A decade or two ago, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was all the rage. Everyone had their favorite—mine was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3—and the games became a cultural phenomenon, right up until a ridiculous skateboard controller practically killed the franchise. Enter SkateBIRD, an adorable arcade-y skateboarding game featuring tiny birbs, fingerboards, and appropriately-scaled levels. The game made a splash at E3 during the Kinda Funny Games showcase and now the developers are well into their Kickstarter campaign!
SkateBIRD is seeking funds on Kickstarter in order to finish up development of what already seems to be quite the promising work-in-progress. Read on to find out more about the game and what you can get for pledging!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-j9490u0TA
All About SkateBIRD
SkateBIRD is exactly what it says on the tin: a skateboarding game featuring birds. While there is a degree of realistic physics, the game also strays from reality a bit on account of the whole thing with the skateboarding birds. But that's okay—games don't have to be realistic, they just have to be fun.
I took the demo of the game (available only for a limited time, mind!) for a spin and found it to be plenty of fun. As a veteran of the Tony Hawk games, I felt a slight tinge of nostalgia as I rolled around the level with my adorable bird boi. I tried the game out on a keyboard and mouse and it worked well enough, although this is the sort of title that's clearly better suited for a controller.
Glass Bottom Games has something that feels pretty solid so far; all they need now is to polish things up and add in a bunch more content to make a fully-fleshed out game. That's why they're raising some dollary-doos on Kickstarter — let's see what you can get for chipping in!
SkateBIRD Pledges and Stretch Goals
If you want to get your hands on the full game, you're going to have to chip in a few bucks. You can even throw in a little extra and get early access to a pre-release version! It's not a bad price for a new entry in a woefully-underserved genre of gaming.
SkateBIRD Pledge Levels
- Birb Friend - Pledge $1 or More
- Get your name in the credits.
- SkateBIRD - Pledge $15 or More
- Everything in the Birb Friend tier and a copy of the game.
- SkateBIRD Deluxe - Pledge $30 or More
- Everything in the SkateBIRD tier plus pre-release beta access and a copy of the soundtrack.
- Thiccadee Edition - Pledge $50 or More
- Everything in the SkateBIRD Deluxe tier plus all of Glass Bottom Games' previous games, the associated soundtracks, and a folder filled with .mp4s, .gifs, bloopers, etc.
- Pinion - Pledge $60 or More
- Everything in the Thiccadee Edition tier plus a neat enamel pin.
- Tiny Skatepark Playset - Pledge $70 or More
- Everything in the Thiccadee Edition tier plus a physical playset with a bird, board, and some obstacles made by ToppyNoppy Toys.
- Tiny Skateboard - Pledge $80 or More
- Everything in the Thiccadee Edition tier plus an official SkateBIRD fingerboard.
- Bird Sized Box Edition - Pledge $100 or More
- Everything in the Thiccadee Edition plus the game on a cassette-shaped USB key with its own case.
- Deluxe Bird Sized Box Edition - Pledge $150 or More
- Everything in the Thiccadee Edition plus the tiny skateboard playset, official fingerboard, and physical cassette USB key with case.
- Become a SkateBIRD Pro - Pledge $300 or More
- Everything in the Thiccadee Edition plus you'll be put into the game as a cover for the in-game Thrusher magazine.
- Your BIRB as a SkateBIRD Pro - Pledge $300 or More
- The same as the above tier, except your adorable bird will be put in the game instead. Optionally, you could choose to memorialize a beloved pet bird who has passed away.
- Become a SkateBIRD Pro (with toys!) - Pledge $400 or More
- Everything in the Deluxe Bird Sized Box Edition tier plus your image will be put into the game.
- Hit the Deck - Pledge $800 or More
- Everything in the Deluxe Bird Sized Box Edition tier along with the enamel pin and a human-sized official skateboard deck (that can optionally be signed by the dev team).
- Big Friend's Board - Pledge $1,500 or More (Limited: 5 of 5 left)
- Everything in the Hit the Deck tier, except the full-sized skateboard has trucks, wheels, and all the necessary frills, customized to your specifications as closely as the devs can manage.
- Coach's Board - Pledge $3,000 or More (Limited: 1 of 1 left)
- The same as the Big Friend's Board tier, except it will be a different board from someone else on the dev team.
SkateBIRD Stretch Goals
- Breadslices of Life (Unlocked) - Unlockable in-game side stories tell you all about birb skating and Thrusher magazine.
- Skate Heaven (Unlocked) - A bonus level in the clouds.
- Super Create-A-Birb (Unlocked) - An enhanced version of the character bird creator that lets you equip them with adorable hats, ties, vests, etc. that can be customized even further!
- You Can Pet The Birb ($50,000) - You'll be able to pet the birds in game. This is, of course, incredibly important to the realism of such a fine title.
SkateBIRD currently sits at $45,628 of its $20,000 goal at the time of writing. The game is certainly funded, and now the developers are trying to secure extra funds to polish things up even nicer. This is the second Kickstarter from Megan Fox of Glass Bottom Games; her first Kickstarter project Hot Tin Roof was successful.
If this game seems like your kind of jam, you should go ahead and pop on by the SkateBIRD Kickstarter campaign! You have until July 9, 2019, at 8:00 PM EDT to make your pledge before the campaign is all done! You can also add the game to your wishlist on Steam or swing by the developer's official website. SkateBIRD will release on PC, Mac, and Linux (and maybe other platforms, too) sometime in 2020.
What do you think of SkateBIRD? Does the idea of playing an adorable skateboarding game about tiny birds appeal to you? What would you like to see in the game? Let us know in the comments below!