Why does a board game based on words require so much Documents & Data space?

[Rafagon]

Words With Friends, which I still play, is basically a text game. So how in the world does it get bloated to the point where it needs 284.5 MB of "Documents & Data"? What exactly is it storing?

If I uninstall and then re-install it, a lot of that bloat goes away, so that means it wasn't really necessary in the first place?



Now look at the space used after deleting and re-installing the app. Less than 1 MB!

 

[SwitchBeach]

You probably should ask the app developer that question.

https://zyngasupport.helpshift.com/a/words-with-friends/?l=en

 

[Rob Phillips]

It may look like a simple word game but it's also multiplayer game storing data often for multiple games simultaneously. My guess is that it's more complex than it looks.

 

[robertk328]

I'd bet a lot is artwork, but that's probably vector art which doesn't take up too much space. Animations, previous games, etc., will all take up some space. Probably downloads a lot of it in the background as you play.
I"d say contacting the developer would be a good bet but not sure how responsive Zynga is to inquiries like that. ~280mb isn't enough to make me do that though... if it were closer to a gig I would!

 

[Rafagon]

You probably should ask the app developer that question.

https://zyngasupport.helpshift.com/a/words-with-friends/?l=en

It may look like a simple word game but it's also multiplayer game storing data often for multiple games simultaneously. My guess is that it's more complex than it looks.

I'd bet a lot is artwork, but that's probably vector art which doesn't take up too much space. Animations, previous games, etc., will all take up some space. Probably downloads a lot of it in the background as you play.
I"d say contacting the developer would be a good bet but not sure how responsive Zynga is to inquiries like that. ~280mb isn't enough to make me do that though... if it were closer to a gig I would!

I will definitely contact them. The reason I believe the excessive Documents and Data amount is a bug (or just sloppy programming) is that when I purge all that crap (by uninstalling and re-installing the app, as I mentioned in the original post), the amount of data stored drops tremendously and the game still functions just fine. It’s too bad iOS 10 doesn’t offer an option to purge “Documents and Data” (actually, it does, but it’s not under your control: when your space gets very, very low, iOS starts cleaning house).

The Documents and Data storage didn’t get to ~280 MB overnight… it built up slowly, over time, which suggests to me that the app is failing to clean up after itself.

@robertk328, I agree with you that the amount is small… To everyone except those of us who have a 16 GB device, LOL! I had a 64 GB iPhone 6 Plus, but when I upgraded to the 6s line, I was forced to sacrifice the extra storage space in favor of the bigger screen (and denser ppi) of the Plus model. It wasn’t an easy decision, and I was well aware that a 16 GB smartphone in 2015-2016 is not an easy thing to deal with, but what can I say? Apple wanted their profit margins, so they didn’t go with 32 GB as the base model until this year. Hopefully, when I upgrade next year, I can get an iPhone with a more decent amount of storage. :yes:

I’ll contact Zynga and give them a piece of my mind… not that it’ll probably do anything, but hey, at least I can vent. :yes:

 

[robertk328]

@robertk328, I agree with you that the amount is small? To everyone except those of us who have a 16 GB device, LOL! I had a 64 GB iPhone 6 Plus, but when I upgraded to the 6s line, I was forced to sacrifice the extra storage space in favor of the bigger screen (and denser ppi) of the Plus model.

Seems you should be talking to the person who "forced" you to get the 16gb!

 

[Rafagon]

Seems you should be talking to the person who "forced" you to get the 16gb!

I shouldn’t be “talking” to him, I should be smacking him upside the head. I could’ve skipped a few meals at Pizza Hut and easily saved up the extra $100 for the higher-storage model. But I was playing it safe. Never again. YOLO!!

 

[robertk328]

I shouldn’t be “talking” to him, I should be smacking him upside the head. I could’ve skipped a few meals at Pizza Hut and easily saved up the extra $100 for the higher-storage model. But I was playing it safe. Never again. YOLO!!

lol