The Game of the Day is looking in the attic for a game to play. SKIP-BO Castaway Caper is here. After your ship washes up on the shore of a seemingly deserted island, it quickly becomes clear that the island is not only inhabited, but that it is also home to a powerful volcano. Your presence has awoken and angered the volcano and put the entire island in jeopardy. Fortunately, the islanders are masters at the great game of SKIP-BO™ and are willing to teach you their favorite game. Only you can play SKIP-BO™ with the friendly inhabitants of the island, calm the active volcano, and restore the quiet peace of this tropical paradise.
Click >> play SKIP-BO Castaway Caper
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Thứ Sáu, 6 tháng 1, 2012
Yoostar Playground on Facebook: Viral videos in your control
Just about anyone who watched The Oscars this year would agree the funniest part of the evening was as Anne Hathaway and James Franco frolicked through scenes of Oscar-nominated flicks. With Yoostar 2 for Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Eye by Blitz Games and Yoostar Entertainment Group, players can insert themselves into scenes from classic movies like 300 and The Godfather and ad lib like the pros. But it's only through Yoostar Playground on Facebook that your 30-second clips have the potential to go viral.
Yoostar Playground video gallery
Your ProgressYoostar Playground, developed internally by its publisher, allows players of the console games to upload their ad libbed video clips to the web application and share them with the existing player base. Then, the audience can browse the litany of videos by several different parameters like "Most Popular" or "Top Awarded," and watch away. However, you can then rate those videos through a star system and grant them awards like "Best Script Flip" and of course "Best Actor."
As these videos get rated, they can gain notoriety throughout the community on the full-screen app's home page in the "Featured Videos" section. Players can also share these videos through Facebook and Twitter for friends outside of Yoostar Playground, giving them the potential to go viral. As users view, rate and award videos, their level will increase (pictured right), which increases their renown and their stash of Yoobucks. This in-game currency isn't available for use yet nor can it be bought, but it allows players to gain levels more quickly and boost their notoriety on Yoostar.
Many of the videos on Yoostar Playground are available for public use, meaning other users can take their friends' videos and create a series of scenes through the Video Mashup tool. Say you want to make a "Best of" compilation of the greatest King Leonidas impressions on Yoostar--this is exactly what Video Mashup is for. Users can then take those Mashups and share them for their fellow players to rate and award.
While we've yet to play Yoostar 2 for consoles (or the PC or Mac), the Yoostar Playground companion app is definitely a blast. Players can use the app right now to view and share videos, but we'd imagine creating your own and sharing them through the console games would be far more entertaining.
Click here to check out Yoostar Playground on Facebook Now>
Have you played Yoostar on either Facebook or the consoles? What do you think of the viral potential behind Yoostar videos through Yoostar Playground?
Yoostar Playground video gallery
Your ProgressYoostar Playground, developed internally by its publisher, allows players of the console games to upload their ad libbed video clips to the web application and share them with the existing player base. Then, the audience can browse the litany of videos by several different parameters like "Most Popular" or "Top Awarded," and watch away. However, you can then rate those videos through a star system and grant them awards like "Best Script Flip" and of course "Best Actor."
As these videos get rated, they can gain notoriety throughout the community on the full-screen app's home page in the "Featured Videos" section. Players can also share these videos through Facebook and Twitter for friends outside of Yoostar Playground, giving them the potential to go viral. As users view, rate and award videos, their level will increase (pictured right), which increases their renown and their stash of Yoobucks. This in-game currency isn't available for use yet nor can it be bought, but it allows players to gain levels more quickly and boost their notoriety on Yoostar.
Many of the videos on Yoostar Playground are available for public use, meaning other users can take their friends' videos and create a series of scenes through the Video Mashup tool. Say you want to make a "Best of" compilation of the greatest King Leonidas impressions on Yoostar--this is exactly what Video Mashup is for. Users can then take those Mashups and share them for their fellow players to rate and award.
While we've yet to play Yoostar 2 for consoles (or the PC or Mac), the Yoostar Playground companion app is definitely a blast. Players can use the app right now to view and share videos, but we'd imagine creating your own and sharing them through the console games would be far more entertaining.
