<p dir="ltr">When I began seeing the buzz about Flappy Bird a couple weeks ago, I thought little of it. Following people who are in the games industry can lead to plenty of weird trends popping up on my radar, whether it is people going crazy over Ridiculous Fishing or Threes, you never know what little indie game is going to arise from nowhere. Sometimes they stick around for a while, integrating themselves into the deep, dark rabbit hole that is mobile gaming. Other times they disappear as quickly as they arrived. I’ve given up trying to predict which games will follow which path.</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.99 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135805 " id="quads-ad135805" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p dir="ltr">No one could have predicted the path that Flappy Bird took, no one could have expected the ferocity that swirled around it and the passion that a little game about a yellow bird trying to dodge its way through a series of green pipes could inspire. The internet is always a hotbed of opinion and it loves finding a target in success it believes is undeserved. These incidents have long been documented and not worth getting into. For one reason or another, be it art assets, difficulty, or the sheer ridiculousness of the game’s success, creator Nguyen Ha Dong found himself under fire from the vicious mouth of the internet.</p>
<p dir="ltr">One can only imagine what the whirlwind week in Dong’s shoes must have felt like. From doing an interview with The Verge, to being criticized on Kotaku, to having everyone from USA Today to Forbes covering the shocking takedown of his game. Many people pointed at the money the Vietnamese game creator must have made over the last few weeks, and speculated he’s probably laughing all the way to the bank. That being said, Dong’s move to pull the game would indicate a deeper motivation.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Flappy Bird is elementary in its simplicity. Players tap the screen to control the height of the titular character and try to avoid getting grazed by the looming green pipes. Despite the premise, Flappy Bird is incredibly difficult due to wonky physics and the slightest touch of the pipes resulting in failure. It’s a stretch to call the game brilliant&#8211;or good&#8211;but its insane difficulty makes it the perfect time-killer as it won’t be long before you’re starting over. Love it or hate it, the loop of Flappy Bird got the job done and hooked plenty of players. That is why the decision to pull the game is so shocking. For all the hate, the game seemed to be successful, the reported $50,000 a day speaking for itself.</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.99 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p dir="ltr">While you might have only heard about Flappy Bird in the last few weeks, Flappy Bird was actually released in May 2013. People want to talk about overnight success, but Flappy Bird was a slow burn, quietly gaining traction until it’s rise to prominence this year. But like all success stories, fame can be a blessing and a curse. Nguyen Ha Dong seems to be a private person, people in the press report he is hesitant to do interviews. One of the few insights into his life and personality is his Twitter profile. Here you can find quotes of a man content and happy with his work with posts like, “A man only lives once and the best strategy is always to make most of it. Success is not the only reason for existence.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">So often when we think of game developers we think of the large personalities we see dominate stages at E3, boasting of their game’s features and how their titles will change the face of video games. We might also think of the independent developers you can meet at PAX Prime or East who are pridefully showing off their new game, desperate to cultivate expectation. We often don’t picture people sitting in an office alone, coding late at night. We don’t think about them reading their Twitter feed, filled with hate mail. We don’t think about them having to cope with becoming an international sensation. I know it sounds like, “Boo-hoo, I have accomplished more success in my life than anyone you know, feel sorry for me.” But many people don’t want that success, money or fame. Even fewer people really understand how to cope with it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Nguyen Ha Dong posted the follow statement shortly before announcing he was taking down Flappy Bird, “I can call &#8216;Flappy Bird&#8217; is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it.” He he also stated, “Press people are overrating the success of my games. It is something I never want. Please give me peace.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">I don’t think it is hard to imagine Nguyen Ha Dong as someone who seemed to enjoy making games and seeing people enjoy what he made. He never seemed like a shameless self-promoter, or a money-hungry copy-cat. The success of Flappy Bird seemed to humble him, the hype seemed to make him uneasy. He seemed to appreciate the frustration of his game and understand it was what brought people back, time and time again. So it brings us back to the question, what was it that drove Nguyen to remove the game?</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.99 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p dir="ltr">Given the man’s desire for privacy, we’ll likely never get a straight answer on why Flappy Bird had to disappear. Or maybe that same desire for privacy is the answer in itself. Maybe Nguyen just wanted the droves of hate mail to stop pouring in, maybe he felt uncomfortable seeing the ad revenue climb to a yearly salary. Maybe, after a week of interviews and high-profile articles, the man missed his old life. We don’t know, all we know is last Saturday, the game’s life was ended in a simple Tweet that read, “I am sorry &#8216;Flappy Bird&#8217; users, 22 hours from now, I will take &#8216;Flappy Bird&#8217; down. I cannot take this anymore.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">It’s hauntingly sad and straightforward. People will continue to speculate on what “this” is referring to. Regardless, I hope that Nguyen can find his happiness in games again. If a quiet life is what he’s after, I hope it’s what he gets. Maybe he will find joy in his next adventure as his most recent post says, “&#8230;I still make games.”</p>

