Google Adds Games To Google+

derGoldstein writes with this quote from the official Google blog: "Today we're adding games to Google+. ... We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life ... When you're ready to play, the Games page is waiting — click the games button at the top of your stream. You can see the latest game updates from your circles, browse the invites you've received and check out games that people you know have played recently. The Games page is also where your game accomplishments will appear. So you can comfortably share your latest high score — your circles will only see the updates when they're interested in playing games too."

Comments

Google+

[zget]

At least Google isn't dumb enough to forget that people want to play games and spend times on social networking sites. It's also interesting to see that Zynga is there.. There goes two usual slashdot arguments straight out of the window, one being that Zynga is somehow completely relies on Facebook and that Google+ is in some way different social network than Facebook. It is currently, but only because they're lagging behind in development. And to be honest, the place is completely dead without casual people, games and pages. The latter one they still need to add too.

Google+ is so direct copy of Facebook that it isn't even funny. The whole thing even looks almost exactly the same, just that it has different colors and is lacking features that Facebook has. What exactly is Google trying to archieve here? They aren't innovating, they're just copying. I rather don't have everything about me known by a single company, so I like to use Facebook much more than let Google know all my personal details, my friends, my web searches, my YouTube views, my emails and every site I visit on the internet (via Google Analytics). Putting that much information to a single company is just plain stupid, especially when they just a few days ago revealed they're been secretly handing European citizens information to US agencies, even when it's illegal to do so in the EU.

Re:Google+

[Anonymous Coward]

Circles, privacy options, hangouts, and keeping games/apps out of the normal social areas.

How is Google+ an exact copy of Facebook with less features again?

Re:Google+

[zget]

You know, you can just not allow it to post. Google+ has the exact same thing, they described how you can post "your high scores" and everything else for others to see.

For the other end it's also not that complicated to block those updates. The first time you get them, click the x and select hide updates. There's also the dropdown box next to latest updates link which allows you to select which kind of updates and from who you like to see. They're improved it a lot since a some years ago.

Re:Google+

[Pieroxy]

For the other end it's also not that complicated to block those updates.

No it's not simple. I mostly access my social networks from my phone, and the mobile app doesn't have an X. So I get constantly annoyed by this crap and it forces me to go and log in on my PC to disable it. Then another game takes over. It's a never ending battle to keep facebook usable.

Re:Google+

[Darinbob]

You don't understand. It's NOT Facebook. That's the whole feature! I know this doesn't make any sense to Facebook users...

Re:Google+

[zget]

That article says they can't bring FarmVille and CityVille to Google+ because of deals with Facebook, but it does link to another interesting article - Google investing $100-200 million to Zynga. So much for the another usual slashdot argument about Google just providing neutral platform for others to use - it's a highly strategic game, such that every other huge company in the industry plays as well.

Re:Google+

[Requiem18th]

He's not saying it is an exact copy right now but it's in the process of becoming one.

I for one hardly believe that you will be able to protect your personal info from these games for too long. I'm pretty sure a "what transformer are you?" app that scraps your friends' "friends-only" data is just waiting to happen. The functionality must be there for the really interesting (and way creepier) apps that do actually make use of your friends' private data.

The circles thing is sorta of a scam*, trying to give you the feeling that you are going to be able to keep the different aspects of your life separate, but its very purpose is preventing you from doing what really could help you manage your identity online --keeping multiple profiles--

G+'s privacy options are not something to write home about, they are not much different from facebook's. But I admit they will most probably do respect them, unlike facebook.

To rip from XKCD, G+ is a facebook that is not facebook.

* Oh golly, I said scam in relation to Google, I'm not going to see the end of it, am I?

Re:Google+

[mcvos]

Keep in mind that Facebook didn't invent social networks either. I just checked, and apparently Orkut is actually a month older than Facebook.

Re:Google+

[Anonymous Coward]

Separate profiles? I don't think you understand how relationships work. The status of my various contacts is _not_ static: co-workers became friends, friendships get broken, etc. Separate profiles are totally unable to cope with that seamlessly and most importantly invisibly to the contact in question. My contacts do not need to know how much information I'm giving them / keeping from them.

Re:Google+

[nschubach]

Yes Mom, I blocked you because you kept spamming me with Farmville crap so I didn't get your post that Grandma died.

