DragonVale

Last updated

DragonVale
DragonVale App Icon.png
Developer(s) Backflip Studios (2012-2019)
DECA Games (2020-present)
Publisher(s) DECA Games
Composer(s) Aubrey Hodges
Platform(s) iOS, Android
Release
  • iOS
  • September 14, 2011
  • Android
  • November 9, 2012
Genre(s) Park simulator

DragonVale is a park management simulator video game originally developed by Backflip Studios and released on September 14, 2011, for iOS and on November 9, 2012, for Android. DragonVale is also a breed-and-nurture game that was one of the first commercial successes. The game has been downloaded over 45 million times which has generated a total revenue of over $200 million. Backflip Studios was purchased by Hasbro in 2013, because of its popularity. In late 2019, Hasbro shut down Backflip Studios, and DragonVale was acquired by DECA Games in March 2020. [1] [2]

Contents

Gameplay

DragonVale is a dragon breeding simulation game in which players design an island park and display dragons in habitats. Displaying dragons allows the player to earn "DragonCash". DragonCash can be used to upgrade a park with new islands, habitats, and decorations. [3] The game has a maximum park level of 180, and there is a total dragon count of 841 (213 elemental dragons, 418 special dragons, and 367 epic dragons), a decoration count of 562, and an island count of 40 (not including seven special islands). [4]

Basic elemental dragons can produce a specific set of hybrid dragons by being paired in the Breeding Cave, the Epic Breeding Island, the Cooperative Breeding Cave, and the Runic Breeding Caves (the last of which are only available during Easter or Christmas time). The ten basic elements are Plant, Fire, Earth, Cold, Lightning, Water, Air, Metal, Light, and Dark.

Epic dragons are rarer than basic elemental dragons and hybrids. The epic dragons include Sun, Moon, Rainbow, Treasure, Olympus, Gemstone, Dream, Seasonal, Apocalypse, Chrysalis, Ornamental, Crystalline, Snowflake, Monolith, Aura, Hidden, Galactic, Surface, Melody, Zodiac, and their epic offspring hybrids.

There are a number of limited or rare dragons, known as "Special Dragons", that are only available during a specific period of time. These dragons are themed toward specific holidays, seasons, DragonVale anniversaries, anomalies, months, and events. For example, the Ghost dragon is available for Halloween and the Reindeer dragon is available for the winter holidays. Another example is the Tien Dragon, which came out during the 10th anniversary of the creation of DragonVale. Many Epic dragons are also limited; for example, the Leap Year Dragon that is theoretically only available every 4 years. Limited dragons are often released alongside a limited park decoration. Limited dragons include the gemstone dragons, which correspond to the monthly birthstones. Gemstone dragons earn gems rather than DragonCash. Backflip Studios held several "Bring Em Back" events to give players a chance to breed a limited dragon they may have missed the first time around. DECA has held “Dragon Week” events to give players similar opportunities.

Gems are a vital part of DragonVale. They can be used to speed up most in-game waiting times. Gems can be acquired through trading them with friends, winning them in the colosseum and race track, completing quests and goals, collecting from gemstone and crystalline dragons, or by purchasing them directly as an in-game-purchase.

Breeding is the most common way to earn non-basic dragons, they can also be bought from the market for a high amount of gems. The basic elemental dragons can be bought with DragonCash. Alternatively, players can use Etherium to buy mystery eggs, which are available in various rarities, rewarding the player with one random dragon correlating to each rarity. Players can buy new islands to make space for more habitats although there is a limit on habitats.

Players raise dragons to adulthood by feeding them treats grown from treat farms, won from the race track, or earned from the completion of quests. The higher level a dragon is, the more DragonCash it will earn per minute. Different dragons earn DragonCash at different rates. For example, a Gift dragon at level 10 can only earn 77 DragonCash per minute while a level 10 Moon Dragon can earn 256 DragonCash per minute. Certain dragons can also receive earning boosts through different buildings, increasing the amount of DragonCash they earn per minute.

