Sadly, my name was left off the credits. This happens, especially in large productions like videogames, and more especially if you’re not in the office when the credits list is created. While I’d love to see my name up on the screen, it matters little compared to being a part of it in the first place. It’s an unintentional oversight, I’m sure, and the checks all cleared, so I cannot complain.

As the critics have pointed out, this is a short game. It’s based on cartoons that last under 12 minutes, so that’s no surprise. For someone as busy as me, that’s actually a bonus, and I still clocked in several hours playing the game. I didn’t want to wait until my comp copies showed up, so I paid good money for my copy, and the game was worth every cent.

I think that’s a fair call, as it’s what the team at High Voltage set out to do. In that sense, we hit the target dead center. The reviewers’ scores seem to depend entirely on how much the reviewer wanted Phoenix Wright rather than Birdman.

As a short, snappy comedy, Birdman demands less involved gameplay. While I love the Phoenix Wright games (I’m playing through the third in the series with my son Marty right now), the convoluted mysteries of that game wouldn’t play well with Birdman, each episode of which is only 15 minutes long. I’m biased, of course, but I think the game hits the sweet spot. As the reviews show, though, that’s a matter of personal taste.

I had a fantastic time working on the game. The Birdman show is hilarious, and I got a special kick out of knowing I was writing dialog for stars including Gary Cole, John Michael Higgins, Peter MacNicol, Paget Brewster, Michael McKean, and Lewis Black. As a writer, you can sometimes hear a character’s voice in your head, but having DVDs featuring those characters already talking really helps you get inside them and make their words ring true (and funny!).

I’d like to especially thank the game’s producer, Kevin Sheller, as well as my co-writer, Micah Skaritka, who wrote more chunks of the game than I did. We spent a number of days locked in a writers’ room together, spitballing ideas back and forth. I couldn’t have asked for a funnier, more talented crew to work with. Also, many thanks to Matt Corso, Eric Nofsinger, John Kopecky, and the rest of the management team at High Voltage Software, who helped make the whole experience so much fun.

Capcom is running a sweepstakes with prizes for the first 500 pre-orders through their site, although as with most such contests, the details reveal that no purchase is actually necessary to enter and win.

Still, why wouldn’t you want to pick up such a fun and handsome game? It’s available for the Wii, PSP, and PS2. I plan on cracking my copies open as soon as they arrive. I had a hoot working on this game, and I cannot wait to see and play the final results.

I had a great time. The place was decked out with horror movie posters, inflatable ghosts and gravestones, and a looped DVD of clips from various horror films. They also had an bar, keg beer, blackjack tables, and a DJ spinning tunes for a lively dance floor.

The costumes stunned me. I couldn’t even recognize some of my friends under them. Kevin Sheller and his fiance Jessa came as Birdman and Birdgirl, and their costumes beat out the ones seen on the live-action parts of the show. Eric Nofsinger made such a good Edward Scissorhands that I didn’t recognize him until I was on my way out the door. Micah Skaritka’s evil clown getup was so perfect he had to tell me who he was.

The unexpected highlight of the night came in the form of an old pal who’d also been invited to the party, along with some other friends from his company. However, due to NDAs, I’m not sure if I’m at liberty to reveal the identity of the mysterious luchadores I encountered that night. Such is the way of the computer game business, but perhaps it’s all for the best.

For myself, I didn’t get the invitation until last Wednesday and have been stuffing my family’s things into boxes ever since, so I didn’t have any time for a proper costume. My wife has a great costume, but it was her night for her book club, so we went our separate ways for the evening. I wore a High Voltage T-shirt under my button-down and went as an employee. I was told I should have come with an ax in my head (via special effects trickery, I hope) and been an “ax-employee.”

While delays aren’t any fun, I’d rather the game had a chance to grow some legs rather than get sucked back into the sea by the pre-holiday tsunami. Birdman fully endorses this product and/or service.

P.S. Thanks to my friend Andy Friedl for the heads-up.

A postcard given out at the show, though, tells me I’ll have to wait until November 13, 2007, for the game to hit shelves. In the meantime, we can keep up to date with a new Capcom blog devoted to the game.

P.S. GameTrailers.com has gameplay footage from the Comic-Con booth.

Thanks to Jason Blair for the heads-up.