Bird Week
Encyclopedia
is a Family Computer
life simulation
video game. The target age groups for this video game are young children regardless of gender, females regardless of age, parents, in addition to grandparents.
of bird
s. There was a live bird living peacefully with the flowers that faced against a very tall tree. Mommy
was the name of the mother bird who moved out from her mother's den to start her own family. She will grow and eventually plant a series of egg
s in her nest. Then the eggs hatched. Mommy started to notice the world to be a dangerous place when she first laid eyes on her offspring. With their big mouths, they were always hungry
for their favorite food items. Mommy jumped out from of her nest with a shazam to make sure her children never died of starvation. There are animals that are out to get Mommy. While Mommy was content to feed her chicks around the flight, she found that the mushroom could disable many of the predators.
The player plays as a bird and can either play the normal game or the study game. Both game modes are nearly identical except the study game only allows the player to play through one level of their choice before abruptly ending. The player must feed butterflies
to the baby birds so that they can grow big and eventually leave the nest
. It is suggested that they eventually become the "new mother birds" that take care of their offspring in the subsequent levels. There is an ending to this game. However, reaching the end requires considerable patience because it only comes out at the end of level 999 (approximately 28 repetitions of the game's thirty-six levels).
Each level represents a season in the ecosystem
of a bird. The game starts out in early spring
. As the virtual year progresses, the season evolves into summer
and eventually into autumn
. After autumn, the game repeats itself by portraying the following spring. Since harmful influences from sentient
beings are not simulated in the game play, the forest that the birds live in is presumed to be a nature preserve
. If the proper amount of butterflies are not fed to the babies, then the babies end up starving to death
. The player will automatically lose a life if any of the baby bird dies. In addition to this, the player also loses a life when a predator
catches the player trying to deliver butterflies to whose baby.
Although the game is titled "Bird Week," the flow of seasons make it seem like virtual years are passing by (as opposed to virtual days of a week
). There is no winter
in the game because many of the game's enemies are that of the insect
, bird, and small mammal
species.
Pinky, Panky, and Ponki
Eagle
Bee
Woodpecker
s (good guys). The music is monochromatic but whimsical.
, released a Bird Week-themed live performance music video. Footage from the game is included in the video.
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
life simulation
Life simulation game
Life simulation games is a sub-genre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual lifeforms...
video game. The target age groups for this video game are young children regardless of gender, females regardless of age, parents, in addition to grandparents.
Story
Under the sparkling light of the sun, there was a breezy fresh kingdomKingdom (biology)
In biology, kingdom is a taxonomic rank, which is either the highest rank or in the more recent three-domain system, the rank below domain. Kingdoms are divided into smaller groups called phyla or divisions in botany...
of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s. There was a live bird living peacefully with the flowers that faced against a very tall tree. Mommy
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
was the name of the mother bird who moved out from her mother's den to start her own family. She will grow and eventually plant a series of egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s in her nest. Then the eggs hatched. Mommy started to notice the world to be a dangerous place when she first laid eyes on her offspring. With their big mouths, they were always hungry
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
for their favorite food items. Mommy jumped out from of her nest with a shazam to make sure her children never died of starvation. There are animals that are out to get Mommy. While Mommy was content to feed her chicks around the flight, she found that the mushroom could disable many of the predators.
General gameplay
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
to the baby birds so that they can grow big and eventually leave the nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
. It is suggested that they eventually become the "new mother birds" that take care of their offspring in the subsequent levels. There is an ending to this game. However, reaching the end requires considerable patience because it only comes out at the end of level 999 (approximately 28 repetitions of the game's thirty-six levels).
Each level represents a season in the ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
of a bird. The game starts out in early spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
. As the virtual year progresses, the season evolves into summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
and eventually into autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
. After autumn, the game repeats itself by portraying the following spring. Since harmful influences from sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
beings are not simulated in the game play, the forest that the birds live in is presumed to be a nature preserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
. If the proper amount of butterflies are not fed to the babies, then the babies end up starving to death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. The player will automatically lose a life if any of the baby bird dies. In addition to this, the player also loses a life when a predator
Predation
In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...
catches the player trying to deliver butterflies to whose baby.
Although the game is titled "Bird Week," the flow of seasons make it seem like virtual years are passing by (as opposed to virtual days of a week
Week
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
). There is no winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
in the game because many of the game's enemies are that of the insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
, bird, and small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
species.
Characters
Mommy- Nature is full of dangerous animals. Mommy has to feed her babies and ward off her enemies with by dropping mushrooms on them.
Pinky, Panky, and Ponki
- The baby chicks that Mommy has to feed. It is suggested that each one of them becomes the new mother bird in the subsequent stages.
Eagle
- At first he flies slowly to catch the mother bird. Eventually, he will start flying more rapidly.
Bee
- Bees fly very swiftly and persistently in order to kill the mother bird.
Woodpecker
- Usually, they're pecking at the trees. However, they can kill the mother bird if they come in direct contact with her.
Graphics and sound
The graphics in Bird Week are well designed for an older game. It is easy to tell the scary blackbirds (bad guys) from the nice bluebirdBluebird
The bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family . Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. They have blue, or blue and red, plumage...
s (good guys). The music is monochromatic but whimsical.
Cultural influences
In 2010, Healthy Option Dane, a jazz-influenced band from Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
, released a Bird Week-themed live performance music video. Footage from the game is included in the video.
External links
- Bird Week Music Video - Healthy Option Dane's "Bird Week" Music Video