Though Halloween is officially over, that doesn't mean our games have to be any less magical. Playfish is set to introduce the new Wizard School set of items to Restaurant City this Thursday. This new theme is sure to transform your restaurant into an enchanted eatery in no time with outdoor and indoor decorations. Let the Magic Broom, which will replace your janitorial staff, do the cleaning for you. O Mirror of Gluttony, an item that will generate 1,500 coins every four hours for two and a half days before it breaks from reflecting so many overindulgent customers. (Is Playfish trying to say something here?)
Frankly, the Wizard School theme is clearly biting off inspired by the Harry Potter series. Especially considering this set of items comes just in time for the November release of the seventh film based on the infamous novels. You'll also find decorations like Harry Butter and Ham-oniony (who comes up with this stuff?) as well. But Playfish knows what you really want: the recipes. So, this week both Chocolate Toads (sound familiar?) and Butternut Squash will be added to the game. But this is just scratching the surface of what's to be introduced tomorrow, so take a look at the full list on the Restaurant City Blog and brush up on your spell book for when this new theme lands tomorrow.
Thứ Năm, 2 tháng 2, 2012
Thứ Tư, 1 tháng 2, 2012
CityVille leaves Zynga Lotto fans out in the suburbs
Zynga Lotto fans are feeling quite abandoned right now.
Nearly two months ago, Zynga used Zynga Lotto -- a free, virtual lottery system with exclusive freebies strictly for fans of Zynga's games -- to announce a new Facebook game for the fall. Players had to collect three keys by 'scratching off' tickets. After receiving the keys, they were awarded with the following message: "YOU WON! Exclusive access to Zynga's newest game! (Coming soon)." At which point, Zynga Lotto seemed more awesome than ever. But suddenly, a week after that, Zynga Lotto gets shut down without warning. And then, one week ago from today, Zynga lifts the curtain on their new game, which turns out to be CityVille.
Understandably, this revelation has left some fans upset and others confused, so here's what's going on. As far as I can tell, Zynga hasn't contacted any of the Zynga Lotto winners for the CityVille exclusive "sneak peak" grand prize (of which I am one), so if you didn't get an email from them about it, it's not because your spam filter ate it. I'm also here to confirm that there is no other game coming out -- CityVille is where it's at.
Now, exactly when CityVille will be launching is the top question on people's minds. Despite the big unveiling last week, no one can play the game yet. CityVille is set to be Zynga's first worldwide launch, and is going to be available in five languages -- English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. That's certainly going to take time to do. For now, we can only hope that when the game's halfway to ready, and no matter how buggy or rocky the start, all the Zynga Lotto winners can get first dibs.
Nearly two months ago, Zynga used Zynga Lotto -- a free, virtual lottery system with exclusive freebies strictly for fans of Zynga's games -- to announce a new Facebook game for the fall. Players had to collect three keys by 'scratching off' tickets. After receiving the keys, they were awarded with the following message: "YOU WON! Exclusive access to Zynga's newest game! (Coming soon)." At which point, Zynga Lotto seemed more awesome than ever. But suddenly, a week after that, Zynga Lotto gets shut down without warning. And then, one week ago from today, Zynga lifts the curtain on their new game, which turns out to be CityVille.
Understandably, this revelation has left some fans upset and others confused, so here's what's going on. As far as I can tell, Zynga hasn't contacted any of the Zynga Lotto winners for the CityVille exclusive "sneak peak" grand prize (of which I am one), so if you didn't get an email from them about it, it's not because your spam filter ate it. I'm also here to confirm that there is no other game coming out -- CityVille is where it's at.
Now, exactly when CityVille will be launching is the top question on people's minds. Despite the big unveiling last week, no one can play the game yet. CityVille is set to be Zynga's first worldwide launch, and is going to be available in five languages -- English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. That's certainly going to take time to do. For now, we can only hope that when the game's halfway to ready, and no matter how buggy or rocky the start, all the Zynga Lotto winners can get first dibs.
FarmVille Sneak Peak: Candy Canes for the USCF Benioff Children's Hospital
FarmVille UCSF
Zynga's getting ready to rake in the dough this holiday season, but it's all for a good cause. Last week, we learned that FarmVille's new Candy Cane crop is actually part of a larger social media fund-raising effort to help pay for the construction of the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, to which Zynga has pledged 100% of its donations.
