Star Birds News

Devlog: The Music of Star Birds

For Star Birds, we are now at a point where we are creating music and sound. Which recurring theme accompanies the player? What does the space factory sound like? Let us take you on an audiovisual journey of space and sound.

[h3]Tracks: Avoiding Ear Fatigue 👂[/h3]
We think that music can have a big impact on the long-term playability of a game. It should be a homecoming, create an unobtrusive atmosphere, and convince with subtle beauty and variation.

The music in Star Birds is supposed to have a distinct character and welcome players to a familiar "universe" at every launch. Even after many hours, we need to avoid ear fatigue. It’s the smooth transitions and soft changes in dynamics which build a foundation for the game-feel and mood.

[h3]Sounds: In Space, Noone Can Hear You ... Build? 🔨[/h3]
For us, sounds fulfill at least three functions in the game: First and foremost, sounds define the atmosphere and style of a game. Second, they give feedback or confirmation for successful player actions (e.g. hovering over a button, placing a building or plugging in pipes). And finally, sounds are crucial as alert signals - warning players or helping them react to events. They are supporting visual cues.

[h3]Artists: Finding Musical Crew Mates 👨‍🚀[/h3]
We like to work with talented people who develop a connection with the world we are creating. We encourage our artists to play the game. We think it adds to the overall quality, if the composers and sound designers develop an individual understanding for the game and its atmosphere.

For Star Birds, we were introduced to Epic Mountain, the long-term partners for music and sound in the kurzgesagt videos. We are looking forward to our musical journey and are thankful for working with such talented people on this exciting endeavor.

Curious? To listen to first musical ideas for Star Birds, check out the live performance which we recorded for the Save and Sound Event in November 2024.

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[h3]Wishlist Star Birds & Join Our Newsletter[/h3]
Star Birds is an indie project by Toukana Interactive and kurzgesagt. We are over the moon to have such an amazing community. You are the reason why this project exists. If you want to support us, Wishlist the game here on Steam, and tell your friends about it.

If you would like to be the first to read content like this and are looking for more in-depth insights, we recommend our newsletter – sign up at toukana.com/starbirds.

Devlog: The Star Map

The Star Map is an important game element in Star Birds. In each System you explore, it gives you an overview over many procedurally generated 3D asteroids, which you connect with rocket transportation routes. As players you will also be switching from asteroid surface to the map view and back, which we’re aiming for to be smooth and seamless - not an easy task!

[h3]Creating a 3D Star System 🌔[/h3]
When you imagine creating your own star system, you probably expect a fulminant Big Bang. Reality is that the process begins with a set of rather pragmatic questions: What color is the universe? Is our star system flat? And if not (which is more in line with our world view): Can you seamlessly zoom out from a single asteroid to the Star Map?

In the end, we opted for 3D objects but a 2D look – in line with the game’s artstyle so far, and kurzgesagt’s video animations.

[h3]Procedurally Generated Asteroids 🌟[/h3]
In a star system, there are asteroids. Plenty of asteroids. In Star Birds, we generate them procedurally by using colors, parameters, shapes and rules that we design.

As a small indie studio, we want to use our capacities for a satisfying game flow rather than for the design of thousands of intergalactic pebbles. As a team, we were keen on developing new skills, facing new challenges and fun from a game design perspective.

[h3]Interstellar Transportation Routes 🚀[/h3]
By now, the rockets are flying and transporting goods from one asteroid to the other. At the moment, we are busy making sure that you will be able to keep a good overview: Distinguishing discovered from undiscovered asteroids, remembering which resources are transported on which route, and making it joyful to zoom out, lean back, and just watch the galactic goings-on from afar.

The Star Map still needs a little refinement, but a universe is not created in a single day, right?

Devlog: Wrap Asteroids in Pipes!

[h3]The Pipe Network 🍝[/h3]

Star Birds is a cozy factory builder. You place buildings across an asteroid and connect them with pipes. The pipes have an iconic transparent look, and the drawing mechanic is free-handed - just like drawing with a brush, married with the elegance of dragging a garden hose around.

[h3]Bye to the Rigid Grid: Go with the Flow 🧶 [/h3]

When you develop a factory builder, one central question is: How do you get raw materials from one building to the next? At the beginning, we considered having conveyor belts. However, a rigid building grid did not feel wholesome, so we decided for flexible pipes instead. We sifted through the wonderful content library of our project partner kurzgesagt - in a nutshell to find style inspiration, and created some concept art of our vision. Smoothly moving goods, soft curves and rich, vibrant colors.

above: early Star birds Concept Art, still using conveyor belts

above: later Concept Art with UI Design explorations and pipes only

[h3]
Transparent Pipes and Connector Designs 🔌[/h3]

We decided on a transparent pipe material to clearly show the flow and direction of the pipe contents. This makes it easier for the player to navigate the overall production system.

Ever been to a country with a different socket type than the one you are used to? Now imagine that situation in space. We neede to find a solution and prototyped different building connectors, carefully assessing their shape langauge and color, and tested feedback effects like rotating rings and flashing signal lights on the building itself. We ended up with a minimalistic connector design only on the pipe end, and a universal input-output ring on the buildings base. This makes it easy to quickly spot the connectors, grab and drag them, to ultimately connect them to a buildings IO-ring and ensure that your production network is running smoothly.

[h3]Free-Handed Pipe Dragging: Creativity Meets Strategy 🎨 [/h3]

The last and most important step was to make the gameplay feel wholesome and satisfying. We developed a free-handed pipe drawing mechanic, resulting in smooth curved paths like lines drawn with a brush. It' super easy to do, and feels a bit like dragging around a garden hose. We wanted it to feel espacially satisfying to interact with the irregular 3D asteroid surfaces while constructing your creations.

Star Birds is an indie project by Toukana Interactive and kurzgesagt. We are over the moon to have such an amazing community. You are the reason why this project exists. If you want to support us, Wishlist the game here on Steam, and tell your bird friends about it.

[h3]Join the Newsletter Gang 📬[/h3]
If you would like to be the first to read content like this and are looking for more in-depth insights, we recommend our newsletter – sign up here and win a Steam key in advance!.

Have a great holiday everyone 🎁
Your Toukana Interactive Team

Devlog: How We Create Buildings for Star Birds

Hey everyone,

Today we'd love to talk a little about buildings in Star Birds, as they do play an important role in the game! As one of the core aspects of the game you will spend a lot of time with, we wanted to make sure they are looking as awesome as can be, while also not being static so your asteroids actually become lively little colonies all on their own.

[h2]So, How Did We Do That?[/h2]

[h3]Define the Style[/h3]
Well, we started out by defining a general style for the architecture. We were attracted by old kitchen appliances, especially those from the 80s and 90s, for their specific shape language.

[h3]Figure Out What Is Important[/h3]
With the general looks locked in, the first step in adding a new building is to work out which elements are needed to truly make it work. For our mining drill, as an example, that meant having an actual drill, bucket-wheel-excavator, or another similar mining implement.

[h3]Finding a Clear Design Language[/h3]
From there, our next thoughts were all about how a potential upgrade path could look like, starting with a very basic version of the drill and then going to more and more extravagant and busy designs.

[h3]Choose and Refine[/h3]
In the end, we took the drill concept, and simplified it! The drill now is the dominating element of the building, both in shape and animation!

[h2]The Result[/h2]

Our final concept has the drill visibly moving up and down, spinning as if truly digging into the ground. This also allows for some very interesting movement all over an asteroid!

We hope this view behind the curtain was interesting! If you would like to see more from behind-the-scenes, sign up for our newsletter over on our Website!