Still stupid hard, but somehow less annoying with a Muppet.

February 12, 2014 12:22 PM

Flappy Bert is Flappy Bird with, well, Bert. By Sesame Street.
posted by Blue Meanie (45 comments total)

Having set a high score of 3, I am pleased to announce my retirement from Flappy Bert.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:27 PM on February 12, 2014 [13 favorites]

Sweet merciful penguin poop covered bottle caps, that is FAR more difficult than it has any reason to be!
posted by BrianJ at 12:31 PM on February 12, 2014

Terry Cavanagh’s (of Super Hexagon fame) Maverick Bird is my new favorite version of the form.
posted by figurant at 12:33 PM on February 12, 2014 [15 favorites]

Can't be as bad as Fall Out Boy Flappy Bird I guess.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:34 PM on February 12, 2014

This reminds me of the super-difficult Winnie the Pooh baseball game that is also ostensibly for young children.
posted by codacorolla at 12:37 PM on February 12, 2014

ERNIE!

I've gotten to 21 in this after about seven or eight games. The secret seems to be to be a little below the opening in front, then loft through with a couple of flaps.
posted by JHarris at 12:52 PM on February 12, 2014

Also, this appears to be implemented in HTML5, which is nice Sesame Workshop.
posted by JHarris at 12:53 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Is the... um... "original" flappy bird this difficult?

I will enjoy my high score of 8.
posted by zennie at 1:02 PM on February 12, 2014

The hit boxes in this are total bullshit. I've been a noticeable distance away from a pipe and still gotten shot down.
posted by emptythought at 1:05 PM on February 12, 2014

10! I scored 10! 10, I tell you!

Surely there is some country in this world where this kind of ability will secure me a lifestyle as a highly paid, lionized e-sports celebrity!?!!
posted by Naberius at 1:06 PM on February 12, 2014

That's just as much fun as the original! Which is to say it is zero fun.
posted by jbickers at 1:06 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Erniiiiiie!
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:08 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Is the... um... "original" flappy bird this difficult?

It actually seems a bit easier to me compared to the original.
posted by spiderskull at 1:20 PM on February 12, 2014

Flappy Doge.
posted by colie at 1:26 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Try this:

    |     |
    [=====]



/O>         __
 |   __    /  \ 
/ \ /  \  /    \
---/    \/    
O O
\_/
/ \
\_/   
_|_  [=====]
     |     |
     |     |

posted by JHarris at 1:28 PM on February 12, 2014 [3 favorites]

Bert's laugh here is kind of infectious. I didn't remember it from the show, probably because he only cuts loose on rare occasions.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 1:34 PM on February 12, 2014 [4 favorites]

Evidently FlappyJam is a thing now.
posted by jbickers at 1:37 PM on February 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

Evidently FlappyJam is a thing now.

Ooh, Windy Ping is fun!
posted by cashman at 1:41 PM on February 12, 2014

FLAPPY EVERYTHING IS THE DEVIL
posted by photoslob at 1:41 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I just like to quickly plug my new app, Flippy Bird. Every time you look at your phone screen, it flips you off.
posted by perhapses at 1:46 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

The upside of all of this Flappy business is that I was recently reminded of Super Meat Boy and I've been re-playing that instead of playing anything flappy.
posted by cmoj at 1:57 PM on February 12, 2014

I googled and the internets did not let me down. Fappy Sperm. (Link goes to the point where gameplay actually starts. Yes, he does talk for two minutes and 45 seconds before demoing.)
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:58 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'll never get it! I am sorry Ludwig!!". bangs head on keyboard.
posted by jeribus at 2:00 PM on February 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

My local news made a version featuring their weatherman.
posted by starscream at 2:08 PM on February 12, 2014

I can't see the letters KTLA without thinking of this.
posted by JHarris at 2:14 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

The secret, it seems, is to wait until the very last second to jump when you are descending towards the bottom of a passageway. I got 16 using that method. The hard part is not jumping the gun. Also, if you don't want your SO / roommate / parental figure to smash your computer, wear headphones.
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:06 PM on February 12, 2014

I succeeded in freaking out some co-workers, so I'll call that a win.
posted by randomkeystrike at 3:09 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I hadn't seen Sesame Street since I was a child, and watching it with my kids I am delighted with how they stay current. The fact that the curmudgeon old men are now making grumpy comments on YouTube? BRILLIANT. As my mother said, you know you're truly famous once you're on Sesame Street.



How hard this game is = not so brilliant.
posted by blue_and_bronze at 4:04 PM on February 12, 2014

43. Okay to elaborate upon my ASCII art above, I think the thing is to watch Bert's feet. For some reason, I do much better when I do that, trying to get them very close to the pipe while still erring on the side of not touching it.
posted by JHarris at 4:23 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I just pretend that I'm trying to make Bert jump off the pipes. Once you get that mindset it's a lot easier. Got 22 just now!
posted by chrominance at 4:39 PM on February 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Aaaaaaghrhfghk 6 DONE FOREVER
ERNIEEEEEEE
posted by en forme de poire at 6:48 PM on February 12, 2014

57 after about 10 tries. Way easier than Flappy Bird where I only have 34.
posted by yeti at 7:10 PM on February 12, 2014

Somebody made a massively multiplayer version as well (though it seems the site is being hammered at the moment)
posted by markshroyer at 8:51 PM on February 12, 2014

Bird carrying Bert does not appear to be a pigeon. Fail.
posted by D.C. at 9:19 PM on February 12, 2014

I like how the Bert stripes are... I like how I consider them to be Bert stripes.
posted by BiggerJ at 3:27 AM on February 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Bert and Ernie should stand as a lesson to character designers everywhere. They look like opposites. Ernie is wide and short, rounded, wears two-color horizontal stripes and is fairly dark in skin tone. Bert is tall and thin, pointy, wears several-colored vertical stripes and is light-colored.

Just looking at them, you know if you throw these two together into situations, things are going to happen. It's like mixing acids and bases.
posted by JHarris at 4:24 AM on February 13, 2014 [4 favorites]

FlappyBalt from Adam "Atomic" Saltsman, creator of Canabalt.

It's a really fun riff on the FB concept. FlappyBird solitaire pong with Canabalt styling.

I quite like the model here, shared by Maverick Bird, of established designers riffing on a mechanic with styling drawn from their prior work. Feels like a productive gaming meme economy (or something).
posted by wemayfreeze at 3:37 PM on February 13, 2014

Floculous Bird, first-person Flappy with Oculous Rift support.
posted by wemayfreeze at 9:23 PM on February 13, 2014

The problem with web games is I'm honestly not sure if I've gotten better or if they've made the game easier. (Not that 21 is fantastic, but it's better than 6)
posted by Gary at 9:56 PM on February 13, 2014

Flappy Space Program

I got 5 birds in orbit.
posted by yeti at 7:00 AM on February 14, 2014 [5 favorites]

That one's a keeper, yeti!
posted by JHarris at 7:23 AM on February 14, 2014

Protip: You can use any key on the keyboard in Flappy Space Program instead of clicking the mouse button. Alternating between two keys makes it really easy to lift off.
posted by Gary at 1:13 PM on February 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

My own contribution to the jam - Spitty Octopus
posted by RobotHero at 10:36 PM on February 15, 2014 [2 favorites]

FLAPTHULHU
posted by homunculus at 11:44 AM on February 17, 2014

Delirious Bird
posted by Going To Maine at 6:35 AM on February 21, 2014