Zynga... Oh Zynga, you just couldn't do it could you?You build me up, you let me get a taste of wonderfulness, then you just ruin the moment, like a 20 stone old guy in speedos in the background of a family holiday picture.
And thus, did I gaze upon the wonders of your latest mission thread, The small and understated wafers of crafting, adding texture but not enough to become stodgy and stale. The fruity pieces of requesting, just enough to give us the spice of social interaction, but not enough to turn to the bitterness of overuse.
The sumptuous and colourful ice cream layers of requirements that need us to work on our own homesteads... bringing us memories of the golden days of FTV and giving us exactly what we had begged for, the chance to work, the chance to be self sufficient, the chance to grow and nurture the givers of dropped items for ourselves.You finally gave us something great, a Knickerbocker Glory of mission thread delights, combining just the right amount of ingredients to make it a treat to savour.
And then, and then... as if solely done to make me weep... you ruined it all by topping the sweet guilty pleasure of a great mission thread with the Boiled Sprout of Repetition, half hidden in the cream to boobytrap us into tasting the sweet, sweet missions and GAH!
Why? Why torture us so?
What is so painfully funny is that I feel it's probably done because of the sweepstakes, to make it hard for the prizes... but *whispering* folks don't care about the sweepstakes.
If given a choice between a 1 in a few million chance of some cash or a few weeks of actual fun in the game, I'll pick the latter.
So, when taken to it's logical conclusion, it can be summed up as: "And Zynga then paid $2'500 to annoy players."
Let's be honest, if you want to pay $2'500 to make us unhappy there's better ways.
Acquire the licence for a series of missions based on Piers Morgan.
Hire me for a couple months to bring my unique brand of sarcasm to the forums.
All of these things will annoy a large percentage of your membership for the same money, but here's the kicker... Probably LESS people than a new set of repeatable missions... People REALLY hate them... like, Yankees/Red Sox or Sane People/Rush Limbaugh type hatred...
In fact, let me sell you an idea, actually you can have it for free, like a gift... just, you know, let the marketing department roll this over in their brains.
Campaign Identity: Not doing Repeatable Missions.
Planned Audience Response: Pleasure.
Overall cost: A SAVING of $2'500 all in with no cost outlay.
Level of Risk: 0%.
And the next time we gaze upon a naughty but oh so nice treat from you, we're not in any danger of a vegetable-based boobytrap.
Nice one Andy. As for the sweepstakes.. PASSING on it. I LIKE the look of the missions DONE once, so Im going to follow your lead from the last disaster and NOT do the sweepstakes.
ReplyDeleteAndy Oh Andy I do Love You so please Please design a game like this one I agree with you 100% I would send all my friends to play your game and find a 1000 more just for you
ReplyDeleteWonderful Andy as always, just as you have stated what all of us gamers THINK and complain to our monitors about and still ZYNGA will not listen.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to HATE a game I once really enjoyed :(
a Justin Beiber song, lmao!!!!! That's painful!!!!
ReplyDeleteHERE HERE!! Common Sense, thats all. Shame all the great minds that planned this white elephant do not play FV! There must be a better way to generate income rather then losing players. I have lost many diligent neighbors due to this new improved change, some people do not need the stress these missions cause. Life is full of stress, this should be a way to relieve stress and have a little fun as well.
ReplyDeleteWell said, The fun HAS gone out of the game and unless you have a zillion neighbours to ask for things you may as well delete the game from your pc. else it will take you over a year to even half complete the latest missions and it is becoming really stressful trying to finish each new mission before the next comes up.
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DeleteAgreed. Not fun anymore and I've been playing since the early days. I've already sent my letter to Zynga. I hope it gets to the right people. So many of my neighbors have dropped out and those still playing do a lot of grumbling. I'm weaning out and off. Not putting new buildings down. Not doing anything that requires repeating. Not doing timed missions. So there really isn't much left to do, except, because of the expectations, it's taking forever just to finish the few things I have left (the panthers? how many times do we need to make food for those babies? Has anyone added up the total number of requests it takes to get those two babies into adults?). Sadly, time to quit.
