Shark Lady Games

The Next Facebook Hit Game? PopCap Preps Zuma Blitz

Shark Lady Games — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:46:00 +0000

PopCap Games, the evil people responsible for some of the worst time-wasters ever (also known as casual video games), announced that Zuma, its second best-selling game, with nearly 20 million units sold worldwide, will soon be debuting on Facebook in a free, social form. The new games will be called Zuma Blitz, and will include a host of social-centric features new to the game.

Zuma Blitz is expected to roll out gradually via Beta launch in approximately three weeks.

PopCap plans to continue evolving Zuma Blitz over time, in a fashion similar to the ongoing addition of major new features and functionality in Bejeweled Blitz. New features available at the introduction of Zuma Blitz next month are expected to include:

Weekly tournaments and leader-boards
New levels introduced regularly
An “experience points” system to unlock additional features and capabilities
A “Treasure Chest” virtual currency-based system for obtaining in-game power-ups
New features such as time extenders, score multipliers and the “Hot Frog” speed mode
Additional information on friends’ in-game performance and status such as medals won, achievements earned at various point thresholds and experience level

Zuma Blitz joins Bejeweled Blitz as PopCap’s second full-fledged social game on Facebook. Bejeweled Blitz has attracted nearly 30 million users since its introduction 18 months ago, and more than 100 million sessions of the game are played each day by consumers worldwide.

More Addictive Casual Games by PopCap

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Evoultion of Video Games Sound and Music

Shark Lady Games — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:56:33 +0000

From the first days of the PC speaker to the high-tech sound cards of today. How did the Monkey Island game sound over the years? Check out this cool clip and listen:

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Pac-Man Celebrates 30 Years

Shark Lady Games — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:35:54 +0000

One of the classic video games of all time has reached an impressive mark – Pac-Man celebrates 30 years of fun and games.

Pac-Man was first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. At the time of its release, the most popular game in the arcades was Space Invaders. Pac-Man has brought a new genre to the video game arena and became one of the most popular games in the world.

In the first 15 months after its release in the U.S., Namco sold more than 100,000 arcade units, while fans spent more than $1 billion in quarters to fuel what would become known as “Pac-Man fever.”

Pac-Man Fun Facts

The four ghosts chasing Pac-Man are called Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde.
Despite the seemingly random nature of some of the monsters, their movements are strictly deterministic, enabling experienced players to devise precise sequences of movements for each level (termed “patterns”) that allow them to complete the levels without ever being caught.
s verified by the Twin Galaxies International Scoreboard on July 3, 1999, the first person to achieve the maximum possible score (3,333,360 points) was Billy Mitchell of Hollywood, Florida, who performed the feat in about six hours.
Pac-Man is one of the few games to have been consistently published for over two decades.
In 1981, Buckner & Garcia released the song “Pac-Man Fever” which went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
“Puck-Man” was the original name of the game. It was changed due to obvious reasons.

Google Doodles an Interactive Pac-Man

Google went all out today with its doodle. This time, Google didn’t settle for an unusual logo – the doodle is actually interactive and you can play a full-fledged game of Pac-Man right there in your browser. Just hit “Insert Coin” and have some classic, 80s fun! Here’s what Google says about it:

Google doodler Ryan Germick and I made sure to include PAC-MAN’s original game logic, graphics and sounds, bring back ghosts’ individual personalities, and even recreate original bugs from this 1980’s masterpiece. We also added a little easter egg: if you throw in another coin, Ms. PAC-MAN joins the party and you can play together with someone else (PAC-MAN is controlled with arrow keys or by clicking on the maze, Ms. PAC-MAN using the WASD keys).

Pac-Man on YouTube

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15 Firsts In Video Game History

Shark Lady Games — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:27:21 +0000

From Listverse:

We are so far away, now, from the original computer games, it doesn’t seem outrageous to claim that in a few years we might achieve complete virtual reality and, indeed, become a race unsure of what is real and what is unreal, as portrayed in films such as The Matrix. Most people have only experienced fully functioning 3D games with decent graphics, but games had beginnings routed in the very basics of electronics and computing. Here are 15 past advancements in video game technology that have made the industry what it is today: they gave birth to it, shaped it and are steering it towards a future.

Read the full post

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Bejeweled Blitz World Record

Shark Lady Games — Sat, 01 May 2010 10:51:45 +0000

Getting a high score on Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook is one thing – but this world record is something completely different.

PopCap games announced that a California steel contractor named Mike Leyde played a single round of Bejeweled 2, for 2,205 hours and 51 minutes over the course of three years.

In that time, he collected 4,872,229 gems, earning the game’s highest possible score, 2,147,483,647. Not only that – the score was apparently so high, that the score display got mad and went blank – maybe because it couldn’t take it anymore.

