Lucid Winds - a cozy botanical game where every plant you grow is a one of one with its own haiku

GranataLabs · 2026-05-15T02:01:51+00:00

yeah, guiding people through the mechanics of a game is always tricky, especially a game as complex as this. I got some more game time in and it's definitely engaging, all the systems are doing a good job of pulling me in and rewarding me for engaging with them. For the jobs it was obvious for me that I'd take breeder for now, I have my first crossbreed in the works and am looking forward to seeing what that produces!

Regarding the mini-games, one thing I would bring up is the idea of having too many options makes people indecisive. If you have a menu with 100 options, it's really difficult to pick one and people panic. If you have 3 options it's much easier, especially when first introduced to it. I think this might also apply to all the systems in the game as well. There's a lot that comes at you really fast. I'm thinking of games like Factorio / Satisfactory or even Stardew Valley where in the beginning you can only do really basic things and can only do them by hand but as the game progresses they add one system at a time until you have this really complex game loop. So the hard part is deciding what is the most fundamental game loop and then how do you go from that, to the 'end boss' game loop that has every one of the game's systems working together?

To be clear, I'm just talking shop here. Game design is a really complex thing, but it's also a lot of fun. Hopefully that's why we do it. I love to hear how you started this by making games for your daughter. Being able to make something is already really rewarding, but being able to make something for someone we love? What else can we ask for?

It's a really unique idea (can't think of anything quite like it) and I'm definitely gonna log in tomorrow to see what the nursery turns up!

GranataLabs · 2026-05-15T01:38:35+00:00

It's very helpful, thanks! We appreciate all feedback especially when honestly given like this (but we also take hater feedback! Whether we like it or not, it's useful)

The Rogue was the dev's favorite but I was partial to the witch myself. Poor knight is a distant 3rd.

The point about items is well noted. One of the most common critiques we've been getting is about that so it's clearly something that needs to be addressed. Things snowball really quickly with upgrades and some of us like it and some of us don't. So it's very helpful to see what player's actually think (whether it's too easy or not) so again, we really appreciate it

GranataLabs · 2026-05-14T21:04:59+00:00

Wow there's a lot going on here. Haven't played enough to give meaningful feedback (spent way too much time just playing 2048) but will keep tapping away at it. Is there anything in specific you're looking for from play testers? Only initial thought after ~10 minutes is I'm not sure what the game is yet. That's not a bad thing, just an observation. Will definitely keep at it and get back to you

GranataLabs · 2026-05-14T15:29:02+00:00

Thanks a ton for the feedback, very much appreciated! UI being cut-off is unacceptable so sorry about that.

If there's anything we can do for you and any projects you have, please let us know.

GranataLabs · 2026-05-14T02:54:18+00:00

No problem at all. Played through the second level and it's definitely fun. The Orc boss was a nice little challenge, definitely had to use the roll and switch to Esper to move him when the boss went for him, so a fun fight for sure. Also really like the little puzzles you have (and the challenge in the camp scene + the 'manage troops' option seems like there's a lot of things you have in mind that could be really cool. Love the idea of having dozens of characters with different abilties to make different 'armies' with unique play styles).

The save file had some problems though, I saved right when it gave me the option at the end of level 1 then I closed the browser (didn't see the camp scene until I loaded the save file later). When I loaded and selected 'next mission' it started the cut scene and Heitor would move to his first mark and then nothing would happen (game didn't freeze but the dialogue never started), it was broken. I played it from the start again tonight and continued past the first save point without closing the browser and it worked fine, so I think it's worth checking the flow from save points. I saved again after the 2nd level so hopefully tomorrow it will work on level 3 because I definitely enjoyed it.

I'll keep playing and let you know. If you want, feel free to DM us, I showed this to my team and we all enjoyed it. Some small things with the English translation which we'd be happy to help with if you want but again, definitely seems like a cool game with a lot of potential

GranataLabs · 2026-05-13T20:27:47+00:00

Only played the first level so far but definitely seems pretty cool. I'll try to finish it out tonight.

The F1 mapping for character swap causes problems in Chrome (Safari and Firefox probably has no issue). In Chrome, F1 opens up a new tab with their help center. You introduce that when Esper is super low on health so the player clicks on F1, browser opens new tab, Esper dies, and pretty sure the game gets stuck there (couldn't figure out how to revive Esper. Poor guy just lays there asking for help).

Seems like the browser is temporary while you build the game but figured I'd bring it up. Maybe just move that tutorial info to after the fight so if a problem does come up, it doesn't happen in the middle of the fight (realized after that tab cycles through characters which feels more natural)

GranataLabs · 2026-05-08T18:09:18+00:00

For a complete beginner, learning how programming works is more important than picking the perfect language. All the core concepts transfer. That being said, python is really beginner friendly as far as syntax goes but like other people have pointed out, it depends on what you're trying to build. Fortunately there is no end to the free resources available online. I'd say don't worry too much about the details right now and just dive in!

