As I write this, I am currently sitting in class. A test has just been turned in, and there are no immediate assignments that I need to complete. Now what? I pull out my iPad and begin to game. We all do it. Some of us may be procrastinating a worthy assignment, and some of us may truly have nothing better to do. Nevertheless, it’s a part of life.
As I search for the perfect game to fill my time, I become dissatisfied. I try out my recent favorites: Jump Man, Amazing Brick, Bounce, and 94°. These all get old pretty fast. To solve my re-emerging boredom, I decide to throw it back. I try out Smash Hit and Subway Surfer, but I get the same result: dissatisfaction.
I then make the decision that will make the last few minutes of class much more entertaining. I go to a dark corner of my iPad, a place few would dare to go, and many would like to forget. I click on the little yellow bird: Flappy Bird.
I begin to play this Prep classic again. Tapping the screen in a rhythmic pattern to make the little guy soar through the pipes. On the first try I get to 23. Not bad after about a year off. I believe my high score last year was around 146. No, not around 146. Exactly 146. It was a big moment. I tend to remember those. It goes without saying, but I was pretty good.
I’m making a swoop towards an opening when a sad thought occurs to me. It is a depressing thought, a near apocalyptic thought. What if nothing ever matches this? What if Cathedral Prep iPad gaming peaked when I was a freshman? What if there are no more games to look forward to, no more electronic competitions with my friends, no more high scores that I truly care about? What if there’s never another Flappy Bird?
This thought irks me. It seems like an obvious answer. Of course there will never be another Flappy Bird. We all saw the attempts. Games like Splashy Fish and Flappy Wings tried to imitate the awesomeness that was Flappy Bird, but they all failed. They could not match up to the epitome of iPad gaming. Nothing could beat Flappy Bird.
The question goes further though. It does not mean will there ever be a game that is similar to Flappy Bird. Rather, will there ever be a game that reaches the level that Flappy Bird did? Will there ever be another game that sparks a cultural movement, an almost cult following, the way that Flappy Bird did?
The answer, again, is sadly a definite no. I feel like every game I download I’m hoping that it will fill the void that Flappy Bird left in my life. No game will ever be as equally addicting, enjoyable, and frustrating as Flappy Bird was. There will never be another Flappy Bird. The future looks bleak. One can keep hoping, but I myself, personally, have given up.