

How Angry Birds really took off: 200m minutes a day spent playing it - kschua
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/how-angry-birds-really-took-off-200m-minutes-a-day-spent-playing-it-20110208-1akt5.html

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iamdave
I kind of wonder how that guy who made Crush The Castle feels about the
success of Angry Birds. Provided my timeframe isn't off, CtC was out and got a
lot of play and downloads (on the iPhone) a good year and a half before angry
birds even showed up.

The only MAJOR difference was the primary game mechanic; the projectile. CtC
used a two tap mechanism where you launched balls from a trebuchet, it was all
about timing. One tap to drop the weight, a second tap to release the ball.
Progress through the game, you get three balls (yellow birds). Progress
further, get bombs (black birds).

Suddenly, this Angry Birds game comes out, and the most noticeable difference
is that it's cuter, and uses a slingshot instead of a trebuchet. A quick
google search of the two brings up "Crush the Castle, Angry Birds set in
midevil times".

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chaosmachine
Artillery games go back a long, long way:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery_game>

Anyone who grew up with DOS probably remembers Gorillas.BAS and Scorched
Earth. These new games aren't much different.

In fact, aiming a projectile at a target is probably the oldest game in human
history:

[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870377970457607...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576074222543274268.html)

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6ren
Crush The Castle and Angry Birds are distinctive from those games, and similar
to each other, in that the structure to be destroyed is governed by physics,
which affects gameplay through domino-like knock-on effects.

However, I think there are several apart from Crush the Castle, particularly
as flash games, predating the iPhone. Physics-based games have become
commonplace.

It would be interesting to know why Angry Birds won though. I would guess it's
mostly the characters and presentation. i.e. design. Counts for a lot, perhaps
especially considering that it's a consumer product, and for the iPhone. The
gamplay mechanic slingshot vs. two-tap may have had an effect, by being
simpler, and, as always marketing, timing (more iPhones had been sold) and
luck. It would be interesting to know, but I can't see _how_ you'd know.

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chopsueyar
Angry Birds used an input based gesture that was unlike the mouse, and really
took advantage of the touchscreen gesture capabilities of the device AND
intuition of its user.

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trickjarrett
It's fascinating to see the balance the game's origin finds between
inspiration, perspiration and calculation. It seems, to many I'm sure, that
the game was a happy fluke that some company stumbled upon like the Beverly
Hillbillies.

Rovio made a strong calculated and risky move with the game which has payed
off 100 fold (more than that most likely.)

It is inspiring to see how masterfully the plan and move was made, like
watching a perfect move in Chess, or a well timed play in any sport.

Great read.

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greyman
What is so compelling about Angry Birds, you think? I completed the levels in
the Lite version, and then switched to other games like Demolish or Cat
Physics. I just don't get it why someone would play AB again and again...
doesn't it get boring after some time?

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nwomack
1 -- It's perfect for casual play. I have a _long_ commute that involves a
subway, a high speed train, and a taxi. I can play it for 1 minute, 5 minutes,
10 minutes. As a counterexample, another favorite game of mine is 'Tilt To
Live', but I can't just play it any time, anywhere, because I need a 10 minute
block of time before I start the level (technically I could pause it mid game
and come back later, but realistically I unpause and die). But with Angry
Birds, I can.

2 -- The 3-star system. You can beat the level trivially, but depending on the
level it is somewhere between moderately challenging to kick me in the pants
hard to get 3 stars on a level.

3 -- It's funny. the birds, the pigs, the sounds they make, the way stuff
crashes. I still snicker after countless hours played.

tl;dr - it's a near perfect combination of casual-play, challenge, and
hilarity

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chopsueyar
Let the 95 year reign of Angry Birds begin!

