It seems the new fad on the App Store ever since developers got wind of the freemium model potentially succeeding is social games. Ngmoco has already carved a niche out for itself in the free world with its array of games like We Rule [Free], Zombie Farm [Free] by Playforge puts players to the task of growing a legion of undead, and of course, Zynga’s social juggernaut which recently arrived, Farmville [Free] can hardly be overlooked. All of these games basically play the same, with some form of currency purchasable via micropayments, tasks you complete after a certain time interval, and tons of customization to keep you coming back for more.
Newcomer Astro Ape Studios has decided to throw their hat in to the social ring with Office Heroes, looking to capitalize on the hundreds of millions of people who waste their lives away playing social games every day. What makes Office Heroes slightly more clever than your average social game is that you waste your life away in game while wasting your life away out of game, while playing the game. (What a meta mouthful.)
Instead of tending a virtual field or kingdom, you have an incredibly customizable avatar who lives inside of a small office. Rather than tilling fields and planting corn, you buy your little dude a new computer and play solitaire, get him a coffee maker and fix a cup of joe, and other menial tasks with everyday items. As you level up you get access to even more menial tasks, and eventually a larger office to decorate with things like wallpaper, various types of flooring, pool tables, arcade machines, flatscreen TV’s, and even a jacuzzi.
With gameplay that closely follows the typical social game template, Astro Ape is banking on the (admittedly sky high) novelty factor of its game to attract new players and keep them coming back for more. It’s hard to say if they’re going to be able to lure in the sizable player base required to make a game like this a success, but if my Facebook News Feed is any indication, people who like social games are always looking for a new game to sink their teeth (and time) in to.
Office Heroes was recently submitted to Apple for approval, and they’re expecting to see it on the App Store in the next couple weeks.
