22 replies to this topic

[Hiznopellagio]

Hi, i'm always wondering, how to make a game as popular as angry birds ? They're everywhere ! In a backpack, Stationary, Billboards, Game shop (of course), TV programs, And even in a car paint ! What does make it so popular?

[Katuko]

It's a simple concept that can be played by anyone, anywhere, for free, with one finger. You have a few different shots, and you have to calculate the angle at which to fire them in order to see physics objects topple over the way you want; which is easy to understand but requires some thinking to perform. Personally, I find it kind of boring after a while, but that's because I much prefer moving and shooting at things that shoot back, at a bit quicker pace than Angry Birds has. For a casual gamer, however, Angry Birds gives you something to pass the time with in a simple and enjoyable fashion. That's why.

Edited by Katuko, 18 July 2012 - 01:47 PM.

[Nocturne]

I think we are overlooking the "cool" factor here too... The character design, the "feel" of the game, and even the sounds are cool! They are memorable, mainly because they are simple and easily recognised, yet each one has it's own character and is unique... Personally I think that the big fat red one with the single eyebrow is brilliant!

Anyway, what i'm saying is that apart from the actual gameplay being perfect for mobile devices, the design is excellent too... Bright, colourful, memorable and (above all) FUN!

Oh, and "right place right time" also plays it's part as the whole "angry birds" phenomenon started at the same time as the new smart-phone boom, and it was one of the first games to be properly integrated with touch screen technology and make the most of it in a way that wasn't "gimmicky".

[Code Purple]

Personally, I don't like the game. But lots of people say they like the cute theme and the bright, happy colors. Perhaps that's it.

[dannyjenn]

My guess is that it was able to become so popular due to a combination of good advertising and the timing (like Nocturne said, it was at a time when smart-phones were like, really popular, and it was one of the first games out there so less competition)

[xTheOverSeerx]

Hi, i'm always wondering, how to make a game as popular as angry birds ? They're everywhere ! In a backpack, Stationary, Billboards, Game shop (of course), TV programs, And even in a car paint ! What does make it so popular?

Haven't you ever noticed that the most simpliest games get the most attention? Angry birds is so popular because it attracted people of ALL ages. Kids, teenagers, adults, even the elderly (I'm sure.) Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see an infant playing Angry Birds.

Everything starts somewhere. I'm sure even the people who created the game didn't expect it to get this big. Personally, I think the game is a bit played-out now. It's a few years old isn't it?

Also, it's addicting when challenging other people (to beat scores and what not), and plus it's portable. It's on the computer, game systems, cell phones... It's just everywhere. That making it so popular.

Edited by xTheOverSeerx, 18 July 2012 - 03:13 PM.

[kburkhart84]

The thing to understand is that the things that make a casual game popular are different from what make a "hardcore" game popular. It indeed hit at the right time, when the market wasn't as flooded as it is now. All of the art matches very well with the sounds, and with itself. The concept itself is gimmicky, but as usual, people like to destroy things .

The catch is that the company was really smart about it too. One thing is that if you have a game that hits well, make a sequel. In articles about how to make money well in indie dev, one thing I've seen is they say not to use all of your ideas in the first game because then you can save some for the sequel. And in this case, the game got so hot that the "sequel" included merchandise, and even a Sega Megadrive version of the game being made. The general idea is that you make a game, and you then "nourish" it, feed it well, give a real chance for it to grow, before totally moving on to another project. Angry Birds kept getting new levels, keeping it fun for a longer period of time than most games.

[11clock]

People need something to do while taking a dump.

[psycho666]

I didn't read all above, so i'm gona say what i think...
I have played angry birds on my PSP... Next day i deleted the game.
So what makes AB so famous? ADVERTIZING... There are lots of game much similar to angry birds that just haven't been advertized that much.
It's not a bad game, it's fun, it's fairly original idea... It's just overrated...

