Apr 29, 2024

Hey miner! Wanna hear a lot more about Season 05?

Deep Rock Galactic - GSG_Aaron

Hello Miners,

We’ve got a big one here! As you may (or may not) have heard, we went live last week for our On the Horizon dev stream. During the broadcast, we lifted the curtain on loads of juicy new details about Season 05 – as well as some news on our overall roadmap, and updates from our Ghost Ship Publishing titles. Thanks to everybody who tuned in, and for all the enthusiasm and great questions you brought to the stream.

In case you weren’t able to catch the broadcast live, we put together this post to run through all the highlights. We’ll take it in chronological order. Throughout the post, you'll find timestamps for the whole recorded broadcast on YouTube, in case you want to see more.

News from Ghost Ship Publishing

We kicked things off by touching base with a few of the games coming out via Ghost Ship Publishing.
Here are the highlights! Three games, three bullet points for each. Easy peasy.

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor (Funday Games)

First to join us was Anders from Funday Games, one of the developers behind Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.

Update 2 is on the way, and set for a May release. They’re planning on introducing the Huuli Hoarder, implementing a Dreadnought rework (including new attack patterns), and also an UI/UX overhaul, to help give more insights to the calculations behind your build.
Update 3 is planned for sometime in the summer. This one’s going to be a design-heavy update, says Anders. He says the ambition is to “transcend the survivor genre” – and they’ll share more about that as they get closer to release.
The Funday Games team is excited about the idea of DRG:S coming to consoles or mobile, but they’re not looking at that before the game launches as Version 1.0. They’re taking things one platform at a time.

To catch the whole segment with Funday Games and DRG: Survivor, go ahead and jump to the 14:00 mark on the recording.

SpellRogue (Guidelight Games)

Next came Tim from Guidelight Games, with some updates on the dice-rolling deck-builder, SpellRogue.

Tim and Thorbjørn have been super happy with the game’s Early Access launch, and especially grateful for all the fan feedback that they’ve been able to take in for the first two updates! You can join the SpellRogue Discord here.
Their big ambition at the moment is to add a fourth playable wizard, with an arsenal of air elemental spells. They’ve had this ‘air wizard’ planned for over two years, and now it’s time to get it implemented.
Prompted by a fan question, Tim confirmed they’re looking at adding new rare spell types, or “legendary” spells. They’d like to introduce more powerful spells near the end of a run, to incentivize switching up your build throughout each playthrough.

If you’re interested, you can see the whole SpellRogue spotlight starting at 31:05 on the recording.

Dinolords (Northplay)

After that we wound the clocks back to 1002 AD and headed to feudal-era England, to hear from Michael at Northplay Games about their medieval dinosaur mashup Dinolords.

The team just released a new teaser trailer! If you haven’t already seen it, you can watch that right here.
On the stream, Michael confirmed you’ll be able to control the dinosaurs yourself – including mountable dinosaurs you can use as your ferocious personal steed.
The Northplay team is currently tinkering with ways to make the game multiplayer, and have an experimental, “buggy but fun” build they’ve tried with four people at once. “We want to have that experience of building a castle with your friends,” Michael said.

For all the details, you’ll find the Dinolords segment at the 46:45 mark on the recording.

Update to the Ghost Ship Roadmap

After checking in with some of our Ghost Ship Publishing pals, we zoomed out to look at the broader horizon for Ghost Ship.

We’ve published an updated roadmap (including both Ghost Ship Games and Ghost Ship Publishing), which you can see right here! Key takeaways are just beneath it.

Among the many dates on that roadmap, there are two key things to note:

On our first roadmap for Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, we said we’d have a closed alpha live right around now. In retrospect, that was a little too optimistic. We’re now aiming for that closed alpha in Q1 of 2025, with the Early Access launch following after.
We’re realizing that it’s really tough for us to balance development of both Rogue Core and Deep Rock Galactic. That’s what’s caused some delays on the Rogue Core timeline. So, we’ve made a decision: We’re not going to look at planning Season 06 for DRG until we’ve got Rogue Core launched into Early Access.

