A Little History Is On The Cards

There's something of a kerfuffle going on at the moment due, largely, to something of a misconception about something in a recent game feature, so I've decided to cut through sensationalism a little and try to bring some history to bear.

I'm talking Tarot Cards.

So, a quick game of true or false.

Tarot Cards were created by pagans for witchcraft.
Tarot Cards are only used for divination.
Having Tarot Cards means you're going to use them for evil means.

All false.

Let's look at some REAL history. Tarot decks first appeared in the 1400s, not as a divination tool but to play the inventively titled game, Tarot (Or Tarock or Tarocchi), a game something like Whist or Bridge.

The opening player would lay down a card, the following player would have to place a card of the same suit down or a trump, or "throw away" a card of a different suit. The person with the highest card won the trick, and then the totals of the cards (each card had a different value) were added up for each persons tricks and the winner the one with the most points.

That's it, that's pretty much how to play Tarot, as someone who is confused into a stupor by Bridge even I can understand it. It was a common European card game, especially France and (always highly religious) Italy. Around 325 years give or take since the first game of Tarot is recorded is the first recorded instance of them being used for some kind of divination, and it wasn't until someone made a vague connection in 1781 that things started the innocent card game along a road to 'corruption'.

Tarot is even still played today, Germanic countries are a hotbed for it, and none of the players are evil, the players are enjoying a card game, for that's what Tarot is, despite any twists that can be made with its cards.

Now, it's fair to say that yes, Taromancy is a commonly known method of telling the future, but let's look at other items commonly used for divination.

Chickens - They would sacrifice them and tell the future from their entrails.

Stars - One word, astrology...

Water - Hydromancy, the color, ebb and flow, or ripples produced by pebbles dropped in a pool.

Fire - Pyromancy, casting something into the fire and checking for smoke etc.

Numbers - Numerology, still used today when people think they can divine things about you from your birthday etc.

Singling out Tarot Cards for singular dislike is as logical as saying we can't craft fire in the game because people have used it in the past for divination... and as for those pesky chickens in their dark satanic coops... No, we don't think that.

Tarot Cards are a tool of divination, just as chickens, water and the stars are, but that's not their PURPOSE. Nothing inanimate is inherently evil, it's all down to how it's used.

There are stunning misconceptions about Tarot, but the simple answer is this... it's a card game. An innocent one where the participants' only attempt at telling the future is to plan which card to play, and all players stay fully clothed and un-sacrificed for the entire performance.

Frankly it makes me laugh to think of all the heavy metal bands who think they're going all satanic with their album or track names when actually they could have called them Gin Rummy or Patience...

As an example to finish... would you be offended by a crucifix? What if it was simply placed upside down? It's amazing what innocent objects can be evil when used wrong... but that's not the object's fault and not a reason to shun it.

Andy Goes To Town...

[Please note this is an Andy Imagination post. I do not have ANY information about future plans etc, this is all in my head]

I've been having a little think about our homesteads, partly from seeing shots etc from the Halloween Ghost Town.

Something sprung into my head that would do two things that I'd quite like. Open up a chunk of homestead and allow me some more design flair.

It's no secret I love to design my homestead, in fact I've always been a fan of urban planning type games. Sim City, Zeus, Emperor etc, etc. City builder games.

By now my homestead design is becoming more limited with the amount of new buildings etc we're getting. It means everything is becoming very utilitarian, all business, no pleasure. And SO... here's my Andy's Imagination Idea for October.

A separate "Town" map.

We've seen the precedent, the greenhouse and the Trail both take us to separate maps that allow us to do different things, so why not have a second area for "Town" leaving our original areas as the Homestead.

The thinking is simple. The Homestead would be our "Farm" (I know, I know, folks hate the Farmville reference but that's what it is.) It'll have crops, farm buildings such as the barn, rodeo etc. It would be where we grow crops, tend our animals, it'll be where we and our families LIVE.

