You tap, you flap and you die. Then you do it all over again.
Welcome to the simple, complicated and addictive world of “Flappy Bird.” Well, at least if you downloaded the free app on your smartphone before Feb. 16. The no-frills phone game has since been taken down, but that has not stopped the enthusiasm for the round yellow bird with big eyes and no tail.
The developer of the popular phone app, Dong Nguyen, told Forbes Magazine he decided to pull the game because the sleep deprivation that resulted from the guilt “Flappy Bird” brought had disrupted his comfortable lifestyle. The news took many by surprise since it was only last May when the game first became available.
The appeal of “Flappy Bird” is its simplistic structure, said Rafael Perez, a computer science student at DePaul University.
“The only control is tapping the screen, making it almost no effort to learn,” Perez said. “Plus, it is surprisingly challenging given how simple it is. This was a genius idea from a programmer’s view because the game play and graphics are very minimal to make.”
The game consists of tapping a phone screen in order to propel a pixilated bird upwards. The player must maneuver the tiny bird through a series of seemingly unending green pipes. The goal is to pass as many pipes as possible without hitting them. The player receives a point for each pipe that is passed. If the bird hits a pipe or drops to the ground, it’s game over.
Although the concept appears to be simple and straightforward, the game is notorious for its difficulty. Many players have spent as much as an hour attempting to reach a score of five or six.
Ruby Chavez, Chicago native, said one of the largest challenges is beating her own high score.
“I play it because it’s a challenge for me. It challenges me to beat my high score. It does frustrate me that, once you get a high number, you feel accomplished but then you die on one or three when you had just gotten to 35,” Chavez said.
Since Nguyen’s announcement, the app has been removed from the App Store and the Google Play stores. “Flappy Bird” can still be played on devices if it was installed prior to its take down.
In the Forbes interview, Nguyen said that his decision to shut down the game stemmed from the addictiveness that it caused. But it was too late for some. After the app was pulled, people took to eBay to try to auction off iPhones with “Flappy Bird” pre-installed. These phones were selling for as much as $100,000.
Nguyen said he intended to design a game to be played for a few minutes in a relaxed state, but instead, it became an addiction. The best way to solve the problem was to take down the game, he said.
Vanswa Ruel Garbutt, senior computer science major, is a big fan of “Flappy Bird,” but he believes Nguyen made the right decision.
“He couldn’t handle the stress that a smash hit brings. I think for his own sanity it was a good decision,” Garbutt said. “Flappy Bird” has been downloaded more than 50 million times since its inception. Nguyen was earning $50,000 a day in advertising revenue. Despite the game’s popularity, or rather because of it, Nguyen decided to pull the game at the height of its success.
“Flappy Bird’s” popularity is due to the game allowing people to compete with one another, according to Nguyen.
Garbutt noted the game is simple, yet very competitive.
“It is accessible by anyone with its easy to understand, yet competitive game play. People love a challenge, and the difficulty that comes from doing something so simple allows for a lot of people to become challengers,” Garbutt said.
A player is able to compare scores on Apple’s Game Center and Google Play games. Players can also share their scores on Facebook and Twitter.
Michael Edward Gibson is a Chicago Public High School teacher. His job forces him to spend most of his time surrounded by young, avid cellphone users.
“It is straightforward in its game play, yet can be challenging and addictive,” Gibson said. “As a teacher, I hear students often say, ‘What’s your high score in “Flappy Bird”?’ to each other. Everyone wants to do better than someone else or better than their own previous score,” he said.
The green pipes and pixilated bird bear a striking resemblance to those of “Super Mario Bros.” Nguyen said this was coincidental. The design seems to have been what drew many players to the game.
“Nonetheless, I find the game slightly annoying because of its overblown popularity, but as an avid lover of video games I can appreciate its vintage qualities such as the simple design, Mariostyle pipes and pixilated graphics,” Gibson said.
How long will the “Flappy Bird” trend last? Perez believes that the game’s popularity will soon fade.
“For a game to remain popular, it will need to improve as time goes by,” Perez said. “Just like how ‘Angry Birds’ made so many different versions, it helps keep it fresh, yet they didn’t change the mechanics of the game.”
“But ‘Flappy Bird’ is already very simple and hard, making it a challenge to improve it without changing its mechanics that made it popular to begin with. I give it a few months,” Perez said.
“Flappy Bird” addicts have nothing to worry about. Dozens of apps mimicking “Flappy Bird” have been created since the game was pulled from the market. Even “Sesame Street” has its own version of “Flappy Bird” called “Flappy Bert.” Although “Flappy Bird” has flown the coop, there are still other games to play.