Inside Social Games

At first glance, Mediannex Cannon seems like one of those dozens of flash games that we’ve all seen before. It is, and it’s not one I’ll be recommending. However, there is an important element to this game that is completely different than anything we’ve reviewed in the past: if you win at this game, the developers claim they’ll pay you. In cash.

The intro of the game is, well, interesting:

“This is Mediannex Cannon game where you could earn money while you playing the game…the special thing about the game is that we’re awarding you with real money if you have win the game. we’re awarding real money for number of people every month who those are rank1, rank 2, rank 3 and who have earned more points. so try to beat others scores and win the money every month.”

This is likely a gimmick and not lead to any actual money changing hands. The introduction seems to have been written by someone with a sixth grade understanding of the English language. The game itself is equally pedestrian - you try to launch an egg from a cannon and click to determine power and angle. There are a number of objects that the ball can bounce off of to keep its flight going, and so firing the cannon at the best trajectory is a bit more subjective. After you fire, the ball lands and explodes upon impact. You cannot reload the game to try again, in fact the only clickable button in game is the streaming ad that runs through the middle of the flash screen. The forums and FAQs were down when I reviewed the game, so pretty much the entire app is a mess.

But I didn’t review this game to bring up its merits (there aren’t any in terms of gameplay), but rather to question the idea of developers paying users for playing. The prospect of money surely will make this mediocre game more popular than it has any right to be. Financial incentives may be a great hook, but it could open up pandoras box for developers. Once you start offering money to users without anything close to a clear revenue model, you won’t last long.

Game play: 1

Development: 0

Ill Omens: 10