Progress on Car Game Project

After five months of grueling game development, the videos below are the recorded iteration and progress on the game. Right now, the main menu has been changed but that video will come in the next post.

Below is my recording after one and half months of game development:

Below is the progress of the game after 3 and half months:

After five months here it is now:

Lost Drive, Dangers and Lessons Concerning Mafia Wars

I used to love playing Mafia Wars on Facebook. I would spend a straight 12-hour playing spree clicking on the mouse doing jobs, beating rival gangs, and marvelously robbing other mafia players who are probably half-way around the globe playing in the comfort of their rooms somewhere in the United States or Europe maybe. The last time I checked the stat on my profile, I did jobs for 31 consecutive days. I would not dare say that I got hooked on playing the game but it was a swell of a time just easing my way up the ladder from the bottom where I usually get whacked and robbed by other players up to the point that there hardly any player attempting to beat the crap of me because I did my out-of-the-game strategy of recruiting more mafia members.

As I write this, I already have a couple of series of posts breaking down the macro-programming of the game. I don’t mean I tinkered with the program code of this successful and popular game of Zynga, but rather I was able to make a whole picture of the game and what are the effective ways on how to get on top of the game particularly if you are playing as a mogul in the game. After I wrote Mafia Wars: Strategy and Perspective, I felt that I was ready to leave the game since there is no point to continue when you know how it works. This realization was even more reinforced by the fact that Zynga removed the robbing option in the game. Right now, my playing time is solely focused on the effort to take my daily earning revenue from my properties which I use immediately to buy more properties.

Last night, after two days of taking time off from visiting my Facebook account, a member of my Mafia family had sent me a link to his blog where he wrote about the danger and the waste of time in playing online/offline games.

Now, with my nature of always trying to see the glass of water as half-full rather than half-empty, I dare say that this mafia family member of mine has a point. You will surely waste your time playing the game one way or the other. Yet, I want to give the perspective that there is no time spend wasted in any effort that you toil yourself into. This perspective though can only be understood and fully appreciated if you will learn the practical or spiritual lesson of an alchemist.

Alchemists usually try to turn raw metals into gold. And this should be the state of mind that we have to imbibe within ourselves. As a rejoinder to the blog post of this mafia family member of mine, there will be a time when he will discover that all the effort, time and sacrifice that he did for playing the game has a use for him. It can either be for practical purpose or even spiritual purpose.
Nevertheless, that time will come. The structure of this ‘reality’ we live in is strange and cannot clearly be defined so I will just say that the wind of mystical force can blow unexpectedly to your benefit.

Do I still find excitement in playing the game? A little. But gone are the days and sleepless night when I would intensely hunt down rival mafia players to ice and rob them. It is time to move on and take care of some basic needs and responsibilities.

But before I do that, let me take first my revenue earning for the day so I can buy a mega casino to grow my mafia empire.

Mafia Wars: No More Robbery Makes the Game a Senseless Clicking of the Mouse

I’ve written already in my previous post that it is useless and I may add that attacking a rival mafia player is stupid and waste of time. Why is this so? When you are poised to attack him, you surely gauge his capacity to repel your attack according to the number of mafia members that he has. So even if you are both in the same level of expertise in the game, the dominant player is the one that has the more number of mafia members. If he his mafia family is bigger, he wins the game. Mafia Wars in a gist is a game wherein you strength is dictated by the mafia members you have. Common sense follows that you will not dare attack a rival who has more members than you and you sort out your easy target right on the list.

Knowing this simple tactic of how the game is ruled makes it a drag already to play it. (Those who are only having a good time attacking helpless rival mafia player probably are the ones who truly enjoy the game – and most probably these people have brain the size of pea.)

Right now, there is a recent change on how the game Mafia Wars is played by its millions of followers. The robbing option was scrapped off the program. The only heavy activity that makes this an exciting game is by attacking rival mafia players. But as I said, nobody will dare attack somebody that is stronger than you. To attack him is complete imbecility.

Now, several mafia players ask the question now as to why Zynga still offers bonuses such as mutt whose main function is to repel robbery attacks. What’s the use now of this boost when there is no robbery happening in the first place, when robbery is no longer a choice to do in the game.

The decision to throw away the option of robbery in the Mafia Wars diminishes the excitement of the game, say 75%. First and foremost, there is no more heist you can pull off against another rival player. It also rob (no pun intended) you of the defensive feeling to protect your properties from other gamers. The act of acquiring real estates and mega casinos and other properties is almost a senseless acquisition that is going nowhere but fooling your ego that you are moving up in terms of expertise when it comes to playing the game.

During these last week, I barely use my stamina when its sole purpose is to attack easy prey on the fight list. The game becomes a complete drag. Though it is true that you still have an option of using your stamina as a hitman, the option still does not make the game alluring.

When I wrote Mafia Wars: Strategy and Perspective, which suits the mogul type of player of the game, I thought of abandoning already the idea of playing the game until I reach a respectable level. I thought, there is no longer any excitement that the game brings to me when I’ve already mapped out on a macro-level the intelligent ways on how to play it. I will just continue to step on a higher level but no rival player can no longer thrash me or whack me with great effect.

