Scavenger Hunt- Due for an Overhauling?

The most promising game by developer James Sablatura boasts an impressive number of users trying to make it to the top in a mad dash of “item finding” that involves a journey across a plethora of profiles and applications. The application is used by 16000-20000 users daily and by 60,000 users monthly.

The Objective of the Game

 To find listed goods in different places within the timeline of a season.

 The one with the most number of items are given a score and is judged the winner.

 You have to come back frequently and see if items in your list have popped up or not and search in different places using different methods.

The Virtues

 Scavenger hunts hold a special place in our heart so the point around which the game has been developed is something that a lot of us can relate to. Those who have been unlucky enough to not play any scavenger hunts in real life can now get a part of the experience by playing the game.

 Each season, new topics are chosen and items specific to that topic are scattered in various places for the players to find. The topics are as varied as they are interesting and ranges from finding pirate goods to Mexican foods.

 The choice of images to represent the list deserves a thumbs-up.

The Shortcomings

 The game’s designing can use some touch-ups. Any one entering the homepage would see paragraph after paragraph of text waiting for them. The FAQ seems to have been written in 15 minutes and the game although simple leaves us craving for more.

 The methods that are employed to find the items leave a lot to be desired. I was disappointed to find that we could get the items by just clicking on the thumbnails of the friends or strangers. The developers should have given some clues that would actually make us use our brain. This would certainly have made the game a lot more interesting than it is now.

 Playing the game is like entering a blind alley. You only proceed up to a point before you realize that there isn’t much more to do. The developers can easily boost the number of users by adding some twists and turns in each season of this “interesting under the surface” game.

Final Verdict

It would be a crying shame to let this game end up in the “washed out” zone. The developers should beef up their attempts to improve the game play and replace the texts with images or at least present the necessary text in a better format. I think I saw a feedback form popping up that day when I was playing the game. If they are paying attention to the voices out there then it would not be long before they find themselves in the right track. Do try the game out and decide for yourself.

3.5 out of 5

Dog Wars- It’s a Dog Eat Dog World

Successful developers know the importance of designing their games differently from their contemporaries to give the gamers a unique experience when they are playing them. It is not always necessary to change the theme of the game radically just because someone else has used a similar one (if that was the case then games like Tekken, Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat etc would not have seen any success after the one vs. one fighting theme was established by King of Fighters, Street Fighter etc.)

Dog Wars might not be able to provide you with an experience that is one of a kind but it would definitely be able to give you a fun time that would make you come back for more.

Objective of the Game
The objective of the game is best summarized by the content of the info section provided by the developers “Become a dog, give yourself a name, choose a breed, and work your way up to become Facebook’s top dog!”. Those who are put off by the unusual nature of the objective and decide that they have other applications they rather spend their idle time in than becoming a dog would be missing out a treat.

The Good

1) The whole concept of the game smells of freshness. Just think of a game that revolves around being a dog and turning yourself into a formidable creature with spell casting abilities and the skill to use dangerous equipments making the usage of fangs a thing of the past.

2) Many of the features of this game are inspired from the insanely famous game of Warcraft and another version of the game that is known as Defense of the Ancients or DOTA. You have items that give you evasive capabilities, damage boost, defense boost, etc. You also get recipes that allow you to combine items to forge more powerful ones and super rare items that give you huge upgrades in stats.

3) Different breeds of dogs that vary from each other in strength, agility and intelligence are at display to choose from. This gives you the unique chance of choosing and becoming the mutt of your choice and train to turn it into the ultimate pooch. The dogs have different primary attributes which get free boosts every time the dog levels up. All of these combined make choosing of the dog a very interesting part of the game.

4) The items and spells that the dogs use to fight each other are hilarious and yet cool. I taught my character to use lightning and sunbeam to deal damage to enemies during fights and as far as I see even more formidable yet funny ones are coming up as I level up.

5) The inclusion of evasive capabilities and damage boosters by varying factors mean that a lot of complicated calculation must be done before you can determine the true attack and damage of an opponent. There are items that reflect back the damage and also ones that multiply damage by some factor based on the difference of level or stat of the different dogs (I found this one especially intriguing).  This ensures that one has the chance to take on other players at higher levels if he/she has the right items and strategy.

