My FarmVille farm, that is. 🙂 When they came out with an iPhone client for the game that millions were playing on Facebook, I thought I would give it a try. I like games, and I was curious as to what the dynamics of it were that made it so popular. Tammy had been playing it for a while, and I ribbed her mercilessly about it.
So, what did I find?
I found that it was a game that made it easy to find success. It provided lots of positive feedback. It encouraged you to engage with your other Facebook friends to get them to be your “neighbours”. It provided a way to compete with your friends, but everyone’s way to compete is different. I imagine that some scientists are poring over the data on people’s farms and playing habits like some electronic rorschach test. Myself, I didn’t try to get the biggest, fanciest farm. I didn’t have enough neighbours for that. I used my organizational skills to always keep my farm productive, and always worked to keep my winery and pub productive. I bought decorations with coins, but I never bought any farm cash (that’s how the developer makes their money).
The animations and artwork were a lot of fun, and since the only way to “lose” was to let your crops wither, I think it was a pretty decent way to amuse yourself on a regular basis.
So, why am I leaving?
Because it was growing from an amusement into a time suck. As more complex things were added to my farm, like pigs and sheep and vegetable stands, as well as having a second farm, I found I could do less and less of my “farming” on the iPhone and had to go to the Mac or PC more often to use the “full” game on Facebook or FarmVille.com. My goals were becoming loftier, and I wasn’t really just enjoying the mechanics of the game, I was starting to “grind” through the actions, trying to maximize my productivity. This is the same game problem that a lot of online games run into: fatigue. That is combatted by habits: I’m conditioned to check my farm several times per day. I felt sad when I finished everything up and left the farm in a state that nothing will wither.
As a sometimes game developer (or at least a guy with dreams to do so), it was an interesting experience. I had never really played a game with a mechanic quite like FarmVille, and I’m glad I did. I’ll have to take it into account when I’m thinking about game ideas.
