Social network game

A social network game (sometimes simply referred to as a social media game, social gaming, or online social game) is a type of online game that is played through social networks or social media.[1][2][3][4] They typically feature gamification systems with multiplayer gameplay mechanics. Social network games were originally implemented as browser games. As mobile gaming took off, the games moved to mobile as well.[5] While they share many aspects of traditional video games, social network games often employ additional ones that make them distinct. Traditionally they are oriented to be social games and casual games.

The first cross-platform "Facebook-to-Mobile" social network game was developed in 2011 by a Finnish company Star Arcade.[6][7] Social network games are amongst the most popular games played in the world, with several products with tens of millions of players.[8] (Lil) Green Patch, Happy Farm, and Mob Wars were some of the first successful games of this genre.[9] FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Kantai Collection, and The Sims Social are more recent examples of popular social network game.[10][11][12]

Major companies that made or published social network games include Zynga, Wooga and Bigpoint Games.

  1. ^ Chen, Sande (April 29, 2009). "The Social Network Game Boom". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  2. ^ "Scale of Impact-Social Games Online". January 20, 2016. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Lev Grossman. "The Odd Popularity of Mafia Wars". TIME. Archived from the original on November 10, 2009.
  4. ^ Workshop: Game Design for Social Networks, Proceedings of the 13th International MindTrek Conference: Everyday Life in the Ubiquitous Era by Aki Järvinen from TIME (2009).
  5. ^ Kim, Ryan (October 12, 2010). "The Future of Social Games is Mobile". Gigaom. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  6. ^ "Star Arcade launches world's first Facebook-to-Mobile multi player game". WirelessDuniya. Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  7. ^ "First Multi-player Game On Facebook". Consumer Lab / McCann Worldgroup. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2014.
  8. ^ Zoe Kleinman (November 2009). "Social network games catch the eye of computer giants". BBC News. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2010..
  9. ^ Kohler, Chris (December 24, 2009). "14. Happy Farm (2008)". The 15 Most Influential Games of the Decade. Wired. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  10. ^ "提督100万人突破、そして島田フミカネ氏による航空母艦も実装決定! ─ 『艦これ』秋のイベントも実施準備中". インサイド. October 10, 2013. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  11. ^ "艦これをパズドラと並べないでください". ASCII.jp. November 14, 2013. Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  12. ^ "Facebook Games". June 21, 2018. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.