In 2013 the inventor of a viral gaming app did the unthinkable. His name was Dong Nguyen, and he was the developer who created the popular game Flappy Bird. The game had taken over culture in a matter of months and was quickly getting attention for extensions like a movie, tv series and plenty more. Then abruptly, Nguyen shut down the whole project. At the time, he explained his reasoning this way in a rare interview with Forbes:
“Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed, but it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.”
More than ten years ago, the story created a sensation. He was a rare example of a creator who thought deeply about the societal impacts of his invention, took responsibility for it, and decided the world was better without the thing he had created. This week, the inevitable news came that someone had taken it, chosen to recreate it without permission and then pretend like Nguyen was involved. As if that wasn’t enough, apparently, they integrated crypto to monetize it). Nguyen was understandably ticked off and has denounced the new version of the game … but the question is whether anyone will listen.
It’s an unfortunate fact of humanity that no one wants to listen to the person who tells you not to do something. Even when you already know you shouldn’t do it.
