The Sims creator reveals HiveMind, and we'll have what he's having

Seriously, you'll want to know what he's eating (or otherwise) after reading this VentureBeat exclusive. Will Wright, the man behind both classic city-builder SimCity and family-builder The Sims has revealed HiveMind. Also the name of Wright's new startup, the game designer calls HiveMind a new evolution in games: "personal gaming," according to VentureBeat.

From what's gathered in the terribly cryptic, nebulous announcement, HiveMind will be a mobile social game that will possibly launch on Facebook as well. The point of the game, in theory, is to further connect gamers to reality and enhance their experience by personalizing game play. But don't call it an augmented reality app.

"Rather than craft a game like FarmVille for players to learn and play, we learn about you and your routines and incorporate that into a form of game play," Wright said to VentureBeat. Later Wright said, "If we can learn enough about the player, we can create games about their real life. How do we get you more engaged in reality rather than distract you from it?"

Alright, so that sounds a lot like augmented reality (and nothing like what we first heard about). But services like Foursquare largely serve to distract players from the world around them. According to Wright's vague description of HiveMind, the game will actually help players be a part of interesting happenings around them.

"This has to do with where gaming is going," Wright told the website. "We had our eras in console gaming and social gaming. A lot of this personal gaming will happen on mobile devices. The question here is how can we learn enough about the player to create games about his or her real life." Alright Will, time to give us the hook up.

Kixeye's War Commander blasts onto Facebook for all to conquer

Players can finally control individual units on the battle field in real time as they slaughter enemy units and demolish buildings. Clearly inspired by traditional strategy staples like Command and Conquer on the PC, War Commander continues the developer's tradition of real time gameplay with asynchronous interaction between friends ... or enemies.

Activision Blizzard 'methodically investing in mobile and social gaming'

At this point, mobile gamers are blue with Smurf fever after what I like to call "The Summer of the Smurf." To ring out this smurftastic summer with a bang is yet again Beeline Interactive, Capcom's mobile games arm, with Smurfs' Grabber. Released today--for free, mind you--to App Store, Smurfs' Grabber puts players in control of a giant mechanical Smurf arm in what amounts to a grab machine.

Well, a grab machine with a purpose: It's your job to not only grab as many ingredients from the ground within the allotted 60 seconds you have for each session, but to grab the right ones for a series of potions and other items. Between rounds, you can turn in these items in various quantities and combinations to unlock prizes, namely your fellow Smurfs. These Smurfs bring special powers into your gameplay sessions like dropping presents for bonuses or providing extra XP to level up.

As you continue to grab items, you'll notice that the gameplay is bit more complicated than your standard grab machine. The ingredients have a tendency to do as they please, and will rearrange themselves randomly as you attempt to grab them. So, you can likely already imagine that timing is crucial in Smurfs' Grabber. But don't worry, you'll get to improve your grabbing skills across three differently-themed grab machines with Papa, Smurfette and Greedy Smurf.

Smurfs' Grabber in action
The game doesn't have any Facebook features to speak of--though, they're coming soon--but is integrated with Apple's Game Center to spur some competition. Better yet is the promise that, after a future update, you will be able to grab items in Smurfs' Grabber for your village in Smurfs' Village (yo dawg), Beeline's first Smurfs game. While the game isn't much more than an adorable time-waster at the moment, it could become far more useful to you Smurfs' Village fans once the update arrives.

Again, this smurfable (what?) game is free-to-play, but is supported by in-game purchases, a point Beeline makes terribly clear in the game's description on the App Store. A notice even appears the first time you boot up the game, warning you of the many facets of in-app purchases. Remember, parents: iPad games with mommy and daddy only!

Click here to download Smurfs' Grabber for Free in the App Store Now >

[Image Credit: Apple]

Are you already in on the Smurfs craze on your iPhone and on Facebook? What do you think of Smurfs' Grabber, and how long can the Smurfs madness last? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment