Mark your calendars, proud iPhone owners. Apple announced today at its iPhone 4S event that the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5, will launch Oct. 12 as a free update. And with it comes a brand new Game Center, Apple's answer to existing mobile social game networks like OpenFeint and Mobage (and before that, Ngmoco's Plus network). You see, the company has been dragging its feet somewhat into the mobile social games space.
Regardless, the existing version of Game Center has welcomes 67 million able-thumbed mobile gamers, Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the event. (OpenFeint boasts 115 million users for comparison.) The service will be vastly improved next week with achievements, the ability to find new friends to play with and customizable profiles.
These features have been a part of Game Center's mobile competitors for some time, but despite being a latecomer, the service has managed to garner tens of millions of players. When Apple first revealed Game Center, it was already behind these independent services that have gone on to become, or rather be acquired by, major gaming companies.
Game Center, even with the advantage of being baked directly into iOS rather than individual games like Openfeint, has lots of work to do before it will trump its competitors. It proves that even if the iPod Touch is "the most popular portable game player in the world," according to Cook, it's still not the most popular social mobile game player in the world. That's gonna' take some time.
Showing posts with label Gamasutra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gamasutra. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
MapleStory maker Nexon sets sail on Facebook with Wonder Cruise
Clicking cute creatures in MapleStory Adventures sure was fun, but Korean MMO (massively multiplayer online game) developer Nexon is ready to tread new water on Facebook. (Well, at least new water for Nexon.) The global studio based in South Korea has released Wonder Cruise, its second Facebook game tasking players with creating a world-class cruise ship.
While Gamasutra reports that the game will launch after testing with a small audience later this month, it appears that Wonder Cruise is live now for all. So, consider this the open beta for Wonder Cruise, or as we see it: The game is live. The game comes hot off of the heels of MapleStory Adventures, a Facebook rendition of the hugely successful free-to-play MMO that has already amassed over 2.8 million monthly players.
Wonder Cruise looks an awful lot like Perfect World Entertainment's recent Perfect Getaway, but plays a bit differently. Yes, you're still stuck on the same old cruise ship while your customers see the best of what the world has to offer. But this time around, the cruises, well, actually mean something. Each cruise is timed, and once you leave port after customizing and upgrading your ship with decorations and whatnot from the money that guests throw your way, you must help as many patrons have a good time before your ETA by clicking on them.
Wonder Cruise gameplay
Then, you'll be graded on how many guests you satisfied in the time limit, which matches up with a leaderboard spanning your friends. However, each time you help a guest, it consumes Energy that refills at a slow rate, like all Facebook games. This would be fine if you weren't graded on how many guests you help on a given timed cruise. Unfortunately, if you want those coveted S ranks for each trip, you'll have to either buy Energy or bug your friends.
Wonder Cruise is expected to "officially" launch on Sept. 12, Gamasutra reports. When the game releases from an open beta to most likely yet another open beta, Nexon will introduce more content (and hopefully a fix to this Energy system). As the game is testing, Nexon urges players to take a survey. Until then, keep clicking away on those guests ... at least for a minute or two.
Click here to play Wonder Cruise on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Wonder Cruise out yet on Facebook? What do you think of Nexon's approach to Facebook gaming thus far? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
While Gamasutra reports that the game will launch after testing with a small audience later this month, it appears that Wonder Cruise is live now for all. So, consider this the open beta for Wonder Cruise, or as we see it: The game is live. The game comes hot off of the heels of MapleStory Adventures, a Facebook rendition of the hugely successful free-to-play MMO that has already amassed over 2.8 million monthly players.
Wonder Cruise looks an awful lot like Perfect World Entertainment's recent Perfect Getaway, but plays a bit differently. Yes, you're still stuck on the same old cruise ship while your customers see the best of what the world has to offer. But this time around, the cruises, well, actually mean something. Each cruise is timed, and once you leave port after customizing and upgrading your ship with decorations and whatnot from the money that guests throw your way, you must help as many patrons have a good time before your ETA by clicking on them.
