Social | Page 63 of 182

Facebook’s Instant Articles Illustrate Why Integration Is Key

May 13, 2015, 12:00AM

Today, Facebook has managed to do what many publishers have been dreading as an inevitable consequence of convenience. They have now officially collaborated with the New York Times to showcase the news titan’s very first “Instant Article,” an article specifically designed to seamlessly integrate Facebook’s mobile app to allow articles to load faster. This is just the beginning for Facebook, too. We’ll be seeing future Facebook collaborations with some of the world’s biggest publishers: BBC, Buzzfeed, Bild, The Atlantic, The Guardian, National Geographic, NBC, and Spiegel in the coming days.

Along with Facebook’s move to become a robust and competitive video platform, this collaboration with publishers shows that Facebook has now, as other social networks like Snapchat and LinkedIn have done, moved into platisher territory.

So, we’re seeing an interesting trend happening here. Not only do social media giants want to be publishers, but brands like Coca Cola, Dell, Adobe and more are aspiring to as well. So what is the appeal of being a publisher, especially at a time when the publishing industry itself is in such a painful flux Of course, the primary concern is content, but there’s something to the mutual aspiration here.

Yesterday BuzzFeed published a post co-written by Dao Nguyen and Ashley McCollum about how their experience with building BuzzFeed Motion Pictures had led them to define for themselves a different model, the “network-integrated media company.” When you look at how they visualize it, it makes sense how and why brands, platforms and publishers are all shifting to occupy the same space.

From the data and learnings, BuzzFeed understands that although they may create the content, it doesn’t just live on their own site. In fact, only five percent of video views are happening on their site. BuzzFeed relies on social media for 75 percent of its traffic, after all. It’s little wonder then why the publisher has openly defended Facebook:

“Facebook saw an opportunity: average app users wait eight seconds between clicking a link in their newsfeed and seeing the mobile web page loaded from a publisher. Facebook aimed to fix this problem by rendering stories natively within the app, thereby reducing load time by 10x. This is particularly important for content that contains images, GIFs, and videos, and the Instant Articles product speeds everything up for the reader,” wrote BuzzFeed.

In the end, it’s not just about the content. What is perhaps most important is to create a streamlined experience for the user; one that affords more engagement with the content you’ve created through reduced load times and a holistic, integrated experience. Just as the article page has superseded the homepage, so too might the platform supersede the article page.

Mobile Game Highlights: ‘Grim Fandango Remastered’, ‘Goat Simulator’

BY Robert Workman

May 13, 2015, 12:00AM

Welcome back to another weekly round-up of this week’s freshest mobile games, Mobile Highlights! We’ve got some interesting picks for you this week, so check them out.

Rival Kingdoms: Age of Ruin (Space Ape Games, free-to-play, available for iOS and Android)

Those looking for another ferocious take on strategic battles along the lines of the popular Game of War: Fire Age should check out the latest release from Space Ape Games, Rival Kingdoms: Age of Ruin. Featuring outstanding next-generation visuals, MMO-based gameplay with chat and alliance support, over 300 various player raids and an immersive campaign, Rival Kingdoms will put players through their paces as they dominate their enemies and overtake the land. It’s free-to-play, with in-game purchases available for those who want to beef up their defenses.

Beast Quest (Miniclip, free-to-play, available for iOS and Android)

Things take a turn for the monstrous in Miniclip’s latest mobile adventure, Beast Quest. An evil wizard has managed to overtake the Beasts of Avantia, and it’s up to you to free them. Featuring a huge open world to explore, plenty of boss battles against monstrosities, and cool new artifacts to find, the game provides hours of replay value, as well as in-app purchases for those who can use some extra goods. It’s free-to-play, so this Beast won’t be an immediate burden on your wallet.

Catch the Rabbit (Ketchapp, free-to-play, available on iOS and Android)

Players looking for a fresh and entertaining platforming/running game will want to check out Catch the Rabbit. Featuring classic game visuals and an easy-to-adapt-to gameplay system, it poses a challenge around every corner as you pursue a mischievous rabbit, who’s stolen all the golden fruits. The game is free-to-play and offers a variety of fair in-app purchases, so it’s certainly worth a try.

Grim Fandango Remastered (Double Fine Productions, $9.99, available on iOS)

Old-school gamers will no doubt remember LucasArts’ original Grim Fandango, a humorous mystery revolving around travel agent Manny Calavera, and his bungled attempts to solve things. Good news, it’s back! Double Fine has remastered the game for mobile play, complete with fun graphics, challenging puzzles and plenty of laughs. It’s higher in cost than most mobile games, but there are no in-app purchases to worry about — and plenty of chuckles waiting. Welcome back, Grim!

Goat Simulator GoatZ (Coffee Stain Studios, $4.99, available for iOS and Android)

The goats are back, and this time, they’re . . . dead. The follow-up to the popular Goat Simulator introduces zombies to the game, and it’s even crazier than ever. In GoatZ, players can experience a number of new scenarios with objects and undead folks alike, with a huge map to explore and plenty of survival techniques to master. Let’s also not forget there are additional goats to unlock with special powers — and that makes this worth a purchase in itself.

See you next time for more Mobile Highlights!

KickStarter Goes Wild For ‘Castlevania’ Creator

BY Robert Workman

May 12, 2015, 12:00AM

Some video game projects have had no trouble finding a second life with the help of crowdfunding. Titles like Wasteland 2, the Double Fine Adventure (which would later become the critically acclaimed Broken Age) and Mighty No. 9 have been able to draw millions of dollars from supporters, allowing the projects to reach fruition. (In fact, some have fared even better than expected, with Mighty landing a publishing deal with Deep Silver, set to release this September.)

Add another success story to the pile. Koji Igarashi, a long-time producer of Konami’s Castlevania series, has launched a new KickStarter project of his own, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. The game resembles a spiritual successor to the 1997 game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a title many consider the best entry in the series to date.

Like Symphony, Bloodstained would introduce an intricate art style, with the same side-scrolling gameplay that the Castlevania games were previously known for before taking a more sophisticated 3D route with the Lords of Shadow games for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It also promises to include a variety of role-playing elements, including the ability to use magical spells and attacks against enormous enemies.

Speaking with the adoring Castlevania public, Igarashi stated, “With your help, I hope to create a new game built on some of the classic gaming principles my works are known for. Thank you for your support – I look forward to leading you in my army of the night!”

What no one expected, however, is that Igarashi’s Bloodstained project would set a new record for a crowdfunded video game. Since its start yesterday, it’s already managed to raise around $1.5 million dollars, with 31 days left to go on the project. That’s triple the amount Igarashi was initially looking for to fund the game, and it handily covers many of its stretch goals, including casting voice actor David Hayter (Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series).

It just goes to show that classic games are still big business these days. Mighty No. 9 shares many traits with Capcom’s Mega Man series, since it comes from the same producer, Keiji Inafune. And Double Fine had no problem appealing to the old “point-and-click” crowd with Broken Age, promising many rewards to those who backed the game.

Could this mean that we see even more classic projects emerge on the KickStarter scene We wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Games like ToeJam and Earl and the platforming adventure Yooka-Laylee have managed to draw successful budgets, with fans of older games looking forward to new adventures. And it’s a lot of those fans that will no doubt make Bloodstained a success in its development.

There’s no questioning Igarashi’s devotion to the project either. Polygon recently posted a piece that followed the producer for an entire day, prepping for his pitch for the Bloodstained project. That video can be found below.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will publish for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC in March 2017.