FrontierVille on Facebook: 'FarmVille meets Oregon Trail' [video]

Check out the trailer for Zynga's FrontierVille.

Click here to learn more about this new wild west themed Facebook game.

FarmVille Piglet disabled due to technical difficulties

Tonight, in an announcement on the Zynga Forums, Lexilicious has announced that the baby piglet feature is currently disabled while technical issues are resolved. Although currently disabled, some farmers were able to take advantage of the baby piglet feature before it was turned off.
FarmVille says Congratulation on your pig giving birth
FarmVille Piglet on FarmHere is an explanation of how the feature works:

A farmer will come across an expectant pig on their farm and be prompted to return the pregnant pig to their owner (it appears most owners are currently inactive FarmVille players). The farmer then posts to the owner's wall asking them to claim the pig.

Once the owner of the pig claims them, they place on their farm and return 24 hours later for the birth of the piglets.

When the piglets are born, the owner is then given the opportunity to share with neighbors via the neighbor selection process, similar to gift sending. There is no public post to the wall, so the owner will need to select the individuals they wish to give the piglets to and the recipient will need to accept via gift request page.

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

Five things you need to know about social games [GDC Online]

This year's Game Developer's Conference Online in Austin brought together 3,000 people, including game developer wannabes and industry insiders from World of Warcraft-maker Blizzard and FarmVille-maker Zynga (among others) with talks on how to make good games and some of the larger trends in online games.

gdc online 2010Social gaming (on Facebook and otherwise) played a major role in the conference, with a series of sessions devoted to the topic, which included a standout talk from FrontierVille creator Brian Reynolds (our full interview with him is coming soon), Playdom's Raph Koster and the first-ever Game Developer Choice Online Awards, where Social City was honored as the Best Social Network Game of the Year.

After sitting through a slew of panels, lectures, roundtables (and heated conversations at during a series of evening events), here's a list of five social gaming trends you can expect to see in the coming year.

1. Social gaming is not going away anytime soon

Everyone's buzzing about how FarmVille and the other top games have been losing players faster than a cat sheds its winter coat. And while that is largely true for the top 20 games on Facebook, newer games have still managed to attract players at a respectable rate. Two prime examples of this are Booyah's Nightclub City (a nightclub management sim game with music from real-life artists) and Casual Collective's Backyard Monsters (a tower defense game), and that trend is expected to continue into next year. So instead of Facebook gaming dying, it sounds more like it's changing. People are growing tired of the same old farm and pet games and are ready for the next big thing.


2. Expect social games to look better and offer more original game experiences

FarmVille and the rest of the first-generation social games haven't exactly had the best-looking graphics or most sophisticated game experiences. And that has been OK until recently. Game-wise, FrontierVille set the bar in creating a very playable social game, infusing all of that gift giving and neighbor visiting with popular game elements borrowed from Mario (yes, that Mario), Sonic, Diablo and World of Warcraft. Social games like ngmoco's We Rule and We Farm on iOS devices have set a new standard for high production values, and we expect that social game makers will be upping the ante on their creations in the near future.

3. Social gaming is going mobile (for reals this time)

It's hasn't been easy to transport social games from Facebook to iPhone, but we predict that this will be the year that mobile social gaming will have its coming out party in the US. Whether its social games companies like Zynga and Playfish figuring out how to launch games on iPhone and iOS (as well as making the leap to Android) or some dark horse mobile game maker beating Zynga to the punch -- it's clear that social games will be a must-play on mobile in the near future.

4. The debate on whether FarmVille, et al, is 'evil' or 'really a game' continues

While it seems like a no-brainer that games like FarmVille and Pet Society appeal to mostly women gamers who may also play games like Bejeweled and Mystery Case Files, this doesn't seem to be common knowledge for everyone. This was most evident in a roundtable called 'Do Social Games Suck?" where there were far too many comparisons between FarmVille and Halo or FarmVille and World of Warcraft. There was no final conclusion if these games 'suck,' but there is still a perception that FarmVille and its ilk are 'evil,' 'addictive' and are 'not really games.' The 200+ million Facebook users who play social games might disagree.

