Collecting- this feature appealed to all those who love playing games that give you accomplishments for the tasks you complete. These tasks can include, helping a friend with a building project at their farm, watering a neighbors crops, feeding someones animals, and even for creating something you haven't made before. This element was clever for all those who like to keep track of their completed tasks, those who like fake awards, and those who are fellow collectors of other material things.
Time Usage- this element was super smart especially sense it was sort of a guilt trip tactic. For instance the way the game works, if you were to plant something that takes 12 hours to grow. Well lets say something comes up and you forget about your farm for say two days. What do you think is going to have happened when you go back to your farm two days later? If you answered that all your twelve hour plants will be dead, then you have answered correctly. By implementing this feature, hardcore farmers, don't want to see their crops go to waste so they check back often. This is what keeps you hooked and the developers know that.
Experience- this ones very important when talking about Farmville. The reason is because without experience, you won't get the full Farmville experience. In other words, if you want to be able to get the buildings and extras, then you have to have the experience. The only way to get experience is through gameplay.
Social Interaction- pretty good feature here. By implementing this feature, people could now share their accomplishments with their fellow Facebook friends. They could also send friends requests for items they needed at their farms. This social aspect is what made features in farmville possible.
Cash- This is one of the things i despised in farmville 2. The whole buying dollars for specific products. Its cool they did that though because that generates revenue for the future creation of other media features.
Competition- This is probably a number one element for the younger generation. Or for anyone who is a competitive gamer. The goal behind this is to keep updates and add-ins, which in turn will keep people coming back for more.
I would say farmville will be around for many years to come. It is a strategically built social game, that offers people with amusement and fun.
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120910/BIZ07/309109939/-1/biz09
http://blog.pekpongpaet.com/2010/01/02/what-makes-farmville-so-sticky-and-viral/
http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2012/10/29/farmville-2-continues-to-dominate-fastest-growing-facebook-games-by-mau/
David Lima
I've never really understood the farmville craze since I have never really played casual games. Thanks for shedding some light on why people play farmville.
ReplyDelete- Dylan Bertram
I agree with Dylan as I'm not a fan. For years my wife has rode me about my obsession with spectator sports. Even with sports, I've seldom let it intervene with family commitments and important happenings. Along comes Farmville and she's hooked!!! Some days she spend 8-10 hours playing the game and at this point it has become an obsession. I tell her its not healthy and she harps back to me watching sports. I really think we're at intervention time :-) I appreciate David's insight on the subject matter, but don't share his enthusiasm or zeal for Farmville's amusement.
ReplyDeleteMelvin Pitt
Farmville was nealry the single reason why I hated Facebook when I first made a profile. I could not stop getting bombarded by requests I could care less about. They came on my news feed, notification list, and my e-mail! I was overwhelmed. Finally I figured out how to keep all these requests from dominating my page and e-mail. That's when I finally began to see the value in having a Facebook account.
ReplyDeleteI understand that this game was designed to be addicting for the verious reasons you mentioned. I suppose that all of those are the reasons that I cannot stand the game. I do not want to have to make such a significant committment to a game. As you mentioned, the game requires a person to check back often. I do not have the time to do that, especially with class, work, and life. It almost does not seem to be healthy for those individuals that become so entranced by the game. I have too many responsibilities to care if my virtual crops die. I am enjoying growing some real crops right now. I feel much more accomplished when I make a beautiful salad with the lettuce I grew.
I suppose I understand how this appeals to others. The reasons you provided make a lot of sense, they simply don;t appeal to me. As people begin to grow up with better technology and greater exposure to these gadgets, I would not be surprised if these types of games become even more popular. It makes sense. It just is not my cup of tea.
Thanks for the well written explanation. I agree with pretty much all of your points. I think you hit the target with these. I suppose I am simply too old fashioned to enjoy the game, but so many other have. You are absolutely right. I still find it interesting how such a simple game can captivate so many. I think there is definitely a lot of psychology that could explain this phenomenon. Great post!
-Ashlen McWhorter