Down at the “Farmville”
Posted by emperorbananaketchup on November 2, 2009
According to a recent report at Yahoo! Games, the most popular game title over the past year is…would you believe, the Facebook game Farmville?
The total number of virtual “farms” in Farmville is 20 times more than the actual number of farms in the real United States. Any given time now, more people engage in tending to their pixelated pasturelands than watching an episode of “Oprah”
It is said that the game’s appeal lies in its nearly Zen-like simplicity…just plant your seeds and get your livestock (which can be unlocked at certain levels or gifted by neighbours)…then lay back or proceed to your urban routine of choice only to come back in time for harvesting. Come in too late, then you will be greeted by withered crops.
When one collects enough farm coins or cash, these can be traded in for a bigger lot, buildings or any other structure of your choice. You can choose from classic to groovy barn designs, or get an European-style villa or even a Chinese pagoda to personalise your farm (Mmmm…a Chinese pagoda overseeing rice paddies. Sooo-weeeeet.) You can even gain additional farm coins by helping out on your neighbours’ farms while they are “away”.
long view of my farm
A fine menagerie out there
My "field of dreams"
I would admit that the main shortcoming of this game might be the awfully long time it takes for one to level up in here – notwithstanding the grand set-ups some of my neighbours already have. Nevertheless, patience does pay off – not to mention willingly lending a helping hand to your neighbours, whether it is pulling out weeds, chasing off raccoons or crows, even sprinkling Super Gro fertilizer on their fields. The higher your experience level goes, the more unlockable structures/features/livestock/crops become available for you to purchase.
Some possible suggestions to liven up the game:
- Why shake down pigs for truffles and milk cows when you can slaughter them for meat?
- Bored with mastering the usual veggies? How about a field of tobacco? Maybe even poppies or marijuana (which you can later sell at astronomical profits - if you maintain an account with Mafia Wars)
- How about “mutation” options so that you can unleash your own tribe of “killer tomatoes” against your neighbours? Talk about your GMOs, baby!!!
Trailer for original 1977 film “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”
Instead of making the man-eating plants a Halloween special, how about offering them on a regular basis?
Meanwhile, if you’re available on Facebook, add me up as a neighbour at your homestead/plantation/whatever?
