Two friends in Brooklyn with a passion for birdwatching and computer games decide to embark on a project to combine the two. Inspired by point and click adventure games of the time, the friends try to leverage emerging technology to create an immersive digital rendition of the activity that brought them much joy.
Unfortunately, the project ended up being too ambitious, and ahead of its time. The motion tracking technology they tried to implement was horrendously buggy, and after pitching a demo to publishers, many claimed they found the gameplay too boring. The friends shelved the project and gave up on their dream.
In the coming decades, a mythos around the project formed, and it slowly became one of the most legendary examples of vaporware. However, earlier this year, the source code of an unfinished but playable version of the game was posted on a forum by an anonymous user, and avid volunteers have since recreated the game on the modern web.
The original gameplay is largely intact, and thanks to improvements in digital camera and motion detection technology, the friends' vision has materialized.
How to play:
- Move the camera around by waving your hand in front of the webcam (you need one to play!). Click anywhere on the game screen with your mouse, or press the shift key, to take a photo.
- Navigate to and click the arrows to go to a different area.
- Camera shutter and movement create sound, which can scare away the birds. Try to stay stealthy.
- You have 24 shots on your roll of film. After that, it’s game over. Spend them wisely!