The Town area would be for the town buildings, Saloon, Inn, Church, Shops etc. It would be where we go to shop, to use amenities, to have a little drink...

So Homestead to work and live, Town to use buildings and shop.

The town wouldn't need to be very big, in fact it would only have to be, at most, the size of our very first homestead, only about 65% or so of a fully expanded homestead at the moment.

It would clear all the room off the Homestead that "Town" buildings take up, and let us explore our design flair. As well as being able to design our Homestead we could have a lot of fun designing "Town". It would be a much more logical place for statues, flowers, all those random decorations we've picked up.

We could design a main street, a school district with a playground, a church area with a proper design... Personally the increasingly tight surroundings of the homestead make me less interested in playing, tell me I have a 20-25-a-side Town area to design and I'd be as happy as Larry on nitrous oxide.

The other great thing it would bring is realism. Back in the Pioneer days you'd often not get a big town attached to a farm, they'd be split, at least partly. We're pioneers after all, not town planners, so why not let us have our pioneer homestead, all farming and self sufficiency AND a town to go to for fun etc.

In one fell swoop it would (well, for me at least) make the game better and stop folks worrying so much about homestead space, simply by moving stuff to a Town it would open a heck of a lot of that up.

I don't for a minute expect it to happen, but as with most Andy Imagination posts... I'd really LIKE it to...

Are you suffering from RSD? - A Dr Andy Health Warning

There's an illness hitting the Frontier these days and it's not Prairie Pox... It's a new condition called RSD.

Request Surfeit Disorder.

I've got it, friends have got it, I think there's a chance you might have it. It's not airborne or carried by insects or water, it's not caught by exchanging body fluids in interesting ways, it's caught from Frontierville.

CAUSE: Far, far more requesting than is enjoyable.

Up to that point the patient will have found their life increasingly revolving around begging friends and associates for anything and everything needed before they can complete the simplest tasks.

SYMPTOMS: Include apathy, frustration, a lack of energy and diminished willpower.

The afflicted will show a general lack of enthusiasm about things they need to do in life and may twitch or generate a nervous tic when hearing the words request or ask. They will gain an intense dislike of Birthdays and Christmas when they're given things and may even find themselves incapable of functioning in social situations such as shops or dining establishments where requesting becomes an integral part of the customer-business dynamic.

Eventually, if untreated, the patient will find themselves on the other end of the spectrum. They'll be institutionalised into requesting and be unable to perform even the simplest of day to day tasks without requesting. For example when going to the bathroom they'll feel they have to request 15 toilet rolls first.

They're unable to cook without being handed the ingredients first, or even brush their teeth without a gift of toothpaste. Soon, everything in life will need 15 of SOMETHING handed to them... which will cause undue stress in all aspects of their home, social and, especially, sex lives.

CURE: So far unknown. At the present time patients must simply be cared for as best they can be. Be prepared to to pre-empt requests and give them items before they need to request them.

My Frontierville Homestead

A little look inside the Frontierville mind of me...

As you can see, I lean towards realism with my homestead, there's very few daft animals (NO clothed ones!) or decorations as I really can't be having with dressed chickens or rings of fire. I also like having a nice thick forest around the back and some debris around just for realism (and it REALLY helps when needing bears...).

You might notice there's some buildings missing, they're either stored or deleted. If I don't like the look of a building or it doesn't feel right it's gone, Detectives Office is deleted, Pet Shop/Kennel is stored. It also counts for upgrades, I didn't like the look of the upgraded Inn or School so bam, back to basics on them. I'll do the same with the bank once I've got all the upgrade goodies, delete and back to level 3 or 4 that looks the most realistic!

So, here it is, the Homestead of me... (Click the picture for a high resolution version)

The Pioneer Trail - My View

I thought I'd indulge myself with a little blog, I haven't done one of these for a little while now and I've decided it's time to dust off the Workshop writing bench and rattle on about my feelings over The Pioneer Trail.

