1）据gamezebo报道，《Flappy Bird》开发者Dong Nguyen在最近Rolling Stone的采访中提到了自己的职业生涯，以及关于《Flappy Bird》背后的一些故事。其中要点包括：

*他曾在大学编程竞赛中进入前20名，之后在Punch Entertainment实习，面向手机制作体育类游戏。

*越南并不是一个科技达人辈出的国家，他的一夜蹿红引来了大批狗仔队，为此他不得不躲在朋友家里避开骚扰。

Dong Nguyen(from gamezebo)

*尽管《Flappy Bird》已经下线，但他仍然获得了成千上万的游戏广告收益。

*他收到了许多人控诉这款游戏摧毁了自己生活的信件。他自己曾在高中时沉溺于CS游戏，所以这些信件内容令他感同身受，这也是他决定在App Store移除游戏的一大原因。

*他正考虑重新发布《Flappy Bird》，但会添加建议玩家休息片刻的提示。

*他目前正在开发三款游戏，其中一者是牛仔主题的射击游戏，一者是垂飞翔游戏《Kitty Jetpack》以及动作象棋游戏《Checkonaut》，其中之一将于本月发布。

2）据Polygon报道，《QWOP》开发者Bennett Foddy在最近采访中表示，当你和好友一起玩游戏时，就好像进入了一个具有仪式感的空间，好比是站在音乐会的舞台上，或者婚礼的圣坛上。

bennett_foddy(from indiecade.com)

Foddy表示虽然如今的媒体和玩家都在反复抱怨多人游戏的在线模式，但他针对《Samurai Gunn》、《Towerfall Ascension》以及自己当前的项目《Sportsfriends》表示，作为设计师，他想重塑一种体验本地多人游戏的场合和仪式感，最佳本地游戏并不仅局限于网络游戏的离线版本，它们的设计应该强化这种玩法的社交维度。

3）据venturebeat报道，《愤怒的小鸟》开发商Rovio日前在其YouTube页面发布一个名为“下一款《愤怒的小鸟》游戏”预告视频。

该视频从多个角度展示了一个极具真实感的盔甲，以及一只红色小鸟戴着头盔，但并没有展示任何玩法，仅透露即将在澳大利亚和加拿大发布，之后再进军其他国家市场。

rovio-teases-next-angry-birds-game(from fullcleared.com)

观察者称视频中的小鸟扮相与《无尽之剑》中的主角穿戴十分相似，但目前尚无法得知这究竟是一种巧合，还是Rovio与Epic的合作产物。

4）据Pocket Gamer报道，苹果App Store在最新版iOS 7.1操作系统的搜索结果中显示了游戏含有IAP机制这一情况，以提醒用户加强防范意识，但苹果暂时未针对这一变化发布官方声明。

in app rovio(from pocketgamer)

苹果在过去一段时间曾因儿童用户滥刷家长信用卡购买IAP的行为而备受指责，甚至不得不推出App Store指南，向家长解释IAP的概念，并面向这些受害者创造了一个特殊的退款系统。本次展现的这种应用提示标签，无疑是苹果应对这一现象的扩展措施。

5）据insidemobileapps报道，《Candy Crush Saga》开发商King去年收益达18.8亿美元（其中多数来自《Candy Crush Saga》），但其第三季度和第四季度收益下降约2万美元，同一时期利润则下降超过7.05万美元。

KING-PageData(from AppData)

AppData数据显示，《Candy Crush Saga》今年的月活跃用户（MAU）增长了490%，日活跃用户（DAU）增长570%，同一时期的DAU/MAU粘性则增长了5%。

值得注意的是，该公司收益有78%来自《Candy Crush Saga》，这款游戏Facebook页面的粘性最近急剧下降，在上周流失了5万名“正在讨论”的人群。尽管该页面获得的“赞”数量持续增长，但也即将到达瓶颈状态。

MAU Leaderboard(from AppData)

该公司的另外两款游戏《Pet Rescue Saga》和《Farm Heroes Saga》占据AppData上周榜单前两位。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

1）Dong Nguyen, Flappy Bird creator, tells all to Rolling Stone

By Jim Squires

Few games or creators have ever managed to upset the status quo in the way Flappy Bird and Dong Nguyen did. The game skyrocketed to #1 with zero marketing, earned its creator hundreds of thousands of dollars, and disappeared from the App Store due to a sense of ethics and responsibility; the game was simply too addictive, its creator said.
Asides from a few tweets and a whole lot of speculation, though, we’ve had little to go in in terms of what really happened with Flappy Bird – or to its creator Dong Nguyen. But now, thanks to an interview with Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers, we have the whole story.

If you have even the slightest bit of interest in the phenomenon that was Flappy Bird, you owe it to yourself to check out the whole article. That said, here are a few highlights of what we learned;

After placing in the top 20 spots of a programming competition in University, Nguyen interned at Punch Entertainment where he made sports games for cellphones.

Vietnam isn’t a country that’s used to tech celebrities; his instant fame resulted in a siege of paparazzi and Nguyen’s hiding in the homes of friends to avoid them.

Even though the game is no longer available for download, he’s still making tens of thousands of dollars from ad revenues.

He’s received countless letters from people claiming the game was destroying their lives. A similar Counter-Strike obsession damaged his own performance in high school, so these really hit close to home (and, yes, greatly influenced his decision to remove the game from the App Store).

He’s “considering” releasing Flappy Bird again. If he does, it’ll be with a warning advising players to take a break.

