Google Announces Games In Google+

It was only a matter of time before Google started rolling out everyone’s favorite pastime on Facebook: Games. Games in Google are gradually rolled out to all users. Those who have access to them see a new icon next to their stream buttons at the very top of the Google+ website. Those who do not see that button yet need to be patient as it will surely be available in the coming days.

How similar, or fundamentally different, are games on Google+ to games on Facebook? Google promises better controls, both in the playing experience and in the sharing experience.

Vic Gundotra at the official Google Blog highlights that it will be easy to ignore games which could be one of the core differences to gaming on Facebook where it is difficulty to block all the gaming messages and notifications.

When you’re ready to play, the Games page is waiting—click the games button at the top of your stream. You can see the latest game updates from your circles, browse the invites you’ve received and check out games that people you know have played recently. The Games page is also where your game accomplishments will appear. So you can comfortably share your latest high score—your circles will only see the updates when they’re interested in playing games too.

It remains to be seen how Google+ users can control the gaming news flow in their stream. I for one would welcome an option to block all gaming related messages and notifications from appearing in my Google+ stream.

The initial set of games include all time favorites like Angry Birds, Bejeweled Blitz, City of wonder or Zynga Poker as well as a few lesser known games.

Google has to take into account two different types of users on Google+. First the traditional social networking users who like the full experience that includes games, and then the “serious” crowd that uses Google+ for communication, news and contacts.

The sentence “your circles will only see the updates when they’re interested in playing games too” seems to indicate that users need to opt-in into gaming to see game notifications. We will monitor the development and post updates once we get more information about games in Google+.

For now, what are your expectations and demands when it comes to gaming on Google+?

source : ghack