FarmVille one year ago -- remember when?

farmville one year ago old farmville history
FarmVille was released on Facebook in June 2009. Though the game has only been out a year and a half, it feels like it's been around for an eternity. With almost daily updates, fixes, new features and items, the virtual farm game is constantly changing. In fact, FarmVille has changed so drastically in the past year, you may not even remember the game as it once was: a simple click-farming game that pretty much consisted of planting and harvesting virtual crops.

With the approach of 2011, we decided to turn back the clock one year, and re-examine what FarmVille was like before the creation of Co-Op Jobs, Crafting Buildings and the Farmer's Market.
farmville one year ago old farmville history
Crop Mastery was a new (and awesome) feature
Crop mastery was not an original feature of FarmVille. In fact, if we look back at FarmVille exactly one year ago, Crop Mastery was still a relatively new feature. Released in September of 2009, long time fans had mixed feelings about the new feature. They were excited that FarmVille was adding more depth to the game, but feeling disappointed that their months of diligent farming didn't contribute to their crop mastery. Now, of course, crop mastery is a stable of life in FarmVille.

Nostalgic News:

    Farmville Crop Mastery Released - Earn Bonuses Just Like in Mafia Wars




farmville one year ago old farmville history
Fertilizer was a mysterious farming phenomenon
We weren't always able to fertilize our crops. Fertilizer didn't arrive until October of 2009, and even then it was extremely rare. It was so rare that we had a hard time finding an image of it. The picture you see above was end-result of a long, arduous search.

The sight of sparkly crops was brand new and had us super excited to see what fertilizer features were soon to come. Fast-forward to present day and fertilizer is as common as dirt; friends can fertilize five crops or plots every time they visit your farm. But there was a time where fertilizer mystified us and it was a red-hot farming commodity.

Nostalgic News:

    FarmVille Crop Whisperer: Sparkly Fertilized Crops in the Wild




farmville one year ago
Harvest Markers weren't always big pink carrots
Also in October of 2009, a big visual change hit FarmVille. If you recall, the pink carrots above your ready-to-harvest animals weren't always there. Instead, animals used to light up with a pink outline when they were ready for collection (pictured above). Like all new features, there were those that loved the change, but there were even more that despised it. "How could you mess with the FarmVille we know and love!?" we cried. One year later, I think the pink carrots are actually a lot nicer. Who woulda thunk it.

Nostalgic News:

    FarmVille Cheats & Tips: New Harvest Markers for Animals




farmville one year ago old farmville history
Storage was on the way, and boy were we excited
In the olden days of FarmVille, many veteran farmers experienced a peculiar problem: simply having too much stuff. Back then there were no barns, no garages, and no storage at all. Once our inventories filled up, we were forced to either place the item on our farm, or get rid of it. Unfortunately, I lost many baby elephants this way -- a loss I mourn to this very day. So imagine our luck when FarmVille announced storage, we were ecstatic!

Nostalgic News:

    FarmVille Storage and Giftable Flowers Coming Soon
    FarmVille Introduces the Garden Shed
    Oh Joy! FarmVille Turns Barns and Sheds into Useful Storage Buildings




farmville one year ago
Finding lost animals was a big event
Before the rise of Co-op Farming, Crafting Buildings, the Farmer's Market, and other FarmVille features, the game was pretty simple. There were crops, trees, and animals; and that was all we needed. At the time, one of the biggest features was FarmVille lost animals. While this feature has all but disappeared in the game now, in the past I used to get so excited every time I found an Ugly Duckling. And, of course, I'd immediately post it to my wall.

Animals used to be special too. Instead of just harvesting them, you'd pluck feathers from a turkey or milk a cow. Now you just get coins. While this may have been awkward for animals like the cat or elephant (what do you harvest from elephants that wouldn't alert PETA?), it was a feature that made my animals feel special, and made my game feel more like a real farm, and I liked that.

Nostalgic News:

    Sad, Lonely Turtles Invade FarmVille
    Scared Wild Turkeys Wander into FarmVille




farmville one year ago old farmville history     farmville one year ago old farmville history
Our farms were tiny
One year ago, the Mighty Plantation 24 x 24 farm expansion was just being released for fans only, and it was very buggy. These days, seeing Farm Estates that are 28 x 28 is commonplace. For the record, that's an increase of 255 more plots! How did we ever manage with so little space and no storage?

