Difference between revisions of "Angry Birds"

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Angry Birds

"Angry Birds gameplay screen." Angry Birds Type Video Game Launch Date iOS, Mameo December 11, 2009 Andriod October 19, 2010 Windows Phone June, 2011 Status Active Product Line Angry Birds Angry Birds Seasons Angry Birds Rio Angry Birds Space Angry Birds Magic Angry Birds Star Wars Platform iOS Maemo MeeGo HP webOS Android Symbian^3 Series 40 Nintendo 3DS (AB Trilogy) PlayStation Store (PSP/PS3/PSVita/AB Trilogy) Xbox 360/Xbox One (AB Trilogy) Windows WebGL Windows Phone Google Plus Google Chrome (Chrome Web Store) BlackBerry Tablet OS Bada Facebook (Flash) Mac OS X Roku Samsung Smart TV Wii/Wii U (AB Trilogy) HTML5 BlackBerry 10 Website Angry Birds Official Site

Angry Birds is a sinlge-player video game developed for mobile devices by Rovio Mobile. The objective of the game is to use a slingshot to shoot birds at pig enemies that are perched atop or protected within structures made of wood, ice, stones, and other materials. The game was first released in 2009 on Apple's App Store for iOS enabled devices. Additional versions of Angry Birds have been released since then. The game gained enough popularity among mobile phone users that Rovio later released a version for Android devices and Windows devices. Ethical concerns of the game include violence, battery life, and copyright infringement policies.

History

Angry Birds was created by Finnish game developers in 2009. By 2015, 3 million people downloaded the game. Due to the popularity, many other versions of the game were created for PCs and various gaming consoles.^[1] Angry Birds Online, Angry Birds Rio, and Angry Birds Bad Piggies are different versions of the game that were added due to popularity. In 2015, Angry Birds became part of a theme park and a movie was released in 2016.^[2] The full version of the app costs $0.99 in the app store as well as the option to download a free version with advertisements.

Gameplay

During gameplay, the player place their finger (on the touchscreen) within the slingshot, causing the next bird in the queue to be instantiated. As the player pulls their finger down and to the left, the bird follows and pulls the slingshot's sling taut. When the player releases their finger, the selected bird is fired to the right across the level, with the goal being the destruction of all green pig enemies. The goal must be completed using only the number of birds provided. Bonus points are awarded for completion of a level with extra bird ammunition remaining. Pigs may be protected by wood, concrete, ice, stone, or other materials in addition to the natural terrain. Using the bird projectiles, the player can hit the pigs directly or through chain reactions using unstable structures and explosive objects. Additional elements are introduced as the game progresses that aid the player in eliminating pigs, such as rocks and explosives. As the player advances through the different levels, players are introduced to different "angry birds", each with different features.

Type of Birds

The size of the pigs varies from level to level. Small pigs are weaker and large pigs are tougher to destroy. Some pigs wear helmets that act as armor, increasing their difficulty to destroy.

Each level has a predetermined bird and pig count. When all of the pigs have been killed, with or without use of all the birds, the player advances to the next level. Points are awarded based on each pig destroyed, damage to each pig and structure, and unused birds. At the end of each level, stars are awarded depending on the score received. The maximum amount of stars for each level is three stars. Levels may be played more than once.

Publicity

Image that was released by Rovio of the Finair A340 with Angry Birds decorations

Angry Bird characters have been featured in many advertisements for other products. Characters began appearing in advertisements for Microsoft's Bing search engine. Airlines have also decorated their aircraft with angry birds.

To the right is a video of angry birds airplanes in Microsoft's Flight Simulator. Angry Airbus

This plane will be part of a promotional flight to Singapore.

In attempts to expand the Angry Birds brand name, the official website offers plush birds and pigs, T-shirts, iPad cases, Christmas stockings, backpacks, and key chains. Over 10 million Angry Birds toys have been sold thus far.^[3]

In May 2011, Mattel released an Angry Birds board game, entitled "Angry Birds: Knock on Wood".^[4]

Angry Birds has even received publicity from piracy. Angry Birds’ Chief Executive Mikael Hed didn't denounce piracy and claimed that it could increase business.^[5]. Many people are able to "jailbreak" iOS and Android mobile device to download paid versions of the game for free. The extra downloads increase the game's popularity and consequently spurs more interest around the world. Mikael Hed also noted that unlicensed merchandise sold in Asia can actually draw more fans and contribute to the worldwide popularity of Angry Birds.

In September 2011, the Window of the World theme park in Changsha, China opened an unlicensed Angry Birds attraction. Visitors to the park use a large slingshot to launch stuffed versions of the bird characters at green balloons representing the pigs. Upon learning of the attraction, Rovio Mobile was reported to consider working with the theme park to officially license the idea.^[6]

Film

On December 11, 2012, the third anniversary of Angry Birds, Rovio announced that plans for producing and financing a full-length feature film surrounding the characters and other properties of the game. John Cohen, producer of the hit animated movie of 2010, "Despicable Me", was a producer of the movie. This was Rovio's first venture into the film industry as the Angry Birds brand was expanded into other sources of entertainment besides just mobile devices.^[7] The finished film was released on May 20, 2016, starring Jason Sudeikis and Josh Gad.^[8] The film received mixed reviews. Some praised the film's moral, saying that "Agreeability gets you so far in life, but when the chips are down, it helps to lose your temper sometimes."^[9] Whereas critics say, "There's a little bit of a moral about being inclusive, but that's not why this movie was made: It's about angry outbursts, birds catapulting through the air, and big explosions."^[10]

Special Editions

Angry Birds Seasons

Updates:
Halloween-includes Halloween-themed music and graphics (October 2010)
Seasons- introduced 25 Christmas-themed levels for each day leading to Christmas (December 2010)
Valentines Day (February 2011)
St. Patrick's Day (March 2011)
Easter (April 2011)
Summer Pignic (June 2011)
Mooncake Festival (September 2011)
HamO'Ween (October 2011)
Wreck the Halls (December 2011) ^[11]

Angry Birds Rio

Angry Birds Rio

This version was launched in March of 2011. It is a version based on the 20th Century Fox animated film Rio. The setting is Rio de Janeiro and Angry Birds characters interact with key characters from the film.

Angry Birds Space

Released March 22, 2012, Angry Birds Space includes the effect of the terrain on the birds' trajectories. Each planet contains a different gravitational field, thus changing the birds' trajectories.

Angry Birds Star Wars

On November 8, 2012, the fifth version of Angry Birds was released. Each of the birds is modeled after a different Jedi, with variations in skills from the original version. The pigs are modeled as members of the empire.

Angry Birds Magic

Angry Birds Magic

When developed, this version will be exclusively for Nokia. It will include the function that allows people to unlock levels upon contact with another Nokia device that is running the game.

Angry Birds Chrome

Angry Birds has also been modified so people with the Chrome internet browser can play as well. This version is not the real version but a modified version that is free to play on Chrome.

Angry Birds Go!

On December 11, 2013, Angry Birds Go! was released as the first non-traditional edition of the Angry Birds franchise^[12]. Go! is classified as a "downhill racing" game that features both online and offline racing. With the traditional Angry Bird characters as the drivers, players can race against one another and upgrade their carts to their own liking. While all upgrades are obtainable through gameplay alone, Go!, like many other Angry Birds releases, offers users in-app purchases to upgrade their carts more quickly. Upon initial release, the game was available on iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry mobile platforms^[13].

Other Related Games

On September 27, 2012, the creators of Angry Birds released Bad Piggies.^[14]. This game mimics Angry Birds but is from the perspective of the pig characters in the Angry Birds games. The game gives the pigs, who were the victims in Angry Birds, a chance to "fight back" against the Angry Birds. Instead of the original Angry Birds, where the birds are launched at the pigs, this game is based around creating flying machines to create a safe destination for the pigs.^[15] Levels allow the user to create contraptions using a variety of different elements and tools in order to transfer the piggies to safety. The game has over 100 million downloads and has a 4-star rating on the App Store and a 4.5-star rating on the Android Store.

Ethical Concerns

Violence

There are concerns about Angry Bird's use of of violence. The slingshots used to kill the pig characters sparked controversy as well as claims arguing that Angry Birds promotes animal cruelty.^[16] Commonsense Media, a website for parents to evaluate video games for their children, declares Angry Birds as appropriate for those eight years old and older, giving it a rating of 2/5 for violence. ^[17] This differs from the Apple Store advertising the application as appropriate for ages 4+.^[18] In 2012 UK Labour MP Keith Vaz petitioned the House of Commons in efforts to make stricter guidelines and warnings for video games. In his case, he likened Angry Birds to other target-based shooting games including first-person shooters. He received criticism from The Guardian contributor Martin Robbins for equating the levels of violence between the two categories of games.^[19]

Battery Life for Advertisements

An advertisement during a game of the free version.

