Stefania Sarrubba
Gamers have been mourning an addictive game for years after its developer decided to pull the plug.
It was 2014 and Vietnamese developer Dong Nguyen made a shock move when he chose to delete his own arcade-style game Flappy Bird.
The concept of the game was simple but catchy: players were asked to control bird Faby, helping the feathered character pass through pairs of pipes with gaps placed at random heights.
Despite users protesting, Nguyen claimed he had a very good reason to take his creature down.
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At the time, the developer warned Flappy Bird fans on Twitter he would delete the game just nine months after it first went online.
"I am sorry Flappy Bird users, 22 hours from now, I will take Flappy Bird down. I cannot take this anymore," Nguyen tweeted in February 2014.
Launched in May 2013, the game was available to download for free.
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Nguyen said he designed the code in just a few days, yet at its peak it was making him $50,000 a day from in-app advertising.
According to the developer, discontinuing the game had nothing to do with legal issues.
Flappy Bird had simply become too 'addictive' and axing it was the only reasonable solution.
"Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed," the developer told Forbes in an interview.
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"But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it's best to take down Flappy Bird. It's gone forever."
As incredible as it sounds, the fame he had reached through Flappy Bird had a significant impact on Nguyen's life, who explained he experienced guilt.
"My life has not been as comfortable as I was before," the indie game developer said, adding: "I couldn’t sleep."
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"I don't think it's a mistake," he assured.
"I have thought it through."
Nguyen also said that his experience with Flappy Bird wouldn't put him off video game coding. If anything, his bird skyrocketing to such popularity in very little time would be an incentive to continue.
"After the success of Flappy Bird, I feel more confident, and I have freedom to do what I want to do," he explained.
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In the wake of Flappy Bird's removal, users flocked to the multiple versions inspired by the original, promptly removed by Apple and Google for being clones of Nguyen's game.
For his part, the developer was well aware of these rip-offs, admitting to having played at least one of them.
"I have tried playing Ironpants," he said.
"It's a good game."