5. Big brands will flood Facebook this coming year

A few big video games brands (Madden, FIFA) made the jump to Facebook this year, with marginal success, but big brands (as in, stuff that even your grandma would know) will be headed to Facebook. You can already spin the Big Wheel in a Price is Right Facebook game, and you'll soon be able to Pass Go and Collect $200 in a Facebook Monopoly game from EA/Playfish.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: White Ram, Snow Goose, Arctic Rabbit, Muskox

It's time once again for a FarmVille Sneak Peek, where we bring you leaked images of unreleased items that might be coming to FarmVille in the near future. This time around, we've come across a set of unreleased animals, all of which seem to have a connection to the upcoming winter holiday.

The animals are (from left to right), the White Ram, Snow Goose, Arctic Rabbit and Muskox. It's unclear yet as to whether or not these animals will be available for Farm Cash or coins (we're assuming the former for all of them), or how much they'll be worth when harvested.

As usual, there is no guarantee that any of these items will officially launch in the game, so keep that in mind.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Mini Black Stallion & Mini Black Stallion Foal

This weekend has been a good one for the released of leaked images from FarmVille, allowing us to bring you another FarmVille Sneak Peek, which contains images of items that may or may not be coming to FarmVille in the near future.

This time around, we've spotted images of a Mini Black Stallion, perfect for those users that are tired of waiting for the Wandering Stallion to appear and help them breed foals in the Horse Stable. We're assuming this Stallion will be sold in the store for Farm Cash, but of course that hasn't been confirmed as of this writing.

The Black Stallion Foal, then, is what we're assuming would be produced when a Mini Black Stallion is placed inside the Horse Stable.

As usual, there is no guarantee that these animals will actually be released in the game, so keep that in mind.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Train Station & Santa's Post Office

In anticipation of the upcoming Winter Holiday season, we've come across new leaked images of some unreleased Winter Holiday items in FarmVille, allowing us to bring you a sneak peek of these items, that may or may not be coming to FarmVille in the near future.

This time around, we have images of a holiday-themed Train Station, and a Santa's Post Office building. The Train Station will go fabulously with the also (as-of-now) unreleased Winter Holiday Train that we told you about a few days ago. We're guessing it will be available for Farm Cash, although there's no official confirmation of that as-of-now.

The other building, the Santa's Post Office is a lovely, colorful building with shipping boxes piled up to one side, showing just how much mail the big man receives every year.

As usual, there is no guarantee that these items will actually be launched in the game, so keep that in mind.

New FarmVille Limited Edition Crop: White Poinsettia (requires seed packets)

As part of tonight's FarmVille update, we see the release of a new limited edition crop in the game that flower-lovers will definitely appreciate. The crop is the White Poinsettia, and just like the regular Poinsettia before it, it is a limited time offering that you'll need to be fast to plant and harvest if you want a chance at full mastery.

The White Poinsettias are a crop just like the Black Roses from Halloween, that must be collected in seed packets before they can be planted. You can click on the "Get" button next to the White Poinsettia crop in the store in order to "Ask for more" seed packets, with this allowing you to post a general request to your wall for your friends to see. Since this might be looked over by many players, you might try asking some of your closest neighbors personally to send you some (they are available to send in packets of 20 from the game's free gifts page).

Once you have packets of seeds, you'll be able to plant them and harvest them 16 hours later. You'll get 200 coins for each harvest, and you'll earn 2 experience points for each seed that you plant. As with other crops, the White Poinsettia can be mastered, with the first star of mastery coming at 250 harvests.

The White Poinsettias will only be available to grow for the next 22 days, so what are you waiting for?

FarmVille Winter Holiday items: Candy Cane Chicken, Winter Castle, Reindeer Balloon & More

If you check out the "Specials" tab of the FarmVille marketplace, you'll see that the middle image has now been transformed to say "Last Chance!" on "Winter Holiday Items!" However, the fact that the Christmas holiday is now just days away hasn't stopped Zynga from adding even more items to this quickly expiring theme.

Tonight's FarmVille update sees the release of a new animal, a new (and very large) building, along with five new decorative items in the game's store. Luckily, the majority of the decorative items are available for coins, so if you've got any extra space on your farm to hold them, be sure to check out all of the details about these new items with us behind the break.

First, the new animal is one that we gave you a Sneak Peek of a few days ago. It is the Candy Cane Chicken, and it is available to purchase for 25 Farm Cash. Candy Cane Chickens, when placed into a Chicken Coop, have a chance of laying a treasured Candy Cane Mystery Egg, which can then be shared with your friends via a generic wall post. As for your own farm, the chicken can be harvested from once per day and will give you 64 coins in the process. The chicken will be available for the next 9 days.

Moving on, the new building is the Winter Castle, another item that we gave you a Sneak Peek of earlier this week. It is available for 42 Farm Cash. You'll receive 4200 experience points as a reward for purchasing it, and if you'd like to sell it once the holiday season is over, you'll receive 21,000 coins in return. That's not very much, so maybe you'd try storing it instead? I know I would.

As for the decorations, four out of the five new items go for coins. The one premium item is the Reindeer Gnome. Gnome collectors better have their in-game wallets ready, as the Gnome will cost 12 Farm Cash to add to your collection. However, if you're willing to make the splurge, you'll receive 1200 experience points as a reward for doing so.

The other four items are the Chilipepper Lights, the Lighted Saguaro cactus, the Reindeer Balloon, and the Stocking Planter, which cost 10,000, 30,000, 50,000, and 5,000 coins, respectively. You'll receive 10% of the purchase price as a reward in experience points (100 for the Lights, 300 for the cactus, 500 for the balloon, and 50 for the planter). It should be noted that the Reindeer Balloon is yet another large item to be released in this theme. The base itself isn't large, but the balloon portion is, so it will probably block your view of whatever sits near it / behind it.

And there you have it! Presumably the final addition of Winter Holiday items in FarmVille for the year, which will be available for the next nine days. We'll be sure to let you know if Zynga adds any other decorative items to the game, but until then, happy holidays!

Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.

Which of these new items are you most looking forward to adding to your farm? Is your farm now overflowing with holiday decorations, or would you like Zynga to release even more for your shopping pleasure?

FarmVille: "Reunite Them" Game Bar appears above Farmville gameplay area

For those FarmVille players with a keen eye, you might have noticed a new Game Bar, or progress tracker of sorts that has appeared above the FarmVille gameplay area on Facebook. This Game Bar is described with only a simple sentence: "Complete the Steps to Reunite Them on Your Farm!"

If you look at the image at the top of this post, you'll see that "them" refers to a Brown Lamb and a Brown Sheep, two animals that we brought you a sneak peek of in the middle of December. We didn't know how the animals would be released in the game then, but we definitely have our answer now.

You'll need to complete a series of steps in order to move the Lamb from the left side of the bar to the right, where he can be reunited with the Sheep. Most farmers will have the first two steps completed automatically, as you'll of course need to have installed FarmVille in order to see the bar in the first place, and you must give Zynga access to your email in order to continue playing (we're sure everyone has caved and given some sort of email to Zynga over the past year+).

Oddly enough, even if you are already a fan of the game on Facebook, the third step - "Become a Fan" may not be completed for you, and you'll need to unlike the FarmVille page and like it again in order for your progress to "click" - I can confirm from experience that this method does correct the problem, or at least bypasses it.

The final two steps actually require a bit of work (warning: the final step is likely to annoy most if not all of you - a LOT). First, you'll need to login to the game at least once per day for a three day period - miss a day and it resets, so this must be three consecutive days in a row. Not so bad. However, for the final step, you'll need to click on the "Okay!" button in order to send out requests to at least five friends (that is, send out enough requests so that five people respond to you), that do not currently play FarmVille. Yes, you read that correctly, you'll need to figuratively spam your friends with FarmVille game requests, until you happen upon five that are willing to add the game long enough to help you.

