User:Barbs/Webgardener

PLAY HERE

You are a gardener caring for your website. Plant links to explore the world wide web!

Webgardener was made as part of the 1Bit Game Jam and was created in 4 days together with Dion Peek. The jam theme was "offering".

Our goal with this game jam was to keep the scope small and build something that felt polished and fun. We were inspired by bitsy games, the indie web and digital gardening.

Process

Brainstorm

Dion and I spent a few rounds brainstorming individually and exchanging our brainstorm results so we could build on top of those. It was a really good system, there was still lots of space for ideas not to immediately get lost but also some cross-contamination of the other one's ideas that we continued to build on top of.

Some interesting initial thoughts/ideas that might be useful later:

• Offering not to a god/singular entity but to your community. Is "offering" inherently hierarchical? "Solidarity not charity" > It shouldn't be a "gift" because you have enough and another doesn't, you should act as equals.
• Offering doesn't have to be physical object but can also be an activity/a gathering
• Earthseed religion by Octavia Butler. Offering to Change? What do you want to change? In what way? Are there things you hold no power over? Do they change you in turn?
• You are a Sower planting seeds - doesn't have to be literal. The seeds are offerings to your environment/network/community (ecology). Help connections form and grow stronger/more tight knit

Idea

What if a website were a bit like a garden?
Putting effort in making & maintaining connections/community, planting and caring for just like you would for a garden.
It takes effort, time and patience, but you get something beautiful for it in return.

"Home"page where you start + log off for the day.
Rooms are personal websites/gardens.
Plants = doors = hyperlinks

• Plant a seed
• Next day it grows into a link
• Acts as a door to another scene but can be anywhere on the page

Production

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Reflection

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Comments

•ᴗ• HEKMIN

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This game was beautiful! both the art and the vibes :) I love the message of fertilizing a positive atmosphere and the combination of web pages and growing plants is so unique and cute! i will always play more of little games like this that just give you a happy feeling :)

•ᴗ• elZach

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very cute game.

Honestly when I understood the premise I noticed a bit of anxiety rising with how much of a toxic pit the internet is lately - but just highlighting positive interactions was very nice.

Sad for the hedgehog though - I don't think we could've done anything about him - or if so I missed it.

Lots of dialogue and art - very nicely made. Kudos.

•ᴗ• clemicle

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Very cute game ! A charming message about spreading nice vibes with people that creates things and show it to people, let's continue with the comments of this game jam !

It was very enjoyable to move arround the different pages and discovering the stories of characters with their dialogues and their photos, and having it on a schedule and a day by day cycle!

Thanks a lot for this experience !

•ᴗ• Macrow

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oh how this speaks to my pixel soul 🤤i luv everything about this... i really wished the web build was more integrated to the web page though, it wud have been alot cooler rather than having to fullscreen

•ᴗ• 8BitDits

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The design is fantastic nice stylized approach, and great music to match! The photos look super cool through the 1bit filter

•ᴗ• Shypshyna Jam

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Amazing art and very cozy gameplay !

If the cozy jam and b1t jam could be in the time, that's great submissions for both( as well as potential winner for both :) )

•ᴗ• SeeOne

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A very beautiful game. It genuinely scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. Amazing work!

•ᴗ• thijsoid

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Super nice, love the way the images reveal themselves :) I, too, like my flowers like alien spaceships.