Fantasy Kingdoms for Real People

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I was enticed onto Facebook initially, as are most people, I suspect, by a friend who wished to share photographs from her own REAL life with me. She was a fan of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory as well as my Guides for a number of years but has become a real friend, and, I must add, one who moved heaven and earth recently to take one of my purebred Himalayan kittens. (In doing so, flying him all the way to Texas, she has earned my eternal gratitude.)

In any event, she set my guide-writing persona upon another path when she asked me to write a Guide for an extremely popular Facebook farming game named Farmville. When I began to play Farmville, I found other farming games such as Lovely Farm and Fantasy Kingdoms that were far more beautiful and I introduced my friend to these... It is rather ironic in a way that she now plays Fantasy Kingdoms rather than Farmville.

Many of the philosophical arguments for and against simulation games can be reserved for another time. Where a game like Fantasy Kingdoms is concerned, however, some very positive values become apparent during holiday seasons. Once upon a time, before the age of technology and computers, people who had no families and those known rather depressingly as 'shut-ins' often would become more painfully aware of their isolation and loneliness during holiday seasons. Those who could not share in the joys of decorating their own home or the appreciation of the decorations outside their homes would be oppressed by the knowledge of their limitations and lack of mobility. Now, however, there is a solution that can be extremely fulfilling in its way.

The online 'farming simulation games' such as Farmville and Fantasy Kingdoms, being based on Facebook, are geared towards expansion of an individual's social network. 'Sharing' is fundamental to all of these games. You are persuaded to add as many 'Neighbours' and 'Friends' to the game as possible. As they are free games, inviting a friend to participate involves no outlay of cash nor even information if the friend chooses not to share real data on Facebook. The way that these free games make money is by offering exclusive items that usually require purchase of a special currency using REAL cash. You can earn this special currency in the course of playing the game but it is a slow process and players often desire the exclusive items enough to invest real money in the game.

Investment of real cash in an online Facebook game might be perceived by many as foolish, but there is a compelling argument in favour of it. Console games and PC Games are not free for the most part and can cost up to 50 dollars in some cases. Free Facebook games on the other hand REQUIRE no purchase. Players reap the benefits of playing the free game, but how can the developers work on new games if there is NO investment in their products? Spending five or ten dollars to purchase exclusive items, when seen in this light, becomes more of an act of patronage of the arts than wanton foolishness.

A few years ago, I became involved in Second Life, a free virtual reality and my greatest pleasure in the game for the most part occurred during the holidays when players would create breathtaking or delightful items, then sell them or give them away or simply allow others to enjoy them. Second Life was based on the premise that the users of the game would create the world themselves. The experience therefore was very uneven. Wastelands or lands filled with rubbish could be found next to amazing wonderlands. Unfortunately, the star of Second Life has waned because of the economic recession... It is possible that as Facebook has become more involved in simulation games, that these games have taken the place of Second Life for some. After all, both on Second Life and Facebook, you can meet real people and interact with them.

Although the items themselves are created by the developers of the games on Facebook, players use them to create their own unique landscapes. Many of the so-called farming simulation games thus are interactive works of art. This is very much the case where Fantasy Kingdoms is concerned. The combination of the exquisite items created by extraordinary artists at SneakyGames and the use made of them by players can be spectacular.

At the heart of all Facebook games is the concept of 'Neighbours'. You are not encouraged to play the game in isolation, although you can do so. Many items and options are 'unlocked' only if you acquire Neighbours. The more Neighbours that you have, the better your gaming experience will be.

Although your gaming 'Friends' and 'Neighbours' may not be people that you know in your real life, interactions with them often do create real relationships. A person's personality is seen in the way that they treat others even in games. Free Gifts are very much a part of online Facebook games. There will be a list of items that can be sent to Friends and Neighbours on a daily basis. Some people never send Free Gifts but others make it a part of their daily Facebook routine. In helping others, the players of course help themselves, as 'Thank You Gifts' are encouraged in return.

For individuals with busy real lives, finding time and energy to experience virtual realities on Facebook can be a challenge, but for those who are isolated or disabled, it can be social salvation, especially during the holidays. After all, even if your 'Kingdom' is a virtual one, you can obtain extraordinary emotional and aesthetic satisfaction by decorating it for the holidays. Receiving virtual Gifts can be very satisfying as well. Knowing that REAL people are thinking about you and will go to the trouble to send you special items is a link with other people, even if the items exist only in a virtual reality.