This is a time when "Don't shoot the messenger" seems like an appropriate saying....

The only way around this seems to be to pay 15 Farm Cash, but we'll let you know if we come across another way to unlock the final step without potentially annoying a big chunk of your friends list.

What do you think of the final step of this Reunion Game Bar? Will you ask your non-gaming friends to play FarmVille long enough for you to finish all of the steps in the activity, or will you simply skip it for the sake of your friendships?

FarmVille Tree Orchard glitch: Colossal purple trees invade the farm

Have you noticed something odd lately in FarmVille? Does a response like, "Holy crap, there are gigantic purple trees with disco balls on them in my Orchard!" ring a bell? Well, several players have reported trees of all kinds in their Orchards growing to gargantuan sizes to FarmVille Freak. According to the blog, this glitch applies only to trees that have yet to be harvested and their size will revert to normal once tended to.

Come to think of it, these look pretty darn cool. While your massive trees would probably become a bother if you kept them up too long, at least take a picture of your farm-turned-forest to make it last forever. It's unsure how long this glitch will be around, so make sure you get a screen shot before you harvest your freakishly large foliage.

FarmVille Blue and Pink Ski Suit arrive, better bundle up

    Blue Ski Suit
With the Winter Wonderland theme well underway in FarmVille it was about time our farmers got some warm clothes to change into. Available in the market right now are both Blue and Pink Ski Suits, FarmVille Freak reports. These fluffy, colorful and presumably nylon outfits are each available for a premium price of 10 Farm Cash, so they are certainly not for the frugal.

However, it's unfortunate that premium outfits like the Ski Suits don't provide any other incentive to purchase other than looks. I'm willing to beat that potential buyers would increase in a huge way if these outfits provided bonuses such as Mastery rate increases or boosts to XP gain. Though if you already happen to be a big spender, act quick as these two get-ups will only be around for another 13 days.

Are mobile social games and Foursquare meant to be?

FarmVille iPhone
We hate to sound like a broken record, but social games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars are becoming increasingly prevalent on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Developers like Zynga have repeatedly stated their interest in mobile and believe that it's the next logical step for social gaming. But what if I told you that across the Pacific Ocean folks are already five years ahead of us? Papaya Mobile CEO Si Shen claims that Japanese and Chinese social game developers have been toying with location-based services in their mobile social games since 2005. And you know what, it's time the US catches up.

Turf WarsLocation-based social networking has become somewhat of a phenomenon in the US, but it's far from new. It's commonly referred to as "gamification," or creating a game-like layer to everyday activities through services like Foursquare, Gowalla and recently Facebook Places. Arguably, these services can be seen as games in and of themselves, but game creators like COLOPL have applied this "game layer" to, well, games.

One of the first location-based mobile social games (LBS) in Asia, Colonial Living PLUS, was released by the company in 2005 and enjoyed about 1 million registered users in its hay day, according to Shen. That may sound like a drop in the bucket when sized up to CityVille, but far more players have a computer than they do a smartphone.

The game allowed players to essentially colonize their surroundings. Now, think about the social games you play right now and then think about how they could be enhanced if your current location was a concern. Imagine being able to unlock certain weapons in Mafia Wars if you, say, go to the movies. Or you could gain the ability to build a Bank in CityVille after visiting a literal bank. Jumping back to Mafia Wars for a moment, players could duke it out with nearby players in Fights.

Adding this location layer to mobile social games could add a whole new level of depth to social gaming without increasing complexity ... in theory. This is because it's not that hard to figure out who is near you within an app on a mobile device. In fact, Finnish developers such as Grey Area are already attempting to master the technology with games like Shadow Cities, a fantasy MMO that's driven by your location. There are a few US games that are similar like My Kingdom and Turf Wars (pictured), but platforms like Foursquare and Facebook Places could help this subgenre reach millions.