Wonder Cruise gameplay
Then, you'll be graded on how many guests you satisfied in the time limit, which matches up with a leaderboard spanning your friends. However, each time you help a guest, it consumes Energy that refills at a slow rate, like all Facebook games. This would be fine if you weren't graded on how many guests you help on a given timed cruise. Unfortunately, if you want those coveted S ranks for each trip, you'll have to either buy Energy or bug your friends.
Wonder Cruise is expected to "officially" launch on Sept. 12, Gamasutra reports. When the game releases from an open beta to most likely yet another open beta, Nexon will introduce more content (and hopefully a fix to this Energy system). As the game is testing, Nexon urges players to take a survey. Until then, keep clicking away on those guests ... at least for a minute or two.
Click here to play Wonder Cruise on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Wonder Cruise out yet on Facebook? What do you think of Nexon's approach to Facebook gaming thus far? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
MapleStory maker Nexon sets sail on Facebook with Wonder Cruise
Clicking cute creatures in MapleStory Adventures sure was fun, but Korean MMO (massively multiplayer online game) developer Nexon is ready to tread new water on Facebook. (Well, at least new water for Nexon.) The global studio based in South Korea has released Wonder Cruise, its second Facebook game tasking players with creating a world-class cruise ship.
While Gamasutra reports that the game will launch after testing with a small audience later this month, it appears that Wonder Cruise is live now for all. So, consider this the open beta for Wonder Cruise, or as we see it: The game is live. The game comes hot off of the heels of MapleStory Adventures, a Facebook rendition of the hugely successful free-to-play MMO that has already amassed over 2.8 million monthly players.
Wonder Cruise looks an awful lot like Perfect World Entertainment's recent Perfect Getaway, but plays a bit differently. Yes, you're still stuck on the same old cruise ship while your customers see the best of what the world has to offer. But this time around, the cruises, well, actually mean something. Each cruise is timed, and once you leave port after customizing and upgrading your ship with decorations and whatnot from the money that guests throw your way, you must help as many patrons have a good time before your ETA by clicking on them.
Wonder Cruise gameplay
Then, you'll be graded on how many guests you satisfied in the time limit, which matches up with a leaderboard spanning your friends. However, each time you help a guest, it consumes Energy that refills at a slow rate, like all Facebook games. This would be fine if you weren't graded on how many guests you help on a given timed cruise. Unfortunately, if you want those coveted S ranks for each trip, you'll have to either buy Energy or bug your friends.
Wonder Cruise is expected to "officially" launch on Sept. 12, Gamasutra reports. When the game releases from an open beta to most likely yet another open beta, Nexon will introduce more content (and hopefully a fix to this Energy system). As the game is testing, Nexon urges players to take a survey. Until then, keep clicking away on those guests ... at least for a minute or two.
Click here to play Wonder Cruise on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Wonder Cruise out yet on Facebook? What do you think of Nexon's approach to Facebook gaming thus far? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
While Gamasutra reports that the game will launch after testing with a small audience later this month, it appears that Wonder Cruise is live now for all. So, consider this the open beta for Wonder Cruise, or as we see it: The game is live. The game comes hot off of the heels of MapleStory Adventures, a Facebook rendition of the hugely successful free-to-play MMO that has already amassed over 2.8 million monthly players.
Wonder Cruise looks an awful lot like Perfect World Entertainment's recent Perfect Getaway, but plays a bit differently. Yes, you're still stuck on the same old cruise ship while your customers see the best of what the world has to offer. But this time around, the cruises, well, actually mean something. Each cruise is timed, and once you leave port after customizing and upgrading your ship with decorations and whatnot from the money that guests throw your way, you must help as many patrons have a good time before your ETA by clicking on them.
