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Geek Culture / Flappy Birds....really? Are people really doing this!?

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JLMoondog
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 17:58
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So I like to cruise my local craigslist for good deals and last night I started to come across ads such as these:

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/ele/4330316324.html

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/ele/4330366736.html

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/ele/4330226494.html

What!!?? o.o Words cannot describe the stupidity in these ads...So I did some research and found these....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhone-5s-64GB-Space-Gray-T-Mobile-Smartphone-Unlocked-Flappy-bird-/121273324557?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item1c3c74140d

http://www.ebay.com/itm/iPhone-5-64Gb-Black-With-Flappy-Bird-/131114470467?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item1e87080c43

http://www.ebay.com/itm/iPhone-5S-Space-Gold-Verizon-Flappy-Bird-installed-/321320876805?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item4ad0377b05

What!?? My mind is simply blown! I've played Flappy Birds. At best it's a throw-away, on the john, game. It was recently pulled from the app store...but does that really warrant it such a high price tag?? Is this a new 'hipster' trend I just don't understand??

...

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The Next
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 18:05
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I know I am as shocked as you as to why people will do this, they could hire a dev studio to make a better version from scratch for that kind of money.

Windows 7 Pro, Intel i7 3.8 GHz, 16GB DDR3, NVIDIA GTX 780 4GB Superclocked\r\n\r\nView the beta TGC forum progress at the url below View beta forum
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Matty H
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 18:18
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That's quite interesting.

Something in the geeky/techy world does not have to be good to have value. It just needs to have a good story behind it and low availability. Though I am still a little surprised at this

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Van B
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 19:05
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It's pretty crazy how people react to marketing bull.

Flappy Birds is old old old news on iOS, the game was clearly nearing it's old age in terms of revenue.

I think he pulled it to either:

a) Sell it to the highest bidder.
b) Promote his next game.

Let's not forget he has another 2 popular games, he clearly isn't new to this, indie development has absolutely no place for martyrs. I would not be surprised if this was the work of some shady promotions company, the same people who bribe celebrities to promote products they've never even seen. It's just the first step in a bigger plan IMO.

I wonder how long it'll be before the next incarnation with in-app purchases and all shows up. Really, people should just get the billion other tappy tappy games.

I am the one who knocks...
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Quik
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 19:07
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Quote: "a) Sell it to the highest bidder."


He did say he wasnt gonna sell it.



Whose eyes are those eyes?
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Phaelax
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 19:13
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I just found out last weekend what flappy bird even was. I can already find several clones for free on the app store.

Wish I installed the original flappy bird while it was available, because I'd have no problem selling my iPhone on CL for an exuberant amount of money.

http://zimnox.com
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mr Handy
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 21:37
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Quote: "I have an almost new Motorola HD Verizon phone that I am selling with the famous Flappy Bird Game installed. This game is no longer available and some phones are going for $20,000 or more. I am asking $3500 OBO! I AM WILLING TO NEGOTIATE ALOT. This won't last long."

Sounds good for the real exclusive. I hope he sells a real phone, not a photo of it, you know. I'll buy IPhone Gold for $10500 - pretty cheap for a golden phone. Oh and the exclusive game of course.

All your TGC are belong to us.
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nonZero
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 22:30 Edited at: 12th Feb 2014 22:31
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I still do not know what Flappy Birds are (nor do I particularly wish too however it is inevitable that I shall). Are they angry? I was under the impression all birds flapped. Actually, I'll sure all dudes flap too...

Seriously, why pay so much? Just grab a torrent and sideload if the availability is low. The idiocy of human beings never ceases to amaze me: 2500 on a phone you don't even need to gain access to some stupid app (I'm assuming, given the name, it's stupid. I shall Wikonfirm this later) while people lie dying of illness, starvation and violence. This is amazing.

Formerly nonZero
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Van B
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 22:38
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If only I'd bought some bitcoins...

I could buy a free game for umpteen grand.

I could cloud fund someone elses impossible dream that'll never happen.

I could invest in Netflix, right before everyone everywhere has watched everything on Netflix.

I could spend a fortune on new teeth and videoblog for a living then complain when anything at all threatens it.


It's a crappy decade already.

I am the one who knocks...
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easter bunny
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Posted: 12th Feb 2014 22:40
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I've been considering buying a few cheap androids and installing torrent versions of Flappy Bird on them then selling them for a grand each, but decided against

btw you can even play it online here http://www.fettspielen.de/spiel/flappy-bird
A high score of 703?!?!? Get a life people


Audacia Games - Facebook
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Libervurto
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Posted: 13th Feb 2014 10:59 Edited at: 13th Feb 2014 11:04
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Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? One of those phones sold for $50,000! How on earth do people even get that kind of money if they are willing to throw it away on a piece of absolute crap?

