Mafia Wars - my favorite game on facebook
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watermouse
Aug 13, 2010, 2:30:07 AM8/13/10
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SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_Wars
PICTURE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zynga_mafiawars.jpg
Developer(s) Zynga
Publisher(s) Zynga
Platform(s) PC, Mac OS, iPhone
Genre(s) Multiplayer Browser Games
Input methods Mouse, Touch
Mafia Wars is a multiplayer browser game created by Zynga. It was the
2009 Webby Award People's Voice Winner in the Games category.[1] It is
on several social networking sites and on the iPhone.
In June 2010, it was reported that Ted Field and Radar Pictures had
picked up the film rights for a "crime thriller based on the popular
video game".[2]
__Platforms
Mafia Wars is available on Facebook, MySpace, Tagged, Sonico, and as
an iPhone App.[3]
On Facebook, as of August, 2010, Mafia Wars has 45.5 million monthly
active accounts.[4] Some players and clans create multiple accounts to
utilize the benefits of the three basic character builds (Fearless,
Maniac, and Mogul).
__Gameplay
Mafia Wars is set in New York City and Little Italy, with the option
for players to travel between New York, Cuba (level 35+), Moscow
(level 70+) and Bangkok (upon unlocking items from New York levels,
level 18+). In 2010, Paris, London and South Africa are introduced as
challenge missions (which are available for a limited time). Las Vegas
is released in July 28 as the fifth city available. The game revolves
around doing and mastering jobs to earn cash and experience, with the
goal of establishing and advancing one's criminal empire.[5] Players
create mafias by recruiting players and using reward points to hire
extra mafia members. Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace
and Friendster allow players to recruit from friends to build their
mafia and fight against other players.[5][6] Players can also improve
their stats by visiting the Godfather (ie, making a micropayment).[5]
Gameplay revolves around timers: players have limited energy (for
doing jobs), and health and stamina meters (for fighting other
players), in a manner similar to an RPG(role playing game),[7] which
slowly recharges over time. With the help of other mafia members that
have been recruited, players can eventually fight other players, which
may or may not result in the theft of cash, "icing", or "death" of the
other player. The game operates on a level up basis. The player earns
experience points by completing jobs. Players who manage to complete
special tasks (for example, winning fights against bigger mafias or
winning fifteen fights in a row) are labeled as having accomplished an
"achievement", resulting in a bonus for the player. As they level up,
more jobs and features become available, such as the ability to visit
Cuba to expand their criminal empire.
After a significant in-game marketing blitz, Zynga added a new city,
Moscow, on September 24, 2009.[8] Once a player reaches level 70, they
are granted access to Moscow, and they get to choose between the
Thieves in Law Vory or the Russian Mafiya. On January 20, 2010,
Bangkok Beta was released with some players being granted acess to it,
but some not. This is to prevent too many people from going to Bangkok
which may cause the system to crash.[9] In Bangkok, players will be
able to choose from the Triad and the Yakuza. The upcoming region Las
Vegas, came out June 23, 2010 as a beta, and July 21, 2010 out of beta.
[10] The ranks and episodes are: Street Thug, Associate, Soldier,
Enforcer, Hitman, Capo, Consigliere, Underboss, and Boss in New York;
El Soldado, El Capitan, El Jefe, El Patron, El Padrino, and El Cacique
in Cuba; Baklany, Boets, Brigadir, Avtoritet, Vor, and Pakhan in
Moscow; Brawler, Criminal, Pirate, Commandant, Oyabun, Dragon Head,
Saboteur and Assassin in Bangkok.
Character Classes
There are three classes that a player has to choose from when they
first start the game. Each class offers a reduced amount of recharge
time to one of the three timers. The three classes are:
Maniac: This class has an energy recharge timer of three minutes,
unlike the other two classes which have a timer of five minutes. Also
the Buttonman position is only available for Maniacs
Mogul: This class gets 40% more money from jobs in all cities. Also,
the Top Mafia Bagman position is only for Moguls.
Fearless: This class receives a stamina recharge time reduction (every
3 minutes as opposed to the usual 5). Also, only Fearless players can
be a Wheelman in a person's Top Mafia
Character class can be changed by the user by buying a preferred class
for 5 Godfather points.
__Updating and server issues
Mafia Wars' parent company, Zynga, has worked to adapt multiple
changes within the game, introducing various "beta" features into the
game, such as robbing (wherein players can rob each others' property).
These features are often removed without warning, and older players
have reported that the property and task interface is substantially
different between that of newer players and those who have been
playing for a time.
