Ravenwood Fair
Encyclopedia
Ravenwood Fair is a social network game
on Facebook
designed by John Romero
and developed by Lolapps. Ravenwood Fair was launched on the Facebook platform October 19, 2010.
which resembles a woodland animal - either a raccoon
(named Rita) or bear
(named Randy). The player then completes a short tutorial that shows how to chop trees, pick up loot drops, then build a hotdog cart. After the tutorial, the player is given several quests that direct gameplay toward accumulating materials, building structures, or purchasing decorations and placing them.
The player has an energy bar which determines how many major actions the player can take in a session. More energy can be purchased with mushrooms or Facebook credits
to extend gameplay. Mushrooms randomly drop from trees that are chopped down.
Chopping trees and roots are a large part of gameplay. One chop on a tree or root will use an energy. Loot drops from the chopped tree or root and will contain coins, XP (experience point
s), and often materials needed for quests and building structures. Sometimes a monster
, such as a Crittle Bear or Domovoi
, will appear as a result of chopping a tree and the player can either ignore the monster or pummel it with a shovel to scare it away.
When the player finishes building a structure, the "fun" value attached to the structure accumulates with all other structures in the fair. At various "fun" levels, visitors will fly in on a zeppelin
and roam the player's fair
, playing games
and using buildings and paying coins and XP for them.
All during gameplay, the scary forest erupts randomly with evil laughter, will-o-wisps, or a frightening crow. If a visitor is near a scary part of the forest, the visitor will scream and run to the player for comfort. The player must then click on the scared visitor to comfort them so they can continue enjoying the fair. If the player places a Protector on the ground, it will be able to retaliate against the forest, attack monsters, and comfort the scared visitors.
After the player gathers enough XP, they will level up and have their energy meter filled, and possibly extended. Attaining levels will affect the game in various ways, such as unlocking items for purchase in the store (called Ye Olde Shoppe), new quests becoming available, new monsters appearing when trees are chopped, etc.
Ravenwood Fair has launched on several other social networks such as Japan's Mixi
, IMVU
, South America's Orkut
, and Germany's StudiVZ
. The game can be played in 9 languages: English
, Spanish
, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish
, Italian
, Bahasa Indonesia, German
, French
, and Portuguese
.
engine. This game was redesigned multiple times over a 7 month period, until Lolapps asked Brenda Brathwaite
, their new Creative Director
, for help in finishing the game. Brathwaite suggested bringing in John Romero
to redesign the game and lead it to completion. Romero arrived at Lolapps on August 1, 2010 and worked with a team of 11 developers to create Ravenwood Fair and launch it on October 19, 2010.
The game is full of references to popular culture. The game has been praised for its beautiful painterly art style.
An expansion to Ravenwood Fair named Ravenstone Mine was announced in February and launched April 20, 2011.
In October 2010, Lolapps, Inc. was the subject of a shutdown by Facebook just days before Ravenwood Fair launched, due to Lolapps using an advertising company named RapLeaf. Ravenwood Fair was shut down as well a week later for 7 days before becoming fully operational again. Because of the threat of another possible shutdown, Lolapps launched Ravenwood Fair on its own website off Facebook.
On February 2, 2011, John Romero and Brenda Brathwaite gave an IGDA-sponsored presentation titled From AAA To Social Games - Developing Ravenwood Fair at Dolby Laboratories
in San Francisco, CA. On February 22, 2011, Romero and Brathwaite gave a presentation at the SF Game Developer's Workshop titled A Post Mortem of Ravenwood Fair at the Art Institute of California - San Francisco.
announced its 14th Interactive Achievement Award Nominees. In the category of "Social Networking Game of the Year", Ravenwood Fair was nominated along with CityVille
, Family Feud
, FrontierVille
, and Nightclub City. CityVille won the award.
Social network game
A social network game is a type of online game that is played through social networks, and typically features multiplayer and asynchronous gameplay mechanics. Social network games are most often implemented as browser games, but can also be implemented on other platforms such as mobile devices...
on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
designed by John Romero
John Romero
Alfonso John Romero is a game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and was a designer for many of their games, including Wolfenstein 3D, Dangerous Dave, Doom and Quake...
and developed by Lolapps. Ravenwood Fair was launched on the Facebook platform October 19, 2010.
Overview
The object of the game is to build a fun fair in the midst of a scary forest while decorating the grounds, fending off various monsters, and completing many quests. Players build games and buildings which attract visitors to the fair, and visitors can become scared if they see a monster or the forest erupts near them. Players must comfort the visitors when they are scared so they can go back to their normal routine of enjoying the fair.Gameplay
The player selects an avatarAvatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
which resembles a woodland animal - either a raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
(named Rita) or bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
(named Randy). The player then completes a short tutorial that shows how to chop trees, pick up loot drops, then build a hotdog cart. After the tutorial, the player is given several quests that direct gameplay toward accumulating materials, building structures, or purchasing decorations and placing them.
The player has an energy bar which determines how many major actions the player can take in a session. More energy can be purchased with mushrooms or Facebook credits
Facebook Credits
Facebook Credits is a virtual currency that enables people to purchase items in games and non-gaming applications on the Facebook Platform. One U.S. dollar is the equivalent of 10 Facebook Credits. Facebook Credits are currently available in 15 currencies including U.S. dollars, pound sterling,...
to extend gameplay. Mushrooms randomly drop from trees that are chopped down.
