The Google Games effort is real, open job offer suggests

Sure, we've heard rumors of the search behemoth, Google, investing in numerous social game companies including Zynga. And the company bought Slide, a game developer, in 2010. But this job offer posted on Google's Linkedin page confirms the rumors: Google is serious about games. TechCrunch reports that the open call-out for a product manager of its Games division suggests that Google has not forgotten about its gaming efforts.

This job will be based in Google HQ in Mountain View, Calif., and the lucky guy or gal will be tasked with creating "strategies for game distribution and discovery, player identity, game mechanics, and more." It's also mentioned that the position will be heavily involved in Google's social platform, implying that these won't be just any games, but social games. If you doubted whether Google was serious about getting into games, then face the facts--it's happening. And if there is any company with the financial might, experience and notoriety to take on Zynga, it's Google. Find the full job offer after the break.

    Product Manager, Games – Mountain View

    Google – California , Mountain View (Global HQ) (United States)

    Job Description

    This position is based in Mountain View, CA.

    The area: Product Management

    One of the many reasons Google consistently brings innovative, world-changing products to market is because of the collaborative work we do in Product Management. With eyes focused squarely on the future, our team works closely with creative and prolific engineers to help design and develop technologies that improve access to the world's information. We're responsible for guiding products throughout the execution cycle, focusing specifically on analyzing, positioning, packaging, promoting and tailoring our solutions to all the markets where Google does business.

    The role: Product Manager, Games

    Rare opportunity to grow a brand-new business – Games at Google! We are looking for a strategic, technical and game-loving Product Manager to drive Google's gaming strategy. You will design strategies for game distribution and discovery, player identity, game mechanics, and more. In addition to designing a great user experience and building out key partnerships, you will be significantly influencing Google's social platform as you work directly with a critical set of early adopters, game developers. Interesting and impactful decisions involving social gaming, privacy, virality, business, and technical APIs await you and the strong, passionate team of gamers you will work with.

    Responsibilities:

    • Drive feature requirements for Google''s gaming platform
    • Work with business development and developer relations to drive gaming partnerships/ content deals
    • Initiate and prioritize projects within engineering, assist in determining the best technical implementation methods, track product development, and develop product launch plans.
    • Establish partnerships internally and externally to drive the growth of games

    Requirements:

    • Technical undergraduate degree or equivalent experience; Masters degree preferred.
    • Product management experience with a track record of creating innovative and winning Internet or software solutions.
    • Entrepreneurial experience and a penchant for creating great products is highly valued.
    • Demonstrated ability to gather user requirements and convert them into a winning product vision.
    • Strong quantitative and analytical abilities with a deep understanding of gaming platforms


[Image Credit: Facebook PokerChip News]

Now that Google is apparently making steps toward a real gaming initiative, do you think it has what it takes to tackle Zynga? What do you think Google needs to do in order for that to happen?

Game of the Day: Snow Lemmings

"Hey dude."

"Hey man, you have something on your shoulder, let me get that for y- WHOAAA!"

And that's how it all started. Two snow lemmings on a cliff take one wrong step and are sent careening down the snowy slopes. Maneuver the runaway lemming snowball to pick up additional lemmings. Carefully dodge trees and boulders to save the lemmings from their almost certain doom. Can you save the lemmings after their deadly slip?

Click here to play Snow Lemmings!
snow lemmings game of the day     snow lemmings game of the day
Pro Tips:

    Don't go too fast! While still a beginner, go slowly down the course. Once you get a feel for how the lemmings handle you can start zooming down the mountain.
    When you see a tree warning, slow down and wait for a piece of flat ground before the tree. Leap off that bit of ground, hold forward, and clear it with ease.
    When you see a boulder, try to jump over it without touching it at all. If you don't think you're going to clear it, simply hit it from behind once. This will prevent you from losing lemmings down the mountain when you get repeatedly hit by the boulder.


Click here to play Snow Lemmings!

Were you able to make it safely to the bottom of the mountain?

BBCW launches CBeebies games app

Games based on popular CBeebies Games series Charlie & Lola, Teletubbies, 3rd & Bird and Numberjacks are available through a new app launched by BBC Worldwide.

CBeebies On The Go is available for free on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad to pre-school children in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and South Korea.

Developed by Tag Apps, it includes matching pairs picture games for the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola, a Kerwhizz jigsaw game and a 3rd & Bird tap-the-fruit challenge. It also holds a number of short video clips from popular shows.

Director of CBeebies investment at BBCW, Henrietta Hurford-Jones, said the team had “worked hard to build a product that upholds the core values of learning through play”.

She added: “This new kids’ app is a first for the Channels business, so the learnings from this pilot phase will help shape any future plans to roll CBeebies Games On The Go out to new territories and different devices.”

More than 53m homes have access to the CBeebies channel worldwide.