In October 2009 Rackets was added to New York and replaced the old
properties method. New players had the new version while older ones
retained properties. At first rackets appeared to be inferior to
properties but has additional attack and defense bonuses that make it
just as good, if not better.[11]
Zynga reports that a game release on 5/21 at midnight (PST) may have
affected players’ stats for anyone playing between 12-3am.
Among the possible errors include
Reset of various Episodes’ Mastery (in multiple cities)
Rollback of Property Levels
Rollback of Faction Levels/Points (Yakuza or Triad)
Lost Marketplace item (typically Hydrofoil)[12]
__Lawsuit
The makers of a similar online game, Mob Wars, sued Zynga over their
launch of Mafia Wars, accusing Zynga of copyright infringement. Zynga
made some changes to Mafia Wars so it did not resemble Mob Wars as
closely, but Mob Wars creator David Maestri moved forward with his
lawsuit.[13] In September 2009, Maestri and Zynga settled the case for
about $7–$9 million, less than the $10 million Maestri had originally
demanded.[14]
__Trademark dispute
Zynga filed its trademark for the stylized version of Mafia Wars with
the U.S. Patent & Trademarks Office on July 1, 2009, months after it
first launched the Mafia Wars game on the internet through Facebook.
[15] The Zynga trademark application for Mafia Wars sought to cover
games for computers and wireless devices. David L. Kelejian, however
on June 15, 2009, just two weeks prior to the Zynga filing, filed an
intent-to-use trademark application for a stylized version of Mafia
Wars which covered clothing and apparel.[15] Zynga later began selling
Mafia Wars branded clothing through Zazzle.[15] By or before late
November 2009, Zynga noticed Kelejian's pending trademark application
for Mafia Wars, and filed a trademark opposition proceeding against
Kelejian's trademark on December 1, 2009.[15]
__Charity
On December 16, 2009, it was announced on the official blog that 50%
of the sale of limited edition - Haitian Drum, will be donated to
FATEM, a non-profit organization that works to provide economic
advancements for the Haitian community of Mirebalais.[16][17]
On January 14, 2010, it was announced that 100% of all contributions
to Zynga's Haiti Relief Fund - provided by purchasing new limited
edition item "Haitian Relief Drum", will be donated to help the people
of Haiti who are suffering from the devastating consequences of the
January 2010 earthquakes.[18][19]
On March 11, 2010, it was announced that 50% of all contributions to
Huntington’s Disease Society of America’s Coalition for the Cure -
provided by purchasing new limited edition item "Exploding Teddy
Bear", will be donated to help annihilate Huntington’s Disease.[20]
On Friday, May 28, there was an announcement that there would be a
special Memorial Day Weekend sale. Of the five items that were sold,
Mounted Mini Gun, WWI German Armor, B-52 Bomber, Desert Storm G2, and
the H-13 Med Evac, 50% went to the Fisher House Foundation charity,
who help make it possible for families to visit their injured
relatives who are in service. Players are encouraged to spend even
more money to get the WWII M4 Sherman Tank through buying ten memorial
day items.[2
__Film Adaptation
Deadline announced a film adaptation of Mafia Wars is in the works.
Dan Lin will direct the film with New Line Cinema distributing. The
planned release will be sometime in 2012.[2]
__References
^ "Webby Nominees". The Webby Awards. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
^ a b Jessica Citizen (2010-06-30). "Mafia Wars movie in the works".
Retrieved 2010-06-30.
^ "Mafia Wars by Zynga Hits the iPhone". IGN. April 8, 2009. Retrieved
June 24, 2009.
^ Mafia Wars on Facebook.com
^ a b c Boychuk, Ben. "Mob Games for the IPhone". PC World. Retrieved
June 24, 2009.
^ Graft, Kris. "Social Game Mafia Wars Hits 4 Million Daily Users".
Gamasutra. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
^ The Leaf Chronicle: Facebook's 'Farmville' not a laughing
matter[dead link]
^ "Mafia Wars Moscow: Exclusive First Look!".
^ Mafia Wars: Travel to Bangkok Now! Facebook, 29 January 2010
^ "Mafia Wars". Retrieved June 24, 2009.
^ "Mafia Wars Rackets".
^ Zygna Customer Support Communications received on May 21, 2010
^ Mob Wars Creator Puts A Hit Out On Zynga, Sues For Copyright
Infringement from TechCrunch.com (February 14, 2009)
^ Zynga Settles Mob Wars Litigation As It Settles In To Playdom Fight
TechCrunch.com
^ a b c d Mafia Wars - Real Life Trademark Battle Inside Trademarks,
February 7, 2010
^ Mafia Wars Charity Loot
^ Haitian Drum Mafia Wars Wiki
^ Zynga Haiti Relief Fund
^ Haitian Relief Drum Mafia Wars Wiki
^ Exploding Teddy Bear Mafia Wars Wiki
^ Memorial Day Sale 2010 Mafia Wars Wiki
PICTURE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zynga_mafiawars.jpg
Developer(s) Zynga
Publisher(s) Zynga
Platform(s) PC, Mac OS, iPhone
Genre(s) Multiplayer Browser Games
Input methods Mouse, Touch
Mafia Wars is a multiplayer browser game created by Zynga. It was the
2009 Webby Award People's Voice Winner in the Games category.[1] It is
on several social networking sites and on the iPhone.
