I wonder if this has Unity webplayer & Flash runtimes built into it so it will work even though browsers block those plugins now.
Edit: yes! https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2016/11/01/unity-e...
Gameroom
51–60 of 173 posts
Re: Gameroom
#52This looks like a glorified browser for games that are already playable on browser. It doesn't seem to be optimized for gaming at all (it even feels laggier). Is the purpose of it just to increase discoverability of Facebook games? This is disappointing. When I read Facebook bought Gameroom.com a couple weeks ago, I expected something related to their VR platform. Not this.
Games are less playable in the browser now than they were 2 years ago though. Unity webplayer and Flash are both getting blocked by browsers now. I imagine this Gameroom app supports both of those.
Edit: Yeah, look at this: https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2016/11/01/unity-e...
So, now we have a way to target the web before web assembly is live and adopted.
Re: Gameroom
#53How infuriatingly presumptious. The page has a single screenshot, a meaningless blurb, and an an "install now" button - as if I'm going to automatically download and install every single thing Facebook announces. How about even a bare-minimum attempt at explaining what this is all about? (I mean, yes, I know how to google and figure it out, but should I have to?)
It looks like one of those game pop-up ads - only full-screen. Yeah, I am going to install you crappy client to download your crappy freemium games.
Crappy client that will then take over my PC and give you all my data.
Re: Gameroom
#54Seems like the comments here are slamming Facebook for this, but I think sometimes you have to take a step back and realize you might not be the target audience, and that products/services typically launch before getting the proposition spot on.
The landing page is certainly light on text, looks like it's got nothing to do with Oculus, and it's Windows-only, but perhaps Facebook are approaching this as a start-up would? I am certain Facebook will test variants of that landing page, get installs from other parts of their platform, and if going beyond an MVP, add Oculus stuff and other platforms.
I'm not about to install it either, but I bet they get tens (maybe hundreds) of millions of installs before the end of 2016. From a start-up perspective, I find this type of launch more fascinating because I can watch them iterate.
Re: Gameroom
#55I think PC gamer hate Facebook, or barely find it relevant? True?
Re: Gameroom
#56Windows only? Also no way to see what games exist without downloading?
Taking a client on windows approach.
Re: Gameroom
#57You guys are not understanding this at all. Flash and Unity webplayer plugins are being blocked by browsers now. Flash still works for the most part, but Unity doesn't. Facebook is losing game players because of this, and new games are being built in Unity and not Flash, so it's harder for them to launch on Facebook.
This solves that problem by letting you compile your game for Facebook Gameroom straight from the Unity editor, and supports the Unity in app purchase plugin. So now that mobile game that you just built can easily launch on Facebook too with very little effort.
https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2016/11/01/unity-e...
Html5 / WebGL is not an option. It's super super slow and doesn't even work for half your players. Until web assembly is live and has good adoption, this Facebook Gameroom thing is going to be the best bet for launching your Unity game on Facebook.
Big studios can afford to develop Flash versions of their Unity mobile games just for Facebook, but small studios can't. So this is also great for that, to level the playing field a bit.
Edit: I'm actually fairly excited about this. We have a bunch of Unity mobile games out there but have launched none of them on Facebook because of the bullshit with the webplayer plugin and how terrible the WebGL stuff is right now. Now we can finally launch on Facebook! This is awesome for small Unity studios. Very very awesome.
I can also say with good confidence that not many people commenting are the target market here. You already have steam installed and you play games through that? Probably not the target market. If you play a ton of freemium games on your phone and/or you used to play freemium Flash games on Facebook - you are the demographic for Gameroom.
Re: Gameroom
#58How infuriatingly presumptious. The page has a single screenshot, a meaningless blurb, and an an "install now" button - as if I'm going to automatically download and install every single thing Facebook announces. How about even a bare-minimum attempt at explaining what this is all about? (I mean, yes, I know how to google and figure it out, but should I have to?)
[deleted]
Re: Gameroom
#59How infuriatingly presumptious. The page has a single screenshot, a meaningless blurb, and an an "install now" button - as if I'm going to automatically download and install every single thing Facebook announces. How about even a bare-minimum attempt at explaining what this is all about? (I mean, yes, I know how to google and figure it out, but should I have to?)
Is it just me or is the "Install Now" button broken? I'm on a Mac but I would've assumed I could download the .exe file.
Re: Gameroom
#60How infuriatingly presumptious. The page has a single screenshot, a meaningless blurb, and an an "install now" button - as if I'm going to automatically download and install every single thing Facebook announces. How about even a bare-minimum attempt at explaining what this is all about? (I mean, yes, I know how to google and figure it out, but should I have to?)
Is it just me or is the "Install Now" button broken? I'm on a Mac but I would've assumed I could download the .exe file.
It literally says "Available for Windows 7 and above" with an unmistakable Windows logo :).