Farmville may not be as gorgeous visually as Fantasy Kingdoms but it can be a lot of fun during any holiday season. The developers always release new construction projects and there are holiday Quests for Christmas with rewards in the form of special Yuletide items. Farmville has become far more entertaining now that the Crafting option has been included in the game. Although each of these games require a bit of time and energy, I find that I enjoy both Farmville and Fantasy Kingdoms, unlike my friend in Texas.

Many of us cannot afford to spend much money decorating for the holidays this year but in Fantasy Kingdoms, every one is a Prince or Princess with the power to distribute largesse and create a Winter Wonderland.

Note about Screenshots: The three screenshots are taken from Fantasy Kingdoms and feature special Winter items. The Magical Crop for the Winter Season is 'Ornaments'. When first planted, they are coloured glass ornament bulbs scattered on snowy ground. When they are fully mature and ready to be harvested, they are a glorious display of different ornaments, including a Golden Star, Red Ribbons and a Toy Drum. Each Crop in Fantasy Kingdoms has very distinct stages of growth and many players 'freeze' Crops at different stages to create interesting landscapes. For example, the FishTail Fern, when it is newly planted, can be used to create a lovely rock-like path.

The Christmas Tree that displays lit candles when it first is planted will be an undecorated evergreen covered with snow. It is only when it is ready to be harvested that the lit candles and pinecones will appear.

The little Ornament House is a special seasonal Item as is the Candy Cane Lightpost.

Holidays and Online Games

On the day when the United States celebrates 'Thanksgiving', Farmville, the popular online game on Facebook, announced a 'double mastery' event that would extend through the holiday weekend, ending Sunday night.

My first reaction was disgust. It was an obvious marketing ploy to entice players away from their family and friends back to their computers at a time when gaming should have been very low on the list of priorities.

'Mastery' for the uninitiated, is a concept that allows one to gain points whenever a specific Crop is harvested. Bushels of the Crop randomly are produced whenever any Crop is harvested and Mastery increases the probability that one will obtain Bushels. In the simplest of terms, Bushels of Crops can be used to craft Items and can be traded to other players for monetary rewards. Giving double Mastery points over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend therefore would encourage players to plant and harvest Crops when they otherwise might have left their fields fallow for four days.

Farmville, a 'free' online game, is owned by Zynga, one of the most aggressive online gaming entities. The object of the enterprise, from Zynga's perspective is to persuade players to bring new players into the game and to encourage them to spend REAL money on it. When you are playing Farmville, you never are allowed to farm in peace. Every couple of seconds, a prompt will appear, telling you of some item your farming efforts have uncovered, and suggesting that you 'share' it with friends and neighbours. Nothing wrong with the concept of sharing, but 'sharing' is the means by which messages from Farmville are posted on players' profiles on Facebook. If you are not careful, your entire Facebook profile can be swamped by Farmville messages, giving outsiders the impression that you spend more time and energy on virtual farming than you do in living.

After my initial disgust at Zynga's blatant strategy to exploit a festival weekend, I began to think of all the people who would spend their holiday alone... I have spent many holidays alone, away from my home, surrounded by strangers on different continents at different times in my life. How much less lonely I would have been if I had the ability to 'join' a virtual community like Facebook, to entertain myself with the illusion that I was planting and harvesting Crops and setting a Table for a feast, sharing the rewards of my labours with 'friends and neighbours' throughout the virtual globe.

I never will find online games more attractive than games created for consoles or handheld systems. I dislike the intrusion of the game creators in my virtual life. 'Free' games require advertising of some kind and marketing to persuade the users to invest in them. There is nothing wrong with that. An individual who is willing to spend twenty to fifty dollars on a DS or Wii game should be willing to invest the same amount in a 'free' game that they play regularly. After all, how can the developers of these games be paid to continue creating new options if no one ever invests in the game? I have a very limited income but I do not expect to receive something for nothing in this world.

It is interesting to visit the farms of other players and to see how every one uses items differently. Some of the landscaping I have seen in games like Fantasy Kingdoms, Lovely Farm and Farmville is incredible. Players have created real works of art in many cases. On the other hand, the vagaries of the internet can be extremely annoying and frustrating. Online games on Facebook often fail to load or lose items or load so slowly that one is in danger of falling asleep (literally) while waiting for a screen to load. These games change constantly, as does Facebook itself and the need to coordinate changes on both sides can bring enormous problems to every one. Nonetheless, it is rather heartening to realise that the whole world truly can be connected in the celebration of a festival even when people are isolated in reality.

