Rarely does an imitation become more successful than an original. Angry Birds has become one of the most popular multiplatform videogame franchises. However the foundation of their gameplay was quite similar to a previously released game, Crush The Castle. There were plenty of similarities between the two games, however Angry Birds tweaked some characteristics and became a sensation. This essay focuses on a comparison between both games to figure out why Angry Birds “Crushed” the Castle.

1. Module: Psychology Of Design
Assignment 2: Angry Birds “Crushed” The Castle
M.Des 1.1
Name: Harshal Desai
Lecturer: Filip Fransen
Date of Submission
06/12/2011
Word Count: 2092

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary.................................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3
Gameplay ................................................................................................................................... 4
Graphics ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Aggression and dark humor ....................................................................................................... 7
Reward system ........................................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 12
Works Cited .............................................................................................................................. 13
1|Page

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Rarely does an imitation become more successful than an original. Angry Birds has become
one of the most popular multiplatform videogame franchises. However the foundation of
their gameplay was quite similar to a previously released game, Crush The Castle.
There were plenty of similarities between the two games, however Angry Birds tweaked
some characteristics and became a sensation.
This essay focuses on a comparison between both games to figure out why Angry Birds
“Crushed” the Castle.
2|Page

4. INTRODUCTION
Crush The Castle is a popular casual strategy and physics based videogame that transports
you back to the days of yore, where a trebuchet – a medieval engine of war, is loaded with a
variety of rocks to decimate the resistance. The premise of the game is there are two
kingdoms, Redvonia and Arcturia. The player, under the orders of the Redvonian King, has
to kill and conquer the lands of Arcturia by destroying all the castles in the rival kingdom.
(Armorgames.com, 2009)
Originally, a flash action game, the storyline has a medieval environment and versions of the
game were made available for the iPhone in early 2010. The goal is to injure all inhabitants
of various castles using a standard trebuchet to fling large rocks or bombs at their castles.
Crush the Castle was released in 2009 and has been played more than 20 million times just
through their website. However, the game never really took off to the level of success as
Angry Birds managed to capture. While both games are quite similar, this essay analyses
the key differences between both games to understand why Angry Birds “Crushed” The
Castle.
3|Page

5. GAMEPLAY
The overall gameplay is slightly more complex. Players fling rocks by launching a trebuchet.
In this case, unlike the slingshot from Angry Birds, the angle of the trebuchet is not
controlled by the user and depends on split second clicking. It requires two clicks, one to
launch the trebuchet in a swinging motion and another to fling the rocks off to cause
destruction and damage on the fortified structures of the rival kingdom. It takes a few
repetitions to get used to the timings and requires a certain degree of concentration.
Figure 1: Gameplay instructions (Source: (Games Similar to Angry Birds, 2011))
With a level increase, the players can unlock an arsenal of eight rocks with unique
properties, similar to the features of each bird. Players have more freedom here to choose
the arrangement of the rocks, being able to switch between different types whereas Angry
Birds made the game challenging by providing only a specific set of birds for each level. Also,
the birds are animated when flung in the air, being able to activate certain traits mid-flight
while clicking on them. The rocks in Crush The Castle have no special mid-flight capabilities,
leading the players to not focus enough on the flight path, and not having a traced
trajectory line makes it harder for the player to correct his aim. All these factors make the
4|Page

6. game quite difficult to play and could result in the player just losing interest in the game
after a couple of failed attempts.
Crush The Castle does not have “last resort” strategy for players who are stuck on a level.
The only way to pass through is to kill the resistance and move forward whereas Angry Birds
has the mighty eagle that can decimate the entire landscape in one blow. To make the game
slightly easier however, one does not have to kill all the enemies in order to proceed to the
next level. As long as 85-90% of the scene is destroyed, its considered as ‘conquered’ and
the player moves on to the next battleground.
What makes Crush the Castle appealing (and addictive) is its medieval setting. This was a
time when other similar role playing games were quite popular: Age of Mythology, Heroes
of Sparta etc. There was a repetitive medieval theme to these games and Crush the Castle
followed suit, trying to stand out by making their game more casual and simple for the
players. However, the realistic graphics paired with a monotonous gameplay, and dedicated
focus resulted in hampering Crush The Castle to become a franchise success.
5|Page

7. GRAPHICS
Niklas Hed, COO of Rovio had mentioned about the bright colors and the cartoonish
appearance of birds and pigs, explaining the reason behind the characters as a satirical
reference to the Swine Flu Epidemic. (Kendall, 2011)
Crush the Castle however, had no similar connotations. The graphics were just kept under a
realistic medieval setting, using forests and mountains in the background and having
characters such as knights, maidens, commanders, princes etc.
The colors used are toned
down, almost resembling
the effect of dusk.
The lack of bright vivid
colors could have affected
gameplay since one of the
reasons behind Angry
Birds’ popularity depends
on its usage of vibrant
hues to make the game
appear more active and
appealing. (Mauro, 2011)
Though the arrangement
of the structures is quite
similar, with both games
sharing a realistic breaking
effect,
the
complex
gameplay
and
dull
environment
are
a
definitive factor in the
downfall of Crush The
Castle.
Figure 2: Comparison of graphics (Source: Google images, Search : Crush the Castle)
6|Page

