Bugdom

Overview

Bugdom is a 3D third-person platformer developed and published by Pangea Software for Macintosh computers on December 1, 1999. It was also included in certain models of the iMac and iBook computers.

Set in the titular small-scale kingdom of Bugdom, players control the pill bug Rollie McFly as he sets out to rescue the kingdom's ladybugs from the forces of the tyrannical fire ant King Thorax. Along the way, he must battle a variety of hostile insects (such as termites, mantises, bees, and ants) by jumping, kicking, and rolling into a ball, although he can recruit "buddy bugs" to attack from a distance.

Although originally touted as a Macintosh exclusive, the game received a Windows PC port by Hoplite Research, released by On-Deck Interactive on October 27, 2000, and later received an updated Windows digital release by Ideas from the Deep on March 24, 2003. It also received a sequel in 2002.

An open source modern conversion of the game was later released for free (under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license) on December 29, 2020.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Bugdom is quite simple, as Rollie McFly you must venture through Bugdom to overthrow the tyranny of King Thorax and save the Ladybugs. The player must utilise Rollie's abilities such as Rolling or the ability to weaponise bees to progress through 10 diverse Levels that cover a wide range of areas from Gardens to BeeHives to AntHills. Rollie is given the opportunity to ride on various insects such as dragonfly's and "Water Taxis" and faces range of enemies like the gas-mask wearing Cockroaches, Worker Bees, Water Skippers and Angry Flying Boxing Glove Clad Insects.