Flappy48 combines the popular games Flappy Bird and 2048.

By Rosie Hales, Communications Officer

The idea was “nothing special,” Queen’s computing student Dan Moran says of a video game he created that drew over 100,000 visitors to the website in the first few hours.

Flappy48 combines two popular games that can be played on mobile devices: 2048 and Flappy Bird. Flappy Bird was discontinued in February, but 2048 is still available for download.

“I often do these competitions called ‘game jams’ where people challenge themselves and others to create a game in short periods of time, say 24 or 48 hours. I figured I’d just quickly whip up this idea for Flappy Bird and 2048 blended together,” says Mr. Moran, Artsci’14. “One time I did a game jam and I was through the roof when my game got 1,000 views. When Flappy48 quickly broke 100,000views my head was spinning.”

Since the game went online Monday, Flappy48 has had more than 900,000 views. He has also produced a mobile version of the game that users can download for free through Google Play and the Amazon App store. Mr. Moran says the iOS version of the game should hit the Apple App Store in the next few days.

“When you see such a huge positive reaction to something you’ve made and something you’re passionate about doing, it’s just a great feeling,” says Mr. Moran. “I hope I can try and channel some of this buzz into my other projects so I can really get involved in the mobile game scene.”

Mr. Moran is graduating from the game development option of the School of Computing’s Software Design Program.

“The success of this game is a testament to Dan’s ingenuity and skill,” says Selim Akl, Director of the School of Computing. “It also illustrates the importance of logical and algorithmic thinking, creativity, and problem solving ability, all fundamental features of the excellent education Queen’s computing students receive."

Flappy48 is now available in the Google Play store.