Chief Creative Officer at Zynga, Mike Verdu confirmed to AllThingsDthat he is leaving Zynga to start his own game company. AllThingsD also reported that Zynga will be an investor in Verdu’s new company.
On the heels of several other Zynga executives taking a gamble and leave Zynga Mike Verda and Zynga made this press release earlier today;
Submitted by Mike Verdu on Tue, 08/28/2012 - 15:00
During my three years at Zynga, I've seen the company grow from a small, scrappy start-up on the frontier of interactive entertainment to a large, world-class organization with 20 development studios around the world and a deep well of amazing talent. With just the right mix of Web 2.0 and game DNA, Zynga blends art and science to deliver game experiences that are played by tens of millions of people every day on their computers and mobile devices.
I'm very proud of my part in building this remarkable company, especially in growing and nurturing what has become a vibrant community of game designers, producers, and creative leaders. These are the people who will create the entertainment experiences of the future.
Now, however, it's time for me to try something new. Being at Zynga in the early days reminded me of how much I love being an entrepreneur. After a lot of soul-searching, I have decided to go back to my roots and start a new company.
It's tough to leave people I admire and respect - and something that I have helped to build. I thank Mark for his leadership, friendship, and unwavering support. And I thank the people of Zynga for making my time at the company some of the best years of my career.
This makes investors, as well as fans of Zynga’s games and services, wonder what is going on inside Townsend Center (Zynga’s Headquarters)? How volatile is Zynga? How many more employees and executives will say goodbye to Hollywood (Hollywood being Zynga)?
Zynga has update the Daily Take with 5 new loot items.
The 5 new loots include the following;
PERSONAL TRAINER
SUN DECK
NIMBLE SUIT
KUDU
BROWN SUGAR
As you can see in the above images, these loots are actually helpful to many players Mafia Attack or Defense Strengths.
The problem is the Daily take is where many players get free skill points. That is, the last 3 days of the 7 days in a row players are getting the free skill points. Hopefully these will be available within the first 4 days of collecting the Daily Takes. You know, those days you might not even bother collecting the crap Zynga has been giving us.
You will be needing some Soundproofing Materials to build your VFX Lab.
The following is a part chart that shows how many parts and/or RP that are needed to complete each level;
As you collect enough parts you will unlock the ability to build the following loots;
The loot items that can be built in the VFX Lab are some items that are used to enhance the visual effects in some movies and video games.
Visual effects (Wikipedia) (commonly shortened to Visual F/X or VFX) are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or simply impossible to capture on film.
Vicon is one company that offers an integrated solution for both digital optical and video-based motion tracking. Vicon produces software and systems for motion capture in the animation market, biomechanics and ergonomics.
The following is a Vicon Motion Capture Demo;
This is a list of video games that have used Motion Capture technology. The list is by far from exhaustive but it gives you some idea how many games have used Vicon captured data.
“All-Star Baseball 2002” - Acclaim / House of Moves “Apocalypse” - Activision / Equinoxe / House of Moves “Armored Fist 3” - Novalogic / House of Moves “Asheron’s Call 2” - Turbine Entertainment/ Microsoft / House of Moves “Athens 2004” - Eurocom / Sony / Audiomotion "ATV 4" - Sony Computer Entertainment America “Baseball 2000” - Microsoft / House of Moves
"Batman: Arkham Asylum" - Rocksteady / Time Warner / Enix “Big Mother Truckers” - Eutechnynx / Empire / Audiomotion “Black Hawk Down” - Novalogic / House of Moves “Bottom of the 9th” - Konami / House of Moves “Britney’s Dance Beat” - THQ / House of Moves “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” - The Collective/ Fox Interactive / House of Moves "Call of Duty: Black Ops" - Activision / House of Moves
"Dante's Inferno" - Visceral Games / Electronic Arts / House of Moves
"Dead Space 2" - Visceral Games / Electronic Arts / House of Moves “Dead To Rights” - Namco / House of Moves “Delta Force II” - Novalogic / House of Moves “Delta Force Urban” - Eutechnynx / Empire / Audiomotion “Delta Force: Land Warrior” - Novalogic / House of Moves “Delta Force” - Novalogic / House of Moves
"Enslaved: Odyssey to the West" - Ninja Theory / Namco Bandei Games / House of Moves “ESPN International Track and Field” - Konami / House of Moves “ESPN NBA 2Night” - Konami / House of Moves “ESPN NFL 2Night” - Konami/ Far Sight Studios / House of Moves “ESPN NFL Primetime 2002” - Konami / House of Moves “ESPN NHL 2Night” - Konami / House of Moves “Everquest II” - Sony On-line Entertainment / House of Moves “Everything or Nothing" - EARS / House of Moves "Far Cry " - Ubisoft / Crytek
"Fight Night Champion" - EA / House of Moves "God of War 2" - Sony Computer Entertainment America
"God of War 3" - Sony Computer Entertainment America / House of Moves “Freelancer” - Digital Anvil / House of Moves
"Halo: Reach" -Bungie / Microsoft Studios / House of Moves “Heavy Gear” - Activision / Equinoxe / House of Moves “Heroes of Might and Magic III” - 3DO / House of Moves “Hi Heat 2000” - 3DO / House of Moves “Hi Heat 2001” - 3DO / House of Moves “Hi Heat 2002” - 3DO / House of Moves “Hi Heat 2003” - 3DO / House of Moves “Hi Heat 2004” - 3DO / House of Moves “Hyperblade” - Activision / House of Moves “Iron Storm” - Rebellion / Wannado / Audiomotion “James Bond: Rogue Agent” - EALA / House of Moves “Jonny Moseley Mad Trix” - 3DO / House of Moves
"Killzone 3" - Guerrilla Games / Sony Computer Entertainment America “Knockout Kings” - Electronic Arts / House of Moves "Lair" - Sony Computer Entertainment America “LAPD 2100 AD” - Electronic Arts / House of Moves “Legend of the Five Rings, Ronin” - Activision / House of Moves “Loose Cannon” - Digital Anvil / House of Moves “Madden 99” - Electronic Arts / House of Moves "MLB ‘06" - Sony Computer Entertainment America "MLB ‘07" - Sony Computer Entertainment America “NASCAR 99” - Electronic Arts / House of Moves "NBA ‘06" - Sony Computer Entertainment America "NBA 07" - Sony Computer Entertainment America “NBA 2K” - Sega/ Visual Concepts / House of Moves “NBA Inside Drive 2000” - Microsoft / High Voltage / House of Moves “NFL 2K” - Sega/ Visual Concepts / House of Moves “NFL 2K1” - Sega/ Visual Concepts / House of Moves “NFL Fever 2000” - Microsoft / House of Moves “NFL Fever 2002” - Microsoft / House of Moves “NHL 2K” - Sega/ BlackBox Games / House of Moves “NHL Hitz” - Black Box Games / Midway / House of Moves “Of Light and Darkness” - Interplay / House of Moves “Operation Flashpoint” - Bohemia Interactive “Paradise Eve” - Square / House of Moves “Pit Fighter Discreet Demo” - Blur / House of Moves/ Discreet “Pitfall 3D” - Activision / Equinoxe / House of Moves “Prisoner of War” - Wide / Codemasters / Audiomotion “Quake III Arena” - Activision/ id software / House of Moves “Red Dead Revolver” - Angel / House of Moves
"Resident Evil 5" - Capcom / House of Moves
