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Tue, March 21, 2023 | 03:56
Page0
Spellbound by Anipang
애니팡에 빠진 대한민국
Posted : 2012-10-23 18:17
Updated : 2012-10-23 18:17
Jun Ji-hye
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By Rachel Lee, Jun Ji-hye, Ryu Chang-gi

About one fifth of Koreans are going crazy trying to get as many hearts as possible every day to play mobile game Anipang. That's because players need one heart for a round of the simple but addictive one-minute game.

Anipang has become an obsession for Koreans of all ages. You can easily spot commuters who are possessed by the game.

The name _ a compound of "ani" from animal and "pang" from the onomatopoeic Korean word meaning explosion _ has lured more than half of all smartphone users and positioned itself as a must-have app here.

According to producer, Sundaytoz, the game has been downloaded more than 20 million times in total and about 10 million people are playing it daily. It means that nearly 70 percent of smartphone users have the app on their handsets.

It can be downloaded from the country's most popular mobile messaging service, Kakao Talk, and is relatively simple though it requires nimble hands.

It presents a screen of 49 cartoon animals, in a matrix of seven vertical columns and seven horizontal rows. The aim is to line up three identical animals by swiping the screen vertically or horizontally in one move, which results in a "combo." When the number of combos reaches a certain level, players obtain a "bomb" that destroys a vertical and horizontal row.

The developer says it restricted playing to one minute but people say that's the key element that causes them to crave the game.

"What makes the game so addictive is that I can only play it for one minute. As I can't play it as long as I want, I want to play it more," said Jin Eun-ok, a teacher at an elementary school in Gyeonggi Province.

Users are restricted to five rounds in a row and should then wait eight minutes to receive a new heart. However, they can receive hearts from other players or buy "topazs" which can be converted into hearts later.

A player's score is instantly transmitted to everyone on their Kakao Talk contact list who also plays Anipang to encourage competition among friends. Every time a round ends, people can check their rankings. The accumulated scores are automatically reset every seven days.

"I am not usually very keen on online or mobile games but this one is amazing," said 26-year-old college student Lee Jong-wook. "I am totally into to it since it's very easy to play and I can compete with my friends on Kakao Talk. I guess almost everyone around me has got into it."

Looking to the dark side

"I have to play Anipang at least twice a day otherwise I feel something is missing," said 28-year-old nutritionist Cho Hye-jin.

Things are more serious for high school student Jeong Yoon-hyeock.

"My friend told me he saw a person almost get hit by a car because he wasn't aware of the traffic lights while playing Anipang on the street," said Jeong.

The 18-year-old says the game affects his daily life saying, "I just keep thinking about it. I can't concentrate on my studies."

Psychiatrist Sohn Seok-han said experts are concerned over the addictiveness of the game. "If you play it to just have fun, it is OK. But if you play it as an escape from reality to relieve stress, it is a sign of addiction," Sohn said. "If you become restless when you are not playing the game, it is a kind of withdrawal symptom. It is more serious if it disturbs your daily life. In this case, you have to quit, not just reduce the amount of time spent playing the game."

Anipang has spread rapidly but also annoys those who don't play it.

When players run out of hearts, some impassionedly send messages to people on their KaKao Talk contact list begging for more.

"I don't play Anipang but I receive a lot of messages inviting me or begging for hearts. It really annoys me. What's worse is that I have to download the app to block the messages, even though I don't use it," said Choi Ji-na, 29, who works for a trading firm.

According to a survey of 2,860 people conducted by Dooit on Oct. 8 and 9, four out of 10 people are stressed because of these messages.

It was even worse for iPhone owners. They couldn't download Anipang as the iPhone didn't support KaKao Talk games, they only received the messages but had no way to block them.

Experts also warn that playing mobile phone games for too long can harm players' eyes.

"Your eyes produce different responses in accordance with the distance of the objects you are looking at. When you look at something close, your eyes continue to work, seeking to focus. If this lasts for a long time, it can cause or worsen near-sightedness," said Jang Gyu-jin, an ophthalmologist and director of Gangnam Eyeone Ophthalmic Clinic. "It is especially harmful for children to play mobile games, including Anipang, for a long time."

Jang added, "Even for adults, if your eyes work on focusing for long hours, the amount of blinking decreases which results in a lack of tears that provide a film coating. It can cause or aggravate dry eyes and further allergies."

Competition feature

Whether people are obsessed by the mobile game or not, many of them want to achieve higher scores than their friends.

Of the 20 million subscribers to the game, more than 6 million are elementary school students for whom Anipang scores can represent their status in the class.

Due to increasing concerns, discussions have been held on whether to include Anipang on the addictive game list that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will announce on Nov. 20.

