Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out • Hacker News Board

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#151

Post by dwd » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 2:36 AM UTC

jonny_eh wrote: post #101

theorique wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The scale of wealth is so different, wouldn't he be able to purchase protection? Granted, it would involve a radical lifestyle transformation that might be unpleasant and jarring, but it seems like he already got exposed to that by getting internet famous. Might as well enjoy the money.

You can't transform your lifestyle like that overnight, especially if you value your current one, which it sounds like he did.

He more or less admitted that he can't go back to how it was and buying an apartment and car sound like he's all for embracing a new lifestyle.

He also got himself a passport so I'm surprised he hasn't gone; anywhere but his home country he would be pretty anonymous. Could be just waiting for a visa.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#152

Post by neolefty » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 2:38 AM UTC

legohead wrote: post #11

uptown wrote: post #2

"Then he hit a button, and Flappy Bird disappeared. When I ask him why he did it, he answers with the same conviction that led him to create the game. 'I'm master of my own fate,' he says. 'Independent thinker.'" Good for him. The world needs more people with this attitude.

Or he spent money on buying votes for his game and rather than deal with a ToS breach and lose his money, he took it off the market.

Please stop repeating rumors with no evidence.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#153

Post by unreal37 » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 2:52 AM UTC

rythie wrote: post #77

Blahah wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Others might say chasing $50k/day is a stupid thing to do. With enough money to live off, plenty of people seek happiness elsewhere.

I expect that $50k/day drops off pretty quickly (most I know stopped playing after a few days), if he give got that - it was after all a estimate.

The article says he confirmed it was $50K a day, and he's STILL making >$10K a day. He's doing ok.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#154

Post by sillysaurus3 » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 3:00 AM UTC

minikites wrote: post #139

antirez wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, seen from outside, this seems something strange and, in my opinion, not good about the American culture: there is always somebody to blame for your problem, a reason why you are acting in a given way, an external cause if you suffer a medical problem, eat too much, put all the kind of pills in your body, and so forth. Probably this is representative only of a minority, but from the outside this looks like…

> Example: a violent game can be a way to express violence of an otherwise repressed person, or some other people that is having a few bad weeks, is finding an escape playing at it. Yeah, that's not actually true. "Letting your anger out" makes you angrier. http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/08/11/catharsis/

The second half is quite true though:

or some other people that is having a few bad weeks, is finding an escape playing at it.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#155

Post by TheZenPsycho » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 3:37 AM UTC

specialist wrote: post #109

stcredzero wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what the group think tells us, but in ones personal reality it's not that easy to shrug off. The Internet not only has increased the range of hateful groupthink, it has made a large number of people believe that it is somehow noble and elevated. It almost seems like there's an anti-intelligentsia of forum manipulators who see the creation of new and pointless forms of prejudice as a kind of sport. I have the g…

made a large number of people believe that it is somehow noble and elevated. People haven't changed. There have always been trolls, malcontents, crazies. Attend any public hearing, ask any fan club or newspaper mail room. As a new medium, the distinction of the web is significantly lowered transaction costs. No different from email spammers.

The difference is today, flames are hugely aided by convection.

Or in other words, there's a world of harm that can be done by putting a huge number of these malcontents in contact with each other in a way that they can all cooperate, with laser focus on a single subject.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#156

Post by bennyg » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 3:50 AM UTC

bsenftner wrote: post #25

As a long term developer of entertainment software, I totally agree with his point of view about the impact one's software has upon the lives of the user. The general acceptance goes that the crazies and depressed will be triggered by something and its not your fault if something provocative you worked on triggers an incident. That's what the group think tells us, but in ones personal reality it's not that easy to sh…

I created a fairly successful app that aimed to give users the best drink specials in my college town. I honestly can't bring myself to work on it anymore because I feel morally reprehensible and somewhat socially responsible for binge drinking when alcohol is such a dangerous substance. Who's not going to over-drink when well drinks are $0.25 a pop, nobody makes a ton of expendable income in college, and my app prominently puts that special in front of 3000 sets of eyeballs? I just don't feel like I'm adding goodness to the world - I feel like I'm subtracting it.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#157

Post by unreal37 » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 3:56 AM UTC

mrb wrote: post #136

"Nguyen was earning an estimated $50,000 a day. Not even Mark Zuckerberg became rich so fast." False. Zuckerberg became rich faster. Facebook was founded in February 2004. As of February 2014 Zuckerberg's personal wealth is estimated at $31.6 billion. So, during these 10 years, his wealth increased on average by $8.7 million per day. But I guess the point is moot anyway since RollingStone is comparing apples to orang…

He went from $0 in the bank to $1,000,000 in the bank in the span of a few weeks. That's pretty fast by any standard. Starting from 0.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#158

Post by chris-martin » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 4:59 AM UTC

jusben1369 wrote: post #130

antirez wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, seen from outside, this seems something strange and, in my opinion, not good about the American culture: there is always somebody to blame for your problem, a reason why you are acting in a given way, an external cause if you suffer a medical problem, eat too much, put all the kind of pills in your body, and so forth. Probably this is representative only of a minority, but from the outside this looks like…

Why do you think this is a US specific issue?

Someone in Vietnam released software to the world, therefore this is a story about American culture. That's just how Americans think. It's also necessarily about modern American culture, even if you know absolutely nothing about the past.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#159

Post by NamTaf » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 5:04 AM UTC

georgiecasey wrote: post #115

georgiecasey wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big difference is you weren't being paid! I had a free and ad-free app on Android and I got some abuse about missing features. I took it down after a while. The sense of entitlement was unreal. Now if I was making $50k a day, I'd take all the abuse that could have been thrown at me!

yes. it's only the internet, not like people roaring it in the street.

Actually it was the media and others showing up at his house, as per the article.

Re: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out

#160

Post by NamTaf » Wed, Mar 12, 2014, 5:11 AM UTC

bennyg wrote: post #156

bsenftner wrote: post #25

As a long term developer of entertainment software, I totally agree with his point of view about the impact one's software has upon the lives of the user. The general acceptance goes that the crazies and depressed will be triggered by something and its not your fault if something provocative you worked on triggers an incident. That's what the group think tells us, but in ones personal reality it's not that easy to sh…

I created a fairly successful app that aimed to give users the best drink specials in my college town. I honestly can't bring myself to work on it anymore because I feel morally reprehensible and somewhat socially responsible for binge drinking when alcohol is such a dangerous substance. Who's not going to over-drink when well drinks are $0.25 a pop, nobody makes a ton of expendable income in college, and my app prom…

For what it's worth, Australia's been a pretty good case study on how significantly increased (+70%) taxes - and therefore, prices - for alcohol did not deter binge drinking [1]. All it did was shift the consumption from one form to another, as well as decrease drinking between binges. In that sense, you could arguably say that you're not materially increasing the prevalence of binge drinking but really just saving the money of those who are inevitably going to do it.

Then again, binge drinking here is baked in to the cultural psyche. It may still be seen as more dangerous and therefore less socially acceptable in the States.

[1]: http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2013/06/alcopops-tax-fails...