CityVille
Encyclopedia
CityVille is a casual social
city-building
simulation game developed by Zynga
, and released in December 2010.
The game is very similar to SimCity
and Farmville
,. The goal is to develop a city by farming, constructing buildings, and collecting rent. The game is a freemium
game, meaning there is no cost to play but players have the option of purchasing premium content.
The game had 100,000 players on its launch day making it Zynga's largest launch ever at the time of its release. On January 2, 2011, it reached the most monthly active users for an application ever on Facebook
, beating Farmville's
previous record although numbers may drop as its release date was exactly a month prior. Within its first 50 days, CityVille grew to 61 million monthly active users.
CityVille became available as a game on Google+
late September 2011, as announced on the Google mainpage the 26th of September, 2011.
The player can also visit their neighbor's city and perform up to 5 different jobs every 12 hours. This gives the user reputation points which provides the user with a free goods bonus and one or two heart requests with each reputation level-up and increases the amount of energy, XP and coins bonuses available on a daily basis. Players can send other players gifts and help them in some of the goals. The main task of the game is to complete goals, which can be seen on the top left corner of the screen and earn City Coins and purchase all current items for some. Players can also buy goods, sell goods,(supply goods to other players cities if their business branches are on their cities) and produce their own goods by farming and shipping. This virtual
game had 80 experience levels,which has been increased to 90 experience levels and currently increased to 125 experience levels with different names for your city every level you reach.
items were available via RewardVille
for a limited time. Enrique Iglesias
also made his CityVille appearance in October 2011 giving players a task to build an Euphoria arena which is an Attraction in CityVille and an avatar of Enrique can be seen performing while it's open.
Business franchises like Capital One
, Best Buy
, Coca-Cola
and McDonald's
also appeared in CityVille, allowing players to build replica shops for fixed periods of time.
Social gaming
Social gaming commonly refers to playing games as a way of social interaction, as opposed to playing games in solitude, like some card games and the single-player mode of many video games...
city-building
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
simulation game developed by Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
, and released in December 2010.
The game is very similar to SimCity
SimCity
SimCity is a critically acclaimed city-building simulation video game, first released in 1989, and designed by Will Wright. SimCity was Maxis' first product, which has since been ported into various personal computers and game consoles, and spawned several sequels including SimCity 2000 in 1994,...
and Farmville
FarmVille
FarmVille is a farming simulation social network game developed by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to Happy Farm, Farm Town,, and older games such as the Harvest Moon series...
,. The goal is to develop a city by farming, constructing buildings, and collecting rent. The game is a freemium
Freemium
Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services...
game, meaning there is no cost to play but players have the option of purchasing premium content.
History
It was announced on November 18, 2010, but the launch date was adjusted to December to allow Zynga to make adjustments to the game.The game had 100,000 players on its launch day making it Zynga's largest launch ever at the time of its release. On January 2, 2011, it reached the most monthly active users for an application ever on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, beating Farmville's
FarmVille
FarmVille is a farming simulation social network game developed by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to Happy Farm, Farm Town,, and older games such as the Harvest Moon series...
previous record although numbers may drop as its release date was exactly a month prior. Within its first 50 days, CityVille grew to 61 million monthly active users.
CityVille became available as a game on Google+
Google+
Google+ is a social networking and identity service, operated by Google Inc.The service was launched on June 28, 2011, in an invite-only "field testing" phase. The following day, existing users were allowed to invite friends who were over 18 years of age to the service to create their own accounts....
late September 2011, as announced on the Google mainpage the 26th of September, 2011.
Gameplay
The game allows players to become the mayor of a virtual city and to oversee its development into a large metropolis. Players can perform tasks, which include farming, construction, and rent collection in their city using energy points. The amount of energy available increases as the user gains in experience levels, up to a maximum of 30, or 37 with the dam addition. The energy points are replenished automatically at a constant rate.The player can also visit their neighbor's city and perform up to 5 different jobs every 12 hours. This gives the user reputation points which provides the user with a free goods bonus and one or two heart requests with each reputation level-up and increases the amount of energy, XP and coins bonuses available on a daily basis. Players can send other players gifts and help them in some of the goals. The main task of the game is to complete goals, which can be seen on the top left corner of the screen and earn City Coins and purchase all current items for some. Players can also buy goods, sell goods,(supply goods to other players cities if their business branches are on their cities) and produce their own goods by farming and shipping. This virtual
Virtual
The term virtual is a concept applied in many fields with somewhat differing connotations, and also, differing denotations.The term has been defined in philosophy as "that which is not real" but may display the salient qualities of the real....
game had 80 experience levels,which has been increased to 90 experience levels and currently increased to 125 experience levels with different names for your city every level you reach.
CityVille: Hometown
Zynga has also developed a mobile version of the game, which is available for download to iPhones. The mobile game is, however, not connected to the web game.Currency
The main currencies in CityVille are CV Cash and coins. Players buy citycash or earn it by leveling up. Currency can be used to purchase special items.Partnerships
Two major music artists promoted their albums using CityVille. Lady GagaLady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
items were available via RewardVille
RewardVille
RewardVille is Zynga’s virtual in-game currency and rewards program. Launched in March 2011, the program allows players to earn exclusive Zynga-specific points and coins they can spend within the game or to unlock virtual goods to use and gift to others. Sign up and log in is via Facebook Connect...
for a limited time. Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...
also made his CityVille appearance in October 2011 giving players a task to build an Euphoria arena which is an Attraction in CityVille and an avatar of Enrique can be seen performing while it's open.
Business franchises like Capital One
Capital One
Capital One Financial Corp. is a U.S.-based bank holding company specializing in credit cards, home loans, auto loans, banking and savings products...
, Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
and McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
also appeared in CityVille, allowing players to build replica shops for fixed periods of time.