Disney-branded Facebook games coming in 2012, Playdom head says

Can we all just say, “finally?” During a panel named “The Rise of Social Games” at the f8 Facebook Developers Conference in San Francisco, Disney Interactive and Playdom head John Pleasants revealed that two to four Facebook games surrounding Disney xd brands will hit Facebook in 2012. The general topic of the panel was the fact that branded social games are taking off.

Pleasants was joined on the panel by Kabam CEO Kevin Chou, EA Interactive head Barry Cottle and Zynga CBO Owen Van Natta. Facebook director of games partnerships Sean Ryan moderated the panel with the preface that branded games will take over the Facebook platform. And he might be right: EA just released The Sims Social, Zynga will soon re-brand its new Adventure World with Indiana Jones and Kabam recently announced The Godfather: Five Families.

Playdom, which Disney acquired in July 2010 for a whopping $740 million, is ahead of the pack with two branded games on Facebook: ESPNU College Town and ESPN Sports Bar & Grill. Both games performed well, thanks to advertising through the ESPN TV network. While Disney owns the ESPN brand, notice how neither of those actually involve the insanely popular Disney characters we’ve come to love.

Honestly, we’re surprised this didn’t happen sooner. Consider this: Disney has its own cable TV channel through which it could, in theory, advertise whatever it wants. Pleasants didn’t get into why it’s taken this long for disney channel games to throw its cast of characters into Facebook games, but did reveal the power of the Disney name.

Gnome Town, which Playdom launched in the summer–and we enjoyed quite a bit–peaked at 530,000 daily players. But just plopping the Disney logo on top of the existing one made users more likely to spend in the game just through trust of the company’s name, according to Pleasants. “We think it’s an advantage, if you put game play first,” Pleasants said.

It’s comforting to hear this emphasized by these developers. (Kabam’s Chou shared the same sentiment.) Branded games on Facebook are OK in my book, but the last thing anyone wants to see is the genre become a branding machine.

Game of the Day: Bubble Town

bubble town game of the dayOne shot from the chute and you'll be hooked. Bubble Town is the arcade-style puzzle game that will test your wits, not just your reflexes. Match three Borbs of the same color to knock them off. Collect the various power ups to gain an edge with special bonus abilities. But don't take too long; if the Borbs reach the Danger Zone, it'll be game over!

Join the unforgettable cast of characters for an adventure of bubble-popping proportions, just watch out for that Danger Zone. Choose to play with your Borbs grouped up in a ball or straight up. Either way, the addictive gameplay will give you hours of fun.

Click here to play Bubble Town!
bubble town game of the day     bubble town game of the day
Pro Tips:

    * Bank shots! These are crucial to your Bubble Town success. If you're trying to line up a bank shot, wait for a moment. A little cursor will appear to assist your aim making it easy to hit those two wall bank shots.
    * Look for big drops. If you see a bunch of Borbs being held up by a couple of the same color, hitting that shot should be your top priority.


Click here to play Bubble Town!

What do you think of Bubble Town?

Game of the Day: WHATword?

Half match-3, half word game, WHATword? is an addictive word-making challenge. Line up letters to form words and knock them off the screen. But be careful because as soon as you clear a word, new balls will drop in to fill the gap. Line up various words, make an extra-long word, or use a special bonus letter; and you'll get heaps extra points. To advance to the next level, complete all the WHATwords!

See how far you can get before the WHATwords become too difficult!

Click here to play WHATword?!
whatword what word game of the day     whatword what word game of the day
Pro Tips:

    * When in trouble, mash the "Blast" button to rearrange the letters on the board.
    * When you're lining up a WHATword, be careful not to create any other combos by accident. It might be a long time before the letters you need arrive in unison again.


Click here to play WHATword?!

How many levels did you clear in WHATwords?

Game of the Day: Pop & Drop

pop and drop game of the dayA herd of colored balls is headed your way, and unless you act quickly, they'll drop right on top of you! Pop all the colored balls before they reach you by creating sets of three or more.

Pop & Drop features two awesome game modes: action mode and the strategy-based perpetual mode. I promise you though, you'll be kept on your toes regardless of what mode you play. Make sure to use the special power pieces to help you rack up the big points.

Click here to play Pop & Drop!
pop and drop game of the day     pop and drop game of the day
Pro Tips:

    * Pop & Drop shows you where your next shot is going to land. This is an invaluable tool! With it you can line up insanely tight shots through gaps, enabling you to hit those huge combos.
    * Bank balls off the walls. As I said before, Pop & Drop shows you where your next ball will land, even for banked shots. Use it to access those hard to reach places.
    * Be precise! When the balls are closing in, don't fire wildly. Calm down and make sure you hit an intelligent shot. For example, don't just shoot the ball onto the first level, or you'll need two more balls of the same color to knock it off. Instead, stack it onto another color so when you knock that set off, both colors will pop.
    * When all hope is lost, and the colored ball armada is knocking on your door, don't forget to use your arsenal of destructive grenades.


Click here to play Pop & Drop!

What level were you able to get to in Pop & Drop?