[scaphandre]

I'm not typically one to have artistic considerations ahead of business, but...

It hurt to know that one of the leads from the sci-fi strategy epic 'Alpha Centauri' was working at the place that made Farmville - a known sucker-magnet. It must have been soul-destroying.

Good luck to him.

[TillE]

I don't understand why he went in the first place. I remember hearing about it at the time, and it's not like he would've been surprised at the kind of games Zynga was working on. They were known for it.

I fear this "social" fad has wasted the time of a number of bright minds in the games industry. Has anything worthwhile and memorable come of it?

[Androsynth]

I know a lot of middle aged women who use fv as the main method of keeping in touch with friends and family. Their games are addicting, but no more than WoW or LoL. Those are considered 'real games', but there is a lot of crossover in the addiction mechanics.

This board hates Zynga a whole lot more than their customers do because we are not their customers. This board is the equivalent of someone from an older generation sneering with contempt as I spend 12 hours straight in a raid.

My point is not to disparage this board, but to point out that anyone who plays modern video games shouldn't look down on casual games, because both have fully embraced addiction as a fundamental mechanic (as television did a long time ago, although it has recently upped its intensity as well).

Zynga is devoid of any emotion or creativity and is only seeking to make money through addictive mechanics, but have you played any SOE or EA games lately?

[cloudsteam]

it is not the product but the methods which raised the ire

[Androsynth]

The product is the method. This is also true of MMOs, what would happen if you removed the xp bar from those games? The 'game' would practically cease to exist.

[beaumartinez]

Just because the "artistic" values of those two games differ doesn't mean working on FarmVille was "soul destroying".

FarmVille is a game with hundreds of thousands of concurrent users, with a constraint to make as much money as possible and keep current users coming back, and with fierce competition. Sounds like an interesting space to be in.

[Goronmon]

FarmVille is a game with hundreds of thousands of concurrent users, with a constraint to make as much money as possible and keep current users coming back, and with fierce competition.

Sounds more like a casino than game development to me.

[JonnieCache]

Or an opium cartel.

[nsomaru]

<chuckle>... <gasp>, there's another level here:

"life" itself.

[jerf]

Mmmmm... interesting thought, but I don't think I can agree that all life reduces to people exploiting other people's addictions, and wiping away the deliberate attempt to produce addictive games for money wipes away a fundamental part of the reason many of us have contempt for Zynga.

[nsomaru]

Sir,

A large portion of "Life" today consists of the process of creating desire for the unecessary (U) by association of these U's with basic human desires (sex, food et al.)

Thus the economy is born and a constant insaitable need for growth, when conceivably in a different system for a global, connected, technologically advanced race such as ours, there could be plenty for all, and we could all be provided for. (Note (1) This smells of Utopia, I admit I don't know how we would deal with boredom -- perhaps via extraordinary expressions of the creative act?) (2) The point is that the current system is a paradigm, and to sustain itself must maintain separation of "have's" and "have nots", and thus must consist in some exploitation, lest the division be destroyed and the labour force caused to cease to exist. The only way such a labour force remains in check is that there most be "money" which is "earned" via a "job" and is "required" for the meeting of basic needs and thus is what makes you win in the "struggle for survival". )

[Deestan]

> make as much money as possible and keep current users coming back, and with fierce competition.

This encourages antisocial and exploitative techniques, which many consider soul destroying.

[incision]

>Sounds like an interesting space to be in.

Interesting use of interesting.

The stuff you've used to qualify Farmville there would apply to directly to dealing in drugs, sex, weapons, money laundering - just about anything.

[Sharlin]

Yes, interesting. Unfortunately, optimally fulfilling those constraints requires rather unethical means. Exploiting known vulnerabilities in human psychology is something I'd characterize as evil.

[notahacker]

I find the linked article in which he described what he was learning from working at Zynga illuminating:

http://venturebeat.com/2010/02/18/zyngas-chief-designer-shar...

Key points to take away: - We launch new games on insignificant fractions of our overall budget - Metrics help us figure out whether newly introduced features actually help us earn more. - Devising a way to "shame" users into playing more was our most effective recent new innovation.

[wmeredith]

Holy hell, I didn't know about the "Alpha Cenbtauri" connection. That was the first Scf-fi strategy game I ever played. It changed my life. Hopefully he's moving on to something better than Zynga.

[seivan]

Yeah I agree, that takes a toll on you.