FarmVille's creator: Making a great game is 'like making a cake'

Wait, so this is the analogy behind making a multi-billion dollar game franchise? When asked what makes a great game by The Times of India during his first visit to the country, FarmVille maker Mark Skaggs said, "Think of it like making a cake. You have to get the right ingredients - in this case the art, the technology, the music and the game play. And like a chef, put it all together in the right way."

Skaggs, who serves as Zynga's head of product, is also credited as the mind behind CityVille. That said, the EA veteran is arguably the driving force behind the two best performing social games of all time. So, the guy has to be onto something, right?

"You need art that makes people feel it's inviting and attractive," Skaggs told Times of India. "Music and audio gives you the sense of space and reality. The game play (the rules of play, why something moves in a particular way, how interactions happen etc) determines whether you have fun playing it or whether you get bored." (So says the man behind the main source of inspiration for designer Ian Bogost's Cow Clicker.)

Skaggs went on to praise India for its talent, revealing that a whopping 200 of Zynga's employees are based in the country. Better yet, the man who birthed the 'Ville franchise said that original, global Zynga games developed in India are coming soon. Let's just hope those developers aren't taking Skaggs's analogy to heart--we already have enough of those games.

What do you think of Skaggs's approach to explaining how great games are made? Do you think Skaggs's two primary contributions to Zynga are "great games?" Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.