Playfish Kicks Off EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars with London Football Match

The recent launch of Playfish’s EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars was a great success and the game is proving to be a big hit worldwide.  We are especially pleased to be able to bring the beautiful game of football to Facebook and to Playfish fans everywhere – especially just as the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa has gotten under way.

To celebrate the release of the game, Playfish hosted a FIFA Superstars “friendly” – a spirited football match featuring several members of the London media at a pitch in Battersea Park. The teams hit the pitch wearing exclusive FIFA Superstars blue and white kit made especially for the match.

At kick off, Team White came out with guns blazing and shots hitting the mark, building a quick lead over Team Blue.

Though down, but definitely not out, Team Blue found itself on the short end of a 7-2 score at the end of the 20-minute mark.

In a lively second half, an undaunted Team Blue stepped up the pace, outscoring Team White 5-3.

Alas, it was too little too late and Team White ultimately prevailed 10-8.

Nicely done, lads! And a special congratulations to Michael Sawh of Team White, who was awarded Man of the Match.

With the match over, but players still hungry for more football, everyone headed to a nearby pub for FIFA Superstars demos from members of the game’s production team. Playfishers Henrique Olifiers, John Earner, Raf Keustermans, Andy Watson and Tom Sarris were on hand to provide our special guests with valuable tips for claiming ultimate victory in FIFA Superstars. In all, it was a great afternoon and a fun way to kick off FIFA Superstars!

LONG LIVE FOOTBALL!  LONG LIVE FIFA SUPERSTARS!

EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars Brings the ‘Beautiful Game’ to Facebook

Have you ever dreamt of managing a football team comprised of the world’s greatest players? Now, just in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM, we’re pleased to announce EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars!

Here’s your chance to take control of the ‘beautiful game’ to see if you can do a better job than the pros. FIFA Superstars lets you build a team of real players and compete with the whole world on the football pitch.

First, you’re assigned a set of football players to develop your team around. Players are rated on their shooting, control, stamina and strength, with the ratings based on real world statistics. So if you’re lucky enough to have, say, Cristiano Ronaldo on your team, he’s going to have much higher stats than a less accomplished player.

So you’ve got your team lined up, but what if they’re just not all that hot? Well, that’s where the game starts getting really fun! Buying Bronze, Silver or Gold transfer sets gives you a random group of players of roughly similar skill range. Bronze players are international quality, Silver players are star footballers and Gold players are the football world’s superstars – the best of the best.

Once you’re happy with your team you can take them to the pitch to play some games with other players. You can play each of your friends once a day, earning cash and building experience. You also can play league games, climbing ever higher to face better and better players around the world. The more cash you earn, the more you can spend on transfers and taking your team to the big time.

You’ll also need to ensure your team has a consistently high standard of training and fitness, which improves its abilities on the pitch. Additionally, stadium upgrades increase your team’s revenue and training levels.

FIFA Superstars features four modes of exciting play: Friendly matches, League matches, Premier League (and more of the world’s top leagues to come soon), and 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM.

You can win some amazing prizes in 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM mode. Just predict the scores for upcoming games, and if you guess the winner or the score correctly you’ll earn points which add up to Coin prizes, Match Credits and even Gold rated players! Even better, the more friends who play the 2010 FIFA World Cup^TM Mode, the better your chances at winning prizes – so remember to get everyone involved. Not only will you earn more together but you can finally prove once and for all who really knows football best!

Just like the start of your favorite team’s professional league, this is only the beginning for EA SPORTS FIFA Superstars. There’ll be all kinds of amazing new features to try in future and much, much more. So step onto the pitch, make wise training and transfer choices, and you’ll have the chance to take your team all the way to the top of the world! Do you have what it takes?

Interview with Andrew Ow, Product Manager of My Empire!

Hear ye, hear ye! Playfish has released a new game and we, the People, demand word from the Product Manager of My Empire! Join us now and be part of an audience with Andrew Ow!

Good sir, would you kindly begin by explaining to us your role in bringing My Empire to us?
Hello and of course.  My name is Andrew Ow. I am the product manager of My Empire and responsible for deciding what the game will look like and play like. It is a really exciting job and working with the whole My Empire team has been great.

A leading role in My Empire? We are not worthy! But my lord, why create My Empire? (Though we are grateful!)
Building an empire is fun! We wanted to create a beautiful and easy game to get into which lets you have play with ancient themes. You can interact with friends, expand your land and create really stunning empires due to our lovingly detailed graphics. The My Empire team is extremely excited to see what the players make of it since we think we have created something really different and fun.

