Have you heard this French children’s nursery rhyme? It’s about child singing to a skylark about how he will pluck the skylark’s head, its beak, its eyes, its nose and other such parts of its body. The reason the child sings this to an innocent bird is because the bird’s singing woke him up.
You think that’s taking it too far? I am willing to do it because this one flappy bird won’t fly through pipes that look like stolen from Mario & Luigi.
Yes, that’s right. I am talking about the new fad that is taking over the gaming market- FLAPPYBIRD. On the looks of it, it is a very simple game. You are supposed to tap on your screen to make the bird fly through a course of pipes that comes in its way. In fact, it is quite reminiscent of the 8-bit era with its pixilated animations and uncomplicated routine. It’s a bird, and you are meant to make it fly- what could be hard, right? Wrong.
This app has gone viral, though it was released back in May 2013.
The one thing that is making this app go viral is that fact that only very skilled players get the score to go to double figures. You can barely play it for seconds without throwing your phone across the room in major irritation.
The interwebz are full of elaborative and exhaustive reviews of the game, discouraging potential buyers from installing the app. A simple built-in “Rate” button, one of only a few in the game besides “Start,” “Score,” and a pause button which you’ll probably die if you try to use, allows you to share your frustrations on the app store, while its “Share” counterpart helpfully lets you tell your friends on Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email. “This sucks! You have to try it,” is how those invites generally read. However, it seems its these reviews that are motivating purchasers to go for it.
To date, some 300,000 users have rated Flappy Bird, many leaving lengthy reviews with suggestions, requests, and general venting: “The only reason why I have not yet deleted this horrid game is the overwhelming sense of relief and accomplishment I feel when I finally beat a high score,” writes one. “I assume this feeling will soon consume you, too, but don’t say you were never warned.” “Let me start by saying DO NOT download flappy bird…People warned me about it, but I didn’t care,” wrote another. “My life is over. Your life is over. The world is over,” said a third with dramatic flair.
So if you are looking to utilize a few minutes here or there, with something unnecessary and kind of fun; go for Flappybird. It is useful for that purpose. Plus you won’t last that long. Frustration lasts for a while, though. This game made me realize that.