MANILA, Philippines – Social media and websites were abuzz on Wednesday of rumors that the creator of the Flappy Bird application had committed suicide.
Dong Nguyen, who took down the addictive game off online stores, was allegedly found dead with a gunshot wound to his head.
But news websites immediately clarified that it was a hoax, most likely caused by a satirical news article posted online.
After the rumor was quashed, Nguyen received death threats on Twitter, reports said. One said he’ll kill the game developer while others egged Nguyen to push through with the suicide. Some, however, said they’ll kill themselves if the game was removed from app stores.FEATURED STORIES TECHNOLOGY
Nguyen, on Feb. 9, announced that it was game over for the simple game that had left many people addicted or frustrated.
“I am sorry ‘Flappy Bird’ users, 22 hours from now, I will take ‘Flappy Bird’ down. I cannot take this anymore,” he said over Twitter.
He said it had nothing to do with legal issues and that he was still making games.
In an exclusive interview with Forbes, Nguyen said he took the game down because it had become an “addictive product.
“Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed,” he explained.
“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.”
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please reach out to the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH). Their crisis hotlines are available at 1553 (Luzon-wide landline toll-free), 0917-899-USAP (8727), 0966-351-4518, and 0908-639-2672. For more information, visit their website: (https://doh.gov.ph/NCMH-Crisis-Hotline)
Alternatively, you can contact Hopeline PH at the following numbers: 0917-5584673, 0918-8734673, 88044673. Additional resources are available at ngf-mindstrong.org, or connect with them on Facebook at Hopeline PH.
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As an alternative, you can reach Hopeline PH at 0917-5584673, 0918-8734673, and 88044673. Additional resources are available at ngf-mindstrong. org, or connect with them on Facebook at Hopeline PH.
Please get in touch with the National Center for Mental Health if you or someone you know needs help (NCMH) Their crisis hotlines are 0917-899-USAP (8727), 0966-351-4518, 0908-639-2672, and 1553 (a Luzon landline that is toll-free). For more information, visit their website: (https://doh. gov. ph/NCMH-Crisis-Hotline) .
Nguyen, on Feb. 9, declared that the straightforward game that had left a lot of people frustrated or addicted was over.
The game’s creator, Dong Nguyen, was purportedly shot in the head and found dead after taking it down from online retailers.
MANILA, Philippines – On Wednesday, speculations circulated on social media and websites that the person behind the Flappy Bird app had taken his own life.
Similar to paddleball, he kept his game’s components to a minimum—the bird and the pipes—and resisted the typical inclination to add more elements as the player advanced. He adjusted the laws of physics such that the bird could withstand the force of gravity with only a small tap, otherwise it would perish. Nguyen intended for the deaths to be entertaining because they would occur so frequently. He attempted to make the bird burst into a bloody pulp or bounce back across the floor before he fell facefirst. After sorting through hundreds of noises, he finally decided on a kung-fu-style blow to add even more humor to the bird’s death. (He asks me whether the game made me laugh before anything else. He laughs, “The bird is flying along peacefully, and all of a sudden you die!”
Early in February, it felt like everything was crushingly heavy: the constant criticism, the accusations, and the scrutiny. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t focus, didn’t want to go outdoors. His parents, he says, “worried about my well-being. ” His tweets became darker and more cryptic. “I consider ‘Flappy Bird’ to be a triumph of mine,” one person wrote. “But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it. Pull the game, he realized was the only thing to do. In just 22 hours after he tweeted that he was taking it down, 10 million people downloaded it. Then he hit a button, and Flappy Bird disappeared. He responds to my question about why he did it with the same fervor that inspired him to make the game. “I’m master of my own fate,” he says. “Independent thinker. ”.
Since taking Flappy Bird down, he says he’s felt “relief. Though I can’t go back to the past, I’m doing well now. Regarding his flapper’s future, he continues to decline offers to buy the game. Nguyen refuses to compromise his independence. But will Flappy Bird ever take to the air again? Nguyen says, “I’m thinking about it.” He says he’s not working on a new version, but if he does release one in the future, it will have a “warning” that asks users to take a break. ”.
Nguyen learned how to program his own computer chess game by the age of 16. Three years later, he won an internship with Punch Entertainment, one of the few video game companies in Hanoi at the time, while he was a computer science student at a university in Hanoi. He had finished in the top 20 of a programming competition. Nguyen’s former supervisor, Son Bui Truong, says the young programmer stood out for his quickness, aptitude, and fierce independence. “Dong didn’t need a supervisor,” Truong says. “He wasn’t comfortable with it. Thus, we told him he didn’t need to report to anybody. ”.
However, he claims that something else was the most difficult thing of all. He gives me his iPhone so I can look through some of his stored messages. One comes from a woman criticizing him for “distracting the world’s children.” Another bemoans the fact that “Your game is so addictive that it broke the phones of thirteen kids at my school, yet they still play it because it’s like crack.” Nguyen shares with me emails she received from former employees and a mother who had stopped communicating with her children. He remarks, “I realized they really hurt themselves, even though at first I thought they were just joking.” Nguyen, who claims that playing too much Counter-Strike caused him to cram for tests in high school, actually took them seriously.
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