According to Gamevial, Fly Like a Bird was originally produced as an experiment "built for the sake of curiosity". Having recently mastered walking characters and 3D animal models, Gamevial sought to go a step further and incorporate the concept of flight into their latest project.

Initially, the game lacked any other objective besides aimlessly flying around the city, and in order to keep the experience interesting, Gamevial added a feature known as a "poo-o-meter" – a concept that had been encouraged upon by outside sources. This idea would remain intact in the game's second and third releases.