Viral one-tap mobile game about guiding a bird through gaps between pipes; removed by Nguyen in February 2014.
~$50K/day in ads at peak
diff ~/p/dong-nguyen ~/p/riley-testut
Dong Nguyen vs Riley Testut
Products, revenue & stack compared side by side.
DN
Vietnamese developer who made Flappy Bird, then pulled it at the height of its fame
@dongatory Vietnam
Indie iOS developer behind the Delta emulator and the AltStore alternative app store
@rileytestut United States
Dong Nguyen vs Riley Testut at a glance
Dong Nguyen and Riley Testut are both indie makers listed on IndieMakerList. They overlap in Indie Game Makers and Mobile App Makers. Dong is based in Hanoi, Vietnam, Riley in New York, United States. Dong Nguyen has 8 products listed on IndieMakerList vs Riley Testut's 4. On X, Dong has about 102K followers and Riley about 43K.
Side-by-side comparison
- Based in
- Dong Nguyen: Hanoi, Vietnam
- Riley Testut: New York, United States
- Started
- Dong Nguyen: 2012 (14 yrs indie)
- Riley Testut: —
- Revenue (self-reported)
- Dong Nguyen: Not public
- Riley Testut: Not public
- Products listed
- Dong Nguyen: 8
- Riley Testut: 4
- Product status
- Dong Nguyen: 7 active · 1 shut down
- Riley Testut: 3 active · 1 shut down
- X followers
- Dong Nguyen: 102K
- Riley Testut: 43K
- Categories
- Dong Nguyen: Indie Game MakersMobile App Makers
- Riley Testut: Mobile App MakersIndie Game MakersOpen Source Makers
- Style
- Dong Nguyen: bootstrapped
- Riley Testut: duo
- Courses & resources
- Dong Nguyen: —
- Riley Testut: —
Revenue figures are self-reported by each maker and not audited; dates and scope differ. Highlighted categories are shared by both.
Top products
Swing Copters
dotgears.com
Even harder follow-up one-tap game where a propeller-hat character climbs between swinging hammers.
Flappy Birds Family
dotgears.com
Updated multiplayer version of Flappy Bird released exclusively for Amazon Fire TV.
Shuriken Block
dotgears.com
Reflex game about blocking incoming shurikens that charted alongside Flappy Bird.
Delta
faq.deltaemulator.com
Retro game emulator for iPhone and iPad supporting Nintendo consoles from NES to DS.
AltStore
altstore.io
Alternative iOS app store, including AltStore PAL for the EU, with Patreon-based app funding.
Clip
altstore.io
Clipboard manager for iOS distributed through AltStore to Patreon supporters.
Early Game Boy Advance emulator for iOS he built as a high-school student, distributed outside the App Store.
Tech stack
No tools in common in their publicly listed stacks. See the indie maker tech stack.
No stack shared publicly.
Swift
How they build
- Simple one-tap mechanics with high difficulty can be deeply compelling.
- Build small games quickly and release many of them.
- Personal wellbeing matters more than chasing a hit's revenue.
- Avoid the spotlight and let the games speak for themselves.
- Let supporters fund indie software directly through Patreon.
- Push for more open distribution on iOS.
Dong Nguyen vs Riley Testut FAQ
Who makes more money, Dong Nguyen or Riley Testut?
Neither Dong Nguyen nor Riley Testut has publicly reported a revenue figure that IndieMakerList tracks, so it's not public.
Who has built more products, Dong Nguyen or Riley Testut?
Dong Nguyen has 8 products listed (including Flappy Bird, Swing Copters and Flappy Birds Family); Riley Testut has 4 products listed (including Delta, AltStore and Clip).
What tech stack do Dong Nguyen and Riley Testut use?
Dong Nguyen hasn't shared a stack. Riley Testut uses Swift. They don't list any tools in common.
Where are Dong Nguyen and Riley Testut based?
Dong Nguyen: Hanoi, Vietnam. Riley Testut: New York, United States.
Who has been an indie maker longer, Dong Nguyen or Riley Testut?
Dong Nguyen started in 2012 (14 years indie); Riley Testut's start year isn't listed.
Are Dong Nguyen and Riley Testut bootstrapped?
Dong Nguyen is listed as bootstrapped; Riley Testut isn't tagged as bootstrapped on IndieMakerList.
Full profiles
Read the full story, timeline and links on Dong Nguyen's profile and Riley Testut's profile.
Dong Nguyen vs Adam Lyttle
Dong Nguyen vs Zach Gage
Riley Testut vs Derek Yu
Riley Testut vs Jonathan Blow