Flappy Bird

I recently had several days off school, and when I came back, I asked, “so, what did I miss?”. The first answer I got was, “there’s a new game going round called Flappy Bird and I got to, like, six, and Ryan got to thirty three and it’s so addictive!”… You know things are bad when the first thing you get told about (after six days off) is a Flappy Bird game.

So, naturally, I had to go off and find out what the fuss was all about, and since I don’t have an Android phone, I turned to my friend Nikki. I asked if I could have one go… She told me one wouldn’t be enough and that I could keep playing until I reached three points. At first, I was offended, but when my first scores were 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, I understood.

The idea of the game is that you tap the screen to make the bird flap its wings in order to avoid the green pipes (which remind me quite a lot of Super Mario). It’s the simplicity, yet difficulty, which makes it so addictive. There’s really nothing else going for it; it doesn’t have amazing graphics, progressive levels, or any particular sense of challenge… It just seems so ridiculously easy that there seems to be no reason why you shouldn’t do better next time.

One website I found gave tips on how to do better at Flappy Bird…
1. Learn to relax.
2. Really, learn to relax.
3. Take breaks.
4. Try to keep your finger nimble.
5. Rhythm.
6. Win medals.
7. Take off any case or screen cover on your phone.
8. Use a big screen.
9. Give up – You will never win.

There are supposedly 9999 levels of Flappy Bird. The majority of my friends can’t get past level five. Although the game is, for whatever reason, the biggest thing right now, it will eventually drive people insane, and quickly be forgotten.

Just to prove that it isn’t completely impossible, here is a video of a successful Flappy Bird game:

Grand Theft Auto V

Everyone knows Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Auto 5, despite its title, is actually the tenth version of GTA, and the most expensive; it cost Rockstar Games around $260 million to make, which is over double the cost of GTA 4. The game came out on September 17th, only five days ago… already it’s breaking records for selling so fast and making so much money in its opening week.

But along with the ‘open-world environment like no other’, better graphics, and more realistic missions, comes controversy.

GTA games have always been criticised by feminist and activist groups for their incredibly degrading, sexist and misogynistic content; but now, along with vile mistreatment of women, Rockstar Games have introduced a torture scene, which has sparked debate both inside and outside of the gaming world. What makes this worse is that this torture scene is not optional. The only way to complete the game is to torture a helpless, unarmed man. After having spent around £40 on a game, very few people would refuse to do this just because of the ethical issues it raises.

In GTA’s most shocking scene yet, the player must actively engage in torture. To start the scene, we find out the victim is actually innocent. However, the message ‘Do your patriotic duty’ comes up on the screen, and the player is forced to either participate or forfeit the entire game. A workbench is shown covered in equipment which is then used to torture an innocent man. This ranges from pulling out the victim’s teeth, to carrying out the controversial ‘water boarding’ torture technique by pouring a flammable liquid over a victim tied to a chair. The player must then give the victim electric shocks and smash his kneecap with a wrench. All the while, the man is begging for mercy, and saying he’ll tell them what they want to know. He is ignored.

Despite the game’s 18 certificate, it has almost become accepted within society that children as young as five can be playing these games, as long as they can get their hands on them. Even if parents are firm enough to insist that their children do not play these games while under the age of eighteen, there’s still a high chance that they’ll see these scenes while friends or older brothers or sisters are playing them. Children should not have to see scenes of torture, especially in the format of ‘a game’; this gives the impression it’s fun and acceptable. Young children do copy the things they see, and while GTA has an age restriction, the torture is both obscene and totally unnecessary.

Some people are arguing that this scene is ‘glamourising torture’. The counter-argument is that this would mean GTA also glamourises murder, drugs, sexism, prostitution, violence and thieving. The response to this is, ‘Well, perhaps it does’.

Others are saying that although they know torture and sexism is wrong, they are not put off by it. If anything, they say, it is expected. It is typical of Rockstar Games to have such graphic content. GTA 3 made having sex with prostitutes (and then killing them) into an actual gameplay strategy, while Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas came under fire for an (edited-out) sex scene. But since society now ‘expects’ violence and sexism, it seems people have become desensitised to it.

I can appreciate that the game is well made. I can appreciate that the graphics are so good they’re practically life-like. I can appreciate the excitement of breaking the rules in virtual world where no real people are harmed and there are no consequences. But Rockstar Games have possibly gone a step too far with this particular mission. At the very least, they should have included the choice to opt-out, as this scene is incredibly disturbing and uncomfortable to watch, let alone play…