It really struck me this morning how far entrenched social media gaming has become when I got a status update that my Aunt was playing a facebook farming game.
I would generally consider my Aunt to be a non-gamer but there she was, giving fertilizer to her friends to help build their gardens. It really took me back for a moment. Had she found this game on her own? Who brought her into it? What are her thoughts on it? I'm looking forward to speaking with her in detail about what appealed to her enough to give it a try.
I understand the appeal of these games but I suppose my own background making games and immersing myself in the culture has made me too critical of them to really play them for fun.
I know I can't have the same expectations from a facebook game that I do for a triple AAA 360/PS3 title but I think that some amazing games can and will be made on the platform. It's not always about great graphics. Strong stories and game designs may be able to flourish in the coming years on this platform and within web 2.0 and cloud computing frameworks. I hope that this new market will be able to support more independent developers) as they figure out the monetization system for these game better.
~T
