CastleVille

The game was a freemium game, meaning there is no cost to play but players have the option of purchasing premium content. Zynga created a sequel called CastleVille Legends in early 2013. CastleVille shut down on 30 April 2016.

• Title — CastleVille • Publisher — Zynga • Developer — Zynga Dallas • Released — Facebook November 2011 • Genre — Simulation, role-playing • Modes — Single-player with multiplayer interaction • Platforms — Adobe Flash

Set in a medieval world, the game allows players to build their land up with castle elements, and craft armor, art and trade items. The objective is to explore the unknown land around the starting territory and expand the player's empire into it. The character's avatar can be customized, and the world features peasants, pirates, princesses and Vikings. A new reputation system was developed to encourage players to be social within the game in order to unlock new items and actions such as trading.

CastleVille was developed by Zynga Dallas, which was purchased by Zynga in October 2010 for an undisclosed sum. It was the Dallas studio's first release under Zynga management, and the first social game to feature its own orchestral and choir soundtrack. Originally announced in October 2011, it was launched in seventeen languages. It was released a couple of weeks prior to Zynga's stock market launch. The production team's aim was to take the best elements of the other Zynga "Ville" games and combine them into one package. Storytelling features were brought from The Pioneer Trail, while CityVille and FarmVille provided the inspiration for city building and self-expression, respectively. The game's Creative Director, Bill Jackson, said that it was aimed to be a deep online game like World of Warcraft. The game was announced in October 2011.