![]() What thoughts went into creating the gameplay of Cloud Gardens? In creating how players would control and interact with the plants/environments? As the plant simulation got transplanted from the earlier prototype to Cloud Gardens, this genre of photography became our main source of inspiration the goal being to let players build dioramas that end up looking like those real-life abandoned places. These elements lead to an aesthetic that is also found - and celebrated - in urban exploration photography. A player returning later to something they built would not find it in exactly the same state, because plants would have overgrown their creation. The plants then were a way to add elements outside the player’s control to this inhabited space. Vandenberg: Starting with an earlier prototype titled “Garbage Country”, I was experimenting with the themes of players building stuff out of scrap and inhabiting abandoned places. What interested you about greenery growing over abandoned wastelands? What made you want to make a game about it? If it wasn’t for the monotony and complications that real life brings, and possibly the reason for playing the game in the first place, this experience should be on your go-to playlist as much as one of your favourite albums on Spotify.Game Developer sat down with Thomas Vandenberg and Elijah Cauley, developers of Cloud Gardens, to talk about what interested them in creating a game about plants reclaiming an urban wasteland, the challenges that appeared when designing how players would guide plant growth, and the thoughts that went into creating this lost world. In that respect, Cloud Gardens is a beautiful game. That said, let’s say after a couple of minutes, that opinion was binned as the mood this game creates, and it’s minimalist approach – both in environments and UI is exquisite – to use a bit of a poncy term for a game review. It’s unlikely that you picked up Cloud Gardens for the graphics, but it was a bit of a surprise. The visuals in the screenshots were stunning, but on the first inspection, they were low resolution and pretty crude textures. You literally can get lost here, in a good way, as there’s no one way of conforming and doing the same as everyone else. Of course, the levels get bigger and more complex too.Īside from the freedom to arrange the scene how you see fit, there’s a sandbox mode too where you are free to experiment – you can also set up photos too, if that’s your thing, with free movement of each step. With this progression, the game feels organic as the life it represents, and through subtle increments introduces new mechanics such as blooming plants that can be snipped and recycled to create new plants, making your vistas more lively. The purpose of these items is to trim away at the growths and allow them to grow back fuller and perhaps longer, however, if you place an item on the root of your plant it will respawn, and you have to set it once again, refilling the gauge. Initially, this didn’t make sense and would make what appeared to be a tranquil scene in the supposed apocalypse look quite chaotic and ugly. For the first half dozen scenes, this was easy, but then the plant would stop growing, or you’d be given signposts, industrial items and tyres to add. Fill the gauge, and you can proceed to the next area. In the bottom left of the screen is a circular gauge that fills each time your plant(s) grow. It’s not clearly defined whether the plants should be placed at the bottom to grow upwards like ivy, or having from a beam using wisteria, but working it out is part of the charm, and the objective isn’t to steamroll through to unlock an achievement. In the ‘campaign’ mode, which is one scene after another with slightly more introductions to the already bare UI, you’re given a few indicators where to grow your pieces. ![]() That nurturing comes from planting on any surface that appears to be a hotbed for vegetation. That magic involves clicking on a plant-like orb that usually hangs in a net, waiting to be nurtured. Without a ‘You are here’ map, you enter a gradient skyline of subtle urban vistas for you to work your magic. If you fancy yourself as untapped talent in the world of ikebana or landscaping, but never lifted a finger, then Cloud Gardens is as much for you as it is for me. Instead, this game from Noio is a snapshot of calm (mostly), free-thinking joy that comes with exploring creative puzzle titles. Cloud Gardens doesn’t aim to create those picturesque setpieces you’ll find scattered around in Japanese tourist honeypots, with visitors pretending to get it or simply offer up a vacant expression of being tasked with devising time travel.
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