We Rule Brings Facebook-Style Gaming to the iPhone
Ngmoco, one of the top game publishers at the iPhone, released its latest game globally last Saturday: We Rule, a kingdom-building time management game that’s free to download.
We just took the time to check We Rule out, and found a surprising number of parallels between the game and some of Facebook’s top games. Sure, Ngmoco VP Jason Oberfest told us at SXSW that the game would involve FarmVille-style crop raising — but we were surprised to find that the publisher of innovative games like Rolando and Word Fu was inspired almost entirely from Facebook games for its new release.
The basic idea in We Rule is that you’re the lord of a medieval kingdom, in charge of building commerce and population in the environs of your castle. It’s a social game, but there’s no fighting, trading or even communicating with other kingdoms.
That lack of direct interaction is the first point of similarity to a Facebook game. But as on Facebook, it’s also necessary to have friends. As you can see at right, your initial kingdom is pretty small; its borders promise that they’ll expand if you add friends. Friends can also have buildings that other players can interact with, producing a bonus for both (though they can’t, for instance, harvest your crops).
Another similarity is that there’s no real way to “win” the game. The point is simply to build an ever-larger castle and surrounding town, creating an aesthetically pleasing home as an end in itself. At launch, the game has 20 crops to grow and a larger number of buildings, all of which can be rearranged at any time.
Crops and buildings take time to grow or produce revenue, but as in FarmVille and other Facebook games, the plants will wilt if left alone too long, encouraging players to dip in and out of the game throughout the day.
The only way to get around the game’s time requirements are to use “mojo”, which is also Ngmoco’s virtual currency for the game. It urges players to buy at every turn despite the iPhone’s limited screen real estate. You also get a few mojo at each new level to complete some task instantaneously; it takes three mojo, for instance, to make a field of beans mature.
But for the moment, mojo seems rather pricey, ranging from a dollar for five mojo to $50 for 800. Paying a buck to watch a couple fields of virtual beans mature right away seems like too much to ask, though Ngmoco has obviously calculated otherwise
One conspicuous difference between We Rule and a Facebook game is the lack of constant requests to make wall postings or invite friends. Of course, the iPhone has no wall for postings. As for the options to invite friends, there are several, including Ngmoco’s own Plus+ network, from which the company can only gain a limited number of new users, the iPhone’s contact database, and Facebook Connect.
There’s a seemingly obvious problem here: inviting friends from your contacts is not as easy as it is on Facebook, because most of your contacts probably won’t actually have iPhones (unless you’re in Silicon Valley). The same goes for Facebook friends. Even friends who do have iPhones and see an invitation to We Rule may not be inclined to go to the game because of the extra hassle involved in leaving Facebook to download it from the App Store.
This brings up the question of whether We Rule’s requirement that players have friends should be so central to the game. On the one hand, the feature is unlikely to spread the game as virally as well as it does on Facebook; and on the other, the App Store is already much better than Facebook’s app directory at driving new players to fun games.
But We Rule is almost certainly an experiment meant to answer some of these questions for Ngmoco. And despite a few early-release bugs and built-in flaws like the lack of real interaction with other players, it’s a well-made game. The graphics are pleasant and, with the iPhone’s greater capabilities, better than anything you’ll see on Facebook. The music, too, sounds professionally done.
And in the five days that We Rule has been open to everyone (the game was pre-tested in Canada), it has done quite well, already reaching number 15 in the App Store’s ranking of free games, with an average 3.5 / 5 rating from 2,639 people.
For more on Ngmoco’s long-range plans, check out our February interview with CEO Neil Young.
March 25th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Chris, thanks for taking a look at the game.
Your point on the opportunity for smoother invite flows is very well taken– we are currently implementing a new invite flow for facebook and twitter friends and you will see that rolling out shortly.
March 25th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
I’ve been enjoying We Rule but wish there was a way to add people I don’t know as friends, directly through the game. This has been a great feature in other games I play. I’ll be interested to see how things progress. And I love the clouds; they’re a nice touch.
March 26th, 2010 at 6:03 am
[...] the developers at NGMoco have a brand new title out called ‘We Rule’. As reported from InsideSocialGames, We Rule is a free kingdom-building time management game that was released last week for iPhone and [...]
March 26th, 2010 at 8:34 am
Corpho: Go to the App Store and find We Rule’s listing, then scroll down to enter the reviews section. Users post their Plus+ names there; you can write them down, then go into the game and add them as friends.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:34 am
Thanks for the tip. I’ll give it a go.
March 29th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
More friends = more fun = more business = more money :) Add me (ID = vitamin1886) and (ID = Hunnie86)
Thx
March 29th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Add me (lots of shops)
Bedazzler
March 30th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Add me on We Rule!
April 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Add me, unsafecarrot
April 3rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
add me! reprisal
April 3rd, 2010 at 8:05 pm
add me!
liirthropp
April 4th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
PLEASE add me:) lovlyladii
thanks
April 5th, 2010 at 3:17 am
Plus+ AceHardcastle
Add meh!