Indeed, My Empire is a delight for the eye! Can you describe to your humble audience the aim of the game?
The goal of My Empire is to create a glorious ancient empire – but what that means is completely up to you! Players can aim to create the most beautiful empire, build a Wonder (or all of them!), or have the largest population. It’s very open ended. I think new players will love the feeling of constructing Wonders. We have some really great Wonders like Stonehenge, the Pyramids, and the Parthenon. Our artists have really done a fantastic job creating them – they look stunning, and do great things for your empire as well!

So many things to choose from! It baffles the mind! But, my lord, perhaps you can help narrow this down with a suggestion as to where to begin?
My tip would be to be sure to building both houses and happiness buildings. Houses allow more citizens to live on your island, but you need to keep your citizens happy as well. Keeping a good balance is a key part of having a growing empire!

Wise words… surely such wisdom is learnt from having faced challenges during your reign?
I’d say the most challenging aspect of working on My Empire has been deciding which of the many exciting features to add.  We had so many ideas that we really had to pick and choose what to do each day.  The good news is we have many ideas for new features in the future and we hope you’ll be enjoying them with us!

Then it seems, my lord, you have had a most joyful experience building My Empire?
Yes! The most fun aspect has been seeing the game get better and better each week in all ways.  For example, we started without any art for the Wonders, so it was hard to imagine how cool or impressive they would look. The week we added the Wonder art everyone at the office was so impressed, our whole studio was racing to be the first to complete Stonehenge!

Ah, a tale to be told for years to come! And as the months come and go, what do you foresee for the citizen of My Empire?
I don’t want to give away anything too exciting – but it will definitely give old and new players something fun to do. All I can suggest is keep a close eye on the My Empire Facebook page for the latest news.

Ah my lord, you are a tease! But sir, so that I may know it when I pass by, what have you called your empire and why?
My empire is named Haogang, after one of My Empire‘s excellent programmers.  He accomplished some truly legendary work during the course of our project, so I had to commemorate him!

*Wipes a tear from eyes* That is so sweet… ahem… I mean… Bravo! And what kind of leader would you describe yourself as, my lord?
I am a leader obsessed with empire beautification!  I try to lay out parks and open areas for my citizens to enjoy. My roads are lined with trees, and one time I even constructed a hedge maze.   As you can imagine, I am excited when I unlock new decoration items each level!

My lord, I feel our time is coming to an end. Before we leave, what wise words would you like to leave with us?
First of all, thanks so much for playing!  I would also like to let our players to know that they can leave feedback on our game’s Facebook page or forum. We are listening to you and will do everything we can to make this game great!

Welcome to My Empire!

Friends, Romans and citizens. The time has come to make your marks on history with Playfish’s latest release: My Empire.

Each one of you has been given an island to make your own and enough gold to build the foundations of a mighty empire.

You have each been given the finest ships in the Roman empire’s fleet, that you may set sail for each other’s islands, earning Coins for your colony through good will gifts and trading.

Each of you is placed in control of your own empire’s destinies, and the destinies of the very people who populate them. Treat them well by building fine baths, arenas and other luxuries and your population will grow and prosper. And with a growing population comes more taxes to collect.

Your people may be loyal to you, but they still have needs for creature comforts. A happy population is a productive one and the population’s mood can be improved by planting trees and flowers, erecting statues and laying roads and hedgerows. Make your city beautiful and your citizens will be proud to call it their home and thank you with their devotion.

As your population of devoted subjects grow, so too will the number of ways you can put them to work for you and help you raise your empire to glory. You and you alone are in control of your empire and the way it grows under your guidance will say much about the way you think. You could have them build a mine to dig for iron, copper, silver and perhaps even gold, or construct a quarry to search for precious stone.

By collecting more of these valuable raw materials you can set your loyal citizens to work creating a masterpiece — a Wonder of the World. Achieving the truly legendary status of building a Wonder of the World is one of the highest honors you can achieve and the choice of different Wonders will astonish and amaze, ranging from the mighty Colossus of Rhodes to the mysterious Sphinx and many more between. Who will be the first among you and your friends to construct them all?

But Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’ll need your friends to help you construct your finest achievements, whether by sending you gifts or by enlisting them to help you to build. Lend help to your friends when they need you and they’ll be there for you when you need them.

