Flappy Bird, the viral game that captivated more than 50 million people at its peak in 2014, is back after a decade.
This time, the game returns on Telegram in partnership with Notcoin and aims to spearhead adoption once again.
Will it exceed its previous performance? Only time will tell, but my gamification analysis aims to offer an objective view of the game’s current state.
Now under the new name “Flap-a-TON”, the game boasts new web3 mechanics and caters to a new audience of nearly a billion people.
It has retained its vintage, old-school vibe, with the familiar user interface and gameplay dubbed “OG mode”.
The difficulty, measured by the length of the gap between the pipes is lowered with the broader gaps between pipes on normal gameplay, while it remains unchanged for “OG mode”.
Flappy Bird has added a sense of competition by introducing ranks and challenges, where users must pass as many pipes as possible without touching obstacles to advance in rank.
While the “OG mode” differs slightly from the new version, it offers increased rewards, including gems and trophies for each new rank.
However, there’s no individual leaderboard to showcase personal scores and rankings, which might diminish the sense of progress and competition. There is a group leaderboard, which can be confusing as it’s based on how many reward points (RPs) each community gathers. This setup gives an advantage to communities with pre-existing audiences, often leaving smaller groups or solo players feeling sidelined.
The new web3 additions focus on stimulating players to play more and perform better through extrinsic incentives.
These incentives currently are the reward points, which are crucial for receiving the main airdrop, the official $FLAP token.
To earn RPs, players must complete normal flights, which are less challenging than the OG mode due to wider gaps between pillars, making them more forgiving of player errors.
The finish line is set after crossing 50 pillars, and RPs are not awarded immediately. Instead, after each round, based on the number of pillars crossed without dying, RPs accumulate to fill an egg. Once full, the egg rewards the points.
The game features dynamic backgrounds that randomly change after an egg is cracked, adding variety to the experience.
Sometimes, the background and mechanics shift; for instance, a whale might release ghostly flappy players, requiring you to finish first or not die before the finish line. This can cause slight lag spikes, potentially distracting players.
Another method to earn RPs is through a familiar web3, GameFi, and originally DeFi feature where users must log in daily to harvest passively earned points.
Completing milestones maximizes returns, each increasing the base number of RPs per hour.
Milestones are called upgrades. These tasks directly involve participants in the gameplay, encouraging them to engage in activities like maneuvering through a series of pipes, breaking a set number of eggs, or even hitting amusing milestones like dying on the 49th pipe.
Milestones are shown four at a time on a page, and players can’t find out what the next milestone entails until they complete the current one. This setup fosters a sense of curiosity, providing an extra motivation for players to finish the active task just to see what comes next.
Multiplying the base value of passive mining requires additional resources such as inviting friends through a referral system. To max out, users must bring 13 friends for a 7x increase in RPs per minute, which benefits airdrop farmers and influencers but can be challenging for casual players.
Not only must the latter convince others to join, but they also need to persuade those unfamiliar with Telegram to download the app and use it for playing the game, potentially putting casual players at a disadvantage.
Players can also earn RPs by logging in daily for a guaranteed reward and sharing their progress on Telegram for additional bonuses.
There’s also a streak reward for logging in for 30 consecutive days, incentivizing daily engagement, though the timing mechanism for this streak could be more user-friendly.
Conclusion
The game’s user interface is intuitive, making navigation straightforward. The continuous flapping bird in the background serves as a visual cue for gameplay, while the real-time stacking of RPs provides immediate feedback. However, the lack of an in-game option to toggle music on/off can be frustrating, especially on desktop devices.
The ranked ‘OG mode’ offers a gratifying sense of achievement with its increased difficulty, and the game excels at celebrating milestones with dynamic feedback, festive illustrations, and messages.
The game lacks a narrative, which could enhance player engagement with characters or settings. While the gamification through “OG mode” offers some progress, it misses the mark on providing a sense of achievement due to the absence of individual leaderboards or significant milestones.
Regarding the founders, there’s a deal between Notcoin and the Flappy Bird Foundation, yet the original developer has distanced himself from this initiative, as stated in his tweet.
With roughly 700,000 active monthly users a month after launch, Flappy Bird still has substantial potential for growth and user experience improvements. I believe the game is worth exploring, especially with the potential value of the $FLAP airdrop, given Flappy Bird’s iconic status and past success with over 50 million downloads.
I’m curious to see how this iconic title will influence web3 adoption and how its user experience will evolve.
Stay tuned for more updates as the project advances. If you have enjoyed the read, you can give Flap-a-TON a go by using my referral link.
