The game was released to positive critical reception; critics particularly praised its simplicity, competition, and mechanics, while criticism targeted its repetitive gameplay. Largely due to word of mouth on social networks, it was a quick success, becoming one of the most popular web and mobile games in its first year. A Steam version was announced on 3 May 2015, and the mobile version of Agar.io for iOS and Android was released on 24 July 2015 by Miniclip.
Contents
Gameplay
Agar.io gameplay; this shows only a small fraction of an Agar.io map. There are four cells on this screenshot. One of the cells is a drawing of Doge, an Internet meme.
Viruses split cells larger than them into many pieces (16 or fewer, depending on the mass) and smaller cells can hide underneath a virus for protection against larger cells. Cells in 16 pieces can eat viruses without splitting, though it is usually dangerous moving in sixteen pieces, as the cells are smaller and more desirable for other players. Viruses are normally randomly generated, but players can make new viruses by feeding a virus, i.e. ejecting a small fraction of a player's cell's mass into the virus a few times, causing the virus to split up and hence create another virus.
Players can split their cell into two by pressing Space, and one of the two evenly divided cells will be flung in the direction of the cursor (a maximum of 16 split cells). This can be used as a ranged attack to swallow other smaller cells, to escape an attack from another cell, or to move more quickly around the map.[8] Split cells eventually merge back into one cell. Aside from feeding viruses, players can eject (release) a small fraction of their mass to feed other cells, an action commonly recognized as an intention to team with another player. This can be done by pressing the W key. A player can also eject mass to trick enemies into coming closer to the player. Once an enemy cell is close enough, the player can split his/her cell to eat the baited enemy.
Development
Agar.io was announced on 4chan on 27 April 2015 by Matheus Valadares, a then 19-year-old Brazilian developer.[9] Written in JavaScript and C++, the game was developed in a few days.[10] The game originally did not have a name, and users had to connect to Valadares' IP address in order to play. The name Agar.io was suggested by an anonymous 4chan user, as other domain names such as cell.io were already taken.[9] Valadares continued updating and adding new features to the game, such as an experience system and an "experimental" gamemode for testing experimental features.[11] One week later, Agar.io entered Steam Greenlight with Valadares announcing a future free-to-play version of the game for download. He planned to include features in the Steam version not available in the browser version, including additional gamemodes, custom styling, and an account system. It was approved for listing on Steam due to community interest.[12]On 24 July 2015, Miniclip published a mobile version of Agar.io for iOS and Android. Sergio Varanda, head of mobile at Miniclip, explained that the main goal of the mobile version was to "recreate the gaming experience" on mobile, citing the challenges with recreating the game on touchscreen controls.[13]
Reception
Agar.io was released to a positive critical reception. Particular praise was given to the simplicity, competition, and mechanics of the game. Engadget described the game as "a good abstraction of the fierce survival-of-the-fittest competition that you sometimes see on the microscopic level."[14] Toucharcade praised its simplicity, strategic element, and "personality."[15]Agar.io's growth was helped a lot by youtubers playing the game on their videos.Criticism was mainly targeted towards its repetitiveness and the controls of the mobile version. Tom Christiansen of Gamezebo was mixed on the game, saying that there was "nothing to hold my attention" and that it was "highly repetitive, overall."[16] Pocket Gamer, reviewing the mobile version, described its controls as "floaty."[17]
Because it was frequently propagated through social media and broadcast on Twitch.tv[6] and YouTube,[18] Agar.io was a quick success. The agar.io website (for the browser version) was ranked by Alexa as one of the 1,000 most visited websites[19] and the mobile versions were downloaded more than ten million times during their first week.[20] During 2015, Agar.io was Google's most searched video game.[21]
Agar.io was featured (including some details of its gameplay as well as a shot of an actual game) in "Chapter 48" of Netflix TV-series House of Cards.[22] Its gameplay was compared to the presidential campaigning.
