Theme Only Games: Temple Run 2 and Tiny Wings
Temple Run 2 is an endless running game developed by Imangi Studios and is available on the App Store and Google Play. Tiny Wings is also a variant of the endless running genre. It is developed by Andreas Illiger and is only available on the App Store. Interestingly, the first versions of both games were released in 2011.
Target Audience
As both games are part of the endless running genre and have relatively straightforward complexity and difficulty, the games are targeted towards a young audience. The theme of Tiny Wings can appeal to nature and bird lovers, whereas the theme of Temple Run can attract those who crave thrill and adventure.
Formal Elements
Both games essentially pit the player against the game itself. In Temple Run, the player is running from a big, angry monster who is chasing after you, and in Tiny Wings, the player is racing against the sun. However, both games also feature an in-game leaderboard where players can share their high scores and indirectly compete against other players. The latter feature is not a core part of the game and was likely added to keep the games relevant for a longer period of time, as it can get very monotonous to simply keep competing against a computer.
Another similarity between the two is that the player’s objective is to race, whether it be against the sun or away from an angry monster. And instead of having a finish line, the race tests who lasts the longest. This works great for new players who are trying out a game from this genre for the first time. However, over repeated play, in some cases, you need to spend a good 15 minutes to beat your previous high score. This is especially evident in Temple Run where a small mistake can restart your progress as compared to Tiny Wings where mistakes only slow you down. Tiny Wings has even added a “Chapter 2” to its game that allows players to compete against other computer-controlled birds and limits each game to roughly a minute each. This is very convenient and increases the appeal of the game to a larger target audience.
Interestingly, the two games are quite different in their rules & mechanics. In Temple Run 2, the player has to swipe up to jump over an obstacle or swipe down to slide under it. When the path forks, the player also needs to either swipe left or right. If part of the path is broken, the player has to tilt the phone to move to one side of the path. This definitely increases the complexity of the game as the player has little time to decide the optimal action. On the other hand, Tiny Wings has only two mechanics. The first is tap and hold, which allows the player to bring the bird down on one end of a hill. The second mechanic is releasing the previous hold and letting the momentum carry the bird even higher as it reaches the other end of the next hill. However, this relative simplicity can be deceiving as, in my opinion, Tiny Wings is a much harder game than Temple Run 2. This can be perhaps be attributed to two main factors. First, you get much less time to decide the optimal action in Tiny Wings, thus increasing the chance of choosing a suboptimal action. Second, every mistake and suboptimal action accrue over time and consequently slow you down, as opposed to Temple Run in which each race is perfect until the moment you make the first mistake and end the race.
The dynamics of the two games are also largely similar. Other than the obvious dynamic of dodging obstacles, the two games also have two other interesting dynamics. First, you can collect power-ups in each race. There is only one kind of power-up in Tiny Wings that speeds you up once collected. Temple Run 2 has many different power-ups, such as a speed boost, a shield a coin magnet. Second, you can also collect the in-game currency of coins, which is the same in both games. These dynamics seem to exist in order to break the monotony of endless running. Consequently, the player always keeps a lookout for special items that may suddenly appear in its field of view, thus staying focused on the race for a longer period of time. Accumulation of the in-game currency also allows the player to purchase cosmetic items, and even upgrade power-ups in Temple Run 2, thus incentivizing the player to keep playing the game regularly.
Types of Fun
Both games try to evoke a sense of challenge through obstacles. However, Tiny Wings seems to do it a lot more successfully than Temple Run. In Temple Run, you can solve all obstacles with just one single mechanic. For example, in order to jump over a tree root, you just need to swipe up. On the other hand, the interaction of the mechanics in Tiny Wings is deceivingly complex, as hinted above. As the bird loses momentum, the player has to make two important decisions that don’t have binary options, unlike Temple Run. For example, the player needs to decide when to start tapping and holding in order to bring the bird down, and when to release in order to minimize loss of any momentum as the bird starts climbing back up. This requires the player to use a higher level of logic and observation, thus evoking a stronger sense of challenge than in Temple Run.
However, despite the higher complexity, at its core, Tiny Wings simply tests the player’s reflex speed, just like Temple Run. Therefore, it is easy to ignore many elements of the game and just focus on training your reflex. This creates a sense of abnegation, which is further reinforced by the repetitive nature of each race. This leads to players using the game as means of taking a short break and zoning out, instead of appreciating the various elements of the game.
In order to break this monotony, both games try to create a fantasy for the player. This is especially obvious in Temple Run in which there is a drum beating incessantly at a high tempo in the background. In combination with the big, angry monster chasing after you, the player can truly feel like they are in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie. Even the obstacles such as the river of lava, snakes coiling on the path, carnivorous plants constantly chomping around, etc. work together harmoniously in completing this theme. The climax of the race, when the monster catches up to you is definitely scary yet thrilling, making you want to try another race. Tiny Wings create a very different mood by using calm and peaceful background music. Combined with the endless rolling hills and the sound of nature, the player is able to enjoy the serenity of flight that is experienced by birds. The end of the race is also completely non-violent as the bird goes to sleep once the sun sets into the background.
Moments of Success and Possible Improvements
Tiny Wings does a great job of creatively using its mechanics to create a strong level of complexity. It took me quite a while to get the timing of holding and releasing right and start getting a decent high score. On the other hand, I was able to create a decent high score in my first try of Temple Run 2. This can be useful to hook new players by showering them with achievements and rewards at the start. However, it can also make them feel bored after quickly ‘mastering’ the game. Therefore, Temple Run can try to use its existing mechanics more creatively before layering more things on top of them.
Temple Run has successfully created a very immersive theme via the nature of the race, the appearance of the obstacles, and the accompanying sound effects. This allows Temple Run to easily distinguish itself from other games in the genre. On the other hand, although Tiny Wings has coherently implemented its theme, variants of this theme are quite prevalent in other games like Angry Birds and Flappy Bird. Consequently, it is harder for Tiny Wings to distinguish itself and appeal to a young audience. Therefore, it can attempt to create a stronger theme perhaps by adding a narrative to the gameplay.
However, I personally enjoyed the peacefulness of Tiny Wings as it is a lot more than the thrill and adventure of Temple Run, therefore indicating that Tiny Wings might be targeting an older target audience than Temple Run.
