People, why do we insist that Flappy Bird is a game that is a ripoff of other games? Flappy Bird is as much of a ripoff than it will ever be, thank you very much. Every game shares a few characteristics, and in that sense, every game is the same game, just done in different ways.

Here’s a few of the characteristics each game shares: storylines, character types, and addiction.

Storyline

Flappy Bird has a very very implied storyline, the storyline is so faint we can’t easily make it out, but it is there. In my eyes, it is a story of a bird that lives a very simple life — always avoiding obstacles — but it has to go through a series of obstacles to get places, much like birds in real life do, and much like many of the beloved games we have today. Mario has to save Peach, Link has to save Zelda, Niko has to steal cars and work for Russians to get money and live the dream, etc. (I think you get the idea).

No matter how much we look at a game, deep inside our head has a story to match it, it is how many of the world’s best brains remember information, and it is also natural, because we are social animals and making stories and experiences is part of what we are built to do. Thanks, Nature.

Character Types

More specifically, the character types you see in films and movies are also seen in the game. In GTA 4, Niko is one of the protagonists, and Dimitri is one of the antagonists. Where have we seen protagonists and antagonists before? Shakespeare, film, media, games and story books, just to name a few.

Okay, there is no clear-cut protagonist or antagonist in Flappy Bird, but to the same effect you can say the bird is a protagonist because a protagonist is ‘the one who plays first/main part’, and an antagonist could be the pipes because they are going against the protagonist — they are the enemies, the opponents.

Addiction

Don’t tell me you have not gotten addicted to a game before, if you tell me that I will laugh in your face. We are all addicted to one thing or another, and some of us can’t come to terms with it, some can, but Flappy Bird is like another game I used to play — Super Hexagon, the fast-paced game made me lose track of time, and I always thought ‘one more quick game’, ‘one more’, ‘it shouldn't hurt’. It turns out that 48 hours of my life is responsible for playing that game, which is quite a huge play time… oops!

Again, it is like many other games out there, it is addictive, it has storylines, and the same character types we use in all media. Many genres of games, if not all genres of games, have these three traits. It is what defines them as games.

There was also an article posted by someone with more focus on comparing the two games, rather than Flappy Bird and all the games ever main. Here it is.