S
ometimesmy
ambitionfortheday
istohavea pieceof
hotbutteredtoast.
ThenI remember
DrunkonNectar, a gamewhich
“aspirestobecomethemost
comprehensivenatureexperience
evermade”andtrytoliftmy
ambitionsslightly.Hotbuttered
toastwithMarmite,forexample.DeveloperVenugopalanSreedrahan
postsupdatesforDrunkonNectar
announcingfeaturesliketheabilityto
mateandreproduceasa monarch
butterflyorchangestojumping
spidertransit.Meanwhile,lastnighta
badgerranatmeandI tweetedabout
it.I’vedecidedthatif I can’tbethe
sortofpersonwhosetsoutto
replicatethegloryofnature,thenI
canatleastbethesortofpersonwho
playsit whileeatingtoast.
CurrentlyI ama Japanesetiger
beetle.They’rethoseleggyground
beetleswithwingcasingsthecolours
ofoilspilledina puddle.I spentthe
firstdaynotsurehowtocatchand
eatmypreysoI endedupnearly
dyingofexhaustionandstarvation.Theseconddayis whenI realised
howtoworktheeatingminigame.
Grabbinga bluemudwaspout of
theairandeatingit facefirst was
a realtriumph.A BUG’SSTRIFE
Thelifeofa femalemonarch
butterflyhasbeena mixedbag.
Caterpillarhoodandpupating were a
cinch– it’sallmunchingmilkweed
leavesandsquirmingfreeof your old
skin.Matingwasharder.
I gottheracingpartdown,
zoomingaroundtowhittledown the
suiterstothefastestmales.But after
thatI keptgettingscoopedup by a
maleandtakentothemountains.
I don’tthinkthat’ssupposed to
happenbecausewethengot stuck in
themountainside,squirming for
eternity.Unlessthatbutterfly’s
desiresare...unconventional.
Anyway,I eventuallyfigured it
outandsuccessfullyinterlocked our
abdomenstoinitiatespermatophore
transfer.Thebestpartis that after
matingyougetto“holdA to
oviposit”.Moregamesshould give
meanovipositorandthepower to
useit.Imaginethatin,forexample,
CallofDuty:AdvancedWarfare.
“PressF tooviposityoureggs as a
gestureofdefiance.”
I thinkwhatI’mgettingat here is
thatDrunkonNectarcontains
enoughambitionforbothof us and
thatit is okaytospendmyafternoon
pressingA togetsomeoneto bring
mesometoast.cosmetic butterfly wings.
For the most part, Fortuna 69 is
kept alive by people who leavethe
game running when they’re notat
their computer. These AFKers,I’m
told, are the real heroes whoensure
the instance stays alive as traffic
naturally waxes and wanes
throughout the day.
The biggest threat to Fortuna69’s
fate is mandatory updates and
hotfixes that require players tolog
out and download an update.Tohelp
keep Fortuna 69 alive, developer
Digital Extremes made sure togive
instructions on how players could
coordinate to keep the instancegoing.
Essentially, some players willlogout
and download the update while
others stay in Fortuna 69. Oncethe
first batch has updated, they’lllog
back into Fortuna 69 to allowthe
second batch to update.
COMING TOGETHER
In the four months since its creation,
the community has coordinatedthis
handoff through dozens of hotfixes
and updates, but there’s no central
organisation that manages it alland
Digital Extremes has said theywon’t
intervene to save it should everyone
leave Fortuna 69 at once.
Like a lot of the insular memes
one finds in various gaming
communities, it’s mostly in goodfun
and absurd just for the sake ofbeing
absurd. But I love that Fortuna 69 has
become its own institution.
PHILIPPAWARR
THISMONTH
Livedseverallifetimesasa
kinkybutterflyALSOPLAYED
Don’tOpentheDoors!ThemindbogglingambitionofDRUNKONNECTAR
“Eating it face first
was a real triumph”
People like to get friendly
in Fortuna 69.THE GAMESWELOVERIGHTNOW
NOW PLAYING
My tiger beetle’s eyes are
MUCH bigger than its tummy.Pink butterfly wings are a
must if you want to fit in.