Since their inception, Facebook games have been derided as little more than board games, casino games, and farm simulations for procrastinating college students and stay-at-home moms. Despite lucrative revenues from micropayments and addictive gameplay, so-called hardcore gamers can’t help but scoff. The perception remains that browser games are simple affairs (i.e. Elf Bowling) and have a low ceiling of innovation.
Today, Reno-based 3G Studios announced a first person shooter called Brave Arms that will hopefully alter that perception. As seen in screenshots, the game will have simple but colorful graphics reminiscent of Battlefield Heroes. But its most impressive quality is the fact that you play the game inside Facebook. Okay, it’s technically not the first FPS for Facebook. (That honor goes to Paradise Paintball 3D.) But this is definitely the one getting all the publicity.
Combined with heavy hitters like Civilization Network (the online version of Sid Meier’s Civilization) and Playfish’s unnamed game based on a major EA property, the way that browser games are perceived will shift in some very interesting ways. However, I wonder if these games signal the beginning of a trend in which browser games migrate from independent websites onto the Facebook platform, or if developers are merely leveraging Facebook’s user base to drive traffic back of their independent game properties.
Links:
Brave Arms Official Site
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