"Resistance 2" - Insomniac / House of Moves “Robot and Raven Xbox Demo” - Blur / House of Moves/ Microsoft “Rogue Spear” - Redstorm Entertainment / House of Moves “Sammy Sosa Softball Slam” - 3DO / House of Moves “Scooby Doo” - Heavy Iron / House of Moves/ THQ “Scorpion King” - Universal Interactive / Point of View / House of Moves “Secret Service” - Activision Value / House of Moves “Shaun Palmer’s Pro Boarder X” - Activision / House of Moves “Small Soldiers : Globotech Design Lab” - Hasbro / House of Moves "Syphon Filter- Dark Mirror" - Sony Computer Entertainment America "Syphon Filter- Logan’s Shadow" - Sony Computer Entertainment America "Socom" - Sony Computer Entertainment America “Soldier of Fortune II” - Activision / Raven Software / House of Moves “Soldier of Fortune” - Activisio n/ Raven Software / House of Moves “Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury” - Interplay / House of Moves “Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast” - Raven / LucasArts / Activision / HoM “Star Wars Obi-Wan” - LucasArts / House of Moves “Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader” - Factor 5 / LucasArts / HoM “Starlancer” - Digital Anvil / House of Moves “Street Hoops” - Activision / BlackOps Entertainment / House of Moves “Survivor” - Konami / House of Moves “SWAT 3 CQB” - Sierra / House of Moves “Tekken III” - Namco / House of Moves
"The Club" - Bizarre Creations / SEGA “The Getaway 2” - Sony / Artem “The Getaway” - Sony / Artem “The Great Escape” - Pivotal / SCi / Audiomotion “The World is Not Enough” - MGM Interactive /EA / Black Ops / House of Moves “Tomorrow Never Dies” - MGM Interactive / Black Ops / House of Moves
"Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" Naughty Dog / Sony Computer Entertainment America / House of Moves
"Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" - Naughty Dog / Sony Computer Entertainment America / House of Moves “Vigilante 8” - Activisio n/ Equinoxe / House of Moves “VR Baseball 2000” - Interplay / House of Moves “Warriors of Might and Magic” - 3DO/ MaxInk Cafe / House of Moves “World Championship Rugby” - Swordfish / Acclaim / Audiomotion
"WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011" Yukes / THQ / House of Moves “X-Men” - Sega / House of Moves
Ever wonder where you stand amongst the other mafias? You can now view your ranking with the new Ice Board.
Read on to learn more about the Ice Board.
Q: What is an Iceboard? A: Iceboard is a weekly fighting leader board, which shows your rank within your Mafia and Globally, based on number of ices you get in a week. Ice as many opponents as you can and rise above the ranks. Q: How do I check my ranking? A: Visit the Home page and look for Iceboard Tab just next to Family progression:
Q: How do I climb up the Iceboard? A: Your ranking improves based upon the number of opponents you Ice in Fights as compared to other players. Ice more opponents and rise above the ranks. Q: How often will my Iceboard refresh? A: The Iceboard will be refreshed every 7 days and a counter on the home page will indicate the time left for next reset.
This kind of feature would have been an OK, at best, idea if the game were new. These kinds of features do not really mean anymore than bragging rights and will get boring rather quickly. Especially when the same players are at the top each time it resets. You know, those players that topped the Death By Ice event. Other than those players, WHO CARES? This is just another feature for them.
For the rest of us, If rewards will be involved it may make this interesting for a minute. However, that would just lead to some players finding ways to cheat.
Ultimately this feature is just going to take up space on Zynga’s servers. Many players won’t care to even check on it unless they need to collect something.
Zynga, you really do need to make new districts (MORE THAN 4 or 5!!!), make robbing mean something, make money mean something (especially since that’s what Mafia’s are about), and update features once you implement them (Trader Goh’s and the Fight Club for example). Make this game playable and enjoyable for everyone again and not just the fighters!
The Predators Collection is the 7th set of Collectable Stat Cards and they are now available for purchase.
As you make purchases you will reveal a card from one of 5 playing cards in one of the 5 series of cards. Each card comes with a set of skill points that will become permanently added to your profile skills.
The images for each card in each series are as follows;
Series
Series
Series
Series
Series
Once you’ve collected all 5 cards from a series you will reveal a 6th card for that series of cards;
In addition, for each series of cards that you collect all 5 cards you will also unlock loot items that will drop from jobs (Although I understand the drop rates aren’t good).
En Point
Fleetfoot
Ranch Owner
Genet
Thumpelina
Here is a better look at these loots;
Once you collect ALL 25 cards (5 for each series) you will be rewarded Giant Wheel.