A wise philosopher once said: Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.

We’re taking that to heart for Rogue Core, so we’ll be taking some time to give that our full attention once we’ve released Season 05 for Deep Rock Galactic.

If you want to see the whole segment about the Ghost Ship road map, including CCO and Game Director Mikkel Martin Pedersen’s explanation of how we’re balancing Deep Rock Galactic with Rogue Core, you’ll find that in the recording here.

Now let’s talk Season 05.

Deep Rock Galactic: Season 05 details

During the stream, Mikkel Martin Pedersen (CCO/Game Director) and Mikhail “Mike” Akopyan (Lead Game Designer) lifted the curtain on lots more features coming in Season 05. We’ll run through all the highlights below.

If you want to watch the whole Season 05 presentation, including every screenshot and little detail, you can click here to jump to where that starts in the broadcast.

NOTE: We’re still tweaking and refining all this seasonal content. Everything below is still a work in progress. Final details may be subject to change.

--- SEASON 05 THEME: “DRILLING DEEPER”

Management’s got their sights set on mineral riches deeper down toward Hoxxes’ core. We’re increasing your depth of operations. In other words, we’re drilling deeper.

--- NEW MISSION: DEEP SCAN

The Deep Rock Galactic corporation has identified a potent new source of Morkite: Morkite Seeds. They’re located deeper within Hoxxes, in dazzling Morkite Geodes. You’ll need to locate the Geode, get down to it, extract the Morkite Seeds, and get back alive. Let's take a closer look.

The mission starts with locating Resonance Crystals. Use your Telemetric Rangefinder to determine their location in the cave, and dig them out to expose the crystal. Your Rangefinders will beep more intensely the closer you get to a crystal.

Once you’ve got a crystal exposed, call down a Resonance Scanner and hook it up to the Crystal. You’ll need to do this a few times, locating different crystals throughout the cave system, in order to determine the location of the Morkite Geode.

With the Morkite Geode located, the next trick is drilling all the way down there. That’s where the Drillevator comes in. Mission Control will send it down over the location of the Geode – and you’ll need to survive the trip down.

No, you can't pet the Drillevator.

The Drillevator makes a lot of noise, and sends shuddering vibrations through the depths of Hoxxes as it drills. This will provoke the local Glyphid population, who will seek to destroy the Drillevator and everyone on it. Keep the Drillevator running smoothly, and expect a violent ride.

Welcome to the Morkite Geode. Don’t let the glitz and glitter distract you – you’re here to get the Morkite Seeds, then extract. Since the Drillevator is a one-way ticket, Management has seen fit to give you a quick way back up: some extra-powerful Mark II Jet Boots. Put ‘em on, blast back up, and get home with the Morkite Seeds.

For the full walkthrough of the new Deep Scan mission, head here in the recording.

--- NEW SEASON EVENT: CORE STONE

There’s a peculiar new mineral formation appearing in the caves. We’re still waiting to receive lab analyses from R&D here, so exact details are unclear here. For now, all we know is that these formations contain something called a Core Stone. Let’s hope extracting it is as easy as it seems.

--- NEW ENEMIES

We’ve received word from DRG naturalists of some new organisms discovered down in the caves. You can catch all the details at this spot in the recording, but here’s what you need to know about them for now:

Glyphid Stalker

It’s hard to get a good picture of this thing.

The Glyphid Stalker is a cunning predator that utilizes chromatophores in its chitin exoskeleton to render it practically invisible. It’s an elusive ambusher, capable of burrowing and repositioning itself to disorient enemies, and disabling dwarven shields with a sneak attack. If you hear its telltale call, group up and watch each others’ backs.

Barrage Infector

The Barrage Infector is a mutated variant of the Infector species. Its enlarged venom sac allows the creature to spit out multi-shot salvos of volatile bile, turning its surroundings into an explosive hazard. Treat as a high-priority target in any situation.

