Pugo: Not just another Flappy Bird clone

MANILA, Philippines – Who would have thought Flappy Bird could be so inspiring?

Patrick and Camy Cabral did. The Filipino art director newlyweds developed their first app “Pugo” based on the mobile phone gaming-hit.

(READ: What Flappy Bird can teach us about love)

The couple was already working on several concepts for an app but because of some technical difficulties and a long time frame, they decided to create something simple and can be done quickly.

It only took them 10 days to produce the app – from the art to the coding. The video below shows the early stages of the app development.

“It came as a sign when Flappy Bird was going to be taken down. We seized the chance and we had friends who encouraged us to just give it a try,” Patrick said in an interview with Rappler.

“We wanted to experiment on what we think Flappy Bird could have been from our artistic perspective as well as improve on the gameplay.”

Like Flappy Bird, you earn points in Pugo by tapping the screen and avoiding obstacles in the form of trees and bushes. The small pink quail also dies when you hit the ceiling or the floor.

Pugo, however, is bigger and thus feels heavier than Flappy Bird. The gaps between the trees and bushes are also wider, giving the navigator more breathing room to prepare for the next obstacle.

What sets it apart is the opportunity to collect lives to prolong the bird’s journey.

“It’s like playing a slot machine, you keep pulling the lever expecting to win. It’s that expectation and anticipation to try and keep it going as long as you can with the promise of that extra life.”

(WATCH: TechRap: Flappy Bird tips & tricks)

A feast for the eyes

A lot of Flappy Bird clones have already been released since it was taken down, but Patrick says Pugo offers more. As art directors, the couple worked on improving the graphics and user experience of the game.

Instead of 8-bit graphics, Pugo is a visual treat with the lettering and layers of detailed illustration that the husband and wife created themselves.

Although they wanted to have more crisp images, they had to tone it down and keep the app’s size as close to 5MB as possible.

“We were at one point considering creating the elements in vector like the fonts but it would take more time and we didn’t have that. We wanted to release this quickly while the Flappy Bird hype is still there,” Patrick explained.

Although quails are usually brown or gray, Camy used pink for the character because they wanted Pugo to stand out from the background – something that they can identify with and feel themselves as artists.

Patrick explained they chose the pugo (Filipino for quail) as the game’s character because they want the Philippines to look past its fascination for kwek-kwek. It is “more than just a delicacy” but “a low flying bird with an ambition to go far.”

They also added a bit of Filipino flavor to the visuals by making the Philippine Flag a power up with the sun and 3 stars from the flag bursting as you collect it.

The future of Pugo

Pugo is only available for iOS for now but users can expect an Android version in the next 2-3 weeks.

Patrick says they are also in the process of improving the game some more. More colors for the bird and different environments are already in the works.

They want to explore how to make the medal system that Flappy Bird has to have the same value to the users as the score.

The couple says they want to create more games with a Filipino twist in the future. Patrick also teased they are planning to release a children’s book app in the next 6 months. – Rappler.com