Birds and Butts Abound in this Rhythm Game Prototype

There isn't much game to Songbird Symphony yet, but its abundance of charm bodes well for the bird-based music game's future. Developed by three-person team Joysteak Studios, Songbird Symphony aims to become a musical adventure game with beautiful animation, endearing characters and featherbrained cutscenes.

The game is a short vertical slice at the moment, and can be completed in around ten minutes. Players control Birb, the bouncing baby birdie with a booty, and eventually learn a rad dance from Uncle Pea, who also has a goofy butt and is apparently Birb's adoptive uncle. To reach Uncle Pea, Birb sings notes in time with flashing lights on a floating platform, which activate the platform so Birb can traverse a large gap.

The rhythm section is presented in two forms: "Karaoke" and "Challenge" modes. Karaoke mode has players press a single keyboard button in time with a bouncing ball, following a pattern presented one bar earlier, ala Parappa the Rapper. There's even an annoying MIDI melody line accompanying the lyrics, just like with real karaoke.

Challenge mode, meanwhile, sits somewhere between Elite Beat Agents and Hatsune Miku's Project Diva series, with the bouncing ball replaced by key prompts arranged in patterns. This mode is significantly more complex, but I appreciate that it's not presented as the real mode. The terms "Karaoke" and "Challenge" indicate that one mode is fun-focused while the other is more complicated, but not that one mode is for better players. This is an important psychological distinction, and I like it! It's thoughtful and nice!

For as rudimentary as Songbird Symphony is in this proof-of-concept form, Joysteak clearly has some demonstrable talent at work, especially when it comes to animation. There are a lot of wrinkles that need ironing and edges that need sanding down, and a lot of this game's potential hinges on how Joysteak implements the environment music puzzles implied in this demo. Joysteak will also have to be mindful of the fine line between its animation style and the work of Kekeflipnote; a preeminent bird-focused pixel art animator whose work often involves butts.

The demo for Songbird Symphony is available in-browser and as a Windows program through Joysteak's itch.io page.

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