbles surround a flower, shooting bubbles too far in one direction will cause the entire collection of bubbles to spin in that direction based on how direct your shot was. Spinning the board forces players to adapt to new positions, and make constant use of wall shots to make consecutive matches. Not to mention that, in later levels, a bubble touching either wall as a result of a haphazard spin will end the game immediately. This brilliant combination demands accuracy and strategy, something most Facebook games are devoid of these days.

Gallery: Bubble Saga

Of course, this is all made possible by built-in physics and some pretty impressive graphics for Facebook that surprisingly don't slow the game down one bit. Speaking of graphics, the character art in Bubble Saga, primarily for the princess, is downright frightening. At times, she'll offer you a warm, cartoon smile, but at others she'll look like a bug-eyed princess demon. But back to what really matters: the fun factor. The game rewards players for consecutive matches with a bonus meter that, once full, will reward 50 percent more points for future matches. Though, keeping the streak is key to maintaining a bonus. In later levels, this is almost required to ensure scores that are sufficient to move on to the next planet.

You also have a finite amount of shots per level, though the game's high demand for planning shots will help you avoid this quota. For even more sound bubble-blasting decisions, players can switch between the bubble that's currently inside their cannon and the next bubble in line. This especially comes in handy during the final moments of each level when you're limited between just a few differing bubbles.

Bubble Saga on Facebook
Every social game must have a hook, and Bubble Saga's Heart system is no different, though it's much better than most. Players receive about eight Hearts to start, but only losing a level will remove a Heart from your stash. This means that, for skilled players, your play sessions could go on indefinitely. Players can buy Hearts for Facebook Credits, or they can ask friends for more.

However, friends aren't worth much more than that in Bubble Saga. Well, aside from the ability to taunt those whose scores you beat or pass in overall progress. While this might work to stir friendly competition, some direct multiplayer or even item sharing would have added more depth. Regardless, Bubble Saga is a refreshing take on the tired sub genre of blowing up bubbles, and if its soothing tunes won't calm you down after a stressful day at work, nothing will.

Facebook pulls app directory, makes finding new games that much harder

Apparently, I'm one of the only people that actively used the App Directory on Facebook. Back in December, we brought you an in-depth look at discovering new Facebook games by using the directory, as you could browse applications based on popularity, or even date added. Now, though, the entire App Directory has been removed from the service, and with it goes your ability to use it to find new games.

AllFacebook noticed the removal as well, as they have pointed out a new blog post on the Facebook Developers Blog that explains a bit as to why the directory was ditched.

"Many developers have been confused about what it means to submit to the App Directory and frustrated by the length of time it took to get approved. As we have looked into this issue, we found that the App Directory drove less than 0.5% of all app installs while a significant number of app installs came as a result of Facebook search. Until now, to be visible in search, you had to submit your app to the App Directory.

Today, we are announcing two updates to decouple the search submission from the directory to make it easier for you to get your app into the Facebook search index:

1. We are removing the App Directory (in its current form) since it does not drive a significant amount of traffic to your apps.
2. We are creating a new, simplified way to get your app into the Facebook search index."

In short, this means that for now, the search bar has been given much more prominence in the app discovery process. Sure, sidebar ads will still likely trigger many more app installs, but now, app developers can submit their apps to the Facebook search index without approval, allowing users to get to them faster. Sounds great, right? Well, it would be, if search currently functioned properly.

I know I can't be the only person who types something like "FrontierVille" into the search bar to find a specific Zynga-run fan page, only to be greeted by user-created or even spam apps/fan pages that may have absolutely no relevance to what I'm searching for. If apps no longer have to go through an approval process to be added to search (and everything really is as open as it seems), doesn't this open the door for so much more clutter? Hopefully, this will all just be a temporary solution to some much larger feature being added to the site that will make finding new apps an enjoyable process, rather than a chore.

Did you ever use the App Directory to find new games to play? Would you like to see a one-stop-shop of sorts for applications on Facebook, where you could browse apps by genre, look at screenshots and the like before playing?

Facebook mobile social games will grow industry at once, CTO expects

When Facebook launched its mobile apps and games platform on iPhone and iPad, we were admittedly confused. But after Facebook CTO Bret Taylor (pictured) spoke with mocoNews, we have a better idea of what Facebook is getting at with "Project Spartan." According to Taylor, Facebook hopes to go 100 percent cross platform with Facebook Mobile through the mobile web, but its master plan goes deeper still.

"It really addresses some of the areas I've heard a lot of concerns about from mobile developers, and it plays to our strengths," Taylor told mocoNews. "For startups, it's very difficult to get their apps discovered. They have a honeymoon period in the app stores where they might be in a top 10 list and get a lot of downloads, but once that honeymoon period is over, discovery is very difficult. By integrating with these social channels in mobile, they can get discovered in really organic ways."

Facebook looks to bring the discoverability of Facbook games and apps to mobile. Sure, Facebook has the support of some major game creators with HTML5-based versions of Words with Friends, FarmVille and even wooga's new Magic Land. But at the moment, users have to search for these apps through Facebook's iOS app or mobile web presence--not exactly an ideal method for discovery.

