Zynga Heads Out West for Its Latest Release, FrontierVille

In the console gaming market, the new Western title Red Dead Redemption is single-handedly reviving the market. Could a Western-themed social game do the same on Facebook? Zynga thinks it's worth a try, with a new game out today called FrontierVille. In FrontierVille, players will take on the identity of a pioneer, trying to hack a living out of a wild plot of land and raise a family in the process. If that sounds a bit like Little House on the Prairie, that's intentional on Zynga's part; if it also sounds like Oregon Trail, that's no accident, either. Actually, Zynga's new game doesn't fit firmly into any category -- something we're seeing from more social game developers this year, in a sharp turn from 2009's me-too spate of farm and fish games. There are, of course, heavy farming elements in FrontierVille. But there's also a bit of city (or, at least, homestead) building, and another helping of exploration and discovery. In short, it's something for everyone -- at least, Zynga hopes so. "One of the things that we were looking for was something that appeals to a broad range of people, ages and genders," we were told by Brian Reynolds, the Zynga developer who built FrontierVille and, in a previous life, was lead designer for famed titles like Civilization II and Alpha Centauri. So FrontierVille has ended up with an interesting array of features. Veteran FarmVille players happily planting crops may be surprised by a wandering bear; Treasure Isle aficionados can amass collections of virtual items. Perhaps the most interesting addition, though, is the idea of spouses. As everyone who has studied early American history knows, each pioneer that headed out west had a sweetheart waiting back home for good news (one per pioneer, no less and no more). So Zynga has provided players with the same, a distant lover that can be corresponded with and sent gifts. Following a successful courtship, players can then bring their new wife or husband to the homestead and get hitched. From there, it's time to make babies -- also a major facet of early American life. The more babies the better, since nothing suits growing children more than farm work. Eventually, says Reynolds, players can accumulate quite a clan, if they continue having children. For this title, Zynga has stopped short of letting real players marry each other -- the spouse, though it can be named after a real-life sweetheart, is strictly virtual. But the company is nevertheless also trying to encourage more collaboration between players. As in other games, players can visit each other to help out or gain a benefit. But in FrontierVille, Zynga has expanded the range of options; players can cause each other's crops to unwither, trim back the encroaching forest and help construct buildings. And unlike earlier games, they'll actually see their friends' avatars at work on the homestead. Along with more ways to cooperate, Zynga has also added "hearts", a sort of experience point that grows the "reputation" of players. With higher reputation, users will become more effective at helping out on others' homesteads, hopefully leading to more regular cooperation. For Zynga, this is an especially important point to get right, since Facebook's notification changes earlier in the year hurt its ability to keep players engaged. With higher rewards for cooperation, players may be willing to interact more with their friends, thus creating a stronger community effect. We'll take another look at FrontierVille down the road if it seems to be doing well. But from here, that seems quite likely. Zynga's release schedule has slowed down significantly this year, so making each title a success has become more important. And FrontierVille has also gotten a significant time investment, having been in development for at least a quarter; so it's reasonable to expect that Zynga will be promoting the game heavily.

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Zynga Heads Out West for Its Latest Release, FrontierVille

Chris Morrison

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