The Rift is another dimension in the game. In the Rift, Gems and DragonCash are useless and the player must collect Etherium. The best way to collect Etherium is having dragons in the rift. The rift has a maximum of 75 habitats, which can be decorated using Rift habitat themes. Many dragons can go into the rift, but the rift has 36 unique dragons.

There have also been several events held in relation to time of year or holidays that require the player to do a number of activities like collecting DragonCash/Gems/Etherium, hatching or selling dragons after incubation, and other special provisions. These activities give the player a certain limited time currency that corresponds to the event and enables the player to buy exclusive or unique items. DECA almost always has a seasonal event active.

Reception

The game has a critic score of 84 on Metacritic based on 5 critic reviews, and a 7.2 user score. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>GemStone IV</i> 1988 video game

GemStone IV is a multiplayer text-based online role-playing video game produced by Simutronics. Players control characters in a high fantasy game world named "Elanthia". The first playable version of the game was known as GemStone ][ and was launched in April 1988 on GEnie. It was one of the first MMORPGs and is one of the longest running online games still active. Access to the game is subscription-based through its website, with three additional subscriptions levels available, "Premium", "Platinum" and "Shattered", in addition to a free-to-play model introduced in early March 2015.

<i>Xargon</i> 1994 video game

Xargon: The Mystery of the Blue Builders is a video game trilogy produced by Epic MegaGames for DOS. The game is a side-scrolling platform game. The main character, Malvineous Havershim, must journey through strange landscapes as he seeks to destroy the evil Xargon.

The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based; of these, the Forgotten Realms, an epic fantasy world, has been one of the most successful and critically acclaimed settings. Many campaign settings include standard sword and sorcery environments, while others borrow Asian, Central American, swashbuckling, horror and even space-travel themes.

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Tharizdun is the god of Eternal Darkness, Decay, Entropy, Malign Knowledge, Insanity, and Cold. He originated in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting but has since also appeared in other settings.

<i>Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes</i> 2003 video game

Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes is a hack and slash video game with RPG elements. It was published by Atari Interactive and developed by the subsidiary's Hunt Valley development studio, exclusively for Xbox in 2003. It is set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe and is playable solo or with up to four players. Players take on the role of four reincarnated heroes brought back to life to fight their former nemesis, a wizard named Kaedin.

<i>Rift</i> (video game) 2011 video game

Rift is a fantasy free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Trion Worlds. Rift takes place within the fantasy world of Telara. Two competing factions, composed of a selection of races and classes, battle each other and the enemies who emerge from dynamic "rifts". The game was released in March 2011. A port of the game, called Rift Mobile, was released for Android on January 25, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backflip Studios</span> American mobile game developer

Backflip Studios was a mobile game developer and publisher based in Boulder, Colorado, United States. It was founded by Julian Farrior, Dale Thoms and Tom Blind in April 2009. In August 2009, it was announced that the company had raised US$145,000 in funding to continue developing for the iPhone OS. Backflip Studios was best known for their free mobile game Paper Toss, which has been downloaded over 50 million times. They are also widely known for Dragonvale, with over 10 million downloads. In 2013, Backflip Studios sold a 70% stake in the company to Hasbro for $112 million in cash.

Combat of Giants is a series of video games published by Ubisoft, exclusively for Nintendo systems. It was called Battle of Giants in North America until 2011 when Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D was released using the original name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artix Entertainment</span> Video game developer and publisher

Artix Entertainment, LLC is an independent video game developer and publisher founded by Adam Bohn in October 2002. It is best known for creating browser-based role-playing video games—including AdventureQuest, DragonFable, MechQuest, and AdventureQuest Worlds—using Adobe Flash. The company released its first title for iOS and Android devices in March 2011 and on October 19, 2016, released its first 3D game, AdventureQuest 3D, with the Unity game engine.

Treasure Isle is a defunct browser-based video game by Zynga for Facebook, launched in April 2010. It allowed users to dig for treasure on various islands. The game was discontinued on December 5, 2012.

