Really, really cool idea, and a beautifully put together document. Great job! I am super excited to play this. I appreciate the in-depth risks and challenges as well. You mention a worry that it might fall short of becoming a serious game, but I think that the specific message you eventually choose to convey, will be memorable enough due to the game’s uniqueness amd get the message across!

The concept is quite unique and has a lot of potential. I think the messaging fit in really well too. The one concern a lot of people have already mentioned is the scaling. It seems like functions, abilities, and seed types will be a lot for a small team to manage in a game jam. I wish you all best of luck

Hi yall, this is a very interesting concept! It reminds me a bit of PvZ in the best ways, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. I think you could probably try to narrow the target audience a bit if that would be helpful to think about. It seems like yall understand the challenges that you will be facing well, and as others said I'd be a bit worried about scoping. Trying to get a solid grasp on what kinds of puzzles and how they will be implemented early on will be key, but the mechanics seem very fleshed out already which is good. Wishing the best!

hi. this seems like a rather unique cross-pollination between a shooter-style type of play that i don't particularly associate with the theme of climate activism, and i can imagine that would be engaging and educational without necessarily feeling particularly moralizing.  i definitely got a bit in the weeds with trying to wrap my brain around all the seeds, but it seems very detailed and thought out - and i'm sure it will be much easier to understand in a graphic setting. i appreciate the discussion at the end of particular risks or challenges, and it seems like a very strong starting point built on a concrete idea and awareness of individual and team abilities. looking forward to more. thanks!

I really like the core mechanic - seeds with 2 functions, and with offensive, defensive, and puzzle-solving abilities. (not to backseat design, but) Maybe lower the number of seeds (possibly by merging some) or offer only a few for each level to avoid overwhelming the player with choice and having them never use most of them, thus forgetting about them when a puzzle requires something specific. It would also be good to introduce the seed types slowly, but not so slowly it's boring, maybe 2 per level (ideally staggered) until they have them all, or make them use the ones they have more, and introduce them slowly (which requires quite a lot of levels). If you want to let the player know about the scientific principles behind the seeds (since it seems important to the group), but you don't want to distract the player with it if they don't care, you could have information panels or descriptions when/if you find them.
While the game is very planty, and very plant-a-seed-ey, there's not much of a clearly environmental message; there's more to the climate than plants, and more to industrialisation than robots, but I think that putting your focus into making a better game rather than a better messaged game is a good move, at least in this case.
There also seem to be 2 different narratives, either you're a forest spirit manifested to reclaim the land, or you're a gardener recruited into an organisation to collect seeds, which then gets distracted by Moonsanto (good name, legally distinct). Both seem like pretty good narratives, and they're not necessarily contradictory (there could be some possession or something), but it would be good to clear up.
This might be strange to say in a game jam, but this is the most "game" of a game I've seen so far, which is definitely a positive. I greatly look forward to playing this at the end of the jam, as it actually sounds like it will be quite fun

I really like the idea of a 3D shooter. If you can keep the scope within the limits you determine, especially knowing the difficulties you might encounter (as stated in the Risks or Challenges section of the GDD), I think this game has some great potential.

Best of luck!!

The design doc and concept are quite clean — the dual-purpose seed mechanic (shoot vs. plant) blends combat and puzzle-solving nicely. My main concern is scale: ten seed types is a lot to fully implement in a six-week jam, so I'd suggest narrowing to your top five first and scaling up if time allows. I also really like the story you've built in — tying the invasive species plot to a corporate antagonist (Moonsanto) gives the climate theme a concrete edge that fits the 'hope over anxiety' message well

Mostly no notes, the document is comprehensive and your ideas are strong. One thing to to keep in mind is making sure that your scope creep is kept in check, this team seems to have a lot of good ideas but it would be best to focus on the most important ones first and making those exist before considering the fluff. For example, I like the myriad of seeds you have listed with all of the effects and uses, but implementation for all of them might prove to be a lot if you end without the time.