In June 2010, it was reported that Ted Field and Radar Pictures had
picked up the film rights for a "crime thriller based on the popular
video game".[2]
__Platforms
Mafia Wars is available on Facebook, MySpace, Tagged, Sonico, and as
an iPhone App.[3]
On Facebook, as of August, 2010, Mafia Wars has 45.5 million monthly
active accounts.[4] Some players and clans create multiple accounts to
utilize the benefits of the three basic character builds (Fearless,
Maniac, and Mogul).
__Gameplay
Mafia Wars is set in New York City and Little Italy, with the option
for players to travel between New York, Cuba (level 35+), Moscow
(level 70+) and Bangkok (upon unlocking items from New York levels,
level 18+). In 2010, Paris, London and South Africa are introduced as
challenge missions (which are available for a limited time). Las Vegas
is released in July 28 as the fifth city available. The game revolves
around doing and mastering jobs to earn cash and experience, with the
goal of establishing and advancing one's criminal empire.[5] Players
create mafias by recruiting players and using reward points to hire
extra mafia members. Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace
and Friendster allow players to recruit from friends to build their
mafia and fight against other players.[5][6] Players can also improve
their stats by visiting the Godfather (ie, making a micropayment).[5]
Gameplay revolves around timers: players have limited energy (for
doing jobs), and health and stamina meters (for fighting other
players), in a manner similar to an RPG(role playing game),[7] which
slowly recharges over time. With the help of other mafia members that
have been recruited, players can eventually fight other players, which
may or may not result in the theft of cash, "icing", or "death" of the
other player. The game operates on a level up basis. The player earns
experience points by completing jobs. Players who manage to complete
special tasks (for example, winning fights against bigger mafias or
winning fifteen fights in a row) are labeled as having accomplished an
"achievement", resulting in a bonus for the player. As they level up,
more jobs and features become available, such as the ability to visit
Cuba to expand their criminal empire.
After a significant in-game marketing blitz, Zynga added a new city,
Moscow, on September 24, 2009.[8] Once a player reaches level 70, they
are granted access to Moscow, and they get to choose between the
Thieves in Law Vory or the Russian Mafiya. On January 20, 2010,
Bangkok Beta was released with some players being granted acess to it,
but some not. This is to prevent too many people from going to Bangkok
which may cause the system to crash.[9] In Bangkok, players will be
able to choose from the Triad and the Yakuza. The upcoming region Las
Vegas, came out June 23, 2010 as a beta, and July 21, 2010 out of beta.
[10] The ranks and episodes are: Street Thug, Associate, Soldier,
Enforcer, Hitman, Capo, Consigliere, Underboss, and Boss in New York;
El Soldado, El Capitan, El Jefe, El Patron, El Padrino, and El Cacique
in Cuba; Baklany, Boets, Brigadir, Avtoritet, Vor, and Pakhan in
Moscow; Brawler, Criminal, Pirate, Commandant, Oyabun, Dragon Head,
Saboteur and Assassin in Bangkok.
Character Classes
There are three classes that a player has to choose from when they
first start the game. Each class offers a reduced amount of recharge
time to one of the three timers. The three classes are:
Maniac: This class has an energy recharge timer of three minutes,
unlike the other two classes which have a timer of five minutes. Also
the Buttonman position is only available for Maniacs
Mogul: This class gets 40% more money from jobs in all cities. Also,
the Top Mafia Bagman position is only for Moguls.
Fearless: This class receives a stamina recharge time reduction (every
3 minutes as opposed to the usual 5). Also, only Fearless players can
be a Wheelman in a person's Top Mafia
Character class can be changed by the user by buying a preferred class
for 5 Godfather points.
__Updating and server issues
Mafia Wars' parent company, Zynga, has worked to adapt multiple
changes within the game, introducing various "beta" features into the
game, such as robbing (wherein players can rob each others' property).
These features are often removed without warning, and older players
have reported that the property and task interface is substantially
different between that of newer players and those who have been
playing for a time.
In October 2009 Rackets was added to New York and replaced the old
properties method. New players had the new version while older ones
retained properties. At first rackets appeared to be inferior to
properties but has additional attack and defense bonuses that make it
just as good, if not better.[11]
Zynga reports that a game release on 5/21 at midnight (PST) may have
affected players’ stats for anyone playing between 12-3am.