FarmVille UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital
Details of this new donation campaign can be seen (in the above image and) as a leaked Flash file on the FarmVille website here. Permits to grow the Candy Canes are tentatively priced at a whopping 240 Farm Cash, which is about $40 USD. After which, they'll cost 10 Coins each, sell for 125 Coins, harvest in 2 days, will never wither, and yield 3 XP.
Before anyone freaks out, remember that this is all just a work-in-progress, so the details can change at any time. Now that we have an idea what to expect, the final surprise is what the collectible gift will be. The last major FarmVille charity event -- the "School of Choice" in Haiti -- earned everyone a free "L' Ecole de Choix" Hot Air Balloon for their farms.
Zynga's getting ready to rake in the dough this holiday season, but it's all for a good cause. Last week, we learned that FarmVille's new Candy Cane crop is actually part of a larger social media fund-raising effort to help pay for the construction of the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, to which Zynga has pledged 100% of its donations.
FarmVille UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital
Details of this new donation campaign can be seen (in the above image and) as a leaked Flash file on the FarmVille website here. Permits to grow the Candy Canes are tentatively priced at a whopping 240 Farm Cash, which is about $40 USD. After which, they'll cost 10 Coins each, sell for 125 Coins, harvest in 2 days, will never wither, and yield 3 XP.
Before anyone freaks out, remember that this is all just a work-in-progress, so the details can change at any time. Now that we have an idea what to expect, the final surprise is what the collectible gift will be. The last major FarmVille charity event -- the "School of Choice" in Haiti -- earned everyone a free "L' Ecole de Choix" Hot Air Balloon for their farms.
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in ABC Family Christmas promotion
Zynga has launched yet another promotion in FarmVille, offering users a chance at 2 free Farm Cash, just for answering a quick poll question.
This time, the promotion is brought to us by ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, and asks you "If you were a classic Christmas character, who would you be?" In order to answer the question, simply click on the sponsored link window, as seen at right. This will load a new window where you can cast your vote to the question, at which point you'll earn your free Farm Cash.
Once you complete the activity, your free Farm Cash will automatically be added to your in-game total - no extra steps necessary.
This time, the promotion is brought to us by ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, and asks you "If you were a classic Christmas character, who would you be?" In order to answer the question, simply click on the sponsored link window, as seen at right. This will load a new window where you can cast your vote to the question, at which point you'll earn your free Farm Cash.
Once you complete the activity, your free Farm Cash will automatically be added to your in-game total - no extra steps necessary.
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Ornament Fountain, Pink Winter Tree, Icy Archway, & More
With many FarmVille players already transitioning their farms from a look of fall and Thanksgiving to one of winter and Christmas, it's only fitting that we would come across some new Winter/Holiday-themed unreleased item images. There are quite a few new decorations that may or may not be coming to FarmVille in the near future, and we're here to give you a look at them.
As you can see from the image above, some of these items are holiday-themed, while others just represent winter. From left to right, we believe the items are the Pink Winter Tree, Ornament Fountain, Ice Cube (Melting), White Holiday Teddy Bear, Winter Icy Archway, and Winter Ice Cube. Keep in mind that these items may have different names once they are finally released.
As far as we know, if and when the Pink Winter Tree does come out, it will be a decorative item, rather than a tree that can be harvested, but as usual, there is no guarantee that any of these items will actually see the light of day in the game, so keep that in mind.
As you can see from the image above, some of these items are holiday-themed, while others just represent winter. From left to right, we believe the items are the Pink Winter Tree, Ornament Fountain, Ice Cube (Melting), White Holiday Teddy Bear, Winter Icy Archway, and Winter Ice Cube. Keep in mind that these items may have different names once they are finally released.
As far as we know, if and when the Pink Winter Tree does come out, it will be a decorative item, rather than a tree that can be harvested, but as usual, there is no guarantee that any of these items will actually see the light of day in the game, so keep that in mind.
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Mrs. Claus, Cream Teddy Bear, & Tan Teddy Bear avatar costumes
While farmers everywhere are busy taking advantage of the double mastery weekend currently taking place in FarmVille, we've been able to find a lot of new unreleased items and decorations that may or may not be launching in the game this holiday season.
This time around, we can bring you a sneak peek of three new costumes for your FarmVille avatar. The first is a Mrs. Claus costume, that will be for girl avatars. Will there be a Santa Claus outfit released as well? One would think so.
