Skatebird Office Level and Story Detailed in Developer Commentary Video

Glass Bottom Games released a new video detailing a SkateBIRD Office level for The MIX’s Game Dev Direct showcase. The video contains commentary from the game’s narrative lead, Xalavier Nelson, who talks about the stage’s role in the SkateBIRD’s overarching story.

According to Nelson, the level evokes the drawbacks of startup culture. The bird’s human companion is too busy and depressed to spend time doing the things they enjoy. The bird infiltrates the office to change the human’s work to life balance, so they will have more time to play together.

In terms of gameplay, the player will stream together combos, jump over periodicals, grind on paperclips, collect snacks, and use the bird’s wings to get some extra air from ramps. Nelson describes the experience as a hybrid between the “smooth, satisfying” gameplay of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and the “shenanigans” of a physics game.

The video also contains some of the lo-fi chill-hop music players will hear when they play the game. Players who prefer to listen to other types of music will have an option to import their MP3s.

People had a chance to play a demo of SkateBIRD during the recent Steam Game Festival. SkateBIRD is set to release on Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox One in 2021.