From the «facebook still sux» department:
Title: FarmVille at 15: how a cutesy Facebook game shaped the modern internet Author: Callum Bains
Date: Fri, 05 Jul 2024 09:00:05 +0000
Link:
https://www.theguardian.com/games/article/2024/jul/05/farmville-at-15-how-a-cutesy-facebook-game-shaped-the-modern-internet
Podcast Download URL:
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/076f3d43765a002609f5ecad034def00ab6be036/0_125_5100_3062/master/5100.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=ccfb583613618f73e6ebc63c5653ea0a
On its 15th anniversary, the creators of FarmVille reflect on the compulsive cartoon farm sim that paved the way for a data-driven world
Facebook users of a certain age may remember a particularly forlorn farm animal popping up in their feeds during the platform’s heyday. The lonely cow would wander into FarmVille players’ pastures with its face twisted into a frown and
its eyes shimmering with tears. “She feels very sad and needs a new home,” an
accompanying caption read, asking you to adopt the cow or message your friends for help. Ignore the cow’s plea and it would presumably be left friendless and
foodless. Message your friends about it, and you’d be accelerating the spread of one of the biggest online crazes of the 2010s.
Released 15 years ago, FarmVille was nothing short of a phenomenon. More than 18,000 players gave it a go on its first day, rising to 1 million by its fourth. At its peak in 2010, more than 80 million users logged in monthly to plant crops, tend animals and harvest goods for coins to spend on decorations. Celebrities professed their obsession[1], McDonald’s created a farm for a promotion, and long before artists released music on Fortnite, Lady Gaga debuted songs[2] from her sophomore album through the cartoon farm sim. Not bad for a game that was stitched together in five weeks.
Continue reading...[3]
Links:
[1]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLZHCTEoeS0 (link)
[2]:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/lady-gaga-unveil-more-songs-187108/ (link)
[3]:
https://www.theguardian.com/games/article/2024/jul/05/farmville-at-15-how-a-cutesy-facebook-game-shaped-the-modern-internet (link)
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