The more friends you have who create colonies in neighboring islands the more rich opportunities will be uncovered, all yours for the taking.

So set sail for distant lands to explore because this is only the beginning, and who knows what marvels await in My Empire? Play it now to find out!

Hotel City is Open For Business!

2010 sees the release of Gangster City, Poker Rivals and now…

Check in to Hotel City, Playfish’s latest offering that lets you and your friends design and run your own hotel!

Hotel City joins our simulation games and gives you the freedom to build a hotel the way you like. From decorating the largest suite for your marvelous motel to earning your keep at a friend’s hotel, you’re sure to have a five star experience playing Hotel City with your friends and family.

Read on and find out what you can do and look forward to!

BUILD
Jump right in and build your fabulous hotel straight away! You’ll start off with a lobby, a couple of rooms and a janitor’s office – the fledgling beginnings of your landmark hotel. The rooms are interchangeable so you can start to create a skyscraper or build a more laid-back bungalow-style hotel. Which will you choose?

DESIGN
No theme is too crazy or too glamourous in Hotel City – the style and layout is completely up to you! Express the inner you or explore new possibilities with new items added to the collections each week; choose from a whole myriad of wallpapers, floors and decorations to spruce up your customers’ rooms. Will you go the classic red carpet look or give your customers something to talk about with a new style of your very own?

EARN
Give your workers shifts to run your hotel for you – from 2 hours to 2 days! As they work, you’ll get the coins to bring your grand design to life. Customers will enjoy staying at a well decorated hotel but they will also pay to go the gym, eat at your five star gourmet restaurant or take a plunge in the swimming pool!

If you’re just starting out in Hotel City and need a helping hand, we’ve got it covered: grab a job at your friend’s hotel and earn a bit of extra cash on the side! Yup, now you can visit your friends’ hotels and work for them, too!

This new feature means you can apply for jobs your friends advertise on their profiles – but be quick! Open jobs in Hotel City are limited and someone else might take the spot you wanted and those hard earned coins! If you are lucky enough to get the job, be sure to go to your friend’s hotel and pick up your daily salary!

So in Hotel City it really pays to help your friends! Visit your friends to collect your hard earned coins to build a bigger, better and more luxurious hotel!

SCORE
Of course what’s a hotel if it’s not the best? Earn coins, decorate and keep those customers happy to gain those coveted five gold stars above your hotel. Will your hotel stay on top or will your friends beat you to it?

Only your customers will tell so and keep your eyes and ears open for tips and suggestions from them.

HAVE FUN!
With so much variety and so many things to do, the sky’s the limit for your hotel in Hotel City! Whether you’re a fan of decorating rooms in Pet Society or starting a fun business head to head with your friends in Restaurant City, you’re sure to love Hotel City. So welcome to Hotel City – we hope you have a pleasant stay!

A letter to our fans.

You may have noticed the little drop down banner that appeared on our website a while ago that announced we were hiring. We still are! New faces are always popping up in all the Playfish studios and becoming part of our fish tank. Ken Ward is the “Go-To” guy for all things recruitment at Playfish and here’s what he wanted to say to all of our readers. Enjoy. 🙂

Hi everyone,

When I heard that our company blog was looking for people to write for it, I  couldn’t wait to jump in there and tell you all about how exciting it is that we’re hiring. My name is Ken Ward and I lead the recruiting team at Playfish.  Officially they call what I do ‘Talent Acquisition’ – and that’s not too far from the truth.

We have a great team spread over four studios – London, San Francisco, Norway and Beijing – on three continents, dedicated to hiring the best and brightest talent to join our fishbowl. If you’re wondering how many people we’re hiring, let me put it this way: sometimes I come in on a Monday and think I have walked into the wrong office because there are so many new faces! I know we have found the right people to work for Playfish though when I look around and see everyone huddling together and talking about new ideas and the things they love. What’s even more amazing is that we truly are representative of the United Nations, with staff at all of our offices coming from every corner of the world, all of them working together enthusiastically.

I’ve recruited in many different environments in my career, including banking (it’s on the CV and that’s where it’s staying), and Playfish is a joy to recruit for and by far the most enjoyable. It’s a truly creative and fun environment and, as we expand, it’s super important to maintain that essence as we grow… and it’s a real challenge I enjoy squaring up to.

