3 Blokes launches strategic assault on Facebook with Galactic Allies

by Joe Osborne, Posted Sep 21st 2011 9:00AM

We can almost hear the 3 Blokes team in Australia screaming "Fire everything!" as they hit the proverbial "Launch" button on its first Facebook game under publisher RockYou, Galactic Allies. (It would be most appropriate, no?) Real-time strategy fans can jump in on the thrill of space-faring, asynchronous player vs player combat, complete with 3D visuals.

Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.

This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)

Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.

Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >

Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

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RockYou Acquires Australian Social Strategy Game Developer 3 Blokes

Social game publisher RockYou announced the acquisition of Australian social game developer 3 Blokes Studios this morning. The developer currently has a library for four games and just under 200,000 monthly active users and a little over 10,000 daily active users, according to our traffic tracking service, AppData.

Interestingly, RockYou made a point of stating that 3 Blokes Studios would head up development of strategy and combat-driven Facebook games. This genre was previously under-represented on Facebook, likely because larger social game developers and publishers viewed strategy as too demanding of time for their core demographic. With Zynga and Digital Chocolate releasing semi-casual strategy titles in the last week, however, it seems like strategy is becoming a more attractive genre to social game developers and publishers.

3 Blokes Studios’ largest game, Galactic Trader, is published by 6waves. It’s an involved strategy title that combines trading and combat gameplay mechanics with a bit of treasure-hunting as players explore grid spaces for resources. It seems to be more akin to Kabam’s style of strategy game, which tends to appeal to dedicated hobbyists as opposed to casual players.

The price of the acquisition was not made public. 3 Blokes Studios will remain an independent studio much like RockYou’s Playdemic, which was acquired in January. RockYou’s internal games development continues with Zoo World 2, which just entered closed beta ahead of launch.

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RockYou gobbles up 3 Blokes (Studios) for combat Facebook games

by Joe Osborne, Posted Jun 1st 2011 12:05PM

No, U.K.-based social game publisher RockYou did not eat three British folk, but purchased Australian game developer 3 Blokes Studios for an undisclosed amount, TechCrunch reports. The studio has create four Facebook games to date including the 200 thousand-strong Galactic Trader (pictured). 3 Blokes will operate remotely and create combat strategy social games for the publisher to combat opponents like Kabam, Firaxis and even Zynga with its Empires and Allies release.
We can't help but notice how RockYou is rapidly adapting to the changing social games scene. First, it signs on a big-time designer like John Romero with Loot Drop (Zynga has Brian Reynolds), then it begins to buy up smaller studios to increase its development strength and diversity (Zynga bought 14 companies in 12 months). No details on specific games were announced, but we're sure that, if RockYou really wants to compete, they'll be just as strong as the rest.

Do you think RockYou is doing the right thing in attempting to emulate Zynga's progression? Will it lead to success for them? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

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