The Ever Improving Popularity of FarmVille
A game is basically a structured form of playing, usually undertaken for fun or entertainment, and at times used as an educational instrument. Games are different from work, which traditionally is carried out only for recreation, and from literature, which is more generally an expression of personal or aesthetic elements. The two categories of games overlap, however, as is evident in board games, in which a player cooperates with the other players to win the game. Board games are very popular and there is even a museum dedicated to showing off various games that have been played on a table.
Computer games, on the other hand, are usually played alone or against a sophisticated opponent; they have no emotive aspects whatsoever, apart from maybe some laughs when the odds against you are overwhelming. Chris Crawford, author of the CD-ROM adventure game Dark Island, makes the point that the collapse of the linearity of the World Wide Web and rise of social networking has rendered the concept of the virtual world obsolete. Rather than having a single player game, you now have millions of players all interacting simultaneously, with each one assuming the role of a hero or heroine. This kind of interactivity is what keeps us going when we are inside a game, because it is impossible to actually know if your actions are isolated and therefore not reflective of any real life actions that you may have taken. In fact, you can get into arguments over who killed who in a game of FarmVille, even though in real life no one would ever sit around and argue about that sort of thing.
Today, many people play games not just for leisure but also for the sheer joy of it. Electronic games are a lot more competitive than those of the past. Not only are the rules more complex, but the mechanics of the games themselves are also more complicated, with each player needing to think on their feet, as well as react to ever changing conditions. There is also the element of skill required to succeed within these games. While the ability to plan ahead and execute strategies is still available to a large extent, there is so much more that a person can do when they are playing a game.
The Internet has also played a big part in the popularity of games. Many people log onto their computer in order to play games that they have downloaded from websites, often without even remembering whether they have purchased them or not. For some, this is done simply for pure entertainment purposes, while for other people playing online games is also a way of getting in touch with friends. However, some people simply cannot stop playing online games, as it becomes an almost integral part of their lives.
As the popularity of games like FarmVille grows, so do the websites where people can download such games. With a multitude of choices, users are bound to find a game that fits their interests and needs. Games that were once available only to a select few are now available to everyone. The amount of choice available also encourages people to play games that they otherwise may have avoided, as there is such a great variety out there. As the popularity of FarmVille increases, more games are added to the list as the developers struggle to create new games that entertain millions of players.
With the popularity of FarmVille, it is expected that the number of people downloading similar games will increase as well. It would be interesting to see how long it takes before all of the available games on the Internet get completely downloaded. With all of the options available and the increasing number of games being uploaded every day, it seems inevitable that at some point all of the games on the Internet will be available to play for free. Until then, the options are virtually endless. People who love playing games will always have the ability to play these games without having to spend any money.