Flappy Bird Return Could be Soon: Dong Nguyen Tells Rolling Stone He's 'Considering' It
ByDong Nguyen removed Flappy Bird just as quickly as it blew up in popularity, but now he is considering bringing back the game that was making him rich.
In an in-depth interview with Rolling Stone, Nguyen said his job was to program location devices for taxis when he created a game inspired by his favorite Nintendo titles. Perhaps the inspiration was too much because many fans of the game accused Nguyen of stealing art from the Super Mario series.
This headline from gaming website Kotaku certainly did not help: "FLAPPY BIRD IS MAKING $50,000 A DAY OFF RIPPED ART."
Nintendo denied it intended to take any action against Nguyen and the game's creator said the same. In a series of Twitter posts, Nguyen said the instant rush of fame, criticism and the madness Flappy Bird seemed to incite was too much for him to handle.
"I was just making something fun to share with other people," Nguyen told Rolling Stone in his hometown of Hanoi, Vietnam. "I couldn't predict the success of Flappy Bird."
Like his favorite video games growing up, Nguyen wanted to make Flappy Bird simple, but challenging. He succeeded and all who played seemed to love posting their frustration with the game online, only furthering its popularity.
The game is simple, tap the screen to make the bird fly and navigate it through a series of pipes. Still, when a typical high score is less than 20 points, the game can easily be considered difficult.
Unimpressed with Angry Birds and the "crowded" feel it gave him, he wanted a game that people like him would want to play. He said Flappy Bird was intended so that people, who were busy and commuted a lot, could tap the screen with one hand and hold the train strap with the other.
"The bird is flying along peacefully," said Nguyen, "and all of a sudden you die."
The bird's demise is one of the few events in the game. First, Nguyen said he wanted to make the gravity extra intense and then, he would make the bird's death entertaining. He even entertained the idea of blowing the bird up like it died in a movie made by Quentin Tarantino.
Nguyen is 28 and still lives with his parents, who have no idea of his success because they "don't understand games." Since Flappy Bird was taken down, rumors flew of the real reason for it, clones of the game are uploaded every hour and Kotaku has even apologized for the accusation of plagiarism.
The dust may finally be settling and Nguyen has said he might consider bringing it back. He will likely not create a new version or even update the one he took down. If he brings Flappy Bird back, it will be with one small change, a "warning" that reads, "Please take a break."