Inside Social Games

Virtual aquariums are the latest popular genre of social games on Facebook, and there are so many that it can be a bit daunting to choose one. It is, after all, a pretty big decision. So which one is the best? Which one is right for you?

At a glance, each game looks rather similar, granting users control of a personalized, aquatic world, but there are a few nuances worth pointing out. So we’ve taken a look at some of the top virtual aquarium games, Top Fish, Fish World, FishVille, Happy Aquarium, and My Fishbowl, to see just where each one excels.

New User Experience: Fish World & Happy Aquarium

Luckily, each game is smart enough to incorporate simple tutorials in each of their levels. However, the games that stood out the most for getting a new player underway are Fish World from Tall Tree Games and Happy Aquarium from CrowdStar.

Beyond the basics being taught, the former actually allows a nice bonus of gold to get a player started. Simply by signing up for email notifications (which only use your Facebook account) players are granted an extra 1000 coins. While many decorations may cost a decent sum, the extra coin allows for a much better start for a budding fish business.

As for Happy Aquarium, it is more a presentation and balancing element, although you also get free currency. Frankly, the tutorial is just better than the others and feels more a part of the experience as you are taught how to care for your fish by an old man (perhaps he is a fish store owner?). Furthermore, most of the items cost significantly less than the other games, which really makes advancement feel less daunting (even income is less).

Creativity: My Fishbowl

Hands down, the most creative game of the five is Chinese game My Fishbowl from TwoFishes Interactive. It works the same as any other aquarium game: Feeding, buying, selling, etc. However, there are little bits of polish that stand out. Instead of cleaning algae with a sponge, for example, it’s random trash (like egg yolk) with a vacuum type of fish (yes, take that literally, it has a vacuum-like nose).

Beyond what the designers provide, however, the level of creativity granted to the players is much more open. While the other fishy titles pigeon-hole players into making an aquarium in a more realistic sense, My Fishbowl was the first one we noticed to allow players to decorate in ways beyond what reality will allow. Evidently, this freedom has given birth to some wonderfully creative fishbowls including submarine riding pirates and giant coral ridden ducks.

Convenience & Usability: Top Fish & FishVille

It may sound minor, but both Slide’s Top Fish and Zynga’s FishVille do have some wonderfully convenient and usable interfaces. Top Fish is probably the most useful in regards to two features: Its speed of fish growth and its store.

Early on, fish grow in minutes to hours rather than days. People like rewards, and by granting a few quick perks early on, it really helps to get them hooked. That isn’t to say Top Fish doesn’t have fish that take days; they are just at a higher level. Furthermore, as these games revolve around decoration and buying new items and fish, Top Fish actually allows you to buy multiple items at once from its store and, lo and behold, actually lets you cancel your purchase.

Frankly, this is one of the biggest pet peeves with games like Fish World. If you click on something to see how it would look in your tank, you can’t cancel! Yet the purchase isn’t made until you left click. Thankfully, FishVille doesn’t do this. It allows you to see how items would look in a tank and actually lets you out of a purchase by simply clicking the pointer tool.

Overall Style: Happy Aquarium

Happy Aquarium, easily, has the most interesting style. It is so very simple, but all of the fish and items are highly stylized with only the fish’s key defining features standing out. Everything moves fluidly (unlike the rigid, blocky, and awkward animations of FishVille), and is well… very happy looking. Combined with the steady, calming aquatic-like music, it makes for a very peaceful, zen-like experience.

Of course, such an opinion on style is very subjective. However, it is also worth mentioning that Fish World is a close second. The art is wonderfully done in a more realistic fashion, and everything moves the way a fish should.

Overall, each app is a good game that caters to a number of different tastes. If we had to pick one, it would be a toss up between Happy Aquarium and Fish World — although its worth noting that these games have been around for over a month, while the developers of newer releases like Top Fish and FishVille haven’t had a chance to iterate with new features.

We expect virtual aquarium games to rapidly improve as more apps begin competing, and we’ll keep you posted on those developments.