Bird Fight

Co-op based games like Bird Fight are very interesting to me because it allows the opposing player to take the place of the computer in the discussion of interplay. While elements of computer interplay can still happen the predominant form happens between players. If no elements of randomness are added into the game, it could be argued that the game revolves around 'pure skill' in the sense that if you are good enough at the game, you can beat anyone. This attribute can be a double edged sword with regard to a player wanting to continue playing. If a player consistently plays with people who are better then them, then they might feel like they have no chance and stop playing or have a negative experience. However, if that same player dedicates themselves to learning the game more and becoming better, it can be a very rewarding experience to win in 'pure skill' games. To me, it didn't seem like there was any interplay between players and the environment/computer which could be an intentional design choice. However, if interplay between computer and player was to be added, some ideas I had were making it so the bullets bounce off the walls a certain distance, or having enemies appear that can reduce the lives of either player, etc. There could even be the 'pure skill' mode with no computer additions and the game mode where other interactions can happen. Another comment mentioned Smash Bros and I think this example is very similar. In Smash, there is the options to turn off random item generation for a 'pure skill' matchup vs a more dynamic matchup with randomness. I think that the control scheme gives a direction towards the design of the game as well. Both players able to control from the same keyboard while looking at the same screen, it removes any 'screen peeking' that many games have when playing on one screen. This is in part due to the fact that the game only takes place on one screen, but I think that it is still something important to recognize because it removes yet another element in any perceived unfairness. Aesthetically, the game is a light hearted cartoon style reminiscent of Looney Tunes art style. This makes the game appealing to a wide range of people from young to old. The rules of the game are fairly straightforward and simple which also appeals to beginner gamers and experienced gamers alike. The simplicity in the objectives and rules is once again consistent with the idea of the game being based on 'pure skill'. Because of the simplicity, players are allowed to direct most of the focus at getting better when facing different opponents. They can develop different strategies based on player behavior and move into the mind game territory within versus type games. In conclusion, I think that this game has a lot of simple fun that can turn very complex depending on who is playing.

The fun but competitive nature of Bird Fight makes for an addictive experience to play with a friend. While most games made for the class have been single player, the designer chooses to make a game that is borderline unplayable for a solo player. The game however becomes truly itself when introducing the multiplayer aspect to it. The game is designed around having two players face off and the rules are fairly simple for anyone to pick up. Like many one on one fighting games, Bird Fight constantly tests both player’s skill at movement. The gravity requires players to constantly flap their wings to not be an easy target to hit on the ground. The choice to not have each round “reset” the timer of the game is great as it leads to constant action. Aiming in the game is exceptionally difficult as it involves the player controlling their movement as well as reading the other player’s movement as the projectiles have travel time to account for. There is constant interplay between the movement and shooting as they directly lead to the other being required. Movement is required to line up your own shots while also being required to dodge the other player’s shots. On the other hand, moving makes aiming harder for the player themselves which is a tradeoff. The limit on 8 bullets being on the screen shows careful consideration from the designer. With no limit on projectiles, the game would become a two player bullet hell game which strays away from the skill based one on one that the designer intends. The lack of “cover” on the map leads to an interesting mechanic where players are forced to keep moving. The pace of the game is essentially dictated by the skill of the players as people who become more accustomed to the movement and projectile speed of the game can play more aggressively. We did not touch on competitive balance too much during our semester and I think the designer avoids this issue by creating two identical birds. While there exists an optimal strategy that puts the opposing player, I did not put effort into finding it and was more focused on learning the movement of the game. The bird sprites and background are aesthetically pleasing and while the focus of the game is not its story, the implied backstory of why the birds are fighting is a nice touch. There is also constant feedback for every player action. The movement feels fluid with the animation of the wings flying. The animation for birds being hit is also a reward and constantly pushes the player to hit their opponent. The scoreboard UI is very simple and it adds more info for the players to track. Tracking both player’s health point levels while keeping track of movement adds more skill expression to the game. The game has a lot of interplay as various factors have to be taken into account to make a good decision for the player. Tracking both player’s positionings, health bars, and number of shots fired leads to a fun competitive 1v1 game to play with a friend. 

