
An open letter to Dong Nguyen, creator of Flappy Bird - gwendolynregina
http://www.techinasia.com/open-letter-flappy-bird/
======
chasing
This article is weirdly condescending. "Buck up and keep coding, little
feller!"

~~~
theknown99
Almost every time something is labeled as "an open letter", you can be sure
it's going to be condescending self righteous egotistical BS.

~~~
Ideka
Really? Why do you think that is? Do you have some examples?

~~~
theknown99
"An open letter" is used when you've decided that you're really important and
everyone really needs to read your opinion.

------
moocowduckquack
An open letter comparing him to Dave Chapelle is probably not a good plan,
given his statement:

 _Press people are overrating the success of my games. It is something I never
want. Please give me peace._

------
ritchiea
This letter misses that Dave Chappelle had serious concerns about the cultural
impact of his work. He feared that actual racists were laughing at his racial
humor that was rooted in a critique of the racism he experienced in his life.
Chappelle's break down was much more than feeling over burdened by attention.
The flappy bird dev just seems to be upset that he put something out into the
world & people are responding to it.

------
dpcan
Everyone is assuming they have any idea that they know what Dong's real
problem is. He put out a few tweets. A few clues (at best). Ultimately we have
know idea what kind of mental (or other) anguish this attention, money, and
fame is causing him.

Don't try to encourage him to do something he clearly doesn't want to do
unless you know what you are truly asking of him.

------
lxlxlxlxl
Does anyone really grasp what it must be like to become somewhat famous or
rich overnight in a poor country? The amount of attention (normally bad) must
be horrible. What if the platforms that made this game possible to help a
developer make their success more manageable?

------
blueblob
I think it's a little different in that Dave Chappelle was on TV and people
knew him because they saw him. Dong Nguyen is a developer and while he will
still be famous it will be among a much smaller community (in my opinion).

~~~
krisgee
Dong Nguyen as a developer might be a smaller name but I guarantee you the
ability to put "from the developer of Flappy Bird" is going to have similar
effects to being TV famous.

------
seivan
Of course they want to keep him around, that's the only way those tech-news
get any attention.

This one in particular being in Asia means a lot of $$ for techninasia - not
that they effectivly give a shit about the product itself, but that it puts
eyes and attention to them and their spastic gossipy website.

------
deletes
You have put yourself out there and published a game. The fame, money and
problems come along with that naturally. If you learn to deal with it now, you
might be more successful in the future, but if you back off now there is not
chance of progress.

~~~
fennecfoxen
You assume this "progress" is desirable. Maybe the guy would prefer to take
his app store millions and retire in peace. :P

~~~
deletes
His twitter comments would disagree with that.

------
rocky1138
This situation reminds me a little of Notch.

Maybe we should have a meetup for introverted nerds who have become wildly
successful but have not found happiness with their success? When the event
happens we can turn off all the lights and talk in the dark.

~~~
kawsper
I think it seems like Notch enjoys his fame because it has allowed him to
focus on his own projects, and work with great people.

------
mehdim
By making Flappy Bird down , he is making his game a "Legend" by stopping at
the top of fame.(the virality will go down soon or late with no new versions)

About Branding and Video Game History,it is a really smart move.

------
Gurrewe
Why can't people just accept his decision? Let him do whatever he wants.

------
seba_dos1
What's the deal with this game anyway? It's nothing new, I was playing games
based on exactly the same, pretty popular idea, years ago. What's all the fuss
about?

------
manilafolder
Maybe he loves programming just for the sake of programming, not for sake of
earning money. Not all of us want to corrupt our souls.

~~~
SifJar
If that were the case, I can't help thinking he could have released the app
without the ads, or at least pushed out an update removing the ads at this
point, instead of removing it. I don't think this is about money.