Click here to check out Yoostar Playground on Facebook Now>
Have you played Yoostar on either Facebook or the consoles? What do you think of the viral potential behind Yoostar videos through Yoostar Playground?
Thứ Ba, 3 tháng 1, 2012
Google+ Games shows its colors with new game discovery features
The seemingly endless tit for tat battle between Google+ and Facebook may finally be over. Well, at least where games are concerned. The search giant of the same name (minus the "+") issued an update to Google+ Games that includes three new ways for players to discover which games to play next. The lists are "Top Games"," "New Games" and "Staff Picks."
They're pretty much self-explanatory, but the key takeaway here is that features like these take full advantage of the fact that Google+ Games is its own tucked-away section of the social network. Therefore, Google has opted to take more of an app store approach that you'd find at Apple's App Store or the Android Market than Facebook's highly ad-driven and social approach.
Each list appears on the left hand sidebar of the Google+ Games home page, and clicking on each opens a new page. While the way each list is populated is entirely different, they each look identical. Each page features a number of game icons in a grid layout, and mousing over each reveals a description of the game and the option to play. If a player wants to find the newest games on Google+, the guy or gal can simply click on "New Games" and instantly find brand new games to play.
Well, brand new in theory: The majority of social games on Google+ are already available on Facebook, save for exclusive releases like The Godfather: Five Families and GT Racing: Motor Academy. As the platform matures, game discovery features like these could be the selling point for Google+ Games. Your move, Facebook.
Do you think these features could pique your interest in gaming on Google+ once it brings in more games? How do you think Facebook will respond ?
They're pretty much self-explanatory, but the key takeaway here is that features like these take full advantage of the fact that Google+ Games is its own tucked-away section of the social network. Therefore, Google has opted to take more of an app store approach that you'd find at Apple's App Store or the Android Market than Facebook's highly ad-driven and social approach.
Each list appears on the left hand sidebar of the Google+ Games home page, and clicking on each opens a new page. While the way each list is populated is entirely different, they each look identical. Each page features a number of game icons in a grid layout, and mousing over each reveals a description of the game and the option to play. If a player wants to find the newest games on Google+, the guy or gal can simply click on "New Games" and instantly find brand new games to play.
Well, brand new in theory: The majority of social games on Google+ are already available on Facebook, save for exclusive releases like The Godfather: Five Families and GT Racing: Motor Academy. As the platform matures, game discovery features like these could be the selling point for Google+ Games. Your move, Facebook.
Do you think these features could pique your interest in gaming on Google+ once it brings in more games? How do you think Facebook will respond ?
PopCap offers Bejeweled on iPhone, iPad for zilch through Facebook
Your fingers have already scurried across the keyboard to enter "facebook" into that address bar, haven't they. Oh well, for those still reading this, the new Bejeweled for iPhone and iPad is available for free today (Dec. 19) through Facebook. If your memory is a bit fuzzy from the blitz of Christmas shopping and copious drinking to forget the horror, allow us to explain.
Seattle-based PopCap--casual game developer of hits like Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies--had re-released its gem-matching mega hit on iPhone, Bejeweled 2+Blitz, earlier this month as two separate games. One game, Bejeweled Blitz, is completely free to play and is essentially the Facebook game for iPhone. The other, simply called Bejeweled, is a single-player, standalone game with new play modes that costs $.99 on the App Store.
The latter is the one PopCap and Apple are offering for free as of this writing. All you need to do is click this link right here to access Apple's "Free on App Store" app for Facebook. Then, click "Get Your Free App" to receive a code to use in iTunes. If iTunes doesn't open automatically, then launch it and choose the "Redeem" option in the iTunes Store. Just like that, you'll have the brand new Bejeweled for your iPhone and iPad for absolutely nothing. Act fast--like, really fast: We have no clue as to when this promotion will end.
[Via TouchArcade]
Did you pick up your free copy of Bejeweled? What do you think of PopCap's decision to re-release Bejeweled as two games?
Seattle-based PopCap--casual game developer of hits like Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies--had re-released its gem-matching mega hit on iPhone, Bejeweled 2+Blitz, earlier this month as two separate games. One game, Bejeweled Blitz, is completely free to play and is essentially the Facebook game for iPhone. The other, simply called Bejeweled, is a single-player, standalone game with new play modes that costs $.99 on the App Store.
