It's clear that within the game, the couple is in this together, for better or worse. Screenshots shared on Facebook show marble columns decorated with roses, a tall, tiered cake, two statues locked in an embrace. While he and Amanda have no real-world wedding plans yet, their pets are busy getting ready for their special day. What about our young bride and groom in London? Victor admits that he probably wouldn't play so much Pet Society if his girlfriend didn't, but that the game is a nice thing to share. ![]() For example, when they go shopping, they'll see something and think, "Tizzy will like that." Some of their friends also play the game and it's given them one more way to stay in touch. She says that her pet Tizzy has become her "inner child, who likes shiny objects, hugs everyone, and adores her pretty rooms." After a year of consistent playing, the game has seeped into their real-world experiences. "The pets have all the positive aspects of a three-year-old, minus the temper tantrums," adds Danine. They're not needy, even when they're totally out of food and surrounded by flies," he says. He also likes how the pets are always in a cheery mood, even when the going gets tough. "It's amazing how you can figure so much out nonverbally," he says. James, who is a technical writer, appreciates Pet Society from a usability perspective. "The way Pet Society renders detail in tiny objects, like shoes or petlings, is a particular delight for me," she says. Danine says that she is amazed at the options available now for creating avatars and environments. Danine Cozzens, James's wife of nearly 25 years, plays alongside him, albeit on a separate computer. ![]() He doesn't care for the desert in real life, but in the game, his pet Scoop was able to party under the blazing sun with his wife's hot-pink pet Tizzy. James Langdell of the Bay Area once made a desert scene in Pet Society in honor of the Burning Man festival. ![]() The blog routinely showcases elaborate in-game designs, such as farms that look like a Mayan pyramid, the Golden Gate Bridge, and even Elvis Presley in his white jumpsuit. The competition, if there is any in these social games, lies in creative expression. Shannon Mateo's husband Robert might have teased her for her in-game declaration of love, but Robert, in return, has sent her many Farmville gifts, including a limited edition bonsai tree that cost real money. "He called me a geek, but secretly he liked it," she says. Shannon Mateo of Reno, Nevada, once planted her Farmville crops into a heart shape for her husband Robert. Less about gaining points or destroying enemies, games like Farmville and Pet Society act more like web-based graphics tools that allow anyone to make highly detailed scenes, with no drawing or Photoshop skills required. It's easy to see why these social games appeal to both women and men. "We live a part of our relationship in the game," says one man in San Francisco who plays Pet Society with his long-distance girlfriend in England. ![]() Couples send notes and gifts to each other, play with each other's avatars and capture the moments with screenshots. Unlike the gamer widow phenomenon that accompanied the rise of hardcore games in the last decade, many of these new social gamers aren't alienating their spouses or family members, but using the games as a shared activity. Forty-three percent of the people surveyed were married. and U.K., the average social gamer is a 43-year-old woman with a full-time job. According to PopCap's January 2010 survey of gamers in the U.S. Zynga's Farmville alone has 83 million users each month, with about 31 million logging in each day. It's safe to say that social games are now mainstream. They don't play during work, but when they come home, they log onto Facebook and become engrossed with their virtual pets. Both she and Victor have demanding careers in London's financial sector. "It was so cute! Of course, Tutti said yes," says Amanda. Last Valentine's Day, Victor's pet Colonel Mustard proposed to Amanda's pet Tutti a la Rutti with a diamond engagement ring held in a heart-shaped box.
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