Found via everythinginthesky on the tumblr radar:
The secret to Farmville’s popularity is neither gameplay nor aesthetics. Farmville is popular because in entangles users in a web of social obligations. When users log into Facebook, they are reminded that their neighbors have sent them gifts, posted bonuses on their walls, and helped with each others’ farms. In turn, they are obligated to return the courtesies. As the French sociologist Marcel Mauss tells us, gifts are never free: they bind the giver and receiver in a loop of reciprocity. It is rude to refuse a gift, and ruder still to not return the kindness. We play Farmville, then, because we are trying to be good to one another. We play Farmville because we are polite, cultivated people.
This is precisely the reason why I quickly found Farmville to not actually be fun, which is something I consider to be fundamental in a computer game. The article is well written and I’d recommend reading it if you have any interest in computer games or have encountered Farmville on Facebook.
