Developer Making Fun Takes on the Tale of Noah’s Ark for Facebook

Noah’s Ark is a farming themed game from social developer Making Fun, Inc. It represents an emerging category of titles based on Biblical tales like the recently-released Journey of Moses. According to our traffic tracking service AppData, Noah’s Ark currently has 260,894 monthly active users and 31,837 daily active users. Noah’s Ark has gameplay activities rooted in farming, such as planting and harvesting crops. In this case, crops are harvested and turned into feed, which is then used to keep a variety of animals fed. These animals, central to the story of the ark, are numerous and collecting them all is a central mechanic of the game. In order to attract animals, players must purchase and place special squares of land that contain vegetation that is specifically designed to draw in certain creatures. Once acquired, animals must be fed, and also generate income for players in the form of coins. Coins, in turn, can be used to purchase more crops, land, buildings and so on. Another element of the game involves collecting resources such as wood and pitch by clearing trees and other such activities. These raw materials are used to construct Noah’s ark, a process which involves as many as 10 stages, each with a number of requirements that must be satisfied. All of the work actions in the game expend energy (here called mana), which replenishes over time. Most actions reward the player with experience points; certain items in the game can only be purchased once a specific experience level has been met. There are also numerous tasks players are asked to complete, such as collecting a certain number of items, that reward them with experience points, coins, etc. when completed. Players can interact with friends who are also using the game in a couple of different ways. First of all, they can visit their friends’ games daily in order to help them tend to animals and crops in exchange for coins and other rewards. Players can also send gifts to friends and request items they may be short on from friends. The game also lets players share their major accomplishments through viral channels. Noah’s Ark is monetized via the purchase and use of Facebook Credits to obtain certain items in the game’s store. Credits can also be used to purchase additional mana, rather than wait for it to replenish on its own, and can be spent on acquiring resources to construct the ark should players wish to accelerate the process. John Welch, president of Making Fun, tells ISG that though the story of Noah's Ark is biblical, the tale itself and the way the developer has chosen to present it to Facebook players is very accessible. We are inclined to agree as many religions -- some even older than Judaism -- feature a tale of a flood that wipes out the majority of the world's population. Other biblical tales and characters, like Moses, only features in Judaism and Christianity, which would limit the audience. Still, Facebook's Sean Ryan claims that there is a market for Judeo-Christian social games as 42% of the United States is "evangelical." CORRECTION: A previous draft of this story incorrectly stated that 42% of Facebook's audience was evangelical. You can follow Noah’s Ark’s progress using AppData, our traffic tracking service for social games and developers.

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Developer Making Fun Takes on the Tale of Noah’s Ark for Facebook

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