Since we are celebrating Earth Day this week, let’s take a look at Oceanopolis, a recycling game from Greenopolis, a company dedicated to raise awareness and provide information to “Help you to recycle easily, help to save our natural resources for our children’s children, track conservation through recycling and re-use, and educate and reward conservation.”

The game Oceanopolis itself places players on their own island for which they are responsible, collecting recyclables, rescuing troubled animals, watering trees, cleaning, and decorating. Cans, plastic and glass bottles appear constantly which need to be collected and recycled (islands come complete with Dream Machines for recycling). Animals with bottle caps stuck in blow holes, or with plastic bottles on their feet also drop by to be examined, rescued, and returned to the wild. The level of difficulty here isn’t very high, just pointing and clicking to pick items up and recycle them. There are missions to be completed, but this makes the game appropriate for the whole family. And there is something satisfying about cleaning up the planet, real and virtual.

Of course it’s a bonus to have other friends playing for help and gifts. Everyone wins when we all take care of each other!
So head on over to your own private island and lets raise some recycling and conservation awareness this Earth Day! Play Oceanopolis!

.

It’s spring… a perfect time to think about gardens. But these Gardens of Time are much more than your backyard variety gardens. These are extravagant gardens you can build using artifacts bought with money made by completing quests and finding lost objects throughout different scenes in time, helping the Time Society to solve mysteries and correct the course of history.

“Gardens of Time redefines the previously solitary experience of downloadable hidden object games by adding a variety of social features so players can share the excitement and challenge with their friends,” said Playdom’s Senior Producer for Gardens of Time, John Hsu. “We want to give players the opportunity to collaborate, compete, and show off their achievements.”

Gardens of Time allows Hidden Object lovers the opportunity to share and collaborate with their friends, or soon to be friends. The content is free to play (always a favorite), and, though the game is social in nature, it doesn’t seem to be completely reliant on friends playing in order to enjoy. You can test it out and start building your own Garden of Time here.

.

IncrediLand is a unique Facebook game which allows you and your friends get into the business of breeding sweet, playful creatures called Incredimals, such as the “goofy Gambi”, the “zany Zorg”, and the “bold Boon”. Collect them all, raise them from an egg as they mature through adulthood, feeding them, caring for them, teaching them, and training them. You’ll want to reach into the computer and play with the Incredimals yourself!

Then comes the really interesting (and fun) part. You and your friends can put your Incredimals in the breeding rooms together and create all new Incredimals! Part science, part business, you can also buy and trade eggs with your friends to help round out your collections and make more unique Incredimals.

And to help you out, the makers of Incrediland have given us a special link for our readers to start you off with 200 incredicoins instead of the usual 100! Happy Breeding!

I am always impressed with opportunities for gamers to give back while doing what they love, which is why I am so excited about this one. Plus, I might be a little biased working in the health care field, but it’s time once again to play for a good cause.

Hospitopia is a new social game created by CausePlay, which allows players to create and run their own virtu-hospital while helping Children’s Miracle Network raise real money for children’s hospitals across the country. How does this work? Simply put, CausePlay will donate 10% of all game revenue to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The money raised is donated across the network, but players will have the option to select a specific Children’s Miracle Network hospital to benefit by way of prizes and incentives from their game play.

“With nearly 27% of the US population playing social games, the time felt right for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to expand its fundraising tactics into this growing space,” said Craig Sorensen, chief marketing officer, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Hospitopia introduces the social gaming 2.0 revolution, which incorporates unique gaming features like a “video earning metrics platform,” which rewards players with game points for viewing video material. Organizations or advertisers can layer PSAs, movie trailers or promotions within game play, and then users earn game points while viewing it.

“CausePlay is proud to have created a business model that not only aligns with nonprofits like Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to give back to outstanding causes through game play 365 days a year, but also delivers the most innovative and interactive tools available through social gaming to ignite user interaction and satisfaction,” says Jonas Hudson, founding partner and President of CausePlay, LLC.

“This is a unique opportunity for Intersections to give back to the community in a forward-thinking and interactive platform,” said Michael Stanfield, Chairman and CEO of Intersections. “We are grateful for the opportunity to help children in need while also educating consumers about safe practices for protecting their sensitive data.”
Play Hospitopia on Facebook now.

CMNHospitals.org.

Social Media causes some very interesting debates. Do we share too much as a society? Are people hiding behind the avatar? Do we tweet too much, too often?

Stars use their social media sites to help their audience feel closer to them. Get to know who they are and what their thoughts are. Growing up, I would join a fanclub for the band Ioved. Now fans “like” a page and feel like they are part of that star’s world.

Yesterday, Lady Gaga along with other stars like Usher, and Ryan Seacrest are quitting Twitter and Facebook for a cause. The cause is Alicia Keys’ charity, Keep a Child Alive. The charity helps families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. The goal is to quit social networking until people donate $1 million.