Vartok Scalebramble

There’s a new danger coming to a cave ceiling near you. The Scalebramble consists of an impenetrable core that attacks targets with acidic ichor projectiles, and sensory feeler nodules that it spreads across the cave system to detect prey. You’ll need to take out the nodes to make the core vulnerable.

--- NEW OVERCLOCKS

We’re not sending you up against these new threats empty-handed. R&D has cooked up some new Overclocks for all primary weapons – 12 brand new ones, and one rework.

We’ve got a few to tease below. Here's the timestamp in the recording for everything on the new Overclocks.

Pump Action (“Warthog” Auto 210) - Converts the weapon into a whopping 6-gauge pump action capable of dealing massive damage and punching through multiple enemies. The intrusive old-school pump mechanism requires a smaller magazine and disables full-auto fire, and you can't fit as many of these big ol' shells in your pockets.
Mortar Rounds (“Thunderhead” Autocannon) - The weapon has been reworked to fire heavy mortar projectiles. These modifications slow down the rate of fire significantly -- but even if you can't carry as many, the high-explosive rounds more than make up for it in damage. Just remember to account for drop.
Firewall (CRSPR Flamethrower) - A supercharged injection system and duckbill choke allows the weapon to blast a blistering horizontal wave of flame by holding reload. Using this mechanism eats up additional fuel and makes the weapon unstable, reducing movement speed during charging.
Marked for Death (M1000 Classic) - Focus Shot now fires a dart loaded with an inflammatory catalyst which causes enemies to temporarily take more damage from all sources. While faster to focus, the direct impact of these darts does negligible damage, and requires an increased Focus Shot ammo cost as well as a smaller magazine.

--- NEW PERFORMANCE PASS + COSMETICS

A new season means new loot to earn. You can watch the full segment on cosmetics and the Performance Pass, but here are some highlights:

Introducing the new Season 05 framework: Neo-Tekya. Sleek, modern, lethal. Purchasable using scrip in the Season Terminal.

In space, it’s always fashion week. We’ve got loads of cool new cosmetics to earn: some going in the Performance Pass and Cosmetic Tree, others in the Lost Pack and Cargo Crate loot pools and Cosmetic Cores. Expect slick hats, smoking-hot facial hair, and fresh paint jobs for both weaponry and armor.

--- NEW DIFFICULTY: HAZARD 5+

We’re turning up the heat. We’re bringing the sting. We’re cooking with neurotoxins.

For the most daring miners, we’re introducing a new difficulty level: Haz 5+. “It’s like Haz 5 – But Plus!” is the tagline we’ve come up with for it. Feel free to compliment this good tagline in the comments!

We’ll explain how it works down below – or, you can get the full breakdown in the recording here.

Here are the main details:

Must be unlocked via an assignment.
The mode adds four switches to boost Haz 5 difficulty: Aggressive Enemies (affects speed and attack rate), Player Vulnerability (you take more damage), More Enemies (guess what this one does), and Tough Enemies (more bullet sponge-y).
Each of the four options can be adjusted to your tastes, and each offers two levels of increased intensity.
All Haz 5+ games will be categorized together in the server list, and you’ll be able to see which specific modifier switches they have.
This feature will only be available at the Hazard 5 difficulty.

--- REACTIVATING SEASONS

We’re implementing the ability to reactivate any existing season of Deep Rock Galactic, and play through it whenever you like. We’ve covered how this works in detail in this Q&A explainer post – but if you’d rather have all those details explored in video format, jump to this spot in the recording.

--- EXPANDED PROMOTION TRACKER

Did you promote your dwarf to max rank ages ago? Wish you could show off how many hours you’ve truly spent down in the mines? We’ve got good news. We’re adding an expanded promotion tracker, to indicate the amount of times you’ve promoted past the maximum Red III rank. This system will be retroactive, so it’ll count all promotions you’ve had up to this point. Full details at this timestamp in the broadcast.

