My addiction to OMGPOP’s “Draw Something” burned out pretty quick. For about two whole weeks, I was pretty obsessed with the game, but the word repetition and game-crashing bugs were enough for me to abandon the app pretty quickly. I briefly considered jumping back in when they added new celebrity names to the mix, though my good intentions were derailed thanks to a little game called Temple Run. I guess I’m what you’d fall a fair weather casual gamer. Besides, I’m really not that great of an artist to begin which, a fact which frustrates me to no end when I’m trying to draw something that seems relatively simple.
If you purchased a copy of “Draw Something”, then you don’t have to worry about the extremely annoying ads that pop up in-between turns. However, just because you paid for the game doesn’t mean you’re free from Zynga’s attempt to make some money off of the app. The company recently began inserting brand names into the game, which, of course, are paid for by the corporations who make these products. So when you’re asked to illustrate, say, “Doritos”, it’s because the company dropped some serious cash for its inclusion in the game.
Sorry, but I’m not really interested in drawing your advertisements. Thanks, anyway. However, I’m apparently one of the few people who has some sort of misguided problem with this practice.
“People loved to draw the Colonel and bags of Doritos,” said OMGPOP CEO Dan Porter. What I would love to see is someone attempting to draw the Colonel or a bag of Doritos while eating a greasy bucket of chicken with their cheese-encrusted fingers.
Brand names aren’t the only paid additions to the game. The National Hockey League paid to have terms such as “hockey” and “puck” added to the app’s in-game list. The company has even been sharing some of the illustrations on sites like Pintrest.
Recently, “Draw Something” was picked up by Zynga, who is on a quest to acquire all of the popular apps and games you hold dear to your heart. Although the number of people playing “Draw Something” has dropped somewhat in recent months, the game is still ridiculously popular.
Am I being a cynical shrub for rolling my eyes at the inclusion of paid brands in the game? Let me know what you think about the latest “Draw Something” update in the comments section.