Play project
The Botanist's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Scope | #23 | 3.674 | 4.500 |
| Theme | #30 | 3.674 | 4.500 |
| Concept | #34 | 3.674 | 4.500 |
| Production Plan | #36 | 3.266 | 4.000 |
| Impact | #36 | 3.266 | 4.000 |
| Overall | #38 | 3.324 | 4.071 |
| Aesthetic | #45 | 2.858 | 3.500 |
| Audience | #46 | 2.858 | 3.500 |
Ranked from 2 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Comments
I really like the concept and I think it's a unique way to explore a climate issue that isn't talked about very often. The gameplay loop of collecting, testing, and restoring the soil sounds engaging, and I think it does a good job connecting the mechanics to the overall message.
I really like this concept so far. I feel like I haven't seen people specifically touch on how weapons of war affect the environment, and it is such a massive issue that I am excited to see where the team takes it. I always love a game where you can see physical proof of your efforts, and it sounds like that is a part of your game, which I am a massive fan of. Being able to see the land slowly grow back as you play is so rewarding!
The setting of a war-stricken landscape is so interesting to play with, especially in the context of climate-jam/enviornmental issues! Would you guys be referencing any specific real life examples/locations? Or would it be more in the realm of fiction? What would be the time-period that your game is set in (Like how Fallout has a lot of 1960s imagery and aesthetics). I think one of the images in the moodboard is also from the game Pathologic (Amazing game btw!), which is set in a fictional Russian post ww1 landscape. The gloomy industrial vibe can absolutely be felt during the gameplay, and that really helps to set the tone of the narrative. Really excited to see where this game goes!
It is based on real life examples but we chose to only take reference rather than completely base it on the place because of the sensitive themes of the endings and one of the mechanics that we ended up slightly changing for the sake of project scope. The time period is most likely in this time period, but because of the lack of resources, they only have older models. Thanks for your kind words!
Playing with how war affects the environment is such a neat and important topic to handle, and I'm excited to see how you all handle it! The scope definitely read in check, and the additional breakdown of items feels totally manageable. It's clear that the goal is realism, and the mechanics feel like they feed into it. The one thing that stood out to me was there's a lot of story intermixed, so will there be enough time to handle the core gameplay loop while keeping it engaging the whole time? Either way excited to see it finished!
Thamks you for your nice words! We decided that for the sake of the climate jam that we lean to more scripted events/ outcomes for simplicity and that the story is actually something continously happening in the background rather than something you stop your gameplay to focus on (aside from the in-between day cutscenes). We wanted to make it feel real in some way, make the player feel like theyre helpless in terms of how the story goes and the only thing they arw in control of is the core gameplay loop :)