Response to A Bird Story

Screen Shot from A Bird Story

Initially I was worried about whether or not I would like the aesthetic of the game. Although I grew up playing Pokemon and have continued to play I always feel distracted playing a game that uses a more vintage pixelated style with sprites, but in this case I didn't find it distracting at all. The image above is a screen shot that I captured during a flight sequence in the game while you fly on a giant paper airplane with the bird. It was beautiful and cycled through an array of scenery ranging from this night sky to shimmering bodies of water and rural areas. Another issue I had early on that quickly disappeared was the lack of guidance and dialogue. I knew going in that there would be little of both, but it was a shock starting out and seeing that I had to follow small visual clues like little arrows or thought bubbles with images. 

Screen Shot from A Bird Story

Above is an image of one area with visuals of how to do the activity. Sometimes the game would show you which keys to press to do something in the game while other times it would rely more on a single image like a lightbulb to tell you to turn on the lights or an image of a water dish to tell you to put water out for the bird. Despite the initial confusion I had with adjusting to a game without dialogue I think it worked well for this game. I think if there had been dialogue or instructions it would have pulled the player out of the game and distracted from this very raw, fully visual, realistic experience. In certain places it isn't necessary to know the details and it is more important to see the idea, like that he has no friends in school, or that the vet does not want him to keep the bird, than to see dialogue declaring that. 

Screen Shot from A Bird Story

It can all be inferred by interacting with the other characters, shown as shadows usually, and seeing how they react. The vet became angry when the player character leaves with the bird and the other students show no interest in him until he brings his bird to school for Show and Tell. I think the fact that the game only focuses on the player character and his experiences without dialogue adds to that feeling of loneliness. It gets you into the depth of his loneliness and then the joy he finds when he saves the bird. The only relationship in the game that is of any importance is his relationship with the bird, which requires no dialogue, so there is no need to convey anything in the game with dialogue for it to work. It would draw away from the main story of him finding this bird and finding friendship that draws him from his loneliness, which would potentially lose some of its powerful impact if the player were focusing on speaking to others or reading text on the screen. 

Screen Shot from A Bird Story

The music and sound along with lighting conveyed the mood of the player character throughout the story extremely well. They are used to show when a scene is current or a memory through different color schemes like sepia or grayscale and through music that gives a sense of nostalgia through their light, gentle sound. The image to the right shows a scene as it happens in the present. It is dark, dreary, and raining. 

 The sound of the music was solemn and the sound of the rain was played along with the music. The colors are more murky to show the overcast sky from the rain and the pain being experienced by the player character. The gray image to the left is the same scene as it continues and shows memories while he walks. The sadness is still being shown but the colors have become light and grayscale and shows multiple variations of the boy and his bird together through their time as friends.
One good example of character and plot development shown in the game are his brief interactions with other students. His first time in the playground he has no one to use the see-saw with him, then following Show & Tell when you click on the other students they respond with an icon of a bird, then they begin to respond with an icon of the player character's face. The last time he is on the playground in the game students use the see-saw with him and their responses seem positive when you click on them. This shows a change over time to him forming friendships and becoming more outgoing through his friendship with his bird. He needed his bird to help start those friendships but once they have been formed he can branch out and continue working on improving his life on his own. 

Screen Shot from A Bird Story

The thing that made the game most enjoyable was how relatable it was even in the strangest parts of it. Sometimes it would pull away from reality and jump into something unreal like flying on a giant paper airplane, a chase sequence with Yakkity Sax, and a floating sequence with a parachute. However those did not draw away from the story too much as the game itself really captured a sense of reality and connection that most games do not achieve. Even though as the player you are not able to make many decisions or move much in the game it uses the atmosphere that it creates through imagery and sound to make you feel the emotions just as deeply as if you were this kid with his new friend bird. It is just as painful when he worries and just as delightful to splash in puddles as it would be if you were really there and I think that is what sets this apart from anything I've seen before. 

Screen Shot from A Bird Story