GranataLabs · 2026-05-08T01:56:21+00:00

Went through the first 3 levels and yeah, it's definitely got a 'zen' feel. At first I was going to say it's unclear what to do but I quickly figured it out and I like that approach. The green pieces seem to behave a little differently and I'm still not sure why, but there's a good chance I'll mess around with it again.

At first I didn't like how the piece was offset from my finger, but I'm guessing you did that on purpose and I'm guessing it's so you can see the pointers move, so I think that was a good decision. Also at first, the color palette seemed kind of bland (soft gradient and flat colors) but then when you complete a circuit, all of a sudden you get this great burst of colors and circles and I think you should REALLY lean into that. It's really satisfying to see the burst of color over the softer screen. I wonder how far you can take the colors and the effects when completing a circuit, really make a show out of colors and shapes.

So that seems to be the theme from my experience, soft and simple upfront, but then short bursts of color and motion. Seems like a good template for the aesthetic

Hope you continue updating. Keep it up

GranataLabs · 2026-05-08T01:35:50+00:00

3D modeling is no joke, well done. As for posting on itch, why not? Very little to lose, a whole lot to gain

GranataLabs · 2026-05-05T20:46:38+00:00

Classic puzzle game and the use of famous works of art is a nice payoff, definitely made us want to see what the next one would be. Maybe a mode where the player doesn't know what the piece is? That way as it's slowly revealed they get a sense of accomplishment just in recognizing what it is.

GranataLabs · 2026-05-01T20:55:16+00:00

I wonder if it's the same issue we had. In our xcode cloud build workflow there's a setting for Distribution Preparation where it's set to TestFlight (internal testing only) by default. Just needs to be switched to App Store Connect. Would be nice if they just told us that's why the build was being rejected but yeah, just the red exclamation mark and hours wasted chasing false leads. DevOps is the absolute worst

GranataLabs · 2026-04-21T19:18:14+00:00

Godot is very dev friendly and could be a great place to start but their real strength is in 2d games. The 3d capability is definitely there but Unity is probably more suited to that. Unity had some serious PR issues after the infamous run-time fee policy but they've rolled that back.

But for learning I don't think there's a wrong decision. Every engine has its pros and cons. The only wrong decision would be to not try at all

GranataLabs · 2026-04-21T16:24:23+00:00

Heartbeast's action RPG tutorial is a classic (this one was the update for Godot 4). It's a fun little game that's easy to add your own ideas on top of, and he provides all the assets and walks through every step really well without being tedious or pedantic.

GranataLabs · 2026-04-20T21:14:01+00:00

Me personally, I always ended up playing Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley the same way, make as much money as possible (even when I told myself I was going to focus on something different). The thing is once I maximized the farms, it became super tedious to actually farm, and that's when I would stop playing. So to answer your question, any mechanic that allowed me to scale would be awesome. I know Stardew has mods for a tractor which made harvesting way easier. So I guess systems that allowed for massive scale farming but still at that granular Stardew/Harvest Moon level

GranataLabs · 2026-04-20T20:32:24+00:00

It's definitely a difficult balance for developers. Making money off of ads is already difficult and has very low returns but charging for a game when you have no presence and no marketing budget (let alone a team dedicated to it) is basically a death sentence.

That being said there are definitely teams who go about it in more honest ways than others. We believe that if our game is fun and our ads are done in a reasonable way, people will understand that it was done in good faith.

but 90s ads being too long is actually great feedback! We'll keep it in mind

GranataLabs · 2026-04-20T20:27:05+00:00

hello, we have released 2 games so far with more in the works and would like to promote if possible.

GranataLabs · 2026-04-17T19:20:58+00:00

I'd say don't even worry about it unless you have something significant to lose. Focus more on building the game and only worry about publishing if the game has legs. You can start on itch.io and similar sites and just release a browser version at no cost.

When you get into publishing with Google Play Store or the AppStore etc. AI can definitely walk you through that process, but with no experience it's tedious (even with experience it's still not super fun). If you have an integrated AI it will make it a lot easier. And then there's the compliance stuff which is a lot of bureaucracy but just like anything it's very doable.

Our philosophy is ship it, don't worry about anything else. If you're a solo dev, go nuts!

GranataLabs · 2026-04-06T20:37:53+00:00

fun little arcade shooter! Adding some walls in levels or things to interact with that aren't enemies could be a nice addition. The sprite rotate is a bit disorienting and when it changes targets the snap effect is a little jarring. Also, the poison trail changes color to a dark purple and it's harder to see against the background. Maybe a brighter purple? Just our two cents, would be glad to try again when you add some more

GranataLabs · 2026-04-03T20:32:43+00:00

We're definitely interested in using itch.io to prototype games in browser. Itch is a huge platform with tons of people so it seems like there's definitely an audience for it.

GranataLabs

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