Agar.io[note
1] is a massively
multiplayer action game created by Matheus Valadares. Players
control a cell in a map representing apetri dish; the
goal is to gain as much mass as possible by swallowing smaller cells without
being swallowed by bigger ones. The name Agar.io comes from the substance agar, used to culture bacteria.[3]
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 downloadable Steam version was announced on 3 May 2015,
and the mobile version of Agar.io for iOS and Android was released on 8 July 2015 by Miniclip.
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, anInternet
meme.
The objective of Agar.io is to grow a cell by swallowing
both randomly generated pellets, which slightly increase a cell's mass, and
smaller cells without being swallowed by larger cells.[4] It currently holds four game
modes: FFA (Free-for All),Teams, Experimental, and Party. The goal of the game
is to obtain the largest cell; players restart when all of their cells are
swallowed. Players can change their cell's appearance with predefined words,
phrases, symbols or skins.[5] The more mass a cell has, the
slower it will move.[6] Cells gradually lose mass over
time.[7]
Viruses split cells larger than them into many
pieces and smaller cells can hide underneath a virus for protection against
larger cells. 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, and one of
the two evenly divided cells will be flung in the direction of the cursor. 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 recognised as an
intention to team with another player. 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 first announced on 4chan on 28 April 2015 by Matheus
Valadares, a then-19-year-old Brazilian developer. Written in JavaScript and C++, the game was developed in a few
days.[9] Valadares continued updating and
adding new features to the game, such as an experience system and an "experimental"
gamemode for testing experimental features.[note 2][10] 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 Steamdue to community interest.[11]
On 8 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.[12]
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."[13] Toucharcade praised its simplicity, strategic
element, and "personality."[14]
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."[15] Pocket
Gamer,
reviewing the mobile version, described its controls as "floaty."[16]
Because it was frequently propagated through social
media and broadcast on Twitch.tv[6] and YouTube,[17] 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[18] and the mobile versions were
downloaded more than ten million times during their first week.[19] During 2015, Agar.io was Google's most searched game.[20]
Use as a political soapbox
During the campaigns of the June
2015 Turkish elections, Agar.io was used in Turkey as a medium of political
advocacy; many players were naming their cells after Turkish political parties
and references, with alliances formed between players with similar political
views, battling against other players with opposing views.[21] Some political parties have used Agar.io in campaign posters as a symbol
of support.[5]