DeleteAgreed to all! What was once a fun and enjoyable game has become almost like a job. I have been playing since the game started, and now with all the stuff you have to do to build a building or do a mission, I feel like I working a job I don't get paid for. I really don't want to quit. I have invested too much time and money into the game, but where does it end?
DeleteI love reading what you post, Andy. You always word things so well...and I agree. Not looking forward to these next goals...
ReplyDeleteAmen brother! I don't usually bother with repeatable missions & guess what? Don't miss a thing! Except constant irritation & begging. I have to beg enough to finish the regular missions.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, Andy! Thanks for speaking out to Zynga on our behalf. The game isn't even fun anymore. I have noooo idea why I continue to play the stupid thing but, I do, for hours every day. :[
ReplyDeletei love what you said andy,i am trying to stay with the game hoping that they will listen to what we all are telling them. i feel you say it the best,thank you :) i love this game,i have played from the start but having a hard time telling myself that it will get better.
ReplyDeleteGo Andy - I am not doing this crap - repeatable are not in my line of entertainment and will sit in the box until Zyngie remove them - I have really had with this game and Zynga - won't be going there. Rosa is not going there
ReplyDeleteYou Rock, Andy..You Really Do!
ReplyDeleteYou go Andy!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Andy,I totally agree with you I refuse to do this repeatable mission to.I still have other repeatable's up that I will never finish. It's hard enough to get the stuff to do them once.In fact i'm just about ready to do away with the whole game.It's not fun anymore.(Crafting) = Zynga's gone nuts
ReplyDeleteI read trough the mission descriptions & thought "wow, they are paying attention to our frustration and people leaving"...and then I got to the bottom where missions had to be repaated 2-4 times and nearly cried...Oh no, they have ruined it AGAIN; they have lost all sense of what is fun in life in search of the almighty dollar. Sad to say I am "trying" to finish the barter missions, leaving PF where it is and under developed and NOT starting any more repeatable missions, even if they could be done at home and with little begging or crafting. I am then going to close my frontier down, donating all I can to friends or groups for give-a-ways and going on to Family Farm, where you plant crops, to facilitate other products to sell for coins to do again. No $ necessary, no incessant begging, you can play alone or with others. Andy, I agree you worded it with us players in mind and we could not have said it better. The developers have taken a wonderful idea, great graphics and turned it into a nightmare. Keep telling them, it encourages us when we are overwhelmed with stupid repeatable and non-interesting game play...at least those of us who will remain in months to come in fewer and fewer numbers. You Rock!
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things I've read in a while. Thanks, Andy. I learned that it is okay to leave missions undone. After all, what will I really lose by not finishing - some little pictures on my computer screen!
ReplyDeleteMany of my really super neighbors stopped playing and blocked the game. Can't say I blame them.. The begging over and over. No imagination on zynga part having to repeat missions 2 or more times asking for the same things again over and over. Neighbors have stopped sending items needed. This is not fun anymore. It more like a job without a paycheck or benefits. What do we get out of the deal? not alot. Think Zynga could award horseshoes for some of these missions? NO! they want us to buy horseshoes for trees and animals the only way to get some. But what about those on fixed incomes .. Can't afford there monthly bills let alone paying for a game. I am about ready to block the game as well. Too much stress, frustration. And half the time homestead does not load right or is sluggish. Would think Zynga would fix issues before adding more issues by bringing out more games, That many do not even bother playing.
ReplyDeleteBravo Andy!!! I left Farmville because they started doing missions like this. I loved playing this game but now it is more of a chore than fun. I have a stressful job as it is and Pioneertrail (Frontierville) used to be my way of relaxing....NOT anymore! I want to hang in there but all these repeatable missions have just added more stress. Don't know how much more I can take of this! Thanks for all you do for us!!
ReplyDeleteSpot on....I hate Bish Bimbeaux too...my name for Rush. What a bimbo!
ReplyDeleteI agree any missions that required to be repeated need to be banned. I no longer even start them. I am also looking to drop this game as the new requirements of needing 20 request items is insane. I have 8 pages of uncompleted missions and guess what they will remain that way as the number of requests for items from friends will take me 3 years with my 4 friends, Time to make the game fun again
ReplyDeleteAndy, somewhere in your wonderful world of forums and game playing (with the irritation) I pray you are secretly writing us a book. I will buy it the day it comes out just for the sheer pleasure your words bring me.