The latter is the one PopCap and Apple are offering for free as of this writing. All you need to do is click this link right here to access Apple's "Free on App Store" app for Facebook. Then, click "Get Your Free App" to receive a code to use in iTunes. If iTunes doesn't open automatically, then launch it and choose the "Redeem" option in the iTunes Store. Just like that, you'll have the brand new Bejeweled for your iPhone and iPad for absolutely nothing. Act fast--like, really fast: We have no clue as to when this promotion will end.
[Via TouchArcade]
Did you pick up your free copy of Bejeweled? What do you think of PopCap's decision to re-release Bejeweled as two games?
Study: Older mobile social gamers play less, but aren't afraid to spend
Old folk don't have the time to wait for energy in their iPhone and Android games--they have ... crossword puzzles to do. Or something like that. It's no wonder then that MocoSpace found in a recent study that older mobile social gamers spend less time playing their smartphone games of choice than their younger counterparts, but way more spend on virtual goods in said games.
MocoSpace, a mobile social games network with 22 million players, surveyed nearly 500,000 MocoSpace users between August and November to find out more about their play and spending habits. Unsurprisingly, mobile social gamers between 25 and 35-years-old spent the most time in their games: 67.9 million collective minutes over three months. However, only 22 percent of players in that same age group bought virtual goods in that time period.
MocoSpace Study chart
Players aged 45 and older, on the other hand, spent just 23.6 million collective minutes in their games of choice, the least of all age groups. Despite that, a whopping 70 percent of the older gamers spent cold, hard credit on virtual goods within the games. Granted, the sample size of older gamers compared to younger--30,297 to 190,210--is far smaller, but the percentage is nevertheless massive.
So, old folks that happen to play games on smartphones either happen to have more disposable income than younger mobile gamers, have less time to waste or a combination of both. (Keep in mind, however, that is study solely consists of MocoSpace users.) You'd think that old curmudgeons would scoff at the thought of buying virtual playthings, but here we are.
MocoSpace study numbers
Are you an older social gamer that buys lots of in-game items? Do you think these findings might be accurate across the board?
MocoSpace, a mobile social games network with 22 million players, surveyed nearly 500,000 MocoSpace users between August and November to find out more about their play and spending habits. Unsurprisingly, mobile social gamers between 25 and 35-years-old spent the most time in their games: 67.9 million collective minutes over three months. However, only 22 percent of players in that same age group bought virtual goods in that time period.
MocoSpace Study chart
Players aged 45 and older, on the other hand, spent just 23.6 million collective minutes in their games of choice, the least of all age groups. Despite that, a whopping 70 percent of the older gamers spent cold, hard credit on virtual goods within the games. Granted, the sample size of older gamers compared to younger--30,297 to 190,210--is far smaller, but the percentage is nevertheless massive.
So, old folks that happen to play games on smartphones either happen to have more disposable income than younger mobile gamers, have less time to waste or a combination of both. (Keep in mind, however, that is study solely consists of MocoSpace users.) You'd think that old curmudgeons would scoff at the thought of buying virtual playthings, but here we are.
MocoSpace study numbers
Are you an older social gamer that buys lots of in-game items? Do you think these findings might be accurate across the board?
Bollywood-styled Mafia Wars for hit film announced on four platforms
Hopes for a Mafia Wars movie were dashed last summer, but Bollywood is busting out the biggest action crime thriller this year in India, and it's coming with a Facebook game in tow.
Set in Germany, about an Indian mob boss taking over the European crime world, the film in question is Don 2: The King is Back, a sequel to Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006) by director Farhan Akhtar and starring Shahrukh "King of Bollyhood" Khan. This in turn, is a remake of the Indian cult film, Don (1978). And it's a big enough deal that aside from Android, iOS, and Facebook, they're also involving the PlayStation 3 in the mix.
India's largest games services company, Gameshastra, is in charge of transforming the film into a third-person action adventure for the PS3, where the player gets to be Shahrukh Khan's character. Mango Games in Bangalore, India will be developing the film's Facebook game, called "Don - The Social Mobsters Game". (There's also even a board game, which is already out. But that one's not making a blip on anyone's radar.)
