Monstermind maker: Facebook games 'will be like the Atari Eighties crash'

If you have agreed to receive the occasional email from Zynga, you might have received a new survey in your inbox this week, asking for your opinions on a few Zynga games, and also giving you a chance to rate the potential of some new game ideas. While the majority of the questions are fairly basic (how often do you play a specific game, etc.), the survey quickly turns to the heart of the matter, detailing what could possibly be a new game in the company's lineup. Of course, Zynga wants to know what you think of the game concept first.

"Cook delicious food! Craft over 200 recipes in your world-class kitchen using fresh, exotic ingredients collected from local merchants, your garden, and your friends. Use top appliances to whip up amazing dishes that delight your customers and friends, and build the restaurant of your dreams."

From there, we're allowed to rate various features that could potentially be in this as-of-now unconfirmed game. We might be able to visit restaurants owned by real world celebrity chefs (Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, etc.), cook dishes using ingredients from real world brands, or cook dishes on state of the art kitchen equipment. All in all, there are tons of options here surrounding the use of real world brands or celebrities in this game concept. Could Zynga be planning to create a cooking game with direct involvement from some of these chefs, or even the Food Network as a whole? Or, is this all really just a large brain-storming session looking for fan feedback?

Either way, it's definitely easy to say that this game concept is incredibly familiar to Cafe World (in fact, the ingredient collection feature was already released in the game's Signature Dish event), so it will be interesting to see if anything actually comes from it (perhaps this could be Cafe World 2?). If you wish to take the survey yourself, you can do so by clicking right here.
If you're lucky enough to get FarmVille to work this evening, and have 10 Farm Cash or more to spend, you can now make one of your neighbors' day, week or even month by purchasing them a Mini Rose Horse as part of the Valentine's Presents event.

Similar to the Holiday Presents event that allowed us to give our friends Present Trees, this Valentine's Present event gives you a chance to send Mini Rose Horses to up to six friends at a time, from a fairly random selection of your neighbors. For sending a single Mini Rose Horse, you'll be charged 10 Farm Cash, but will receive an exclusive Romeo Bear for being so generous.

If you don't find the friend you'd like to send a gift to the first time you load this window, simply close it and open it back up by clicking on the box of candy in the top right corner of the FarmVille gameplay area. This will, in theory, show you six new friends. If you still can't find the person you're looking for, post a few item requests on your wall and then make sure they come and respond to them. This, according to the game, will make them a more "helpful" neighbor, and will likely make them show up.

Remember, if you want a horse for yourself, and you have a trustworthy friend, you can always swap items with each other. That is, you purchase a horse for them, and they purchase a horse for you. In that way, you'll both receive horses and bears for the equivalent of 5 Farm Cash each. Just remember to do that soon, as this feature won't be around forever.

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day coverage right here.
Now, this is just getting out of hand. Bossa Studios co-founder Henrique Olifiers seems to think that, if the copycatting practices in social games persist, then the industry is doomed. In so many words, that's what Olifiers told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview. The Monstermind creator likened the path social games are headed down to the Atari crash in the '80s, when several blatantly similar iterations of the same games flooded the console.

"Social games for me were always on the cutting-edge until they became copycat, and after they became copycat I said, 'Well, this is not going anywhere,'" Olifiers told GI.biz. "This will be like the Atari Eighties crash. Everybody and their grandmother had a version of Space Invaders, and these guys are going to do the same thing."

The issue of copycatting, from accusations thrown at Zynga to lawsuits flung 6waves Lolapps' way, has come to a head in early 2012. While this issue isn't necessarily unique to social or mobile games--it's plagued the game industry for years--it's nevertheless an issue. That said, it's unlikely that copycatting will drive social games into the ground, given their instantly-global distribution and rapid release schedule.

But that's not to say game makers and gamers should be any less wary of it. And Bossa seems to have the right idea for how to make sure, regardless of whether it's likely, stop the social games world from crumbling. "[Our games] should look and feel like nothing else on Facebook," Bossa lead designer Mike Bithell said. "We're working really hard top use these amazing tools, because there are so many things in Facebook that, if used right, make it better than Xbox Live."

Bossa Studios's Facebook debut, Monstermind, will crush your dreams

But in a good way, we promise. Like the U.S., folks in the UK are super cereal (isn't that what kids are saying these days?) about the social games movement. The Guardian reports that Shine TV has acquired London-based social game startup Bossa Studios for an undisclosed amount.

Elisabeth Murdoch's TV production company (recently bought out by daddy's News Corp) has reportedly been eying social gaming for a long time. And what do you know--her timing could not have been better.

According to The Guardian, 11-month-old Bossa Studios looks to unveil its first project, Monstermind(pictured), next week on Facebook. However, it looks like the game is available now on Facebook, though in an "open beta." (For all intents and purposes, the game is live and available for all to play.)

"We have long identified social gaming as a critical component to this strategy, and in Bossa Studios we discovered an entrepreneurial, creative team that shared our passion for creative excellence," Miss Murdoch told The Guardian. "They have bold ideas for this space which we naturally welcome and will be a significant addition to the Shine Group."

Monstermind looks to be a fresh take on the city-building genre that CityVille has done so well to popularize. Well, fresh in the sense that, in addition to building cities, you can sic giant monsters to crush your friends' towns. The game features nearly full 3D visuals and an art style that screams "The Blob meets Sim City." Check out the game's trailer below to see what we mean.




Click here to play Monstermind on Facebook Now >

Were you waiting for a new approach to city-builders on Facebook? What do you think so far of this new studio's first contribution to Facebook gaming? Sound off in the comments.