Among the possible errors include
Reset of various Episodes’ Mastery (in multiple cities)
Rollback of Property Levels
Rollback of Faction Levels/Points (Yakuza or Triad)
Lost Marketplace item (typically Hydrofoil)[12]
__Lawsuit
The makers of a similar online game, Mob Wars, sued Zynga over their
launch of Mafia Wars, accusing Zynga of copyright infringement. Zynga
made some changes to Mafia Wars so it did not resemble Mob Wars as
closely, but Mob Wars creator David Maestri moved forward with his
lawsuit.[13] In September 2009, Maestri and Zynga settled the case for
about $7–$9 million, less than the $10 million Maestri had originally
demanded.[14]
__Trademark dispute
Zynga filed its trademark for the stylized version of Mafia Wars with
the U.S. Patent & Trademarks Office on July 1, 2009, months after it
first launched the Mafia Wars game on the internet through Facebook.
[15] The Zynga trademark application for Mafia Wars sought to cover
games for computers and wireless devices. David L. Kelejian, however
on June 15, 2009, just two weeks prior to the Zynga filing, filed an
intent-to-use trademark application for a stylized version of Mafia
Wars which covered clothing and apparel.[15] Zynga later began selling
Mafia Wars branded clothing through Zazzle.[15] By or before late
November 2009, Zynga noticed Kelejian's pending trademark application
for Mafia Wars, and filed a trademark opposition proceeding against
Kelejian's trademark on December 1, 2009.[15]
__Charity
On December 16, 2009, it was announced on the official blog that 50%
of the sale of limited edition - Haitian Drum, will be donated to
FATEM, a non-profit organization that works to provide economic
advancements for the Haitian community of Mirebalais.[16][17]
On January 14, 2010, it was announced that 100% of all contributions
to Zynga's Haiti Relief Fund - provided by purchasing new limited
edition item "Haitian Relief Drum", will be donated to help the people
of Haiti who are suffering from the devastating consequences of the
January 2010 earthquakes.[18][19]
On March 11, 2010, it was announced that 50% of all contributions to
Huntington’s Disease Society of America’s Coalition for the Cure -
provided by purchasing new limited edition item "Exploding Teddy
Bear", will be donated to help annihilate Huntington’s Disease.[20]
On Friday, May 28, there was an announcement that there would be a
special Memorial Day Weekend sale. Of the five items that were sold,
Mounted Mini Gun, WWI German Armor, B-52 Bomber, Desert Storm G2, and
the H-13 Med Evac, 50% went to the Fisher House Foundation charity,
who help make it possible for families to visit their injured
relatives who are in service. Players are encouraged to spend even
more money to get the WWII M4 Sherman Tank through buying ten memorial
day items.[2
__Film Adaptation
Deadline announced a film adaptation of Mafia Wars is in the works.
Dan Lin will direct the film with New Line Cinema distributing. The
planned release will be sometime in 2012.[2]
__References
^ "Webby Nominees". The Webby Awards. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
^ a b Jessica Citizen (2010-06-30). "Mafia Wars movie in the works".
Retrieved 2010-06-30.
^ "Mafia Wars by Zynga Hits the iPhone". IGN. April 8, 2009. Retrieved
June 24, 2009.
^ Mafia Wars on Facebook.com
^ a b c Boychuk, Ben. "Mob Games for the IPhone". PC World. Retrieved
June 24, 2009.
^ Graft, Kris. "Social Game Mafia Wars Hits 4 Million Daily Users".
Gamasutra. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
^ The Leaf Chronicle: Facebook's 'Farmville' not a laughing
matter[dead link]
^ "Mafia Wars Moscow: Exclusive First Look!".
^ Mafia Wars: Travel to Bangkok Now! Facebook, 29 January 2010
^ "Mafia Wars". Retrieved June 24, 2009.
^ "Mafia Wars Rackets".
^ Zygna Customer Support Communications received on May 21, 2010
^ Mob Wars Creator Puts A Hit Out On Zynga, Sues For Copyright
Infringement from TechCrunch.com (February 14, 2009)
^ Zynga Settles Mob Wars Litigation As It Settles In To Playdom Fight
TechCrunch.com
^ a b c d Mafia Wars - Real Life Trademark Battle Inside Trademarks,
February 7, 2010
^ Mafia Wars Charity Loot
^ Haitian Drum Mafia Wars Wiki
^ Zynga Haiti Relief Fund
^ Haitian Relief Drum Mafia Wars Wiki
^ Exploding Teddy Bear Mafia Wars Wiki
^ Memorial Day Sale 2010 Mafia Wars Wiki
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