Or they may, if they wish, not feel much of anything for the voiceless characters, seeing them merely as pixels. The gamer has the power to project personality traits, thoughts, feelings on to the birds and pigs. The game sets the moral framework, but the plot is determined by the player’s actions. We are fighting this war, sacrificing troops, and making the necessary tactical decisions. The player is also able to enter the story directly. Other levels present lavish palaces for the king, adorned with indestructible Roman columns and large treasure chests. One level features a swimming pool, complete with inflatable tubes and rubber duckies. We even learn a few bits and pieces about the pig society. The sprawling ‘pig’ city can be glimpsed in the background of the cutscenes, a metropolis that dwarfs the humble straw nests of the birds. The pigs are twice, at times even three times, the size of the birds. It appeals to our innate desire to see evil vanquished and the underdog succeed. The story comes with a moral alibi - the assault on the pig kingdom appears to be justified.Īngry Birds pits the oppressed versus the corrupt. Without this slant, the birds would merely be invaders, murdering the pigs for no reason. Their efforts to kill the pigs and demolish their kingdom are acceptable because the pigs are ruthless fiends who want to eat their children. We also see, via the presence of a crown, that there is a king of the pigs, suggesting that the birds are fighting against an oppressive monarchy.Īs trivial as the plot is, we sympathize with the birds, who are immediately established as victims at the hands of a much larger power. When the player begins the first level there is a short cutscene explaining that the birds, who presumably live in peace, have had their eggs stolen by evil green pigs, who intend to cook and eat them. It is playable by even the most technologically-impaired among us.Īngry Birds proffers a bare bones story. The reason Angry Birds has taken off as a game is that it is brilliantly designed – in terms of both gameplay and aesthetics – to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible. Rovio Entertainment, the game’s developer, has even admitted that less than half of their staff is currently working on game design the majority of its workers are focused on marketing and developing tie-in products. At times frustrating to play, the game is kitsch that has grown more and more obviously corporate as its popularity has increased. No one would argue that Angry Birds is art in any way. And that is the danger when a game is deemed to be below critical consideration - at least given the pernicious messages that Angry Birds sends. But that doesn’t mean Angry Birds shouldn’t be attacked for the cultural damage it is doing. In fact, it could be argued that game has been shaped to sedate its players, serving merely as escapist entertainment. Like a Hollywood comedy or a Top 40 pop single, Angry Birds isn’t designed to challenge the purchaser, to make him or her think. But mobile phone games are being given a free pass, generally dismissed as a novelty. Complex and story-based games such as Gone Home and Bioshock are being analyzed and praised by critics and fans alike. Gaming is currently in a peculiar transitional period as it begins to be taken seriously as an art form. Its uncomplicated controls, addictive nature, and colorful characters have made Angry Birds one of the most successful video games in the history of the medium, becoming a globe-spanning phenomenon in the process. The mass appeal shouldn’t be surprising given that the game’s mechanics are so simple: the player catapults cartoon birds into flimsy buildings in an attempt to destroy enemy pigs and score points. A story of political and moral resistance is packaged to fill corporate coffers.Īs of January 2014, Angry Birds has been downloaded over 2 billion times across all available platforms. The mega-popular video game Angry Birds is nothing if not hypocritical.
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