The name of the game let me have an image of a bird is flying and that it. The Bird flight cannot give me lots of information; it just reminds me of a flying bird. When I had just entered the game, there were two birds on stage and background. I just started the game immediately. Just use the “W,” “A,” “S,” “D” to play. I thought another bird was a robot, and I had to fight with that bird at first. However, I noticed that another bird just stayed there and had no response. Then the description of the game let me know that it is a PVP mode game. It impressed me because this idea in p5js is new, and I had never thought about this before. Use different interactions to control different items and build a PVP game. Here, this action causes the game differently because of another player instead of the game itself. The way is creative. It doesn’t give play lots of interaction, but let player give themselves lots of interaction. Besides, the goal also lets the game be funny; there is no win or lose. Just compare who gets the most points. The game reminds the “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout”; a lot of players play a map together. The only difference is that the map also gives players a lot of difference which make player die or delay. In other words, these difficulties make players kicked by the game because there is only one winner in this game. Besides, the players in this game also can use the map itself to make difficulties for other players as well. Go back to the Bird Flight, and there is no winner. It is just a relaxing game for two people. It has not that much competition or a clear goal. There is no dialog or some important background that need the player to understand as well. The “W,” “A,” “S,” “D” is easy to control the player, the attack method is also simple, for the other side “Up,” “Down,” “Left,” “right” also same as anther player which is easy to manipulate as well. The attached method is also clear. Both sides just have a purpose, just hit the other sides. The game also can put some strategy in the game as well. For example, just do not keep at the same height as the opponent or just attack. However, the map is simple, and there is not much hiding place for the player to avoid the attack. There is another interesting point is the bird is not a static picture, and it can move all the time. The wings are always moving, which lets the player feel the birds’ movement. At the same time, when the bird gets attacked, it will also show that the bird is hit. It is interesting; the response of the bird lets the game have more interaction with the game. Let players feel they are the “birds” and be a part of the game. It let the player feel more active and try to hit their opponent.

Within Bird Fight, the two main verbs that are used are shooting and moving. Although shooting directly progresses the game forward in terms of hitting the opponent and winning a round, the use of movement in the game is a direct “counter-attack'' to this progression where players can dodge the other opponent’s shooting. Considering the multiplayer aspect of this game, these two verbs correlate with the competition between players within the actual game but also between players who are sharing a keyboard. This heavily reminds me of the share controller feature in Overcooked where two players can each control their own characters with half of a controller when playing. However, instead of the co-op nature of Overcooked, Bird Fight is essentially a deathmatch, so fighting for hand space on the keyboard or fighting for seeing the screen when sharing the keyboard are also factors that may affect players successfully executing these verbs and succeeding in winning the game. I would also like to point out that the game space is just a simple open rectangle that players are limited in their movement within. Without any sort of cover or essentially a “map” that players can try to utilize to their advantage, the playing field within this game only allows for pure player skill in order to achieve success. For example, the only possible way to dodge a bullet is to use movement as there is no interplay between bullets of opposing birds colliding as they go right through each other. Regarding bullets, there is also some sort of strategy employed through the limit of only eight bullets per player on the screen / within the playing field at any given moment. If this was not the case, I can only imagine a game where each player violently moves up and down shooting as many bullets as possible in order to create a wall of bullets that will hit the opposing player no matter where they move. With this limitation in play, it seems that bullet placement is more strategic, despite the infinite capacity of bullets. What I mean is that players can choose to leave the current bullets in their current trajectories on the screen; however, if they decide that maybe these are going to do nothing, you can cancel out all of the bullets on the screen by shooting a total of nine, and once the ninth bullet is shot, the original eight bullets disappear. Players may also strategically push opponents to areas near the edges of the screen such that they can shoot an infinite amount of bullets as once the eighth bullet is shot after spamming the shoot control, the first bullet shot is already off of the screen. Beyond this, there is not much to the game regarding a story or context besides the mars-ish background that is used in the game. Altogether, Bird Fight is a very minimalistic game of pure “one-v-one” competition through the use of a minimal number of verbs, a limitation on bullets, and empty playing field.

The co-op gameplay of Bird Flight is unlike any other game I have seen in this class and adds fun competition to this type of game. Throughout the class, we have focused on making solo experiences for a fellow classmate to enjoy. This game, however, takes this concept and adds another player to the experience. Though a single player can’t play this game effectively, playing this game with another player adds a lot of fun to the mix. There are many fighting games that people play in modern days such as smash bros, and this gives me vibes such as that when playing this game against my roommate. Since we play smash all the time, I thought this would be right up our alley to try out, so I pulled my roommates into this game, and we found out who was really the best at games (it was me btw). I think the art style and animations of the birds add a lot of personality to the birds and the environment we’re subjected to in this world. It feels like these birds are battling for survival on a far away planet. When damaged, the birds have unique animations that show off the personality of each of them. Their distinct colors and designs also set them apart rather than just being the same thing but a different color. Having the ability to choose which bird you think it the best looking or best represents your personality is a big factor when playing a competitive game such as this. Aesthetics matter a lot more when you are going against someone you know, so it added to the friendly competition between me and my roommate when playing this game. Additionally, keeping track of lives at the top of the screen is very helpful when deciding how risky to play for the win. When I am at a large advantage, I tend to take more risky plays to win the round, which would not happen if there was no score displayed on screen or a goal that I am trying to accomplish during play. The atmosphere of the game is set far away from home, which adds a sense of urgency to win this fight. If I don’t win, my body will be stuck on a far away planet where my possible family can’t find me. However, if I win, I will be able to hopefully find a way home and go back to where I’m from. By having the fight take place in space on a desolate planet, it seems like the perfect place for a fight in game, but also sets the atmosphere outside of the game. Though the birds are similar, I found myself connecting more with the bird I picked rather than the one my opponent chose, which makes sense since there’s more of a connection with my personal bird. The art in this game is amazing, so if it’s custom that’s extremely impressive. I love competitive multiplayer games such as this, so this was a perfect game for me to play with my roommate.