According to PopCap, Leyde is the first person to ever “beat” Bejeweled 2.

Here’s a video displaying his achievement:

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Gaming Cat

Shark Lady Games — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:26:01 +0000

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God of War III Single Player Campaign Leaked

Shark Lady Games — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:51:51 +0000

God of War 3 is right around the corner, scheduled to be released on March 16, 2010.

If you don’t want to wait until then to see what’s the gameplay like, you might enjoy this very cool single player campaign, leaked to the net a bit prematurely.

Get God of War 3 from Amazon

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Endless Ocean: Blue World – Gameplay

Shark Lady Games — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:35:02 +0000

The first Endless Ocean game wasn’t much to look at. Plain and simple, it was boring. Looks like the developers understood they need to improve it, and now we have the sequel – Endless Ocean: Blue World.

Game Synopsis

This is a cool game for divers and sea lovers. Endless Ocean 2 will take you on a relaxing adventure where you’ll discover ancient ruins, treasure, exotic reefs and much more. Not only will you get the benefits of an enhanced graphical look, but you’ll also have the opportunity to meet more marine life and even run into dangerous situations. Best of all, this time around you wont have to do it alone!

Nintendo’s Wii Speak technology allows you to connect online with a friend or family member to communicate and dive together. So don’t forget your diving buddy!

Endless Ocean 2 Gameplay

Endless Ocean 2 Game Features

The ocean is teeming with life. Hundreds of real-life species are there to be discovered, from seahorses to giant whales.
Are the local fish sick or agitated? Players can view their health status and then use a tranquilizer-like tool to zap the ones in need of rehab with healing energy.
The game also includes a storyline that players can follow as they choose. The plot involves Oceana, a woman who investigates the “Dragon’s Song,” which her father, a prominent ocean explorer, was searching for just before his death.
While at Nine Ball Island, players can become friends with a dolphin and teach it some new tricks. When ona dive, players can even bring along the dolphin, which players can hold onto for extra fast swimming.
For the first time in the series, friends who have broadband Internet access can connect and dive with one another via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, while using the Wii Speak™ microphone to converse.
Players: 1, 2 via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection

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10 Most Popular Games on Facebook – A Closer Look

Shark Lady Games — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:31:16 +0000

Facebook has become the most popular casual games platform around. There aren’t many casual games that can boast tens of millions of active users each month, and it seems that getting into the top-10 list of Facebook games is a very sought-after achievement.

Is there a formula to it? Can you easily create a successful Facebook game? Let’s take a look at the 10 most popular games on Facebook and see what we can find.

#10 – Zoo World by RockYou!

Cute animals are a sure magnet for kids and cute-crazed people. Zoo World has over 18 million monthly active users. This game offers basic, childish graphics and annoying MIDI music. The goal is to manage a successful zoo. The social features are the regular ones – send gifts to friends, boast your zoo achievements and more. The game sends constant status updates about your activity to the profile. You can also buy items and animals using real money – the usual scam. Despite its popularity, the game has a rating of only 3.5 stars.

#9 – PetVille by Zynga

Again with the cute animals. This time – tamagotchi style. In PetVille, you take care of one pet. You need to dress, feed, and decorate its house. The game borrows heavily from PlayFish’s Pet Society. It was launched about 2 months ago, and has over 18 million active users per month.

#8 – Pet Society by PlayFish

This game (again) allows you to grow a virtual pet and interact with it. In Pet Society, you can play games, decorate your house and bring gifts for your friends when you visit them. You can also compete against other pets in the stadium. These are all familiar features if you’ve ever been to NeoPets.com. As we can already see – originality isn’t a required feature when it comes to popular Facebook games. The game has about 18.7 million active users per month.

#7 – Mafia Wars by Zynga

Mafia Wars was more popular in the past, but it seemed to have slid down in the rankings. In the game, you need to start a Mafia family with your friends, do crime jobs for cash, buy weapons and fight – your regular life of crime. Mafia wars leans heavily on its social features – the more members you have in your mafia, the more options you get. This turned the game into a spam machine, where people constantly implore you to join their mafia. Mafia Wars has 24.6 million monthly active users.

#6 – Texas HoldEm Poker by Zynga

This game simply rides on the huge popularity of Texas Holdem, with some added social features, free chips and many announces to remind you that you didn’t play today. There’s also a leveling system to keep it a tad more interesting. Zynga’s Texas Holdem has over 25 million active users per month.

Amazon.com Widgets

#5 – FishVille by Zynga

Fish are a strong theme among the popular Facebook games. They are, apparently, cute and attractive enough to gain the favor of Facebook users. This game replicates the successful model of FarmVille – raise fish, invite your friends and gather items. FishVille has 25.3 million active users per month.