Nostalgic News:

    FarmVille 24 x 24 Expansion is acting glitchy -- coming soon?
    Farmville 24X24 land expansion is available to fans only (for now)




farmville one year ago old farmville history
The Villa was the end-all, be-all of FarmVille
In the olden days of FarmVille, people farmed mostly for fun. But even so, I don't think there's one FarmVille player out there who wasn't at least partially going about farming, making money, and leveling-up, to buy the Villa. This building was no joke. Not only did it cost one million coins, but you had to be level 34 to buy it. Achieving those two milestone was no easy FarmVille feat. The Villa was a symbol that screamed, "I'm awesome at FarmVille," and nobody can deny that they wanted the majestic abode on their farms. Unfortunately now, there are more and more items that dwarf the Villa's one demanding presence on our farms. Now, it sits humbly in the corner of our estates, as a token to the FarmVille of old.

Nostalgic News:

    Guest Column: Is There Life after Villa in FarmVille?




farmville remember when facebook updates
Non-FarmVillers got an overwhelming amount of spam
While many would argue the first few months of FarmVille were the golden era, for those who didn't play the game, it was definitely the dark ages. Before Facebook released updates that limited gifting and moved game requests to separate menus, our friends received an inhumane amount of requests. This was awesome for those who loved getting lost animals and other FarmVille bonuses. But for those who didn't play, the dozens of spammy Facebook game requests clogging up their notifications and news feeds could not have been more frustrating. But oh well, it was their fault for not playing!

Nostalgic News:

    Will Facebook Redesign End Game Spam?
    Two Reasons Facebook Games Are About to Change Forever
    Facebook's Potential Changes May End Game Spam (Round 2)
    Two Reasons Facebook Games Are About to Change Forever
    Facebook changes affect FarmVille, Mafia Wars and other social game apps




farmville one year ago farmville.com
FarmVille.com was just getting started
On November 18 2009, FarmVille became playable on FarmVille.com in addition to Facebook. The feature was initially greeted with enthusiasm, as people assumed you would no longer need a Facebook account to play. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Not only did FarmVille.com still require you to log into Facebook, it also required your real email (and we all know how that turned out). FarmVille.com ushered in a new era of spammy, gimmicky FarmVille features. Since then, FarmVille.com players have always received bonus items and goodies just for playing on the site. Is it too much to ask that FarmVille players receive equal treatment regardless of where we play?

Nostalgic News:

    FarmVille Without Facebook? Meet FarmVille.com
    Breaking News: Now Play FarmVille on FarmVille.com
    FarmVille.com exclusive gifts encourage players to leave Facebook




farmville one year ago old farmville history
Which do you prefer?
I've taken you through some of the ways FarmVille has changed. But this begs the question: did these changes make FarmVille better? On one hand, the changes have made FarmVille a deeper, more engaging Facebook game. But on the other hand, the simple farming game we could escape to for a few minutes a day is gone. You can't log in to FarmVille without being bombarded by notices announcing new features and items. So ultimately, it's up to you:

Do you prefer the new FarmVille, or the FarmVille of one year ago?

Which FarmVille do you prefer?
Older FarmVille, one year agoNew FarmVille, todayI like them equallyI hate FarmVille
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com

Lord of the Rings arrives on Facebook with Aragorn's Quest advergame

Lord of the Rings advergame
Before making the journey to various consoles and handheld gaming systems, Aragorn will take his quest to Facebook in a social adventure... of sorts. To help create some buzz of his next adventure in The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest, Warner Bros. have created a small (alright, it's minuscule) Facebook game for fans to enter. Players can take four of their friends along for the ride, filling the roles of The Wizard, The Hobbit, The Dwarf and The Elf. (If you can't figure out who they represent, then you must be new to this.)

After choosing a friend for each role, well, that's it really. The only purpose this serves is to enter you and your friends into the various contests that will take place on the game's fan page. Though, you can make alternate teams with more of your friends to increase your chances of winning the grand prize, a massive prize pack including an HDTV, a Sony Playstation 3 with MOVE motion controller starter pack and a copy of The Lord of The Rings: Aragorn's Quest.

All in all, it's a pretty big let down and a horribly missed opportunity at crafting what could have been an epic Facebok adventure. What's even worse is this sweepstakes is only open to our friends across the pond in the U.K., but at least Lord of the Rings fans across the globe can play the advergame and mark their friends as either Gandalf, Samwise, Legolas or Gimli in weekly quests. (Though, it seems somewhat wasteful at that point, really.) Act quickly, our British friends, as your journey for the grand prize will end on Jan. 14.

