In class this week, we have been learning about gaming studies. So, I discovered on Facebook the Playfish games that are big players in the social game space. Playfish is leading the social gaming industry and the company is changing the way people play games by creating more social and connected experiences. The games are designed for friends to play together.
The Playfish games are amongst the most acclaimed and popular online. Some of the popular games offered on Facebook are Pet Society, Restaurant City, Hotel City, Country Story and Who Has the Biggest Brain? So, in this case Facebook would be the machine, which is the platform that is being played on. I believe the Playfish games are diegetic because elements contained within the game’s total world narrative. For example, in the game Pet Society one inhabits this living social world with you’re friend’s pets.
Playfish is well known as the keystone game developer for Facebook. A positive thing about Playfish games is they will eventually drive down the costs of traditional marketing. The company markets through the games by selling virtual goods inside its games. The company made a smart choice choosing Facebook, which has over 500 million users. Social games will play a big part of the future of the video games industry. This is going to be the next hot trend because it has already attract millions of daily players.
How interesting. I have friends who work for BigFish games, who also develop Facebook games. I wonder if they are related?
ReplyDeleteI was most interested in your last paragraph where you state, "The company markets through the games by selling virtual goods inside its games." We talked a lot in class about the role of advertisers in our social experiences. Does this role change at all when we are talking about social games?
First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Secondly I have noticed that games have been moving more and more towards team play. Be it Co-op in some first person shooter, helping eachother's farms in Farmville or just playing an MMO, we are becoming social gamers. Some of the factors could be the fact that we now have computers more available for people to gather together on, or that it is becoming socially acceptable.
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