8. AGGRESSION AND DARK HUMOR
Crush the Castle is quite open with its aggressive gameplay and sadistic humor.
According to the storyline, the king has ordered the play to destroy all the bases in the rival
kingdom and expand his own empire. The primary goal of the player is follow the king’s
orders to kill and conquer the opposition. Konrad Lorenz talks about this aggressive
behavior as instinctual aggressiveness. He had combined Freud’s theories on aggression
with Darwin’s theory of evolution talking about how the survival and success of a species
depends on the violent tendencies they exhibit in order to survive or eliminate their
competition. (Lorenz, 2002)
Crush The Castle follows through this theory by the primal urge of eliminating the other
group in order to grow larger and expand to other territories. Such violence has been
observed throughout history from great conquerors like Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan Etc.
Figure 3: Blood spurts in CTC (Source: http://blog.addictinggames.com/tag/crush-the-castle/ )
Unlike Angry Birds, when the enemy is defeated in Crush the Castle, the visual imagery
shows a lot of bloodshed and corpses lying lifeless against the broken walls. While Angry
Birds resembles a more cartoonish nature, Crush The Castle is more realistic, showing
glimpses of an actual war where none of the characters are spared, not even the maidens in
the game.
7|Page

9. Regarding the players, Crush the Castle does provide a release to a player’s aggressive
tendencies. It is due to the primitive connection of man being able to use rocks as weapons.
Dr Tomas Chamorro Premuzic further proved it in his research, stating, “Players may not
realize it but violent videogames provides a cathartic effect”. (Goldsmith University of
London)
Another key difference is in Angry birds, the players legitimized the actions of tossing
kamikaze birds at diseased looking pigs because the overall theme was based on a fictional
cartoon environment, making it less realistic. This gave the player free reign to cause as
much damage and destruction as they pleased without feeling guilt or empathy. The
storyline also provides a positive reason for the player to retaliate. After all, what parent
wouldn’t fight back if their children’s life was at risk (Svetlik, 2011)
However, for Crush the Castle, there is no legitimate reason for launching rocks at
neighboring countries other than saying that one was ordered to do so. The aggressive
tendencies portrayed in the game follow the simple rule of merciless killing in order to
dominate, and that appeals to the player because of our fascination with combat, the desire
to rule, and the greed of always wanting more, irrespective of whether it rightfully belongs
to someone else.
The events in Crush the Castle mirror modern reality where the brutality of a country’s
military is overlooked by just saying, “we were following orders”.
8|Page

10. REWARD SYSTEM
The reward system of Crush The Castle is based on just scores and auditory/visual elements.
There are no hidden bonus rounds within the game, and the overall reward system is quite
basic compared to Angry Birds. It can best be explained using B.F. Skinner’s radical
behaviorism theory of operant conditioning, specifically reinforcement and extinction
(O'Donohue & Ferguson, 2001)
According to the theory, operant conditioning has two basic purposes, to either increase or
decrease the probability of repeating a certain behavior.
Stimulus Type
Effect: Increases Behavior
Effect: Decreases Behavior
Positive
Stimulus
Negative
Stimulus
Positive Reinforcer
Negative Punisher
Negative Reinforcer
Positive Punisher
Figure 4: Operant Condition. Derived from: (Skinner, 2011)
Angry Birds had studied operant condition on the players and focused on positive and
negative reinforcers, making sure they aren’t too derogatory towards the player. They
ensured their game doesn’t have any punishers. Crush The Castle followed a slightly
different approach.
If we base Operant Conditioning on Crush The Castle, the positive reinforcer is a simple
message stating the mission was successful along with the words “you are a royal success”
written as subtext below. The player also hears three quick bursts of a trumpet signifying a
victory. In Angry Birds, this is more elaborate with a military parade audio and the birds
jumping and cheering at their victory.
Crush The Castle has no typical bonus levels or hidden items to unlock. The game is
relatively straightforward and only has the one positive reinforcer.
9|Page

11. Figure 5: Crush the Castle Victory Screen (Source: Self screenshot)
Negative reinforcers in the game include a mission-failed message, written in bold font, with
the subtext telling the player they are a royal failure, along with two slow trumpet blasts
signifying defeat. While Angry birds has pigs grinning and sniggering at the player, almost
mocking the player, Crush The Castle is less friendly and more direct in tone. By telling the
player they are a royal failure could trigger their addictive impulse to try the levels again in
order to prove their superiority in battle. The player could actually relate to the characters
in the game, feeling self-satisfaction by defeating the enemy.
Figure 6: Crush The Castle Defeat Screen (Source: Self screenshot)
10 | P a g e