The Verge reported Angry Birds as an instance of a resource-heavy application, with claims that it consumes nearly twice as much battery than necessary. Most of the drainage is occurs in the free version of the game, utilizing 70% of the application's resource usage to access and upload information as well as download advertisements. The premium version is $0.99 and does not include these features and battery concerns.

Other apps on the Android Market face the same battery consumption issues between premium and free versions. Angry Birds is more commonly known for this problem due to its widespread popularity. ^[20]

Video Game Addiction

Angry Birds has been linked to video game addiction. The fifth and most recent version of the [| Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders] names "Internet Gaming Addiction" as a condition that should be studied more and potentially added to the next edition ^[21]. On-line Gamers Anonymous is a community for those who have experienced side effects from "excessive game playing" and was formed in 2002 by a mother whose son committed suicide from what they speculated to be a video game addiction ^[22]. In 2017, Dr. William Klemm wrote in Psychology Today that video game addiction is noted by a changes in mood and behavior. ^[23]. reSTART is another video game addiction support network that hosts therapy and retreats to promote healthy use of digital media.^[24].

The initial simplicity of the game encourages players to move up through levels and invest more time into the game as there are many levels that are relatively short, which allow the players to improve their skills. The game incorporates a difficulty curve which increases expected playtime per level as the game progresses. Despite the increase in difficulty with proceeding levels, the general simplicity of the game allows players to have a difficult time separating themselves from the screen.^[25]

Angry Birds also encourages players to replay previously completed levels. More skillful completions of a level award players with more stars and points, which creates player competition to achieve higher scores. These mechanics have been shown to raise endorphin levels, increasing the risk of addiction.^[26]

Freemium-based Model

While some Angry Birds require an upfront purchase of the content, most games are free to download and later include in-app purchases. Users often enter the gaming environment expecting to have all of the content in the game available to them as they advance in their play. When a user reaches a point in the game where a purchase will advance their game-play significantly, users agree to pay a small dollar amount and might continue doing so. The price of freemium models like Angry Birds can result in significant cost to the user.^[27] The App store on iOS devices has attempted to remedy these concerns by displaying whether an application offers in-app purchases at the time of download.

Concerns about in-app purchases have increased with the introduction of new versions of the game. Angry Birds 2 was met with criticism for its style of gameplay which has been said to encourage in-app purchases. ^[28] Users are given five attempts within a certain amount of time to beat a level. If the user fails within those five attempts, they must either wait until their lives are replenished after a certain amount of time or they can redeem gems for more lives. These spending incentives influence users to buy in-app purchases and raise concerns for younger users. In-app purchases on Angry Birds can convince younger users to pay for in-app accessories to enhance their gaming experience or allow them to continue playing the game when their lives run out, capitalizing on the lack of awareness from a younger user. Although users are able to collect gems through completing challenges within the game, they can also purchase them with cash in the game's store.

Privacy Concerns

Angry Birds tracks the location of players and collects their data to make personalized advertisements.^[29] Advertisers use user data because privacy laws are evolving at a slower rate than technological innovations, creating vulnerabilities in the system. This raises concerns among users that have downloaded the game but do not want the application to utilize their personal information. Leveraging consumer data can cause ethical concerns when a device is personalized with target ads. If the device changes to a new person, such as in a workplace, the advertisements shown may reveal private information about the previous user. Applications often do not share privacy policies with the user, and if they do, the user cannot use the application unless they agree to the terms.^[30] Free apps face greater ethical scrutiny because their revenue comes from advertisers as well as developers who sell personal data.^[31]

Child Privacy

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prohibits advertisers from collecting personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. There have been many allegations about advertisers going around this law to collect information in order to advertise to them. Many advertisers are able to find easy loopholes to target children and it becomes the responsibility of the parent to monitor where their child is leaking information. Companies are able to collect data on their users, whose age is often not apparent. They can then categorize users as children based on their actions and target relevant advertisements at them. There are many applications specifically built to help protect these consequential scenarios. For example, apps such as "App Lock" and "Net Nanny" can refrain children from using an app without parental permission. Requiring a passcode on the iPhone is also another example of this.^[32]

External Links

See Also

References

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