Hip Squared Season 2 Episode 7

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In this episode of Hip Squared, we dig into the green earth as we adventure into the wilderness and tend a humble farm. First, Troy talks about the PC game Stardew Valley designed by Eric Barone. This loveable and satisfying farming sim has simple, charming gameplay. After inheriting their uncle's farm, the player must tend to it however they see fit—whether keeping it small and tidy, or expanding as far as their efforts take them. Troy describes how his gameplay style differs from his wife Abby's (beware of cave monsters) and John imagines how a video game farm could inspire a real-life vegetable garden.

Then John talks about Wildwood, a children's adventure novel written by Colin Meloy (also the lead singer of the Decemberists) and illustrated by Carson Ellis. This married pair weave a story that begins in Portland, Oregon but soon moves into the Impassable wilderness, a wild and magical forest just outside the city. When Prue's baby brother is kidnapped by crows and taken into these woods, she and her friend Curtis embark on an adventure to rescue him. Including talking, anthropomorphic animals, forest magic and a complicated tale. John recommends this book for both children and adults who enjoy young adult literature. It's also the first book of a trilogy.

Produced by Maplex Monk.

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Toodles…