6) The substitutions of the necessary components of similar games with things that would make sense if you were a dog have been done with some wise thinking. For example, the concepts of virtual money needed to buy the items have been replaced by bones and biscuits and the idea of having a bank to store the money has been replaced by dig sites where you dig a hole and hide your bones.

7) The explanations of how the abilities and attributes contribute to the fight have been kept simple yet effective.

The Bad
1) Each energy point is restored after every 3 minutes and this waiting can get boring once you get to higher level missions that require a lot of energy.

2) The explanations beside every attribute and beside certain items make the pages look messy at times and it can be corrected easily by putting relevant help files beside each attribute and items.

3) Color scheme and choice of fonts could have been better.

4) The complex calculation of damage (Base damage + Spell Damage + Equipment Damage + Damage Boost from Potions + Extra Damage due to Alliance) and defense (Base Defense + Defensive Spells + Defense from Equipments + Bonus Defense Received from Allies + Bonus Defense due to Potions + Health Rejuvenation Potions etc) might go over the head of casual users who would be left baffled thinking how they lost to a seemingly easier foe.

The Ending

It is a fun game and the learning curve is relatively low. With only 32, 000 users and an average rating of 3.9, I am sad to say that the game deserves a lot more and that the critics have been too harsh in judging it. You should definitely give this game a shot. Try it -Dog Wars

4 out of 5

Superheroes Alliance- There is a Hero in all of Us

Our love for superheroes would be taken to new heights with this application that lets you share the thrills and pains that come along with being in the shoe of one. Follow the code of “United we stand, divided we fall!” as you form alliances and take on the role of being a life saver.Craft your sidekicks and buy cool vehicles to add to your arsenal as you take on villains who don’t know when to quit. Then again the job wouldn’t be any fun if they did!

The Pros

-The greatest strength of the game lies in its simplicity. The sense of being lost in the clutter of options provided is a common experience and woe of casual gamers. The developers deserve a pat in the back for creating the game with that factor in mind.

-The second thing that got my attention was the color scheme and the images used in the application. Although correct usage of these have become bread and butter for any decent game in the social network for example Street Football, Mafia Wars etc but the creation of the correct theme is a difficult hurdle that even many talented developers fumble over. Playing Superheroes Alliance would make you feel that you are a part of the colorful world of Superheroes and the images compliment the theme perfectly.

- The options of building an empire that helps in funding the superhero life, unlocking & mastering new abilities for the hero, choosing from a variety of missions all help in adding variety to the game that would not let you get bored.

- Fighting your allies and other hero alliances and the option of putting up bounty on someone’s head catalyzes the possibility of clan formations which means intensely competitive matches.

- Loved the chat room. Every game should have a similar one designed for it. It helps in communicating with my alliance members a lot easier and also helps in recruiting new members.

The Cons

- Images should have accompanied the smaller missions and some descriptions regarding the hostile situations should be added alongside.

- The necessity of forming big alliances to have success later on the game makes the game a bit tedious.

- The automatic energy fill-up takes too long.

Summing it all up, I can say that if you are into games in the social networks and have a large number of like-minded friends then this game deserves to be given a shot.

Try it out here – Superheroes Alliance

4 stars out of 5

Street Football – Go Underground!

Street Football is a hip and happening Facebook application created by IBT Games Inc. It has 153,859 monthly active users and 334,778 installed the app. in the past 4 months. Fans rate it 4.1 out of 5 (based on 1234 fan reviews). One reviewer stated “It is an excellent game. Everything about it is good. The street store, the challenge board and most of all the team settings (Strategy, Training, Stat and Dressing Room)” So what is the raving all about?

The Street Football app. is the only one of its kind on Facebook, with six players per side; it is not based on the mainstream football but rather the rapidly popularizing underground version that is played in the streets. The matches are informal, and do not necessarily utilize the requirements of a formal 11-a-side football game (also known as Soccer) such as a large field, goal apparatus or match officials. The most basic set-up is usually involved in a street football game, entailing a ball with perhaps a fence or wall used as the goal and items such as clothing and rope used as goalposts. The game involves the player to choose their team of six either manually or randomly from their friend’s list and select a name for their team (and a country to allow you to participate in the national league). You can assign the position you want your team’s players to play in and set their playing mentality from being mostly defensive or offensive. You can train your players in these areas – Technique, Attacking, Defense, Shooting, and Speed. Also players have a level of commitment to the team and condition that their fitness is in. These all have contributions in the outcome of the matches that you play in.