You'll excuse me if I only use the name for the new expansion part of the game because for me, my Homestead and everything in it will always be Frontierville and I will determinedly carry on with that name like a good old codger should.

The graphics on the Pioneer Trail are just stunning, I love the little missions and I enjoy the distraction immensely... however... Just like being a burglar in J-Lo's house there's a real danger of a big BUT just around the corner.

I've had some time to dissect the Trail now and I think I've got a good little handle on what it is, and I think many problems it has right now stems from people thinking it's NOT what it is...

The Trail is a side mission, an expansion, a diversion. It's the special features on a DVD or the cupholders in a car. To me the Trail is a Bonus Feature.

It's best played in short bursts, nip over, do a few things, do a couple missions and come home again, ready to take off to it again when you have a few minutes spare. It's not a book to sit down and read from cover to cover, its a gossip magazine to be picked up when you have to waste 5 minutes waiting for your sister to pick between all 97 pairs of shoes, or your mate to decide which brand of cologne is going to make him "lucky" tonight.

The problem is, because of how it's been released, perception of it has been altered. For one, the name change... What I play is Frontierville, and it has an expansion pack called The Pioneer Trail... but because of the name change people are seeing this new extension to our old game AS the game...


They're getting a backwards view on it. Instead of seeing it as Frontierville with an expansion pack attached to whittle away a little more of our precious existence in folks are seeing it as The Pioneer Trail taking to the fore and Frontierville being given the back seat, the supporting role, the Biden to their Barack as it were.

It also hasn't helped we've been bereft of new content for Frontierville over the last week or so. It's a totally understandable course to take, so much has been pushed out for the Trail to overwhelm it all with some new stuff on the Homestead would have been a little daft.

HOWEVER... here's the but again. By having no new content for the Homestead it exacerbated the feeling that the Homestead is becoming secondary. I know for sure new content is coming for the homestead, I can sit content in that knowledge, but other people aren't that lucky.

Already on Frontierville Express' Facebook page I've taken questions from people who are sure the homestead will be no more, that nothing new will be brought out for it, which is extremely wide of the mark, but it's an understandable fear.

Because of the combination of the name change and the lack of missions we see Frontierville being marginalised, pushed to one side. We also then, psychologically, see the Pioneer Trail taking over at the head of the table... the only problem is, it doesn't have the oompahs to be the top dog.

I love the Trail, I love it for many reasons. But I love it as a game extension. It's never long into playing I itch to get back to my Frontierville Homestead and play a mission, ANY mission... Hell, by this point I'd redo Canning...

The Trail isn't long enough, deep enough or filled enough to be the main game, it's only ever going to be a side dish in our Frontierville feast.

But the problem is with everything going on how it is, folks don't see it that way, folks see this as the big kahuna, the top cheese, the Godfrontier... and it's almost damaging the game itself. Expectations are being put on it to be a GAME in it's own right, not simply an extension of one already here.

It will never be a game in it's own right, but Frontierville is. Frontierville is a game that's kept me coming back for a year or so now, and it's Frontierville that keeps me coming back today.

I love the Trail in the same way I love cream on my hot chocolate and apps on my iPhone... as something to add spice, as the cream, not the hot chocolate.

I fear for the game if people play The Pioneer Trail and think that it's the main game, I fear for it if new players do likewise. It just isn't big enough or strong enough to hold up main game status. So I can only hope other folks think the same as me, that we've been given a great add-on, a wonderful extension to Frontierville, but NOT a whole new game in it's own right...

...and Zynga? Roll us out some homestead missions will you?

What type of Pioneer are you?

As with most things in life it's quite easy to slip the majority of Frontierville players into some kind of category. The way you play and interact, the things you say and do.

So, see if you can find yourself on this handy guide of Frontierville playing types...

Playing Style: It's all about that number in the star! The High Riser always thinks the bigger the better when it comes to any number in the game and especially Level. 

