Farm town for Facebook
Ever since the development of the hugely successful Japanese video game ‘Harvest Moon,’ the market for games seeking to make farming an enjoyable and engaging experience has hugely increased. One of these games, named Farm Town, exploded recently onto Facebook in the form of a browser-based flash game, and those who signed up haven’t looked back since. In fact, not only is Farm Town an excellent game in comparison to its major Facebook rival Farmville, but also a wonderful experience in its own right.
The premise of the game, in comparison with some of the more bizarre and contrived browser-based games on Facebook, is very straightforward. The aim of the game is to rear all kinds of animals, such as sheep and cows, in addition to a wide variety of plants, in order to turn a handsome profit and become one of the best farmers on Facebook. The player controls a cute and youthful ‘sprite,’ which represents the farmer, who is then assigned tasks and duties to carry out by clicking on the relevant instructions with the mouse. Ultimately, one must try and sell as much produce as possible, in addition to taking good care of one’s crops and animals, in order to become one of Farm Town’s most successful players.
Farm Town departs from its famous competitor Farmville in that it does not insult the player’s intelligence with childlike graphics and a pathetically simple interface. The cartoonish graphics remain but, this time around, the player does not feel as if he is playing a game marketed almost exclusively at small children. It’s for this reason that Farm Town has a reputation as a Facebook game aimed at the more mature generations.
Whereas many Farmville players have complained that they do not feel at all challenged by the game play, Farm Town is relatively easy to learn yet nigh on impossible to master. The skill level required by Farm Town increases steadily as one plays the game, as producing more crops and more animals will inevitably requiring carrying out multiple tasks simultaneously. It’s this multi-tasking, the juggling the player has to do between sowing his crops and feeding his cows, that creates the main challenge later on in the game. In honour of the role playing games which inspired it, Farm Town also boasts a sophisticated levelling system, which enables all players to track their progress and development in the game on a regular basis. Needless to say, this also increases noticeably the competition between players, and it’s not unknown for Farm Town players to become fiercely competitive over the internet.
A particularly charming aspect of the game is its integration within the Facebook community, allowing one to become a ‘neighbour’ of other Farm Town players within the internet community. This means that there is a true sense of camaraderie between players on Facebook, and makes a powerful contribution to the game’s identity as a ‘social’ form of entertainment. Many unlikely friendships have been formed inadvertently through playing Farm Town.
However, just like any Facebook game, Farm Town is not without a number of flaws. The most glaring fault is its forced reliance upon an ineffective delegation system, through which the player designates agricultural tasks. This form of game play requires constant, almost frantic clicking of the mouse at awkward intervals, because Farm Town unfortunately provides no ‘queuing’ system. This can often significantly slow down the speed of game play on Farm Town, and has an adverse affect on the player’s enjoyment. However, to its merit, Farm Town does have a vibrant online forum, with a special area designated for suggestions and criticisms related to the game. It is here that many players post their concerns about so-called glitches or bugs within the game, which the administrators of Farm Town usually resolve very quickly.
To conclude, Farm Town is one of those rare flash games on Facebook whose advantages overwhelm significantly its faults. The game is fast-paced, engaging and in many ways addictive, providing players with endless replay value and a sophisticated farm development system. There are (as always) a number of minor faults, but these do not in any way prevent Farm Town from being a deeply rewarding Facebook experience.
