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Muhammad Habib Ahsan

Professor Vicky McArthur

Game Design & Production II

30March 2011

Review of J


J

only available as a   application,is a restaurant management

simulator by Zynga, the makers of J ,    and 
  . The goal of this

social network application is to operate a restaurant by performing various tasks such as

decorating interiors, managing employees, selecting a menu and cooking various dishes.

One of the defining features of social games is the ability to transform real world

personal and physical interactions into in game actions. In J
 a player can visit his

friend¶s café and enjoy a complimentary meal while they are there. It is also possible send food

dishes to friends, help them cook, etc. All these physical tasks are converted into in game

actions.

Complicated real life tasks, especially the little details about them are simplified in J


This ensures instant gratification with minimal effort. For example cooking a dish takes

just as long as it does in real life, but the process in J
 requires only a few mouse clicks

at timed intervals. Visiting a friend¶s café, sending one items, helping one cook extra servings

etc.require only a single mouse click. Every action in the game can translated into non-reflexive

point and clicks.

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Continuing with the theme of keeping things simple, J
does not require a lot of

devotion from the player. There are no real time interactions with other players so everybody can

play it at their own pace and at the time of their choosing. This does not mean there aren¶t any

time sensitive tasks in the game; it simply means the player does not have any time sensitive

tasks involving other players. The player still needs to advance into the cooking stages at various

intervals otherwise the dish spoils.

Being a social network game, J
 employs a lot of social interactions between

the players. A player can ask for help from his friends who also play the game. Friends can

perform tasks include sending kitchen tools to repair equipment and design menus for a player.

Friends can also save a player¶s spoiled dishes or help them cook extra servings. Doing any of

these things can reward both the players with in-game currency and bonus items. The challenges

are rather merciful, for example it takes a long time for a dish to spoil after it has been cooked

and ready to be served. There aren¶t any significant penalties for mistakes such as failing to take

a cooked dish off the stove or putting food out to serve on time.

The points outlined above demonstrating Symbolic Physicality, Spontaneity,

Asynchronicity and Inherit Sociability form the basis of a social network game. These are the

very same reasons why social network games are slowly replacing the casual market. Social

network games require even shorter attention span, encourage friendly competition among

friends and are more addictive because of their simplicity. J
is the epitome of the new

wave of social network games and continues to innovate on the tried and tested mechanisms

featured in its predecessors.

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x
 
1
Zynga (2010).Café World. [WEB]. Facebook App. San Francisco, California.
2
Zynga (2010). CityVille. [WEB]. Facebook App. San Francisco, California.
3
Zynga (2009). FarmVille. [WEB]. Facebook App. San Francisco, California.
4
Zynga (2009). Mafia Wars. [WEB]. Facebook App. San Francisco, California.
5
Facebook Inc. Facebook. 2004. <http://www.facebook.com>.

Järvinen, Aki. "Game Design for Social Networks: Part 1." 2009.
MyGameStudies.<http://www.mygamestudies.com/content/game-design-social-
networks-part-1>.