Scoop’n Birds didn’t stand out to us among the short list of games hitting Nintendo eShop this week. It’s a game that’s exactly what it sounds like: Players scoop up birds to sell them to customers of their pet shop.
Sure, OK. That’s a premise. But Tim Winsky of developer TwinSky Games tipped us off to what makes this game not just another Nintendo 3DS download. Scoop’n Birds has two unique things going for it, the first being that it’s actually exclusive to New Nintendo 3DS.
“The primary reason this is a New 3DS exclusive is because it's developed using Unity, which cannot compile for the older model,” Winsky told us. “Unity has its limitations but it allowed our small team of only 3 people to see this game through to completion in a relatively timely manner.”
TwinSky Games wanted to ensure that Scoop’n Birds maintained a high framerate while having a ton of different moving objects on screen at once. The New Nintendo 3DS is a more powerful machine than its predecessor, so that makes sense.
And then we get to the fact that heavy metal legend Alice Cooper — excuse us, “Scooper” — is in the game.
Alice Scooper is the boss of the player character, running a tight ship at the Scoop’n Birds shop. There’s seemingly no explanation for why he’s gone from a life of hard rocking and partying to shopkeeping. We also don’t understand why he’s able to maintain his iconic makeup while working this job.
The story behind Alice Cooper’s approved appearance in the game is also a strange one, by the way Winsky tells it.
“I had previously met Alice Cooper (or Vince, as he's known IRL) when visiting my artist's church,” he said. “Later, when agonizing over the character that should own the bird store and guide the player, the character Alice Scooper came to me. When we approached him about this, he fortunately thought it was funny, so it's been smooth sailing.”
Cooper didn’t come contribute any voice acting to the game; the character just speaks in weird gibberish noises. (Winsky said he “didn’t have the heart” to get Cooper to perform those sounds himself.)
Just seeing a clear parody of Alice Cooper in an otherwise nondescript 3DS game is wild enough. Scoop’n Birds costs $7.99 on the eShop if you’ve got a hankering for something truly unique — and a New Nintendo 3DS system that can play it.