#4 – Happy Aquarium by CrowdStar

Fish theme, remember? Yet another grow-your-fish game, this time by CrowdStar. Players can purchase tropical fish, teach fish cool tricks, decorate their fish tank, and visit other facebook friends in Happy Aquarium. There are over a 100 levels in this game, which accounts for long playing hours and stickiness. This game has 26.3 million active users every month.

#3 – Café World by Zynga

Café World puts the player in charge of a restaurant where they can serve food, collect money, and decorate their restaurant. Time management game developers already know that restaurant management and food games attract a big crowd. Gameplay is very simple and it’s time-based: dishes take a predefined amount of time to prep, and you have to coordinate your game accordingly. The game has 30.2 million active users per month.

#2 – Birthday Cards by RockYou!

Why is this app considered a game? Don’t ask me. Using this app, you can send cards and gifts to your friends, create a custom card or choose from pre-made card designs. This might be a useful app, but that doesn’t explain its popularity, especially after the security blunder, in which 32 million passwords were compromised by a hacker. Still, this app has over 45 million active users per month – which is rather impressive.

#1 – FarmVille by Zynga

The top of the top of Facebook’s games can hardly be considered a game, really. You are a farm owner – raising crops and gaining money by selling them. You can’t lose or die – only advance. The only challenge is how to design your farm and where to stuff your animals. There are many tips and guides on how to make tons of (virtual) money on FarmVille, but in the end it’s basically the ultimate, easy time-killer. Just point and click, and cute sheep will come to you. The lack of challenges and the easy, mindless gameplay are probably the explanation to the huge popularity of the game, which currently has over 70 million active users per month. Sending ducks to your friends has never been more popular.

So, what have we learned from looking at the top 10 games on Facebook?

Not for hardcore gamers – Facebook games are obviously not created for serious gamers. They are even below the average when it comes to casual games – they are easy, you can’t really lose and the main purpose is to keep you around and maybe make a buck or two when you are tempted to use real money to buy virtual products.
You don’t need to be original – On the contrary! Take an already popular game and copy it – the users will come. Zynga’s games are all the same one, basically, only with different graphics and “plot”. Even Texas Holdem, which breaks the pattern, isn’t original in any way. Facebook players, it seems, like the familiar.
Cute RULEZ – Cute animals, cute fish, cute burgers – whatever. Just form a cute game with cute graphics and cute sounds, and the players will flock over.
KIVVSS (Keep It Very Very Simple, Stupid) – Facebook users don’t want challenging levels or mind-flexing games. They want it simple and easy – point, click, get duck. That’s it.
Tons of levels – 100+ levels that can be reached is a surefire way of keeping the players playing.
Social Features – Invite friends and get a bonus, send gifts, get your neighbors to help you around the farm – all of these are good social features which helps games advance and gain more users.
Achievement for every move – You planted your first tree? Achievement! Reward! Invited 3 friends? Bonus! Got a pink fish? Here’s a medal! Well, you get the point – create a huge amount of possible achievements, and make them really easy to achieve.

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4 Differences: A Different Kind of Game

Shark Lady Games — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:54:26 +0000

The casual games scene is hotter than ever. Independent developers are sprouting like mushrooms after the rain, and there are many new games born every day.

A lot of the games are repetitious – things we’ve seen before, played before and got tired of before. On the other hand, games who try something completely new and unknown don’t often succeed, because gamers sometimes prefer the familiar.

Still, you don’t have to re-invent the wheel in order to create a cool new game. Sometimes, it’s enough to give the game a different feel to it – and that’s all you’re going to need.

Check out 4 Differences for example. A new game on Kongregate, that from first look offers nothing new – it’s just another “Find the Differences” game, and it’s even less challenging than the usual ones, because you only need to find four differences, rather than the usual five or six.

Still, 4 Differences is a lovely, different gaming experience. The most prominent feature are the graphics – they are extremely well done and unique, and give a special feel to the game. The surreal music contributes to the soothing effect, making this a fun, relaxing game, with a lot of cool ambiance.

In each stage, the screen is split into two parts – and your mission is to find the differences between the similar-but-different images. For extra comfort, the mouse pointer will move simultaneously in both halves of the screen, making it easier to point out the differences.

The graphics aren’t static, though: airplanes fly in the sky, animals suddenly walk around and the entire scenery moves, reflects and waves with your mouse gestures. A lovely experience which makes this game much more fun to play.

So, we have a simple concept with a unique execution, great graphics and wonderful ambiance. All in all, 4 Differences is a cool game to play!

8 out of 10 points in the Shark Lady scale