April 5th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
The gameplay started beautifully, and got progressively worse. I was critical of people who started complaining right off the bat, but the bugs are so numerous and unpredictable that it makes playing a frustrating experience to say the least. No one can access my businesses, and a lot of my contacts show that they have businesses open, but I can’t access them myself. I went from having a few problems connecting to not being able to connect at all. My crops will certainly all be dead if I can get back into the game, and that’s the main reason I got tired of FarmVille. Constant inaccessibilty and dead crops do not equal a fun game. A simple “hey guys, we realize things aren’t working well but we’re trying to fix them” goes a long way, but there seems to be nothing but silence on ngmoco’s behalf. I feel sorry for people who paid for mojo only to find out they can’t even connect.
Add “corpho” if you like, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be around.
April 6th, 2010 at 8:18 am
how do we change our avatar pic? anyway add me too on we rule! ^^
ID: nurichan
April 6th, 2010 at 8:35 am
add me: madamerika
its driving me crazy cause i cant add anyone anymore grrrr!!
April 6th, 2010 at 9:02 am
add me fangman0504
April 6th, 2010 at 9:03 am
add me AbanNerd
April 6th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Add me: ermil
April 7th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Please add me: dws223
I have a few open shops right now.
April 7th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
anyone can add me if they like.
I am new to the game.
Name: synosteus
April 8th, 2010 at 6:01 am
Good Post
Please add me ppl :)
wolnielsen142
April 8th, 2010 at 9:06 am
Please add me, I’m always open! :o)
Davekid101
April 8th, 2010 at 9:06 am
Nice.
Add me if you want :)
t1nus
April 8th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Please add me
Tazma92
April 9th, 2010 at 12:44 am
Please add me too!!!
damienmike
thanks!
April 9th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Add me: superjoeface
April 10th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Add me….
Kiwamo
April 11th, 2010 at 7:30 am
Add me!
Zmurder4077
i’ve got lot’s of businesses
April 11th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
add me thnx! kingeazy
April 13th, 2010 at 10:36 am
add me
gwild10cats
buggsie
April 19th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
add me..
phtirus
April 21st, 2010 at 7:19 pm
ADD ME
leo23421
April 22nd, 2010 at 6:29 am
Does any one know why my mojo isn’t working I’m stuck near the start it still comming up with the first objective to use my mojo but it won’t work
add me please. Deborella
April 28th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Add me, plz.
firstpw / fmyson
April 30th, 2010 at 7:00 am
Please add me: Calamity6 – level 15, daily player
April 30th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Try the We Rule Friend Finder website to find we rule neighbors.
http://www.werulefriendfinder.com
And add Babushka98!
May 1st, 2010 at 7:10 am
Plus+ Name: Arkantis
Level: 15
All shops free, plz add :P
May 6th, 2010 at 1:56 am
add me please nik81818
May 10th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
Please add me:
jennybugl
Thanks :)
May 10th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Hey guys, I cannot add friend despite following the instruction cAn anyone help?
May 11th, 2010 at 3:36 am
hi ,
please add me : nbazugar , i’m on level 17
May 23rd, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Please add me: kikipiki
June 4th, 2010 at 11:38 am
hey, there are a bunch of shops are available
add me:
supahong
June 4th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Please add me….hoosierslr….thanks:)
June 9th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
add me please …. donporkchop1
June 12th, 2010 at 9:13 am
hi i’m new to this game.
add me~~~ jumping1004
June 15th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Add me! I’m on level 20 :)
bwhitman
June 18th, 2010 at 9:24 am
please add me (nbazugar ) , i’m at level 25
June 20th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
hey add be …… pinkyleyah
June 20th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
hey add me …… pinkyleyah
June 20th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Please add me!
ID:hiroko0467
June 21st, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Add me. I’m on the game all the time. I’ll buy from you and I have shops open. thewhip67
June 21st, 2010 at 10:49 pm
ADD ME! Bikerider72 Level 23 with expanding farm
June 25th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
hey add me !! superman20120
June 26th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
add me ID: chrisisdabomb0
many shops open
June 28th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Add me! Tons of shops ever growing, mutual ordering
Bikerider72
July 7th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Add me too! Just started, shops opening soon! Princessmarcie
July 26th, 2010 at 8:30 am
I’m on level 23 and would welcome more friends–happy farming.
NinaPan
July 27th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Visit ‘ultraman’ – and I have a south realm full of goodies too…
July 31st, 2010 at 9:09 am
ADD ME TOO: simultan4
August 1st, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Please add me…roxy7851..lots of shops. I check daily….level 18.
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:12 am
level 31. there are lots of shops which you can work add me supahong
September 9th, 2010 at 5:47 am
Add me!!! :) mfflores07
September 11th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Add me: a11jag
October 17th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Hi everyone, I playing all we GAMES & Godfinger.. Do add me as I’m always 24/7 without FIALLLL…
Plus+ ID: destlny
October 17th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
I play godfinger, we farm, we rule, we city.. Add me: meiqi87
thank u…
October 24th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Plus+ ID : firstmartyr
See you guys in Plus+ World :)
December 27th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Trish122
January 5th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Please add me; Plus+ID: haochao
level 33, lots of shops open and accept/deliver orders on time :)
April 12th, 2011 at 1:00 am
Add me, plz.
ID: Dekilee