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[Ellis Kim]

I guess he hates Tetris too.

But he doesn't. Using Peggle as an example, he describes what he percieves as being valued design decisions (i.e. fireworks, slo-mo, drumroll) as being far superior as a play experience over Angry Birds' taunting mindgames through its randomness and lack of award. Rovio's CEO shenanigans don't help either.

 

[Zomba13]

I just think it's unfair. Why is Angry Birds the most popular, most played iWhatsit game? Why not a better game like Cut The Rope or Fruit Ninja?
I think what annoys me I think, is it's just a clone of those catapult/slingshot physics flash games except some how has gotten super popular.

 

[Kunan]

I agree that Angry Birds' difficulty level can crazily spike at random. Really frustrating to be going through relatively easily, then hit one that I get stuck on for freaking ever.

Jesus Christ.

It's just a free puzzle game with exploding birds to kill time on. Lighten the hell up.

Technically, he's ranting not because of the game itself but because of the huge ass pedestal its put on, and the constant ego stroking of Rovio that its the game of the future. He wants people to lighten the hell up on the other side of the coin. This is a bit much.. but I understand his point.

 

[Azelover]

I just think it's unfair. Why is Angry Birds the most popular, most played iWhatsit game? Why not a better game like Cut The Rope or Fruit Ninja?
I think what annoys me I think, is it's just a clone of those catapult/slingshot physics flash games except some how has gotten super popular.

It's because they have a deal with the Devil.

 

[Slo]

Back when games were more cerebral, plumbers jumped on turtle heads and climbed flag poles to make fireworks explode.

 

[itxaka]

But he doesn't. Using Peggle as an example, he describes what he percieves as being valued design decisions (i.e. fireworks, slo-mo, drumroll) as being far superior as a play experience over Angry Birds' taunting mindgames through its randomness and lack of award. Rovio's CEO shenanigans don't help either.

I don't understand this. Why people call it random? There is nothing random with the game play or the stars. The less birds you use, the better score you get. The more things you break, the more score you get. After you achieve a certain amount, you get 1, 2 or 3 stars depending on the level.

There is nothing random in the scoring system AT ALL.

Reading the whole piece, I found it quite enlightening, especially as someone who just bought the game and played it for the first time yesterday. It's a solid argument, and a salvo against the growing trend of shady microtransaction-driven social apps. What he ultimately disapproves of is Angry Birds' ability to successfuly exploit human weakness, and make money at the same time.

He's essentially calling it what it is--a portable gambling casino, except with smaller risks and more complex compound reward schedules that rely on subconcious human desires, as all successful games of past have.

It's free on Android systems. 1$ each game IIRC on iDevices. There is only 1 piece of DLC which is basically a "Skip a level" bird which costs 1$ and only works with 1 of the games (The others do not have this DLC) so we are talking 4$ max for all game + DLC.

Tell me how there is any microtransactions, or casino like in the game.

Plus they already put more free DLC for the game that big companies do for 90% of all games on all platforms.


I agree with Rovio being idiots every time they speak, thought.

 

[Calcaneus]

Angry Birds isn't offensive to me, but its not really worth any money to me as well. I got everything I needed to get out of the game from playing the demo.

 

[jgkspsx]

C'mon. He's writing comedy, but he does address the paradox of how Angry Birds is both terribly compelling AND offensively bad as a game.

For a game to be really worth playing, actions have to be reproducible. And most of the time, actions in Angry Birds aren't. But whatever.

What's really depressing is that (a) "analysts" have bought into Rovio's johnny-come-lately business dude's narrative, and (b) Rovio never bothered to credit the guy whose open-source engine they used until he called them out in person.

 

[Alex]

Not a fan of it, I think there are flash games that have done that tired concept way, way better but it's not something I view as some threat to gaming either, especially no in this landscape of motion nonsense, nostalgia explotion and short scripted campaigns. At least at it's pure and simple core it's well enough made and has some meat on it's bones. Plus it's like a dollar.

There's just more interesting stuff to mock, in my opinion. I mean sure it's rather stupid and banal but how long are our Pokemon threads again? I don't understand how it got so big, that's my only thing. I mean even as far as minute killing pap goes it's outclassed by oodles of stuff on the app store.

I guess I shouldn't tease though, I occasionally still get trapped in some goofy little iOS game every now and then for sure. I wish you could get something prompt but a little more substantial on there. Like a port of Half Min Hero. Oh that'd be really nice.

 

[vareon]

B-b-but I am a gamer

I've played a few hours of Crysis today but also a bit Angry Birds, Farmville, Bejeweled and Cooking Mama... Casual Games can be fun, you guys should try them

Oops, exclusively I mean. Like, my mother played all those casual games but did not consider herself a "gamer". I spent countless hours in Bejeweled and Peggles too

 

[arnoldocastillo2003]

Ok so basically he made a rant against ROVIO not against the game, am i right?

 

[butter_stick]

Angry Birds is a pretty fun mobile game, but it's still just a mobile game and thus doesn't deserve anywhere near this much attention. Move on, GAF.

 

[Rezbit]

I will happily admit I am a simpleton...I love shows where people fall over. Like in the film Idiocracy, if there was a show called "Ouch, My Balls" I would undoubtedly watch it. I've never played Angry Birds, although I have played Crush the Castle on the internet. Same thing?

 

[storl026]

I really don't like Angry Birds for one of the reasons he mentioned: not being able to meaningfully adjust your next shot. It should have a colored dot showing where you released your last shot so you can adjust the next shot.

 

[Adam Prime]

I have never played past the first level of this game... so it's good enough for people to hate?

 

[Xenon]

Angry birds is one of the few mobile touch games that actually works. Which is why, it's probably the most played game on my Evo. I think there is some meat in the game in trying to get five stars in everything. Sure there is a lot of luck involved but there were enough boards where I had to put a little thought into getting that fith star to keep it interesting.

Also I don’t get his bitching about lack of any real reward for beating the game. I guess I’m old school in the fact that beating the game is all I need. If anything, all the pretty lights and rewards have dumbed down gaming. They, developers, seems more focused on giving the player the carrot and forgoing the stick.

 

[Castle Doctrine]

I always enjoy a rant, this one was pretty good. It helps that, like the author, I'm also not a big fan of humanity. Could do without it. I do like the show Wipeout though.

That it's addictive is almost undoubtable. But then crystal meth is addictive, yet no-one's falling over themselves to garland it with Drug of the Year awards.

Haha.

 

[PKrockin]

Angry Birds whining thread? I'm in.

The article's wrong in some areas, but dead on in others. Angry Birds is bland, soulless, tedious, and unsatisfying. I suspect part of its success is owed to the fact that it requires zero thought, strategy, or attention to play.

When I see people trying to justify its Game of the Year awards/nominations, I just laugh.

 

[jax (old)]

what a rubbish write up. I'm guessing its per word. Get as much rubbish in there as I can. Need to make some change.

 

[Orlics]

Man obsessed with dad rock blames society's collapse on Angry Birds.

 

[gblues]

Angry Birds is the 2011 equivalent of Deer Hunter.

Does anyone remember Deer Hunter? It was an absolutely shit-tastic game. The graphics were hilariously incompetent even for the time frame, and the gameplay was pretty much non-existant.

And it sold millions.

But in 1998, we didn't have WizardWorks' CEO coming to GDC and preaching doom and gloom about how hunting games were the future and that Nintendo was scared of their games. Today, Rovio's CEO thinks he's hot shit because of a one-hit wonder.

I would like him to consider where Nintendo is now, and what happened to WizardWorks

In 1996, WizardWorks was acquired by GT Interactive Software, and was eventually combined with other GT Interactive holdings in Minneapolis to form GT Interactive’s Value Products Division. WizardWorks continued as label through a subsequent corporate acquisition by Infogrames which later became Atari.

In 2004, Atari closed the Minneapolis office, folding outstanding projects into the Beverly, MA office.

As for Sunstorm Interactive, the company that actually developed Deer Hunter? Not so good.

The company relocated to a new office and increased the staff size significantly. They followed up with many more hunting simulators and attempted to branch back into developing action games with titles such as the side scroller Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. However, they were not able to achieve the same level of success again and finally shut down in early 2003 citing financial and staffing difficulties as the primary reasons.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Wow, that guy sure wasted a lot of time and energy bashing a free game. Let me repeat: Angry Birds is a FREE GAME. Well, it is if you are an Android owner. I don't know how the iOS owners fare in their walled garden, but you can play Angry Birds for free by downloading it from the Android Market.

For a free game, Angry Birds is pretty damn good.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

Chris Schilling is Nintendo fan confirmed

Spoiler

joking

 

[whatevermort]

This is one of those typical 'Hate It Because It's Popular' posts. Ignore it, move along.

 

[wenis]

And really, I'm so sick of hearing how now everything mainstream is dumb, silly, formulaic and trite. Like this didn't happen in the 60s and 70s? Christ.

What should be more alarming is that those same formula's from the 60's and 70's still sell. Just updated the lingo and you're gold.

The mainstream audiences taste doesn't change, just their language.

 

[faceless007]

Does anyone remember Deer Hunter? It was an absolutely shit-tastic game. The graphics were hilariously incompetent even for the time frame, and the gameplay was pretty much non-existant.

Haha, I actually played the demo of that. It was amazing: First you clicked a spot on a map to pick where you wanted to hunt (nothing to indicate why one spot would be good over another), then went into first-person mode where you panned around a static panoramic picture of trees. If you picked the right spot, maybe you'd see a deer off in the distance and shoot and miss and it'd run away. Repeat.

 

[Vard]

I thought it was a funny write-up.

 

[zoukka]

Hilarious wall of text. Reminds me of my teen years.

The article's wrong in some areas, but dead on in others. Angry Birds is bland, soulless, tedious, and unsatisfying. I suspect part of its success is owed to the fact that it requires zero thought, strategy, or attention to play.

Hey guys, let's all point and laugh at this guy who never even played the game.

 

[Cartman86]

Sure the mainstream is stupid with their love of Black Eyed Peas and ignorance of anything actually good. This seems to be a symptom of more serious issues like lack of education, political apathy etc. Every generation has this problem though. Trying to fight peoples leisure choices isn't going to fix anything though.

This of course is directed at a specific type of person. We all have guilty pleasures.

 

[Cipherr]

Oh, this again.

Every few years we get to this point. 'Gamers' blowing their tops.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByPcQBveWOA

Pull this video link out of my ass every now and then to bring myself back to earth every time this shit happens.

 

[Trent Strong]

People can't appreciate high brow entertainment like videogames thanks to Angry Birds.

.

 

[Vyer]

The vast majority of people who have bought and/or played Angry Birds at any given time have had it impact their lives and dominate their thoughts far, far less than this pretentious douchebag.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Times were much better before the Black Eyed Peas and Angry Birds, when shitty disposable disco topped the charts and people spent hours playing deep and intellectually stimulating games like Asteroids and Burger Time.

 

[GCX]

I once saw an Angry Birds icon on my friend's iPad. I pressed it and played a few levels. I thought it was pretty fun and it entertained me for a while.

But unlike Chris Schilling, then I moved on.

 

[TheHeretic]

I don't even understand his cricticism. The game shows a line of previous shots to guide your next one, like all of these types of physics games finding the structural weakness of the setup and hitting it is the game.

The scoring is points based, based on the destruction you cause and how many birds you use. The developers have also released a tonne of free content for the game.

So what's the serious problem with this product again? And in what sense is it all random? Once you figure out how to beat a level the results are fairly reproducible.

 

[cornontheCoD]

I don't even understand his cricticism. The game shows a line of previous shots to guide your next one, like all of these types of physics games finding the structural weakness of the setup and hitting it is the game.

The scoring is points based, based on the destruction you cause and how many birds you use. The developers have also released a tonne of free content for the game.

So what's the serious problem with this product again? And in what sense is it all random? Once you figure out how to beat a level the results are fairly reproducible.

The problem is that the game is the definition of mediocre, and yet it sells millions. Shouldn't we as gamers be concerned about that?

 

[Speevy]

I hate angry birds too and I haven't even played it. That one dude just sounds like a jerk.

 

[chase]

I think the article is getting hit a bit too hard. These "Why I Hate..." series from Eurogamer seem to generally be written in purposefully exaggerated fashion.

But the "pseudo intellectuals" need to be put in their place by the real intellectuals here on NeoGAF!

 

[TheHeretic]

The problem is that the game is the definition of mediocre, and yet it sells millions. Shouldn't we as gamers be concerned about that?

Most of what sells in all mediums is considered mediocre to horrible, quality doesn't equal sales because entertainment is subjective. Compared to most $1 games on the iPhone it's a good enough game with plenty of content.

 

[conman]

Most of what sells in all mediums is considered mediocre to horrible, quality doesn't equal sales because entertainment is subjective. Compared to most $1 games on the iPhone it's a good enough game with plenty of content.

Exactly. Starbucks serves horribly mediocre, flavorless coffee. McDonald's has perfected the flavorless burger. Levi's has done a brilliant job of finding the perfect jeans for "everyone." The list goes on. No surprise here that a game that sells 100 million copies is also mediocre.

"Industrial Capitalism 101: The Culture of Mediocrity."

 

[cedric69]

I agree on pretty much everything. Random game. Cut the Rope is far better, in the same casual oriented vein.

I don't even understand his cricticism. The game shows a line of previous shots to guide your next one, like all of these types of physics games finding the structural weakness of the setup and hitting it is the game.

As far as I see it, the amount of information you are provided with is definitely not enough to devise a coherent strategy to tackle such a complex system. It quickly boils down to generic understanding of the level and a lot of trial and error.

 

[PKrockin]

Hilarious wall of text. Reminds me of my teen years.

Hey guys, let's all point and laugh at this guy who never even played the game.

Good for you. But for the record, I have played the game.

 

[Night_Trekker]

Well, that "paying to cheat" thing really is terrible.

Dunno about the rest of the article.

 

[Spruchy]

Yep, this game is for idiots. Haven't seen anyone who enjoys it prove me otherwise.

 

[danmaku]

Exactly. Starbucks serves horribly mediocre, flavorless coffee. McDonald's has perfected the flavorless burger. Levi's has done a brilliant job of finding the perfect jeans for "everyone." The list goes on. No surprise here that a game that sells 100 million copies is also mediocre.

"Industrial Capitalism 101: The Culture of Mediocrity."

But at least, Ronald McDonald isn't invited to every chef conference to tell french or italian cooks how to make a good meal.

 

[Ellis Kim]

It's free on Android systems. 1$ each game IIRC on iDevices. There is only 1 piece of DLC which is basically a "Skip a level" bird which costs 1$ and only works with 1 of the games (The others do not have this DLC) so we are talking 4$ max for all game + DLC.

Tell me how there is any microtransactions, or casino like in the game.

Plus they already put more free DLC for the game that big companies do for 90% of all games on all platforms.


I agree with Rovio being idiots every time they speak, thought.

Fair enough. I don't admit to any sort of expertise on their DLC pricing, but I believe what the writer was bitter about was how the "40% to 50%" quote inferred purposely broken and frustrating levels.

The "random" element has more to do with shot trajectory and physics models as a key determing factor in scoring being a point of frustration for him.

 

[Lime]

Criticizing social/casual games is equivalent to film directors criticizing Youtube videos or porn films. It's so mind-numbingly ignorant.

 

[zoukka]

Well, that "paying to cheat" thing really is terrible.

Dunno about the rest of the article.

You never tried Game Genie in your time? You never read game magazines that had cheat sections? You never heard of businessmen who left their Tamagotchi's in a fucking daycare

 

[Ellis Kim]

You never tried Game Genie in your time? You never read game magazines that had cheat sections? You never heard of businessmen who left their Tamagotchi's in a fucking daycare

wat :lol

 

[nephilimdj]

I agree on pretty much everything. Random game. Cut the Rope is far better, in the same casual oriented vein.As far as I see it, the amount of information you are provided with is definitely not enough to devise a coherent strategy to tackle such a complex system. It quickly boils down to generic understanding of the level and a lot of trial and error.

But thats the point, This game has the foundations that those old commodore 64 games started.. you were a tank/archer and u had to shot your enemy over a hill.
Was 1000 odd versions on the 486 as free-ware.

Trial and Error is just apart of it.