After taking a look at Zynga’s latest game Treasure Isle and playing it for about 15 minutes I started to wonder why I was hooked and why this game was in a way better than Farmville. Well, the obvious answer is that it takes a lot of game play elements from Farmville and transports them to Treasure Isle. For example, in Treasure Isle the player gets their own customizable island where they can grow crops and personalize in any way they want. However, where this game goes a step further Farmville does not.
In Treasure Isle, the main game play element has the player visiting different islands in order to dig for treasure, digging requires energy which forces you to either grow more crops, find more crops or buy more crops (crops=energy).
The hook, an Incentivized Reward System, where the player is rewarded when he/she continues to play the game. I believe that must successful games rely upon this game mechanic. In Treasure Isle, it is the idea of finding all the pieces of treasure if you keep digging and in Farmville it is the acquisition of cash and future unlockables if you keep planting more crops. Some people dislike the idea that Zynga is not being innovative and is basically duplicating their success with Farmville, but if I was them I would stick with what works, and they have obviously found a method that works. Check the game out it looks very promising. What are your thoughts? Do you like the game? Do you believe that Zynga is not being innovative? Is my idea of an Incentivized Reward System accurate?