Re:Google+

[Riceballsan]

But there is a key difference to how google allows the high scores etc to be posted. Google posts it to an entirely different feed, and still allows you to limit what circles can see it within that feed. To put it in comparison the way Facebook handles games is like a water balloon fight at a picnic, where the rule is, if someone hits you with a water balloon, you can ask him/her not to hit you again, a new kid shows up you need to ask that one too. G+ on the other hand is more like, "We have an area for water balloon fighting over there, go on over if you want to join in.

Re:Google+

[geekoid]

It depends on google policy.

Circle is a good implementation of a digital representation of physical privacy and security.

maybe you should stop letting XKCD do all your thinking?

How's that news?

[Opportunist]

Let's put it that way, it would be news if Google made the statement that they decided to NOT copy one thing of Facebook.

Re:How's that news?

[geekoid]

Google was legally compelled to. As would be ANY US company.

And yes, I would be saying the exact same thing regardless of what US company handed over the data, Hopefully this will great pressure from other countries for changes to the patriot act.

Re:How's that news?

[Ambvai]

The important distinction is HOW did they hand it over: "Hi, we heard people might be up to something; mind giving up all your info on people named Mike?" vs "Here's a court order."

Google Apps?

[richy freeway]

How about just getting the hell on with it and adding support for Google Apps users? Once again we're left lagging behind!

Re:Google Apps?

[richy freeway]

Google Apps users can't use Google+, cos Google Apps doesn't support Google Profiles. Capiche?

If you don't know Google Apps, it's a way of tying your domain name into Googles products. Mainly for the benefit of using Gmail directly with your domain, that's my reason anyway

Go look it up! The benefits of Googles spam filtering, plus everything else they offer, far outweighs the fact that they're not so "do no evil" as they used to be.

Re:Google Apps?

[DarkHelmet]

What's worse is what are they going to do for people who are using a secondary gmail account just to be on Google+ for the moment? Are they going to provide a way of migrating your Google+ settings between a regular Google Profile and an Apps for Domains user?

Probably not. So I'm going to be stuck deciding if I want to keep switching logins whenever I go on Google+, or actually try and re-add everyone that I have on my other account (and ask them nicely to share back with me).

Overall, the way they handled this has been piss-poor. They shouldn't be neglecting their Apps for Domains users since those are the people who are going to be the most loyal to what you're trying to do.

Re:Farmville+

[rbrausse]

brausse@auedv23:~$ echo $DEITY

brausse@auedv23:~$

Nietzsche was right :)

Google+ learns from Facebook. Forthcoming Troubles

[aglider]

Maybe Facebook filed a patent application for "online games in a social network site". As well as a number of other patents.

awesome..

[crossmr]

They're going to turn around and be just like the service everyone claimed to hate, and that's why they went to google+. In the meantime, they can't get around to fixing things like broken, unchangeable "personalization" that breaks services and can only be corrected by not using google+..
Sorry, but being logged in to Facebook has never broken other services/sites for me.

The beginning of the end

[broothal]

Sweet Jebus - that was the reason I LEFT facebook. To get rid of that crap.

Oh well - it was fun while it lasted. IRC is still my favorite social network

Re:The beginning of the end

[Tridus]

On the upside, this time the games spam is in its own tab. If you just read the stream, games don't appear in it.

Re:Farmville+

[Dhalka226]

If you can't recognize that it was a shell prompt and not PHP, you probably shouldn't be trying to seem too geeky for the language.

Oh no, there goes the neighborhood

[Masa]

Why in the hell they want to ruin Google+? I hate Facebook for two reasons:

1) It is annoying as hell to have those game requests. And if you don't block all applications, then you have to "enjoy" the constant stream of shit, when your friends request new tools in Farmville or want to share a pony.

2) Gaming becomes a sole purpose for using social networking site. Most of my friends don't bother to use Facebook for keeping touch or sharing interesting news or stories. They just spend time playing and filling their page with useless game-related crap.

I lost hope with Facebook long ago and recently joined Google+ hoping that it would be different. It seems I was wrong :(

Re:Oh no, there goes the neighborhood

[Asic Eng]

Well their focus seems on having games on a separate tab. So if you don't want to know about games you don't click on that tab and you don't hear about others playing games either.

Don't know if that works perfectly, but that appears to be their goal: "your circles will only see the updates when they're interested in playing games too".

Re:Farmville+

[mortonda]

Fix your PATH.