Hello!
Each week I’m going to send out a note about my game of the week. This is week 3. Ding! Those of you who were here in week 1 have now levelled up.
Feel free to pass this email on to whoever you think would be interested. And if you’d like to see the previous weeks’ emails (on Amazing Alex and Candy Crush Saga), or if you want me to stop emailing you, just let me know.
The third ever game of the week is Living Classics – you’ll find on Facebook here: https://apps.facebook.com/livingclassics/
How does it work?
Living Classics is belongs to the popular ‘hidden object’ genre – so the aim is to find a series of objects concealed in set-piece pictures like the one above. Unlike most hidden object games, the objects you have to find in Living Classics are animated – so the core challenge is to click as quickly as possible on anything that moves.
Rather like Candy Crush Saga, there’s a narrative running through the game that connects the levels. In Living Classics, sets of levels are grouped together by theme – starting with Alice In Wonderland, and progressing through several classic books and historical periods – and on every level there is a quick-witted fox to find.
How does it make money?
You can unlock new levels for free by completing the previous ones, but you can also buy an in-game currency that enables you to access new levels faster.
Why is it important right now?
The most interesting thing about Living Classics is its provenance: it’s the first release by Amazon Game Studios, a division recently created by Amazon to make games in-house. My guess at the strategic rationale: because they plan to create brands that can succeed in multiple media sectors. Amazon already commissions video content, and has a book publishing division. It would not be too much of a stretch to imagine them releasing video content and books that use the Living Classics brand, or the out of copyright brands within it, which can be cross-promoted along with the game through Amazon’s retail channels. Do you agree?
Living Classics was only released a few days ago. So be one of the first to give it a try, and let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Todd