Why is angry birds such a good game?
Innovation is not a new thing in Scandinavian countries. Having worked for Nokia in the past I know that the Fins have a very special sense of humor and despite possessing a craving for quality that rivals some German ambitions, they also possess a sense of humor and can put things – even work – in perspective.
Thank god for Nokia’s resurrection by the way after their near dead-experience in the mobile phone market! Does this mean I will have to depart from my beloved iPhone in order to see something different?.. having Microsoft as a saviour seems an odd choice especially since Elvis (Bill) seems to have left the building..
So the fact that angry birds is a Finish invention to me is no surprise. What is a surprise.. is that the game is such a huge success for so many people. Arguably one could call it the most succesfull computer game ever. The question is; WHY?
I have compiled a number of reasons in a random order that might explain some parts of the immenense popularity of the game, let’s see whether you agree with them;
-the objectives in angry birds are so simple that NO manual or explanation is deemed necessary, or even available. Almost like the Apple products used to be. (does annyone still understand the amount of Yoda-jougling swipe movements that are available on the Ipad?) My three year old son is playing the game and almost forced me into buying it’s latest incarnation. I hate computer games where I have to read a manual on how to fly a plane if I just want to do some random shooting for ten minutes. In my oppinion a computer game that needs a manual is like art or poetry that needs the be accompanied by an explanation: it defies it’s purpose. Angry Birds doesn’t.
-as much as wel like to think otherwise, men kind as intelligent beings.. likes to destroy things. If we could do it unpunished.. maybe we would like to smash a few windows a day with a brick for good measure. That may sound excessive.. but then again that is what you do with Angry Birds isn’t it? Destroy as much obstacles and animals as you like while delving into your primal need to destroy things.
-one can be “good” in a game like Angry Birds (I am hopeless in computer games) but never bad. No matter how long it takes for you to finish a level, you will always destroy something hence the satisfaction is constantly there. You always get points, and some things always get smashed.
-no matter how good you are.. there are always new levels that seem to challenge the smuggness gained by the previous one. And you “love the sound of braking glass”.
-apart from destroying things.. we like throwing and shooting things as well. It’s not just your kid.. it’s you as well embarking on behaviour you have just told your five old is unacceptable.
-in an effort trying to justify ones’ childish behaviour, one could argue that trying to finish a level in Angry Birds is about trying to figure out the flaw in the design of building structures. There may come a day when an intelligence test at a job interview requires you to finish as much Angry Birds levels as you can.
-the game never takes long; it’s the addiction that becomes time consuming. Hence you can play it for five minutes – can you really?.. – or play it hours on end. (and before you know join Charlie Sheen in the Betty Ford clinic)
-some incarnations of the game can be played for free,- the policy on that still beats me. You can try it out and see whether you like it or not.. yeah right; as if anyone is resistant to the constant agony of yelling kids wanting more level.
-you can never die in the game, which means you never have to start all over from scratch which could be the most frustrating thing of many computer games. We play games as a celebration of life, which raises the central questions for many other computer games;
why would you want to enter a game to die?
