When Flappy Bird took the world by storm earlier this year and the App Store was flooded with clones ranging from to Flappy Miley Cyrus, it wasn't hard to see this as a fad that would eventually reach its breaking point.

But still - even through that fog of copycats, I couldn't help but think that there was something ingenious about Flappy Bird's simple gameplay mechanic. Nolan Bushnell compared it to grunge rock; gaming stripped down to its most basic.

It was only a matter of time until we saw that mechanic employed in more polished ways.