They create mathematical theories and formulas that would make Stephen Hawking reach for a calculator to plan out the times they'll be on, the crops and animals they can place and the amount they can fit into their homestead and what decorations they can buy for the most XP gain... every single XP point is treated with a reverence usually attributed to holy relics.

Likes: Granny's Gut Punch, White Roses

Dislikes: Glitches, non-XP rewards for missions

Most Likely To Say: The flower pot gives 14.4XP per 10 coins spent but the stone edging only gives 14.3XP

Least Likely To Say: The Gut Punch didn't work on those crops... oh well, never mind

Playing Style: The Mayfly has an attention span that makes your average toddler with Attention Deficit Disorder look like meditating Buddhist. Long term missions? Pah! Ask again in 2 hours? Piffle! 10 tends of 8 hours each? Tosh!

The Mayfly will spend the evening of any newly released mission frantically scouring walls for building or mission items, will badger friends to send things and will burn boosts like there's no tomorrow. If they're not the first person to post a mission complete brag it's a deep and personal failure, and having to harvest any crop that takes longer than clover causes them physical pain.

The strange flipside of this is that The Mayfly is also impatient for more things to do, so will burn boosts and Horseshoes to finish a mission... then become agitated and ask repeatedly "when will we get a new mission?"

Likes: Animal Ready Boosts, Intuit Boosts, Red Eye

Dislikes: Waiting times, challenging missions

Most Likely To Say: Does anyone have any bear claws?

Least Likely To Say: I like this mission, it'll take me some time to finish

Playing Style: If there's one thing The Completionist likes best it's everything... They live for the icon on a collection that says they've completed it, they love their victory garden with 5 of every crop, they religiously count and tally up the missions to make sure nothing ever passes them by in the game.

Be it mystery animals, limited-time decorations or a special reward item, the easiest way to annoy The Completionist is to have something they don't and put it right in the middle of your homestead, where they can see it every single time they visit.

Likes: New Collections

Dislikes: Running out of time in a Timed Mission

Most Likely To Say: I'll trade you for that Pheasant?

Least Likely To Say: I don't think that's available any more, ah well, I didn't miss much

Playing Style: The Sickly One is very very ill. They've been made sick by the game and want everyone to know it, usually by pointing out every flaw and issue they're coming up against followed by the phrase "I'm sick of the game and quitting!" and an exclamation they'll never enter the game again.

Strangely they'll usually be seen a day or two later, telling everyone the problems they're having and exclaiming they're sick of the game and quitting... then a couple days later again... and again... and again... Just make sure you never tell The Sickly One a solution to a problem, that takes all the fun out of it.

Like a lifelong alcoholic The Sickly One always knows the best day to give up is tomorrow, but don't let that stop you from telling everyone you're doing it today and why!

Likes: Glitches and drama

Dislikes: Fixes and solutions

Most Likely To Say: I'm sick of this game!

Least Likely To Say: Hey, there's problems but it's no big deal!

Playing Style: The Casual Cowpoke really doesn't mind anything that happens in the game. He/She do the missions when they can and are happy for them to take as long as they take. They don't use boosts etc to speed things up and just enjoy growing up some crops and animals to feed.

They take glitches in their stride and any problems are met with the phrase "Oh well, I'll try later".

Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, I'm kidding, we all know this player doesn't exist!

The Business of Pleasure

Let's start this blog off with a nice simple statement that most folks may agree with.

Zynga will sometimes do things we don't like.

It's that simple and I imagine there's many folks out there nodding their heads and reaching for pitchforks and flaming torches but bear with me a moment.

Some of those things are just gaming choices, such as creating a mission lots of people got angry about when they were told by other people they should get angry (What I call the Daily Mail or Fox News Effect). Or how about a simple scripting issue such as Hank and Fanny getting married and Bess getting with Flintlock?

