Indie Game Spotlight: Garden Story
Gather your fishing rod and farming tools for this week’s Indie Game Spotlight! Garden Story is a pixel-art community-sim with Action RPG mechanics! You play as Concord, the youngest inhabitant of the Grove, a small island overrun with sentient creatures. Travel through four towns to fix, fight, and forage for the friends you make along the way!
We spoke to Picogram, the solo-developer for Garden Story who did all the art, code, game design, and writing. Phew. Read on!
What’s the story behind the title of the game?
The whole game is about cultivation, like improving life for the people of the Grove in a lot of different ways. I wanted the theme of steady growth to take front and center for the player. And the word “story” is in there because the game has a…story? (And I’m a really big MapleStory fan.)
How did the team come up with the animation style?
I’ve been a pixel-artist and animator ever since I had my hands on a computer. My animation style is literally whatever is fastest and easiest to iterate on. Most people say my style is most reminiscent of Mother games, but I really go for what feels good in the moment, like giving Concord a li’l bit of squishiness.
Garden Story has many elements fulfilling requests, exploration, solving puzzles and more. What are some of your favorite features?
My favorite feature has definitely gotta be the Memory system. I basically blended the concepts of Perks, Achievements, and Experience into one system. Any time Concord does something for the first time, they get a Memory that can be equipped. Each one has a specific perk and a little snapshot of what you did! I’m really hoping to get it scrapbook-themed, so you kind of have a diary of all your accomplishments!
Is there a stamina bar or some type of restriction on how long your character can exert energy?
Yes! Concord has a stamina bar for actions like running and attacking. It depletes and regains points more like a Dark Souls game and less like the stamina system in Stardew Valley. The players’ stats ultimately determine Concord’s maximum stamina and regeneration.
Who are some of the characters we can expect to meet?
There’s a whole island of characters, each belonging to one of the four regions of the Grove. People seem to really like Rana, the scout-frog from Spring Hamlet! The Summer Bar has a lot of sea-themed characters, like the carpenter-fish Woody and the Clam triplets. Some NPCs are a bit harder to find, hidden in some secret spots!
What character do you most identify with?
Definitely, the bubbly Rot Oozes you have to fight all the time. Who wouldn’t like to just be a slime? Simply sublime.
Who’s ready to explore the Grove? The team is currently running towards making the game available on PC/Mac but you can stay up to date on more here on Steam.
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