5 ms·

Crypto bros wrested Flappy Bird from its creator

92 points by pseudolus 2y ago

jmclnx 2y ago
I have to give Dong Nguyen credit for pulling the game when he started to believe it caused more harm then good. Unfortunately, greed and money always wins.
- ghostDancer 2y ago
  That's capitalism and free market. Money, or at least numbers in a spreadsheet, always wins.
  - treyd 2y ago
    At least some individuals can have a conscience even if the system tends to iron that out at scale.
- minraws 2y ago
  > Unfortunately, greed and money always wins. I just feel sad that I have nothing to refute it with. So I am going to go and cry in a corner now.
  - rachofsunshine 2y ago
    I realize this is about a million times easier said than done - not least because I am trying to do it and it is in fact very hard - but you refute it by doing it better yourself. I think we've all kind of internalized this idea that you have to be a shark to do business. But insofar as businesses are profitable (and many are), every dollar of profit represents a dollar of ruthlessness that that company didn't have to execute. If a company has a 10% profit margin, they can be 10% less ruthless, and that turns out to buy their way out of a lot of the worst abuses. Or at least it could if the company's leadership wanted it to. But there is absolutely nothing stopping you, in principle, from starting a company of your own, choosing not to hand de facto control over it to shareholders, and making the executive decision not to screw people for an extra dollar. You can do that. In fact, the Flappy Bird guy did exactly that - it's just that in this case he got outmaneuvered by predatory jerks. (Or, if you want to frame it differently: he got outcompeted in the legal arena, as obviously wrong as that is in this instance.) The only problem here is that he lost, so...you know, don't lose. Be as much of a shark as you need to be to do business and defend yourself against the other sharks, but no more than that, and you'll be doing a lot better than the status quo.
- mrkramer 2y ago
  >I have to give Dong Nguyen credit for pulling the game when he started to believe it caused more harm then good. If he thought the game's design was "evil" why did he make the game in the first place? If you want to make a game, you need to actually sit down, come up with a game concept, prototype it and then produce it and finally publish it. He did all that but believing nobody or very few would play it but in reality Flappy Bird was sleeper hit and when it became viral he melt down. Whacky media headlines drove him "crazy" not bad or addictive game design of Flappy Bird. If you want to be a creator of any kind you need to be open to all sorts of feedback; both bad and good, crazy and kind etc. etc. >Unfortunately, greed and money always wins. They don't....if he wanted to protect whatever was left of Flappy Bird's brand he should've copyrighted it and let it rest in peace and not left it for grabs.
  - ASalazarMX 2y ago
    > If he thought the game's design was "evil" why did he make the game in the first place? It is such a simple game, who would have thought it would inspire such overreaction? Tetris was much more addictive, and it was seen as an interesting phenomenon, but these days communication is so manipulative and violent, it seems any minor problem gets magnified into yet another crisis. Think about it: Flappy bird is ruining lives. It was said with a straight face in many infotainment shows. Anything in excess can ruin lives, should we avoid cars, knives, alcohol, smartphones, videogames, food, water, etc.? Flappy bird was never the problem, IMO the author likely withdrew it because the media magnificaton was becoming scary.
    - mrkramer 2y ago
      >Think about it: Flappy bird is ruining lives. It was said with a straight face in many infotainment shows. They said the same thing about World of Warcraft, Dota, League of Legends, Fortnite and countless other examples. People and I believe all mammals are prone to the addictions, that's why you need to teach yourself self-control or find somebody else who can teach you that or perhaps help you to control yourself. >Flappy bird was never the problem, IMO the author likely withdrew it because the media magnification was becoming scary. Exactly, sensationalistic media headlines made him depressed not Flappy Bird as a game.
miah_ 2y ago
Crypto bros ruin every single thing they touch.
- solardev 2y ago
  Except Nvidia stock prices (Edit: Not anymore, obviously!)
  - pavlov 2y ago
    Are GPUs still used for mining at scale that would be meaningful for Nvidia’s earnings? Ethereum switched to plutocracy, I mean proof-of-stake, years ago.
    - byteknight 2y ago
      Have you missed the LLM wave?
      - pavlov 2y ago
        That has nothing to do with crypto.
        MrGilbert 2y ago
        Well, it's AI Bros then.
    - solardev 2y ago
      No, no, sorry. That was all years ago. Crypto's come and gone.
  - JohnFen 2y ago
    Nvidia is riding on the AI bubble now.
    - sidewndr46 2y ago
_fat_santa 2y ago
> The main crypto-related project listed on the 1208 Productions site is a set of NFTs based around the "Deez Nuts" joke/brand. The webpage for that project also lists Roberts (aka "Papa Nut") as a partner of The Doge Pound NFT project. Would it kill these guys to have one original idea.
- burner-kqa 2y ago
  You say that like it's even possible for these people to have original ideas.
- beaglesss 2y ago
  Now I understand why they so badly wanted Dong's goods.
- diggan 2y ago
  > Would it kill these guys to have one original idea. 80% of all mainstream projects in each "hyped niche" (like blockchain, nfts, AI with LLMs) are just rehashing the exact same idea with a 1% change from the previous attempts, if even that. Judging by the funded startups by Ycombinator and alike, original ideas is not what they're funding or out after at all. For original ideas I think you have to start sucking up knowledge from research papers and associated conferences instead, seems to be the best way to get better understanding of the frontier, rather than looking at VC funded startups.
martius 2y ago
Ok, they have the trademark, but how does it give them the permission to reuse or copy the original game assets, designs, etc?
- doublerabbit 2y ago
  It doesn't. But you can only fight for the restriction of those who do if you have the resources. I doubt he has. Anyone can illegally take anyone's content and use it. It's not until the courts are involved you can't. Some are just better funded than others, like Disney.
  - sidewndr46 2y ago
    It's interesting how so many people miss this. I often hear "Big Co. can't do Y, it'd be a violation of X!". Well of course they can. No one is going to pull C-Level executives from their beds in the middle of the night because they did something you don't like. Likewise, lots of people seem to think that just because some IP has entered the public domain or it's "fair use" you won't get sued if you start using it. Of course you'll get sued. The plaintiff doesn't expect to win, they expect you to give up. I can already hear the sound of a thousand keyboards typing out responses to this how numerous jurisdictions have laws against "SLAPP" lawsuits.
xgkickt 2y ago
Leeches.
lawlessone 2y ago
They stole "Web3" too.

