As you may have heard, The Bug Butcher, a rather innocent pang-like game, was refused classification in Australia earlier this year. The reason for that, as developers Awfully Nice told us, was due to the inclusion of a "Speed Injector," which had a drug like animation of injecting yourself and a positive side effect. With the upcoming console release of The Bug Butcher coming up, targeting mid-September at this time, the people at the studio worked on what they could do to make the game acceptable for launch in all markets.
Since what the power up was didn't particularly matter to Awfully Nice, they redesigned from a "Speed Injector" to the Boot Juice image you see at the top of the page. The mechanics are the exact same, it boosts walking speed, temporary invincibility, and faster firing rate, and now they are resubmitting to Australia. It's costing them a decent amount, they shared with us, as resubmitting with the same icons to get it rejudged would cost thousands of dollars, which for a small studio is a significant output of funds. Rejudging it with the two words changed, along with one icon, costs the full price it costs to submit it for the first time.
For ease of maintenance and keeping costs down, all versions of the game have been updated to use Boot Juice over Speed Injection. The only versions of the game that will have the original Speed Injectors will be the mobile versions, as Australia doesn't really monitor there.
When asked if it worked by electrifying the nerves to make them all go faster, Awfully Nice Studios declined to comment, so we'll just have to speculate how Boot Juice works on our own.
Quick Take
Australia's fees here are pretty ridiculous for small studios to have to pay to get the game rated, especially given that unlike the PEGI or ESRB it is only for one market. Given the fact that Bug Butcher is made by a small team and has been a bit of a commercial flop for them, despite being well reviewed by critics like us, the decision to have only one line makes sense as the cost of keeping multiple builds would add up. It is sad for those who preferred the previous version, but it is a minute difference and pragmatism does make it an obvious choice.What do you think of the change to Boot Juice? Do you think Australia's fees are fair? How do you think Boot Juice works? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
