What's the Fuss About Facebook Games?

After ~1 month of experiment, I'm shutting down my restaurant for good.
Even though my wife says it looks more like a "canteen" than a restaurant (blame it on my functional genes), this is Level 23 stuff.

I got into this because I wanted to find out:

1. Why is everyone is playing this game?
2. How can parents use this to engage their kids ("if you can't beat them, join them")?

Well I got to say that this model of combining games with social media is brilliant. Never have I seen social forces driving so many kids and adults towards playing such games. In fact, Facebook games are so hot that EA recently splashed $300 million to buy Playfish - one of the creators of Facebook Games.
In reality, these Facebook games are mixed-genre, they are Casual MMOGs.


I tried 6 games:

1. Restaurant City
2. Mafia Wars
3. Cafe World
4. Farmville
5. Happy Aquarium
6. Fishville

• I'm closing Restaurant City because it offers very little value after a while. It's almost torturous to have to come back every few hours just to keep the restaurant rating from dropping. Beyond immersing oneself in building a nice virtual restaurant, there is probably very little it can offer to parents who want to use this to teach their kids something useful.
• Mafia Wars offers opportunity for kids to calculate the most efficient ways of levelling up, but the game content is far from edifying.
• Cafe World is even less interesting compared to Restaurant City.
• Happy Aquarium beats Fishville IMO. I like it for the fact that kids can learn to save up, in order to build a nice aquarium. Although this is not different from the "Restaurant" games, it comes much closer to the real life task of keeping aquariums.
• I think Farmville is by far the more viable option if parents want to use games to engage kids. I leave that for another post later, but in the meantime, you can try it out for yourself.

Revisiting the Past

Flashback 33 years ago...

"Daddy, I came in first in class!"

"That's good! But do not be too proud, you are 2nd in standard - someone did better than you."

I never realised then how much the 2nd statement "but..." impacted my life. That was earliest incident I can recall about my perfectionistic orientation, and my deep fear of being 2nd best, and a subsequent struggle with insecurity.

(I probably yearned for some unconditional acceptance then - even if I was not first)

My daughter greeted me with the same exclamation TODAY. For a moment, eternity past seemed to catch up with me all at once...I stopped. I smiled.

"That's wonderful girl! Well done!"

I held down that 2nd statement. I resisted even asking where she stood in the standard.

(I did ask my wife quietly though)

I believe whole-heartedly that my dad loved me just as much as I love my daughter.

(And I can already see the same DNA in her - naturally competitive and just driven to aim for perfection)

But I suppose 28 years of knowing the God of the Bible has changed me forever. I learned to manage the DRIVE with appreciation that God loves and ACCEPTS me whether or not I met my own expectations or someone's expectation of me. That has helped me shake free of the fear of failure.

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved

How precious did that grace appear

the hour I first believed

("Amazing Grace")

What a privilege! I have a chance to be involved in discipling my daughter to triumph over the old nature. I can close my eyes and envision a smiling, perfection-driven and yet FREE girl.

The daughter I love...

Mirage or Reality?

WHAT was a lucrative deal for gamers four years ago has since turned into a serious poser, as most of the team members representing Singapore at an international tournament will have to co-pay their way to the grand finals next month.

Ten of the 12 video gamers going to the World Cyber Games (WCG) event in Chengdu, China, will have to pay about $400 each in order to compete for the silverware at the tournament - the cybergaming equivalent of the Olympics.

The $400 will cover the airfare, while Rapture Gaming, the WCG's local partner, has prevailed on sponsors Dell, Intel and Samsung to pay the entry fee, which will include room and board.

Rapture Gaming spokesman Adrian Tang would not disclose the sum, although gamers estimated the fee at $2,000 a head, based on amounts charged in previous years.

Only two players, full-time national servicemen (NSFs) Jared Beins and William Ten, both 20, will have their trips fully sponsored - part of the prize for winning the national qualifiers.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_448166.html?sunwMethod=GET

• Have we created a mirage for our youths?

There are certainly more than 12 youths who are playing video games in the hope of concrete career prospects.

• How do we do this responsibly?
• What's the role of Game organisers and sponsors?

In the bid to create a game industry that makes money sense, how do we reconcile sending an entire generation into the world of gaming? Long before the sponsors are even convinced of it's economic viability?

The youth scene (male) is almost totally saturated with gaming.

• Is there not enough revenue to do something serious about the industry?

If not, then is it worth sending so many youths in search of that mirage?

Impulse in the Morning :)

Cat Stevens Morning Has Broken
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How to Explain the Death of a Hamster

The grey hamster is dead - apparently from fighting with the white one. I saw the bloodied leg. Anna wanted to see it but I stopped her.

"How do you feel? Are you sad?"

First loss of any kind in the kids' life. It's a great time to process the issue of life and death with them. Elsie feels a little more, Anna is aware but not deeply affected

"What will you do differently now?"

• Elsie said she wanted to make sure she remembers to feed the remaining hamster and not forget anymore. That's good (at least Daddy is not the only one conscious about murder by forgetting to feed pets). But I suppose it's great to think about how we would live life since it does not go on forever.
• Anna simply went to stroke the white hamster - I suppose she is redeeming her time :)

"Do you think you will get hurt or die if you quarrel and fight with one another?"

Not so serious lah! But I made them hug each other and reminded them to stop when they find themselves quarrelling.

One of those teachable moments. That's why I bought them hamsters in the first place. I could remember how I went through my grandfather's funeral with all the wailing and and rituals, stories of spirits and all. That definitely formed my world view about life and death.

It was not until I read the Bible that I learned another view (and of course, that continued to be shaped as I went through other events).

I suppose these are important things that school does not teach. I remember how I attended the funeral of a 16 year old boy who jumped to his end. If only there was someone to process his thoughts with him.

That's one thing Google can't teach.

Extraordinary Drive

But I will not want to teach/coach that (ever)!

Report on MJ's Hall of Fame Induction Speech

Reflection about Winning vs Success

I heard and read about Michale Jordan's Hall of Fame Induction speech, and it made me wonder again whether it was possible to have a "winner" who has a healthy motivation.

Then I found John Wooden's speech - much comforted that there is success apart from "winning". And no better example than John Wooden - the Coach who won the most and (in my mind) was easily the most successful "competitor" around.

All athletes want to win. If we didn't want to win, why are we even competing? But winning cannot be the highest and only purpose of competing. We are not successful because we can compare with others (because we are not created the same). We are successful when we compare our effort to ourselves, our talents and abilities.

• "Do I have the peace of mind to know that I have given my best?"

This challenges me and occupies my mind everyday as a Coach. I hate losing, but I dislike it even more when I did not do my best, and ended up losing (or winning for that matter).

Which is why when I hear MJ's speech, I'm heartened to know that there is a more successful role-model and example, that i can follow - John Wooden. I do not need to ditch all that I have tried to embrace these years, just because the "greatest" player was motivated otherwise.

New Phase of Family Development!

Family life just took another step forward :)

Now Joseph is able to sit upright, we're going to have dinner together! :D

And the sisters are all excited about their new bicycles. We'll be cycling to new destinations very soon together as a family. Just got to get them strong enough to do it ;)