Another Web-Based Game Targeting Casual Gamers Launches

News.com is reporting that Mytopia, another casual-gaming network, has launched into public-beta. More than just a regular game with virtual rewards, Mytopia encourages exchanging points for real-world prizes like iTunes or Amazon certificates. "Since Mytopia is centered on "classic games," the offering--Sudoku, chess, backgammon, hearts, spades, dominoes, bingo, and poker--is a bit of a yawn, though the company has said new games will be added on a monthly basis. On the flip side, the familiarity of those games may be a draw to players who don't want to learn a whole new set of rules. Indeed, Mytopia is targeting a thoroughly non-"gamer" demographic."

Comments

So You Pay To Get Ads?

[ergo98]

but for a $5-per-month premium membership, players have access to an ad-supported version of the site

I presume they misstated, and you actually pay to get an ad-free version of the site.

Otherwise...is this a slashvertisement? Yet another of hundreds of online gaming sites...what's the news for nerds in this? No, seriously, I really want to know.

Re:So You Pay To Get Ads?

[eebra82]

Otherwise...is this a slashvertisement? That depends on where you want to draw the line on news and advertisements. For example, if Intel launches a new CPU architecture, wouldn't that be very much like this news item?

Having said that, this news looks like pure spam on a page like Slashdot. None of its featured games are new or spectacular in any way and the concept is dated back to at least 2001.

Yeah iTunes gift cards are cool...

[Corpuscavernosa]

... but how about annual subscriptions to your favorite porn site? That might add a few users!

Re:Yeah iTunes gift cards are cool...

[DiEx-15]

Thus proving once again - the internet is for p0rn!

Bot

[DigitalisAkujin]

How long until someone codes a bot so I can get free shit?

Is this really a good name?

[erroneus]

I mean really... one thing that playing games over an extended period of time seems to cause (especially in the case of first person shooters) is a problem with my eyes... I seem to have problems tracking distances and movements for a short period of adjustment as I retrain my eyes to work in a 3D environment rather than a 2D representation of 3D.

Isn't "Myopia" a type of optical malady also known as near-sightedness? Granted that "Mytopia" and "Myopia" are two different words, but they are similar enough that the mind will draw a connection between the two whether "liminally" or "subliminally." (Yes, I know there is no word liminally... I just like playing with words and it does effectively get the point across.)

Re:Is this really a good name?

[Hatta]

It's also rather close to Mycotopia

Mytopia?

[ajlitt]

Does playing this game make you near-sighted?

mytopia, can you hire me in the ad department?

[circletimessquare]

here's my free ad campaign slogans for you:

1. "stare at the screen forever! get your myopia on mytopia"

2. "mytopia: you would think it's an amalgam of 'my utopia'. it's actually an amalgam of 'my dystopia'. sorry for your forthcoming displeasure"

3. "welcome to mytopia. if you are looking for the hallucinogenic substance exchange 'mycopia,' you are on the wrong site, click here"

4. "welcome to mytopiary.com, the site for lovers of small shrubs and all things related to small shrub erotica! the mytopia website burned through all of its funds on a shameless ad plug on slashdot, and went bankrupt, and we bought their domain for $29.94"

Re:mytopia, can you hire me in the ad department?

[Surt]

4. "welcome to mytopiary.com, the site for lovers of small shrubs and all things related to small shrub erotica! the mytopia website burned through all of its funds on a shameless ad plug on slashdot, and went bankrupt, and we bought their domain for $29.94"

You overpaid.

Re:iTunes / Amazon.com gift certificate....

[CRCulver]

iTunes / Amazon.com gift certificate can be easily converted into $$$ on eBay. These constantly sold around 90% or sometimes even 95% of the face value.

According to Amazon's own rules you are not allowed to resell gift certificates. If people start selling them enough on eBay, Amazon may pressure eBay to forbid listing them.

Classic won't cost you, or get you sued.

[Rob T Firefly]

Since Mytopia is centered on "classic games," For "classic" read "public domain."

Classic games?

[Hatta]

Like Kings Quest? Dune 2? Battle Chess? Super Mario Brothers? Castle Wolfenstein? Pirates!? Rampage?

Imagination Network

[Kythorn]

This (visually) looks amazingly similar to the Imagination Network

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001081.html has a screenshot comparison I saw earlier this morning.

Sierra Network

[kaellinn18]

Jeff Atwood wrote a post about this yesterday. Apparently, Mytopia is a lot like Sierra's ImagiNation Network from the late 80s/early 90s.

Re:How long

[Spudtrooper]

According to current medical science, the answer is "3 days after they put up an online version of Starcraft."

Is Slashdot getting paid

[Bromskloss]

...for generating traffic for news.com or why on earth didn't you include the link to Mytopia?!!

Re:iTunes / Amazon.com gift certificate....

[Anonymous Coward]

Pressure? eBay will roll over and give Amazon power to delist it themselves!

Bow before Neopets

[DNS-and-BIND]

OK, this upstart will achieve NOTHING unless he somehow gets an idea of how to dethrone the inexplicably popular NEOPETS from its throne of bones. I "played" Neopets for more than a month back in '04, when I was out of a job and homebound, and it singlehandedly made me want to get out of the house and get into the real world (no small feat). And Neopets remains popular despite the fact that one of its main pet types is sacreligious to one of the world's most respected religions. All aboard to Krawk Island! Avast and set sail to Meridell!

why is this news?

[cliffski]

new casual games portals are ten a penny. who cares?

In USA, games have no copyright

[tepples]

Since Mytopia is centered on "classic games," For "classic" read "public domain." On Slashdot's home turf, games aren't copyrightable; implementations are. As long as you step around trademarks (e.g. "Zookeeper" vs. "Bejeweled" or "Lockjaw" vs. "Tetris" or "Snood" vs. "Bust-A-Move"), you break no law by reimplementing an existing casual game's rules with a new program and new graphics.

Re:iTunes / Amazon.com gift certificate....

[Nazlfrag]

I was under the assumption that the VeRO program allowed companies direct access, as discussed here a little while ago. There's a paper about it here which quotes:

Once membership has attached, VeRO members have available to them the VeRO Reporting Tool, which is software designed to automate the process of alleging infringements to eBay. Upon receipt of a NOCI, eBay removes the allegedly infringing listing apparently with little or no review of the validity of the complaint. and a little later:

One person claimed to use VeRO to remove over 500 listings in a day. My question I guess is this - how much oversight is actually there between the automated filing of a NOCI and the takedown, or is this also automated?