Out of curiosity I went onto ActionAid and found out that that would be enough to sponsor sixteen children for ten years! That would see nearly all of these kids through their education.


Or you could buy this car:


Okay now I made the car seem ridiculous too!

Formerly OBese87.
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nonZero
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Posted: 13th Feb 2014 18:49
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I came up with a good one after thoroughly investigating the gameplay and graphics of this game: "Idiots of a feather flap together".

Formerly a cat
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Phaelax
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Posted: 13th Feb 2014 22:54
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Though I think that particular mercedes is more like $100k or more, I get your point.

http://zimnox.com
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greenlig
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Posted: 14th Feb 2014 22:22
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But guys, you haven't played FlapMMO yet! No wonder you don't understand! http://flapmmo.com/

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Libervurto
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Posted: 15th Feb 2014 01:44 Edited at: 15th Feb 2014 02:20
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That actually makes it great! It's like survival of the fittest.

I got to the point where only 13 people had reached before. Well that's my personal achievement done for the day.

Formerly OBese87.
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easter bunny
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Posted: 15th Feb 2014 02:07
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I love the mmo version lol


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nonZero
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Posted: 15th Feb 2014 10:46
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Please tell me this doesn't exist. Please tell me I'm still asleep.

Formerly a cat
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Phaelax
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Posted: 15th Feb 2014 20:05
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I'm pretty sure the height of the jump is bigger than the gap between pipes, thus making the game impossible and pointless.

I also want to throw hammers at things now.

http://zimnox.com
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Libervurto
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Posted: 15th Feb 2014 21:25
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Quote: "I'm pretty sure the height of the jump is bigger than the gap between pipes, thus making the game impossible and pointless."

Then how are other people doing it?
I think the jump is a few pixels smaller than the gap, but I think the idea is to jump so that the top of your curve is beyond the pipe.

I can see why this is addictive, but then so is my random name generator. Should I be selling that? 0.05€ per name generated.

I have heard on certain podcasts a discussion about the poor quality/lack of content in popular games like Flappy Bird and will this have a damaging long term effect on the games industry? I can see the point that if it's profitable for a company to make Crappy Bird then why would they bother with something higher budget and risky? And if a generation grows up playing cow clickers like Farmville wont they have a lower expectation of videogames?

Formerly OBese87.
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nonZero
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Posted: 15th Feb 2014 23:10
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FTR, I am patenting the names "Flappy Turd", "Crappy Turd" and... darn someone bear me to Crappy Bird. Reason this sells is simple: influx of Casual Gamers into the marketplace. That is why nasty touch devices are taking over, why everything is adopting the metro-fail UI and why music on the radio sounds like a woman being strangled through a vocoder to the same 140bmp drum track with unimaginative synth chords sporadically pressed I'm between. Millennium ni youkouso, mina.

Formerly a cat
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Matty H
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Posted: 16th Feb 2014 00:09
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I must disagree. I think it presents a challenge, it takes no time at all to get into and you want to beat your last score. Then you get a rhythm, you notice an improvement in your ability and from that comes the enjoyment(addiction?).

The developer may have stumbled across this winning combination by accident, or maybe they are super smart. Either way, I don't think we should dismiss how good it is just because it is simple. The developer could have put in all kinds of goodies and unlocks, level progression etc etc etc and we may not be as harsh on it but the game probably would not be much better.

For me, many games today are more like experiences that you are walked through, any real challenge is lacking a lot of the time imo. This was a refreshing return to the basics and a reminder of why we started playing games back when there were just lines and basic shapes on the screen, happy face.

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wattywatts
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Posted: 16th Feb 2014 01:22
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So just download the apk, are people really this naive with tech?

New sig coming soon..
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Phaelax
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Posted: 16th Feb 2014 04:20
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Quote: "Then how are other people doing it? "

Cheat!

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Jeku
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Posted: 16th Feb 2014 06:07 Edited at: 16th Feb 2014 06:08
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I'm really happy for the guy who made Flappy Birds, considering he was pulling in about $50,000 a day from the ad revenue. Most developers can only dream about making a hit game in 3 days and making so much cash, not to mention he lives in Vietnam and could live like a king for the rest of his life.


Senior Developer - CBS Interactive Music Group
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nonZero
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Posted: 16th Feb 2014 09:21 Edited at: 16th Feb 2014 09:25
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I don't have a problem with the dev, more power to him. My criticism is at the consumer, s/he's the one flapping. At the end of these day devs go pro only for two reasons; money or passion. So really, it's the market that dictates the games. Most games on the indie scene seem to be following trends of their AAA counterparts. Occasionally a game like Braid comes along to challenge convention but games like that have no place in the mobile market. Mobile is practically made for casual gamers. So it's them who dictate the market and us devs who follow in the hopes of a better future -- or just a future period in some cases. I know I sound cynical but it's fact. I woke up from my artist's dream long ago after doing time in a slum. Besides, if you don't make Flappy Turd, someone else will. That's how it is. Blame is entirely on consumers. That's why I stopped listening to the radio years ago; consumers were demanding noise and I wanted to listen to music.

