New York Times says FarmVille players should try growing "actual plants"

FarmVille naysayers -- they're everywhere. They come in the form of Facebook friends who are tired of being spammed with game-related with quests on their wall, people who think games in general are a waste of time, and they also, apparently, write for The New York Times.

Over the weekend, The Gray Lady (my hometown newspaper) ran an editorial that talks about the surprise move made by Disney over the past two weeks: selling Miramax Films and buying social gaming company Playdom. It's certainly a point worth making, and the perfect way to launch into a larger article on how the movie industry is facing serious competition from all forms of media -- HBO, Showtime, Hulu, video games and, now, Facebook games. Instead, the article skips this conversation and jumps into hating on (for lack of a better term) FarmVille and social games in general.

Following are a few choice quotes from the piece:


    "But what is being farmed isn't only the virtual crops. It's also the users social connections, their attention and ultimately their credit cards. The basic gaming is free, but sooner or later many players spend real cash to buy game cash. And you can't really play FarmVille without roping in your Facebook friends."

    "It's a touch dismaying that social gaming is a world where players are festooned with gratuitous awards, sold trinkets for hard cash and reap rewards for dragging in their friends. It's lovely to pretend that the game reveals an inner agrarian instinct in all of us, but we would like the invite all 60-some-million FarmVille players to consider growing some actual plants."

I have to question how much time this author spent playing FarmVille or any of the other games mentioned in this piece. Case in point, this quote: "The game involves starting a farm. You get your friends to help you water and fertilize crops and harvest them, earning play money to spend on new items." You only have to play FarmVille once to know that you assist neighbors with fertilizing crops, but there is no way to harvest or water other players' crops.

Second, the article intimates that players are suckered to pulling out their credit cards to play these games. That's a serious overstatement. It's common industry knowledge that 1% to 5% of people who play freemium games on Facebook actually spend money on them. The majority of players don't spend cash, and that's why social gaming companies are standing on their heads trying to convince more people to pay.

The writer also talks about how you have to 'drag' in friends to play these games. There's an argument to be made about not spamming all of your friends with social gaming updates on Facebook, but it's pretty difficult to convince friends to play FarmVille if they don't want to. And, say you convince reluctant friends to join FarmVille, but then they stop playing -- that isn't going to help when you need them to send parts for your new garage. Some of the more devoted players have opted to create a second Facebook account just for gaming, and are making friends with new people who also play FarmVille, et al.

It's disappointing that The New York Times would run such a reactionary piece that misses the bigger point about media and technology -- it's always changing, and consumers are always looking for the next big thing.

Oh yeah, as for growing actual plants, I do that too. I have several that have lived in my apartment window for the past decade, and the hour or so a day I spend playing FarmVille hasn't interfered with that. Not yet, anyway.

GameHouse hopes to build buzz on Facebook with Bayou Blast

This might be the first and last time you see these words from me: I cannot wait to hit the bayou. GameHouse just announced that its next Facebook game, Bayou Blast, is scheduled to hit the platform this October. Keeping with the recurring "Blast" theme started with Collapse! Blast, this game tasks players with matching gems to make them explode. Sound familiar?

Of course it does, but judging from an early look at the game courtesy of GameHouse CEO Matt Hulett, Bayou Blast brings a fresh twist to the sub genre. You are Bayou, the last remaining firefly of the swamp who must save his friends from a voodoo frog that has captured them in various gems. But rather than simply matching them à la Bejeweled Blitz, you must draw lines of lightning through as many identical gems as you can to destroy them.

Bayou Blast takes this hook and crams it into 60-second game sessions in a race for the high score. Much like its competitors and previous offerings from GameHouse on Facebook, Bayou Blast features weekly tournaments between friends and power-ups that unlock over time and can be bought using either in-game currency or Facebook Credits. These include staples like time extensions, exploding gems and score multipliers.
Bayou Blast gameplay
The game takes on a charming, cartoonish art style, and rewards players for blowing up gems with greater speed. In fact, match fast enough and the game board will burst into flame, which we assume means much more points. "We've really focused on the quality of the game," Hulett tells us. "I've got people outside my office who are constantly looking at different art effects. Like, 'Is the lightning looking the right way when [players] drag the mouse cursor?' The amount of detail they're putting into this game is really great."

According to Hulett, games like Collapse! Blast and soon Bayou Blast mark a significant shift in where the company is headed. About 50 percent of the GameHouse staff is now focused on creating social games for Facebook and mobile devices. (GameHouse was originally focused on downloadable casual games.) Speaking of which, both of these games will receive Facebook-connected versions for the iPhone and iPad early next year. And Hulett is confident that GameHouse's new direction will pay off.

"We have a good shot of being in the Top 10," Hulett gushes. "I think we've gotten really good at Facebook games over the past three to five months. Maybe Bayou Blast will be our first game [with 1 million daily players]." We'll see if Bayou Blast lives up to Hulett's ambitions this October. Until then, check out the trailer below.


Are you psyched to play Bayou Blast on Facebook? What do you think of GameHouse's approach the world of Facebook games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment