220 Bugs

Wed, Apr 23, 2025 Year 3, Spring 17

Codey talks to Al about Bug and Seek

Timings

00:00:00: Theme Tune
00:00:30: Intro
00:02:00: What Have We Been Up To
00:06:21: Game News
00:27:44: Bug And Seek
01:05:05: Outro

Contact

Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot
Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/

Transcript

(0:00:30) Al: Hello, farmers, and welcome to another episode of The Harvest Season. My name is Al,
(0:00:36) Codey: my name is Cody that’s a new thing I’m just gonna keep doing that forever now
(0:00:38) Al: and we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore games.
(0:00:49) Al: I’m gonna start not referencing it, and then maybe it’ll stop. I don’t know, we’ll see.
(0:00:52) Codey: no it’s on my mind every time ah and it matches I have a new tattoo that has
(0:00:55) Al: You’re like a dog with a bone.
(0:01:00) Al: Yes.
(0:01:02) Codey: six wolves. So it’s classic. Yep.
(0:01:06) Codey: Bug game, bug game. Mm hmm. Yep.
(0:01:07) Al: All right, Coneys here, because we’re going to talk about Bug and Seek.
(0:01:13) Al: The first of multiple bug games, undecided as to how many. We have two currently scheduled.
(0:01:20) Codey: Well, and then we decided that a third, a third one that is scheduled tentatively is bug adjacent.
(0:01:21) Al: We’ll see.
(0:01:30) Codey: So two. Yeah, stay tuned.
(0:01:32) Al: Yeah, sure. Maybe. We’ll see. We’re going to talk about Bug and Seek. Oh, well, I say
(0:01:36) Codey: Yeah. Yeah, you didn’t. Yeah, you didn’t play it.
(0:01:42) Al: we. Cody’s going to talk about Bug and Seek. I’ve not played the game. Although for a rare
(0:01:48) Codey: Wow.
(0:01:49) Al: occasion, I also don’t own it. So yay me. I managed to not buy a game. So before that,
(0:01:58) Al: We’ve got a bunch of news.
(0:01:59) Al: It’s been a busy week, lots of news.
(0:02:02) Al: But first of all, Cody, what have you been up to?
(0:02:04) Codey: I have been playing bug and seek clearly, um, but I know, um, but I also am still playing
(0:02:13) Codey: Fortnite. So my new roommate, um, asked if I had Fortnite on my Xbox and I was like,
(0:02:19) Codey: Nope, we can get it. And then we just play it pretty regularly. Now I play probably like
(0:02:24) Codey: four or five games a day, but it’s, it’s like fast because it loads in fast. And then I just
(0:02:29) Codey: die a couple of times and then I’m like, okay, I’m done. So it’s probably only like 40 minutes of
(0:02:30) Al: It’s fast because you’re bad at it, that’s what you just said.
(0:02:32) Codey: of Fortnite a day.
(0:02:35) Codey: Uh, sometimes sometimes I get up to like, I’ve only gotten one Vic Roy, which for the kids is a victory royal, um, where you win, but I am frequently in the top 10.
(0:02:53) Codey: So, I think I just get really nervous when I’m in the top 10, so I’m playing that. Uh, and then I also had a big meeting with my advisors where I basically met with them and was like, hey.
(0:03:04) Codey: Here’s what I have so far. Here’s what I still have to do. May I please graduate in the fall? And they said, yes. So I am on track to graduate.
(0:03:16) Codey: So I’m also working on a lot of specimens and going to be hiring a tech here soon. Very exciting.
(0:03:22) Al: Cool.
(0:03:23) Codey: What about you? What have you been up to?
(0:03:26) Al: What have I been up to?
(0:03:27) Al: I have been playing around with my new recording app on my desktop.
(0:03:32) Al: No, that’s what I was doing right now when I was definitely listening to you.
(0:03:34) Codey: Oh wow.
(0:03:37) Al: I have been playing Tiny Garden.
(0:03:41) Codey: Okay.
(0:03:42) Codey: This is the Polly pocket game.
(0:03:42) Al: This is this is the Polly Pocket farming game.
(0:03:45) Codey: Okay.
(0:03:45) Al: Yeah, so I have been I have been playing that.
(0:03:49) Al: And maybe I’ll talk about that in the future.
(0:03:52) Al: This is a game.
(0:03:55) Al: I always find the balance hard because it’s like, do I do I talk about the game
(0:04:00) Al: just now or do I wait until because obviously I’m doing an episode on this.
(0:04:03) Al: Right. I’ve played a game.
(0:04:04) Codey: Right. Right. Yeah.
(0:04:04) Al: I’m doing an episode on it. It’s free content.
(0:04:08) Al: So, yeah, I don’t I I think it’s interesting.
(0:04:10) Codey: No, it’s a game.
(0:04:12) Codey: Okay.
(0:04:13) Al: I will have things to say about it.
(0:04:14) Codey: Oh.
(0:04:15) Al: That is probably a good way to put it.
(0:04:17) Al: I will have things to say about it.
(0:04:21) Al: I’ve also kind of been.
(0:04:22) Al: playing more cassette beasts but I’m still struggling to get into it so I
(0:04:29) Al: don’t know I’ve kind of taken a break and gone to Tiny Garden and maybe I’ll
(0:04:33) Al: maybe I’ll go back maybe I won’t I don’t know there’s just there’s something I
(0:04:37) Al: don’t I really struggle with the like the UX of it I struggle to care about it
(0:04:40) Codey: Mm-hmm
(0:04:44) Codey: Yep
(0:04:44) Al: and I struggle to yeah it’s just that it’s really not grabbing me it’s really
(0:04:49) Codey: Yeah, I
(0:04:50) Codey: Mean, I’m right there with you when I tried to play it on Xbox for a bit
(0:04:54) Codey: I may be played for like an hour and I was just like yeah, I don’t I don’t have to do this
(0:05:00) Codey: And it just doesn’t it doesn’t do it for me. So I put it down and then
(0:05:08) Codey: Um, I don’t think I’m in a big bag.
(0:05:10) Codey: Um, unfortunately, though I do, I do have an update.
(0:05:12) Al: Yeah, yeah
(0:05:15) Codey: Uh, I don’t know if you’re done yet.
(0:05:17) Al: Yeah, yeah
(0:05:18) Codey: Okay.
(0:05:18) Codey: Uh, I have an update on, cause I always complained about Disney
(0:05:22) Codey: Dreamlight Valley’s lag time and how it takes forever to load.
(0:05:26) Codey: And, um, so my partner moved in recently and he has a Xbox series X.
(0:05:33) Codey: So he has, I was playing on an Xbox one, which is ancient at this point.
(0:05:38) Codey: Um, and that’s why it was lagging.
(0:05:40) Codey: The update is it loads way faster on the Series X, um, and doesn’t have as, as many as much like issues it seems.
(0:05:50) Codey: But I also, I played it, I logged on.
(0:05:52) Codey: I was like, Oh wow, this is a lot faster.
(0:05:54) Codey: And then I was like, and I’m bored.
(0:05:55) Codey: So, um, but yeah, I mean, so if you update your stuff and you, um, are thinking about like wondering if that would be worth it, I think it is to take a, take a crack at that game.
(0:06:10) Codey: If you haven’t played it for a while, I think my issue is I played it like a month ago, maybe.
(0:06:13) Codey: So it’s still, there’s still not enough new to grab me.
(0:06:19) Codey: So, yeah.
(0:06:20) Al: Fair enough. All right well let’s talk about some news. First up we have Lens Island have
(0:06:27) Al: finally announced their 1.0 is releasing on the 19th of June.
(0:06:33) Codey: whoo, super excited about this.
(0:06:37) Al: This game Cody has been in early access since November 2021.
(0:06:38) Codey: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
(0:06:42) Codey: And I’ve had it and I played it and I really enjoyed it.
(0:06:45) Codey: But I was like, you know what?
(0:06:47) Codey: I’m going to wait to dedicate all of my time to this game for when it’s in 1.0.
(0:06:51) Codey: So I am about ready to slam some more time into this game,
(0:06:57) Codey: especially because it was it is something I can play on my Mac.
(0:07:00) Codey: So, rest in pepperonis.
(0:07:00) Al: That’s good.
(0:07:03) Al: That’s good.
(0:07:03) Codey: I am productivity.
(0:07:06) Al: I also own it because I have a problem with Kickstarter.
(0:07:12) Al: I haven’t played it because I’m sure I’ve told this story before, but I enjoy telling
(0:07:16) Al: it.
(0:07:16) Codey: OK.
(0:07:17) Al: It didn’t have any controller support when I first launched it on my Steam deck and I
(0:07:18) Codey: Yep.
(0:07:20) Al: was like, hmm, no, I’m not going to do that.
(0:07:24) Codey: I like the–
(0:07:24) Al: There are some games I will play like a game that I’ll be talking about in the future.
(0:07:30) Al: It does make it less fun to play and with a game like Lens Island, I feel like it would
(0:07:37) Al: be just murder to try and play that game without controller support on a Steam deck.
(0:07:41) Codey: Yeah, I could see that for sure
(0:07:45) Al: I hope to play this when it comes out, when did I say June, 19th of June?
(0:07:51) Codey: Yep
(0:07:52) Al: That’s a bad time for it to come out because that is two weeks after the Switch 2 comes
(0:07:55) Codey: Yeah, ooh won’t want
(0:07:58) Al: out.
(0:08:00) Al: The question is, will I be over Mario Kart World by then or not?
(0:08:06) Codey: Mm hmm.
(0:08:07) Al: We’ll see.
(0:08:08) Al: It is before Donkey Kong Bonanza, so that’s good, but Bonanza, yeah, Bonanza.
(0:08:13) Codey: Yeah, is it really been banana banana, but oh my gosh, okay, that’s cute.
(0:08:19) Al: Have you not paid attention to any of that?
(0:08:21) Codey: Um, you know, I did.
(0:08:24) Codey: Uh, I just care so little that it just back vacated my brain matter pretty fast.
(0:08:25) Al: Yeah, fair.
(0:08:31) Codey: So I only just started playing my own switch again because of bugging.
(0:08:36) Codey: And seek, but then also, um, now that my partner lives here, we want to try
(0:08:41) Codey: and beat the Zelda games because we both have the issue of ADHD slash just
(0:08:48) Codey: like disinterest after playing a game for a certain amount of time.
(0:08:51) Al: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Interesting. Maybe, maybe.
(0:08:51) Codey: But if it is an activity that we are doing together, perhaps we can make it through.
(0:08:59) Codey: So we will see if that, if that is the success, that is the blueprint we’ll find out.
(0:09:05) Al: That’s very interesting. Well, we look forward to hearing about that in the future.
(0:09:10) Al: Next, we have 2Pixellia have announced that they’re releasing on the first of May.
(0:09:14) Codey: Okay. That’s all I have for that.
(0:09:17) Al: Alrighty.
(0:09:19) Al: This is this is the the life sim,
(0:09:24) Al: which like includes crime.
(0:09:28) Codey: Yeah, it had a lot of, I remember the trailers and stuff like having so many,
(0:09:32) Codey: it’s so detailed in the different things that you can do in the game,
(0:09:34) Al: Yeah.
(0:09:36) Codey: which is great. Love that for people who aren’t me.
(0:09:39) Al: Yeah, that is my I think that’s my worry is that it ends up being too much.
(0:09:44) Al: I did kickstart this one, so I will have this when it launches.
(0:09:49) Al: As I say, I have an issue, but
(0:09:51) Codey: But maybe maybe it’s not an issue. Maybe maybe we find out. Yeah
(0:09:54) Al: I don’t know. We’ll see.
(0:09:55) Al: We’ll see. We’ll see.
(0:09:57) Al: Because I guess the thing about the thing about Stardew is that I like how it has
(0:10:02) Al: options but I also like how it doesn’t have options.
(0:10:04) Al: And that’s so contradictory, but you understand what I mean there, right?
(0:10:10) Al: Like, yeah, you can focus on farming or you can focus on ranching or you can
(0:10:13) Al: focus on mining or you can focus on…
(0:10:16) Al: That’s it.
(0:10:19) Al: Well, there’s other things like focusing on relationships and stuff like that.
(0:10:22) Al: But realistically, if you don’t really know what to do, you farm.
(0:10:25) Codey: I think that’s where my issue would be as well.
(0:10:26) Al: Whereas here it’s like, what do you do if you don’t know what to do?
(0:10:29) Al: And I don’t know.
(0:10:30) Al: I worry I’m going to end up in decision.
(0:10:34) Al: We’ll find out, not for Cody, Cody’s not even going to try it, big assumption there.
(0:10:46) Codey: No, I will listen to the podcast episode though and be like, oh, that’s very interesting I
(0:10:52) Al: May is busy, no, no, I meant big assumption that there’s going to be a podcast episode
(0:10:52) Codey: Listen I listen to most episodes. Oh
(0:10:57) Al: on it, no promises, I promise nothing.
(0:10:58) Codey: Yeah, yeah for sure
(0:11:02) Al: And Cody can’t promise this one.
(0:11:04) Al: Because they are not playing the game.
(0:11:06) Al: You don’t get to promise when you’re not playing.
(0:11:06) Codey: - Nope, you’re right.
(0:11:09) Al: Next, we have of life and land who have announced that their 1.0 is
(0:11:13) Al: releasing on the 8th, 16th of May.
(0:11:16) Codey: Okay, yep. This is the game that I want to play, but it’s Windows only, which makes
(0:11:22) Al: Yes. Sad.
(0:11:24) Codey: me sad. Though now that I have… do I want? No. Redacted. I do not want to put my desktop
(0:11:34) Codey: in my office where I work all the time because then it will become a multi-use space and
(0:11:39) Codey: I don’t want that. Nope. Still didn’t get the Steam Deck.
(0:11:41) Al: Still not still not got the steam deck then.
(0:11:46) Codey: And I don’t think I will because I’ve made it clear that I have other things I need to
(0:11:50) Codey: pay off before I get a Steam Deck. I just didn’t know. I didn’t know at the time if my
(0:11:59) Codey: partner was going to get a Steam Deck because he seemed like he was also interested in it.
(0:12:02) Codey: But yeah. No Steam Deck yet. Yep. And he just sent me a photo of more wood.
(0:12:04) Al: Instead he spent that money on wood.
(0:12:10) Al: More wood! I look forward to finding out if that wood ever turns into a table or
(0:12:15) Al: whether it just ends up living in a pile.
(0:12:18) Codey: No, I think it’s going to be a table. He’s also thinking about because he just got some really
(0:12:23) Codey: nice walnut and cherry, which is really pretty spendy wood. And he was talking about going and
(0:12:29) Codey: buying pine from Home Depot and making a mock up of the table so that he could practice.
(0:12:34) Al: Because yeah, because this this definitely doesn’t sound like a hyper focus that will be gone in two weeks
(0:12:40) Al: Definitely not
(0:12:41) Codey: Yeah, this is his special flavor of ADHD.
(0:12:48) Codey: Um, well, it, yeah, I’m not gonna, no, you’re just, you are setting reasonable expectations
(0:12:52) Al: Look, I’m not saying it’s going to go wrong.
(0:12:53) Al: I’m not saying that.
(0:12:54) Al: I’m just saying I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t.
(0:13:00) Codey: and I appreciate it, but he’s, he’s spent a lot of money. So
(0:13:04) Al: Palia have announced two things.
(0:13:09) Al: They have announced that they’re releasing on the PS5 and the Xbox Series X and S,
(0:13:16) Al: and they’re announcing that they’re at the same time, on the same day, the 13th of May,
(0:13:22) Al: announcing an expansion called Elderwood.
(0:13:26) Codey: And it looks awesome. I really like the colors of that the new expansion has. It’s very like
(0:13:33) Codey: mystical, wood elf-y, like purple, purples and pinks. Very enjoyable. And just like the different
(0:13:44) Codey: materials and like decor and stuff that are in that one looks good too. Seems like it’s a good
(0:13:50) Codey: time to jump back in to Palia. And if I remember correctly, this is free to play, right?
(0:13:55) Al: Yeah, it is.
(0:13:56) Codey: Yeah. So maybe I will put it on because it is. It was fun. And Johnny and I had a whale of a time
(0:13:59) Al: It’s a good looking game.
(0:14:00) Al: It looks really nice.
(0:14:06) Codey: shooting deer. So in hunting together, there’s also a pretty fun bug hunting mechanic.
(0:14:14) Codey: So there’s a lot that can be done for sure. I’m trying to mentally decide. Yeah, I’m trying to
(0:14:21) Codey: decide if I I guess it’s not a question of am I going to play this? It’s a question of am I going
(0:14:26) Codey: continue playing it on my switch or do I just want to scrub and like make a whole new?
(0:14:33) Codey: Oh, that’s another thing I could investigate. It could, it might. I’ll have to look at that.
(0:14:39) Al: Yes.
(0:14:40) Al: It looks like it does have cross-save.
(0:14:42) Codey: But now I have to remember my password. That’s not likely.
(0:14:47) Al: Just make sure.
(0:14:48) Al: Yeah.
(0:14:49) Al: Well, I mean, that’s a problem.
(0:14:50) Codey: That is a me problem. Well, and it’s because I was using the same.
(0:14:53) Al: You don’t have a password manager.
(0:14:54) Codey: I do, but it’s like.
(0:14:56) Codey: On other things, and I might not have done it on that.
(0:15:02) Al: Okay, that’s definitely a you problem then.
(0:15:03) Codey: I might not have.
(0:15:05) Codey: Yeah, exactly.
(0:15:07) Al: Oh dear.
(0:15:08) Codey: Yep.
(0:15:09) Codey: This is why I used to use the same password for everything so that I would
(0:15:12) Codey: never forget, but then I was told that that’s a bad thing to do.
(0:15:16) Codey: So I stopped doing that.
(0:15:19) Al: I don’t know what to say.
(0:15:23) Al: All right.
(0:15:25) Al: Yes, that’s the 13th of me.
(0:15:26) Codey: Mm hmm.
(0:15:28) Al: Maybe you should play on your Xbox.
(0:15:30) Codey: I think that’s what I’m thinking of is just, just restarting a whole new
(0:15:33) Codey: thing on my Xbox, if it’s not fast, if it’s, if it’s, if it takes more than
(0:15:38) Codey: five minutes to figure out my, my login, I’m probably just going to
(0:15:42) Codey: create a whole new thing.
(0:15:43) Codey: I wasn’t super far into it and it’s honestly been so far since I’ve
(0:15:48) Codey: played it that I could, I could use a refresher.
(0:15:50) Al: That is a fair point. Sometimes jumping into an existing save can be a problem.
(0:15:56) Codey: Yes, when I don’t remember and I need all the tool tips again.
(0:15:59) Al: Yes. Next, we have Ever After Falls have announced their 2.0 release.
(0:16:04) Al: It is out now. It includes new items, new quests, new decorations, and a bunch of quality of life.
(0:16:12) Codey: And I think the coolest new item is a fishbowl, and it specifically says small fishbowl that
(0:16:19) Codey: displays a single fish. No matter the marital status of the fish.
(0:16:22) Al: A single fish, no matter the size, obviously.
(0:16:29) Al: Oh, I didn’t even think about that. Does it mean one individual fish, or does it mean…
(0:16:35) Codey: A non-married fish. What if the fish is, what if you put a married fish into the fishbowl?
(0:16:40) Al: They get as a divorce
(0:16:40) Codey: Does that en- know?
(0:16:42) Codey: An- annulment, nullify, divorced, annul, marriage annulled, rip.
(0:16:50) Al: You can also do a Shroom terrarium, produces Shroom.
(0:16:53) Codey: Mm-hmm.
(0:16:55) Codey: I think that was cool.
(0:16:56) Codey: Like I know people who have those like life, um, vivariums.
(0:17:02) Codey: So it’s, it doesn’t, they don’t have like anything in it except for plants.
(0:17:06) Codey: And it just is growing plants and it seems nice.
(0:17:12) Codey: I don’t have any of those though, that I would for-
(0:17:13) Al: It seems like a small update for 2-
(0:17:17) Codey: Yeah, I agreed.
(0:17:18) Codey: Um, that’s why the thing that I pulled out was just that there’s a fishbowl.
(0:17:22) Al: I mean, I mean, do what you want.
(0:17:26) Codey: Everything else was-
(0:17:28) Al: Do what you want with your updates with that.
(0:17:31) Al: I’m not angry at that one like I am with some version numbers.
(0:17:36) Al: I just feel like, you know, if we look at the the 1.2 version update,
(0:17:44) Al: it feels kind of similar sized and then it’s a jump to 2.0.
(0:17:46) Codey: Yeah, what’s the logic behind this being a full number?
(0:17:48) Al: like what’s different here is very small.
(0:17:52) Al: Just expectation-wise, I think that people would expect more for that.
(0:17:58) Codey: I don’t know.
(0:18:05) Al: Next we have two kickstarters have launched.
(0:18:08) Al: The first is Lou’s Lagoon.
(0:18:11) Al: This has hit its goal of 10,000 euros with 28 days to go, so I think they’re fine.
(0:18:21) Al: This is the game where
(0:18:23) Al: I think it’s a delivery game.
(0:18:26) Al: You’ve got a seaplane that you use for delivery.
(0:18:26) Codey: Mm-hmm.
(0:18:31) Al: It looks like it could be fun.
(0:18:35) Al: I’m not champing at the bit to kickstart it to be like,
(0:18:39) Al: “I must play this game.”
(0:18:40) Al: When it comes out, maybe I’ll be interested in it.
(0:18:44) Codey: And they haven’t showed, so they’re stretch goals that they have, it’s like they show you the next stretch goal, but then they don’t show you the one after that.
(0:18:54) Codey: It’s like a big old mystery. So they basically have, well, it looks like it looks like something’s there, but it is, it is vague enough, I agree.
(0:18:56) Al: - Mm-hmm. That just means they haven’t decided.
(0:19:02) Al: Yes. Yes, it does.
(0:19:07) Codey: But yeah, the first stretch goal is, the first goal was 10,000 euros and the next one’s 50.
(0:19:14) Codey: And that adds photo mode, which I’m assuming photo mode just means you can take photos.
(0:19:22) Al: Yeah, yeah, it’ll be one of those like, oh, you can take selfies and put stickers on it.
(0:19:25) Codey: Yeah, it would be nice to be able to see the other stretch goals, because if it was just this stretch goal, I personally wouldn’t, that wouldn’t inspire me to help them get further in the, in their goals.
(0:19:40) Al: Yeah, I’m never convinced that stretch goals actually do much like I don’t I don’t do you
(0:19:41) Codey: As though the dog…
(0:19:47) Al: ever look at a kickstart and go I don’t think I’m going to kickstart it and then you look
(0:19:50) Al: at the stretch goals and go no I’m definitely going to back it now like I think the only
(0:19:54) Codey: Well– well, what if one of the next one’s is platforms?
(0:19:54) Al: one really that changes people’s mind is platforms.
(0:19:59) Al: Well sure yeah yeah yeah that’s what that’s fair but I also don’t think you should do
(0:20:04) Codey: And I just can’t– you can’t see it.
(0:20:06) Codey: You can’t– oh, true.
(0:20:08) Al: stretch goals as a platform, as a stretch goal.
(0:20:10) Al: I think that is something that can get people to back it, but I also think that that is going
(0:20:16) Al: to bite you. You know, it’s going to be a problem. I think that you should not promise these things,
(0:20:18) Codey: Mm hmm. That’s fair.
(0:20:21) Al: but that is just what I’ve seen from so many Kickstarters, is that is where problems come,
(0:20:27) Al: is when you promise a platform as a stretch goal. You’ve never tried it. I think I can’t remember
(0:20:34) Al: who it was. There was some some Kickstarter I was looking at this week where they said that they
(0:20:38) Al: weren’t promising switch to because
(0:20:40) Al: they didn’t have a dev kit and they couldn’t promise that.
(0:20:42) Al: And I’m like, that’s the right way to do these things.
(0:20:44) Codey: Mm-hmm
(0:20:44) Al: If you’ve never used it before, don’t promise it.
(0:20:47) Al: And hopefully it’ll come at some point.
(0:20:49) Al: You can say later on, you can switch to this platform.
(0:20:53) Al: If you want, you can switch your key to that one.
(0:20:54) Al: That’d be fine.
(0:20:55) Al: Like that works quite well.
(0:20:57) Al: Although the problem with switching from Steam to Switch is that Nintendo charge
(0:21:02) Al: for keys, whereas Steam, you can just create as many keys as you want.
(0:21:07) Al: It’s like something like $7 per key that Nintendo charge
(0:21:10) Al: for people. So it’s actually more expensive for them to sell you Switch with a key than
(0:21:18) Al: the other way, than with Steam. Whereas if they just buy it, sell it through the store,
(0:21:21) Al: it’s I believe the same percentage cut. Fun fact.
(0:21:29) Codey: some insider baseballs.
(0:21:34) Al: uh yeah so yeah I think as part of my trying to kick start fewer games I don’t think i’m going to
(0:21:39) Al: kick start this one um maybe i’ll play it when it comes out we’ll see I cannot
(0:21:42) Codey: Can you hear the dogs squeaking?
(0:21:46) Codey: Okay, good. You’ll hear it if you end up using the recording. You will. Let me go yell a dog really quick before we do the last one.
(0:21:56) Codey: Okay.
(0:21:59) Al: And finally, we have Autonomica, which is the game that was farm folks that was then taken over
(0:22:08) Al: by a different team when the original team couldn’t fulfill the game. And then they decided to make a
(0:22:13) Al: different game and had the same name on it. And then they changed the name and now they’ve
(0:22:17) Al: launched another Kickstarter for this game because the team that took over the project never got like
(0:22:23) Al: they’ve said they didn’t get any of the money from the original Kickstarter. However, one good thing
(0:22:29) Al: I’ve said that anyone who backed the original Kickstarter will get a key for the new game. So
(0:22:33) Al: they’re honoring that even though they didn’t get that money, which is good, which is nice.
(0:22:39) Al: Anyway, that’s that game. I think some people who backed the original game aren’t happy because
(0:22:42) Al: it’s a very different game now. If you look at like the videos of farm folks and it’s very much
(0:22:44) Codey: Mm-hmm.
(0:22:49) Al: cozy cam farming life sim, whereas this is like very in your face automated automation game.
(0:22:57) Al: Also, there are ghosts that you have.
(0:22:59) Al: go and fight. So it feels very different, but you can’t get them, you can’t hold them
(0:23:07) Al: to the promises of a different team, right? Like that’s not how these things work. So I think it’s
(0:23:13) Al: interesting that they ever decided to publicly be like we are taking over this project and rather
(0:23:20) Al: they’d just be like here’s our new game, but maybe there’s an advantage to that in terms of you get
(0:23:27) Al: the the name credit from the
(0:23:29) Al: previous game that people had backed. I don’t know. Anyway,
(0:23:32) Al: it’s out now it has hit its goal. It had a huge goal. They
(0:23:36) Codey: Yeah.
(0:23:36) Al: had $170,000 goal and they have absolutely smashed that they’re
(0:23:41) Codey: Yep.
(0:23:42) Codey: And they show their stretch goals or they they show you can at least tell what the next next step is.
(0:23:50) Codey: So at three hundred thousand, which they’re going to hit probably in maybe half hour, depending on how fast this goes.
(0:23:56) Al: Yes, they might be before we finish recording because they’re 297,000 just now.
(0:24:01) Codey: Yeah.
(0:24:02) Codey: Yeah.
(0:24:04) Codey: is aquaponic farming.
(0:24:06) Codey: just super cool and the next thing you can’t really see i’m assuming it’s going to say
(0:24:09) Codey: construction drones but it does say drones and it’s it’s like cton drones um I mean and then if
(0:24:11) Al: It does look like that, yeah
(0:24:19) Codey: you keep looking it it looks very that would make sense because it looks very factorial to me
(0:24:24) Al: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, I mean, it’s like somebody went, I’ll like automation and farming
(0:24:32) Al: games. Let’s add all of the possible automation into this farming game. And I also just like
(0:24:35) Codey: Mm-hmm.
(0:24:36) Al: one of the things I love about this is like the characters have ragdoll physics. So if
(0:24:39) Codey: Mm-hmm.
(0:24:40) Al: you’ve run in, run into, you know, one of your lines that you’ve set up, you fall over
(0:24:45) Al: and it just I like, I like how ridiculous it is. And also how I want to create this massive
(0:24:51) Al: farming empire.
(0:24:54) Al: It’s taking that sort of thing to the, you know, one of the most weird end states you
(0:25:04) Al: could logical end points here, right?
(0:25:07) Al: Because you’ve got the cosy end of the farming genre, and then you’ve got whatever this is.
(0:25:14) Codey: Yeah, this game looks amazing.
(0:25:18) Codey: I’m still scrolling through their game highlights and stuff.
(0:25:22) Codey: And it’s all–
(0:25:23) Codey: this is an intense game.
(0:25:25) Codey: There’s a lot going on here.
(0:25:26) Al: Look at how big you can build the buildings.
(0:25:29) Codey: Yeah, they basically have Avril Lavigne in here as someone.
(0:25:32) Al: I don’t get it.
(0:25:33) Codey: You don’t know Avril Lavigne?
(0:25:35) Al: No, I know Avril Lavigne. I don’t get the reference.
(0:25:38) Codey: There’s relationships and NPCs.
(0:25:41) Codey: Everyone has a blah, blah, blah.
(0:25:43) Codey: one of the NPCs is named.
(0:25:44) Codey: Avril, and she’s definitely a punk woman.
(0:25:49) Al: Oh, I see. OK, yeah, I guess so. I mean, she doesn’t really look like Avril Lavigne though.
(0:25:54) Codey: But she is a punk woman named Avril.
(0:25:58) Codey: That’s all that is needed.
(0:25:58) Al: Yeah, OK, sure. I’m not saying she’s not inspired by that,
(0:26:01) Al: but I wouldn’t look at that and go, “That’s Avril Lavigne,” if she wasn’t called Avril.
(0:26:02) Codey: Ooh.
(0:26:06) Codey: Oh, but there’s, if you scroll down a little bit more, there’s a long haired,
(0:26:10) Codey: tattooed guitarist guy that is going to.
(0:26:14) Codey: Be who I try and date 100%.
(0:26:17) Codey: Okay.
(0:26:18) Codey: I’m going to stop this.
(0:26:19) Codey: I am going to play this game when it comes out, but I am not in the place to back it.
(0:26:24) Codey: Al, have you backed it?
(0:26:25) Al: Well, as you know, I am trying to reduce the number of games that I back on Kickstarter,
(0:26:31) Al: and I announced this on the harvest season slack that I was going to be doing this.
(0:26:37) Al: I was going to stop backing farming games, and then this came out two days later, and yeah.
(0:26:39) Codey: Yeah, yep. Yeah, you backed it. Okay, but this like, this game is specifically like this isn’t you this game is for you. It’s like if it’s like if I promised that and then a bug game came out. I’m like, well, dang it, you know.
(0:26:46) Al: Look, OK, right. I’m gonna…
(0:26:51) Al: Exactly, exactly.
(0:26:56) Al: Exactly.
(0:26:59) Al: Come on, we just gotta, you know, give me some slack.
(0:27:04) Codey: Yep, I’m, I’m right there with you, dude. Like I, I get it. I understand.
(0:27:10) Codey: Well, I, I look forward to playing it. Yeah, I look forward to playing it with you.
(0:27:10) Al: Uh, yeah, I’m excited for this game.
(0:27:15) Al: Looks like they’re planning for this to come out next year, October 2020.
(0:27:20) Codey: Love that because I will have money at that point or we won’t have an economy anymore and the world will be in shambles
(0:27:28) Codey: so
(0:27:28) Al: Yeah, oh, that’s the news.
(0:27:29) Codey: Either I will be able to afford this game or no one will be playing this game
(0:27:37) Codey: Yay the world
(0:27:42) Codey: Oh
(0:27:45) Al: We are now going to talk about bug and seek, which is the first of our bug series of indeterminate
(0:27:53) Al: length.
(0:27:54) Al: It’s probably two, two is probably the length.
(0:27:57) Al: So I have not played.
(0:27:59) Al: So Corey, tell me about bug and C.
(0:28:02) Codey: bug and seek. So this game we I like found it in an Instagram post and I was like wait why haven’t
(0:28:08) Codey: we be talking about this game? Wait this game’s already out. Why haven’t we been talking about
(0:28:11) Codey: this game? Um so please it was fine um so it is $15 on Steam um it is available as for both Mac
(0:28:12) Al: Yes, I remember that because you were like, here’s a game and you’re like, it’s already
(0:28:15) Al: out.
(0:28:16) Al: And I’m like, wow, sorry for not knowing all of the games.
(0:28:28) Codey: and windows. I am playing it on Switch so
(0:28:32) Codey: it’s definitely at least on Switch. I know that’s also a mobile option. There are two DLCs. One is
(0:28:37) Codey: isopods, which like think of like roly polies or pill bugs, sow bugs. What do you call these things?
(0:28:46) Al: Oh, yes. We call them, um, uh, what are they, a Woodlice. That’s what we call them.
(0:28:52) Codey: Oh, Woodlouse, yeah.
(0:28:53) Codey: Well, that is technically what they are, so.
(0:28:56) Al: Oh, is that their, that their, well, obviously their official name is probably something in Latin,
(0:29:01) Al: but I guess that would be their most official English term. Interesting.
(0:29:02) Codey: Right, but the category is like,
(0:29:05) Codey: Woodlouse is basically their thing, yeah.
(0:29:08) Codey: But everyone, and then isopods is just because they are
(0:29:11) Codey: in the class isopoda, I don’t know.
(0:29:15) Codey: They’re in a group of organisms that is,
(0:29:17) Codey: the group is collectively known as isopoda.
(0:29:22) Codey: So yeah, depending on where you’re from,
(0:29:23) Codey: there are all kinds of different names.
(0:29:25) Codey: So there was one that added a whole new thing,
(0:29:27) Codey: like a whole bunch of those, which is awesome
(0:29:29) Codey: because they are fast becoming some of,
(0:29:32) Codey: some really big pets options here.
(0:29:36) Codey: ‘Cause you can, there are different species
(0:29:38) Codey: that have different colors.
(0:29:41) Codey: So there’s like zebra isopods,
(0:29:42) Codey: which are a little black and white striped.
(0:29:46) Codey: There’s rubber ducky isopods,
(0:29:47) Codey: which are all like this darker color,
(0:29:50) Codey: but then just the front part of their.
(0:29:52) Codey: Exoskeleton has this almost like a orange color, so it’s like a bill.
(0:29:59) Codey: Yeah, so that’s makes sense that they had that and then weevils there’s a weevils DLC and that makes sense because weevils are some of our not some of they are the most diverse animal on the entire planet so.
(0:30:12) Al: And that’s not the Pokemon Weaver.
(0:30:15) Codey: Not the Pokemon we vial these are I call them snoot beetles so.
(0:30:23) Codey: So they are Beatles in the family curcullion today and they have super long rostra or rostrums.
(0:30:34) Codey: Which is just their their snout basically they’re like an anteater but a bug they just got this really long snoot.
(0:30:43) Codey: And they usually have their antenna either at the end of the snoot or like buried in their snoot there’s like a little concavity that they kind of like tuck it into it’s really cute.
(0:30:52) Codey: And they come in all kinds of sizes all kinds of cute colors so makes sense that they would be in this game as a DLC.
(0:31:01) Codey: I bought this on I bought the bundle that included the DLC and the main game on my switch because I wanted to be able to play in bed and then the first quality of life update has been pushed to mobile and PC but has not yet been pushed on switch and it adds just some basic quality of life stuff.
(0:31:19) Codey: that would be beneficial to have and I am excited.
(0:31:22) Codey: For them to put it on switch whenever, whenever I’m assuming it’s
(0:31:25) Codey: Nintendo’s fault because Nintendo was very particular about these things.
(0:31:29) Codey: Um, yeah, so the story of this game is quote in bug and seek.
(0:31:35) Codey: You’ve just bought an abandoned insectarium or bug zoo in bug Berg.
(0:31:42) Codey: Once the lifeblood of the town and its economy, someone stole all of
(0:31:46) Codey: the bugs in the dead of night.
(0:31:48) Codey: Now it’s up to you to catch and sell bugs that make jokes.
(0:31:52) Codey: Fulfill requests from the local shops and reestablish the
(0:31:56) Codey: insectarium as a town icon.
(0:31:58) Codey: Become a master bug hunter as you level up your bug catching skills and relax.
(0:32:03) Codey: There are no wrong choices, no energy levels to worry about and plenty of
(0:32:07) Codey: time to complete the quests and the jobs.
(0:32:09) Al: I have a question. I don’t think you will. “How does someone steal all the bugs?”
(0:32:10) Codey: I have an answer.
(0:32:17) Codey: So I do have an answer.
(0:32:19) Al: Oh no!
(0:32:19) Codey: Um, so it’s basically like
(0:32:22) Codey: so this is a live insect zoo base. It’s not like a dead museum. Um, so someone just coming,
(0:32:30) Codey: imagine if someone broke into a zoo and stole all of the animals. It’s kind of very similar,
(0:32:34) Codey: but it’s a lot easier because they’re so small. Um, it’s easier to grab them and steal them. Um,
(0:32:41) Codey: so yeah, someone did that. I think they also stole a bunch of the tanks as well. Um, I mean,
(0:32:48) Codey: So I run an insect zoo in real life for my university.
(0:32:52) Codey: And I think it would probably take one person with a dolly, maybe 15 minutes to steal the mall.
(0:33:00) Al: Right, OK, yeah, sure, but like stealing, OK, fine, stealing them for OK, so it’s just
(0:33:05) Al: stealing them from a zoo.
(0:33:07) Al: I understand.
(0:33:08) Al: I thought it was stealing all of the bugs from the whole town and I’m like, that doesn’t
(0:33:08) Codey: Yeah.
(0:33:11) Al: feel like it’s possible.
(0:33:12) Codey: Oh, no, it’s from the museum or the insect zoo. Yeah.
(0:33:13) Al: OK, that makes that makes more sense.
(0:33:18) Codey: And this, this kind of stuff actually happens not even just with
(0:33:22) Codey: living in sex but also with specimens there in I want to say Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, there was a huge heist that someone stole a bunch of specimens and it was like up to 50, no way more than $50,000, it was a lot of money, a lot of monies worth of specimens, and they’ve never found them.
(0:33:43) Codey: So, this is something that can happen, especially if you have like really old stuff, collectors will want to buy it.
(0:33:52) Codey: of the case here, like they say that the previous, uh, insectarium owner had a lot of really rare
(0:33:59) Codey: things there. Um, and so maybe the person wanted to make money off of selling them. Uh, I mean,
(0:34:07) Codey: in my, in our insect zoo that we have, we have tarantulas and a couple of them are like 13 years
(0:34:13) Codey: old and they’re pretty, they’re pretty big. And they, I mean, they live to be 30, so she’s still
(0:34:17) Codey: got a lot of life in her. Um, but to buy one that size after having it,
(0:34:23) Codey: growing and stuff is probably like 500 bucks. Yeah. So.
(0:34:26) Al: ethical questions as to whether or not you should be able to own living things, but that’s a whole
(0:34:36) Codey: - Yeah.
(0:34:37) Al: different debate. We are not a morality podcast. We have opinions on morals. Trans rights matter,
(0:34:39) Codey: - Correct.
(0:34:43) Codey: - We do, but we do not debate them.
(0:34:45) Al: and I’m very annoyed about the situation in the UK just now, but you know.
(0:34:52) Codey: Yeah, I don’t think I can point to a single place and be happy about its
(0:34:56) Codey: situation, maybe New Zealand, but I, that’s also just because I’m probably
(0:34:56) Al: Yeah, they have some issues currently with that. Well, they’ve had issues for a long time
(0:35:00) Codey: ignorant of what might be happening there.
(0:35:09) Al: with indigenous people and, you know. Sorry, a little bit of a detour there. So yes,
(0:35:12) Codey: - Yeah, yep.
(0:35:18) Codey: Nope.
(0:35:20) Al: we have opinions about things, but we’re not a morality podcast in and of itself.
(0:35:23) Codey: But as I am an entomologist,
(0:35:26) Codey: I have opinions on the realism of bugs in games.
(0:35:30) Al: Tell me, tell me how realistic is this creature collector based on bugs?
(0:35:36) Codey: I love it it’s so good there have been so when you initially when you’re coming up to catch a
(0:35:41) Codey: bug you like shake a tree or whatever and then a little bug outline like flies around and the
(0:35:47) Codey: outlines are spectacular it’s not like oh there’s an outline for a butterfly and it’s going to be
(0:35:53) Codey: the same generic outline for a butterfly no matter what um like think of like animal crossing or
(0:35:57) Codey: whatever where it’s just kind of a shadow and you don’t it has like different sizes but other than
(0:36:04) Codey: that you don’t really know what’s going on no each
(0:36:06) Codey: of these bugs has their own outline.
(0:36:09) Codey: Um, and before I even catch something I can, as an entomologist,
(0:36:14) Codey: I can tell what it is pretty much.
(0:36:16) Codey: Um, so for example, the first time I caught it to banded, which they don’t say
(0:36:21) Codey: that they say house fly or sorry, horse fly, cause it is a horse fly.
(0:36:24) Codey: I was like, oh my gosh, this is definitely a to banded.
(0:36:27) Codey: Um, and then I caught it and yeah, it’s a horse fly.
(0:36:30) Codey: Um, so the outlines are great.
(0:36:32) Codey: the graphics are great, the
(0:36:36) Codey: little quips that the bugs have, like they all have their
(0:36:39) Codey: own little like jokes and then little blurbs under them once
(0:36:43) Codey: you start filling out the journal, I don’t think it has a
(0:36:47) Codey: real like a specific name, but there’s like a journal that you
(0:36:49) Codey: start filling out those it’s all true, factual knowledge. And
(0:36:57) Codey: I’m, I’m in love with it. The the little blurbs have made me
(0:37:00) Codey: cackle and I actually have six that I wrote down that were my
(0:37:03) Codey: favorite out of 220 bugs.
(0:37:06) Codey: Okay, there there are but here are the six here my top six
(0:37:10) Codey: little blurbs. So far, I haven’t caught everything. The blue
(0:37:14) Codey: banded B said, I’m blue and from Australia, but no one gave me a
(0:37:21) Codey: cartoon.
(0:37:22) Al: Australia. I’m not sure who that’s meant to be referencing.
(0:37:27) Codey: Bluey.
(0:37:28) Al: Oh, blue. Oh my word, I’m just… Oh, goodness.
(0:37:34) Codey: So it’s a blue-banded piece, I blew in for my-
(0:37:34) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, I can’t think of anything that has
(0:37:36) Codey: Australia. I just- I giggled. But bluey. Black garden ants. So
(0:37:40) Al: a cartoon that’s blue and it’s from Australia. I can only think of Sonic and he’s not Australian.
(0:37:45) Al: Yeah, blue, of course. Classic.
(0:37:51) Codey: this is not as pop culture reference. This is- this is just
(0:37:54) Codey: real. The black garden ant says I have my own pet, an aphid. And
(0:38:00) Codey: it’s because they farm aphids. And it’s so cool that they
(0:38:04) Codey: I’m not included though.
(0:38:06) Codey: Basically these ants will like farm aphids and they’ll protect them and they’ll feed them
(0:38:11) Codey: like little bits of food that they want and then the aphid will like spit out little honeydew
(0:38:17) Codey: just like this sugary snack out of it’s not like it’s out of its back so like the top of its back
(0:38:19) Al: Mm-hmm.
(0:38:25) Codey: there’s just these little things it like secretes this stuff and then the it’s like sweat yeah and
(0:38:28) Al: Oh no, like sweat.
(0:38:32) Codey: And then the ants drink it, and they love it.
(0:38:34) Codey: And so they just keep–
(0:38:34) Al: Oh, I don’t like that.
(0:38:36) Codey: This is cute that the Black Garden Ant’s little blurb is about its relationship with an aphid.
(0:38:42) Codey: The blueberry bee says, “Eat a blueberry, thank a bee,” which is true.
(0:38:46) Codey: If you have eaten a blueberry, you have a bee to thank for.
(0:38:50) Codey: They are, thank for it.
(0:38:52) Codey: They are the pollinators.
(0:38:55) Codey: The brown Argus, which is a butterfly, said, “Be a good chap and fetch my ant butler for me.”
(0:39:03) Codey: And this made me laugh because they…
(0:39:06) Codey: So this is a butterfly, but as a caterpillar, they secrete something that makes the ants want to take them into their nest and then take care of them.
(0:39:18) Codey: And then they basically live in the ant colony and just make the ants do their bidding and then they grow.
(0:39:27) Codey: And it’s just, it’s hilarious that butterflies do this.
(0:39:32) Codey: Carpenter Ant, call me a termite and I’ll blow this place down.
(0:39:36) Codey: This is so aggressive because it’s not a termite, it’s a Carpenter Ant, but people call them termites all the time.
(0:39:44) Codey: And then the last one, have you seen Breaking Bad now?
(0:39:48) Al: I have not, but I’m aware of it and some, I would understand some reference.
(0:39:52) Codey: Some of the references.
(0:39:54) Codey: Okay, so this is the tarantula hawk wasp and the blurb is I am the wasp who knocks.
(0:40:02) Codey: And I’m sure I’m sure people who have watched Breaking Bad are laughing
(0:40:02) Al: Yeah, I don’t get that
(0:40:06) Al: Probably I’m sure they are
(0:40:06) Codey: their ass off right now. So the Tarantula Hawk wasp is the
(0:40:12) Codey: state insect of New Mexico. New Mexico is where Breaking Bad was
(0:40:18) Codey: wrong. And in one of the episodes, because about this
(0:40:23) Codey: chemistry teacher who becomes a meth dealer. And he just becomes
(0:40:28) Codey: this like he goes from being a pretty much the dad for Malcolm
(0:40:31) Codey: in the middle because that’s who that it was the same actor, just
(0:40:34) Codey: like an irregular dad.
(0:40:36) Codey: to becoming this, like, hardened drug overlord guy.
(0:40:40) Codey: And at one point, someone close to him finds out that this is,
(0:40:44) Codey: and they’re just so worried that someone’s going to come knocking in the night and come and kill them.
(0:40:51) Codey: And he’s just like, “No one’s going to come. I am the one that go places and make people scared. I am the one who knocks.”
(0:41:01) Codey: And it’s just like, whoa, this moment when like someone close to him who
(0:41:06) Codey: has continued to see him as this, like dad down the street guy, uh, finds
(0:41:11) Codey: out how horrifying he is.
(0:41:13) Codey: Um, so yeah, tarantula hospital, Hawk wasp.
(0:41:16) Codey: I am the wasp who knocks.
(0:41:18) Codey: It’s also a scary wasp.
(0:41:20) Codey: They will not, um, really go for people, but they literally
(0:41:26) Codey: kill and eat tarantulas.
(0:41:29) Codey: So yeah, they are pretty scary.
(0:41:30) Al: Oh, OK. Hence the name.
(0:41:33) Codey: So the bug realism and the little blurbs, 10 out of 10.
(0:41:36) Codey: Um, I’m still enjoying them.
(0:41:37) Codey: Every time I read a new one, uh, I love that they are either attached to the
(0:41:44) Codey: biology of the animal or its name, or they add it to like pop culture or something.
(0:41:49) Codey: Like it’s not just a random thing that they say.
(0:41:53) Codey: I remember some of the animal crossing ones, me being like, ha, that
(0:41:57) Codey: doesn’t make any sense at all, but not the case here.
(0:42:00) Al: That’s high praise.
(0:42:01) Codey: So 10 out of 10.
(0:42:04) Codey: Bye, praise.
(0:42:07) Codey: The graphics and the music of this game are pretty simple but they’re good.
(0:42:12) Codey: I turned the music off because I always do but I did play it with it on for a while.
(0:42:18) Codey: You don’t really need the sound for anything like accessibility wise.
(0:42:22) Codey: It’s pretty much just pleasant music in the background.
(0:42:26) Codey: And the graphics, I mean it’s the kind of Stardew-esque animation.
(0:42:32) Al: Yeah, pretty standard kind of pixel arty, I mean it looks nice from screenshots obviously
(0:42:37) Codey: Yeah, it feels the same.
(0:42:41) Al: I’ve not played it, how does that feel when you’re playing it? It’s I guess it’s lower
(0:42:47) Al: fidelity than Stardew, I think it’s much more kind of I guess snes maybe level sort of graphics.
(0:42:53) Codey: Yeah, yeah, which I mean, when it’s too cluttered, I don’t always like that.
(0:43:00) Codey: So I really like how simplistic these things are.
(0:43:05) Codey: But I mean, things change over the time period.
(0:43:09) Codey: So like, you start in summer, but then in the fall, a bunch of the leaves are suddenly
(0:43:15) Codey: on the ground.
(0:43:16) Codey: So there’s leaf piles for you to rummage through.
(0:43:19) Codey: I just hit winter so I haven’t figured out if there’s anything else but to leave
(0:43:23) Codey: piles are still there there are still insects in the winter. There’s also like different areas
(0:43:28) Codey: that I’ll talk about later like the desert for example is still going to have things so
(0:43:35) Codey: things will change like as the time goes on physically in the game but I mean they just
(0:43:43) Codey: highlight what needs to be highlighted which is the the bugs so I’m here for it.
(0:43:46) Al: Yeah it’s interesting because I guess that’s the the quite dramatic thing is you notice
(0:43:53) Al: like everything is pretty low fidelity except the images of the insects and they’re still very
(0:44:00) Al: clearly pixel art right like you can see the individual pixels but they are much more detailed
(0:44:05) Al: than anything else you can see on this game other than I guess the text and a few of the buttons and
(0:44:07) Codey: Yep
(0:44:12) Al: and stuff like that. But like the people, the houses, the trees, the bushes, the leaf
(0:44:16) Al: tools, they’re all very low fidelity, which is nice, but they’re very detailed bug images.
(0:44:24) Codey: Mm-hmm. Yup. And I appreciate that.
(0:44:30) Codey: Um, so the mechanics of the game, it’s a pretty simple gameplay loop. It’s all right.
(0:44:34) Codey: I feel like there could be a little bit more complexity to it, but I am not.
(0:44:40) Codey: Uh, I can’t honestly point out how it could be more difficult, um, or how it could be different.
(0:44:46) Codey: I think the biggest thing is you pretty much just fall into this catch bugs, cell bugs, um, loop.
(0:44:54) Codey: It doesn’t really change much. Um, I think it might be nice to have like, maybe some traps you could set and you could place them in different areas.
(0:45:06) Codey: Maybe that would change some things, um, and keep it a little, a little different. But for the most part, I just am doing a circuit every day.
(0:45:16) Codey: Um, and changing it up because sometimes there are things, um, in different spots. So I’ll get to that. So catch bugs is the first part.
(0:45:26) Codey: There’s 220 insects that are based on real insects, which is great. Um, they range from common to legendary and they’re found in, um, the areas and the seasons where they would be in the real world.
(0:45:38) Codey: So, um, if it’s something that is attracted to man-made structures, it will be in the like picnic tables and the trash cans and whatever.
(0:45:46) Codey: If it is, um, something that would be with flowers, it will be on flowers, you know, that kind of thing instead of just finding them.
(0:45:56) Codey: Um, you can find them in trees, flowers, grass, logs, under rocks, on man-made objects. There’s also a cave. Um, and you can look under there, but they’re never just kind of like in the overworld. They’re always like, you always have to.
(0:46:08) Al: Hmm, they’re not like flying around like you would see in Animal Crossing.
(0:46:12) Codey: Yeah, no, you, you have to encounter an object and like interact with the object, um, to be able to see them. And each object, you can interact with them.
(0:46:26) Codey: Um, and so, you know, if you are trying to find something that, you know, comes out at night and is in trees, maybe wait to touch your trees all the nighttime.
(0:46:38) Codey: Um, yeah, but that’s pretty simple. I mean, you just walk around and you can, you have two net well, two buttons that correspond to nets.
(0:46:48) Codey: It’s like right bumper makes you swipe your net to net to the right and left bumper is swipes your net to the.
(0:46:56) Codey: So there’s no up or down, it’s just left and right. Um,
(0:46:56) Al: Mm hmm. Okay. So is it quite easy, then, if you if you press the one in the right direction, you’ve got
(0:47:04) Codey: yeah, there isn’t, they don’t get diff more difficult to catch. It’s just that as you increase your expertise and become a master bug catcher, you are just able to encounter more rare things, but they are always the same speed.
(0:47:24) Codey: The same whatever, um, which I also kind of like, honestly.
(0:47:29) Al: It’s good to know having to like chase after something like you do an animal crossing or the annoying thing where you’re like you don’t quite hit it in the right angle and therefore you miss it sort of.
(0:47:34) Codey: Yeah, no.
(0:47:40) Codey: Yeah, no, none of that. It’s always in the left, right? Like, um, orientation and you just have to make sure. And even then, if you like swipe, but then you move a little bit.
(0:47:50) Codey: If you’ve like, if you swipe and you see that you missed you, sometimes you have a little bit of time.
(0:47:54) Codey: to like move down a smidge for it to catch the thing after you’ve swept the net.
(0:48:04) Codey: So yeah, it’s pretty, pretty simple. I really like it. Um, makes it very less stressful.
(0:48:11) Codey: Um, so with all of these bugs, you can, um, sell them to the, there’s two stores and you can take them to the stores and just sell them.
(0:48:22) Codey: or you can complete catch quests for the
(0:48:24) Codey: stores. So they might have something that’s like catch
(0:48:28) Codey: eight bugs that go to meadows during the day. So it’s things
(0:48:33) Codey: that are going to be caught on the grass and the flowers during
(0:48:39) Codey: the day or catch five unique insects that can be found under
(0:48:43) Codey: rocks. And so you just as you go and play the game, you can do
(0:48:49) Codey: these things and it just helps you to not have to like run
(0:48:52) Codey: back to the store every five seconds.
(0:48:55) Codey: Cause you can bring these quests with you and just complete them while you’re
(0:48:59) Codey: out and about. So then if I suddenly have a full inventory, I’m like, Oh,
(0:49:02) Codey: do I have any quests I can, um, tick off and, and give these complete that quest.
(0:49:08) Codey: And then suddenly these are out of my inventory and I’m, you know,
(0:49:10) Codey: 150 monies richer, sweet.
(0:49:12) Al: Hmm, makes sense.
(0:49:14) Codey: Um, you can also, so you have the insectarium when you first get it,
(0:49:18) Codey: it is pretty run down. I think there’s only one tank in there. Um,
(0:49:23) Codey: So you build it up, you build more tanks.
(0:49:24) Codey: more bugs in. You can go to the city hall and improve it. So like, make it a little
(0:49:31) Codey: bit bigger, add a room. And it is your classic. It starts out as 2,500 monies, and then you
(0:49:37) Codey: go to 5,000, then you go to 10,000. So it just kind of goes up. But yeah.
(0:49:42) Al: Pretty standard sort of progression, I guess. Do you have to… Like, if you’ve only got
(0:49:47) Al: one tank, does that mean, like, do you have to put specific insects in with other specific
(0:49:54) Al: insects? And so then you’d have to get more tanks before you could do something that is…
(0:50:01) Al: Like you said, there was, like, for example, the tarantula wasp. Like, you couldn’t put
(0:50:03) Codey: Um, I think you can, I think you can.
(0:50:07) Al: that in the same one as a tarantula, for example. Do they have that? Right, okay.
(0:50:12) Al: It just doesn’t care about that.
(0:50:14) Codey: I don’t think it cares about that.
(0:50:15) Codey: So there’s, um, that each tank has a size.
(0:50:19) Codey: So there’s a one insect tank and a two insect tank and a three and a four.
(0:50:23) Codey: And I think it goes all the way up to eight.
(0:50:25) Codey: Um, and so, and so you just have to buy the appropriate size.
(0:50:31) Codey: Um, and then.
(0:50:33) Codey: And you don’t change much of the tank itself.
(0:50:36) Codey: Um, like you can’t place things differently or, or, or anything like that.
(0:50:40) Codey: You don’t clean them out.
(0:50:41) Codey: You just place it and then put the bug in it.
(0:50:45) Codey: Um, there are different themed ones.
(0:50:48) Codey: So think of again, Animal Crossing has like the regal theme and then the modern
(0:50:52) Codey: theme, like they have, I’ve seen the.
(0:50:56) Codey: Classic one, the, there is a modern one.
(0:51:00) Codey: Uh, so there’s that means that there’s like a modern.
(0:51:04) Codey: A bookshelf as a decor item, and then each size of modern modern tanks, um, they’ve got like a, uh, rug that you can put down.
(0:51:15) Codey: So just different ways that you can style your insectarium.
(0:51:18) Codey: And I think the more that you decorate it and put more insects in it, the more money you get.
(0:51:24) Codey: Because every Saturday, um, you are open for business, quote unquote, but you don’t have to do anything.
(0:51:30) Codey: just go to it and then it’s like this is how many people
(0:51:33) Codey: showed up today. This is everyone’s favorite bug today
(0:51:36) Codey: and then you get money for it and so everyone’s favorite bug
(0:51:38) Al: Everyone’s favorite.
(0:51:42) Codey: for a couple weeks in a row was Bob the carpenter be and now
(0:51:49) Codey: it’s Katie the Katie did. I stopped naming them after that
(0:51:55) Codey: so but I did for a while have a isopod named Alexa Pro cuz he
(0:52:00) Codey: you as a pill bug.
(0:52:01) Al: Thank you.
(0:52:01) Codey: So I named him after.
(0:52:04) Codey: My antidepressant pill.
(0:52:06) Codey: Um, yeah, so I just bought the most recent small room.
(0:52:12) Codey: I can buy a small room off of it, but I just need to honestly add more.
(0:52:16) Codey: There’s later on in the game, you can talk to some of the locals.
(0:52:18) Codey: And I met a local who’s like, uh, Oh, you’re the new insectarium person.
(0:52:24) Codey: Like I can’t respect you until you have at least 30 insects and you’re insectarium.
(0:52:32) Codey: So I…
(0:52:33) Al: - Obviously.
(0:52:33) Codey: …have to build that up to be able to earn his trust, I guess.
(0:52:40) Codey: Yeah, and then you can explore, I’ve already mentioned there’s meadows, deserts, forests, beach, the caves, wetlands.
(0:52:49) Codey: There’s a couple people in each one. It is frustrating that they don’t show up on the map all the time.
(0:52:59) Codey: So you talk with the locals and you can perform missions for them.
(0:53:03) Codey: But in the, like the first area that you start out, when you look at the map, it shows like the little floating heads of the people on the map, the two people that are in that area that aren’t like in a building.
(0:53:19) Codey: But then it never shows anyone else in any other buildings.
(0:53:22) Codey: And I’m assuming that’s something that probably got improved in the quality of life thing, but if not, I might just like reach out to them.
(0:53:27) Codey: They have a discord, so I just be like, hey, because I forget all the time.
(0:53:33) Codey: And so I don’t be like, Oh, complete a quest for this person.
(0:53:36) Codey: And I’m like, sweet, I don’t remember who this, where the person is.
(0:53:40) Codey: I don’t remember if they’re in a building or if they’re on the beach or, uh, um, but once you perform, so the missions that they ask you to perform are things like there’s this one lady who’s a gardener.
(0:53:56) Codey: Um, and she has a lot of Colorado potato beetles infesting her garden.
(0:54:03) Codey: And so she’s just like, I want you to bring me three Colorado potato beetles to show me that you’re like destroying the infestation in my yard.
(0:54:14) Codey: Um, yeah.
(0:54:15) Al: That’s what we all ask, like, if I’ve got all hornet’s nests and I want rid of it,
(0:54:20) Al: I say, bring me some hornet’s and I go get them away from me.
(0:54:24) Codey: Well, so she’s saying bring them to me, I think is like a proof that you’ve captured a bunch of them.
(0:54:29) Al: Yeah, I just I feel like the way you can
(0:54:31) Al: prove that you’ve gotten rid of them is the fact that they’re not there anymore.
(0:54:34) Al: Like, if they’re causing you a problem,
(0:54:36) Codey: Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
(0:54:36) Al: then you’ll notice when they’re no longer causing you a problem.
(0:54:39) Al: Right. Surely.
(0:54:43) Codey: Yeah, but you need to like for insects.
(0:54:46) Codey: It’s hard because what another one might just move in to that vacuum, you know?
(0:54:50) Al: Well, deal with it.
(0:54:52) Codey: I don’t know. You’re right.
(0:54:55) Codey: Later on in the game, I saw in a little clip that she’s asking you
(0:54:59) Codey: for you to bring for ladybugs because she has an aphid problem,
(0:55:04) Codey: which I love because I did this.
(0:55:06) Codey: I would literally, they’d be like, I have an aphid problem, go get these and come back and I’ll bake you a pie.
(0:55:12) Codey: And I was like, dope.
(0:55:13) Codey: And so I brought like 20 lady blip, like went and like picked 20 ladybugs off of the field across the street and brought them to her.
(0:55:22) Codey: And she was like, sweet, I’ll have a pie for you.
(0:55:27) Codey: Oh yeah.
(0:55:27) Codey: So ladybugs are predacious and they eat aphids.
(0:55:32) Codey: So they are actually incredibly beneficial to have in your garden.
(0:55:36) Codey: Wasps are also incredibly beneficial to have in your garden.
(0:55:39) Codey: It’s just really stressful when they build their nest in a place where you’re going to upset them.
(0:55:44) Al: I’d take ladybirds. Fun fact, we call them ladybirds, not ladybugs, fun fact. I would
(0:55:45) Codey: Slash, they’re going to upset you.
(0:55:48) Codey: Yeah.
(0:55:51) Al: much prefer ladybirds then.
(0:55:53) Codey: Yeah, so, but they do different things like wasps usually take caterpillars of different pest species.
(0:56:03) Codey: So it’s just, they’re all part of it.
(0:56:06) Codey: The ecosystem, um, yeah, one of the gear.
(0:56:10) Codey: So you also, when you perform a mission, they might give you money.
(0:56:13) Codey: They might give you a gear.
(0:56:15) Codey: So one of the guys gave me like a red hat and it literally said, um, it’s a red
(0:56:20) Codey: hat for catching that improves your ability to catch wasps, which is awesome
(0:56:25) Codey: because they, so wasps see red wasps and bees, sorry, don’t see red.
(0:56:32) Codey: so it makes you kind of stand out less.
(0:56:36) Codey: they can’t see red. not going to help you with hummingbirds though.
(0:56:38) Al: Interesting.
(0:56:42) Codey: so the last two like main mechanics. it first is to solve the mystery. so they call it the great
(0:56:51) Codey: bug heist and this occurred a year ago where someone came and stole all the bugs and they
(0:56:58) Codey: also broke the building a bunch. so you’re rebuilding the the insectarium now that you’ve
(0:57:04) Codey: bought it but you’re also
(0:57:06) Codey: trying to figure out which of the six suspects are the true culprit. Like who did steal these
(0:57:11) Codey: things? And so you have, it is a murder mystery. Well, except for we don’t know where the bugs went.
(0:57:12) Al: It’s a murder mystery.
(0:57:18) Codey: Um, so you like the main suspects you have are like the mayor. There’s a guy who had an issue
(0:57:28) Codey: with the old insectarium person. And so he and he’s like a hooligan. So he might have done it.
(0:57:34) Codey: There’s the old insect.
(0:57:36) Codey: There’s this guy named Carl, who lives in the desert, who is an exotic insect trader.
(0:57:47) Codey: So he might have been going for your bugs to sell them.
(0:57:53) Codey: But each person, there’s like three clues for each person and you go around and you
(0:57:58) Codey: ask people questions and over time, some people remember, it’s like, Oh, wait, I remember
(0:58:03) Codey: this like obscure thing.
(0:58:06) Codey: Or some people are like, I don’t trust you enough.
(0:58:09) Codey: You need to have 30 bugs in your insectarium.
(0:58:13) Codey: Or you can get a clue from someone
(0:58:14) Codey: and then go confront the other person,
(0:58:16) Codey: and then they will give you a clue for someone else.
(0:58:20) Codey: So yeah, I am still in the middle of the mystery.
(0:58:27) Codey: But am I the asshole?
(0:58:31) Codey: Determination at this point is everyone sucks here.
(0:58:34) Al: Yeah, I feel like I always find it funny when these sort of mystery things have so many
(0:58:40) Al: suspects and I’m like, how is this just, how are we just surrounded by people who want
(0:58:46) Al: to murder this person? Right? Like just absolutely fascinating. How do you, how are there six
(0:58:50) Al: people that have a motive for stealing bugs? Like I cannot imagine having a motive for
(0:58:54) Codey: Yep. Yep. Just stop it. The other thing that I really wanted to mention was the
(0:58:56) Al: stealing bugs. It’s just a bizarre situation. Stop stealing bugs. Yeah, just don’t do it.
(0:59:07) Codey: Entomological Institute of Insect Education. So it’s kind of like a school,
(0:59:13) Codey: kind of like a museum, and it’s basically a building that it has four types.
(0:59:24) Codey: Tanks for these 10 different categories of insects, and actually not even insects,
(0:59:31) Codey: arthropods, because spiders are in there, of different arthropods, that you deposit one of
(0:59:39) Codey: each rarity. So there’s common, uncommon, rare, and legendary. And so you basically go and you’re
(0:59:45) Codey: like, “Hey, here’s an uncommon moth.” And then that tank is filled. And then you come back later
(0:59:51) Codey: and be like, here’s a rare one, here’s a whatever.
(0:59:54) Codey: And once you’ve completed the entire group,
(0:59:57) Codey: then you get a statue of that critter,
(1:00:03) Codey: which I think is really cool.
(1:00:04) Al: Okay, so there are ten ten statues of one for each type.
(1:00:06) Codey: Yeah, so there’s ant, bee, wasp, butterfly, moth, ladybug,
(1:00:12) Codey: beetle, dragonfly, mantis, and spider.
(1:00:15) Codey: They did not add one for isopods or weevils.
(1:00:19) Codey: And there are things that don’t fit into these categories,
(1:00:21) Codey: Like there’s grasshoppers, there’s leaf insects.
(1:00:24) Codey: I caught a snake fly the other day, which was, I was really excited.
(1:00:27) Codey: I haven’t even seen those in the real world, but yeah.
(1:00:33) Al: But as with all categorization of things, you either end up too generic or you end up with
(1:00:41) Al: too many categories. Because if you’re going to be very specific, you’re just going to have too
(1:00:48) Al: many. And you can’t do that, right? Like you wouldn’t want a thing of like every single
(1:00:52) Al: possible one, because that would end up being quite a lot.
(1:00:56) Codey: Well, I’m wondering how big I can make the insectarium because I wonder if it’s possible to put everything in the insectarium and that’s why they don’t have it that you have to deposit one of everything into the EIIE because that would be annoying to do that twice for yourself and for the school.
(1:01:26) Al: Yeah, fair enough.
(1:01:27) Codey: So to be determined I’m still playing I’m in I’m in winter so we will find out.
(1:01:35) Codey: Yeah, the only other thing that I had to say was the improvements and that was that I wish that the people showed up on the map and then also I found out during their quality of life update post that they are making a tabletop version.
(1:01:48) Al: Oh, oh no.
(1:01:49) Codey: And I am so ready to spend money on that.
(1:01:54) Codey: So we’ll see I’m gonna
(1:01:56) Codey: be paying attention to that because I think this game is ripe for a tabletop version.
(1:02:05) Al: So I can see why, I mean, I’m not going to lie, I’m not going to play the game because
(1:02:10) Codey: Yep, yep.
(1:02:11) Al: there are too many games.
(1:02:12) Al: But I can see, you know, as someone who enjoys collectibles in general, I can see how that
(1:02:17) Al: would be fun.
(1:02:18) Al: And as someone who, you know, bugs is your thing, I can see how that would be a fun collectible
(1:02:24) Al: to do.
(1:02:25) Al: And it seems like it’s pretty realistic in terms of the bugs, obviously, like, not actually
(1:02:29) Al: realistic in terms of anything else.
(1:02:30) Codey: Yeah, it happens! It’s a thing! Hey, and every time I have an outreach event, people always
(1:02:33) Al: stealing bugs from an insectarium, you know.
(1:02:35) Al: Um.
(1:02:43) Codey: joke about, like, I have a child hold our tarantula, and I have kids, every single time
(1:02:48) Al: Please don’t spill my spider, but, yeah, I can see how this would be a fun game for you.
(1:02:49) Codey: kids are like, “Oh, what if she just went home with me?” And I’m always like, “Hahaha,
(1:02:54) Codey: no!” We have heard to do this and educate people about bugs and insects and spiders
(1:03:00) Codey: and say that, “Hey, look, they’re not actually that scary!” And overcome your fear. Yeah,
(1:03:07) Codey: don’t steal our spiders. We love her.
(1:03:17) Al: it seems.
(1:03:18) Al: Like it’s kind of the graphics are a kind of standard fun graphics that people like
(1:03:23) Al: to use.
(1:03:24) Al: And we know people like to collect things.
(1:03:27) Al: So yeah, I can see, I can see how that would be an enjoyable game for you.
(1:03:30) Codey: It reminds me a lot of Alba where it’s kind of a shorter thing.
(1:03:38) Codey: Like I will probably beat this game in the next week.
(1:03:42) Codey: Um, so it’s a smaller thing.
(1:03:44) Codey: There’s a story associated with it.
(1:03:46) Codey: You’re, it’s a collection based thing, but it’s still fulfilling.
(1:03:53) Codey: Short, but still fulfilling.
(1:03:55) Codey: Definitely worth the $17 for the bundle.
(1:03:58) Al: Mm hmm. I like how you say it’s short, but there’s 220 bugs to get.
(1:03:59) Codey: So.
(1:04:00) Codey: Well, I guess short, comparatively, like you’re not going to finish it in an afternoon,
(1:04:04) Al: That doesn’t seem short to me.
(1:04:07) Codey: right?
(1:04:08) Codey: Especially because things are like, um, season based.
(1:04:14) Codey: And so you have to get through all of the seasons you, I mean, you can literally just
(1:04:19) Codey: sit there and just say, take me to the next day, take me to the next day.
(1:04:22) Codey: But I know that I haven’t caught everything.
(1:04:25) Codey: And in the journal, it shows you where, where to catch things and when to catch things.
(1:04:30) Codey: Um, or at least like, it doesn’t tell you what it is though.
(1:04:34) Codey: It’ll just say, here’s an entry.
(1:04:37) Codey: And this thing is usually in the desert at night under rocks.
(1:04:40) Codey: So maybe go to the desert at night and flip it and flip them and try and find whatever
(1:04:45) Codey: this mystery thing is.
(1:04:47) Codey: Um, I don’t think that you would, I don’t think you’d ever get it like in the first
(1:04:51) Codey: season, but it’s definitely, it’s, I don’t think it’s something like Stardew where I’m
(1:04:54) Codey: going to be playing this in perpetuity, you know?
(1:04:56) Al: Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, which is good because not every game can be that.
(1:05:01) Codey: I prefer games that are not that.
(1:05:02) Al: All right, well, thank you so much for coming and talking to us about this game. I’ll post
(1:05:09) Codey: I am on instagram @hikingbeagle and on blue sky at Cody Mathis, which is just my name.
(1:05:11) Al: a link in the show notes if someone is like, I must play this game now. Cody, where can
(1:05:16) Al: people find you on the internet?
(1:05:31) Codey: C-O-D-E-Y.
(1:05:32) Codey: Yep, that’s where I’m at.
(1:05:35) Codey: And on the Slack, but we’ll talk about that in a second.
(1:05:38) Al: You can find me on mastodon.scot and on blue sky at thescotbot.
(1:05:45) Al: You can find a podcast on tumblr and on blue sky at thspod.
(1:05:51) Al: You can send us feedback from our website harvestseason.club, where you can also find
(1:05:56) Al: links to everything to do with the podcast, including a link to our Patreon.
(1:06:01) Al: And as Cody has mentioned, the Patreon gives you access to our Slack, where we have fun
(1:06:08) Al: conversations about things you get advanced notice of when I’m failing to not kickstart
(1:06:13) Al: games.
(1:06:16) Al: You also get access to our bonus podcast episodes.
(1:06:19) Al: We just released one of me and Kevin talking about the Switch 2 and how excited we are
(1:06:24) Al: and how much of a pair of suckers we are.
(1:06:28) Codey: And soon, we’ll have Eurovision.
(1:06:31) Al: We will, yes, we need to organize those episodes because that’s a month away.
(1:06:33) Codey: Yep.
(1:06:35) Al: That is four weeks away today.
(1:06:35) Codey: Yep.
(1:06:37) Codey: Yep.
(1:06:38) Al: It’s happening so we need to do our usual two episodes for that.
(1:06:44) Al: Yeah, I think that’s everything.
(1:06:46) Al: Thank you, Cody, again for joining me.
(1:06:47) Codey: Thank you for having me.
(1:06:49) Al: Thank you listeners for listening and until next time, have a good harvest.
(1:06:52) Codey: Have a good harvest.
(1:06:54) Theme Tune: The harvest season is created by Al McKinlay, with support from our patrons, including our
(1:07:04) Theme Tune: pro farmers, Kevin, Stuart and Alisa.
(1:07:08) Theme Tune: Our art is done by Micah the Brave, and our music is done by Nick Burgess.
(1:07:12) Theme Tune: Feel free to visit our website, harvestseason.club, for show notes and links to things we discussed
(1:07:18) Theme Tune: in this episode.
(1:07:28) Codey: bow bow bow bow bow bow bow bow. Done. Rename. No. Rename. No. Teeth. There we go.

The Harvest Season

220 Bugs

Timings

Links

Contact

Transcript