armville on Facebook is going co-op. As faithful farmers have seen by the latest teaser on the loading page, co-op farming is coming to Farmville soon . While Zynga has been a bit stingy with the details, by looking at what co-op farming is and wading trough the most persistent leaks about how this will change playing Farmville on Facebook a clearer picture of what is ahead can be speculated with a fair degree of accuracy.
Simply put, co-op farming outside of the virtual world is when a group of farmers pool their resources to make headway on a certain aspect of their activities. By sharing resources they also share the rewards. What will this all mean on Farmville?
To a degree Farmville is already a co-op of sorts. Friends chase away pesky critters, feed chickens, fertilize crops, and of course share fuel with one another - not to mention the never ending barn raising parties, horse stable construction parties, and gifting that goes on daily. In these activities you help a neighbor out and you get a reward.
Where it appears Farmville on Facebook is headed now with co-op farming is a bit deeper. According to a leak on a popular Farmville fansite - which may or may not be valid - co-op farming on Farmville is going to take a huge step towards allowing you to actively farm your neighbors fields and help them with harvesting activities. It is believed that each farmer will be able to decide who they allow to access their farm and what each person will be allowed to do.
In the simplest terms, suppose you visit a friends farm that has been inactive for some reason for a day or two and notice their crops have withered, or maybe their field is barren - with co-op farming you would be able to take over for them and do the planting yourself - or even the harvesting to help stay ahead of the game. For your help, you would then receive a portion of the profits for the work you have done. This could be applied to harvesting trees and animals as well.
In theory you could have a group of neighbors helping you with each aspect of your farm - and they would prosper as you do. While that all sounds great if true it comes with some very big questions - and until the actual launch of co-op farming on Farmville or the validation of the leaks not everyone is excited by this idea.
The biggest concerns loyal farmers seem to have is how it will impact their experience points. Will the actual farm owner be able to share in the experience points if someone else does their plowing and planting? Will there be a way to put some sort of hold on people working on your farm? Many people want to actively work their farm and get their full points and gold coins, but are willing to allow others to help out if for instance 50% of the wither time for a crop has elapsed.
It is believed that no visiting farmer would be allowed to make structural changes like deleting plots, moving things around, storing them etc… Nobody knows what the co-op split will be and that has been a topic of much speculation. Just one little teaser screen has launched a flurry of “what if’s” and a few supposed reliable leaks have further heated the farming frenzy.
For Zynga this makes good sense. It keeps people playing their game longer, being more apt to nudge inactive farmers back to the game, and more likely to spend real money to tend virtual plantations. Farmville on Facebook is the Zynga Games cash cow so it makes sense they would constantly find ways to not just keep people playing but lure them back after a hiatus. Co-op farming may just do the trick.
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