Bringing Back 2012 – Dev Diary 2: Your questions answered!

Following last month’s announcement that we’re bringing back Angry Birds Classic, you flooded our tweet with questions!

So in this dev diary update, we want to tackle these head on, as best we can. Here to give you more insight into the project and current status are Sami Ronkainen and Steve Porter.

We have gathered the most recurring questions under certain themes, and will be going through the larger themes, with topic-specific questions to be able to cover as much depth per topic as possible.

Steve Porter:
When we say the Angry Birds game will be premium, we mean there will be a one-off purchase price for all the content at release, just like the original game. We don’t know the price point yet, but it will be cheap. To clarify @KartProEz, yes – to play this remastered, rebuilt version of the original Angry Birds game you will have to buy it – and note: it will not be a free-to-play game and it will not have in-app purchases or ads!

Imagine this as a redux of the original game as it was in 2012, updated to work and be maintained on modern devices – just like old console games that get re-releases on modern platforms.

#BringBack2012
Hello Rovio! I already expressed my feelings in the previous tweet.
Questions:-
Q) I have downloaded old games before 2018, so i need to purchase it again to get the old game?
Q) Will you bring back other classics such as seasons, space, rio etc.
I hope you reply:D

— Red (@KartProEz) November 25, 2021

Sami Ronkainen:
To be totally clear, this will be a completely new app. As we announced in our first update, we are recreating Angry Birds Classic in Unity from scratch, using the 2012 version as a reference. The existing Angry Birds Classic is unmaintainable as it is, being built on an old and non-updateable game engine, and we are having to build this from the ground up. Also with Rovio Accounts long discontinued, you won’t be able to carry progress over from the original game – which again is no longer available in app stores, or supported. But we do hope this rebuild, or remastered version if you will, ultimately gives our fans the opportunity to relive their legendary bird flinging experience from a decade ago!

Steve:
At the moment, we don’t have any plans to reproduce or re-release any of the other titles. We want to use the new version of the original Angry Birds game as a test to not only learn about recreating these famously nostalgic experiences for you all, but also to understand if they truly resonate and get engagement from the community. When we know how well this has been received, we’ll be in a better place to make decisions on other titles.

As far as Star Wars and Rio go, these include 3rd party licenses which would require a lot of investment – so are extremely unlikely to ever get a remastered re-release (sorry to break it like this, but it’s the honest truth).

Sami:
Many of you asked this, including @hectorama501st, but beyond iOS and Android mobile, we don’t have plans to port the games to any other platforms for the foreseeable future. While we hear these wishes from our fans regularly, porting games to platforms like these is unfortunately not a simple process from a technical point of view.

Steve:
With that in mind, it also has to make business sense for both the IP and the Rovio strategy, which is mobile focussed. While we aren’t ruling this out definitively for any title, new or old, currently it is just not in scope of our #BringBack2012 project.

Steve:
You guys are obsessive about which generation and specific art style we use! I love it. So for this re-release, we will be using our game-style birds – so not the movie birds. As for the specific style, they will resemble the birds we had in the Classic game before it left the store, very similar to the style used in Angry Birds Reloaded.

As for new characters – no, of course not! No Silver in this game I’m afraid. This is a release of the original game as it was in 2012. The characters and content from 2012 is what will be in this game. You asked us to #BringBack2012 after all.

And yes @YanNobrega1, we will use the same logo from this time as well – if that’s what you meant. Fonts? Well we’ll see what is practical.

#bringback2012
1. Will the achievements from the IOS version be included for all ports for the AB Classic rerelease?
2. Will the rerelease use the AB Movie font or the AB 2012 font?

— Yan (@YanNobrega1) November 26, 2021

Sami:
We aim to make the game feel as close to the 2012 version as possible, so you will see some very classic bird designs. In fact, one of the challenges we have faced in re-creating the game has been to decide which versions to use. There have been many different generations – but we certainly aim for the retro feeling when playing the game.

Sami:
The content will have all 8 episodes that were live in the game by mid 2012. The Mighty League feature divided the community somewhat, and since it was also released in 2016, won’t be appearing in this game. In terms of new content, stories or characters – again, we are sticking to bringing back the game as it was in 2012. We aren’t ruling out releasing some of the later episodes, but this is something we can only decide with time.

Also this will be a new app – essentially a retro remastered version of the original game – so this means connecting progress from the original app will not be possible, so hopefully that clears things up @Felipne98r.

#BringBack2012
1. Can we use our saves from the rovio accounts from OG classic here? At least a way to port it?

2. If you say that porting is more easily, will you do ports for PC and consoles as well? I would like to get switch ports, but in individual releases

— Felipe Villalobos (@Felipne98r) November 24, 2021

Steve:
The game will be a premium experience, which means no interruptions from ads. There won’t be power-ups either, except MAYBE the Mighty Eagle which was introduced into the original game version 1.5 in late 2010. If he makes it into the game, he won’t need an additional purchase of course.

Steve:
We love that our fans are itching to get their hands some nostalgic merch! Give us some time, and I am sure you’ll see merchandise with the classic characters and styles soon! Regarding the original plush many of you are eager to see, like @AngryBirdsAvent, let me see what I can do.

For the #BringBack2012 Q & A: Can you and please if able to, is it possible if you guys can bring back the commonwealth Angry Birds Plushies like these? pic.twitter.com/JXtFNfkGXy

— RedMan (@AngryBirdsAvent) December 5, 2021

Thanks to the Angry Birds community for all of the questions, and not least of all, for being so passionate about Angry Birds. It’s clear to us that the classic Angry Birds game means a lot to you all, and we’re going to do our best to do it justice in this re-release. Thanks again for the feedback and comments – keep them coming! We will follow up with more info on the project next month so stay tuned.