4 ms·
It's a gray area, but IMHO that's not what's happening here. It's more of a bait/switch than an honest upfront cost for entertainment.
by bumblebird 17y ago
It's a gray area, but IMHO that's not what's happening here.
It's more of a bait/switch than an honest upfront cost for entertainment.
- pchristensen 17y agoIt's not about entertainment or bait/switch - it's low challenge accomplishment. The 'Villes let you feel like you've accomplished something, even though all you put into it was time and money. Usually accomplishing something takes true effort and creativity, with a risk of failure, but these games are "accomplishment lite" with no risk of failure.
- teamonkey 17y agoYes and no. There's a school of thought that the player should be allowed to play a game any way they please, that play is a creative process and the game is a box of tools to make an enjoyable experience. The player makes their own fun by setting themselves goals and challenges that match their personalities and skill sets (that they find enjoyable). As their skills develop (or they simply get bored) they naturally find new, different, more challenging things to do until the game can no longer satisfy them. Zynga provide a free framework and a whole load of extras to enable people to have fun. You can progress for free according to a number of pre-designed interpretations of how you can progress in the game, or you can short-cut for cash and do the bits you really enjoy, and you spend more as you explore different options. It practically screams "revenue stream". Obviously it's all set up to make loads of cash, but I see it as enabling fun rather than a scam or "accomplishment lite".
- pchristensen 17y agoOh, don't worry, I think it's practically the epitome of fun. I just think the fact that there's no challenge aside from spending time means the fun will run out quickly.