Deceptive Patterns
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FarmVille: Friend Spam.

Author
Gray et al.
Date
2 Aug 2014
Publisher
UXP2 Lab

“The game pressues users to invite friends, not because the game is fun, but because certain features/goals are useless/unaccessible without online friends also playing, in what the paper in this list calls a “Social Pyramid Scheme”.”

FarmVille was catalogued by the UXP2 Lab over what it calls “Friend Spam”. According to the entry, the game pressures users to invite friends, not because the game itself is enjoyable, but because certain features and goals are useless or inaccessible unless the player’s friends are also playing — described in the paper referenced in the entry as a “Social Pyramid Scheme”.