--- NEW MISSION WARNINGS + MUTATIONS

We’re adding a few new ways to add some extra spice to your missions. A brief description is below – and the full scoop can be watched here.

BLOOD SUGAR: Bad news: The caves are filled with airborne toxins that constantly drain your health. Good news: These toxins also make Glyphid blood crystallize into healing Red Sugar. You’ll need to kill to survive.
DUCK AND COVER: Macteras, Infectors and Spitters, oh my! Jump into a cave packed with an extra helping of projectile-shooting enemies. This time, the bugs shoot back.
SECRET SECONDARY: Management has tacked on another side objective for you. A second secondary, if you will. You’ll find out what it is once you’re down in the dig site.
EBONITE OUTBREAK: These caves have an unusual concentration of stony-armored Ebonite Glyphids. Their only vulnerability is melee damage. Better keep those pickaxes close at hand.

--- NEW OMMORAN HEARTSTONE PHASE

With Season 05, we’ll also be introducing a new attack pattern to the Ommoran Heartstone in the Escort Duty mission. You can hear about it here in the recording, or we’ve got a description for you below the images.

Right now, the Ommoran sequence has four fixed phases: two swarms, and two “Heartstone special attack” phases. We’re adding a third special attack – where the Ommoran sends up rock spikes from below, trying to encase you in a stony trap. If you’re on top of Doretta, the spikes will deal big damage to her – and if you’re encased in the rock, you’ll have to spend precious time mining yourself free. This attack pattern will have an equal, random chance of being one of the Ommoran’s special attack phases, making each encounter more unpredictable.

...AND MORE!

We’ve got even more coming. Cool stuff. Stuff like:

20+ new cave formations for the cave generator, for more depth and variety in every mission
3 new levels of unlockable paintjobs for the Weapon Maintenance reward system
Loads of cosmetic filtering options, to sort and organize your wardrobe
3 delightful new dance moves for the dwarves
20+ reworked status effect overlays (for things like taking damage, losing your shield, being frozen, etc.)
Game optimization to make game run more fast
A sweet new DLC armor set

You can catch all the rest at this point in the recording.

Phew! That’s all of it... at least for now. We’ll have more details on all this in the weeks to come. Hope you like what you see!

Sending you all a big huge ROCK AND STONE and tons of love. Talk to you soon!

With Love,
-The Ghost Ship Crew

Apr 8, 2024

Q&A on reactivating seasons in Deep Rock Galactic

Deep Rock Galactic - GSG_Aaron

Hello Miners,

As you may have seen in our post about the first details for Season 05, one of the new features we’re working on is giving everyone the ability to re-activate previous seasons and play through them at your leisure.

Implementing a system like this involves a few structural changes, and we’re here to share some details about that.

If you’re thinking, “Eek! Big changes!”, don’t worry. You’ll still be able to play with everyone as usual, and all the seasonal cosmetic items are still earnable for free, just like always. Nothing’s going away! Deep breaths.

We put together this Q&A to give you more details on how this season reactivation feature will work, and so you know what to expect once we get it up and running.

Let’s get into it!

How’s the season reactivation thing going to work?

Here it is in a nutshell:

In the Season Terminal, there will be a new tab called ‘Season Selection’. You’ll use this to pick any available DRG season and activate it.
When you select a season, that’ll kick any party members and reload the Space Rig, just like when you disband a lobby.
Then you can invite friends back in, or make your lobby public. Party members don’t need to have the same season active in order to join you.
As part of this, we’re replacing the “Disable Season Content” option with a season simply called Vanilla. This option has no associated Performance Pass, and a balanced chance to spawn Events and Warnings from all seasons.

Here's a (work in progress) version of the Season Selection screen.

Can I still play with other people if they’ve got a different season selected?

