Beware...

the Flock!

Vaguely inspired by the Hitchcock movie The Birds, made for Mini Jam 99 with the theme "Birds". I didn't get around to implementing an endgame or goal, so for now it's just you surviving against the birds. No sound or music yet either, but I did have a lot of fun implementing the bird physics.

How to play

Arrow keys to move, [x] to temporarily scare away the birds. Buildings will give you two seconds of respite before the birds get in.

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

Really nice idea! You could definitely build off this one

really nice

cool idea! but is there an ending?

Death, dying, and despair.    ; -)

Love the noir palette, and animations are superb. The human scaring away the birds, as well as the birds in their procedural flocking behavior. Really neat, but sad little toy.

Thanks!

(1 edit) (+1)

I broke your birds bro.
Great game, amazingly fun for only 3 buttons, but there are several exploits (just letting you know, in case you decide to update it).

         1. If you run rapidly back and forth between the two central buildings, (one of which is small, the other is large) you can completely avoid the the birds because the flock's timer resets every time you go through a doorway, which keeps them circling outside one of the buildings indefinitely. 

        Possible fix: If you rapidly switch directions multiple times, start to drain stamina, with each change in direction from that point becoming exponentially larger.


         2. If you stand in the small gap between those same two buildings and time out the [x] action, you can also keep the birds at bay indefinitely. 

         Possible Fix: Honestly idk, but it's not the most consistent mechanic, so it should be fine :)


To finish it off: I have an Idea for the ending: Implement a timer mechanic, each minute more birds come to join the flock; but at  the 5 minute mark, all the birds get cleared away by a passing military helicopter (which you can wave down to you with the [x] key. If they see, the helicopter lands and you military personnel escort you on to it. The end card is the helicopter flying off into the distance, followed by thousands of birds. If the heli doesn't see you, you have to survive another 5 minutes of birds before it comes back. 

Overall great game, great execution, and some really cool bird ai. Thanks for the fun <3

(+1)

Thanks for the exhaustive feedback! I like your ending idea. I was planning to do a series of increasingly difficult levels, capped by an unwinnable endless runner section, but your idea makes me reconsider that plan.

This is a cool idea.

Thanks!