Hey everyone! 

I'm currently working on Retrobirding, a cozy 2D pixel art game about birdwatching, exploring nature, and discovering different bird species, inspired by games like Stardew Valley.

The idea is to create a relaxing experience where players can explore different habitats, listen to bird calls, use binoculars, collect observations, and slowly build their own birdwatching journal.

About the project

I'm developing the game in Godot and have already started working on the core gameplay, movement, and environment systems. The project is still in its early stages, but I have plenty of ideas and a fairly detailed game design concept.

Who am I looking for?

Honestly, pretty much anyone interested in contributing!

• Pixel artists – Birds, vegetation, environments, animations, etc.
• Godot developers – Programming, gameplay mechanics, and technical ideas.
• Writers – Storytelling, dialogue, characters, and quests.
• Bird enthusiasts – Species knowledge, bird behavior, ecology, and ideas.
• Musicians / Sound designers – Cozy music, ambience, and nature sounds.
• Anyone creative – Feedback, ideas, illustrations, UI design, or just enthusiasm!

No pressure, no commitments!

This is currently an unpaid hobby/passion project. There's no required schedule, and you don't have to commit to being a permanent team member.

Even if you just want to contribute a few pixel art assets, help with one feature, share some bird knowledge, or throw in an idea, I'd genuinely appreciate it!

I'm also setting up a small Discord community where we can share progress, exchange ideas, and collaborate.

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/Ty9JRp4vhG

If you're interested, feel free to reply here or send me a message!

I'd love to meet some creative people and hopefully build something special together.

Thanks for reading! 🐦🌿

A cozy birdwatching game with real bird calls and a journal you fill in sounds lovely, Stardew energy for sure. I founded ComposerScout, a free spot where game devs find pixel artists, composers, sound designers, writers and programmers. Set up Retrobirding there and post it as a hobby project with the roles you listed (up to 4 people on one post), and people who are open to hobby projects get it in their inbox. Takes about a minute. It's free to be on, and I don't take a cut of anything you pay people. We'd love to feature Retrobirding there: https://composerscout.com/#post

Hey! Love the cozy birdwatching vibe 🐦 I make lofi as Purrple Cat and all of it is free to use in games under CC BY 4.0, just credit "Music: Purrple Cat". There's a lot of chill stuff that might fit here: https://purrplecat.itch.io. Good luck with it!

Hey! I saw this project on Itch and was wondering if you are still looking for a writer?

Hi Linus, could a single birdwatching-journal UI concept help? I'd focus on a clear species-and-observation layout with space for your bird art.

I'm building EmpGraphics's first client cases using an AI-assisted workflow. The finished static PNG itself would be free: one screen, one design direction and one consolidated revision, with no purchase or ongoing team/revenue-share commitment. If this format is useful and the workflow is acceptable, could you share a screenshot/reference and the journal information you want shown? We'd agree permitted assets, size and a delivery date before starting.

Hey RetroBirding,

I'm a Game Developer / Programmer with over 4 years of professional experience working on PC. I've worked on 6 complete game projects.

I'm available to start right away and would love to hear more your project.

Portfolio: https://adamszlamp.wordpress.com/

Discord: @adamatwork

Hi Linus, a cozy birdwatching game is such a lovely idea. I'm Evan, a songwriter in Tennessee who writes quiet fingerpicked guitar and soft piano music, and "slow walk through the woods with binoculars" is pretty much my whole sound. Here's a listen: https://evanhballard.bandcamp.com/album/apricity-instrumentals-creator-pack (more at https://evanhballard.bandcamp.com). I'd be happy to write a gentle main/menu theme and a calm exploration loop or two, for credit and no pressure on timing. If you have a habitat or a time of day you want to start with (morning meadow, rainy forest...), tell me and I'll sketch something. I'll hop in the Discord too.