A few days after pulling Flappy Bird from iOS and Android, Dong Nguyen has resurfaced again, explaining he did it because the game turned out to be addictive. In one fell swoop he has taken on the suicide hoax rumor, and laid to rest continued speculation on why he took down the game.
First off, to clear the air, Nguyen has spent the past few days offline and resting. He really did feel a lot of discomfort from the game’s popularity, making it hard for him to get to sleep.
His fame is certainly not illusory, as Nguyen recently met Vietnam’s prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Having had the time to reflect, he does not regret his decision to remove the game.
This seems to be a case of the creator’s intent not matching what happened in real life. Nguyen explains that Flappy Bird was meant to be played when you are relaxing. However, perhaps Nguyen had not anticipated that the game is actually difficult to play for the layman because of its design. Subsequently, the game seemed to become viral over said difficulty, with players also making a trope out of writing long winded rants and descriptions in their reviews of the game.
Instead of becoming a source of relaxation as intended, the game has become addictive. Nguyen has expressly said he does not think the addictive nature of the game is a good thing and this is why he removed the game from the store. He has also taken back plans to make a sequel, although he will continue to make mobile games.
This story ends on a good note. In spite of the surprising adversities Nguyen ended up facing, he now feels more confident and free to make games that he likes. We look forward to seeing his future work. He may surprise us yet with a new viral hit, or a new direction.
