I started playing Farm Story a month or two after it's release in May of 2010 and was instantly addicted. The game fit well with my need for order. With the newly formatted leveling, I'm now level 150 with almost 8 million XP to go before I reach 151. I have the capacity to reach 151, but do I really want to?
Once I reached level 75, there has been zero incentive for me to continue playing, yet I'm still here. Through all the bugs, loss of water, gem traps and whatnot, I still choose to trudge on...but why? I've never been one to quit in the middle of something, and when I do set out to do it, I do it well and in a very meticulous manner. Except for the newer ones released in the past few weeks (currently working on), I've mastered all crops with grow time of 2 days or less, flowers with grow time of 1 day or less (excluding those that have to purchased with gems) and all trees. This means I still have the 2-4 day crops and 2-day flowers left to master. It goes against every grain in my body to quit the game without having mastered everything possible, but continuing to play is taking it's toll.
I'm a bit "old school" in that I absolutely do not like to harvest dry crops, but am having to get used to doing just that. There was a time when my crops were fully watered in under 45 minutes, and I suppose it spoiled me. Since the introduction of "Tap to Manage" on every single crop, flower and tree, I've lost many excellent neighbors who faithfully watered and gifted daily. My neighbor list has dropped from over 150 down to 58, a decrease of over 60%. Only 75% of the 58 I currently have water daily, and the remaining 25% either only water if I water them first or only play every few days. I would add new neighbors, but am finding that the new players coming in aren't of the same caliber as those from the "old days". They aren't dependable and water haphazardly, not taking the time to look for ripe, short term crops that might need watered first. I'm very conscientious when I water others, even non-neighbors, and my expectations are too high to even consider adding those that don't share the same concept.
When we started receiving weekly updates with new crops/flowers and trees, I had to remove much of the "fluff" (animals, structures, etc.) from my farm so that I would be able to still work towards mastery. Unfortunately, the result was having to look at a farm that I didn't particularly enjoy seeing, which only added to my increasing frustration and boredom. I honestly can't answer why I continue to play. I've been saying I was going to quit for many months now...yet...here I am. I could say that I was staying because of those few neighbors that I've had since day one, but that's not even it. Perhaps it's because I still have a number of crops to master, but in reality, that will never happen. Since new crops are being released weekly, it's unrealistic for me to believe that ALL could ever be mastered. It's depressing to say the least.
I'm not really sure what the point of this post is other than to possibly vent and share a little of my irrational emotional attachment to this game. I simply need to just delete it and walk away, but am struggling...nuf said.