USCB professor turns Lowcountry folklore into a video game

Don’t let the Boo Hag get you.

Evading this Gullah-Geechee haint is the premise of a University of South Carolina Beaufort professor’s Lowcountry-themed video game that’s now available for iPhone and iPad.

Created by Brian Canada, professor of computational science and chair of USCB’s Department of Computer Science and Mathematics, Bugs ’N Boo Hags combines Gullah Geechee folklore and Lowcountry history with tower defense and the fast-paced action of early-1980s games.

It became available Sept. 15 through Apple’s U.S. App Store and is free to play, with limited in-game advertising and no microtransactions.

Canada started building the game about ten years ago to inspire his students.

“If I’m expecting students to make games for their term projects, I needed to build one of my own,” he said. “It’s important for them to see their instructors make commercially viable work. I say to them, ‘If I can do it, you can too.”

What began as a solo project eventually grew to include collaborators including USCB graduate Bethany Felix, who created environment art, and Canada’s sister, Amy, who composed the original music.

In Bugs ’N Boo Hags, players become a “witchdoctor sheriff” of Beaufort County who must protect Lowcountry landmarks from the Boo Hags — supernatural creatures from Gullah Geechee folklore that are said to leave their skins at night and sneak into homes to steal people’s life energy while they sleep.

Players use “haint blue” paint and other magical items to keep the Boo Hags at bay until sunrise. Other enemies include fire ants, mosquitoes and palmetto bugs.

Corn brooms and salt shakers can temporarily disable the creatures, while local foods such as cheesy grits, Lowcountry boil and pulled-pork sandwiches help players survive. One magical item is a purple kazoo inspired by Kazoobie Kazoos of Beaufort.

“I wanted to make something that was simultaneously a love letter to the Lowcountry and a tribute to the arcade games I played as a kid,” Canada said.

“Bugs n’ Boo Hags” features eight playable characters, handmade pixel art and a chiptune soundtrack. Its tagline of “Live! Die! Repaint!” echoes the classic game mechanic of “Live! Die! Repeat!”— where players repeatedly attempt a challenging level, learn from each failure and try again.

The game’s nearly 30 levels feature locations including the Robert Smalls House, a praise house on St. Helena Island, and the ruins of Old Sheldon Church. USCB’s Center for the Arts also appears in the game.

The iOS version includes touchscreen controls, Game Center achievements and support for compatible physical controllers.
Learn more and find the App Store link at bugsnboohags.com.

Carol Weir is the Senior Director of Communications for the University of South Carolina Beaufort in Bluffton, weirc@uscb.edu