FarmVille: A Social Gaming Revolution

By now, you have almost certainly heard from your friend, cousin, or maybe even your mom that FarmVille, a free to play farming simulator, is a fun and addictive experience. There’s a good chance you play it too! In fact, as of March 2010, less than one year after its inception, FarmVille has attracted over 82.4 million Facebook users – that’s nearly 20% of all the Facebook members in the world – and continues to gain new players each day. Guys play it, girls play it, and even a few college professors get some farming done between midterms. It is by far the largest and arguably, the most diverse community of gamers ever amassed by a single game in history. Zynga, the developer behind FarmVille, has the social and simplistic nature of the game to thank for that.

Long has the video game industry been dominated by masculine and “serious” games; games that are so exclusive that gaming as a hobby is often labeled as geeky, nerdy, and/or an indicator of reclusion, or antisocial behavior. It is quite rare to meet a girl who plays Call of Duty, or enjoys raiding in World of Warcraft (WoW), but mention FarmVille, and it is likely to trigger a smile and a lengthy conversation about the awesome farm she built, or how her friends send her in-game gifts all the time. It is this social aspect that is most intriguing. People enjoy FarmVille because they can share, show-off, and play with their friends on Facebook. This connection between people and the often-competitive nature of building and maintaining the “ultimate” farm has opened up the gaming universe to a crowd once shunned and ignored by game designers themselves: older adults and women. The same group targeted by Nintendo’s commercially successful Wii system.

You won't find many foxy ladies playing WoW.

The implications of FarmVille’s success are astounding. What this tells the game designers of today is that people do not need overly complex gameplay mechanics to be enthralled by a game. FarmVille has proven that a simple and straight-forward design, along with strong social interaction, is exactly the kind of combination people subconsciously look for in a game. Whereas most online games like EverQuest or WoW require players to invest hundreds upon hundreds of hours of their lives to truly enjoy the game, FarmVille only asks for a few minutes here and there for the same type of virtual satisfaction. This is where friends come in too: if your farm is in need of certain items, or you could use a helping hand, you can “neighbor” with friends and they can help build up your farm. This simple, interactive game experience is bringing about a radical change in the industry.

It is rare today to play a game without some sort of social component. Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and the Wii all have their own types of social experiences to offer to players. With games like FarmVille disrupting the traditional game design process, the future of gaming will involve much more social integration. Several more games will be mainstream, aiming to attract the broadest audience possible, and in effect decreasing the learning curve associated with gaming. Already, this type of market disruption has been practiced by the Wii, and with the recent discussions held at the annual Game Developer’s Conference about games like FarmVille, more game designers are beginning to appreciate the impact of social and simple gaming. Does this mean that the majority of games in the coming years will serve this socially inclined audience? Maybe, if developers can retain the simplicity of games like FarmVille while also creating new and innovating experiences, it is definitely possible. Even so, as long as people continue to enjoy virtually shooting heads off, and stealing cars, the “serious” games will remain relevant.