We focus on giving Playfishers all the tools they need to do their jobs – from providing great equipment and talented colleagues to work with, to an excellent office environment that is inviting to walk into every morning – though I’m still not quite sure where the huge orange space hopper appeared from…!

We’ve got a great variety of positions open at Playfish right now. We’re focused on getting technically gifted Java programmers, super creative game developers, talented artists and excellent product managers, amongst a variety of other positions. It’s really important that people looking to join us have a passion for what we (and ultimately, they) do. At Playfish, we all feel part of the creative process, which is just one of the things that makes it such an awesome place to work. Absolutely everyone in our company is actively encouraged  to make suggestions for new games, new features… and of course everyone has to play our games – a very important part of the gaming development process! 😉

So we’re looking for creative, fun people, dedicated to changing the way people play and enjoy games. Easy, huh? People like that do exist! I should know – I work with them every day. 🙂

I’ve been so impressed with how we connect the offices in such a global environment. The vision is consistent from office to office and it was so cool last year to meet colleagues from all around the world at our annual meeting, Fishbowl 2009, sharing ideas and helping to drive the company forward. Our leadership team (that’s Kristian Segerstrale, Sebastian de Halleux and company to you and me) are instrumental in driving and supporting this connectivity, and our people, regardless of location, really feel at the heart of things. We share videos from each office at our monthly meetings which is a great way of keeping in touch but we also use a whole myriad of communication tools like instant messaging, VOIP calls as well as other more traditional forms such as email and just huddling together over a coffee in our office breakout areas to talk about exciting new possibilities.

Playfish really is a play hard, work hard culture (in that order!), and we’re focused on helping Playfishers achieve their best by maintaining a fun environment for them to create in. It’s evident in the way the office is made as comfortable for staff as possible – simple things like our Monday Brekkies where everyone has breakfast together the first morning back to the office to catch up after the weekend, to those monthly video diaries I mentioned earlier, where we all get together toward the end of every month and enjoy a party with everyone in the office for no reason other than to have fun and enjoy each other’s company! That’s the focus of our day: to create games that our players can enjoy, and to have as much fun as possible doing it! You could say that we hold ‘creativity’ and ‘fun’ as sacred at Playfish. 🙂

I feel very lucky to be here and to be one of the people helping Playfish to grow, not only in size, but in its ability to do what it does – for you, our players – better. And if after reading this you think you can help us to make great social games, too, I’m inviting you to jump right into the tank and let us know!

If you daydream about working at Playfish, check out our careers page or email careers@playfish.com.

Poker Rivals (or friends, as the case may be).

The Playfish office atmosphere is really very special. There’s always something fun going on and I think our games represent this quite well in the colourful designs and the casual gaming structure we present in our titles.

Poker Rivals is in the small cluster of games we’ve recently released that is in contrast to our other titles such as Pet Society or Country Story. It’s different because of the inherent notions poker carries with it: a serious, competitive and quite mature game. So when I was asked to write something for our blog to give our fans insight into the game, I realised that I don’t really think of myself as a poker player. In fact, mention ‘poker player’ and I immediately imagine some guy (yes, male) wearing a black leather jacket and denim blue jeans with slicked back hair. Or, if I really thought about it, maybe the more sophisticated Ocean’s Eleven type of ‘playa’ who smirks at everything and steals your shoes from under you.

But no one at Playfish is a stereotype and I don’t think our players are either. So as a loyal Playfisher, I sat down and dedicated some serious time to playing Poker Rivals (research, you see) to give our readers a good idea of what the game offers if they weren’t so familiar with poker.

Mark Bendon, a self-proclaimed seasoned poker player and our Game Designer, happened to pass my desk while I was playing Poker Rivals in a search for inspiration. Seizing the opportunity, I flagged him down. “Mark! Fancy a game of Poker Rivals?”

Card One: Queen of Hearts

The first cards are dealt and I set my avatar to ‘relaxed’. A message bips up on the screen…

Mark: You shouldn’t have asked me to play. I’m a Poker Rivals-aholic.

I smile…

Chorna: Gah. Do I have to confess something now, too?
Mark: Yes, you do. We’re all friends here, Chorna.

Chorna: Very well. I hid someone’s stapler as a joke then forgot where I put it… and never told them. Moving on… I’d thought you were playing Poker Rivals a lot! It’s difficult not to notice when you’re cheering at your screen or slamming a fist on the table.

Mark: Haha!

Chorna: For a game was released back in December it’s really popular! It’s surprisingly easy to get into as well…
Mark: Yeah… I think people sometimes associate online poker with remortgaging the house. Poker Rivals is based around friendly rivalry, and playing with your friends, not machismo or smack talking the competition.
Chorna: Hrrmm – it is focused on having fun above everything else, which I noticed straight away. I was surprised at how quickly I started playing poker considering how little I knew to begin with. Did you find the tutorial quite helpful?
Mark: Uhm… I wrote the tutorial.
Chorna: … Oh. Well… it was good!! Quick and easy. 🙂 I liked that I got chips…
Mark: Haha…! I think it makes a huge difference to get through a simple tutorial and start playing with friends straight away. It’s less like jumping into the ocean and more like sitting in your bath tub with your favourite rubber ducky. No, that sounds wrong… I don’t… do that…

Card Two: Jack of Diamonds

Another card is put down. So far, looking good…

Chorna: Poker Rivals looks really slick – not intimidating at all. I thought it would be like stepping into an ultra serious casino but instead it’s more like picking up a deck of cards at a dinner table.
Mark: Yup. I like the way we’ve kept things simple. A nice simple interface means you don’t have to wonder where the ‘let’s play cards’ button is. Just go to the app, click ‘play’ and whaddaya know, there’s all my friends playing poker too.
Chorna: Speaking of friends, this chat function was really fun. Definitely makes it more about me and my friends and less about an anonymous encounter online. I still get competitive though, even with friends.
Mark: You’re not limited to playing with friends if you don’t want to. You can still mingle with the masses and just play with anyone you like, which is cool. It’s a nice mix.
Chorna: Do you find random players intimidating?
Mark: Yes, I’ve been intimidated by some. But usually I’m more disconcerted by my Playfish colleague’s fashion choices for their Poker Rivals avatars…

Chorna: It’s quite fun being able to customise myself – er, my avatar!
Mark: Heh, it does add a nice element. That’s one of the things Poker Rivals does really well – the level of customisation is brilliant, and it’s growing all the time.
Chorna: That’s like all Playfish games; I think what we’ve started off with is good but it’s going to be really interesting to see all the new content coming out soon.
Mark: Yeah, we’ll be supporting it long after release. What you see when a game is released is only a small fraction of what’s to come.

Card Three: Ten of Spades

I’m starting to get nervous and take a peek at my cards. Must distract Mark…!!

Chorna: Poker Rivals has surprised me at how easy it has made getting into the game, even though it’s potentially a complicated card game.
Mark: Well, poker is about making a better hand (collection) of cards than your opponent. The nitty gritty of it is in the different variations of cards you can have. In Poker Rivals, we’re playing Texas Hold ‘Em, where everyone has 2 cards in their hand which is a secret only known to them. Cards are added to the middle of the table…
Chorna: So the more confident you are about your hand, the more you bet, but of course you can bluff because nobody really knows what the other person has.

I prepare to raise the bet by $550…

Mark: Right. One of the things which makes online poker such a great place for beginners is that the pressure is off – nobody can see you so you don’t have to worry about whether anyone can tell you’re bluffing!
Chorna: You say that but when I’ve played Poker Rivals before – and even now – I really get the feeling someone real was there playing against me. I think the whole thing about personalised avatars, real time chat and real time bets really has that effect.
Mark: The emphasis with Poker Rivals is to make it feel like you have the freedom to communicate and express yourself, as well as enjoy a game quickly and easily.

Mark raises the bet by another $550…!

Card Four: Ace of Diamonds

It’s getting tense. I begin to wonder if Mark is psychic and can sense my nervousness…

Chorna: We really have made it easy to start playing when you’re logged into the game.
Mark: It’s as easy as “Oh look, they’re playing!” *click*
Chorna: There’s always the envelope function – you see someone already logged into Facebook, click the envelope and it sends your friend a quick invite. Next thing you know, they’ve responded and you’re both at a table.
Mark: But also, if you don’t want to invite anyone specific, you can always announce that you’re now looking for players via the megaphone.
Chorna: Shall we invite others to join us then?