Gradual Alienation from Nature in Virtual Farming

Obviously, games imitate reality to some extent, whether in faithful adherence to real time and space, items and society's interactions or in our emotional responses to events and characters. Virtual Farming, in particular, can be very realistic.

Harvest Moon games are set in a detailed universe filled with diverse Characters and different goals. Facebook Farming Games, one would have thought, are far more simple. The basic goal is to raise experience levels and earn enough money to purchase new Crops and Items.

I became involved with various Facebook Farming games partly at the behest of a friend and partly out of curiosity. I did write 'strategy' guides for a number of these games and over the course of a few weeks, discovered which of them actually had lasting appeal to me.

A Russian game called 'Lovely Farm' is my personal favourite of all the Facebook farming games. The graphics are very Russian, reminiscent of illustrations in old folktales. The crops are luscious and detailed, some of them extraordinary in their beauty. I never realised how beautiful a Watermelon could be until I played Lovely Farm...

Many players complain that the necessity to raise experience levels and earn money means that one never has enough space in these games. One tends to place more Animals and Trees than one would wish aesthetically simply because one needs to earn Coins from them. Experience can be earned by placing an item once, but where Trees and Animals are concerned, the ability to 'harvest' them means that one is best served if one can keep them on the land.

A packrat by nature, I have discovered that I am no different where games are concerned. It is difficult for me to sell items and Animals to make space for new ones. They are too real to me in a way. There is a point, however, where one cannot advance much if one does not begin to sell off Trees and Animals regularly.

Any Farming Simulation game is based primarily on Farming, which translates into tilling the soil, planting Crops, watering them (in some games only) and finally, harvesting them. What is ironic is that, the more experience that you gain, the fewer Crops one tends to grow. As one unlocks more beautiful decorative items, the size of farming land diminishes gradually as squares are needed in order to be able to place luxury items that produce nothing but lend enchantment and beauty to the land.

Each time I transform a tilled square of land into space for a decorative item, I feel a little guilty. More than half of the squares of land on my Lovely Farm now are devoted to decorative items rather than Crops. There was a time when I kept all Animals I received or purchased. Now I am forced to sell some of them in order to reclaim space. On the whole, the Animals, however charming or fetching, are less beautiful than fountains and roses, with the exception of the glorious Peacocks.

What sort of Farmer transforms rich, tillable soil into space for decorations and sells productive Animals in order to place another Gazebo or Marquee on the land? These games are designed to persuade players to invest in beautiful buildings and decorations... and in this, art imitates life. When one is scratching out a bare subsistence from the soil, one is not in any position to think about luxury items, but later, when one has wonderful Milk Cows that yield profitable Milk like clockwork and levels of experience have unlocked some of the most beautiful decorations, one begins to think in terms of aesthetic beauty rather than counting squares and profit margins for each Crop.

In a game like Fantasy Kingdoms, one actually can 'freeze' Crops in any stage of growth. As time passed, and my own energies had to be turned elsewhere, I froze all my Crops. My Kingdom, therefore, now produces no new Crops.

The gradual alienation from Nature and her fertile bounty has occurred in all the Facebook Farming games I play. I still plant Crops daily on my Lovely Farm, but the amount of space devoted to real farming is greatly reduced.

Farming simulation games ordinarily operate in real time and every Crop has a different growth time. Inevitably, as my levels increased, I began to choose Crops on the basis of growth times that were most convenient rather than those that appealed to me most. Crops, however lovely, that matured in two or four hours were less convenient than those that matured in 24 hours or even 2 Days.

The beauty of any of these games is that one can change everything at any point in time. I could sell all the buildings and decorations or place them in storage and reclaim every square of land for farming. Until that day, however, I live in the shadow of guilt, feeling that I am being disloyal to the Farmer's Code somehow by preferring luxury decorations to the honest satisfaction of seeing an enormous field filled with growing Crops.

Success brings its own negative influences as well. When one is striving to attain a level to unlock specific Crops or items, one works diligently and faithfully. When one has attained these goals, one is less excited by the prospect of labour. One does not lose interest entirely, but the flame diminishes slightly and one becomes less dedicated.

One of the most important side-effects of gaming is self-knowledge. One learns about oneself and cannot ignore flaws of character and weaknesses as well as strengths. People who dismiss games as 'time-wasters' do not understand how much gaming can be a true mirror of life.