Home > PopCap Games Colorful Addicting Fun
PopCap games is a successful maker of casual games. PopCap's games are well known for their easy to learn rules, colorful graphics and addictive nature. PopCap Games is based in Seattle and have been around since 2000.
Their games can be tried out for free right from a web browser with no download or installation required. This makes it easy to try the games and hopefully get the user addicted to the game which might eventually lead to a purchase.
PopCap's does well to expand their market by making the games playable on many platforms including Windows and Macintosh computers, web browsers, Xbox Consoles, wireless phones and personal digital assistant devices.
PopCap's web site is very colorful and animated which is very similar to their games. The site has a lively feel and is easy to navigate. There are numerous screen shots, free trials and separate pages for each game. The site also offers a newsletter, gift certificates and a large game bundle containing all of their popular games for a large discount. PopCap's site allows for free trials right on the browser or as a download. The browser version does require a plug in however. The games can be purchased right on the site using a shopping cart point of sale system. The site has no pop ups and there is usually only one ad one each page. Finally there is a press room section and company info section. Part of this article used the company history section.
PopCap started like many game companies have. During the 'dot com' bust three different game company employees got together to start their own company in their own homes.
They started to create colorful web based two dimensional games that were easy to learn and play. Their first game, Bejeweled, was a huge success. It won awards, got great reviews from the critics and everyone seemed to love it.
Bejeweled was the most successful puzzle game since Tetris. PopCap started creating more similar style games and joined up with gaming sites including Yahoo, MSN and Shockwave.
Later, they converted their games into stand alone executables that didn’t require an internet connection to play. In 2002 the company moved into an office and started to hire more programmers, marketers, web developers and graphics artists.
The games started to mount up and soon they had a whole collection of games. They also moved onto several platforms including Macintosh and wireless devices which of course widened their audience significantly.
Today the 100 employee company releases one game per week.
PopCap's games are mainly three way matching games. These games consist of a grid of varying shapes, but usually a square. The grid is filled with varying amounts each of six or eight types of objects which in the beginning was jewels and gems. The user simply clicks on one object and then on an adjacent object to swap them. If the swap creates a row or column of three or more, the objects are removed from the board and the objects above them slide down into their place. Empty spaces at the top are then filled with more random objects. If new rows or columns of three or more are created then the process repeats until things 'stabilize' again. This aspect of the game is the main source of its popularity. Players try to form rows and columns as long as possible and create the much coveted domino effects. Of course, longer rows score more points and any other rows and columns created afterwards score bonus points. The game continues until there are no more moves to be made or a timer runs out. At the end other bonuses are added up and the score for that level is displayed. Then a new grid is created for the next level of the game. These games have evolved many variations such as different board shapes, power ups and characters that try to mess up the game board. The games often include hints to keep the game going and save time.
The most popular game on the PopCap web site is Bookworm. This casual game could be also considered an educational game as it involves words and spelling. The player creates words to destroy villains and get bonus power ups and points. The game is themed around a book worm and a library. This is perfect for children and adults alike. This game boasts lots of animations and colorful characters.
Another popular game on the site is TalisMania. This game involves connecting and turning talismans to collect coins and fend off monsters. This game is based on Greek Mythology and boasts magical animations and graphics. The player gets to progress through a map to complete the game. The board is arranged similar to a honeycomb.
Finally, InsaniQuarium tops the popular games lists. This game was actually produced outside of PopCap and bought by the company for users to play and for PopCap to eventually sell on the web site. You feed fish to keep them happy and coax them to drop coins. These can then be used to buy better food, fish and weapons. The weapons are used to kill off intruders from other planets. Watch your aquarium fill with more and more fish until it becomes too much to handle.
PopCap is always adding more games, so the site should just get better and better as more games are added. They are also taking submissions from other developers to increase their inventory even more. Right now, there is no end in sight for PopCap's great games!
PopCap Games Colorful Addicting Fun by Timothy Sharkey
PopCap games is a successful maker of casual games. PopCap's games are well known for their easy to learn rules, colorful graphics and addictive nature. PopCap Games is based in Seattle and have been around since 2000.
Their games can be tried out for free right from a web browser with no download or installation required. This makes it easy to try the games and hopefully get the user addicted to the game which might eventually lead to a purchase.
PopCap's does well to expand their market by making the games playable on many platforms including Windows and Macintosh computers, web browsers, Xbox Consoles, wireless phones and personal digital assistant devices.PopCap's web site is very colorful and animated which is very similar to their games. The site has a lively feel and is easy to navigate. There are numerous screen shots, free trials and separate pages for each game. The site also offers a newsletter, gift certificates and a large game bundle containing all of their popular games for a large discount. PopCap's site allows for free trials right on the browser or as a download. The browser version does require a plug in however. The games can be purchased right on the site using a shopping cart point of sale system. The site has no pop ups and there is usually only one ad one each page. Finally there is a press room section and company info section. Part of this article used the company history section.
PopCap's games are mainly three way matching games. These games consist of a grid of varying shapes, but usually a square. The grid is filled with varying amounts each of six or eight types of objects which in the beginning was jewels and gems. The user simply clicks on one object and then on an adjacent object to swap them. If the swap creates a row or column of three or more, the objects are removed from the board and the objects above them slide down into their place. Empty spaces at the top are then filled with more random objects. If new rows or columns of three or more are created then the process repeats until things 'stabilize' again. This aspect of the game is the main source of its popularity. Players try to form rows and columns as long as possible and create the much coveted domino effects. Of course, longer rows score more points and any other rows and columns created afterwards score bonus points. The game continues until there are no more moves to be made or a timer runs out. At the end other bonuses are added up and the score for that level is displayed. Then a new grid is created for the next level of the game. These games have evolved many variations such as different board shapes, power ups and characters that try to mess up the game board. The games often include hints to keep the game going and save time.
The most popular game on the PopCap web site is Bookworm. This casual game could be also considered an educational game as it involves words and spelling. The player creates words to destroy villains and get bonus power ups and points. The game is themed around a book worm and a library. This is perfect for children and adults alike. This game boasts lots of animations and colorful characters.
Another popular game on the site is TalisMania. This game involves connecting and turning talismans to collect coins and fend off monsters. This game is based on Greek Mythology and boasts magical animations and graphics. The player gets to progress through a map to complete the game. The board is arranged similar to a honeycomb.
Finally, InsaniQuarium tops the popular games lists. This game was actually produced outside of PopCap and bought by the company for users to play and for PopCap to eventually sell on the web site. You feed fish to keep them happy and coax them to drop coins. These can then be used to buy better food, fish and weapons. The weapons are used to kill off intruders from other planets. Watch your aquarium fill with more and more fish until it becomes too much to handle.
PopCap is always adding more games, so the site should just get better and better as more games are added. They are also taking submissions from other developers to increase their inventory even more. Right now, there is no end in sight for PopCap's great games!
