Fred the Egg the Gardener by zazz0000

[raw]
made by zazz0000 for Ludum Dare 51 (JAM)

Nasty Weeds, Bugs, and Strange Mutations are causing havoc in the garden. Can Fred be the best gardener egg that ever was???

Controls: WASD movement, Left Mouse Click to Interact. Running over a tool/seed will swap it with your current tool/seed.

Gameplay: Start by buying some seeds from the Shop, picking them up from pallets, and planting them. You must tend to your crops. On the pallets scattered throughout the level you will find the following tools:

Watering Can: Watering_Can.png Use the Watering Can to remove Drought. Whenever a new seed is planted, the plot becomes Dry. (Note: Seeds cannot die from Drought, and do not need to be watered immediately)

Pesticide: Pesticide.png Use the Pesticide to remove Bugs. Bugs can spread to adjacent plots over time, but only if a different plant is growing on that plot.

Scythe: Scythe.png Use the Scythe to remove Weeds. Weeds can spread to adjacent plots over time. Cutting down weeds also yields some income.

Afflictions: Afflictions.png If a plant is afflicted, it will halt it's growth. If an affliction isn't dealt on the cycle it begins, the plant will go into a Withered state on the next cycle. If a plant is Afflicted and Withered at the end of a cycle, it will die. (Note: if a plant is Ripe and Withered, it cannot be harvested. You must cure the affliction first and wait until the next cycle)

Shears: Shears.png Once fully grown, plants need to be harvested. This is your main source of income. Be warned however. If the plant isn't harvested on the same cycle it turns Ripe, it will turn into a Zombie.

Zombies: Zombies.png If a plant turned into a Zombie, you must kill it using the Scythe. Zombies will attack Fred if it gets too close, so be careful.

Additionally, every cycle you will be charged Rent. Rent starts with $5/cycle, and increases as time goes on.

Enjoy, and be all the gardener egg you can be.

Ratings

Overall 844th 3.25⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Fun 922th 2.977⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 627th 3.25⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Theme 667th 3.568⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 342th 3.955⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Audio 668th 2.895⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Humor 263th 3.452⭐ 23🧑‍⚖️
Mood 823th 3.175⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Given 26🗳️ 20🗨️

Feedback

Destiny2028
04. Oct 2022 · 01:49 UTC
i like there's a lot of tool, but at first not too sure about wt to do
Lautilaj
04. Oct 2022 · 01:52 UTC
Good game! Go and check ours!
Kusaji
04. Oct 2022 · 01:56 UTC
I have two frustrations with this.

One, walking over tools picking them up without any form of user input was frustrating.

Two, how do I know when a plant is actually done? I killed my dragonfruit and it was sad.
Bxyzzz
04. Oct 2022 · 01:56 UTC
I thought the concept was hilarious when I first saw it on the game jam list lol

I really liked the animations and the 3-D objects used— I don't typically see 3-D art-styles used a lot in game jams, so that's really unique! I will say that at the beginning the instructions are a little bit unclear though, so I ended up kind of wandering around for a good bit of time.

Overall, unique concept, would want to see a full version of it later with maybe added music too!
WFMG
04. Oct 2022 · 01:59 UTC
I liked the graphics, especially of the 3D assets, but I had a bit of a hard time with gameplay.
Abdonatioera
04. Oct 2022 · 02:02 UTC
I liked the fried egg, the way it moved was great.
Khadia
04. Oct 2022 · 02:04 UTC
Nice idea, all seemed to work as described, looks good. The embedded version didn't load for me, but the html5 link was fine. It would have been great to control the camera and be able to zoom out, also I found Fred a little hard to control (not his fault really, he's an egg!) Overall loved the concept!
🎤 zazz0000
04. Oct 2022 · 03:18 UTC
@kusaji Understood. I think we'll put together a tutorial, I definitely take your point regarding not knowing some growth stages. As for tool pickup without interaction... It was a conscious decision (originally we used right click to pick up tools). Whether it was the right decision, well...
Stone Tape Studios
09. Oct 2022 · 17:07 UTC
Cool game, I love the art but unfortunately didn't really see many of the assets while playing. Great animations for the egg haha. Well done!
Martoow
09. Oct 2022 · 17:09 UTC
Impressive graphics for being cobbled together in a jam. The nights get very dark, which plays well into the zombiefied plants bit. Seems pretty stable as well, well done!
glenugie
09. Oct 2022 · 17:15 UTC
It's a neat idea, but I think suffers a little for a lack of in game tutorial (when I took more time to read the text on this page, I was able to work it out). I think with a little more polish this could be a fun game, and the graphics are good too!
🎤 zazz0000
09. Oct 2022 · 17:17 UTC
@glenugie yeah, we always "plan" on doing a tutorial, but then end up trying to shore up key features minutes before we run out of time lol. Thanks!
GodDoesPlayDice
09. Oct 2022 · 17:20 UTC
Very beautiful visuals, but a little annoying how quickly the day and night change
davidsheadgames
09. Oct 2022 · 17:21 UTC
The art direction and style is fascinating in this game (I like it!). Unfortunately, the profit margins are so slim (and there are so many things killing the plant) that I could only afford to plant flowers the whole time. The only thing driving a profit was weed killing.

Once I bought a watermelon seed, it all went downhill even after several in-game days.

I think it's a statement that the rent goes from $5 to $15 suddenly too, but it might be too fast and needs balance, as it makes profits too thin for the game to progress.

Very interesting game though! It would be nice if the player could place tools on the boxes, so they can organize, but that's just opinion ^^;
Heo
09. Oct 2022 · 17:33 UTC
This was a pretty hard game, but I enjoyed it !
I really liked the assets and the global vibe of the game, really different style than the usual gardening game !
The concept of the plant turning to zombies and attacking the player if not harvest on time is brilliant !
I would have enjoy being able to pick up tool with click or key instead of running over it. The game also may need a restart button (once I got stucked, not having enough money to buy any seed, waiting for my money to be spend in rent).
Very good job !
🎤 zazz0000
09. Oct 2022 · 17:36 UTC
@davidsheadgames yeah we're trying to get better at balancing. Always tricky to balance something you make, since you get generally good at the game from constantly playtesting.
As far as tool placement, there are some "pro tier" plays to where you strategically replace seeds with tools you want to keep handy lol. Thank you much!
MrBamboo
09. Oct 2022 · 17:39 UTC
Looool the egg character is so funny
digital bacon
10. Oct 2022 · 12:28 UTC
Interesting concept. I liked the graphics, though I felt nighttime got a little too dark: literally impossible to see anything. Also, I managed to get myself thoroughly lost at one point, wandering all over the map and completely unable to find my garden! A lot of good work, though: well done!