Flappy Bird

So far there must be hundreds of notes and analysis trying to explain Flappy Bird’s situation. At the same time also there were released in digital markets for mobile platforms and tablets endless amounts of Flappy Bird’s clones of the most varied styles.

These are some things I can infer

1. Playability is everything.

I am glad to know that in 2014 having awesome video cards with incredible processing power for better graphics and more realistic, a game that has a 2D graphics and is quite simple can be such a success.

2. There may be a game that is a super successfully and I might not like it.

It is as simple as that. Flappy Bird did not seem funny to me, maybe it is a matter of personal sensation, I do not know… If someone had shown me Flappy Bird before hitting the market I would have said that it won’t succeed. So now you know, if you ask for a game before hitting the digital markets and I say no, you have a great chance to make it a success.

3. There still are personal developments.

Perhaps this was best demonstrated in the film Indie Game: The Movie, but it is something I have been saying for years. The Internet and mobile platforms have allowed small developers to release games which are good, fun, and why not, successful games.

What I do not understand about Flappy Bird

How could a game succeed? It is not original at all and has large amounts of previous similar games. There is also an Excel runner like game where the player must fly a helicopter, which is almost the same mechanics. An horizontal runner of a single button. If I have to pick a winner of such games, I think it would be the Jetpack Joyride. Fast, beautiful music, fun upgrades, but definitely would not be Flappy Bird. Will be like our friend Kirby Ferguson says: Everything is a Remix. Somehow Flappy Bird is a remix.
Another thing difficult to understand is the fanaticism of the players, who even threatened the poor (well, he should now have a few more dollars) Vietnamese developer for having removed the game from Google Play.

Finishing up…

Everything is possible in the world of gaming, and that’s great. So my developer friends: start creating, continue creating, dream, leave your routine work and start creating a game! Be free, be happy.

References

Flappy Bird

Jetpack Joyride

Chopper Challenge – Game for Excel

Download Chopper Challenge Game for Excel