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You Brought The Birds You're Evil!

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the watch-the-penguins-they-snap dept.

Gamasutra has a highly amusing postmortem of a highly unusual game. Today on Gamasutra: The Making of 'Age of Ornithology'. From the article: "We were sitting around the conference table trying to come up with a unique concept for a real-time strategy game. Otto's (our lead programmer) new Porsche convertible was just outside the conference room window. Suddenly a small flock of birds flew over the parking area and, in unison, relieved themselves on his car. Otto was very angry... he had left the roof down. We laughed and laughed! Otto did not laugh - he kicked over the whiteboard and stormed out (he does this once or twice a week, it is no longer very shocking). Anyway, this got us thinking about birds, and their capacity for strategic attack and destruction. " I love tern-based strategy games.

21 comments

  1. Will it run on Linux?... by montyzooooma · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...through an EMU-lator.

  2. A travesty by aapold · · Score: 3, Funny

    I mean, it has penguins and no linux version?

    --
    "Waste not one watt!" - CZ
  3. To save everyone time by Spaceman40 · · Score: 3, Informative

    tern -> turn, the game isn't real (just a funny idea), and the article is the first in a series.

    --
    I [may] disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
    1. Re:To save everyone time by FirienFirien · · Score: 3, Funny

      ehh... methinks you might have missed Zonk's punlet on terns, whose behaviour is usually quite shitty.

      --
      Browsing with +2 to insightful posts and a higher threshold makes the average post seen seem a lot more ingenious
    2. Re:To save everyone time by Spaceman40 · · Score: 3, Funny

      You would be correct :) However, given Taco's recent article about submission format, I was trying to beat possible grammar/spelling fascists to the punch.

      I was wondering what he was talking about - it's an RTS in the article :-P

      --
      I [may] disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
  4. Do we get titans like in age of mythology? by ActionJesus · · Score: 1, Funny

    Watch as I summon the Titan TUX, who will bring death and destruction upon my heathen enemies!

    His mighty flipper-prints will be testament to the path of destruction.

  5. It's just a string of bird related puns, by Errandboy+of+Doom · · Score: 1, Informative

    It's just a string of bird related puns, or in /.ese: "news."

    1. Re:It's just a string of bird related puns, by Red+Flayer · · Score: 1

      Not just bird-related... Cthulhu Karts racing game? Sweet.

      Now I can understand that my racing is futile, and that my struggles to finish first mean nothing in the universe at large as powers beyond my comprehension accidentally crush the entire raceway just prior to completion of the final race.

      Besides, I've always wanted to see the Raceway at R'lyeh.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    2. Re:It's just a string of bird related puns, by Anm · · Score: 3, Informative

      Cthulhu Karts racing game? Sweet.

      The I suggest you look at Cthulhu 500. Fun card based racing game, with all the evil you'd expect out of Cthulhu.

      Anm

  6. Google for the win by ActionJesus · · Score: 1, Informative

    Actually, if you google age of ornithology, several things pop up, least of all this: http://www.phobe.com/sfi/ornithology.html

  7. When are mods coming out for this? by AdamWeeden · · Score: 3, Funny

    I want the "Asian Flu" biological weapon.

    --
    I was quoted out of context in my autobiography...
  8. Ah. Birds... by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 1
    As it happens, one day, I was riding a commuter train and was looking at the passing telegraph wires.

    Then we passed over a busy street, and only above the street, were about 50 pigeons perched over the street, and nowhere else.

    Just as if they planned to specifically target that area...

    1. Re:Ah. Birds... by Red+Flayer · · Score: 0

      "Just as if they planned to specifically target that Maybe they were keeping warm in the exhaust. Or naturally hanging out over an area where food is more likely to pop up.

      --
      "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    2. Re:Ah. Birds... by the+phantom · · Score: 1

      This is entirely off topic, though bird related:

      Most of my education has been in archaeology. I have spent a great deal of time out in the field doing archaeological work. In most of the Great Basin (and, probably, other parts of the country), ranchers built fences to keep their cattle in (or out, depending upon the state). Those fences (the ones that are over 50 years old, at least) are now considered to be part of the archaeological record. However, they are generally mostly obliterated by time -- if you get right on top of one, you might find a bit of wire, some nails, or maybe some wood. However, 100 years ago, when the fences were new, they were a great place for birds to hang out. Those birds ate seeds from trees at slightly higher elevations, then pooped them out while sitting on the fence. Thus, a long line of pinyon or juniper trees is often an indication that a fence was built in a particular location at some point in time.

      --
      Rhapsody in Numbers
  9. Credit where credit is due by mwheeler01 · · Score: 2, Informative

    The 'tern' pun at the end of the write up should be attributed to the article in which they say "Was there still a market nowadays for a tern-based game?"

    --
    Pretty widgets? What pretty widgets?
    1. Re:Credit where credit is due by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      replace credit with "a slap" please...

  10. Another game by Profane+MuthaFucka · · Score: 1

    Besides the bird game, there's another one called "Otto Goes Apeshit" that's just waiting to be written. Oh boy, Otto is going to love that!

    --
    Fascism trolls keeping me up every night. When I starts a preachin', he HITS ME WITH HIS REICH!
  11. The loney Slashdotter asks... by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

    Does the game feature scantilly-clad tufted titmouses?

  12. JIC anyone was wondering by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    This is all a big joke. It's a pretty funny one, though. Check out http://www.phobe.com/sfi/sigmain.html so you can see their other "titles" like "secret weapons over neverland" and of course their epic racing title, "need for speed underhill".

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  13. In busy traffic? by leonbrooks · · Score: 1

    That would be crows, seagulls or vultures rather than pigeons.

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    Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
  14. I still want to see... by leonbrooks · · Score: 1

    ...an accounting program expressed in FPS terms. Like DoomAdmin only more useful. Auditing in big spiked, armoured boots.

    --
    Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing