Zynga Make User Policies Fun in PrivacyVille

[Andy Chalk]

Zynga Make User Policies Fun in PrivacyVille

Zynga, the gaming company everyone loves to hate, is inviting players to learn all about its privacy and user policies through a brand-new "game" called PrivacyVille [http://www.zynga.com/privacy/].

Zynga, as we all know, is an affront to real gamers, with its simple, silly yet ridiculously addictive games, not to mention a certain dubiousness to the way it handles private user data. In September 2010 PopCap CEO Dave Roberts described Zynga as a "identifiable user data [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103824-PopCap-Zynga-is-a-Marketing-Company-That-Buys-Customers] to online advertisers and trackers.

Zynga appears to be taking the complaints seriously, or at least seriously enough to be seen doing something about it. Behold PrivacyVille, the new "game" that takes players through an abbreviated user policy and then a five-part quiz to test what they've learned. It may not sound like a whole lot of fun [and, truth be told, it isn't] but it does offer up 200 zPoints that can be used in RewardVille [http://www.rewardville.com], Zynga's online rewards site.

200 zPoints isn't a lot - it'll get you an armored car in Mafia Wars, Maureen the Unicorn in Treasure Isle or Eternal Damnation in Vampire Wars, among other things - but for something you can click through in under 30 seconds, it's a pretty fair offer. It's also hard to argue that it's not a legitimate attempt on the part of Zynga to bring at least the highlights of its privacy policies to the attention of everyone: what information it accesses from your Facebook account, how it uses cookies to track your account and email to send you alerts, and how you can go about adjusting these settings to your particular comfort level.

This may not be the dawn of a new age of openness and transparency at Zynga, but if it is taking privacy concerns more seriously, even for reasons of sheer self-interest, then that has to be seen as a good thing. The only sad part, really, is that Zynga has to effectively bribe people in order to make them pay attention to matters they should have a serious interest in in the first place.


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[LTK_70]

At first sight I thought this was a sort of parody game that demonstrates exactly how your user information is being (ab)used and the goal is to keep your privacy, which would be impossible. But alas.

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Well, it's certainly an interesting, unique way of getting your users to pay attention to and actually read the User Agreement/ Terms.

Kudos to Zynga.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Well, it's certainly an interesting, unique way of getting your users to pay attention to and actually read the User Agreement/ Terms.

Kudos to Zynga.

$5 says that most of the people just Google 'Answers to PiracyVille quiz' so they can get their 200 points.

 

[Waif]

Not "everyone" hates Zynga. Making such a blanket statement is simply inflammatory, and is in poor taste. I had expected better from this author. Also, there are some real gamers who play Zynga games. Like Mafia Wars and that new one they have with tactical strategy. Stating that "real gamers" find Zynga games an affront, is misinformed and dripping with personal bias. I wonder how the editor even let this slip past.

 

[Lightslei]

Not "everyone" hates Zynga. Making such a blanket statement is simply inflammatory, and is in poor taste. I had expected better from this author. Also, there are some real gamers who play Zynga games. Like Mafia Wars and that new one they have with tactical strategy. Stating that "real gamers" find Zynga games an affront, is misinformed and dripping with personal bias. I wonder how the editor even let this slip past.

Probably because Zynga has a known habit of stealing games from other companies, making their "cute" version of it, and then just buying their way out of a lawsuit in the court room. Most people on this site aren't exactly fans of Zynga either way.

The last case I'm not sure, IIRC it was Chocolate Studios over Mafia Wars.

 

[Waif]

Not "everyone" hates Zynga. Making such a blanket statement is simply inflammatory, and is in poor taste. I had expected better from this author. Also, there are some real gamers who play Zynga games. Like Mafia Wars and that new one they have with tactical strategy. Stating that "real gamers" find Zynga games an affront, is misinformed and dripping with personal bias. I wonder how the editor even let this slip past.

Probably because Zynga has a known habit of stealing games from other companies, making their "cute" version of it, and then just buying their way out of a lawsuit in the court room. Most people on this site aren't exactly fans of Zynga either way.

The last case I'm not sure, IIRC it was Chocolate Studios over Mafia Wars.

Copying is part of the game industry in general. Social games are no exception. That and people have copied off of Zynga in the past. Most notably Playfish. There is even an article talking about how they pretty much copied each other:

http://www.thefacebookforum.net/t1898-playfish-vs-zynga-the-never-ending-copying-battle

Ironically Zynga's Mafia Wars was a copy of Mob Wars, but was later copied into Mobsters by another company. It just goes to show that Zynga isn't the only one to take an idea, and introduce an evolution of that idea. This kind of progression is at the very heart of the gaming industry. Each RPG,FPS,RTS,platformer,puzzler, etc. Is an evolution of the one before it, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. It's how nature works, it's how the gaming industry works. I expect no less.

Though I am unsure of the resolution with Chocolate Studios...

I am aware, however, that there are many people on this site who aren't a fan of Zynga. That being said, the author of this article had no right to make such a blanket statement about the people on this site (and everyone in general). It's bad reporting when you make such generalizations about a group of people. He also didn't have to right to say that "real gamers" find Zynga games "an affront". What he is saying is that if you play a Zynga game, you are not a real gamer. He could not possibly be farther from the truth. I'd like him to say that to a few of the people who play Mafia Wars and CoD Black Op's. I already know what the outcome would be.

 

[Andy Chalk]

I wonder how the editor even let this slip past.

I have photographs.

 

[Waif]

I wonder how the editor even let this slip past.

I have photographs.

Did it have anything to do with cookies? ^~^;

 

[vivster]

yay for gamification i guess

 

[orangeapples]

looks like the people at Zynga took the saying, "They'd have to pay me to read that crap." quite seriously. At least they've got a sense of humor; that's more than some companies can say... *cough*Nintendo*cough*

 

[Swifteye]

Not "everyone" hates Zynga. Making such a blanket statement is simply inflammatory, and is in poor taste. I had expected better from this author. Also, there are some real gamers who play Zynga games. Like Mafia Wars and that new one they have with tactical strategy. Stating that "real gamers" find Zynga games an affront, is misinformed and dripping with personal bias. I wonder how the editor even let this slip past.

I treated the comment as a reference to that one year here at the escapist where Zynga almost won march madness and like everyone from everywhere teamed up to take it down it was ridiculous. Popcap doesn't get this kind of heat and I believe they are the same industry type.

Funny thing about this privacyville place it reminds me of a simliar tactic where nintendo created a online hub area for when people wanted to access the games through a special satellite connection. Although they gave it a more odd name by calling it the town that doesn't have a name (sounds better in the native language probably)