Two words that have as of late come onto the public’s vernacular, these two words that once were so harmless. They inspired no controversy! However, now…
Le Flappy Bird.
In case you haven’t noticed, Flappy Bird has been getting a lot of press lately. It used to be a game that you could download onto the iPhone for free. I downloaded it onto my dilapidated iPhone 3gs about a month ago. I’m only using this phone because I left my good phone on top of my car and drove away last month.
It’s a 2D scroller of a bird the shape of a rugby ball, bearing wings, navigating a maze of pipes a la Mario. You control the bird by making it flap every time you tap the screen, and it’s not nearly as responsive as you’d expect, first hundred times in my case. What’s more, every time the bird flaps its atrophied wings there’s a sound effect akin to the sound Bruce Lee’s kick would make through the air, until you’ve crashed into a pipe and it sounds like that kick finally landed, and it is immediately followed by a Debbie Downer descending whistle.
The makings of an addicting game.
This addicting game is so addicting that the game’s addicts scared Dong Nguyen, the addictive game’s developer. He decided to yank it off the app market because he was afraid of the negative effects of prolonged use. That left a select few with access to the game, those who had it installed on their phone at the time will be able to keep it.
This has inspired owners to sell on eBay their phones and devices that contain the game. Some are receiving thousands of dollars.
Speaking of money, Nguyen is still raking in $50,000 a day from ad commissions generated by the game. Also, developers trying to capitalize off of the game’s success have released copycat games, some laced with malware. So be careful people.
I do recommend a legit Flappy Bird alternative. Flappy Bert!
And if you have some check out this BuzzFeed post that encapsulates the essence of a true Flappy Bird addiction.
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