I’m finishing another game this year - let me explain.
FORKLIFT FLOWERPOT: Botanical Investigator is a claymation-style exploration and discovery game inspired by Outer Wilds. This was my major project before I was working on TORSO TENNIS. I’ve set an ambitious goal for the game this month that I’d like to talk to you about!
Add it to your wishlist!
How it Started
I started development on FORKLIFT FLOWERPOT in Summer 2022. It took me a little over one year to get a vertical slice demo out. I was having a lot of fun throwing ideas at the wall to see what stuck. It was an indulgent creative process full of experimentation and joy.
The core mechanic of the game is changing between three seasons to explore a weird world full of plants, animals, and strange characters. Throughout Windy Season, Wet Season, and Harvest Season, you study changes and discover what is at the heart of an ecological disaster that is plaguing the land.
After I released the demo, I didn't really know what direction to take the rest of the game. So, I paused development to work on an idea I had for a sports-themed roguelike.
Now, approaching development on FORKLIFT FLOWERPOT again, I’m feeling a mix of emotions. On one hand, I feel a new sense of direction and understanding of what it will actually take to ship this game. On the other hand, it feels like returning home to a big mess that I should have cleaned up before I left for vacation.
How am I finishing the game this year?
Recognizing that this is the kind of project that could sprawl on for years, I’ve decided to put a serious constraint on how much development time it is allowed to get. I always find that constraints help to make creative decisions and take projects out of an abstract fantasy realm and into a real, imperfect work of art.
So, here is my goal:
The game will be playable, start-to-finish by the end of 2025.
The core game will be playable to its conclusion. There will probably be some greybox assets, missing audio, and general lack of polish. This is typically called an Alpha, which can be tested and refined through internal playtests.
So far, I am keeping track with the ambitious goal. I’ve finally sat down to outline all the clues in the game. I’m nearing halfway complete with all of the level layouts. The only thing that might slow me down is pausing to make videos!
Notable changes from the 2023 demo:
The card game minigame has been cut from the game.
The scope addition of making a well-tutorialized and balanced card game sideplot was just too much. I have to be realistic. Maybe I’ll hide it somewhere deep in the game, but it will not be a main aspect of the experience anymore.
The game will focus on exploration and discovery
The main structure of the game is discovering clues leading to big AHA! moments which lead the player to the game’s ending. There is still some light platforming to navigate the world and hopefully still some humor.
The exploration is now run-based.
There is a mechanism for resetting the world and encouraging players to explore new areas rather than the scouring a single island for all clues.
Real talk.
Honestly, I’m not sure FORKLIFT FLOWERPOT will do well as a commercial title, but I still want to see it through. I love working on it. The demo seems to have struck a chord with enough people for me to bring it to a conclusion.
If the AHA! moments are impactful enough, these sorts of games do seem to propagate well through word of mouth. So, if I really nail the mystery/discovery aspect of the game, I think it could do okay. Now that I’m really focusing on this, I am excited to test the full alpha build in 2026.
Will all the narrative and puzzle threads come together to make a satisfying conclusion worthy of recommending to friends in the same way that Outer Wilds is often talked about?
“Trust me! Just play it.”
“Go in blind.”
“I wish I could forget this game and play it again for the first time”
This is the goal! We shall see if it all comes together. In the paraphrased quote from Sokpop Collective from last month’s Tomato Club: “Focus on making the game first and then decide if it is any good later”
Thank YOU so much for reading the newsletter and following the journey!
<3 Michael
https://www.toomuchtomato.com/
