Fluff Friends Social Game Franchise Makes the Jump to iOS with Fluff Friends Rescue
One of the very first popular social games on Facebook, (fluff)Friends frequently enjoyed over a million monthly active users during its peak in 2008. It was an impressive achievement at a time when Facebook itself only had 100 million users and the world was still getting used to the idea of the site as a gaming platform.
The original (fluff)Friends was taken offline in December due to Facebook code updates, and the game eventually closed on December 28. However, publisher MindJolt announced back in September that it was working on an iOS incarnation of the franchise after the acquisition of the rights holder SGN last year, and the release of Fluff Friends Rescue on the App Store marks MindJolt making further strong steps into the mobile market after 12 top 10 App Store releases.
Developed in collaboration with the Humane Society of the United States, Fluff Friends Rescue casts players in the role of a pet rescue overseer. Players must rescue animals from the “wilds” outside their shelter, cure their injuries and sickness and then ensure that they are kept as happy as possible. Happy pets get adopted by visitors to the rescue, which earns the player money, which in turn allows them to build additional facilities for their shelter and take care of more pets at once.
The game plays out like many other social games of its type, though there is no Energy statistic to limit play. Rather, most tasks in the game require real time to complete, with the player able to quickly skip these tasks by spending the game’s hard currency of Mini Bucks. Push notifications let the player know when their rescue needs attention even when they’re not playing, so it’s a game which can be played as little or as much as the player likes at once.
Social features within the game include the facility to visit both friends’ parks and those of strangers. The friend facility uses MindJolt SGN’s own proprietary network rather than linking directly to Facebook or Game Center, though both Facebook and Twitter can be used to quickly sign in and create an account on MindJolt SGN’s servers.
When visiting another player’s rescue, it’s possible to play with their animals to receive daily rewards; to leave donations; and to write comments in their guestbook. Both friends and random members of the whole player community can be visited, allowing even those who don’t have anyone playing in their immediate circle of friends to take advantage of the game’s social features.
Monetization is handled through in-app purchases of the game’s soft and hard currencies. Like many games of this type, some items can only be purchased using the hard currency, but progressing through the game allows players to earn these Mini Bucks by levelling up as well as by spending real money on them.
Certain items in the in-game store feature Humane Society of the United States branding, and purchasing any of these items causes the net proceeds to be given directly to the charity. Future plans for the app also include a PetFinder feature, offering real-time access to Humane Society branded merchandise as well as the means to locate real pets needing adoption.
