Design Statement
Listening to the theme track, I felt a profound sense of calmness, growth, and a world slowly waking up. Originally, I planned to create a platformer about a fox in an autumn scenery playing with falling leaves. However, it didn't feel right because it was too generic in terms of game mechanics. Moreover, I'm not an artist, and this fox game would be heavily dependent on visuals.Therefore, I revisited the feelings the track evoked, and an idea for a game about spring waking up came to mind. I personified spring into a cute character tasked with spreading greenery and expelling winter. This led to design choices combining a Paper.io feel for expanding territory with strategic flower planting to defend the captured land, physically representing the feeling of a blooming world. To tie it all together, the player's core objective is to turn all the grey tiles green in the shortest time possible.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
**Game Instructions**

- **How to Launch:** Download the Windows build, unzip and run the .exe file, or play the browser version directly on itch.io (I highly recommend pressing **F11** for fullscreen).
- **Controls:**
- **Arrows / WASD**: Move Springie.
- **Z / X / C**: Plant a flower on your current tile.
- **Gameplay Overview:** *(For the best experience, I recommend watching the walkthrough video: https://youtu.be/sko25rJnk7k)

Springie leaves a trail of leaves behind him when stepping into the winter zone. Return to a green tile to close the loop and expand your spring territory!

- **Watch your step:** Do not cross your own trail, or it will break.
- **Stay warm:** Avoid enemies and flying snowballs, as they will freeze you on impact.
- **The Goal:** Turn enough tiles green (progress is tracked in the top right corner) to win the game. Play again and try to beat your fastest time!

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://youtu.be/sko25rJnk7k

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
AI was used a bit in code and for cover art on itch.io