My feelings on this are hard to put into words -- Zynga is the equivalent of churning out crappy romance novels, soulless pop music, kitsch art, or even junk fo

My feelings on this are hard to put into words -- Zynga is the equivalent of churning out crappy romance novels, soulless pop music, kitsch art, or even junk food (made to be addictive, incidentally "nutritious"). "Art" is undefinable, but one heuristic is something genuinely meant to evoke feelings in the audience and perhaps teach them something as a result. For me, it comes down to intent. Zynga & friends are building "compulsion loops" which aren't meant to entertain, they're meant to addict. I don't have a problem with a diversity of games, everyone has different tastes, etc. but... some things just feel skeevy.