Details are few, but launch dates have been set, and while the console game will hit the PSN next March, the web and mobile games will be released the same day as the film, December 23. Film producer Ritesh Sidhwani believes that "This is the best way to keep the hysteria going among the fans."
[Hat-tip: Gather]
Does news of the game make you excited for the film, or vice versa? Do you think Facebook can use another mobsters game?
Set in Germany, about an Indian mob boss taking over the European crime world, the film in question is Don 2: The King is Back, a sequel to Don: The Chase Begins Again (2006) by director Farhan Akhtar and starring Shahrukh "King of Bollyhood" Khan. This in turn, is a remake of the Indian cult film, Don (1978). And it's a big enough deal that aside from Android, iOS, and Facebook, they're also involving the PlayStation 3 in the mix.
India's largest games services company, Gameshastra, is in charge of transforming the film into a third-person action adventure for the PS3, where the player gets to be Shahrukh Khan's character. Mango Games in Bangalore, India will be developing the film's Facebook game, called "Don - The Social Mobsters Game". (There's also even a board game, which is already out. But that one's not making a blip on anyone's radar.)
Details are few, but launch dates have been set, and while the console game will hit the PSN next March, the web and mobile games will be released the same day as the film, December 23. Film producer Ritesh Sidhwani believes that "This is the best way to keep the hysteria going among the fans."
[Hat-tip: Gather]
Does news of the game make you excited for the film, or vice versa? Do you think Facebook can use another mobsters game?
Play Kabam's hardcore strategy social games straight from the desktop
It's like they're PC games, only they're still connected to Facebook and Google+. (Well, that and they still look like browser games.) Kabam has released four of its most popular social games through SweetLabs's Pokki platform, a service that allows developers to turn their web-based games and apps into desktop-based programs with the same functionality.
In short, now you can play Dragons of Atlantis, Thirst of Night, Edgeworld and The Godfather: Five Families without having to open up a web browser and going to Facebook or Google+. Fans of Kabam's "hardcore" social strategy games can now download all four games and play them as if they were downloadable PC games from the start. (Unfortunately, only Windows users need apply.) However, we imagine the games will still require an Internet connection and, almost more importantly, a connection to either social network.
"Kabam creates uniquely rich social games for real gamers, and we couldn't be happier that they're using Pokki to bring those games to the desktop for the first time," SweetLabs co-founder and CMO Chester Ng said. "A word of caution though: One click access to Kabam games without ever having to open a browser can be highly addicting, especially when coupled with real-time in-game notifications."
While one-click access sounds appealing, was it really that difficult to access the games on Facebook or Google+ to begin with? At any rate, this is an interesting move for Kabam, and an obvious attempt at increasing its strategy games' appeal to the "hardcore" gaming crowd. Will they bite? Who knows but if you ask Raptr, "hardcore" gamers already have.
Click here to download Kabam's games for Windows >
What do you think of Kabam releasing its games as desktop applications? Would you rather play your favorite social games straight from your desktop or within the browser?
In short, now you can play Dragons of Atlantis, Thirst of Night, Edgeworld and The Godfather: Five Families without having to open up a web browser and going to Facebook or Google+. Fans of Kabam's "hardcore" social strategy games can now download all four games and play them as if they were downloadable PC games from the start. (Unfortunately, only Windows users need apply.) However, we imagine the games will still require an Internet connection and, almost more importantly, a connection to either social network.
"Kabam creates uniquely rich social games for real gamers, and we couldn't be happier that they're using Pokki to bring those games to the desktop for the first time," SweetLabs co-founder and CMO Chester Ng said. "A word of caution though: One click access to Kabam games without ever having to open a browser can be highly addicting, especially when coupled with real-time in-game notifications."
While one-click access sounds appealing, was it really that difficult to access the games on Facebook or Google+ to begin with? At any rate, this is an interesting move for Kabam, and an obvious attempt at increasing its strategy games' appeal to the "hardcore" gaming crowd. Will they bite? Who knows but if you ask Raptr, "hardcore" gamers already have.
Click here to download Kabam's games for Windows >
What do you think of Kabam releasing its games as desktop applications? Would you rather play your favorite social games straight from your desktop or within the browser?
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