With that sort of thing we're merely at the whim of the scriptwriters and game designers in much the same way as we have no say in who gets married in our favourite soap opera or who dies in the latest movie we've rented. We're playing a storyline that's being written for us.

Some things, however, can be simply explained away due to the oft forgotten fact that Zynga are a business, and this seems to often be the problems folks seem to find hardest to grab.

Take for example the current issue brought up by the recent Rodeo missions, to finish the Rodeo you need to send a request to a non-neighbour. They just have to click on it, then can just delete it and begone... and yet this has caused rather a lot of consternation among players.

Let's ignore the fact pretty much all of us should have a friend or family member who won't mind a single request on Facebook and look at the basic business reason for doing this.

When I thanked everyone yesterday for helping us reach 10k members I pointed out the fact we never would have got anywhere without word of mouth, without people sharing the page, telling their friends, getting us out there.

Well, Zynga need this as well, and unlike us, this is their livelihood, they're a business. All of you put your hand on your heart and ask yourself how often you've posted a status or a link saying "this is a great game, come play it!"

Anyone? Hands up? Thought so.

We just don't do that with Facebook games very often, so for things like Frontierville to thrive it needs it's own way of getting out there into the wider public who may not be aware of it. It needs the brag posts on walls, it needs neighbour requests, it very occasionally needs us to ask someone who doesn't play, TO play.

We're lucky with FTV, it's a game that can be played perfectly with just a half dozen good neighbours as opposed to many Zynga games which promote having lots of neighbours, such as Mafia Wars, with a distinct advantage to number of neighbours.

That in itself leads to it's own problems for Zynga, with the ability to set up privacy lists meaning folks who aren't interested in the game never have to see posts about it they occasionally (and it's been an EXTREMELY rare occurrence in the year it's been active) will ask us just to reach out and invite someone new.

Hell, we do it ourselves when we run a like/share contest... the difference is we're not keeping track of member numbers to be able to sell advertising. If someone wants to cross promote using Zynga (such as Intuit or Rango) then one of the main things when pricing it up will be "how many people will this reach?"

The more people on the list, the more money they make, the more likely we are to see a more stable game (hire more developers etc) and new game features.

Of course the other issue is the cry of "they want us to buy horseshoes!" that springs up when something tricky or time consuming is brought in.

Well, the simple answer for that one is... yes, yes they do. HOWEVER, before folks get too excited, you very rarely HAVE to.

By my count we need a steady supply of horseshoes for one single thing in game, the Horseshoe Pit badge, because it requires us to make "paid" throws to get. I never spend horseshoes but I still have serious doubts whether I'd have enough for that badge... but, that's one thing.

Every other time it's usually the difference between completing something in 6 hours and completing it in 6 days, no other time in the game do we HAVE to buy horseshoes.

(I'm not even going to dignify with a response the silliness of the occasional suggestion glitches are deliberately put in or things are deliberately throttled from appearing just to make us buy shoes.)

That being said, they do want us to, of course they do. I want people to buy my art canvasses or hire me to photograph their event or make them a website, it's called business and that's what Zynga are. Complaining that they want us to buy horseshoes is like complaining that Yahoo make us look at adverts if we don't buy Mail Plus or that Walmart/Asda want us to buy the more expensive stuff they sell, it's what they do.

Yes, yes, we may not like it but we all secretly know if it was up to us the game would be self contained, no bragging, no asking, no requesting... some folks might even want a daily mission that was nothing more than harvesting 5 clover. This is because we are all selfish, me included, and we want the game to work for us, in exactly the way we want it to work.

Unfortunately to do that, we sorta need to go write our own game, and I dunno about you but me? I'm not that good... and if I was I'd want to share it around. And get people to tell their neighbours about it. Funny that.

We all, as players, will have a complain now and then, I do it, you do it, everyone does it. But we also need to remember that Zynga aren't just here to make us happy, they're here to make us happy... and make money, it's what a business does.