Chopping trees and roots are a large part of gameplay. One chop on a tree or root will use an energy. Loot drops from the chopped tree or root and will contain coins, XP (experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s), and often materials needed for quests and building structures. Sometimes a monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
, such as a Crittle Bear or Domovoi
Domovoi
A domovoi or domovoy is a house spirit in Slavic folklore. The plural form in Russian can be transliterated domoviye or domovye ....
, will appear as a result of chopping a tree and the player can either ignore the monster or pummel it with a shovel to scare it away.
When the player finishes building a structure, the "fun" value attached to the structure accumulates with all other structures in the fair. At various "fun" levels, visitors will fly in on a zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
and roam the player's fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
, playing games
Carnival game
A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway....
and using buildings and paying coins and XP for them.
All during gameplay, the scary forest erupts randomly with evil laughter, will-o-wisps, or a frightening crow. If a visitor is near a scary part of the forest, the visitor will scream and run to the player for comfort. The player must then click on the scared visitor to comfort them so they can continue enjoying the fair. If the player places a Protector on the ground, it will be able to retaliate against the forest, attack monsters, and comfort the scared visitors.
After the player gathers enough XP, they will level up and have their energy meter filled, and possibly extended. Attaining levels will affect the game in various ways, such as unlocking items for purchase in the store (called Ye Olde Shoppe), new quests becoming available, new monsters appearing when trees are chopped, etc.
Popularity
As of March 2011, Ravenwood Fair has approximately 25 million players worldwide.Ravenwood Fair has launched on several other social networks such as Japan's Mixi
Mixi
mixi, Inc. is one of several social networking websites in Japan, founded in 2004. As of May 2008, mixi had over 21.6 million users and an 80% share of the social networking market in Japan...
, IMVU
IMVU
IMVU, Inc. is an online social entertainment destination in which members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games created by Fydor Guthenschlag. IMVU has over 50 million registered users, 10 million unique visitors per month and three million monthly active users...
, South America's Orkut
Orkut
Orkut is a social networking website that is owned and operated by Google Inc. The service is designed to help users meet new and old friends and maintain existing relationships...
, and Germany's StudiVZ
StudiVZ
StudiVZ is a social networking platform for students and is based in Berlin, Germany. The name is an abbreviation of the German expression Studentenverzeichnis, which means students' directory.The service is largely comparable to other social networking sites...
. The game can be played in 9 languages: English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Mandarin Chinese, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Bahasa Indonesia, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
Development Details
Lolapps began working on a game called Critter Town in January 2010 using Sean Cooper's flBrenda Brathwaite
Brenda Brathwaite is an American game designer and developer in the video game industry.-Life and career:Born in Ogdensburg, New York, and a graduate of Clarkson University, Brathwaite is best known for her work on the Wizardry series of video role-playing games and, more recently, the non-digital...
, their new Creative Director
Creative Director
A creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
, for help in finishing the game. Brathwaite suggested bringing in John Romero
John Romero
Alfonso John Romero is a game designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and was a designer for many of their games, including Wolfenstein 3D, Dangerous Dave, Doom and Quake...
to redesign the game and lead it to completion. Romero arrived at Lolapps on August 1, 2010 and worked with a team of 11 developers to create Ravenwood Fair and launch it on October 19, 2010.
The game is full of references to popular culture. The game has been praised for its beautiful painterly art style.
An expansion to Ravenwood Fair named Ravenstone Mine was announced in February and launched April 20, 2011.
In October 2010, Lolapps, Inc. was the subject of a shutdown by Facebook just days before Ravenwood Fair launched, due to Lolapps using an advertising company named RapLeaf. Ravenwood Fair was shut down as well a week later for 7 days before becoming fully operational again. Because of the threat of another possible shutdown, Lolapps launched Ravenwood Fair on its own website off Facebook.
On February 2, 2011, John Romero and Brenda Brathwaite gave an IGDA-sponsored presentation titled From AAA To Social Games - Developing Ravenwood Fair at Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. , often shortened to Dolby Labs, is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction and audio encoding/compression.-History:...
in San Francisco, CA. On February 22, 2011, Romero and Brathwaite gave a presentation at the SF Game Developer's Workshop titled A Post Mortem of Ravenwood Fair at the Art Institute of California - San Francisco.
Nominations
On January 19, 2011, The Academy of Interactive Arts and SciencesAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998...
announced its 14th Interactive Achievement Award Nominees. In the category of "Social Networking Game of the Year", Ravenwood Fair was nominated along with CityVille
CityVille
CityVille is a casual social city-building simulation game developed by Zynga, and released in December 2010.The game is very similar to SimCity and Farmville,. The goal is to develop a city by farming, constructing buildings, and collecting rent...
, Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...
, FrontierVille
FrontierVille
The Pioneer Trail, formerly known as FrontierVille is a simulation, role-playing video game available for play on social networking sites such as Facebook. It is developed by Zynga and was launched on June 9, 2010...
, and Nightclub City. CityVille won the award.