TOW #19 - Be one with Flappy Bird: The science of 'flow' in game design by Nick Statt

The game looks simple. The instruction is easily understandable. The game play? Mind-blowing. Meet Dong Nguyen's mobile app game phenomenon Flappy Bird. Making gamers addicted since 2013. Source: news.cnet.com

                It's frustrating as hell, yet pretty much everyone plays it. Dong Nguyen's mobile app game, Flappy Bird, is so addicting to the point where Nguyen took it off from the app store, and in Nick Statt's writing, Be one with Flappy Bird: The science of 'flow' in game design, the author tries to explain the secret behind those addictive qualities and popularity. Statt's answer is pretty simple; arguably, Flappy Bird is a perfect example of a game with the concept of 'flow' , something he describes as a feeling people get from "drugs, from meditation, from spirit rituals" (Statt 6).

                In the beginning of his writing, Statt establishes a connection with his audience of casual gamers by putting himself in the shoes of people who play the highly addicting game. Statt suggests that " While it became well-known for its infuriating difficulty, equally important to its success was what it did to our brains as we found ourselves succeeding at it, a feeling of momentary elation that nestled deep inside our psyches and sent us back for more" (Statt 4). He also claim that releasing "yourself from self-conscious awareness", being "'in the zone'" or "cruising on autopilot" is all the kind of "feeling...every one of us has experienced at one point or another" (Statt 3)." Notice that in these quotes, the author uses the words "our", "ourselves", and "us" in order to imply that the author understands the addictiveness of Flappy Bird simply because he played it himself. Statt knows the experience firsthand, and this gives his credibility a significant boost.

                As readers continue on with Statt's writing, they may notice that the author compares and contrasts Flappy Bird to other games with the 'flow'. Statt mentions classic games like the Tetris, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, modern games like Minecraft, Sims and World of Warcraft, and mobile app games like Drop7 and Threes. All these games and Flappy Bird have one thing in common: they all have the right balance of skill and difficulty for the maximum capacity of entertainment. Then what makes Flappy Bird distinct from others? Arguably, it's the more extreme case of "the contrast between the appearance and reality of its difficulty. Had not the author mention other games to compare and contrast to, the readers would have difficulties of understanding how Flappy Bird was capable of being popular and unique at the same time. Also, knowing some of the games that Statt mentions creates that "Aha" moment that further establishes ethos, ultimately helping the author to easily explain his purpose.