"I can guarantee you that there are another 1000+ games out there just as simple and playable as flappy bird out there."
I don't know that this is true. Or maybe it's true for "simple and playable", but maybe they're missing the "fun and addictive" qualities that made Flappy Bird work.
There's a lot of subtle things that made Flappy Bird a game people enjoyed- the exact responses of the control, the timing and spacing of the obstacles, the quickness of the games, the ease of restarting, and so on. If any of that had been slightly off, it might not have made it.
I'm not at all sure he got all that right intentionally, it might well be he just got the balances right through accident.
But I do think the precise qualities of the game did matter, and I don't think there's a huge number of games out there that could have done just as well.
It's a mistake to cast these things in absolutes. Hopefully I didn't do that.
Of course, all those things you mention are important. Critical, even. But appstores are not meritocracies, no more than the music industry is. You've got to be working at the top of your game, getting all the details right, and even then 1) you've got a small chance of making it big, and 2) somebody with less skill and execution might do much better than you do.
These aren't reasons to give up, just to understand the risks involved. This market exists to extract the maximum amount of developer work for the minimum amount of money. That way the consumers love their little gadgets more -- and will buy even more. It does not exist to make really great developers a decent living. (Although that's certainly possible)
I don't know that this is true. Or maybe it's true for "simple and playable", but maybe they're missing the "fun and addictive" qualities that made Flappy Bird work.
There's a lot of subtle things that made Flappy Bird a game people enjoyed- the exact responses of the control, the timing and spacing of the obstacles, the quickness of the games, the ease of restarting, and so on. If any of that had been slightly off, it might not have made it.
I'm not at all sure he got all that right intentionally, it might well be he just got the balances right through accident.
But I do think the precise qualities of the game did matter, and I don't think there's a huge number of games out there that could have done just as well.