[sethness]

I tend to agree with the consensus here:
1) AB latched on early to touchpad & smartphone hardware developers' need for a "killer app" / show-off app that highlights touch-screen play without being overly difficult to learn. This meant the hardware guys helped to push the game into the marketplace, while they simultaneously pushed their product. Note that after AB caught on, several hardware developers also requested AB make special levels only available for their hardware-- thus making one smartphone preferable to another.
2) Lack of competition, and a few key deals (like being the first thing you see when you download and install Google Chrome).
3) Intuitive design. There's very little to learn, very little in the way of instructions or in-game messages. Hence it's good for kids, non-English speakers, non-PC-savvy folks, and so on.

[Insert Name Here]

It also has extra stuff unrelated to the physics: Puzzle eggs where you solve a riddle to get another egg or a star. Also hunting for them in levels is fun. It makes me think of the easter eggs in Nintendo Nightmare.

[Terrified Virus]

I used to like Angry Birds, and then I just got annoyed at its difficulty in later levels. I honestly don't know why people like this so much, but I guess it makes some sense.

[StewartB]

It's not a bad game, it's fun, it's fairly original idea...

I think what made it so popular was that it was a pretty original gameplay idea. The most popular games tend to be those that come up with a new, creative way of doing something. Touch control games had been done, and physics games had been done, but AB took those two and made it into something more original.

-StewartB

[Hiznopellagio]

Thanks for all of you, guys! it really does help!

[David Batty]

Angry Birds wasn't an original idea, we were writing similar catapult type games in the 80's usually involving a computer generated or 2 player enemy, you took turns to sling missiles at something, often you got these types of games as "type in" listings in magazines, they simply used this concept and replaced the objects with birds and pigs (and better graphics/sound effects)

Edited by David Batty, 21 July 2012 - 01:53 PM.

[Coga19000]

I think it is what made a lot other iOS games popular... it has very good phisics, Its graphics are very good-looking, you can spend 2 minutes or the whole day on it , and it is completely unrealistic.

[Astal]

Personally, I don't like the game. But lots of people say they like the cute theme and the bright, happy colors. Perhaps that's it.

you do realize the red birds say "Ah ah ah ah penis" when you shoot em, listen up next time

[Koaske]

Most of these points have already been brought up, but I'll sum up what I think about this. Some of the information actually comes straight from the CEO of Rovio (the company behind Angry Birds), whose lecture I attended back in 2010, when Angry Birds was starting to get really popular.

First of all, the idea is not original at all, since there are many games using the same idea. Heck, even Box2D, the physics engine they use, is being used everywhere.

The success Angry Birds has enjoyed has a lot to do with the succesful marketing they've done. Since there are a lot of games in the App Store and it's very easy for a game to just get lost in there, the visibility the game got was important. Rovio made a deal with the publisher Chillingo to receive a "featured" spot in the App Store. This was crucial for the success, because it allowed many people to see the game when it was first released. This eventually caused a snowball effect, when more and more people started getting the game.

The characters and their "brand value" was also thought of when the game was designed. They wanted to make the characters easily approachable and made sure that they could have merchandise based on the game characters.

It should also be noted that Rovio made more than 30 (usually not very good) games before Angry Birds, so definitely experience and connections played a part too.

[Hiznopellagio]

Okay, now i know what make that games it good. But, how to advertise it 'till it become that popular? I know many game a LOT better than angry birds, but they aren't so popular like angry birds

[Koaske]

Rovio made a deal with the publisher to get the featured spot for Angry Birds. This can't be done without being at least somewhat known company though.

For an indie developer, some good ideas are:
*Have your own website and development blog for the games you make.
*Have a YouTube channel and try to get people interested in games watching those videos.
*Send your game to some game reviewers. If you're lucky, some of them might write a review about your game.
*Participate in competitions. The winners usually get a lot of visibility and many people will try the winning games (depends on the popularity of the competition, of course...)
*Cooperate with other indies. Write and tell about their games and ask them to do the same about yours!
*Post your game on sites that have a lot of visitors.