Odds are if you’ve got a smartphone, you’ve either downloaded or played Angry Birds.
The game has become a huge hit on both the iPhone and Android systems. But the designers with Rovio Mobile tell USA Today that the game didn’t come to them fully hatched. There were a few tweaks made along the way before the game hit phones.
Among those polishes were making the pigs green (it was because of the swine flu scare) and having the birds hop as they waited for players to launch them. Joe Wee, co-founder of the firm that designed the game, “we were determined to add more character and more personality.”
On the initial character sketches for the birds, Rovio’s Ville Heijari reveals the birds even had “runny noses.”
The tweaks have paid off for the game, which has sold 10 million copies on the Apple store and 100 million copies on all platforms.
All of this has led to some lessons for those designing games for smart phones.
Heijari says the game should be easy but not too easy and that it should be easily interrupted by a phone call or text message. He also says that the game should be addictive enough so that even if you’re not using your smartphone to make a call or send a text, you want to leave the device in your hands to play the game.
It appears to be working. All of those can lead to good word of mouth and having people ask if you’ve played the game.
A new tie-in version of the game for the upcoming movie Rio is available to download and play. And users can look forward to an Easter themed Angry Birds in the coming weeks.
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