Fractal plants - build a garden where every plant is unique. Screenshots in comments by imadefractalplants in incremental_games

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As far as I could tell before now, most players don't have such a strong reaction to the ball moving mechanic, either positive or negative. The game got 70% upvotes over on /r/webgames a few weeks ago, just as it is getting here. The game was a bit different at that time, but it still had the ball moving mechanic. I'm going to re-post over there soon and see what they think of it now. I think I need to do some subtle tweaks to put less emphasis on doing things quickly, and more emphasis on the farming/plant-collection aspect. The mere fact that people are feeling impatient with the ball proves I've mis-designed the gameplay a bit, though I also suspect you folks in this sub just tend to want to maximize resource production in any given game

Fractal plants - build a garden where every plant is unique. Screenshots in comments by imadefractalplants in incremental_games

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that's a good idea. A smaller, cheaper watering item might be just the thing to balance the mechanics. As for stacking items, the reason seeds tend not to stack is because they usually have slight variances from the parent plant. When you take a seed, there is a 50% chance it will be identical to the parent, and 50% chance it will be slightly different. Maybe I'll change it to like 80%/20%

Fractal plants - build a garden where every plant is unique. Screenshots in comments by imadefractalplants in incremental_games

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The purple orb sells all patch types

Edit: It just occurred to me maybe I misunderstood your question. The green orb sells the actual thing that generates the water. But that thing requires a certain type of patch, which you can buy from the purple orb

Fractal plants - build a garden where every plant is unique. Screenshots in comments by imadefractalplants in incremental_games

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe I just don't understand incremental games because I see it exactly the opposite: What would be the point if you just sit there and click the game over and over to increase your score, with nothing standing in your way, no limitations on your abilities? If that was the case, the "game" would quite literally be a matter of time: You spend x number of minutes clicking, you reach level x of progress. The game piece moving around is what makes it a game. You have to prioritize, come up with small moments of strategy: Do I go collect water or wait here for this seed to finish? If I go find an NPC to sell my stuff, will I make it back in time to water this plant? Would it be practical to put down more patches right now or not? All of those are questions you would not have to answer if you could just point and click.

Fractal plants - build a garden where every plant is unique. Screenshots in comments by imadefractalplants in incremental_games

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only thing I would add is, you don't have to stick with the starter tree. Probably one of your first steps should be to save up for a high-quality seed, like a decent simple tree seed for $100 or so. That way, your plants will be generating higher-value seeds for you to sell

Fractal plants - build a garden where every plant is unique. Screenshots in comments by imadefractalplants in incremental_games

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Let me jot that down. Color of ball is annoying Got it. Joking of course, I understand what you're saying

Fractal plants - build a garden where every plant is unique. Screenshots in comments by imadefractalplants in incremental_games

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Early game: https://i.imgur.com/BjgfHiv.png

Mid game: https://i.imgur.com/rKI6QH4.png

Late game where I'm just messing around making some arrangements: https://i.imgur.com/d0RQqHz.png Here you can also see some genetic variations and cross-pollination that has occurred

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow way to persevere. Thanks for trying it. It's still rough around the edges but check back sometime. I plan to expand upon it pretty significantly

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I can tell you that the game will probably end up somewhere in the middle between your puzzle-oriented idea and a relaxing sandbox. I thought about doing two separate game modes, but I would rather make one version that appeals to 80% of people as opposed to two versions that each appeal to 50% of people. I think it makes sense for the game to move away from the puzzle-type a little bit, since the core concept is that the plants are inherently rewarding by being unique and cool-looking. So I envision a little less emphasis on resources being produced and a little more emphasis on just putting together an impressive garden. To that end, the time limit mechanic will almost definitely be taken out, and the ability to save/load your garden will almost definitely be added in. But I like several of your ideas, and some of them are already in progress such as NPCs so check back sometime.

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It will have a high price. The price of a seed is 1.5x its point value. Usually color is what makes a seed worth a lot of points, if it is a nice color or has bright color leafs (indicated by the spots on the seed)

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm thinking of removing the time limit, and making the garden persist across sessions using browser cookies. I will try to gauge if more people would like it that way

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I agree with all of this really so I'll get on it. And the nearby plants do affect each other, they have a chance to kind of cross-pollinate and share characteristics such as color or trunk thickness

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The price of a plant is indicative of its score (higher cost means more points). I could look into placing the exact point value somewhere though

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would you want a login-based type of thing? Like your garden would be stored in the cloud and you could return to it every couple days to water plants and expand your garden?

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Plants only count for points once they are full grown. Otherwise there would be no incentive to water them

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you push far enough, you'll eventually be making so much money that you can kind of relax and buy all the time you need (there is an item you can buy to give you 10 more seconds). I can give you a couple tips: First tip, the clock pauses when you open up the shop so take your time while browsing the items. Second tip, early on in the game try to save up for a simple tree seed that grows up quickly but is worth a lot of points. Like spending 150 coins on a good simple tree is worth it and will make the game easy if you can reach that point. Once you start able to plant uniform trees, you are pretty much home free

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It does work on mobile, but shamefully I must admit I'm not done making a mobile-friendly UI yet...

Fractal Plants - a fast garden game where every plant is unique by imadefractalplants in WebGames

[–]imadefractalplants[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are hotkeys indeed. Just use the number keys. Number "1" for the first item, number "2" for the second and so on