First Game Towards Video Company Gaming Empire

Inigo cracked his knuckles and took a deep breath.

Flappy Bird.

A simple game, yet so infuriatingly addictive that it dominated mobile gaming charts in his past life.

Originally developed by Dong Nguyen, the game had taken the world by storm. The premise was deceptively simple—tap the screen to keep a tiny, pixelated bird in the air, navigating it through gaps between green pipes.

The controls? One tap.

The mechanics? Gravity and momentum.

The difficulty? Unforgiving.

And that was what made it so addicting.

Flappy Bird was a game that anyone could play, but few could master.

The brutal learning curve triggered something in people—the need to prove themselves, to beat their own high score. Every time they failed, it felt like they were so close to making it further.

That one more try mentality turned casual players into obsessed addicts, and before they knew it, hours had passed.

And the best part?

It was incredibly easy to make.

He didn't need a complex game engine or advanced graphics. Just a simple physics system, collision detection, and pixel-art assets—all of which he could create in a matter of days.

With a confident grin, he pulled up the only game development tool that his old laptop could handle:

Adobe Flash and ActionScript 3.0.

It was primitive, outdated, and far from ideal.

But in the early 2010s, Flash was still king for simple 2D games.

If he wanted a better engine like Unity or Unreal Engine, he'd need a stronger PC—which meant making money first.

So for now, Flash would have to do.

Step 1: Creating the Game Mechanics

Inigo started with the core gameplay loop.

The Player Character (Flappy Bird)

The bird sprite would be a small, pixelated character that responded to gravity.

A single tap would apply an upward force, making it flap.

Gravity & Momentum

Without tapping, the bird would slowly descend.

If it touched the ground, game over.

Pipes as Obstacles

Pipes would spawn randomly with gaps in different positions.

The pipes moved toward the player, simulating forward movement.

Collision Detection

If the bird touched a pipe, the game ended instantly.

There were no extra lives. Fail once, start over.

Score System

Every pipe passed added +1 to the score.

The higher the score, the more determined the player became to beat it.

Step 2: Making It Addictive

Inigo knew that Flappy Bird's real success came from two factors:

 Frustration leads to Addiction

 Simplicity leads to Accessibility

So he had to nail the balance.

Instant Restart:

No waiting, no menus—just tap and try again.

Minimalist Art:

Bright colors, simple shapes, nothing distracting.

Satisfying Sound Design:

A subtle "whoosh" sound when the bird flapped.

A sharp "thud" when it hit the pipes (triggering frustration).

A cheerful ding when passing a pipe (triggering dopamine).

Bragging Rights:

A high score system that taunted players to try again.

Later, when he had an online system, he'd add leaderboards.

Unfair, Yet Fair:

The game was punishing, but never unpredictable.

If you lost, it was always your fault—which made players determined to improve.

Step 3: Coding the Prototype

For the next three hours, Inigo typed furiously.

His laptop's aging processor struggled, the fan whirring like an exhausted runner.

But little by little, Flappy Bird started to take shape.

He coded the bird's physics, ensuring it fell naturally but could flap with just enough force to stay airborne.

Then, he programmed the pipes to spawn at randomized heights, scrolling from right to left at a constant speed.

By the time he finished, he had a barebones prototype—nothing fancy, just a pixelated bird bouncing between two green pillars.

Yet, when he tapped the spacebar and watched the tiny bird struggle to stay airborne, a familiar feeling hit him.

That frustration.

That desperation to do better.

It was working.

Step 4: Testing It Himself.

For the next hour, Inigo played his own game.

At first, he could barely make it past three pipes.

Then six.

Then twelve.

And suddenly, he realized why people would get hooked.

Each failure made him feel like he could do better.

Even though he had coded it himself, he found himself obsessively retrying—until the sun had started to rise.

He leaned back, rubbing his tired eyes.

This was it.

The first step toward his empire.

His very own Flappy Bird, built in a single night.

Now, he just needed to polish it, design the assets, and prepare for launch.

And after that?

The real money-making would begin.

Six hours later.

The heat was unbearable.

Despite the electric fan wheezing in the corner of his room, the stale air hung thick and unmoving.

Inigo groaned, shifting on his mattress. His shirt clung to his back, drenched in sweat.

He cracked his eyes open, squinting at the sunlight seeping through the window.

What time is it?

Reaching for his Blueberry phone, he checked the screen.

12:17 PM.

His first thought? Thank God it's Saturday.

No classes. No shift at the café until late afternoon.

That meant one thing—time to code.

His stomach grumbled, but he ignored it. There were more important things to do.

Without bothering to wash up, he rolled out of bed, shuffled to his desk, and powered on his laptop.

The fan inside groaned in protest, struggling to keep up with the boot process.

He sighed. If he wanted to make real money, upgrading this piece of junk was high on the list.

But for now, it was enough.

Inigo had already laid the foundation of the game the night before. Now came the real work—turning his rough prototype into something that looked and felt like a finished product.

Graphics

Sound Effects

Menus & UI

Optimization

Monetization

Step 1: Graphics

The first version of Flappy Bird in his previous world had a simple, pixelated aesthetic.

He needed:

A flapping bird animation

Pipe obstacles

A background

A ground sprite

Opening Adobe Photoshop 7.0, he painstakingly recreated the visuals from memory.

A small yellow bird with goofy eyes.

Bright green pipes with shading to make them pop.

A blue sky gradient to complete the scene.

Pixel by pixel, the game began to take shape.

Step 2: Sound Effects

Sound was crucial.

A soft whoosh whenever the bird flapped.

A dull thud for collisions.

A satisfying ding when passing a pipe.

He scoured free sound libraries, tweaking the audio files to match what he remembered.

"Perfect."

Step 3: UI and Menus

A game like Flappy Bird didn't need much in terms of menus, but he needed three things:

A Start Screen – Simple logo and a "Tap to Play" instruction.

A Game Over Screen – High score display and restart button.

Score Counter – Floating at the top for easy visibility.

He coded the UI, keeping everything minimalist—no distractions, no unnecessary animations.

Just pure gameplay.

Step 4: Optimization

His laptop sucked.

So if the game ran smoothly on this thing, it'd run on anything.

Reduced unnecessary background processes.

Simplified hitbox detection for collisions.

Capped frame rate to avoid overheating.

After some testing, it ran buttery smooth even on his old machine.

Step 5: Monetization—How to Make Money?

This was the most important part.

Back in his past life, Flappy Bird earned $50,000 per day just from ads.

Inigo knew that mobile game monetization in 2010 was still evolving, but one thing was clear: ads were the way to go.

Banner Ads – Small ads that stayed at the top or bottom of the screen.

Interstitial Ads – Full-screen ads that appeared every few game overs.

He pulled up the Google AdMob SDK, something he hadn't touched in years.

It took two hours, but he finally integrated Google AdSense for mobile gaming into the project.

If all went well? Each player would generate revenue just by playing.

By the time he finished, it was already 5:00 PM.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Time for the moment of truth.

He took a deep breath.

Click.

The Flappy Bird start screen appeared.

The pixelated bird bounced up and down, waiting for input.

He pressed Spacebar.

The bird flapped.

It rose slightly before gravity pulled it down.

Another tap.

It soared higher, narrowly dodging the first green pipe.

Then another.

And another.

His heart pounded as he dodged pipe after pipe.

5 points.

10 points.

15 points.

Then—smack!

The bird hit a pipe.

Game Over.

Inigo sat back, letting out a long breath.

It worked.

It actually worked.

Now, it was time for the next step—publishing it to the world.