Mark: No. I’m winning
Chorna: Haha… oh goodie.
Mark: You can also send your friends gifts, which means you could send your mate Dave a totally ill advised tight fitting T-shirt and see if he feels honour-bound to wear it.
Chorna: You do look good in pink, Mark. I thought that V-neck Playfish tshirt was awesome on you.
Mark: Thanks, I liked it too. With the megaphone, though, we wanted to get all your friends’ attention, let them know that they really should play some poker with you because it’s so quick and easy.
Chorna: These tables are pretty big – they can handle up to 10 players. Which makes it pretty interesting. You’re positive you don’t want anyone to jump in? 😉

Card Five and winner takes all…?

Darn. Mark does indeed win. I lose about $2,000 and I stare at the screen dejectedly…

Chorna: Bah… Congrats, Mark! One to you, then. So, what’s the most you’ve ever won?
Mark: Oh well… I think it was like $90,000?
Chorna: Liar!!
Mark: It’s true!
Chorna: NO – really??!
Mark: I posted on my Facebook profile about it and everything!
Chorna: Who were you playing against?!
Mark: Oh, random folks. And then I lost it all again almost instantly.
Chorna: Hahaha!! … You know, I’d like to see the Mayor of Pet Society sit at a Poker table. I bet he’s got an awesome poker-face.
Mark: Oh man. The Mayor would definitely scare me.

I look over my shoulder and notice Mark grinning from ear to ear. Taking a sweeping glance about the office I can see other staff checking into their Pet Society houses, harvesting some fruit in Country Story and others still logging into Gangster City.

I decide that whilst my poker chips count might be low, the spirits in the office were very high and that was good enough for me.

A chat with Gangster City’s producer, Li Maomao!

Playfish has set a new tone for 2010 with the launch of its twelfth title, Gangster City. We sat down with the game’s producer Li Maomao, who is based in Playfish’s China office in Beijing, to find out what it’s all about. Enjoy!

What do you do at Playfish?
Hello, everyone! My name is Li Maomao. I’m the producer of Gangster City. I’m based in the Playfish China office in Beijing. My job is to oversee the game from concept to release. I supervise the artwork, the gameplay development, plot and overall design and make sure everything is working well together. Essentially, I make the day to day decisions that drive the project.

So what did you want to achieve with Gangster City?
We were looking to create a really new and fresh game that gave our players something new and interesting to do. We wanted to show people what could be done with the genre. Gangster City is a totally different game than anything we’ve created at Playfish. It’s a role playing game (RPG) with a mafia theme. We hope players will enjoy it, play it with their friends, and experience the honor of growing a family.

What does Gangster City do that is different to other social games out there?
Gangster City is different because it is designed to be a high quality social gaming experience using Flash technology, unlike other games of the same genre. It has many different kinds of story based missions, personalized characters and snappy animations. You can get real benefits from your gangster family and share the honor with your friends. For example, if you hire your friends to protect your properties, you can earn more money in the game. Of course, there are many other things you can do which are revealed in later levels.

So what’s the premise of the game?
In the game, you’re told that your father got involved with the mob and was killed. To avenge him, you take a job as a gangster. You meet some old friends and make new friends and your ultimate mission is to find your father’s murderer and survive in the dark criminal underworld.

What was the visual inspiration for Gangster City?
We decided to give Gangster City a really different look and feel – it has the feeling of a comic book or that of an edgy film noir movie, with lots of heavy shadows and strong, bold lines. Because it’s a mafia game, we used a more realistic and mature style. It has vivid color and uses some of the most impressive graphic art we’ve produced to date. I think it will attract a different kind of player to some of our other games.

How do you progress in the game?
You can do missions from non-playable characters (NPC’s) to get experience and level up, and you can invite friends to be your family members and join you in-game for certain jobs. These same friends can help increase your income. You can rob from other players to get extra experience and money as well. There really are a lot of ways to progress!

How can your friends and family help in Gangster City?
Your friends and family can give you extra power and leverage when doing missions. The more members you have, the better. Each member of your gang ‘family’ has a different role as well. You can invite your real friends and family to become a member, then arrange for them to do jobs for you, like protecting your properties.

How can players give you their feedback?
By visiting our forum. Any feedback and suggestions are always welcome! Also, if you become a fan on Facebook, you can get great updates there and find out who else is playing. 🙂

What was the biggest challenge in creating this game?
I think our biggest challenge was how to make a “hard core” RPG style game suitable for the more casual player on a social network. We decided to create a simple user interface without too many links so that the player wasn’t overwhelmed. We also decided to feature a deep, immersive storyline through different missions using vivid animations and voice-overs to help our players get into the game as quickly as possible.

