Zomby-eyed and half-awake. That was how one of my labmates appeared when I saw her smiling by herself and tapping on her phone (FYI she just had an overnight doing experiments or maybe busying herself with facebook and movie marathons). I sat in front of a desktop near to where she is and I checked my e-mail. I can hear familiar sounds of kung fu kicks from arcade games and every now and then I can hear Super Mario getting coins from the air and then finally I heard a kick landing into the other opponent. What was that, super mario and king of fighters?
So why in the world did such a simple game became popular?
1. Simple
The game is simple. Every one who have played the game knows that. It's not as complicated as say PES (the football game I play). Just navigate the pipes and you're good to go. In addition to the simple concept of Flappy Bird, the graphics is also very simple. You have a pixelated and obese bird, a static background and some pipes which have a constant distance between ends but varying heights.
2. A game that does not let you win
We've been used to games that we usually win - racing games, tower defence, RPGs, etc.. All of the games that we play were designed to have solutions, they were designed to let us win and feel good and for a moment make us achieve something. Just earlier, I thrashed Bayern Munich using Juventus with a five goal difference in PES 2014. So games really make us win (virtually) and make us feel good and it invites us to play some more to win more. With Flappy Bird, no one wins. There's no second, third, new stage, unlocked series or whatever new. It's just plain and simple and it also makes you crave for that one more pipe to surpass your best record.
Why was it destined to flop?
Given that Flappy Bird is so simple and it gives you nothing else new, it was destined to flop in the long run. Though many people still play it, myself included, the game's original appeal has already passed. As I've said, the game is simple but the gaming industry has set the standards so high nowadays with mind blowing graphics and exciting story lines and Flappy Bird does not offer such factors.
Flappy Bird is still popular despite the game being pulled out from playstore and itunes. In fact, the game's developer still receive a hefty paycheck due to the ad impressions that the game generates. And if for some reason you uninstalled your Flappy bird, you can still resurrect it since it's in your app list in Play Store or if you were able to sync your apple product to your pc, then it should also be in your app list in itunes.
Tip:
Want to increase your score? Play Flappy bird on tablet. I've seen one who navigated 200+ pipes. I was able to navigate through 79 pipes after playing in my brother's tablet.
Before going to my area, I was able to catch a glimpse of what she was playing. A colored blob with small wings and pouty lips (it took me awhile to realize that that thing is a bird) paddling in the air navigating pipes and once that thing hit the pipes, oh yeah it's game over! It was a simple game and I was confident that I can outrun my labmate's 79 pipes. I was able to try the game in her phone and it took me awhile to finally get through one pipe.
Fast forward weeks and weeks and weeks after that and that game called "Flappy bird" was nowhere to be found in google's playstore after topping the charts for several weeks. A statement from Dong Nguyen, the developer of Flappy Bird read:
I am sorry 'Flappy Bird' users, 22 hours from now, I will take 'Flappy Bird' down. I cannot take this anymore.
— Dong Nguyen (@dongatory) February 8, 2014
Popular it maybe, the game proved to be a double-edged sword for Dong Nguyen as many users curse the game.So why in the world did such a simple game became popular?
1. Simple
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| Flappy Bird game. Just tap to control the fat bird's flight. |
2. A game that does not let you win
We've been used to games that we usually win - racing games, tower defence, RPGs, etc.. All of the games that we play were designed to have solutions, they were designed to let us win and feel good and for a moment make us achieve something. Just earlier, I thrashed Bayern Munich using Juventus with a five goal difference in PES 2014. So games really make us win (virtually) and make us feel good and it invites us to play some more to win more. With Flappy Bird, no one wins. There's no second, third, new stage, unlocked series or whatever new. It's just plain and simple and it also makes you crave for that one more pipe to surpass your best record.
 |
| It does not let you win. My highest score was 79 in my brother's tablet. |
Given that Flappy Bird is so simple and it gives you nothing else new, it was destined to flop in the long run. Though many people still play it, myself included, the game's original appeal has already passed. As I've said, the game is simple but the gaming industry has set the standards so high nowadays with mind blowing graphics and exciting story lines and Flappy Bird does not offer such factors.
Flappy Bird is still popular despite the game being pulled out from playstore and itunes. In fact, the game's developer still receive a hefty paycheck due to the ad impressions that the game generates. And if for some reason you uninstalled your Flappy bird, you can still resurrect it since it's in your app list in Play Store or if you were able to sync your apple product to your pc, then it should also be in your app list in itunes.
Tip:
Want to increase your score? Play Flappy bird on tablet. I've seen one who navigated 200+ pipes. I was able to navigate through 79 pipes after playing in my brother's tablet.
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