< Humbug Tales: Keeper of the Swarm
Why Humbug Tales?
I was fortunate to grow up amidst the beautiful wildlife of the Mojave Desert. Red-tailed hawks patrolled our home for a constant barrage of animal visitors, from basking reptiles to quail and roadrunners gathering twigs for their nests. Beneath these feathered sentries, I spent my days combing the desert soil for new friends from a tiny cast of insect and arachnid characters.
As experiences like mine have grown increasingly rare, I’ve noticed a bit of a generation gap. Some have experienced a seeming excess of nature, but for a younger and more urban populace, the day they encountered a mantis on their stoop and touched it with their own hands is a unique and treasured memory.
I’ve noticed something else, too: no matter where I go, from the orange sand dunes of my native region to the sprawl of the big city, I can always flip over a rock and find an ant.
What makes ants so fascinating? As I watch these tiny creatures scurry about, I can’t help but notice human traits:
- Adaptability
- Teamwork
- Self-sacrifice
Maybe that’s why we enjoy games about ants, such as SimAnt and Empires of the Undergrowth. These games allow us to command an army of insect troops from a familiar perspective: looking down upon them like a god, omniscient and omnipresent. (From our place in the sky, we’re spared the adversities of these mere mortals.)
But what if we weren’t?
When you begin your Humbug Tale, you’ll become a denizen of the insect world–with a flock of buggy followers that depend on you as much as you depend on them. From this new immersive perspective, you’ll experience everything bugs can be: cute, majestic, scary, and just plain weird!
You will become: Keeper of the Swarm.
James Lonnie Bowler
Creative Director
Next: What is a Humbug?