I'm making a bird game

A few words about birds

Premise

It’s all about the birds!

Well really it’s a game about exploration, nature, and getting to know your surroundings.

In real life, my wife and I are casual birdwatchers. We’re the kind who keep a list of species we've seen, not the kind with session logs, encounter counters, GPS trackers, recording rigs, or ghillie suits. Just a pair of binoculars, a notebook, and a lot of excitement when something new shows up.

Through the process of listening to, watching for, and identifying the various bird species that land in our yard in Massachusetts we’ve gotten more in touch with the rhythms of the area — what birds we should expect in winter (junco gang!), what species are hallmarks of spring (hello, robins), and the cacophony of sounds that accompany a flock of hungry blackbirds and starlings.

That’s the experience I want to bring to a game. Which of course means I need to nail the environment and I’m not sure I’m totally capable of that, but that’s what I’m going to find out.

A living world means blending all the elements together naturally. So I'm setting the game in New England, pulling from the distinct soundscape and landscape that surrounds me (foliage! grist mills! apples!) and to have some built-in inspiration through my window. I also want to be able to capture the excitement of seeing a new species for the first time and the feeling of recognizing a species by their call. And maybe that recognition will translate to the real world.

Anyway that’s the backdrop - here’s the plan.

Design

Players take on the role of a birdwatcher who explores various natural areas (e.g., forests, meadows, ponds) to find, photograph, and record the songs of different bird species. By completing requests and earning research points, players unlock new areas, birdhouses, and plants, creating a loop of discovery and progression.

At the heart of it all is your sanctuary: a meadow you're trying to fill with life. You'll improve the plant life, add bird habitats, and decorate your space. To attracting birds you'll need to venture into the wild, encounter birds in their natural habitats, upgrade your gear, chase rare sightings, and learn how different species live. As your sanctuary flourishes, visitors will start to appear, offering quests, tips on new sightings, and even a little financial support.

Old mill concept I’m working on

Aesthetic: Top-down 2D pixel art aesthetic inspired by Pokemon, Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing type games. Pixel art is both approachable to me and fits the casual, exploratory aspect of the type of game I like to play (and I can draw the animations myself). Ultimately this could be a game with photo-realistic birds, but I want less focus on the “realism” and more on the experience. I don’t want it to feel like a bird watching simulator; my vision is an exploration/nature game with bird watching as the main focus. I also love handheld consoles and pixel art gives me strong nostalgia for Gameboy games.

Exploration: The goal of the game is to have multiple regions with an abundance of different bird species. I aim to have meadows, seascapes, deep forest, mountains, etc. All of the things in relatively close proximity in New England. Birds are everywhere, after all, and I want to give players the opportunity to discover many species. One of the ideas I’m playing with is having the sanctuary centered around an old mill with a classic New England feel. It’s still early, but I think it could be a great anchor point for the world.

Sound: Real bird calls will be important. I want a chipping sparrow to have appropriate chips, a chickadee to loudly weep-woop, and a cardinal to take down the empire with its laser-gun noises.

Game: To “capture” a species you need to both take its photo and record its song. To take a photo you will (as of now) have a mini-game to line up the shot and time the shutter. Recording birdsong will have a similar mechanic to keep the microphone in alignment.

Blocky test mechanic for taking a photo

Journal: Like real birders, you will keep a journal as you record species. Here you might have a photo, some stats of the bird, a description, and some other metadata associated with the entry.

I have a bunch of ideas for how to incorporate things like legendary birds (thunderbirds when it’s storming, dawn-bird for the first light of the day) and some fun things that will get added after validating that I can make taking a picture and building an attractive meadow a fun experience.

At the moment, this game is an early concept. I’m working on getting a prototype together, so everything is in an unfinished, mostly unplayable state. But I’ve started! I have a test world, and for someone relatively new to making games (although not new to making software) I think that’s a good step in the right direction. I’ll share more updates, art, and potentially demos as I build them.

Also, I don’t have a title for the game yet. A friend suggested Twitter, but I’m not sure that matches what I’m going for. Suggestions welcome!