Interview with Dvoshansky - The Creator of Flying Face — Instagram Filter Review

Published on Jun 6, 2019 | Filter name: "Flying Face"

Filter creator: dvoshansky

In this article, I share with you an Interview with the developer of the insanely popular Instagram filter game called 'Flying Face'. A game that was inspired by the popular 2013 arcade mobile game Flappy Bird. Flying Face was developed using Facebook's Spark AR Studio application by a Russia-based developer known as ' Dvoshansky', which is his Instagram username (IG: @dvoshansky).

WOW! Filters website was the first one to review Flying Face shortly after it was released. I had immediate excitement and enjoyment playing the game and admired the novel use of the eye-blinking controls and the 2-player cooperative local multiplayer option that the game offers.

The game showed me the enormous potential of the Instagram app has an augmented reality gaming hub and Spark AR as an Augmented Reality game development platform, especially for selfie-based games.

I've been following Dvoshansky since he had only a few hundred users and saw his Instagram channel grow every single day. It was at the time when not so many people in the west knew about how popular it is, as it was trending in Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, and others.

I had tons of questions to ask Dvoshansky, and in this article, I'll share some of those questions from my Interview with him. I am one of his biggest fans and I'll continue being in contact with him and share those future interviews in later posts.

WOW! Filters Interviews Dvoshansky

Now without further ado, let's jump straight to my Interview with Dvoshansky. For me, it's always exciting to learn about the people behind those filters, their story, their inspiration, what made them start making filters, etc. I have many more questions and I hope to collaborate with Dvoshansky again and bring you more interesting insights behind his work.

Just so you put things into perspective, Dvoshansky reached a staggering 3.9-million followers on Instagram and is rocking over 1-billion views (based on statistics shared publicly with the Spark AR community) of his Instagram bird blinking game, Flying Face. All that happened in a relatively very short time, in just two weeks!

How does it feel to see so many people enjoying your filter and see them actually playing the game?

Dvoshansky: I am very happy to see that so many people love my game. It encourages me to move forward in game dev.

What attracted you to learn Spark AR and develop for it?

Dvoshansky: @johwska and @tokyyto - they are Instagram filter developers - inspired me to learn Spark AR. I really loved this way of self-expression. It allows giving a part of me to other people through using the whole new type of content.

Did you have previous knowledge in game development or Flying Face is your first experience in developing a mobile game?

Dvoshansky: I started coding at 12 years old. I focused on web development projects mainly (frontend, backend). I experimented with game development and mobile apps development too.

I made two games - a clicker and a runner. I had a phone under Android that time, the games worked on Android devices only.

The games are not available on the Google Play store now, as they are not compliant with new Google Play standards.

By the way, when I was 14 years old, I tried to make an Android app for masks creating, something like MSQRD but I had put it off for a long time.

Unfortunately, the hard drive on my old computer fried, and I lost all my legacy code and developments.

Why have you decided to develop a game as an Instagram filter, not as a standard mobile game?

Dvoshansky: It was a kind of challenge for me and it was pretty cool. And it was AR practice, too.

When did you start using Spark AR?

Dvoshansky: This winter.

How long did it take to develop Flying Face?

Dvoshansky: One week. It took 2 - 3 days to create the main game flow, and I was testing how it works then.

Are you planning to make more Instagram filter games in the future?

Dvoshansky: Yes, I am. There are many ideas I'd like to make. Hopefully, you'll see new games soon.

What gaming related features you want to have available in Spark AR in the future

Dvoshansky: It would be great to get the audio engine improved and we could distinguish the volume of incoming audio.

I would like to have a feature to detect a mask is running in the live mode and make co-op games in Live via Instagram API.

I would like to have full documentation for Spark AR. For example, Spark AR has an option to add a native UI picker to the masks, but there is no explanation in the documentation on how to use it, even for basic functions.

It is very great that we have so wonderful community of Instagram developers, and its members are very helpful. They explained to me how to use this feature.

Why have you decided to use blinking controls in Flying Face?

Dvoshansky: Haha, lol:))) Many people asked me why I chose blinking. I use blinking as a method to control the bird because it is the most traceable way for many devices.

I used head movement up motion in the first version of the game (like a nod but not downward, upward) but it was not the best solution - only new devices were able to recognize this motion correctly.

Blinking can be recognized by almost any device.

How can you get and play 'Flying Face' Instagram game?

This is where our little interview with Dvoshansky ends, for now. I have to say that it was a great pleasure talking to Dvoshansky and meeting the bright and creative mind behind this phenomenal filter and the history that lead him to eventually create this game.

If you just joined in and never seen how Flying Face looks like and plays like, let's do it right here.

Here is a video that shows you how you can get and play Flying Face on your mobile phone. Many of you are probably already playing the game, but for those who haven't installed it yet, here's how you can unlock it.

Scoop! Here is a little surprise for you. Dvoshansky provided us with a video showing him playing a pre-release version of Flying Face, where he was testing out different types of gestures. In the video, you can see him testing to see how the game is played using upward head-nodding gesture. Eventually, as you probably already know, Dvoshansky has decided to use blinking as a way to control the bird's flight vertical movement.

More to Come, Stay Tuned

I want to especially thank Dvoshansky for making the time to answer my questions and help to share a bit of his story with WOW! Filters, his fans and the entire Spark AR and Augmented Reality community.

My goal, a few years now, with both WOW! Filters (filter focus blog) and AR Critic (Augmented Reality app reviews, guides and news website) was to help support the creator's community and help spread the word and promote the amazing world of AR.

For Dvoshansky, as far as I can see it, this is just the beginning. I'm certain that we are going to see many more amazing Instagram filters mad by him. I recommend everyone who enjoys Instagram filters, mobile gaming and Augmented Reality in general, to follow Dvoshansky.

If you are new to Instagram filters and you want to try Dvoshansky's Flying Face game, Install Instagram if it's not installed already, and follow @dvoshansky. The game will be downloaded directly to your filter's list and will appear there right after.

If you love IG filters, don't forget to follow WOW! Filters on Instagram. We are covering only the best of Instagram and Facebook filters out there, so when you come across a filter review on our blog or on our Instagram, you know it's going to be something outstanding—like this awe-inspiring filter 'Flying Face'.

Follow 'Wow Filters' to Discover Amazing Filters

If you love Instagram filters, don't forget to follow WOW! Filters on Instagram and AR Critic's YouTube channel to discover more amazing IG filters, effects, masks and of course games from many other talented AR creators.

I hope you enjoyed this interview. I'll continue to be in touch with Dvoshansky to hopefully share more exciting news about his future filters in the future to come—Have a fantastic day and don't forget to follow @wowfilterscom for more IG filter-related content and more, Cheers.

Don't forget to follow the filter creators to gain access to all of their filters.