Earlier this year I published a crochet pattern for Filbo, a character from the video game Bugsnax, with five interchangeable limbs. I’ve since updated the pattern to have six additional limb options. I thought this would be a great opportunity to explain why I decided to design a pattern for the character, and how my design process has changed since I started.
In Bugsnax, you feed cute food-themed bugs to characters, and the characters’ limbs and bodies change based on what you feed them. For example, the Fryder (french fry spider) turns Filbo’s arm into a french fry. I thought interchangeable limbs would be a fun way to translate that aspect of the game to a physical object. I also realized that if I made Filbo’s body hollow, it could be used to store the extra limbs not in use.
The bugs are cute and I always appreciate a good pun, but I really loved the characters and their different personalities. I made Filbo because his character design is comparatively simple. I’d love to make other character designs, maybe archeologist Triffany or my bestie Beffica, but that’ll have to wait until I have more time.
In terms of designing, I made prototypes of Filbo and five food limbs as I wrote the pattern. I then modified and revised the pattern based on how the prototypes turned out, then tested the final version of the pattern. This method had lots of false starts and was frustrating at times, like when I got to Filbo’s mouth and wasn’t sure how to shape his smile.
This time around, I wrote a first draft of each new limb before I even touched the yarn. Even though the first drafts didn’t always work out, it was so much easier to focus just on designing, and then just on crocheting. Plus I could watch tv while following the pattern I’d already written. I definitely don’t have the ability to watch tv and use my brain for designing at the same time!
