Critical Play: Racing Games

Tiny Wings and Temple Run are both racing games. Tiny Wings is a peaceful game where you help a bird whose wings are too small for it to fly glide to its nest faster than the other hatchlings. To do so, the player taps and holds the screen in order to cause the bird to drop. If the timing is correct, the bird will slide down the hills gaining the momentum needed for it to glide through the sky once the player releases their touch. Temple Run, on the other hand, feels much more stressful. In this game, the player runs from demonic monkeys that chase them as they try to navigate to an Aztec temple in search of a valuable golden idol.

Both games use touchscreen capabilities to move, both allow for coin-collection and power-ups, both are a race against the clock, both include obstacles, and both require the player to have focus in order to perfect the timing and “survive.” Yet they feel like night and day. They may have similar underlying principles, but their distinct themes make them stand apart. Tiny Wings is heartwarming where Temple Run makes your heart pound. It’s easy to believe otherwise but important to comprehend that themes, graphics, sound effects, and color palettes define a game just as much as the mechanics do.