<i>My Singing Monsters</i> 2012 video game

My Singing Monsters is a 2012 video game franchise developed by Big Blue Bubble. The first game of the series was published and released with help by Canada Media Fund on September 4, 2012, for Apple iOS. Ports of the game for other operating systems were later released, including versions for Android, Amazon Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Steam. The game was also released on the PlayStation Vita portable console. Since its release, My Singing Monsters has grown into a multimedia franchise, with a prequel, several spin-off games, books, live events and series, and a board game. On May 12, 2021, Big Blue Bubble announced that the series would be releasing its first console title, My Singing Monsters: Playground, on November 9, 2021.

<i>My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic</i> (video game) 2012 video game

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is a video game based on the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. It was developed by Gameloft for iOS and Android devices and is recommended at children aged 5 to 12. The game was released on November 8, 2012.

<i>Dragon Friends</i> 2013 social networking video game

Dragon Friends is a 2013 mobile game developed by InnoSpark and published by NHN, companies based in Seoul, South Korea. The game was released for Android and iOS platforms on 2013, and serviced through NHN platform. The game is currently discontinued.

<i>Dragon Mania Legends</i> 2015 video game

Dragon Mania Legends is a 2015 casual mobile game developed and published by Gameloft. It is a sequel to the game, Dragon Mania. It was released on January 8, 2015 for iOS and Android. It was later released for Windows Phone and Microsoft Windows.

Encantadia is a Filipino fantasy franchise produced and published by GMA Network. It consists of four television series that have run from 2005 to present and a single film. The first was shown in 2005 carrying the title alone and ended in the same year with total of 160 episodes. The second series title Etheria: Ang Ikalimang Kaharian ng Encantadia premiered in the same year and ended in 2006 with 50 episodes. Due to its significant success, the third series title Encantadia: Pag-ibig Hanggang Wakas premiered in 2006 consisting of 48 episodes. In 2016, 11 years after the original run, a reboot of the series premiered on the same network featuring a new cast. In 2005, Encantadia had a crossover film with Mulawin entitled Mulawin: The Movie, which was produced by GMA Pictures as an entry to the 2005 Metro Manila Film Festival.

<i>Dragon City</i> Social network game

Dragon City is a free-to-play social network game developed and published by Alex Dang.

<i>Brawl Stars</i> 2018 mobile game

Brawl Stars is a multiplayer online battle arena and third-person hero shooter video game developed and published by the Finnish video game company Supercell. The game was released worldwide on December 12, 2018, on iOS and Android platforms. The game features a variety of game modes, each with a distinctive objective. Players are able to choose from a selection of 'Brawlers', i.e., characters able to be controlled with on-screen joysticks inside of an in-game match.

<i>Angry Birds Evolution</i> 2017 video game

Angry Birds Evolution, is a free-to-play 3-D turn-based role-playing puzzle game that was released worldwide by Rovio Entertainment on June 15, 2017. The game plays similar to Angry Birds Epic, also developed by Chimera Entertainment, with the exception that a player is slinging birds toward the enemies to defeat them instead of using weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deca Games</span> German video game company

Deca Games, stylized as DECA, is a game publisher and developer of video games that is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The company's primary focus is on acquiring and operating older free-to-play games as a service. They are the current owners and developers of the massively multiplayer online shooter Realm of the Mad God. The company has also acquired a number of free-to-play mobile games, including DragonVale and multiple titles from Japanese publisher GREE.

References

  1. ↑ Jordan, Jon; Editor, Contributing (March 17, 2020). "Deca Games adds DragonVale to its live ops portfolio". pocketgamer.biz. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  2. ↑ McAloon, Alissa (March 17, 2020). "Deca Games acquires DragonVale following Backflip Studios closure". www.gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ Author, AppAdvice Staff (September 19, 2011). "Build A Park Full Of Dragons In DragonVale". AppAdvice. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2020.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ↑ "Dragonvale Captured My Heart and My Wallet in 2011". Kotaku. December 27, 2011. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ "DragonVale". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.