In Cow Clicker: The Making of Obsession, Ian Bogost speaks of his satirical Facebook game, Cow Clicker. I found this reading and the game, itself, to be extremely amusing. Being an admitted Facebook addict, I have played my share of the types of games that Bogost is talking about. However, it took this article for me to step back and actually look at how pointlessly similar and obsessive these games are.

Bogost breaks down four areas of these simplistic Facebook games that cause users to be frustrated while still addicted. These areas are Enframing, Compulsion, Optionalism, and Destroyed Time. Personally, I have seen all four of these areas in several games I have played myself, or have witnessed others play (i.e. Vampire Wars, Farmville).

One example for Optionalism, in Vampire Wars, you have to continually go back to the game to gather money (which in the case of this game is considered “blood”). However, if you earn enough blood, you can make purchases that allow you to gain more blood even while you are away from the game! Bogost states “social games are games you don’t have to play”.

An example of compulsion and destroyed time would be simple rewards that are priced extremely high. While surveying Cow Clicker, for example, I saw that you are able to purchase items. As I scrolled down the page to see what was available, I found that YOU CAN BUY A T.A.R.D.I.S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A T.A.R.D.I.S. (or Time and Relative Dimension in Space) is a Space/Time Machine from my beloved British TV show Doctor Who. Now, why my cow would need a T.A.R.D.I.S I have absolutely no idea, but at that moment, I swore to my not yet existent cow that he would have one! Lucky for me, it only costs 2,250 mooney, so, if you don’t mind…I have some work to do….

In closing, I hereby curse Bogost for his success at creating a “mundane, outward obsession whose worst trick is to disguise itself as fruitfulness” (Bogost).