[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". )

[RegEx]

This is very articulate nonsense. Not all purchases that grant utility encourage addiction, so your economics lesson doesn't apply to most of the things we buy.

[jerf]

Even if I stipulated your point, which I don't, all Life is not economic transactions, either.

And I don't think you established a connection to addictiveness either. (Your attempt requires me to agree with allowing you to decide what is "(un)necessary" for me and everybody else, which I do not concede.) Food, shelter, water, clothing, furniture, and the other human needs are not addictive. Even sex is generally not addictive.

[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.