92 points by pseudolus 2y ago

I have to give Dong Nguyen credit for pulling the game when he started to believe it caused more harm then good. Unfortunately, greed and money always wins.

ghostDancer 2y ago
That's capitalism and free market. Money, or at least numbers in a spreadsheet, always wins.
- treyd 2y ago
  At least some individuals can have a conscience even if the system tends to iron that out at scale.
minraws 2y ago
> Unfortunately, greed and money always wins. I just feel sad that I have nothing to refute it with. So I am going to go and cry in a corner now.
- rachofsunshine 2y ago
  I realize this is about a million times easier said than done - not least because I am trying to do it and it is in fact very hard - but you refute it by doing it better yourself. I think we've all kind of internalized this idea that you have to be a shark to do business. But insofar as businesses are profitable (and many are), every dollar of profit represents a dollar of ruthlessness that that company didn't have to execute. If a company has a 10% profit margin, they can be 10% less ruthless, and that turns out to buy their way out of a lot of the worst abuses. Or at least it could if the company's leadership wanted it to. But there is absolutely nothing stopping you, in principle, from starting a company of your own, choosing not to hand de facto control over it to shareholders, and making the executive decision not to screw people for an extra dollar. You can do that. In fact, the Flappy Bird guy did exactly that - it's just that in this case he got outmaneuvered by predatory jerks. (Or, if you want to frame it differently: he got outcompeted in the legal arena, as obviously wrong as that is in this instance.) The only problem here is that he lost, so...you know, don't lose. Be as much of a shark as you need to be to do business and defend yourself against the other sharks, but no more than that, and you'll be doing a lot better than the status quo.
mrkramer 2y ago
>I have to give Dong Nguyen credit for pulling the game when he started to believe it caused more harm then good. If he thought the game's design was "evil" why did he make the game in the first place? If you want to make a game, you need to actually sit down, come up with a game concept, prototype it and then produce it and finally publish it. He did all that but believing nobody or very few would play it but in reality Flappy Bird was sleeper hit and when it became viral he melt down. Whacky media headlines drove him "crazy" not bad or addictive game design of Flappy Bird. If you want to be a creator of any kind you need to be open to all sorts of feedback; both bad and good, crazy and kind etc. etc. >Unfortunately, greed and money always wins. They don't....if he wanted to protect whatever was left of Flappy Bird's brand he should've copyrighted it and let it rest in peace and not left it for grabs.
- ASalazarMX 2y ago
  > If he thought the game's design was "evil" why did he make the game in the first place? It is such a simple game, who would have thought it would inspire such overreaction? Tetris was much more addictive, and it was seen as an interesting phenomenon, but these days communication is so manipulative and violent, it seems any minor problem gets magnified into yet another crisis. Think about it: Flappy bird is ruining lives. It was said with a straight face in many infotainment shows. Anything in excess can ruin lives, should we avoid cars, knives, alcohol, smartphones, videogames, food, water, etc.? Flappy bird was never the problem, IMO the author likely withdrew it because the media magnificaton was becoming scary.
  - mrkramer 2y ago
    >Think about it: Flappy bird is ruining lives. It was said with a straight face in many infotainment shows. They said the same thing about World of Warcraft, Dota, League of Legends, Fortnite and countless other examples. People and I believe all mammals are prone to the addictions, that's why you need to teach yourself self-control or find somebody else who can teach you that or perhaps help you to control yourself. >Flappy bird was never the problem, IMO the author likely withdrew it because the media magnification was becoming scary. Exactly, sensationalistic media headlines made him depressed not Flappy Bird as a game.

miah_ 2y ago

Crypto bros ruin every single thing they touch.

solardev 2y ago
Except Nvidia stock prices (Edit: Not anymore, obviously!)
- pavlov 2y ago
  Are GPUs still used for mining at scale that would be meaningful for Nvidia’s earnings? Ethereum switched to plutocracy, I mean proof-of-stake, years ago.
  - byteknight 2y ago
    Have you missed the LLM wave?
    - pavlov 2y ago
      That has nothing to do with crypto.
      - MrGilbert 2y ago
        Well, it's AI Bros then.
  - solardev 2y ago
    No, no, sorry. That was all years ago. Crypto's come and gone.
- JohnFen 2y ago
  Nvidia is riding on the AI bubble now.
  - sidewndr46 2y ago

_fat_santa 2y ago

> The main crypto-related project listed on the 1208 Productions site is a set of NFTs based around the "Deez Nuts" joke/brand. The webpage for that project also lists Roberts (aka "Papa Nut") as a partner of The Doge Pound NFT project. Would it kill these guys to have one original idea.

burner-kqa 2y ago
You say that like it's even possible for these people to have original ideas.
beaglesss 2y ago
Now I understand why they so badly wanted Dong's goods.
diggan 2y ago
> Would it kill these guys to have one original idea. 80% of all mainstream projects in each "hyped niche" (like blockchain, nfts, AI with LLMs) are just rehashing the exact same idea with a 1% change from the previous attempts, if even that. Judging by the funded startups by Ycombinator and alike, original ideas is not what they're funding or out after at all. For original ideas I think you have to start sucking up knowledge from research papers and associated conferences instead, seems to be the best way to get better understanding of the frontier, rather than looking at VC funded startups.

martius 2y ago

Ok, they have the trademark, but how does it give them the permission to reuse or copy the original game assets, designs, etc?

doublerabbit 2y ago
It doesn't. But you can only fight for the restriction of those who do if you have the resources. I doubt he has. Anyone can illegally take anyone's content and use it. It's not until the courts are involved you can't. Some are just better funded than others, like Disney.
- sidewndr46 2y ago
  It's interesting how so many people miss this. I often hear "Big Co. can't do Y, it'd be a violation of X!". Well of course they can. No one is going to pull C-Level executives from their beds in the middle of the night because they did something you don't like. Likewise, lots of people seem to think that just because some IP has entered the public domain or it's "fair use" you won't get sued if you start using it. Of course you'll get sued. The plaintiff doesn't expect to win, they expect you to give up. I can already hear the sound of a thousand keyboards typing out responses to this how numerous jurisdictions have laws against "SLAPP" lawsuits.

xgkickt 2y ago

Leeches.

lawlessone 2y ago

They stole "Web3" too.