And now that Zynga dropped the idea of robbery happening against mafia players, the game is turned into a senseless clicking of the mouse that waste the time and energy of Mafia Wars players. Instead of letting the game evolve into an intricate maneuvering amidst the possibility of attacks and robbery, Zynga listened to those whiners who cannot handle the fact that if you want to build your mogul empire, you should have the capacity to acquire your wealth and protect it too.

Hey, Zynga, you should pay me for this valuable commentary on your very successful game. Let’s say just give me 100 mutts for boosts and let it be a décor on my profile page. What’d you think?

Mafia Wars: The Strategy and Perspective

I’ve already raked up more than $4M from robbing the 100 mega casinos of a rival mafia player. I still have good amount of stamina but my health to pull the heist was already too worse to pull another one. No matter, either get the dough amassed by putting it in the bank or get some more properties and spend the money until it is depleted. Regaining my health is easy as shoving at the hospital doctor a $1 bill. That crut of dimwit mafia player has eluded me robbing him until his properties are all damaged but he cannot escape the back up members of my mafia whom I tip that don’t attack this player but instead rob him because he has 100 mega casinos and other 100 more real estate ready for the taking with just a mere mutt for robbery defense. Two mafia members heeded the call for help. One raked up several grand before his stamina was depleted to rob more; but the other one raked up 48M for bonus from the unsuspecting victim before his stamina went down to zero.

Anyway, after shoving $1 bill to the hospital doctor to heal me, I jumped on my next rival mafia victim. The criteria for choosing a victim is simple. First, the mafia members should be less than mine. Next, there should be an absence of boost like mutt and other robbery defense. If there are boost present, the number of mafia member should be considerably less than mine. It means I have the upper hand when I rob him that even the mutt that he installed for stopping robbery in his property will end up futile. And before I forget, you should know where to find these mafia members that is vulnerable for your robbery. Find them at the list created by Fight option. Usually the list there are put for the reason to be attacked and not to be robbed. Click the profile of the prospective victim then measure him whether you can handle him good.

It is useless to attack another rival mafia player. First and foremost, the number of his mafia members tells you already that he is an easy prey. The true test and excitement when you attack a rival mafia member is when you are at par with him, member-wise and sans the cheating of looking at what he got in his arsenal of firepower weapons. The seconds of waiting to see who wins then becomes more interesting to focus and anticipate for as to who will win.

Nevertheless, there is a danger in this kind of strategy. If you lose, that attack gets recorded at the rival mafia member’s home page and you are then vulnerable against an attack from him. But don’t worry, there are still many dimwits when it comes to attacking and icing rival mafia members that you can always get even with somebody else.

They are though mafia players who are take the game as something that attacks their ego so an encounter can blow up into a continuous retaliation that can go on for a day or even weeks. For these egoistic mafia players who are more stronger than you, the intelligent thing to do is to let him hit you and don’t retaliate. Further retaliation will make him have the reason to attack you again. While for those lesser rival mafia players who keeps on attacking you and losing and putting you on the hitlist twice or thrice just to get back at you, let them be. Keep robbing and attacking him. If you are depleted of stamina, a five-minute wait is not useless. When that stamina gets invigorated by just one attack, rob this cretin another time and imagine already the frustration and irritation of the rival mafia members who is probably half-away around the world pulling his hair in anguish.

There is only two main secret on how to get successful with playing this game. First, it is a game wherein the strongest is defined by its number of mafia members. So, while you are waiting for your health and energy to get back, off-game strategy of recruiting members is one serious task for you to do. There is no point to reach level 201 or 300 if your mafia members is only 20 or less. Yes, you can opt not to buy properties so that you wont get robbed, just stack the dough in the bank. But remember, you are still vulnerable to attacks that can drive you crazy if you want to reach another level. I’ve seen many players opting in this kind of strategy and what is funny about it is that they still put a mutt for any robbery attempt on their deli property, which cant be robbed as far as I know and nobody in the first place will have any interest in it.

It is better to buy properties that can give you revenue each day. Invest. Don’t fear being robbed. The point is to reach that level when you can earn and put money in the bank in trillions. This only takes a little responsibility from you to continue recruiting mafia members and stacking your boosts with robbery defense mechanisms.

Nevertheless, in the end this is just a game. Remember that it is just for fun. When somebody robbed or attacked you, dismiss it as an inherent part of the game. Smile at those dimwits who takes the game personally who keeps on harassing you even if there is no apparent reason already to attack you again. The money involved in this game is mere illusionary. You cannot pay your bills from it. Get ready to be iced, robbed, and whacked. Make this as your reason for you to get stronger. Remember, recruit more members and invest to get more dough. And yes, sometimes it is more fulfilling to rob your rival mafia members than attacking him because you get to grow your empire in the end.

Stamina is now regained. Time for some whacking and robbery.