CityVille blasts past FrontierVille with 47.9 million players, could outgrow FarmVille in days

CityVille won't stop!
CityVille, for all intents and purposes, is the new ish on Facebook. It's been reported by AppData and VentureBeat that the game, after grabbing a massive 47.9 million monthly players in just 18 days, could easily soar high above FarmVille in days. Think about it: the game made mincemeat of FrontierVille's 30.9 million with ease. With the farming sim sitting at 56.3 million players after a significant drop from its peak of over 80 million players earlier this year, Zynga is apparently in competition with itself. Now that FarmVille is frighteningly close to being finally dethroned, we ask, "Could anyone else have done it but Zynga?"

Probably not.

While we've already explored what might have contributed to the insanely rapid growth of the city-growing sim, it's about time we ask another question: What could this mean for FrontierVille and FarmVille? First off, they won't be going anywhere soon. But they could very well become less profitable over time, with fewer items asking for paid currency and inversely more items that cost City Cash popping up in CityVille. We doubt Zynga's focus would shift too dramatically from game to game--heck, the company is still trying to get Warstorm off the ground--but anything is possible. Here's one last question: Can CityVille return Zynga to its former glory of raking in over 80 million souls players in a single game? Stay tuned to see if CityVille trumps the farm in time for Christmas.

FarmVille Silly Bandz Sponsored Link offers 25 Farm Cash

You could call the two mirrors, FarmVille and SillyBandz. One is a money-sucking phenomenon in the real world while the other serves that exact purpose in the digital world. So, it's only fitting that Zynga puts out a Sponsored Link to help merge the two wallet-incinerating hobbies. Though, this promotion goes one interesting step further.

Clicking on this Sponsored Link below your FarmVille game will take you to a purchase link to the SillyBandz website. Clicking on "Place Order Now" will redirect you to where you can buy FarmVille-inspired SillyBandz. However, to get the 25 Farm Cash you'll have to spend $8 on the mysterious wrist bands that somehow maintain their shape. In the special FarmVille pack of SillyBandz for $5.95, you'll find cows, tractors and even everyone's favorite sheep. While it's not free Farm Cash, at least you're getting it for less than paying directly and something tangible along with the 25 smackers to boot. And remember: only trust FarmVille Sponsored Links for ways to get free or discounted Farm Cash.

Game of the Day: Aloha Solitaire

Bringing back the game of the day is always a good thing. Today's game is Aloha Solitaire. Take a peaceful trip to the gorgeous Hawaiian Islands and play solitaire on your way across the archipelago. Relaxing screens and unlimited Mai Tai's await on your Hawaiian game expedition.

Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.

Play Aloha Solitaire Now >

'Monk,' 'Burn Notice' and 'Law & Order' Social Games on the Way?

Your favorite TV shows just might be headed to Facebook.

USA Network, the cable channel known for hit original series like 'Monk' and 'Burn Notice,' has launched the new version of its Character Arcade, a portal for online casual games based on its shows. The site already features Facebook Connect integration, which means that new users can simply register/comment with their existing Facebook logins.

New partnerships with social gaming companies are already underway -- soon players could start to see more integration between the site and social networks in the form of friend leaderboards and achievement-based incentives.

Standout games already live on the site include 'Monk Shuiborhood' -- players must organize and straighten out Monk's house and neighborhood to match the OCD detective's standards -- and 'Psych Office' -- a collection of minigames set in Shawn and Gus' crime fighting headquarters.

With USA Network taking cues from big social game players like Zynga and Big Fish, we wouldn't be surprised to see those TV-show branded games embedded within Facebook in the coming months. Will other TV networks follow suit with their own social games? Only time will tell, but we suspect it'll be hard to resist tapping into the multi-billion dollar online gaming industry.

Son of Hotel Habbo Coming Soon

Sulake, the Finnish company behind the early social game, Habbo Hotel, may have not entered the current social networking craze on places like Facebook and MySpace, yet it still boasts a whopping 13 million players. Yet, the nine-year-old game is starting to show its age and with a worldwide economic crisis, about 10 percent of its audience pays for in-game objects. Finally, it's getting ready to launch a new teen-targeted virtual world called Bobba.com.

The "casual virtual world for mobile phones," is already out in testing form for Symbian OS-based phones (owned by fellow Finnish mobile powerhouse, Nokia) and will arrive for iPhone and iPod Touch later in September. With colorful 3-D environments that appear to allow level construction, players are limited to more of a virtual space like The Sims and less of the leveling up play than social network gamers are accustomed to. Yet, it still has room to grow.

"Bobba is still very much in the early development phase ... Our aim is to build a virtual world, which is virtually platform free -- it can be accessed practically anywhere, with all kinds of devices," Timo Soininen, chief executive of Sulake said.

Could Bobba represent the next wave of social mobile games? Stay tuned for when it arrives later this month in the App Store.