1）据insidesocialgames报道，Rovio最近向Facebook推出《愤怒的小鸟：星球大战》。该游戏最初登陆移动平台时大获成功，跻身2012年iPhone和iPad最佳付费游戏榜单第六名（游戏邦注：值得注意的是，《愤怒的小鸟》系列游戏也出现在这两个榜单以及iPad免费游戏榜单）。

angry birds star wars(from droid-life.com)

Rovio首款Facebook版《愤怒的小鸟》发布于今年2月份，但所得成就不及移动版游戏。该游戏在4月份最高峰时的DAU为340万，但后来流量下降了一半左右。据AppData数据显示，《Angry Birds Friends》目前DAU为150万。

Angry Birds Friends(from AppData)

2）猎头公司Yoh最新调查报告指出，拥有敏捷开发背景的开发人员是美国西海岸、犹他州、明尼苏达州、纽约和马萨诸塞州较为抢手的人才。在这些地区中开放敏捷开发工作的合格求职者的比例为4.59：1，这表明该领域存在一个市场技术缺口。

agile-development(from blog.aeguana.com)

虽然使用特定开发工具的技能也很重要，但雇主更感兴趣的求职者是否拥有敏捷开发团队背景，及其对敏捷开发过程的了解情况。

3）据gamasutra报道，Square Enix洛杉矶工作室最近也进行裁员，但并未透露裁员人数，仅表示这一举措不会影响公司MMO游戏的运营，公司仍将按原计划推出《最终幻想14：王国重生》。

square-enix(from gadgethelpline)

4）据gamasutra报道，继今年初成功发布Raspberry Pi电脑之后，该设备开发团队近日又宣布推出Pi Store，支持用户通过这一商店出售瞄准Pi设备的游戏和软件。

raspberry-pi-app-store(from digitalspy.com)

Raspberry Pi运行的是Linux操作系统，可与一系列编程语言兼容，这一设备的宗旨是方便学生掌握游戏编程技术。

除了通过Raspbian操作系统中的应用程序，用户还可通过常规的网页浏览器访问Pi Store。这个在线商店除了付费和免费游戏之外，还提供应用程序、教程和开发工具的下载服务。

5）在本周MAU增长最快的Facebook游戏榜单上，King.com的《Candy Crush Saga》仍是榜单之首，新增150万MAU，增幅为7%。

Top gainers this week-MAU(from AppData)

Zynga游戏《CityVille 2》位居第二，新增100万MAU，增幅为3%；《Megapolis》排名第三，新增93万MAU，增幅为251%；King.com的《Pet Rescue Saga》名列第四，新增80万MAU，增幅为9%；Social Point的《Dragon City》位居第五，新增40万MAU，增幅为2%。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1）Angry Birds Star Wars arrives on Facebook

Mike Thompson

Angry Birds Star Wars, Rovio’s incredibly popular mash-up of its flagship hit and George Lucas’s iconic series, is now playable on Facebook.

The game originally launched for mobile devices in November, and it’s proven to be yet another smash hit for Rovio. Aside from being critically well-received, Apple recently revealed Angry Birds Star Wars was the No. 6 top paid game for both iPhone and iPad for the year of 2012 (it should also be noted that Angry Birds games also appeared on these lists and the top free iPad games chart).

Rovio’s first Angry Birds game on Facebook launched in February but never quite repeated the lightning-in-a-bottle success of its mobile counterpart. Although the game saw strong early games, it peaked in April with 3.4 million daily active users (the best gauge of a title’s core audience) and has since dropped to a little under half that traffic level. Currently, our AppData traffic-tracking service shows Angry Birds Friends has 1.5 million DAU. Given the rampant popularity of Angry Birds Star Wars on mobile devices (not to mention the fact that the game will benefit from people searching for “Star Wars” on Facebook), it probably seemed like a no-brainer to bring this game onto the social network.（source：insidesocialgames）

2）Research: Agile developers rule the roost, experience trumps toolsets

By Barb Darrow

If you’re an agile development pro, especially on the West Coast, Utah, Minnesota, New York or Massachusetts, you’re pretty much in the catbird seat when comes to career moves. That’s one finding of new research by Yoh, a head hunting company using data from data from CareerBuilders. Agile development is an on-going, iterative approach to building and tweaking software by cross-functional teams over time. It’s a big contrast with more traditional monolithic  waterfall development that leads to long release cycles instead of continuous improvement.

The ratio of open agile development jobs to qualified candidates is 4.59:1, showing a market skills gap. While specific technical skills — such the ability to work with specific tools — are important, employers are more interested in knowing that the candidate has experience working on agile development teams and knowledge of that process more than of the tools themselves, said Joel Capperella, VP of marketing for Yoh, which is based in Philadelphia but has offices across the US.

One Yoh client is a big bank with 250 agile developers across 10 to 15 Scrum teams. (Scrum is a real-time process used by many agile developers.) Most mature agile shops like this one are willing to train newcomers on the technology needed but want to be assured that the newbie has actually worked in this fast-paced, team-focused process before, Capperella said.

A bad hire can have a ripple effect and hurt the company’s credibility in the tight-knit agile community, according to Yoh. So employers need to properly vet the candidate and need to make it clear just how mature their own agile process is at the outset.（source：gigaom）

3）Square Enix’s L.A. offices hit by layoffs

By Mike Rose

Square Enix’s Los Angeles branch has suffered layoffs, although the company’s senior director of Public Relations Riley Brennan says that the move will not affect MMO operations.

Talking to Massively, Brennan did not divulge how many people have been affected by the workforce reduction, but he was keen to stress that work continues as normal at the studio.

“The decision will not have any impact on the operations of MMO titles,” he noted. “Customers can expect those services to continue, including the upcoming launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.” （source：gamasutra）

4）Online distribution store launched for the Raspberry Pi

By Mike Rose

Following the successful launch of the Raspberry Pi computer earlier this year, the team behind the device has now launched the Pi Store, allowing users to sell their games and software for the Pi more easily.

The Raspberry Pi runs the Linux operating system and is compatible with a variety of programming languages. The idea behind the cheap device is to enable school kids to program games more easily.

The online store, which runs as an easily-accessible “X application” under the Raspbian operating system for the Raspberry Pi, while also being accessible from any regular web browser, acts as an entry point for developers who are looking to develop using the hardware.

Aside from featuring both paid and free games on the store, there are also apps, tutorials and dev tools to download.

The store has been launched in collaboration with online distributor IndieCity, and gives Raspberry Pi users the opportunity to upload their own content for moderation and release to other users.

IndieCity users will also find the SKU for the Raspberry Pi listed under the “installers” section in the separate IndieCity store.

The team noted that the store has a “tip jar” system in place, such that users can choose to give developers money for a free game or app if they so wish.（source：gamasutra）

5）Candy Crush Saga continues its run atop the fastest-growing Facebook games by MAU

Mike Thompson

King.com’s Candy Crush Saga is still the fastest-growing Facebook game by monthly active user, up by 1.5 million MAU for a 7 percent gain this week.

Zynga’s CityVille 2 is also continuing to grow, taking the No. 2 spot with a 3 percent gain of 1 million MAU. Megapolis launched off our list of emerging Facebook games and landed at the No. 3 position with 930,000 MAU for a 251 percent increase. King.com’s Pet Rescue Saga came in at No. 4 with 800,000 MAU for a 9 percent gain. Social Point’s Dragon City secured the No. 5 position with 400,000 MAU for a 2 percent gain.（source：insidesocialgames）