Flappy Bird: AppStore sees new clone of Dong Nguyen's game every 24 minutes

Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Nyan Cat have replaced the bird in the different spoofs of the game

Kashmira Gander

Wednesday 05 March 2014 22:58

Flappy Bird was removed from the AppStore last month

Since Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen announced that he would remove his addictive game from the App Store and Google Play, game makers have been scrambling to replicate the buzz surrounding the original.

A month later, every 24 minutes a game inspired by Flappy Bird is uploaded on to Apple’s App Store.

As applications on the AppStore are only added between 3pm and 8am UTC, a batch of 14 Flappy Bird-esque games are sometimes added in a single hour.

The investigation by Pocket Gamer defined Flappy Bird clones as games where users must guide a character through an obstacle course of objects similar to the pipes in the original game, that hang from the ceiling or protrude from the ground.

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

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1/10In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

QWOP

Released: 2008. Created by developer Bennett Foddy, this 2D running game has some inexplicably awkward controls. While the location of the keys used to operate the athlete are close together to work the calves and thigh muscles, you'll soon find yourself pressing the keys to no avail as the athlete simply flops onto the ground. Nevertheless, despite its difficulty, the game helped Foddy's website reach 30 million hits, showing the vast reach the game has had.

foddy.net

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

Super Hexagon

Released: 2012. Created by Terry Cavanagh, Super Hexagon is a game that requires you to rotate a small triangle absorbed on the top of the hexagon without 'crashing'. At first, it may be difficult to discover what you actually have to do, with the game simply consisting of rotating hexagons. The game has six difficulties, a set of "normal" modes - Hexagon, Hexagoner, and Hexagonest - and a set of "Hyper" versions of those levels which are unlocked upon surviving for 60 seconds or more. As the difficulty increases, so does the likelihood that your iPhone will smash against the wall.

superhexagon.com

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

The Impossible Game

Released: 2009. Originally released on Xbox 360, The Impossible Game has just one control, tapping the screen to jump. The gameplay really is quite simple: you can control a fast moving square through a level, tapping to jump over objects at just the right time. However, even the most experienced gamer will struggle to cope with the number of 'fail' attempts at trying to move through the levels.

impossiblegame.org

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

Canabalt

Released: 2009. One of the first of the infinite-running type games where players navigate a series of oncoming obstacles Canabalt induces the kind of self-destroying sinking feeling you get when you're running into a series of obstacles yourself. Created by Adam Saltsman in 2009 and available on iOS, Playstation Portable and Android, the endless nature of this game means that the tradition of highest scores dominate the purpose of the game, with leaderboards allowing users to compare with the rest of the world.

YouTube

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

Battletoads

Released: 1991. Created by Tim and Chris Stamper, Battletoads presents itself as a one-player game but is widely remarked to be impossible to play alone. Bizarrely, you can play in co-op mode but instead of helping one another, players can damage their friends, making it nearly impossible to go through the level when players are close together.

YouTube

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

Ninja Gaiden

Released: 1988. The Ninja Gaiden series is regarded as one of the most difficult of all time in the industry of gaming. The storyline provides many twists and turns, with a cliffhanger being presented at the end of one game. As the PS4 was released in 2013, developers have opted to release a new title in the near future. With catchy music and an exciting story, the original NES title is one of the most celebrated, but has maintained the same level of complexity throughout.

thegamershub.net

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

Dark Souls

Released: 2008. Across all platforms such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, Dark Souls is a game that rewards a gamer's bravery and courage, while also penalising for costly mistakes, losing your progress if you die twice. One of the most difficult games ever made, it literally throws you into the deep end. Those who like some instructions before you start a game, forget it. Working out how it works is also part of the deal, and only expert gamers are expected to conquer this near-impossible game.

complex.com

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

Ironpants

Released: 2013. Following Flappy Bird's removal from the App Store, Ironpants has taken over as the most downloaded game on iTunes. Although it was created by a different developer, it's essentially a clone of Flappy Bird. However, rather than simply dropping, the Ironpants chracter floats for slightly longer but, if anything, it looks to be tougher than Flappy Bird.

iTunes

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

I Wanna Be the Guy

Released: 2007. Created by Michael O'Reilly, I Wanna Be the Guy is a 2D platform indie freeware game and represents everything that was good about early gaming, constructed as a difficult platform adventure. Starting off as 'The Kid', the player then finds themselves on a journey to becoming 'The Guy.' The ever-fragile Kid explodes in a shower of red pixels at the slightest brush from the game's many obstacles, from traditional spikes and bottomless pits, making it enjoyable while also infuriatingly frustrating.

In loving memory of Flappy Bird: 10 of the hardest games to break your thumbs on

ARMA II

Released: 2009. Only available on PC, many have criticised the ARMA series from Bohemia Interactive as far too realistic for it to be a game, which is inevitably a positive comment towards the graphics produced. Those expecting a game similar to the likes of Call of Duty and Battlefield will receive a nasty surprise, as ARMA II represents more of a military simulation that is bound to baffle the average gamer, with extensive manuals and life-like workouts.

Examples of copy-cats involve characters including a bird, a fish, a super goat, Nyan Cat, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Bear Grylls on a jet pack, Kanye West’s head, or the chief minister of the state of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.

Nguyen decided to take down his game off the internet 12 days after it reached number one on the AppStore, because he said it “ruin[ed] my simple life. So now I hate it”.

“Press people are overrating the success of my games. It is something I never want. Please give me peace,” he added.

Such was the void left by the short-lived game, phones on which it was installed were listed on eBay - with one bid reaching £50,000.

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