Ian,

There are a number of games apps that take advantage of FB social graphs in different ways. Some (eg Jetman) use it simply for the challenge/highscore mechanism between friends. As you pointed out in your Asnych Games paper at the '04 Other Players Conference, that is enough to get a multiplayer gaming dynamic going. It certainly works well for Jetman - 2m+ installs for a simple sidescroller.

Others like Zombies take advantage of the social map and social context to drive reciprocity of action in a PvP context.

I suspect the most popular games in Facebook will need to combine both good game design with a keen understanding of social dynamics across a social map, a combination that is currently in short supply

Just noticed that the game was created by friend and colleague Frank Lantz's company area/code. I shouldn't be surprised, since Frank and crew are such pros, but it does affirm the idea that any old crap on Facebook isn't going to work; games require craft, and that craft requires talent and experience.

hi Ian and hey Jeremy -- indeed, when we were thinking through the concept and design of Parking Wars, we had one eye on the dynamics (and success) of Zombies &c.

One thing we're interested in is how asynchronous games can then go on to use real time as an element in the game -- some of the things articulated in yr notes on Animal Crossing in that Aysnch Games paper (tho the original AC is of course oriented around the single player)

While Parking Wars is asynchronous in most every sense, the shared world of the real-time clock affects and influences everyone's moves. When you park on someone's page, you are engaging someone in a kind of dare... not simply to ticket you, but also to do so when it benefits them most (i.e.., when you've been parked the longest).

When I park illegally on someone's page, one of the things I consider is when they'll notice I'm there. Because I have friends in many time zones, I often park in Europe around 6PM EST and then move my cars before going to bed. The Europeans play similarly, and were all busted when I had to wake up at 4:30A for a UK call... they were caught off guard by the early-morning East Coast vigilance. We've heard stories about people who park on someone's page when they see that person go out to lunch, and then move it when they see them come back!

These are some of the interesting play patterns and dynamics that emerge when persistent shared time is embedded into asynchronous gameplay. It's one direction that social-graph game will go, as they evolve from Zombies, etc.

We're tweaking Parking Wars as we learn from how people play it, would love any add'l feedback you've got.