The Big 10
STORIES EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
01606
The ridiculously
catchy refrain is
‘It’s Bugsnax’ but
just what is
Bugsnax? Well, it’s
very simple: it’s
half bug and half snack with a side
order of ‘you are what you eat.’ As a
reporter, you travel to remote
Snaktooth Island
to follow up on a
tip-off from an
explorer. Your goal
is to capture the
titular tasty ticks
and prove their
existence to the
world. But when
you arrive, the explorer is nowhere
to be found – and that’s just the
start of your problems.
This is all recounted in the theme
song by Kero Kero Bonito, a track so
catchy that since first hearing it, it’shaunted our every waking hour (and
some of the ones we are asleep for
as well). We interrogate the band
and the game’s composer, Seth
Parker, about how the earworm
came into being.
Drummer Gus Lobban and
guitarist Jamie Bulled are also
behind the band’s keyboards and
production.
Vocalist Sarah
Bonito completes
the trio. Lobban
tells us how their
involvement with
Bugsnax began.
“Phil [Tibitoski]
at Young Horses
[...] emailed us directly, which was
cool. It turned out he’d seen us play
in Chicago, and we already knew all
about their previous game, Octodad.
“Phil wasted no time and
explained Bugsnax as if it wascompletely ordinary to him: ‘So, the
game’s called Bugsnax, and it’s
about this island where all the
creatures are part bug, part snack,
and when the Grumpuses eat them,
their body parts transform into
them. Anyway, let me know if you’ve
got any questions!’”WISH YOU WERE HERE
Seth Parker says that choosing to
work with Kero Kero Bonito was a
“no-brainer.” He’d used the band’s
song ‘Picture This’ as the backing
track to an early draft of the game’s
trailer and felt that the sound fitted
well. However, he adds, “The lyrical
content of ‘Picture This’ was not
perfectly suited to a game about
edible creatures that are half bug
and half snack. (Let’s be honest,
what song is?)”
The developer “hesitantly”
reached out to the band to query ifCHOOSING TO
WORK WITH KERO
KERO BONITO
WAS A “NO-
BRAINER.”We’re talkin’
’bout Bugsnax
Kero Kero Bonito and Seth Parker on crafting an earworm
The band were fans of
Octodad when Young
Horses reached out to
them to create the music.dev talk
“Most of the
instruments heard in
Bugsnax are played
by either my Korg
Ms-20 Mini or the
Teenage Engineering
Op-1, often through
the Goodhertz Vulf
Compressor plugin.
[...] I’ve tried to get
across the wonkiness
of the game and the
snax while having the
music help to create a
pleasant atmosphere.“
Seth Parker
Composer and lead sound
designer, Young Horses016
06
The ridiculously
catchy refrain is
‘It’s Bugsnax’ but
just what is
Bugsnax? Well, it’s
very simple: it’s
half bug and half snack with a side
order of ‘you are what you eat.’ As a
reporter, you traveltoremote
Snaktooth Island
to follow up on a
tip-off from an
explorer. Your goal
is to capture the
titular tasty ticks
and prove their
existence to the
world. But when
you arrive, the exploreris nowhere
to be found – and that’s just the
start of your problems.
This is all recounted in the theme
song by Kero Kero Bonito, a track so
catchy that since first hearing it, it’shaunted our every waking hour (and
some of the ones we are asleep for
as well). We interrogate the band
and the game’s composer, Seth
Parker, about how the earworm
came into being.
Drummer Gus Lobban and
guitarist Jamie Bulled are also
behindtheband’skeyboards and
production.
Vocalist Sarah
Bonito completes
the trio. Lobban
tells us how their
involvement with
Bugsnax began.
“Phil [Tibitoski]
at Young Horses
[...]emailedusdirectly, which was
cool. It turned out he’d seen us play
in Chicago, and we already knew all
about their previous game, Octodad.
“Phil wasted no time and
explained Bugsnax as if it wascompletely ordinary to him: ‘So, the
game’s called Bugsnax, and it’s
about this island where all the
creatures are part bug, part snack,
and when the Grumpuses eat them,
their body parts transform into
them. Anyway, let me know if you’ve
got any questions!’”WISH YOU WERE HERE
Seth Parker says that choosing to
work with Kero Kero Bonito was a
“no-brainer.” He’d used the band’s
song ‘Picture This’ as the backing
track to an early draft of the game’s
trailer and felt that the sound fitted
well. However, he adds, “The lyrical
content of ‘Picture This’ was not
perfectly suited to a game about
edible creatures that are half bug
and half snack. (Let’s be honest,
what song is?)”
The developer “hesitantly”
reached out to the band to query ifCHOOSING TO
WORK WITH KERO
KERO BONITO
WAS A “NO-
BRAINER.”We’re talkin’
’bout Bugsnax
Kero Kero Bonito and Seth Parker on crafting an earworm
The band were fans of
Octodad when Young
Horses reached out to
them to create the music.dev talk
“Most of the
instruments heard in
Bugsnax are played
by either my Korg
Ms-20 Mini or the
Teenage Engineering
Op-1, often through
the Goodhertz Vulf
Compressor plugin.
[...] I’ve tried to get
across the wonkiness
of the game and the
snax while having the
music help to create a
pleasant atmosphere.“
Seth Parker
Composer and lead sound
designer, Young Horses