It sounds like Taylor and Facebook look to grow the mobile and social games industries all at once across all platforms including Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry. To do that, Facebook is encouraging more developers to create HTML5 or native mobile app versions of their social games that Facebook Mobile can redirect to, which is about the only way we see this method working. However, with game shares (at least for non-gamers to see) almost entirely in the Ticker--which doesn't exist on mobile--where do the new social gamers come in?

[Via PocketGamer.biz]

Have you tried the current lot of HTML5 Facebook games yet? Do you think Facebook's mobile gaming strategy will work in the long run?

Facebook updates formula for active users, player numbers plummet

The company goes on to say that the one-time drop will result in a perceived decline in the number of active users of its many social games and apps, but the number of users actually engaging with the apps is unchanged. But that's just it: Regardless of whether the same rough portion of players have been "actively engaging" with games like CityVille this month, this still means that nearly 20 million people merely visited the app in the last month and did not play the game. And that goes for not just CityVille, but Facebook games across the board.

Kabam study suggests hardcore gamers are flocking to Facebook

Have the tables finally turned? Not quite just yet, but slowly and surely they are, a study released by Kabam suggests. The Redwood City-Calif.-based creator of Facebook games like Dragons of Atlantis and Edgeworld recently commissioned a survey of 1,412 "hardcore" gamers to find just how their behavior has changed since the dawn of Facebook games.

Dubbed the "Social Gamer Study," Kabam found that the demographics of the average social game fan are slowly changing--more young to middle-aged men are playing Facebook games. And a whopping 82 percent of them come from the console game space, which is terribly important. This is because 27 percent of those surveyed report playing console games less often.

And perhaps more importantly to those looking to make cash from hardcore games, those surveyed reported spending 50 percent less on console games. Of course, Kabam threw in that players of its games are even more dedicated to Facebook games than console games: 55 percent reported playing console games less and spending 65 percent on the games.
Social Gamer Study findings
According to the study conducted by Information Solutions Group, 72 percent of these hardcore social gamers are playing two or more games at once, and 47 percent are playing three or more. If you've ever played a game like Kingdoms of Camelot or Kixeye's Backyard Monsters, you know that this is quite a lot to keep up with--much more so than, say, FarmVille.

Not to mention that this growing sub culture of Facebook gamers plays far longer game sessions than the 30 minutes or so your average Bejeweled Blitz player sits down for on lunch break. A massive 68 percent reported playing social strategy games for three hours or longer a day, and 30 percent said they play for longer than an hour per session.

Of course, it's important to keep in mind who commissioned this study: a developer and publisher of hardcore Facebook games. Vested interests aside, it's undeniable that a new breed of Facebook game fan is emerging, and fast. And you have to assume, with advances like download-free 3D gaming on the horizon, these numbers will only grow. Check out the study in full here.

Are you part of this growing portion of Facebook gamers? Do you think social game creators like Zynga, EA and wooga have anything to worry about? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment

1 Comment Kabam study suggests hardcore gamers are flocking to Facebook

hardcore gamers
Have the tables finally turned? Not quite just yet, but slowly and surely they are, a study released by Kabam suggests. The Redwood City-Calif.-based creator of Facebook games like Dragons of Atlantis and Edgeworld recently commissioned a survey of 1,412 "hardcore" gamers to find just how their behavior has changed since the dawn of Facebook games.

Dubbed the "Social Gamer Study," Kabam found that the demographics of the average social game fan are slowly changing--more young to middle-aged men are playing Facebook games. And a whopping 82 percent of them come from the console game space, which is terribly important. This is because 27 percent of those surveyed report playing console games less often.

And perhaps more importantly to those looking to make cash from hardcore games, those surveyed reported spending 50 percent less on console games. Of course, Kabam threw in that players of its games are even more dedicated to Facebook games than console games: 55 percent reported playing console games less and spending 65 percent on the games.
Social Gamer Study findings
According to the study conducted by Information Solutions Group, 72 percent of these hardcore social gamers are playing two or more games at once, and 47 percent are playing three or more. If you've ever played a game like Kingdoms of Camelot or Kixeye's Backyard Monsters, you know that this is quite a lot to keep up with--much more so than, say, FarmVille.

Not to mention that this growing sub culture of Facebook gamers plays far longer game sessions than the 30 minutes or so your average Bejeweled Blitz player sits down for on lunch break. A massive 68 percent reported playing social strategy games for three hours or longer a day, and 30 percent said they play for longer than an hour per session.

Of course, it's important to keep in mind who commissioned this study: a developer and publisher of hardcore Facebook games. Vested interests aside, it's undeniable that a new breed of Facebook game fan is emerging, and fast. And you have to assume, with advances like download-free 3D gaming on the horizon, these numbers will only grow. Check out the study in full here.

Are you part of this growing portion of Facebook gamers? Do you think social game creators like Zynga, EA and wooga have anything to worry about? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment