Tiny Wings
Encyclopedia
Tiny Wings is an iOS game developed by German
game developer
Andreas Illiger
, released on February 18, 2011.
gave the game a score of 8.0/10 and said that it "comes together as a very playable simple pleasure." Slide to Play gave the game a perfect 4/4 and said that the game is "brilliant in its simplicity, originality, and ability to keep you coming back again and again." Games Pundit gave the game 8.5/10 saying that "It’s one of those games that you can just pick up and play to eat up 10 minutes of time and have some fun too." The game was featured by Apple senior vice president Scott Forstall
as a "mind controllingly addictive game" at Apple's 2011 Worldwide Developer's Conference.
In an interview answer discussing current trends in popular games, veteran British game designer Jon Hare
expressed concern with the simplicity of casual games, singling out Tiny Wings as an extreme case of minimalism. He called the game "an insult to professional game designers" that "shows the depths to which the intelligence of the average game has sunk", before going on to say "what we have to do is just embrace it, and teach ourselves to unwind some of our sophistication".
The game has been a major commercial success. It was the top grossing game in the App Store for two weeks from late February 2011 to early March when Angry Birds Rio took its place. It has sold at least 3.5 million copies based on Apple's Game Center
statistics.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
game developer
Game development
Game development is the software development process by which a video game is developed. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from a single person to a large business. Mainstream games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can...
Andreas Illiger
Andreas Illiger
Andreas Illiger is a German self taught game developer that studied Communication Design at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel...
, released on February 18, 2011.
Gameplay
In Tiny Wings, the player takes control of a bird whose wings are too small to fly. The goal of the game is to use hills in order to gain speed and flutter as long as possible. This is done by tapping and holding the screen in order to make the bird dive. The gameplay mainly revolves around timing your taps so that the bird slides down hills and flies up them. The game's one level is separated into several islands, which have predetermined layouts. The game features special missions that allow players to upgrade their nest, which adds a score multiplier. These challenges revolve around reaching specific islands or performing certain tricks a number of times in one game. The game's visuals change daily.Reception
The game has received highly positive reviews. Many reviewers praised the game's simple gameplay but complex nuances. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game a score of 8.0/10 and said that it "comes together as a very playable simple pleasure." Slide to Play gave the game a perfect 4/4 and said that the game is "brilliant in its simplicity, originality, and ability to keep you coming back again and again." Games Pundit gave the game 8.5/10 saying that "It’s one of those games that you can just pick up and play to eat up 10 minutes of time and have some fun too." The game was featured by Apple senior vice president Scott Forstall
Scott Forstall
Scott Forstall is the senior vice president of iOS Software at Apple Inc.Graduating from Stanford University in 1991 with a degree in symbolic systems, he received his Master's Degree for computer science, also from Stanford, the next year....
as a "mind controllingly addictive game" at Apple's 2011 Worldwide Developer's Conference.
In an interview answer discussing current trends in popular games, veteran British game designer Jon Hare
Jon Hare
Jon "Jops" Hare is a British computer game designer, game artist and musician. He is one of the two founder members and directors, with Chris Yates, of Sensible Software, one of the most successful European games development companies of the late 1980s and 1990s.Hare was co-designer and artist of...
expressed concern with the simplicity of casual games, singling out Tiny Wings as an extreme case of minimalism. He called the game "an insult to professional game designers" that "shows the depths to which the intelligence of the average game has sunk", before going on to say "what we have to do is just embrace it, and teach ourselves to unwind some of our sophistication".
The game has been a major commercial success. It was the top grossing game in the App Store for two weeks from late February 2011 to early March when Angry Birds Rio took its place. It has sold at least 3.5 million copies based on Apple's Game Center
Game Center
Game Center is an online multiplayer social gaming network released by Apple. It allows users to invite friends to play a game, start a multiplayer game through matchmaking, track their achievements, and compare their high scores on a leader board.-History:...
statistics.