And when you think about it, companies like Nintendo are already ahead of the curve with the location-centric features included in its upcoming Nintendo 3DS. Location-based gaming is the only way to go when thinking about the evolution of social games. It's about time social game creators and companies like Foursquare get to talking.

FarmVille: Gray Horse available as free gift for a limited time

Zynga has gotten back into the swing of things, offering a single item on the Free Gifts page in FarmVille that normally isn't available. This time, we see the release of the Gray Horse as a limited time item, which is now available to send to your friends (and receive, if they would be so kind) in the same way as you would handle any other free gift.

Before you send every friend a Gray Horse, however, remember that these horses have been available in the game for some time, either as a lost animal wandering on farms, a reward given when completing the Horse Stable, or even as an animal that might randomly appear in your Animal Trough. If you know of someone who can never have enough horses, by all means send this one along, but for everyone else it might be smarter to wait until this item expires, and you use your daily gift limit on something else.

Will you send a Gray Horse to your friends before the item leaves the free gifts page, or do your friends already have more Gray Horses than they can handle?

FarmVille St. Patrick's Day Trees: Rainbow Tree and Giant Rainbow Tree

A duo of new trees has been released in FarmVille this evening, with these two trees being some of the most whimsical we've seen released in the game to date. These two trees are the Rainbow Tree and the Giant Rainbow Tree, and they come in the current St. Patrick's Day limited edition item theme.

Both of these trees are premium, with the normal Rainbow Tree costing 5 Farm Cash, and the Giant Rainbow Tree going for 10 Farm Cash. Other than the price, these two trees come with the same stats: you'll gain 15 experience points for purchasing either of them, and they can be harvested once every two days for 150 coins. The first star of mastery is available for each tree at 75 harvests.

Remember, the Giant Rainbow Tree will spawn from normal Rainbow Trees that are placed in Orchards, so feel free to save your 10 Farm Cash and simply wait for one to randomly appear on your farm that way - either through your own Mystery Seedlings, or through those claimed from friends' news posts.

Both of these trees will be in the game for the next two weeks.

Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.

Will you purchase either of these trees for your farm? What other fantasy trees would you like to see added to the game?

FarmVille Scam Alert: Big Egg Home is just another fraud

Big Egg Home scam
Watch out, folks, another FarmVille scam is on the lose. FarmVille Freak has found that a News Feed post circulating Facebook and offering players a free Big Egg Home is a scam. And a poorly done scam at that: Notice the name used to describe the player who uncontrollably posted the link. I don't know about you, but I don't think there can be that many "He's" in the world. Clicking on the link will redirect you to what seems to be a 7-Eleven Facebook page, but with the taint of "scam" all over it. The more folks who unknowingly click on these fraudulent offers, the more these scams spread. So please, spread the word.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Have you seen this scam circulating the News Feeds? What do you think could put a stop to the scams once and for all, if anything?

FarmVille: Accept Sheep Breeding requests from friends via email soon

FarmVille Sheep Breeding email
It's OK, you're among friends--you can admit that you're addicted to Sheep Breeding in FarmVille. To help Zynga will soon introduce a feature through which players can respond the breeding requests via email messages like that posted above. FarmVille Freak reports that the feature has yet to be released, and these are early images of the change. This will be the first time that players can breed Sheep with their friends directly, though the method for doing so is indirect. Weird, huh?

FarmVille Sheep Breeding email
These images beg the question: Why not just introduce this feature within the game? Unfortunately, we don't have an answer, and this could just as easily be an extension of an in-game feature serving the same purpose. Either way, this feature would make it far easier to get your hands on those rare Sheep patterns like the Rainbow Ram and Badger Ewe. Legitimately, of course.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Have you seen this message in your email yet? Would you breed Sheep with your friends if it meant that you absolutely had to have your email registered with Zynga?

FarmVille: Double Mastery on now through Friday

A very short (but very cool) event is currently taking place in FarmVille, as Double Mastery has been turned on to last from now until tomorrow evening (9:00 PM PDT, to be specific). Remember, Double Mastery works to offer you twice the amount of mastery points for all trees and crops harvested during the promotional period.

