Game Description

Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game, an interactive simulation for studying more than one hundred forty birds, their habitats and habits, will appeal to both veteran bird watchers as well as novices interested in North America's flying wildlife. Bird Watcher features full motion video as well as authentic bird calls and songs, and includes interactive modules such as Raptor Hunting Games where you take flight and hunt for ground and water based prey, a Bird Watcher's Reference Guide, a Wild Bird Reference Tool, and a section on the use of optics to enhance birding techniques. The intuitive interface (keyboard, mouse or joystick), photo-realistic bird environments, a geographical guide and choice of exploration or competition (one or two players) rounds out the offerings, with noted author and Director of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory, Pete Dunne, providing narration. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

Birdwatchers have been around since the beginning of mankind. The game is directly influenced by the various ornithology groups and organizations throughout the world, such as the Birder's World, the Audubon Society, Wildlife Forever and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (which contains more than 130,000 recorded bird calls). ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

It's difficult to rate a game designed for a very specific target group, in this case, bird watchers. As a learning experience for studying bird species, the game is quite useful. Despite its limitation (145 species out of 9,700 world-wide), it fills a niche for the casual bird watcher of North American species. One thing is certain, it certainly leaves plenty of room for additional sequels (e.g., Birds of Africa, Birds of Asia, Birds of the Tropics, etc.). As a game, it is severely restricted and limited in both options and potential longevity. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Produced by: Pondview Productions

Executive Producers: Scott Grieve, Shel Mann

Graphics: Chris Smith

Media Conversion Specialist: Mike McClure

Bird Slides and Videos provided by: Ron Austing

Bird Guide Writers: Peter Neubeck, Jim Williams

Bird Calls & Songs provided by: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Optics provided by: Swarovski Optik

Special thanks to: Pete Dunne, Ron Austing, Swarovski Optik, Greenwood & Gryphon, Ltd., Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Pennington Seed, Wildlife Forever

WINDOW PAINTERS LTD.

Engineering: Jeff Hanson, Ken Patterson, John Hanson, Scott McSpadden

Art: Bob Cavey, Bob Jorgensen, Terri McKeown, James Gang Animation Group

Video & Audio: Dave Sylvestre

Special thanks: Bob Johnson, Jerry Sylvestre, Paul Murakami, John Patterson, Jeff Faust ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Not having the slightest idea what to expect, I loaded Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game with great curiosity since, although not a bird watcher in the strictest sense, I do enjoy wildlife and nature trails. As a casual hiker, I'd wonder what type of bird made a particular sound, wishing I could put the "voice" with the "face" (beak?). Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game seeks to rectify this problem shared by millions of uninformed nature lovers such as myself. The game begins with a startling revelation by well-known ornithologist Pete Dunne regarding the surprising and growing recreational popularity of bird watching. The video is smooth with good lip-synch timing as Dunne extols the virtues and satisfaction gained from this passive sport.

At first glance, gameplay in Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game seems extremely simplistic and to a great degree, it is. Play in either competitive or exploration mode with both on-screen experiences presented the same way. The difference lies in the timing element imposed during competitive mode which tests your knowledge of birds through five, two minute rounds with two players competing, while the exploration game allows only solo play, although any number of people can watch and learn at the same time.

During competitive mode, you choose from any one of twenty-nine locations on the North American continent. Use an extremely easy interface (mouse or keyboard) to activate the binoculars used to scan the environmental screen. Use a "Compass Rose" to navigate from screen to screen at the chosen location with the point of the exercise to scan the environmental location and locate as many birds as possible. When you find one (simulated by a spinning, orange bird profile), a short, real-life video plays followed by a choice of three bird names. If you choose correctly, you get points; if you choose incorrectly, you lose points and can try again. Obviously, the field narrows if you've paid attention to the first three choices.

The game isn't challenging to play, but if your knowledge of specific bird types and calls is lacking, mastering identification can be difficult. In order to achieve the most satisfaction, keep in mind that the purpose of the simulation is to "teach" people about birds. Someone with no interest in birds should stay clear of the game. Does the game fulfill its purpose? It most certainly achieves the goal of presenting a chance to learn both visual and aural signatures of one hundred forty-five species of birds and their habitats.

An Bird Watcher Log Book, activated during competitive mode, automatically updates with correct identifications. The log consists of a grid with twenty-nine locations running laterally across the top and one hundred forty-five bird species occupying the vertical column to the left of the grid. Each correct identification fills in the box where the two lines (location and bird-type) intersect. However, for those interested in identifying all species throughout all possible locations, there is no means to keep track within the game. This unfortunate oversight is a relatively shortsighted glitch as no record-keeping master log available in solo player or competitive mode. Surely, it would have been fairly simple to make the grid available as an optional permanent log.

Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game also includes a primitive arcade-style action mode (reminiscent of early side-scrolling video games where the screens run from right) where you take command of a bald eagle, swooping down to capture fish or rabbits, depending on which "game" is chosen. Moving the eagle backwards results in the incongruous picture of an eagle flying backwards as it doesn't even turn around making this arcade diversion a short-lived exercise appealing to young children at best.

Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game delivers as an interactive tool providing fledgling ornithologists a platform to learn and study about North American birds with an on-screen Guidebook describing all species and features a "Bird Call Button" for each to replicate the call of the bird in the wild. With the less impressive "Bird Feature Button" showing the twenty identifiable parts of a bird Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game shouldn't be taken as anything other than a good reference or learning tool, although limited; it only deals with one hundred forty-five out of an estimated world population of 9,700 species. Obviously, once all the species are learned, the competitive mode is destroyed, except to see how fast you can identify birds and strive for a higher point total. The so-called arcade action is semi-laughable because it's restrictive and primitive, so only real bird lovers should flock to this one while those uninterested in flying wildlife should nest

elsewhere. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

This is a two-pronged category in Bird Watcher: The Interactive Birding Game. The live videos of the various bird species are definitely fun to watch along with the nicely presented realistic environments. However, the Raptor game sequences are at best simplistic and add nothing significant to gameplay. However, since the main purpose is to learn and study about birds, the live videos outweigh the rest of the package enough to warrant a higher rating. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

Basically, enjoyment of the sound rests squarely on how much you enjoy listening to birdcalls. Each species is recorded realistically from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Library of Natural Sounds more than 130,000 recordings. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

Short-term replay will afford a chance to study and identify up to one hundred forty-five species of birds. The lack of any real gameplay options and a finite database limits long-term replay prospects. However, the use of this product as a reference tool shouldn't be underestimated. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

As might be expected due to the simplicity of the game itself, printed documentation is sparse, but covers the aspects of competitive gameplay and exploration options adequately. The on-screen, in-game documentation, specifically, the Bird Watcher's Guidebook (with birdcalls) is impressive despite the limited number of species included in the game. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide