Cafe World

Café World

About this study:

I chose Café World because I like food! I had played similar games (at least I thought they were similar) before and was curious to see what Zynga’s version of a be-your-own-chef game would look like. Like many other Zynga games, Café World is played on Facebook. Upon Googling Café World I found a plethora of information on everything from how to cheat (using a resource called Cheat Engine 5.5), tips and hints.
Café World, like Farmville, Mafia Wars etc…is a “social game.” I believe what makes it social is that it is not just me playing, rather others (friends) are playing at the same time, competing against me, serving with me (as waiters/waitresses) etc… The aim of Café World is to work your way up the culinary ranks, earning points for meals served, the popularity of your restaurant, money made etc…I saw someone in the one of the pages I found on Google refer to it as the “Iron Chef” of the virtual world.

This video on Youtube illustrates some of the spaces users have created in Café World.

Café World game plot:

Everyone is their very own restaurateur and chef in Café World. I can sauté, fry, boil and blanche my way up the Café World ladder. You can work with friends in your restaurant, make money like you would at a real restaurant (different dishes are different amounts of money), compete against other restaurant owners, decorate and expand your space and much more. Check out http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Cafe-World for more information on how to play Café World.


Café World data:

According to AppData, just this week Café World has climbed from the fourth spot on the leaderboard to the third and is third in the number of monthly active users (MAU) with more than 28 million people playing Café World monthly.

According to an article by Virtual World News Oct. 9 (a week after the game was launched), Café World had been played by 10 million and experienced a growth of 1.5 million in one day.

In the month of Novemeber alone, Café World grew from almost eight million daily active users to peaking at about nine million Nov. 8.
http://statistics.allfacebook.com/applications/single/-/101539264719/DAU

Café World is part of the billion dollar virtual goods industry. The game is tied to Facebook, probably the most popular social networking site to date. Additionally, Café World has many sites that give Café World hints, tips, ideas etc…

The popularity of Café World can be tied to several factors (many of which are similar to those cited by Prof. Sessums for his Farmville analysis):
• Building something users love to come back to is the best predictor of success. -- http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/29/how-to-measure-the-true-stickiness-and-success-of-a-facebook-app/
• The game is social, allowing users to interact with their FB friends and “neighbors”
• The game allows the player (you and me) to be something we could not be in real life—a restaurateur and chef.
• Growth and success requires customization, which requires time. The time investment (required to grow your restaurant, monitor the restaurant almost constantly and earn kudos from others) gives a sense of ownership and makes the user keep coming back for more play.
• Unlike a game like MafiaWars or even a non-violent game like YoVille, players are doing something good—cooking. This may be viewed as “more productive” and even educational by opponents of other games.
• Creativitiy, creativity, creativity! You are in charge! For your own recipes, your kitchen, your design…this plays again to the pyscyhology of ownership, but it’s also fun!
• Like other games, you get hooked! I almost want to go check my spitfire roasted chicken right now and whip up a new batch of French onion soup. It’s hard not to keep coming back for more, working to earn rewards and Café coins.


Educational value:

I could teach a lesson to elementary to middle school students on restaurant economics. It is virtual-world example of a real-world scenario. I believe it could give students a better understanding of what it takes to run a restaurant, and really any business for that matter, in a fun way. It’s educational in the sense that it requires creativity and imagination on the user’s part, and increases understanding of culinary tools and practices/principles (basting, chopping, dicing). At the least it could be used in a home economics course to add some variety to the curriculum/provide students with a virtual learning opportunity.


Controversies:

Like with any and every online social space, the social and psychological ramifications will be examined and assessed. Café World is not violent or immoral, religiously objectionable, sexual or otherwise a game that could be opposed the way many video and computer games, and even some virtual worlds/spaces are. However, some take issue with the concept of a “social game.” Because it’s a game online and requires no human interaction past having FB “friends” to hired for your kitchen can it really be deemed social? Or has the definition of “social” changed/adapted in such a way to include activities like Zynga gaming? I choose the latter.

Other Connections:

Prof. Sessums’ Tamagotchi example brought to mind the Furby which were SUPER popular in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. Created by Tiger Co., this toy, which was a must-have for preteens everywhere, was considered a robot and cried, ate, slept and snored! I had a Furby and I think it’s inner clock was off or something because it would be awake when I was asleep and vice versa. It would stay up at night crying because it was hungry. One day I threw it against the wall.

This really has nothing to do with Café World…What Café World does remind me of is a game I have on my computer called Diner Dash. I also have one called Cake Mania. The purpose of these games is very similar to that of Café World, however I believe the kicker for Café World is that 1. It is social and 2. It utilizes Facebook which is probably the number one most popular social networking site, making the game available to millions more people.

BOTTOM LINE:
Cook! Cook! Cook!Keep coming back for more...


EDUCATIONAL IMPACT:

I don’t agree with games like Café World (or other Zynga games) being lauded for their educational impact. While (as I stated earlier in the “Educational Value” section) some basic lessons can be learned, the benefits of these games are mostly social ones. Bottom line, they offer people an opportunity to play with their friends, doing something that they couldn’t do in the “real world”—in this case be an award-winning chef. I don’t think it can be taken too much further than that in terms of educational value.

HIDDEN AGENDA:

There is no such thing as free. While you can play the game for “free,” Café World gaming requires that you have a certain amount of money and coins. You can purchase Café Coins in packages from $9.99 to $149.99 of real US Dollars! This is what really differentiates “social games” from the ones of the good ‘ol days of computer gaming. Advertisers and creators must make money!