Hello everyone! It’s Twi here. I was trying to think of more ways to contribute to the blog, and I came up with a great idea! For the next seven days, I’ll be writing articles on games (other than Harvest Moon/Rune Factory) that have farming aspects. Let’s go ahead and dive right in!
The first game we’re going to talk about is SimFarm.
Before Harvest Moon released on the SNES, Maxis (famous for Will Wright's Sim City and later The Sims games) tried their hand at a farming simulation for home PCs. Buy, sell, and raise livestock, set your farm's layout as you please, and hope the local town is willing to make some decisions in your favor while you try to keep your harvests plentiful and hopefully not have to deal with any disastrous storms or pests.
It is, of course, far more simulation-focused than the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons games would turn out to be, but the overall goal and planning aspect of the gameplay shouldn't be too unfamiliar for fans of the series. Plant, grow, sell, repeat. Keep your equipment in top shape, keep track of your finances, and make sure you plan ahead in the event of a disaster.
Also, unlike Harvest Moon, you may want to spray down your fields with pesticides, something that shouldn't be too difficult if you can manage to get the town to build an airport so you can buy yourself your very own crop duster.
With any success, by the end of the year, you'll be able to not only be able to expand your fields but upgrade the old homestead too. Just remember to pay your taxes!
Tune in tomorrow as we explore a popular Facebook game!