The Flappy Bird Phenomenon

You’ve all heard of it by now, the most frustrating game ever made: Flappy Bird.

I’m no different than anyone else; someone told me not to download it, so naturally I did, and I’ve hated myself ever since. But while I despise the darn game, I have to give the creators some props. Flappy Bird is brilliant.

From it’s pixilated images to the realization that all you do is repeatedly tap the screen, Flappy Bird has to be the most simplistic game to ever pass the app store requirements. As someone who’s dabbled a fair bit in both computer science and graphic design, this game most likely took very little effort to make. The concept probably took longer than the execution. But somehow, the Flappy Bird creators are making $50 thousand in ad revenue every day while the rest of us are left cussing at a pixelated bird. Damn.

 

So why are we all obsessed? Ask anyone and they’ll tell you the game is awful, but then five minutes later they’ll be throwing their phone on the ground as that little yellow bird dive-bombs to its death.

My answer to the mystery? Flappy Bird brought back reality to gaming: sometimes you fall, sometimes you get zero points, and you don’t get a medal for trying. Game Over.

Our society is so concerned with making sure everyone feels included, everyone feels important, and everyone feels successful. And to some degree, that’s OK. Sometimes you need that reassurance of the participation trophy. But as Flappy Bird has capitalized on, we no longer know how to lose.

We are not a society that accepts failure, and when that happens, we get frustrated. So frustrated that we don’t stop trying, and we don’t give up. So frustrated that we keep playing Flappy Bird, despite how many times we’ve awkwardly cussed in public. The creators of Flappy Bird found a way to turn our passion for winning and inability to lose into a profit, and for that I think they’re brilliant. Even though I will forever hate them, because I’m one of the many who can’t stop.

What are your thoughts? Are you part of the Flappy Bird Phenomenon? Have you been able to stop? (For those who can’t stop and won’t stop, what’s your high score? Mine’s 32). I’d love to hear what your think!