Yes! Everyone can still play with each other, no matter which season they’ve got selected. Because the Mission Terminal reflects the host’s selected season, though, it’s possible that a few individual missions might not show up for other players if they’ve got a different season active than the host. But not to worry – you can still join any lobby on any season through the server browser.

Will I be able to see which season people have selected when I browse through the server list?

Yup.

If I join a game where the host has a different season active, what happens?

You’ll progress on the season that you’ve got active, and the host will progress on the season they’ve got active. Everybody wins.

Will seasons still have enemies and events from other seasons?

Yes, this is just like the game is now. Even though we’re on Season 04 at the moment, you can still come across enemies and events from past seasons on some missions. With this new system, these probabilities will be adjusted to reflect the focus of each season. So Season 02, for example, will have a comparatively higher chance of Rival Tech encounters and Rival Presence warnings, but there’s still a chance that a Corruptor could pop up.

Will season-specific assignments be available again, for those who didn’t play them?

No, season-specific assignments (like Season 03’s Part I: A Critical Situation, for example) won’t be coming back. However, a new assignment for Season 05 will be available for everybody.

What’s happening to all the cosmetics from previous seasons that have been moved into the game?

We’re moving all those items back to their original spots in their respective seasons’ Performance Passes and Cosmetic Trees. So for example, a weapon framework like Waster (from Season 01) is going to be put back into Season 01’s Cosmetic Tree, which is where it originally appeared. You’ll then be able to unlock all those frameworks by progressing through that Cosmetic Tree. The same applies for headgear and paintjobs.

If I played a previous season before, will the game remember my progress?

Yes. Each season’s Performance Pass and Cosmetic Tree will be set to wherever you left off. If you were at Level 87 when the season originally ended, it’ll still be at Level 87 when you re-activate it. If you never played a certain season, progress on its Performance Pass and Cosmetic Tree will be at zero.

What if I’m playing through an old season, and encounter a cosmetic reward I’ve already unlocked?

If you reach a node in a Performance Pass or Cosmetic Tree that contains an item you already own, we’ll reward you with some credits instead. Credits can be exchanged for goods and services.

What happens to the seasonal cosmetic Matrix Cores I’ve got?

If you’ve got Matrix Cores infused with any seasonal cosmetics, those will be removed from your inventory and placed back into their respective Performance Passes and Cosmetic Trees when Season 05 launches. In return, we’ll give you a different Matrix Core, this one infused with a non-seasonal cosmetic item. If you’ve already unlocked and forged ALL non-seasonal cosmetics, you’ll get some crafting resources instead.

What about the seasonal stuff in the shop and cargo crates?

Any cosmetics that were originally part of a season will also no longer be available via The Shop, Cargo Crates, or Lost Packs once the season reactivation system launches. Again, they’re not disappearing – you just have to go through a season’s Performance Pass or Cosmetic Tree to unlock them. This means you can unlock these seasonal cosmetics directly, rather than relying on getting lucky with Cargo Crate / Lost Pack RNG.

This also cuts down on loot pool bloat, meaning you’ll have higher odds of rolling everything else that does stay in the Crates and Packs.

So… do I need to do anything before Season 05 launches?

No, not really. Like we said above, nothing’s going away here. You’ll still be able to play with anyone you like, and every single item is still going to be unlockable for free. The only situation where you might want to do something is if there’s some seasonal cosmetic in The Shop you’ve been eyeing, or if you’ve got one in an unforged Matrix Core. You might want to scoop those up before Season 05, otherwise you’ll just have to unlock them in a different way.

Hopefully this helps clarify some things about how this system works, and what it will mean for your beloved friends and cosmetics. If you’ve got any other burning questions about this system, feel free to drop them in the comments. If we see certain questions popping up a lot, we’ll try our best to address them and update this post with the reply.