He’s working on three new games: a cowboy-themed shooter, a vertical flying game called Kitty Jetpack, and Checkonaut – an “action chess game.” One of these will launch this month.（source：gamezebo）

2）Defining the true appeal of offline multiplayer

By Christian Nutt

“When you get together to play games with friends, the space you’re in becomes a ritual space, like the stage at a concert or the altar at a wedding.”

- QWOP creator Bennett Foddy, in a new opinion piece on Polygon

These days, multiplayer games that dare to not include online play are dinged by the press and players. But developer Bennett Foddy explains that things are not nearly so simple in an opinion piece that’s half a basic explanation of how networking for games works, and half an impassioned explanation of the art of in-person multiplayer.

In the piece, Foddy defends games like Samurai Gunn, Towerfall Ascension, and the upcoming Sportsfriends, his current project, from detractors who say they ought to have online modes.

“As a designer, I’m looking to recreate the sense of occasion and ritual and importance that I have felt playing local multiplayer games,” Foddy writes. “The best local games aren’t just offline versions of online games — they are designed to intensify these social dimensions of gameplay.”（source：gamasutra）

3）Angry Birds studio teases ‘Epic’ new game with short trailer

Jeffrey Grubb

If mobile gaming has an unofficial mascot, it’s probably the grumpy fowls from the Angry Birds series. And like Mario and Sonic before them, they’re not afraid of branching out.

Angry Birds studio Rovio has something new in the works. The developer posted a teaser trailer to its YouTube page titled “The next epic Angry Birds game.” The clip shows a realistic suit of armor from many angles before revealing the familiar red, avian face of its star character sitting behind the helmet’s mask. Rovio didn’t provide any more details. It didn’t show any gameplay, but the developer did reveal that it will release it soon in Australia and Canada. It will come to other countries afterward. Angry Birds no longer tops the charts as titles like Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans have overtaken it, but it is still a formidable franchise. The franchise has helped Rovio reach 2 billion total downloads across all its games and launch a lucrative line of merchandise. Which is why even if gamers aren’t as into Angry Birds as in the past, Rovio is gonna keep trying to make it work.

While the developer didn’t provide any specifics, we did spot a potential hint.

In the details of the video on YouTube, Rovio explains that the game is “perhaps the most Epic soft launch ever.” Interestingly, the company capitalized Epic, which may refer to developer Epic Games, the maker of iOS hit Infinity Blade. The armor the bird is wearing strongly resembles the equipment the main character wears in Infinity Blade. We’ve reached out to Rovio and Epic to ask if this is just a coincidence, and we’ll update this story with any new information.（source：venturebeat）

4）iOS 7.1 update adds in-app purchase warnings to search results

by Matthew Diener

Apple’s App Store now warns consumers that a game contains in-app purchases from within search results.

The change, spotted by Pocket Gamer editor Mark Brown, was rolled out as part of iOS 7.1 – the most recent version of Apple’s OS – and expands on existing notices designed to raise consumer awareness of IAPs with free releases.

Instead of limiting the ‘offers in-app purchases’ text to app descriptions, the updated App Store now includes the warning prominently within the search results themselves.

In-app action

Apple hasn’t made any official announcement regarding the change, though commentators will likely point out it’s a reaction to increasing heat over just how ‘free’ free-to-play releases are.

The new in-app purchases warning rolled out last night

Facing criticism from consumers and the press alike, Apple has endured a long and storied history when it comes to curtailling unauthorised in-app purchases made within its marketplace – a history that began with class-action lawsuits.

Since then, Apple has launched an App Store guide to explain IAPs to parents and has even gone as far as to create a special refund system for families.

The new, more prominent warning label for apps that contain in-app purchases will no doubt be seen as a logical extension to this process.

It can also be seen as a reaction to the current zeitgeist.

In the past 12 months, the UK’s Office of Fair Trading has drafted up a set of eight principles aimed at protecting consumers from untoward in-app purchases, and the European Commission has taken a pronounced interest in curtailing misleading IAPs as well.（source：pocketgamer）

5）DataPoint: Candy Crush Saga Continues to Grow – But Will It Sustain?

Mona Zhang

When King Digital Entertainment, the makers of the hugely-popular Candy Crush Saga, filed for an IPO last month, there was no shortage of speculation about the company’s sustainability.

Even though the game maker racked up $1.88 billion in revenue last year (largely relying on Candy Crush Saga), there were some worrying signs already. Besides the troubling performances of other social-gaming companies like Zynga, King saw its revenue decline by about $20,000 between Q3 and Q4 of last year, while its profits declined by over $70,500 in the same time period.

User interest is still going strong, according to Mediabistro’s research tool, AppData. Candy Crush Saga continues to enjoy phenomenal growth, with monthly active users (MAUs) up 490 percent this year. Daily active users (DAUs) are up 570 percent this year. Even better news for the company is that DAU/MAU engagement has gone up 5 percent in the same time period, showing that more users are playing the game on a daily basis.

Troubling signs still portend. Besides the decline in revenue and profits, the company relies on Candy Crush Saga for 78 percent of its revenue. The game’s Facebook page has seen a significant decrease in engagement recently, losing almost 50,000 “People Talking About This” in the past week. Though the page has maintained consistent growth in “Likes,” it looks like that is starting to plateau as well. Check out this chart, courtesy of PageData:

It’s worth noting that other games by the company, Pet Rescue Saga and Farm Heroes Saga, are topping AppData’s MAU leaderboard last week.（source：insidemobileapps）