Challenge friends, enemies and other underground teams to win the title of 6-a-side Street Football Champion in this intense game. There is also a dressing room where the manager of the team can distribute special items to team players to improve their commitment, attack and defense in the game. These gifts are purchased from a street store with money gained from winning matches. Players can also purchase venues, training and rehabilitation facilities. How exciting!

Street Football on Facebook is a great way to pass time and get in on the action of the underworld street football league. So why not give it a go?! http://apps.facebook.com/streetfootball/

Twenty20 Cricket – Become the Eye of the Cricketing Storm

With almost 100,000 active monthly users and over 689,000 total users who have joined in the last year, the Twenty20 Cricket game on Facebook is the largest cricket league on the social media games platform.  Released over a year back, the T20 Cricket game has connected cricket fans around the world. Yet another great game developed by IBT Games Inc., it has fans raving “Great”, “Addictive”, “Excellent”, no wonder it is rated 4.1/5 (Based on 2468 user reviews).

Among countries with the highest amount of users who added the application are United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh which is no surprise considering that these are the top teams in the real game and their fans evidently want to join in the fun themselves.

Players bowl, bat and field their way to the top of the league with friends and other T20 members. As the manager of the team, they are responsible for selecting and setting up a triumphant team, using tactics and fixing a formation. They are in charge of training of the team, funding and tournament participation in this most realistic simulation. Tight run chases, big scores, and realistic scorecards in the most sensational cricket game is only some of the phenomena you can expect.

You can even hire your friends to cheer for you in your very own cheer leading squad and you are able sell drinks to the audience during home matches, which earns you money in order to buy various things like your own venue and decorate it with TV screens and flood lights.

Why is this game so addictive? Well, I was fortunate enough when the inventor of the Twenty20 Cricket application, Fazle Taher accepted to have a chat with me about this impressive game.

Interviewer: Why Twenty20 Cricket?

Fazle: I had started playing the first online football management game on Facebook but realized that it wasn’t very user friendly and thought perhaps I should make a similar game but tried cricket instead of football as the IPL has just finished, proving very popular.

Interviewer: How much knowledge about the real game is a prerequisite to play this application?

Fazle: Anyone could play at the beginning, but it is not like that now as real cricket tactics are required to play the new features; such as training bowlers, batters and fielders and knowing which of your team member requires what training. We are continuously adding new features that involve real cricket stratagems.

Interviewer: Where do you envisage the Twenty20 Cricket app. in the near future?

Fazle: We’d like Twenty20 Cricket to be released on an independent platform and anticipate it to be quite interactive. The game now is more like a click and play, though we know browser and text based games are fun and popular, making a Twenty20 Cricket game with graphics and interactive would be something to really look forward to as a player and a developer.

Try it our yourself and do your own review http://apps.facebook.com/twentycricket/

True Blood – Get those Fangs out and bite!

Definitely one of my favorite applications on Facebook at the moment, True Blood is a game based on the world of vampires and their thirst for blood. Created by IBT Games Inc., it is really a great game to get addicted to. Or maybe I am just bias.

Complemented by the illustrations and somber design, it has features that any player would deem an important requirement in a game: setting the scene, characters, an aim and that is to be the best vampire in this crazy blooding sucking world. It also provides a moderately achievable way to get on the Leader board, being occupied and absorbed every step of the way.

How to play: Pretty easy, follow the instructions and you are on your way to climbing the leader board and being the best vampire in the clan. Play missions and learn abilities by teaching your vampire how to attack and defend in fights against friends and others. Earn blood, lose blood, climb the ladder and just have fun while you’re doing it.

Fans of True Blood give the game 5 stars and comments such as “Cool interface and interesting. I liked it” and “Amazing”, so it is proving popular amongst game players. With over 3,000 active monthly users, the amount of vampire-wannabes out there is increasing progressively by the day considering the game is relatively new.

I had the privilege of meeting with the developer of True Blood, Rony Islam, and asked him some questions about the True Blood application.

Interviewer: The concept of True Blood is not original, why did you decide to create this vampire game?