Again, all this takes effect when Season 05 launches in June. Speaking of that, we’ll have some more to share about Season 05 later this month. :)

Oh also! In case you haven't heard, the indie game world is putting something cool together: the triple-i initiative digital showcase. We can't give away too many details, but Ghost Ship Publishing is very proud to be part of it, and we hope you'll tune in to watch it debut live! The whole thing kicks off on April 10th at 7 PM CEST.

That's all for now! Hope everybody's doing well.

With Love,
-The Ghost Ship Crew

Apr 1, 2024

Below Decks at Ghost Ship: The Real Life Loot Bug

Deep Rock Galactic - GSG_Aaron

Hello Miners,

We’re back with another installment in our 'Below Decks' series, to give you a peek behind the scenes at Ghost Ship Games. This time we’re following Arvid, an intern at GSG, to learn about his work as the company’s official Loot Bug Keeper. Enjoy!

Meet the loot bug

It’s a cold gray Monday in March, and Arvid’s feeding the loot bug.

If you’ve played Deep Rock Galactic, you know the loot bug: It’s the passive critter that populates the caves of Hoxxes, rooting around for chunks of gold and Nitra to gobble up. In the six years since DRG launched, the loot bug has become something of an in-joke among players, dividing the pacifist loot bug preservationists from those who see the creature as an easy source of extra resources.

But what most people don’t know is that the in-game loot bug is directly inspired by a real-life creature. It lives at the Ghost Ship office in Copenhagen, and it’s actually older than the game itself. Taking care of the creature is a full-time job, and it's one of few positions at the studio not directly connected to game development.

This task is left to Arvid Aspeborg, an intern at Ghost Ship Games and the company’s newest Loot Bug Keeper.

Before joining Ghost Ship Games, Arvid spent a year as a student worker at the Skånes Djurpark zoo in Sweden, where he cleaned the bird enclosures. But he'd never worked directly with animals like he does now, especially one like this.

“I was a huge fan of Deep Rock Galactic before I started working here, so it kind of blew my mind that the loot bug from the game actually exists,” he says. “But it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting.”

Arvid enjoys a spirited interaction with the loot bug during the start of his shift.

A day in the life of a loot bug keeper

Arvid’s day starts with a 4:30 AM alarm, so he can make it to the office and finish the loot bug’s morning care routine before anyone else arrives.

Most of this routine focuses on regular hygiene. The creature hates water, but a daily cleaning is necessary to prevent it from producing a sulfur smell that overpowers the office. Arvid uses an industrial pressure washer for this, but also has to use his hands to clean in between the creature’s folds.

“I wish they’d told me to bring gloves on my first day,” he laughs. “That was the only time I ever touched it with my bare skin, and I still can’t get the smell off. It felt like that hand was like, really sunburned for a long time after too.”

In real life, the loot bug is about the size of a child’s bean bag chair, and it weighs around 90 kilograms (200 pounds). Compared to the in-game depiction, the real creature is almost completely sedentary, which means that Arvid needs to reposition the creature throughout the day to prevent pressure ulcers from forming. As he points out, another big difference from the in-game version is the noise that it makes.

“I get why they gave the loot bug a different noise in Deep Rock Galactic, because it sounds totally weird in real life. That threw me off a lot when I started, because I couldn’t really place the noise. But after a few weeks, I realized it actually sounds a lot like a grown man weeping,” he says.

In the afternoon, Arvid engages the loot bug in a series of enrichment activities. Most often, this means reading aloud from The Lesser Key of Solomon, or playing recordings from recovered aircraft black boxes. Arvid typically leaves the office around 8 or 9 PM, though he’s technically on call around the clock via satellite radio, in case the loot bug causes another Contamination Incident.

Undated photograph of a creature similar to the loot bug under examination by researchers at Fort Detrick, Maryland. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

The creature’s origins

Phillip Mygind, co-founder of Ghost Ship Games, received the loot bug in 2016 as a gag present from his cousin, who worked on a fishing vessel in the North Sea. The cousin claimed to have dredged it up just offshore from the Barsebäck Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden.