A ministry official said that the ministry has no plan as yet to put Anipang on the list of games that are subject to obligatory shutdown rules applicable to addictive PC games as it's a mobile phone game.



애니팡에 빠진 대한민국
‘애니팡’이 대한민국을 강타했다. 세대와 장소를 불문하고 애니팡을 즐기고 있는 사람들의 모습은 이제 흔한 광경이다. 애니팡은 동물을 뜻하는 ‘애니멀(Animal)’과 터짐을 표현하는 의성어 ‘팡’이 결합해 탄생한 이름이다. 개발사인 선데이토즈에 따르면 애니팡은 2천만 건의 다운로드를 기록했으며, 1천만 명의 사람들이 매일 게임을 즐기고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 게임 방법은 설명서가 필요없을 정도로 간단하고, 게임 시간은 1분으로 제한되어 잇다. 유저들은 이것이 바로 애니팡의 매력이라 밝혔다. 경기도의 한 초등학교 교사인 진은옥씨는 “게임시간이 1분 밖에 되지 않기 때문에 더 빠져드는 것 같다. 게임을 더 하고 싶다는 생각을 들게 만들기 때문이다”고 말했다. 대학생인 이종욱(26)씨는 “나는 온라인 게임이나 모바일 게임을 즐겨 하는 사람이 아니다. 그런데 애니팡은 정말 재미있다. 무엇보다 게임 방법이 쉽고, 카카오톡을 통해 친구와 점수 경쟁을 할 수 있기 때문”이라고 밝혔다. 문제점은 식품영양사인 조혜진씨(28)는 “하루에 두 번 이상 애니팡을 하지 않으면 공허함이 든다”고 말했다. 고등학생인 정윤혁씨는 “친구한테 들었는데 어떤 사람이 거리에서 애니팡 하면서 걸어가느라 신호등을 보지 못하고 차에 치일 뻔 했다더라”며 자신도 “애니팡이 자꾸 생각나서 공부에 집중할 수 없다”고 털어놨다. 정신건강의학과 전문의 손석한 연세신경정신과 원장은 “단순한 재미를 위해 하는 건 괜찮다. 그런데 스트레스를 풀거나 일상에서 도피하려는 수단으로 애니팡을 한다면 중독이 의심된다고 볼 수 있다. 게임을 하지 않을 때 불안함을 느낀다는 건 일종의 금단현상이다. 애니팡이 일상생활을 망친다면 문제는 더 심각해진다. 이럴 경우에는 게임 횟수를 줄이는 것도 아니고 그냥 끊어버려야 한다”고 밝혔다. 애니팡의 하트 시스템에도 불만이 많다. 하트가 모자라는 일부 유저들이 다시 하트가 생성되는 8분을 기다리지 못하고 카카오톡을 통해 엄청난 메시지를 보내기 때문이다. 무역회사에 근무하고 있는 최지나씨(28)는 “나는 애니팡을 하지 않는데도 애니팡에 초대하거나 하트를 달라는 메시지가 많이 와서 귀찮을 때가 있다. 이런 메시지들을 차단하려면 앱을 다운받아야만 한다는 것도 안 좋다”고 밝혔다. 시장조사업체 두잇이 10월 8~9일 간 2,860명을 대상으로 조사한 자료에 따르면 10명 중 4명이 이런 메시지에 스트레스를 받고 있다고 답했다. 전문가들은 눈 건강에도 우려를 표했다. 장규진 강남아이원안과 원장은 “눈은 사물의 거리에 따라 다른 반응을 한다. 모바일게임 할 때처럼 가까운 것을 보고 있을 때 수정체는 초점을 맞추기 위해 조절작업을 하게 된다. 이 작업이 오래 지속될 경우 근시를 유발하거나 악화시킬 수 있다. 특히 어린이, 청소년들에게 안 좋다고 할 수 있다. 성인들도 가까운 물체를 오래 보고 있으면 눈을 깜빡이는 횟수가 줄어들고, 눈물 코팅이 덜 되기 때문에 안구건조증이 생길 수 있다”고 말했다. 경쟁 애니팡을 다운로드한 2천만 명 중 6백만 명이 초등학생으로 나타났다. 이들은 실시간으로 볼 수 있는 애니팡 점수를 통해 친구들 사이에서 자신의 지위를 뽐낸다. 애니팡이 중독성과 과도한 경쟁을 유발하고 있다는 우려가 높아지자, 한 때 애니팡이 여성가족부의 셧다운제에 포함되는 것이 아니냐 하는 논란도 일었다. 하지만 여성가족부는 보도자료를 통해 “애니팡은 청소년인터넷게임 건전이용제도(일명, 셧다운제)의 적용대상 아니다”고 밝혔다.
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