Wonder Cruise gameplay
Then, you'll be graded on how many guests you satisfied in the time limit, which matches up with a leaderboard spanning your friends. However, each time you help a guest, it consumes Energy that refills at a slow rate, like all Facebook games. This would be fine if you weren't graded on how many guests you help on a given timed cruise. Unfortunately, if you want those coveted S ranks for each trip, you'll have to either buy Energy or bug your friends.
Wonder Cruise is expected to "officially" launch on Sept. 12, Gamasutra reports. When the game releases from an open beta to most likely yet another open beta, Nexon will introduce more content (and hopefully a fix to this Energy system). As the game is testing, Nexon urges players to take a survey. Until then, keep clicking away on those guests ... at least for a minute or two.
Click here to play Wonder Cruise on Facebook Now >
Have you tried Wonder Cruise out yet on Facebook? What do you think of Nexon's approach to Facebook gaming thus far? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Putting the 'face' in Facebook games: Arkadium and Image Metrics
Arkadium is likely best known on Facebook for games like Mahjongg Dimensions and Cooking Mama, but that's about to change. Thanks to a brand new partnership with Image Metrics, an animation studio best known for the facial capture technology it provides to traditional game developers, your own face could be the star of Arkadium's next Facebook game.
During an interview with Gamasutra, the new found duo revealed Portable You, a new toolset for Facebook game developers--starting with New York City-based Arkadium--to allow players to include their own face as the centerpiece of their avatars. Using a simple webcam, Portable You, embedded in any given Facebook, could create a 3D rendering of your head and face.
By the way, that picture to the right is a 3D reproduction of an actress's face done by Image Metrics--it's not real. But we doubt Portable You will be as powerful. This is especially considering the technology was bought through an acquisition of Big Stage earlier this year.
"Mostly we've been the user of our own technologies," Image Metrics CEO Robert Gehorsam said to Gamasutra. "But we've also really come to realize and believe there's a major shift going on in how people want to represent themselves, express themselves and communicate online, starting with creating your own character in a game."
"We work directly from video; we don't require any kind of markers, or the special makeup," Gehorsam told Gamasutra. "We can go directly from a video screen or from a single image to 3D animation... through a whole bunch of equations that recognize the face in a 2D context. It's not a photo; it's really 3D."
Sure, this has the potential to introduce a never-before-seen level of immersion to Facebook games. The idea of representing or expressing yourself more accurately than ever has plenty of charm. But the more pressing question I have for Image Metrics is: How well does Portable You render beards?
What do you think this type of technology means for Facebook games in the future? Would you ever place a 3D version of yourself into your favorite Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add CommentAdd Comment
During an interview with Gamasutra, the new found duo revealed Portable You, a new toolset for Facebook game developers--starting with New York City-based Arkadium--to allow players to include their own face as the centerpiece of their avatars. Using a simple webcam, Portable You, embedded in any given Facebook, could create a 3D rendering of your head and face.
By the way, that picture to the right is a 3D reproduction of an actress's face done by Image Metrics--it's not real. But we doubt Portable You will be as powerful. This is especially considering the technology was bought through an acquisition of Big Stage earlier this year.
"Mostly we've been the user of our own technologies," Image Metrics CEO Robert Gehorsam said to Gamasutra. "But we've also really come to realize and believe there's a major shift going on in how people want to represent themselves, express themselves and communicate online, starting with creating your own character in a game."
"We work directly from video; we don't require any kind of markers, or the special makeup," Gehorsam told Gamasutra. "We can go directly from a video screen or from a single image to 3D animation... through a whole bunch of equations that recognize the face in a 2D context. It's not a photo; it's really 3D."
Sure, this has the potential to introduce a never-before-seen level of immersion to Facebook games. The idea of representing or expressing yourself more accurately than ever has plenty of charm. But the more pressing question I have for Image Metrics is: How well does Portable You render beards?
What do you think this type of technology means for Facebook games in the future? Would you ever place a 3D version of yourself into your favorite Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add CommentAdd Comment
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