So, let's say you harvest 100 Strawberries: Instead of receiving 100 mastery points, you'd receive 200. But wait! If you add a Strawberry bushel to the mix (in our example), you would earn three times the mastery, taking your 100 harvests to a whopping 300 points! If you plan your planting and harvesting correctly over the next 24 hours or so, you can probably master a good portion of one short-growth-time crop, if not master one completely. Just make sure to plant something that doesn't take so long to grow that you're harvesting it after the double mastery has expired!

Are you excited to see Double Mastery return to FarmVille? Which crop or tree will you work on mastering during this time frame?

Earn 5 free FarmVille Farm Cash in MasterCard promotion

Note: Some farmers are reporting only receiving two Farm Cash from this promotion, rather than five. If that happens to you, contact Zynga Support and they should be able to help you.

While we may see frequent giveaways in FarmVille for two free Farm Cash, it's not everyday that we see one for five Farm Cash, so pay close attention farmers! A new promotion has launched with MasterCard. This promotion is called "Overwhelming Offers" and it can be found underneath the FarmVille gameplay window in the sponsored link pictured at right.

This activity is fairly simple, and asks you to answer a pair of questions about shopping deals. Once you answer these questions, you'll be introduced to Mastercard's Overwhelming Offers program, but you'll also automatically earn your Farm Cash, thus ending your requirement to do anything else. This isn't the first time that we've seen these cross-promotions last longer than it takes to actually receive your reward, so make sure that you're not wasting time by doing things you don't have to! There are crops to water and harvest people!

FarmVille: Father's Day weekend means 100% pattern success when breeding Pigs and Sheep

Here's something that FarmVille Pig and Sheep Breeders are sure to love (heck, I'm not even a major animal breeder in the game and I'm still excited about the possibilities). To celebrate this weekend's Father's Day holiday, Zynga will increase the percentage of success in passing on patterns from Rams and Boars in Sheep and Pig Breeding, respectively, to 100%!

That's right - for this weekend only, it's time to break out those Love Potions and collect all of the Bottles you can, as you'll be able to breed like mad, resting assured that your patterns will be passed on from father to child. It doesn't appear that this feature has been enhanced just yet, so save your Bottles and Love Potions until tomorrow, as FarmVille Freak says it should be activated for everyone at that time.

Even if your father doesn't play FarmVille, just think of the possibilities that this presents! Thanks Zynga!

[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Will you take advantage of 100% pattern inheritance by breeding tons of Lambs and Piglets? Which patterns are you hoping to breed multiple children with this weekend?

FarmVille: Celebrate dad with new Father's Day items in the market

This weekend marks the Father's Day holiday, and to celebrate fathers virtually, Zynga has released a limited edition Father's Day item theme to the FarmVille marketplace. This theme comes complete with themed trees, animals and more, so let's take a look at what's available!

Trees:

Father Tree - 5 Farm Cash
Giant Father Tree - 10 Farm Cash

These trees grow ties! How cute is that?! As you might expect, the Giant Father Tree will also be available via Mystery Seedlings, so feel free to save those 10 Farm Cash for something else. These two trees can be mastered, with the first star of each being available after 75 harvests.

Animals:

Emporer Penguins - 16 Farm Cash
Leopard Boar - 25 Farm Cash
Leopard Ram - 30 Farm Cash

Both the Ram and Boar can pass on these patterns to offspring, hence their high price tags.

Decorations:

Father Gnome - 15 Farm Cash
Rooster with Chicks - 12 Farm Cash
Father's Day Sign - 20,000 coins

Oddly enough, there's only one item here for coins (the Father's Day sign), but I suppose that allows you the chance to send any of these items to your father in the game, should he also play FarmVille. If he doesn't, at least you can always celebrate dad in your own way on your farm! Either way, these items will be available in the game's store for the next two weeks, but again, as they are related to a holiday, it might be best to shop now, rather than later, while the items are still relevant.