<div class="essb_links essb_counter_modern_right essb_displayed_bottom essb_share essb_template_default4-retina essb_671971179 print-no" id="essb_displayed_bottom_671971179" data-essb-postid="52945" data-essb-position="bottom" data-essb-button-style="button" data-essb-template="default4-retina" data-essb-counter-pos="right" data-essb-url="https://www.explosion.com/52945/flappy-bird-blessing-curse/" data-essb-fullurl="https://www.explosion.com/52945/flappy-bird-blessing-curse/" data-essb-instance="671971179"><ul class="essb_links_list"><li class="essb_item essb_link_facebook nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F52945%2Fflappy-bird-blessing-curse%2F&t=Flappy+Bird%3A+A+Blessing+and+a+Curse" title="Share on Share" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F52945%2Fflappy-bird-blessing-curse%2F&t=Flappy+Bird%3A+A+Blessing+and+a+Curse&#39;,&#39;facebook&#39;,&#39;671971179&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-facebook essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_facebook"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-facebook" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M16 8.049c0-4.446-3.582-8.05-8-8.05C3.58 0-.002 3.603-.002 8.05c0 4.017 2.926 7.347 6.75 7.951v-5.625h-2.03V8.05H6.75V6.275c0-2.017 1.195-3.131 3.022-3.131.876 0 1.791.157 1.791.157v1.98h-1.009c-.993 0-1.303.621-1.303 1.258v1.51h2.218l-.354 2.326H9.25V16c3.824-.604 6.75-3.934 6.75-7.951"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Share</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_twitter nolightbox essb_link_twitter_x essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://x.com/intent/post?text=Flappy%20Bird%3A%20A%20Blessing%20and%20a%20Curse&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F52945%2Fflappy-bird-blessing-curse%2F" title="Share on Tweet" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://x.com/intent/post?text=Flappy%20Bird%3A%20A%20Blessing%20and%20a%20Curse&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F52945%2Fflappy-bird-blessing-curse%2F&#39;,&#39;twitter&#39;,&#39;671971179&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-twitter essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_twitter_x"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-twitter_x" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Tweet</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_pinterest nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Pin It" onclick="essb.pinterest_picker(&#39;671971179&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-pinterest essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_pinterest"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-pinterest" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" viewBox="0 0 32 32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M10.625 12.25c0-1.375 0.313-2.5 1.063-3.438 0.688-0.938 1.563-1.438 2.563-1.438 0.813 0 1.438 0.25 1.875 0.813s0.688 1.25 0.688 2.063c0 0.5-0.125 1.125-0.313 1.813-0.188 0.75-0.375 1.625-0.688 2.563-0.313 1-0.563 1.75-0.688 2.313-0.25 1-0.063 1.875 0.563 2.625 0.625 0.688 1.438 1.063 2.438 1.063 1.75 0 3.188-1 4.313-2.938 1.125-2 1.688-4.375 1.688-7.188 0-2.125-0.688-3.875-2.063-5.25-1.375-1.313-3.313-2-5.813-2-2.813 0-5.063 0.875-6.75 2.688-1.75 1.75-2.625 3.875-2.625 6.375 0 1.5 0.438 2.75 1.25 3.75 0.313 0.313 0.375 0.688 0.313 1.063-0.125 0.313-0.25 0.813-0.375 1.5-0.063 0.25-0.188 0.438-0.375 0.5s-0.375 0.063-0.563 0c-1.313-0.563-2.25-1.438-2.938-2.75s-1-2.813-1-4.5c0-1.125 0.188-2.188 0.563-3.313s0.875-2.188 1.625-3.188c0.75-1.063 1.688-1.938 2.688-2.75 1.063-0.813 2.313-1.438 3.875-1.938 1.5-0.438 3.125-0.688 4.813-0.688 1.813 0 3.438 0.313 4.938 0.938 1.5 0.563 2.813 1.375 3.813 2.375 1.063 1.063 1.813 2.188 2.438 3.5 0.563 1.313 0.875 2.688 0.875 4.063 0 3.75-0.938 6.875-2.875 9.313-1.938 2.5-4.375 3.688-7.375 3.688-1 0-1.938-0.188-2.813-0.688-0.875-0.438-1.5-1-1.875-1.688-0.688 2.938-1.125 4.688-1.313 5.25-0.375 1.438-1.25 3.188-2.688 5.25h-1.313c-0.25-2.563-0.188-4.688 0.188-6.375l2.438-10.313c-0.375-0.813-0.563-1.813-0.563-3.063z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Pin It</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_mail nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Email" onclick="essb_open_mailform(&#39;671971179&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-mail essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_mail"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-mail" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 60 60"><polygon points="60,50.234 60,9.944 39.482,30.536 " /><polygon points="0,9.941 0,50.234 20.519,30.535 " /><path d="M1.387,8.5l21.002,21.08c0.121,0.051,0.471,0.415,0.517,0.519l5.941,5.963c0.635,0.591,1.672,0.59,2.333-0.025l5.911-5.933c0.046-0.105,0.4-0.473,0.522-0.524L58.615,8.5H1.387z" /><path d="M38.07,31.954l-5.5,5.52c-0.73,0.68-1.657,1.019-2.58,1.019c-0.914,0-1.823-0.332-2.533-0.993l-5.526-5.546L1.569,51.5h56.862L38.07,31.954z" /></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Email</span></a></li></ul></div>
0 Comments