So what’s your Gangster name?
“King^^”. My English name is “King Lee”. It’s the first word I’ve learnt in English when I was a kid. I put the smile face “^^” after it because I want to be a polite gangster 😛

What do you hope to see happen in the future with Gangster City?
I hope all players can enjoy this game and make more interesting things happened. I hope this game will attract players who hadn’t considered playing one of our games before – Gangster City is really different to what we’ve done previously and I think it’ll really surprise and please new and old players alike.

What do you like the most about Gangster City?
I like the theme of Gangster City; it gives you freedom to be something completely different and something you wouldn’t do in real life. I also like the casual gameplay. You have a lot of choices in the game. I like that you can experience the story or compete with others – it’s flexible.

What do you like most about Playfish and their games?
I think Playfish games are full of creativity and give a really fun experience to all our players – whether they are playing regularly or just pop in every now and then. I like the beautiful graphics our talented artists are always creating.  But most of all, I really like the casual gameplay we’re providing our players. It’s something different and it means we can always have a little bit of time to play a game!

What’s your favourite Playfish game?
Gangster City! No doubt. That’s my soul 🙂

What is it like working for Playfish at the Beijing office?
I’m very happy to work here with a lot of interesting people. We are from different countries and different cultures, but we have a same goal: to make everyone happy 🙂

Any final words?
Yes! To our players: Thanks very much for your passion and love to this game. We are preparing a secret gift for every Gangster City fan and it will be coming out soon! 😉

Greetings from Gangster City!

The godfathers at Playfish are pleased to announce an offer you can’t refuse: the launch of Gangster City. We set out to take gangster warfare social gaming to a whole new level with an engrossing storyline, involving graphics and game play and a raft of innovative new features. Have we nailed it? Click here and see for yourself.

And now a word from our sponsor.The Gangster City Tourism Board would like to invite you on a tour of our beautiful city (voted America’s 78th favourite large town*). Take a walk through Little Ireland where drinks are served with smiling Irish eyes at Sticky’s bar.  Sticky Mickey has been running Sticky’s bar for 30 years now, and he’s always willing to tell a tall tale about the dark red stains on the floor. And the walls. And the ceiling.

(Sticky Mickey is just one of many interesting characters you’ll meet playing Gangster City, each with their own personality and a wealth of varied missions for you to try your hand at).

Then it’s just a short walk to Broken Hill and the Pantheon nightclub which is always willing to go the extra mile for its clients. Meanwhile the bright lights of Lower East are just a bus ride down the hill where you can find a hot meal at Mom’s Diner — best maple syrup pancakes in town — and the Klondike Casino which is open all night and happy to accept most forms of real estate as collateral against a chip loan.

(The Gangster City map is broken into several sections and you’ll need to increase your level to see them all. Each location includes properties for you to invest in, missions for you to tackle and gangsters and hoodlums for you to meet).

Head north to Upper Grove and while away some pleasant time browsing through the wares on sale by countless cheery fences selling stolen goods.

(Power comes at a price in Gangster City. Once you’ve made it big you’ll be able to buy some pretty special hardware, from muscle cars to rocket launchers. Whatever it takes to bury your rivals for good).

If your idea of a vacation is sun sea and surf look no further than Gangster City’s very own Black Beach (open in time for Summer!), earning the title of Best Beach In Town by the Gangster City Tourism Board since 1978 when the only other beach was closed indefinitely due to lethal levels of pollution. Any bodies found washed up on the shore should be reported to the Gangster City Police Department immediately.

(Gangster City has a unique and immersive storyline which unfolds as you play. You’re not just clicking the ‘Attack’ button until your stamina runs dry, you’re a real person whose father was killed by the Mafia, and you want revenge. There’s even some twists turns and surprises in store for dedicated gangsters).

Have a pleasant stay in Gangster City!

* In 1954.

We’re combining forces with EA!

We at Playfish are proud to announce that we are joining the Electronic Arts family, one of the most successful games companies in the world. Read the full press release in our press section for the official announcement.

Needless to say we’re very excited about the increased resources and scale that this brings to Playfish and ultimately to our players. We can’t wait to start exploring social versions of some of the well-loved franchises that this combination brings to us. We also look forward to being able to bring our games to more platforms and more players around the world with the help of our new friends! So this is an exciting time for all of us at Playfish.

A huge thanks to all our players for all your support. Please keep your feedback on our games coming and stay tuned for even bigger and more exciting things in the future!