 "FarmVille with a Message? Here's Happy Oasis")
Facebook game, Happy Oasis hopes to be a source of entertainment a la FarmVille with a progressive message attached. The game debuted on Facebook last week and already has 100,000 users. The game is developed by Aranim Games and is structurally similar to FarmVille but localized with a Middle Eastern market. The company is a Jordan-based company and has previously had success with comic books in the region. The game, Happy Oasis is available in both English and Arabic and players have to build up their very own ‘oasis’.
Using social networking to spread awareness
Aranim’s CEO, Suleiman Bakhit says that they’ve basically taken a few key elements from Arab culture and turned them into social gaming elements. There are different kinds of markets and buildings you can build including an Islamic garden. During Ramadan, the game will have a Mosque building system. The game also takes recent events in the Middle East to appeal to the youth segment. For instance, both men and women can buy and drive cars in the game.
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