The other two outfits represent holiday toys, in the form of a Cream Teddy Bear and a Tan Teddy Bear costume. These costumes are mostly identical, save for the red bow that the Cream Teddy Bear wears around his neck, and of course, the color.
As usual, there is no guarantee that these items will actually make it into FarmVIlle, so keep that in mind.
This time around, we can bring you a sneak peek of three new costumes for your FarmVille avatar. The first is a Mrs. Claus costume, that will be for girl avatars. Will there be a Santa Claus outfit released as well? One would think so.
The other two outfits represent holiday toys, in the form of a Cream Teddy Bear and a Tan Teddy Bear costume. These costumes are mostly identical, save for the red bow that the Cream Teddy Bear wears around his neck, and of course, the color.
As usual, there is no guarantee that these items will actually make it into FarmVIlle, so keep that in mind.
Thứ Hai, 30 tháng 1, 2012
Bejeweled 2, Angry Birds for iPhone violate your privacy, WSJ reports
Zynga and LOLapps may not be the only ones after your personal information for an extra buck. In a report published by the Wall Street Journal today, complete with flashy infographic breaking it down for reader, reporters found that games like Bejeweled 2 and Angry Birds for the iPhone and Android phones may be sending your private data such as contacts, your phone's unique ID number and even your phone number to third party marketing and advertising firms.
The report encompassed 101 of the most popular apps and games on both platforms and, more specifically, found that Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, knows your phone's unique ID number, contacts and location thanks to you playing the game. Worse off, WSJ suspects that the company is sending that information to third parties. In a reaction statement made today by the developer, Rovio denied all allegations that it is sending this information to anyone other than Crystal, the social network that supports its games, and uses Flurry, an analytical software.
"Crystal does not store any personal information, as insinuated by the WSJ article, nor does it utilize any data without the user's explicit knowledge," a Rovio spokesperson told gaming news site Develop. "Flurry collects analytical data to display numerical data such as numbers of users per different countries based on Phone ID and general location. This information is only displayed as aggregate statistics - Flurry never stores or displays any data pertaining to an individual."
As for Bejeweled 2, WSJ found in its research that PopCap, the game's developer and publisher, knows your user names, passwords and phone number. And yes, it too is sending that information to third parties, according to the Journal report. PopCap has yet to make a statement confirming or denying the claims made by WSJ.
And don't think these are the only games and apps that could be making some coin off your private information. The chart and infographic go on to mention that Doodle Jump, Ninjump, Paper Toss, Foursquare and even Tweet Deck are having their way with a least a sliver of your personal data. While the report does point a few fingers, its true purpose is to raise awareness to the fact that our personal data may not be safe even on our smartphones.
The report ends with a poll asking whether readers feel that games and apps should notify them of when they're accessing their information. A whopping 66 percent seem to feel that it should be done every time. And if the Journal's findings turn out to be true, well, I'd have to agree.
The report encompassed 101 of the most popular apps and games on both platforms and, more specifically, found that Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, knows your phone's unique ID number, contacts and location thanks to you playing the game. Worse off, WSJ suspects that the company is sending that information to third parties. In a reaction statement made today by the developer, Rovio denied all allegations that it is sending this information to anyone other than Crystal, the social network that supports its games, and uses Flurry, an analytical software.
"Crystal does not store any personal information, as insinuated by the WSJ article, nor does it utilize any data without the user's explicit knowledge," a Rovio spokesperson told gaming news site Develop. "Flurry collects analytical data to display numerical data such as numbers of users per different countries based on Phone ID and general location. This information is only displayed as aggregate statistics - Flurry never stores or displays any data pertaining to an individual."
As for Bejeweled 2, WSJ found in its research that PopCap, the game's developer and publisher, knows your user names, passwords and phone number. And yes, it too is sending that information to third parties, according to the Journal report. PopCap has yet to make a statement confirming or denying the claims made by WSJ.
And don't think these are the only games and apps that could be making some coin off your private information. The chart and infographic go on to mention that Doodle Jump, Ninjump, Paper Toss, Foursquare and even Tweet Deck are having their way with a least a sliver of your personal data. While the report does point a few fingers, its true purpose is to raise awareness to the fact that our personal data may not be safe even on our smartphones.
The report ends with a poll asking whether readers feel that games and apps should notify them of when they're accessing their information. A whopping 66 percent seem to feel that it should be done every time. And if the Journal's findings turn out to be true, well, I'd have to agree.
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