Formerly a cat
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Seditious
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Posted: 17th Feb 2014 04:26
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Quote: "I'm pretty sure the height of the jump is bigger than the gap between pipes, thus making the game impossible and pointless."


The trick is to make sure you're falling when you start passing between the pipes, so that by the time you reach the height of the top pipe from the jump you have moved past it.
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Jeku
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Posted: 17th Feb 2014 10:26
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Quote: "That's why I stopped listening to the radio years ago; consumers were demanding noise and I wanted to listen to music."




I stopped listening to radio about 15 years ago, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "noise" as opposed to "music". That's just elitist.


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nonZero
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Posted: 17th Feb 2014 12:14
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But I AM elitist... We all need our character flaws =D

ver7.5
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Phaelax
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Posted: 18th Feb 2014 03:49
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I still can't fathom a good reason why someone would pull their app when they were making $50k per day! (source please?) At that much money, even in the US I could live like a king! Oops, wrecked my mercedes, I'll just wait til tomorrow and get a new one...

http://zimnox.com
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easter bunny
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Posted: 18th Feb 2014 04:22
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He's still making the money...


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Quik
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Posted: 18th Feb 2014 08:09
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Quote: "I still can't fathom a good reason why someone would pull their app when they were making $50k per day! (source please?) At that much money, even in the US I could live like a king! Oops, wrecked my mercedes, I'll just wait til tomorrow and get a new one..."


Welp, the most likely reasonings would be unwanted attention, as far as I understand - he never intended to have that happen, so now he has a lot of attention aimed at him, negative and positive - he's perhaps just not ready or good at dealing with that.

(Total biscuit addressed this a few vids back, I think he makes quite a good light at it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=NG_F7GK8xRY#t=361
^
link to that video



Whose eyes are those eyes?
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greenlig
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Posted: 18th Feb 2014 23:04
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Quote: "I must disagree. I think it presents a challenge, it takes no time at all to get into and you want to beat your last score. Then you get a rhythm, you notice an improvement in your ability and from that comes the enjoyment(addiction?).

The developer may have stumbled across this winning combination by accident, or maybe they are super smart. Either way, I don't think we should dismiss how good it is just because it is simple. The developer could have put in all kinds of goodies and unlocks, level progression etc etc etc and we may not be as harsh on it but the game probably would not be much better.

For me, many games today are more like experiences that you are walked through, any real challenge is lacking a lot of the time imo. This was a refreshing return to the basics and a reminder of why we started playing games back when there were just lines and basic shapes on the screen, happy face."


Agree with this entirely. It's a refreshing game, with exactly the right amount of polish. Very, very few people here have made a game this tight. It isn't as easy as it looks!

Quote: " At the end of these day devs go pro only for two reasons; money or passion."


No grunt makes money in the games industry You get a below average salary because you love what you do! If you happen to strike very, very lucky, you will make money. Otherwise, all you make are ends meet!

ZacDuff.com
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easter bunny
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Posted: 18th Feb 2014 23:44
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I think he just got lucky, 'accidentally' made a good game.
But it is in fact a good game. It brings the main Game making mojo to the ultimate: Easy to Learn, Hard to Master


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nonZero
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Posted: 19th Feb 2014 09:42 Edited at: 19th Feb 2014 09:45
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Maybe it\'s hard for me to see value in it because I always hated these types of games. I hardly ever played games for score, it was always about progressing the story, discovering something new, getting see what the next world was like or perfecting my combat style for me and highly repetitious games just annoyed me. Things like Mario (the first side-scroller) were amusing for a while because levels, enemies and scenery varied. There were hidden extras that included three warp-zones, one of which was a trick. Games I really enjoyed had to be stimulating. Rockman (Mega Man in the US) was probably the ultimate game on the Famicom/NES. Not only did it have the tightest controls of any game I\'ve played to date but it had six, later eight, enemies with unique AI, and unique powers you could aquire before going up against the big boss which was a plot twist on Rockman 4. Now, on the other hand, Tetris quickly grew boring and I only found Pacman amusing my first time playing.

What I\'m getting at is repetitive games bore me. Sure Lode Runner was repetitive but I enjoyed it because every level presented a unique challenge, that was either problem solving, agility or both -- that and it had a level editor which allowed my diabolical creations. I guess for me a game has to be interesting, fun or have an immersive plot like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, etc. In other words I\'m speaking subjectively and I admit it, but this is the sort of game I would\'ve traded some sucker as a kid to get the next Rockman, if any family member had bought it for me.

ver7.5
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