I rarely play games on the iPad. Despite discovering legit games for it, I tend to avoid gaming on this controller-less device. I still haven't started Infinity Blade II, and I still haven't finished Machinarium or Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery. One would think that a serious gamer like myself would dust-off the touch screen for something like the previously mentioned titles, but instead... what iOS game did I decide to start playing on said device? 

FARMVILLE.

FREAKING FARMVILLE.

Yep, that's right folks, I'm pretty sure I'm playing Farmville. 

Personally, I've always resisted playing ANY games on Facebook, including Farmville, because they seem like dumb time wasters that are more appealing to casual gamers than the hardcore crowd. So, I look at Farmville and say, "Hey, you look like a big, dumb waste of time, and I will NEVER play you - EVER!" But what happened? I'm playing it. How? Well, I'll tell you how - DINOSAURS, THAT'S how! That's right, a company named Ludia made a game called Jurassic Park Builder for iOS; and you know what I think? It's FARMVILLE with DINOSAURS.

Jurassic Park Builder:

FARMVILLE:

Let me show you again, in case you missed the similarity.

Jurassic Park Builder:

FARMVILLE:

DANG IT, LUDIA!

I think I've now played Farmville. Is it fun? Shut-up, I don't want to talk about it (yeah, it's fun.)

All fake, dramatic anger aside, it's games like this that make me question my perception of games. Perhaps it's not the genre I'm not interested in, but the way it's packaged. I wonder how many other games I might be willing to try if the setting and/or characters were changed. There are other questions to consider too, like: "Was it the Jurassic Park brand that sold it? What if it was called Farmville: Dinosaur Edition? Or Dinosaur Farm?" "Would I have tried Jurassic Park Builder if it was a Facebook game?" Hmmm... I don't know.