They always get me with...

These Facebook games always get me. They start me off with this nice little UI, fun little things to do, and lots of cute little animations to make me say "Oh, well that is a nice game." About two days into the game, however, I am left wondering what I was thinking. They all follow the same basic concept: Here is your little plot of land, town space, building, farm, etc. You can gain more area to build in, on, around, etc as you gain more neighbors, friends, etc through invitations to the game. Or you can spend real money on expanding said area. The real money portion would be alright to spend if it weren't so damned expensive, but that is another rant.

The games themselves are not too bad. The concept, at least the first time, was fresh and fun. I played Cafe World for the first time almost a year ago, and I really enjoyed it. I recently got sucked into SocialCity last week. I thought to myself, perhaps they improved upon the UI and the gameplay. However, the game itself is sorely lacking in both gameplay and UI advancements. There is very little to do in the game, especially at the early stages, and it seems that even at the later stages in the game, there is also little to do.

There are quite a few games based on this same idea: Build a town/farm/restaurant/whatever, sell some items at different times based on your level and different contracts/growing times/recipes/whatever, buy new items/equipment/decorations/etc and in general have a jolly good time. This is all well and good, and makes for a decently playable game, but it lacks any kind of substance, and definitely lacks any kind of monetary incentive. I am not paying $1 for 1 in-game dollar. Not when a single item cost 10, 20, 50 or more dollars in the game, and gives little to no reward outside of some small bonus or just is there to look pretty. What is worse is that they have these little buttons all over the UI trying to get you to buy their in-game dollars. ALL OVER THE GOD-DAMNED PLACE!!! If I wanted to buy your in-game money, I would do so. I do so for other games I enjoy, such as HitGrab's Mousehunt (http://apps.facebook.com/mousehunt), and I will for other games that I find to be fun and enjoyable. I won't for games that are just there to try and sucker me for my money, for no other reason than to line their pockets without giving me something in return.

That being said, if anyone is a developer and would like to make one of these types of games, and would like some serious input on creating a game that would be fun for a less casual gamer like myself, please don't hesitate to contact me right here through this blog. I would love to hear from you, and maybe even give you some ideas. Who knows, you may even like some of what I have to say.