How to make a Facebook social game

Hi and welcome back to my blog!
This time I’m going to talk about the process of making a very basic social game as a Facebook app.
It’s my hope that if you know how to make a Flash game and have a little bit of PHP/database experience by the end of the article you will be set to make your first Facebook app.
This is a technical article covering the implementation of some of the core social game subsystems and not intended to be a discussion about moral justification of social game mechanics or even about how to design a social game – I’ll leave those aspects to game-designers and the media
The game I’m going to be making is called ‘Pet My Kitty’.

Click to play the live version of the game on Facebook

Pet My Kitty

In a nod to the now defunct mock-social game, Cow Clicker Pet My Kitty will have an absolute minimal set of functionality necessary to operate as a social game:

• Interactive mechanic
• Database persistence
• Ability to purchase an in-game item
• Invite friends
• Social marketing incentive

Let’s quickly review each one of these points to elaborate on why they are key to a social game.
Interactive mechanic
There has to be something interactive about a Facebook game, no matter how simple otherwise it wouldn’t classify as a game. Furthermore, there needs to be something visually rich and rewarding associated with each interaction, so the user understands they are doing things the right way.
Read more: How to make a Facebook social game