Flappy Bird. The Avian rage inducer!

Long time no post folks... thought I would come talk a bit about...

Yes, it's that new hit sensation: Flappy Bird, also known as: Mario Bird - probably due to all the goddamn pipes!

This little game is as simple as simple gets. The graphics are cartoony and pixelated, and remind me very much of Tiny Tower, another game that can be quite addictive. This game however has a crux... it is tough as balls!

Well, actually, it is NOT hard to play, but it requires lots of concentration and any tiny mistakes result in a bird pancake and a great big GAME OVER sign in your face. I first heard about it on the 31st of January by one person raging about the difficulty of it on Facebook. The 1st of Feb seen a half a dozen more people putting up pics of their 'epic 7 point score'! and various other rants. Yes, this game can be that tough. I myself have managed to break the 40 point barrier about 4 times, with the following snap being my highest score to date...

Yeah... I think I got this score whilst sat in a gridlocked traffic jam for 30 minutes, how many times I seen this game over screen is inconceivable!

(Click it... go on, you know you want to!!)

Anyway, this game was released almost a year ago by Vietnam based developer: Nyugen Ha Dong. You control a small bird that flaps its wings with each tap, halting any descent and propelling it in a consistent and predictable arc up into the air then back down. Your task is to Oscillate this little avian clutz through a randomly  generated sequence of Mario-Pipes. Hit one and it is game over. Supposedly there are multiple levels and difficulties, but I have not seen any way to choose to change anything, and have clearly not advanced far enough through the game to unlock anything. It is challenging, it is entertaining, frustrating and is probably one of the most Viral games I have seen.

What made this go Viral? It has been around for the best part of a year now. It may seem obvious, but with the release date on the Android Apps store of the 30th of January - I think this is what got the ball rolling, and social media (Facebook and Twitter, I'm looking at you!) done the rest. It took the podium for most downloads of January 2014, surpassing any Angry Birds or Candy Crush downloads, showing just how quickly this was picked up by the general populous.

I am left wondering how long until the apocalypse occurs, with millions of players indulging in some Flappy Bird (Or 'Fappy Bird' as one infuriated friend of mine called it), and then rage quitting when they are 2 points behind their best score from  flapping into a pipe in an anxious adrenaline fuelled mis-tap. It really is that easy to screw up, it is relentless. I think this effect us surely part of the key to its addictiveness. It is really quick to play a quick game or two, it is simple (My 5 year old son was in hysterics at watching the bird hit a pipe and dive-bomb into the ground with a splat.) and you get REALLY engrossed. Your heart races, your brow sweats, and BAM, you hit the second pipe every third game...

One last thought... I wonder just how much ad-revenue this free to play game generates from that little ad-banner at the top... People dont tend to click ads, despite how safe they are... but with so many people playing, the mis-clicks alone must be worth thousands!

Ok, enough ranting for now. Go download it if you have not already, you will likely regret it, but it will be a fun ride!

-Velk