GAMING A NON-GAME?

The rise of Social Network Services was accompanied by a huge success of Social Network Games (SNGs). SNGs show specifics which distinguish them from traditional video games. Especially remarkable is the system architecture induced option for a continuous and seamless game development and the  extensive use of timer-based game mechanics. These unique features led to an experiment where I played for 4 years FarmVille, a genre- coining SNG, to experience its limits and development trajectory. This paper discusses findings from this game play and discusses the effects of selected game design elements. Though SNGs are not well-received in traditional game communities and this experiment partly witnesses reasons for this reception, I conclude that they are a noteworthy phenomenon in the field of video games. They can contribute to the evolution of video games through some of their specifics both in the negative
(DON’Ts) and in the positive sense (DOs).