Back then, the loot bug was just known as “Elefantfoden” (Danish for ‘The Elephant’s Foot’). Philip kept the creature in his garage for a few days, before his family insisted it had to go.

“I didn’t want it either, but I really couldn’t get rid of it. I tried driving it out into the countryside and leaving it there, but it was back in my house when I woke up the next morning. Same thing happened when I tried throwing it in the harbor,” he says. “It was a really difficult period. For all the time it lived in my house, my whole family would wake up feeling sick.”

At one point, Phillip got so tired of the creature that he tried having it euthanized with a captive bolt pistol, the type used to kill cattle at a slaughterhouse.

“It didn’t seem to do anything. The bolt just punched down through its skin and crunched into something, but it was like the loot bug didn’t even feel it. I’ll never forget the noise it made," he says. "I expected it to bleed, but all that came out was this sort of milky mucus. I don’t know why, but I feel like it got some sort of pleasure from it. I hate it more than anything.”

Since then, the loot bug has been kept in an underground enclosure at the Ghost Ship offices. The company officially denies any knowledge of the creature's history before it came into Phillip's possession.

Illustration from the Dictionnaire Infernal (second edition, 1825) depicting a tribute to the deity Moloch.

Feeding time

Every two weeks, Ghost Ship Games receives an 80-liter plastic barrel from a hospital in Poland.

This is Arvid’s cue to take care of the loot bug’s bimonthly feeding. He considers this to be the most difficult part of his job. The drum contains around 65 kilograms of biomedical waste, mostly organic tissue from amputations and other surgeries.

Just like in Deep Rock Galactic, the loot bug is a scavenger, and eats directly off the ground. Unlike the game, however, the real-life loot bug sprays its food with corrosive enzymes that dissolve the meat proteins into a drinkable slurry. This aspect was omitted from the game due to content age rating concerns, and its diet was changed to mineral chunks instead.

“The first time I saw it eating, it made me throw up. Now when I have to feed it, I just dump the barrel out and leave the room as fast as I can. I wear earplugs too, so I can’t hear when it starts to eat,” Arvid says.

Once the creature finishes eating, it enters a hibernation-like state for several days. As Ghost Ship’s employees quickly learn, disturbing it in this condition isn’t a good idea.

“One time I tried entering the enclosure the day after it ate, just to check up on it, but it completely freaked out,” Arvid explains. “It let out this huge scream, like a man in pain but way deeper, and it just kept going. I remember the air started smelling like burnt electronics, and I could feel my lungs vibrating because it was so loud. After that, my nose kept bleeding for like a week. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

The creature's strong reaction in this state was actually the inspiration for the “It’s a Bug Thing” perk in Deep Rock Galactic.

Arvid (left) pours out a meal for the loot bug (right).

Challenges of the job

In Arvid’s own words, working as the loot bug keeper comes with its ups and downs.

"It's cool to see all the memes and stuff about loot bugs, and to know I'm working with the actual creature that inspired all of it," he says. "But being around it also makes me feel weird sometimes. I get headaches and nausea a lot, and lately I've been bruising more easily for some reason. I noticed some of my hair falls out when I shower too, but I guess that could be anything."

With five months of experience, Arvid is the longest-lasting loot bug keeper in the company's history. Ghost Ship Games has always had this position as an internship, and only ever hired Swedes for the job.

For Arvid, it’s been an exciting opportunity to start in the video game industry. Plus, he says, the nature of the role allows him to learn new skills, and share some fun jokes with the rest of the Ghost Ship Games team.

“I basically had to learn everything from scratch,” he says. “Ghost Ship didn’t tell me much about the job beforehand, and I’m not allowed to contact the other interns who used to do it. I once heard someone say that all of them left on sick leave, but that was probably just to mess with me.”

Are you Ghost Ship Games’ next loot bug keeper? Comment "ME NEXT" below so we can reach out in case something happens to Arvid. Thanks for reading!