Disney Hidden Worlds is the newest Playdom social game integrated with Facebook, and it takes the “hidden items” model a step further, while integrating Disney characters to a degree never seen before.
Chrona is your host as you play, and she is helped by the Inklings, who manufacture story items with ingredients you find along the way to create things like Maurice’s cart, which unlocks Beast’s Castle after you play the Belle’s House and Belle’s Village sections of the game. “Inkspire” is their home base.
Disney “Worlds” that you can visit Tangled , Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast . Chrona’s story also unfolds as you get to know her during gameplay. For example, when you start playing Beauty and the Beast, she shares that her dad was an inventor just like Belle’s father, Maurice.
There’s also a villain, a partially formed inky character, who is angry about only being partially formed.
As you find items (or, a new thing for Playdom, pieces of screen grab) in each puzzle screen, Kingdom Ink pops up randomly. You give this to the Inklings, and they make items that the game calls for. For example: use ink and paper to create Belle’s basket: 1 piece of paper, “Belle Blue” ink, and one red ink equal the basket. Give this to the Inklings.
You can wait five minutes for it to finish, or you can pay to finish it immediately. This is the pay-to-play part of the model, as in other Playdom Facebook games.
The games use energy, gems and XP like other Playdom games. It is possible to play through without actually spending any real-world money, but tasks will take longer and energy must replenish itself over time. Friends can give you energy and help with tasks. Unfortunately, when you click “ask friends for energy”, your entire Facebook list pops up, not just friends who are already playing the game, so be careful – many people are annoyed by game requests. Some worlds are temporary – like The Jungle Book – so it pays to keep checking back even if you’re not a daily player.
It’s great to see Playdom actually using Disney worlds like in Kingdom Hearts to create a social gaming world in this way.