12. Unlike Angry Birds, Crush The Castle also has Positive Punishers.
The bloodied carcasses of the victims along with the number of kills at the bottom of the
screen would theoretically be considered as positive reinforcers. It is assumed the goal was
to get the player excited to see the resistance lying lifeless, covered in their own blood.
While it is effective for a select few, for the most part the excessive blood matched with
realistic anguished screams eventually creates a sense of guilt within the player’s
subconscious and they stop playing the game. Counting the number of “killed” people only
adds to the negative stimulus, causing more guilt on a subconscious level. An adverse effect
could also be the desensitization of violence in real life, as shown in many other violent
games depicting murder.
The lack of a more positive reward system adds to the reasons behind the game not
reaching a franchise-level success.
11 | P a g e

13. CONCLUSION
While violent games are pretty popular in their own right, Crush The Castle wasn’t so
successful since it was originally meant to be a casual game.
The reward system made the game popular on the internet, where a player could focus on
the game for hours. However, for casual gameplay such as during commuting, the game
proved to be less effective since it requires a higher degree of focus.
The killing of other characters with realistic blood and screams also turns off most audiences
due to their perceived negativity. Unlike Angry Birds, the storyline behind Crush The Castle
wasn’t justified enough and didn’t connect with most players on an emotional level. While
Angry Birds emphasized paternal emotions, Crush The Castle focused on the player being
commanded by a king to destroy rival factions in order to grow. Nobody likes being ordered
around for extended periods.
The graphics within the game, although realistic, were not dynamic enough and generic
among all the scenes, eventually causing the player to ignore the details. Angry Birds had
subtle changes in the backgrounds that always captured the player’s attention, keeping
them active and alert.
One needs to remember that Crush The Castle was released first. Angry Birds might have
ripped off the original idea in terms of physics based gameplay, but it was a significant
improvement. It could be considered that Angry Birds is theoretically a refined version of
Crush The Castle.
The addictive nature of Angry Birds stems from its simplicity and its reward system that
subconsciously keeps the player wanting to interact with the game repeatedly, like a slot
machine at a casino.
Crush The Castle was supposed to have a simplistic gameplay, however the creators added
too much realism and focused less on the actual backstory. All these factors contributed to
the game being a big hit on the internet, but it failed to successfully transition into a
multiplatform franchise.
A newer version of the game is currently in development and it is possible the creators will
significantly alter it to match the gameplay of Angry Birds. It remains to be seen if Crush The
Castle and still reach the level of fame as Angry Birds.
12 | P a g e

14. WORKS CITED
(n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2011, from Goldsmith
http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/premuzic/
University of
Armorgames.com.
(2009).
Retrieved
December
http://armorgames.com/play/3614/crush-the-castle
06,
London:
2011,
from
Games Similar to Angry Birds. (2011, February 20). Retrieved December 06, 2011, from
Hardiannazief.com:
http://hardiannazief.com/02/6-flash-based-game-similar-toangry-birds/
Chorost, M. (2011, January 4). How I kicked my addction to the iphone game Angry Birds.
Retrieved
November
16,
2011,
from
PsychologyToday.com:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/world-wide-mind/201101/how-i-kicked-myaddiction-the-iphone-game-angry-birds
Harrigan, K. A., Collins, K., & Dixon, M. J. (2010). Addictive Gameplay: What Casual Game
Designers can Learn from Slot Machine Research. Vancouver, British Columbia:
International Conference on the Future of GAme Design and Technology.
Kendall, P. (2011, February 07). Angry Birds: The story behind iPhone's gaming Phenomenon.
Retrieved
November
15,
2011,
from
The
Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/8303173/Angry-Birds-thestory-behind-iPhones-gaming-phenomenon.html
Lorenz, K. (2002). On Aggression. Routledge.
Mauro, C. (2011, February 6). Why angry birds is so successful and popular: A Cognitive
teardown of the User Experience. Retrieved November 12, 2011, from
MauroNewMedia.com:
http://www.mauronewmedia.com/blog/2011/02/whyangry-birds-is-so-successful-a-cognitive-teardown-of-the-user-experience/
Miller, D. (2011, August). Angry Birds: A psychiatrist explains the addiiction. Retrieved
November
17,
2011,
from
Kevinmd.com:
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/08/angry-birds-psychiatrist-explainsaddiction.html
O'Donohue, W., & Ferguson, K. (2001). Operant Conditioning and the Experimental Analysis
of behavior. In W. O'Donohue, & K. Ferguson, The psychology of B.F. Skinner (pp. 73100). California: Sage Publications Inc.
Skinner, B. (2011). About Behaviorism. New york: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Svetlik, J. (2011, March 9). Angry Birds: The psychology of its success.
13 | P a g e