YoVille Gets New Life as YoWorld
YoVille fans had their hearts broken a few months ago, when then-owner Zynga announced it would be shutting the virtual world down. But Big Viking Games, co-founded by the original creator of the much-loved world, stepped in after fans pleaded and petitioned with a furious passion, and that passion has paid off big time.
Ownership of the game, including its entire history and player profiles, will be transferred to Big Viking Games on May 11th. The only change will be the name: from YoVille to YoWorld.
If you want to start with a fresh profile or you don’t want your information transferred to the new company, you’ll need to delete your account by May 9th.
Congratulations YoVillians! You succeeded!
Plants vs. Zombies PC Release Date
Good news PC gamers! Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare will be released to PC on June 24th! It will include the same content as the game as well as the Garden Variety Pack and Zomboss Down, which together offer 200 customizations and additional characters.
Smeet Updates
One of your favorite virtual worlds has a lot of events coming up and happening right now! On May 9th, they’ll be holding the third annual Smeetovision song contest. The semifinals for the contest are happening on May 3rd at 8pm CET in the DJ Throwdown Room. What do you have to do? Sing live via Skype and see if you beat out other contestants! The winner of the semifinals will get a prize and the chance to throw down again in the final contest. Do you plan to participate?
On another note, Smeet recently added three new pets; this time, they’re dragons! Goldwin, Beragon and Pixie provide protection for your home, but you have to train them first. Right now they’re discounted, but the sale is causing the dragons to run out fast. Snag yours before they’re all gone!
You can also add goldfish to your Garden Hotel, which will help you move on to the next stage in your career! The Fish are free, but you need to use 10 helps and 10 boosts to get them ready for your Hotel’s pond. But it’s worth it: once they’re all settled, you’ll earn 1,000 fame points and 10,000 garden points, which will help you move through the game.
Lastly, Smeet also added a new room this month: the Path of the Samurai Room. You have to create five different armor sets utilizing your blacksmithing skills. Then, decorate them with bamboo, gems, leather and more! To complete the room, you need to collect 500 medals, but once you finish you’ll have a whole lot of fame points! The initial cost for the room is 69 points, and the armor and stuff can get pretty expensive (up to 599 coins!). But for the avid Smeeter, it’s totally worth it.
Club Penguin: An Ode to Star Wars
May 4th is National Star Wars Day, and in honor Club Penguin is hosting a Chattabox party, complete with light sabers, R2-D2 hats for the Penguins, and Jedi outfits for you a few days before! There are going to be two teams: the Jedi Knights and the Dark Side. Pick a side and engage in epic light saber battles and snow ball fights!
If you want to participate, just meet at the Snow Forts on May 1st (Thursday) at 4pm ACDT, 11pm PST, or 7am BST. And don’t worry: if you don’t want to buy any clothing for the event, just outfit yourself in white if you want to play for the good guys or black if you want to try your hand at being bad.
It’s Not Just About Games
The Oculus Rift gained notoriety for its virtual gaming capabilities, and made national news when it was bought by none other than Facebook. But sometimes, it’s important to remember that virtual reality, and the recent advances in technology, extends far beyond your favorite games.
Last year, a game artist Pricilla Firstenberg was dealing with something devastating: her beloved grandmother was diagnosed with cancer, and her health had deteriorated so much that she couldn’t even walk outside. So what did Pricilla do? Contacted Oculus VR and asked if they would provide a headset so that she could give her grandmother one last walk outside.
The company was happy to oblige, and Priscilla used the technology to allow her grandmother to experience every-day tasks once again; daily doings that we all tend to take for granted.
Watch the video here.
Virtual World Updates: Second Life, Club Penguin, and More!
