I won't spend a ton of space describing the game here, as my presentation includes full visuals of all different aspects of playing it. A link to this website can be found here:
http://www.wix.com/janleo79/N385-Final-Presentation. I thought that free flash-based website builder at www.wix.com was too cool to pass up, so I also used this tool to compile my information.
The reason I chose this topic is that I was thinking about how does New Media most affect my daily life. As much as I hate to admit it, but online apps such as FarmVille take up a huge chunk of my free time. It reminded me of a guest speaker in one of my New Media courses a couple semesters back who was talking about online gaming communities such as www.pogo.com, and the huge opportunity this market creates for New Media professionals. I don't know if anyone had even conceived of this next level of gaming, as these apps create a virtual community within a community.
I'm sure this type of gaming and application development will only continue to grow. In fact, Zynga's website is worth checking out, especially the About page, as it looks like a New Media professional's dream gig.
Anyhow, I started playing FarmVille about two months ago. I've gradually grown more consumed with it, and now pretty much addicted to it. In a good way, not in a junkie way. During the discussion on SecondLife, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty not mentioning my secret farming life, but I didn't want to discuss my topic in advance.
However, I've noticed that my virtual farm life has crept into my real life in many ways. I often see a tree when driving and think, "That looks like my fig trees in FarmVille." I saw a field of crows the other day and my first thought was of scaring the FarmVille crows away from a neighbor's field.
Like a true farmer, my crops are often the first and last thing I tend to during the day. I've had many farming dreams, surely because my farm was the last thing I looked at before bed.
One embarrassing discovery I stumbled upon recently was a discussion forum posting I submitted in my Legal Informatics class. I included a snapshot below as it was just too hilarious to pass up:
There are many features of FarmVille that add to it's appeal (and pervasiveness). First, its hosted on Facebook, so the application is readily available whenever I'm on for social reasons. Second, your fellow Facebook friends who farm become your neighbors, so you frequently exchange gifts and bonuses, so there is always something new to hope for from your friends. I've built stronger bonds with new and past friends as we frequently chat about our farms than I would have if not for this game.
I can totally see how people can 'lose time' to their online hobbies. It's amazing how much time can be consumed with maintaining a virtual farm. Not only does it require maintenance, but many of the tasks are time-driven. It's a real bitch when my poinsettias come due for harvest and I have an advertising deadline due for work at the same time. Do I harvest my crops so they don't wither, or do I work on that ad...tough call!
I've included a recent funny Facebook post that kind of says it all...
I look forward to the presentations tomorrow!
Citations: www.farmville.com, www.wix.com, www.zynga.com
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