Rony: Games are meant for fun, somewhere you can enjoy a few hours of your spare time by playing a game. Our games’ entire core element is fun. True Blood is based on an established concept, though blending some of our original aspects in it. We love to play characters, especially frightening characters. True Blood will give you the taste of playing as a vampire. When we were thinking of making a horror game, the choice was by default to make a vampire game. Who else can be more fierce and famous than the Vampire creature itself?

Interviewer: How long did it take you to develop?

Rony: Well we are already established as a renowned Facebook games developer, we take our time to make a game, because we believe in the quality of our product. For True Blood, our concept sketching, designing and art work took almost a week to develop (although we were thinking about this game way before that). Our application development stage took another month to develop completely. Our developers and artists worked very hard and with sincerity and raced all together to complete this before our scheduled time.

Interviewer: Can we expect any new and exciting features on the game?

Rony: Yes, you can bet on that. We are currently developing a lot of fresh and thrilling features for our game. We will release those features in the very near future.

Play get your fangs out and play True Blood now http://apps.facebook.com/truebloodvampires/

Social Stock Exchange – it’s about popularity!

If you suppose the Stock Market is boring, think again. IBT Games has developed a Facebook application that provides entertainment, anticipation and of course fun; it is Social Stock Exchange. With almost 5,000 monthly active users, it has been described in reviews by fans as an ‘Awesome Idea’ and a ‘Fun and Innovative App’ (Go to the Social Stock Exchange Fan Page).

Requiring its ‘Stock Brokers’ to buy shares in their friends company, the game makes it essential to invite friends to be fellow brokers. According to players’ activity on Facebook, individual share value price increases, so being popular on Facebook is finally rewarded. Basically, it is an easy game with a lot rewarding amusement.

Applications like Social Stock Exchange allow you to enjoy and play a game, whilst being entertained without needing to have a common interest (like the Twenty20 Cricket app for cricket fans, or EPL Fantasy Football for soccer fans). An easy, relaxing game – that earns your company more $$$ in share price if you just receive comments and ‘likes’ on almost anything on your Facebook.

Being curious about the concept of the game, I was able to catch up with the developer of the game, Fazle Taher, to ask him how the notion of the Social Stock Exchange application was conceived.

Interviewer: How did you think up the concept?

Developer: I wanted to create a game that was viral in nature and that can also incorporate Facebook activity without getting into privacy concerns as the recent ‘Fan Check’ application did.

Interviewer: Why did you choose a game that involved Facebook activity as the key point gainer?

Developer: People spend a lot of time on Facebook, so rewarding our users through their activity was something easy to do. You can also gain wealth in the game by buying and selling shares in your friend’s companies.

Interviewer: Did it take much time to develop?

Developer: As a matter of fact, it only took four days to develop. We are still working on perfecting the game and adding exciting new features to help companies spend their wealth.

Try it yourself http://apps.facebook.com/socialstock/ and write your own review.

EPL Fantasy Football App. – Like Managing a Real Team

With over 37,000 monthly active users (and rising), the EPL Fantasy Football Facebook application, created by IBT Games, has been growing progressively since its official release on 24^th September 2009. EPL and game buffs were so eager that they added this stimulating game weeks before its official release.

Being not like your regular game, it combines online competition with real life results, so there’s a small element of chance involved. For those of you who don’t know the game, it requires sports fanatics to play the role of a football manager and choose a team of 15 from the existing players of the real English Premier League allowing you $100 million to purchase them. Each player has a price and rating so you must select the players who you think will play well. After the real life matches each game week, according to the performance of a team and its players, your player either loses or gains points. You can transfer players at the end of each game week (obviously you’d want to kick out the lowest scoring players). Individual teams are viewed on a ladder – showing the leading game teams in the EPL Fantasy Football application. These teams also contribute to a league made up of teams from your country or leagues you have formed with your friends circle.

Recently caught up with the developer of EPL Fantasy Football application, Mirza Asif, and asked him about how he came up with the concept of such an addictive game, he answered “We know how popular the English Premier League is and we wanted to create something on Facebook that would allow users to share their passion”.

It is thought that a game like this would take time, usually involving some blood, sweat and tears considering it’s about English Premier League, so I asked Asif how long was the actual process of creating the game, he replied “We actually did this in a week. It was a spur of the moment action by the team”. Wow, I guess it must’ve taken a lot of coffee, good on you guys.

Eager to play yourself click on the link http://apps.facebook.com/eplfantasyfootball/

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