On one hand, many people may enjoy the silence of the streams of these stars. The internet is a fickle child, and maybe fans will move on. Another thought is why leave social media which is the most successful kind of buzz to gain momentum about your cause?

The other thing I can’t seem to get over is that instead of matching donations, or donating themselves, these stars seem to think that people that have less to give should be the ones to give. All because they went silent. In the end…should we even care?

“This marks the first time a digital good ‘made’ on Facebook can be transformed into a real-world item and signals an important milestone in merging the virtual and real worlds,” said Eric Hartness, Vice President and General Manager of social games at PlayFirst. “We think players will really enjoy converting their in-game sweets into scrumptious treats from Charles Chocolates.”

“Charles Chocolates and Chocolatier: Sweet Society are both about creating fine artisan chocolates in an epicurean environment,” said Chuck Siegel, founder of Charles Chocolates. “Now we are giving virtual crafters of fine chocolate confectionary a direct line to our factory kitchen, transforming one-of-kind in-game recipes into delicious morsels that can be savored at home.”

Charles Chocolates confections are made by hand in small batches using traditional, artisanal techniques, and the finest ingredients, including some of the world’s best chocolates, organic herbs, fruits, and nuts as well as organic cream and butter. The only way to get a gift box with these five exclusive recipes together is by unlocking them in gameplay and then ordering them through the game interface. The special Chocolatier: Sweet Society box, which can be ordered as a box of 10 for $20.00 (plus shipping) or a box of 20 for $35.00 (plus shipping), can be sent to the player’s address or to friends and family.

For more on Chocolatier: Sweet Society, you can visit the app on Facebook, or even read about it on GamingAngels .Com.

Arkadium and PCHGames.com have launched a new online Bingo game that puts players more in the driver’s seat and changes the pace of this “church basement classic.” Bingo Charms features all the fun of Bingo with the help of Charms, that can bring additional points, currency, and luck to your game. This adds a little bit of strategy to an otherwise destiny-dependent game, making it more intriguing and appealing. To top it off, each day eligible players can win instantly up to $500 or in-game currency thanks to Publishers Clearing House.

“We are moving aggressively in response to our customer feedback to provide more winning opportunities online and through social media,” said Josh Glantz, vice president and general manager of PCH Online. “Bingo Charms is a fun way for us to engage Facebook fans and introduce them to our sweepstakes and PCHGames.com.”

Bingo Charms works much like any other Facebook game in that it helps to have friends who also play the game, enabling additional card slots, free numbers, and faster level climbing. You can post your achievements on your wall, but I don’t feel the same limitations (so far) as I do in other games where so many of my friends aren’t playing (yet) and I am not paying for content. That’s something that’s important to me. I want to share games with people, not feel like I have to force games onto them. I am more drawn to games like Bingo Charms for that reason.

“Playing Bingo has always been a very a social experience and we’re excited about this game’s potential on Facebook. The innovations we’ve added will really set it apart from the competition,” said Kenny Rosenblatt, CEO of Arkadium. “The best part about Bingo Charms is the player’s ability to improve their luck during a game.”

Publishers Clearing House Online has integrated messaging into the game that links back to PCHGames.com and allows players to also enter to win cash and other prizes daily.

Come play with me!

Also, if you’re a Scion fan, this application was built to accompany the launch of the all-new Scion xD Release Series 3.0 in the all-new xPRESSO exterior color. Only 1,500 of this limited edition xD will be available.

Facebook

In the LA Times today, is an article about how hospitals are clamping down on the use of Facebook by hospital employees.

At one hospital, a 60-year-old had been stabbed and instead of treating him, hospital staff took pictures of the dying man and posted them on Facebook.

Hospital officials say many have used Facebook to talk about patients which violates patients’ rights. To take a stand, they are blocking Facebook and similar sites from the network as well as making employees sign a social network policy.

The first question that this article brings up is have we become so callous a society that these personal emergencies are used for personal amusement? Do they really belong on Facebook? Do we really need to share everything, even when it doesn’t concern us?

Take one look at my Twitter count and you know that I over share. But I hope that I am only sharing about myself and not details about others that they don’t want known. It’s called having mutual respect. Or at least a small sense of decency to know when something is someone else’s business and not for you to announce. What could the hospital staff have been thinking by taking pictures of someone dying and posting about it?

Another question this article brings up is how many of you had to sign contracts to not share work-related subjects on social networking sites? I believe is becoming more and more common in the gaming industry, but is it starting to become common at your workplace? More and more companies have an email policy, but my bet is they are struggling to come up with a social networking policy. It also calls into question how much control can a company have over what you say or do on your personal time. Have you signed a social networking agreement? Have you approached someone about their level of sharing? Share with us your experiences and thoughts about what companies are doing for their social networking strategy.