ReplyDeleteTotally appreciate your words, but will they be heard by Zynga? I really don't like all the missions back to back lately and I have been playing this game for over 3 years, this is the first time I have thought about quitting. Today with the new sweepstakes, I had to close the game as I was less than pleased to see it. I am not a quitter so I will keep plugging along at the game but Zynga has taken the fun out of it for me. I continue to play in hopes that FUN will come back.
ReplyDeleteGood Job Andy. If Zynga keeps up this ridiculousness, I WILL be blocking the game that I used to love but its not worth it and I certainly won't be joining any sweepstakes stupidity!
ReplyDeleteDo you think that anyone at Zynga ever really plays this? Do they actually plan what it takes to finish a mission and the amount of "drops" or requests that are needed? Is there any mathematical formula in the way they pick how many of each "thing" is needed? I think not! Especially based on some of the newer missions I've seen in the last few months. They just program their software and think they are being creative. Not thinking deeply or creatively at all.
ReplyDeleteRight on target Andy! I may do each of the missions once but I will not be repeating them. Zynga has gone around the bend. Not everyone has hundreds of neighbors (and unless you are playing 24/7 I don't know how you'd keep up with them all) to beg stuff from. Hope Zynga listens to you.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with some these repeat, repeat are just too boring and buying horsesshoes !! dont you think zynga makes enough money off the game and advertizing with the big shots!Seen on the news facebook joining up with another money grabber, I am ready to leave,, not fun any more.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know how to get around buying angus cows?
ReplyDeleteYou do get 2 when you finish one of the missions, sorry cant remember which one.
DeleteLove the eloquence which you portray all our feelings - I've now stopped doing Prospect Falls and do you know, I don't miss it at all!! I suspect I won't miss PT as much as I anticipate - it's been said so many times, it's become a chore, a job, with no rewards, I used to love it, I'm beginning to resent all the begging I have to do, just to keep up - the limits don't let you help all your neighbours as you want because you need so much yourself..... I could go on and on but what's the point? Zynga do not listen nor do they care......
ReplyDeleteWho cares about the sweepstakes!?!?! It's not worth the hassle of repeatable missions. Frankly, this could be the straw that broke this player's back and may be time to count our losses, summer's calling and the great "real" outdoors sounds a lot more fun to play in than this repeatable pain in the donkey. Andy, if I owned Zynga, I'd hire you to be President :))
ReplyDeleteWell written and SO funny.... I totally agree.... even I am unsure if I really could survive listening to Justin Bieber... LMBO
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone thinking you should be the president of ZYNGA !!!!
Thanks for all you do Andy.
I have played this game since its very beginning & always looked forward to finishing each mission & relaxing, forgetting about other problems for a short while but then WHAM!!! Were we all slapped in the face, this is ridiculous and who cares about the dumb sweepstakes anyway. I would much rather sit and enjoy a game but having to repeat missions and have them thrown at me so quickly is not fun. In fact it is stressing me out badly. That is the reason I started playing to relieve stress, not for this game to dump more on me & not make it fun. I cannot keep up & am ready to hang it up. Andy, I hope your message will wake someone at zynga up, they are losing their players. I just wonder IF they really care.
ReplyDeleteI gave up playing months ago and deleted the game because it just wasn't enjoyable anymore, and surprisingly, friends who were real hardcore players, and who I never thought would drop out have, and in their droves too!! I think it's time that Zynga listened to what's being said on the players grapevine, and reversed these manic mission trends that they seem to think people enjoy. They really need to turn back the clock to the days when players couldn't wait to open the game for a few hours of fun and relaxation a day, because it has now become far too stressful!
ReplyDeleteI just learned that even though I have 52 on my neighbours list, only 38 have played in the last month. Time to get new neighbours but how do I delete the non-playing ones???
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone and will do a "summer block" on the game. I can't keep up anymore! I've been playing since it started also and if I don't miss it during the summer than I won't return. I have accounts for my 5 cats in order to get everything I need and have resorted to "cheating" by having 2 windows open when requesting. It is more stressful than fun! Time to look for another game I guess...
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