Game Description

Flappy Bird is a side-scrolling mobile game with 2D retro style graphics. The objective of the game is to direct a flying bird. The bird is flying towards right direction constantly while it has to avoid the pipes that blocks its way.

Gameplay Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQoJZuBwrkU

Figure 1

Own Experience

Lens of Elemental Tetrad

Aesthetic

I find the game graphics to be very cute. This is because that it uses retro style graphics to illustrate the game world. On one hand, it is a simplistic game hence complicated graphic effects become unnecessary. On the other hand, pixelated graphic style suggests that the game is very light-weighted and it is easy to get hands on.

Technology

Although the game does not have realistic graphics, it has relatively realistic physical engine. The motion of the bird is accurate and it corresponds to how I imagine it to be.

Mechanics

The rules and procedures of the game is very clear. A straight-forward instruction is given at the beginning of every game (See Figure 2). Before the game starts, user will see a bird floating up and down, locating at the center of the screen. The ground is moving towards left, indicating that the bird is flying towards right. The pre-game animation hints the goal of the game is to keep the bird flying forward. Another instruction is given to show user how to control the bird. A Tap sticker, a grey replica of the same bird and an upward arrow suggest that each tap will make the bird fly higher.

Figure 2

Story

The game has only one character – the bird. Throughout the game, there is only one event that is happening – the bird is flying towards right and it has to avoid the pipes that block its way. There is no clear storyline or branching of events. However, the different height and orientation of pipes makes the gameplay more dynamic.

Lens of Curiosity

The game triggers my curiosity. In the first few rounds, I was not able to get more than 10 passes (a.k.a score more thant 10 points). However, when I finally got more than 10 passes, I was awarded with a bronze medal. I wondered what I would get if I reached more than 20 passes, or even more. Additionally, I was curious whether the game has an end.

Lens of Skill vs Chance

The game is well balanced with skill and chance. It requires skills to get good results. During the game, I have to be concentrate and alert at all time to avoid the incoming pipes. However, sometimes chance does matter. As the height and orientation of the incoming pipes are randomly generated, a skilled player like me might also fall in front of the first pipe. The balance between skill and chance made me think that I am well equipped with the skill, and I was just unlucky sometimes. That thought motivated me to have another attempt.

Lens of Head and Hands

The game has a good balance of mental and physical elements. When I was playing the game, I was always mentally focused. I had to assess the risk of making the bird flying higher when a pipe was near – either too high or too low would make the bird crush onto the pipe. While being mentally focused, I had to make sure my hands execute the right command. The game challenged my brain-hand coordination. I could feel my hands shaking when my score was increasing.

Other’s Experience

Lens of Challenge

My friend watched me playing the game and he proposed to challenge me. The challenge in the game mostly happens between players. By listing the highest score at the end of the game, Players are motivated to play again to beat the highest score (See Figure 3). My friend said he kept on playing because he wanted to beat my record.

Figure 3

Lens of The Interest Curve

My friend was a first time player. At the first few trials, he could not even pass the first pipe. The experience was very demotivating for him. However, the interest curve raised rapidly once he picked up the skill. After a while, my friend got bored of the game as he could not make any further progress. The more he plays, the more impatient he got and the worse result he obtained. The interest curve dropped constantly as time progress.

Lens of Accessibility

My friend is a first time player. However, he knew how to play the game and understood the game objective naturally. One reason is that he had seen me playing before. The other reason is that the game is equipped with high accessibility. The starting screen provides instruction of how to interact with the system. The game graphic is pretty similar to Mario Brothers (See Figure 4). Both Flappy Bird and Mario Brothers are side-scrolling game. They share similar objectives – to direct the main character to move towards right. However, there is one confusion in this familiarity. In Mario Brothers, Mario can jump into the pipe to access other part of the world. In Flappy Bird, the bird has to avoid all the pipes.

Figure 4

Comparison and Learning Points

First of all, I learnt that players with different skill levels will have different playing experience. My friend is a first time player, hence he focused more on exploration. He paid more attention on the number of successful passings. He wondered what was going to happen if he broke my record. As for me, a relatively experienced player, I did not waste my focus on small details. I paid more attention on directing the bird.

Secondly, I discovered that player’s profile affects game experience. Though getting frustrated by the obstacles he encountered in the game, my friend requested to play again and again. As I recalled my gaming experience, in most of the cases, I played this game because I wanted to kill some time (eg. waiting for bus). Some players can get addicted to a game very easily, and some can not.

Thirdly, intuitive instruction in the game widens its audience base. A game with steep learning curve always loses new players at the beginning. For example, EVE Online is a great sandbox game. However, it does not have much player base due to its steep learning curve. Observing my friend playing Flappy Bird for the first time, I noticed that Flappy Bird has a very shallow learning curve. It is very easy to get hands on but mastering it requires many practices.

Lastly, I learnt the importance of testing the game with different players. By observing my friends playing the game, I got to access a different perspective. I am an experienced player hence my verdict on the game’s learning curve may not be accurate. My friend is a first time player, therefore his playing experience provided me more insights on how people get their hands on the game. By observing more than one people playing the same game, I was able to understand how gaming experience varies as player profile differs. It helped me to assess the audience base of the game.