DESCRIPTION

Plantasia is a cozy-idle game where players take on the role of a researcher in an orbital greenhouse. Players collect, grow, and splice alien plants, customize their ship, and engage with a deep crafting system inspired by Path of Exile.

Designed as a focus tool, it sits unobtrusively in the bottom third of the screen, allowing players to work while keeping an eye on their greenhouse. They can check in and tend to their plants whenever they need a break.

Check here to check out the demo on Steam!

Designed all core game systems and mechanics, including plant growth, crafting, and automation.
Developed a custom data importer that dynamically processes 7,000+ data entries from a CSV file in a single click. This system is used to generate prefabs for hundreds of unique plant species.
Authored comprehensive game design documentation for system implementation.
Collaborated closely with artists, programmers, and UI/UX designers to ensure seamless integration.
Reached over 300,000 impressions and 2,000 wishlists on Steam.

MASTER DOCUMENTATION (30+ PAGES)

GROWING LOOP

Plants have four growing stages. At each stage from child to adult, an interactable trigger appears next to the plant. By clicking on the trigger, plant grow time speeds up for the remainder of the growth stage and a unique audio and visual plays according to the type of trigger.

AFFIX SYSTEM

Plantasia’s affix system is built around a deep, modifier-driven plant breeding mechanic, offering millions of unique plant combinations. Each plant exists as its own in-game object, creating a complex loot system where players splice different plant species together to blend their characteristics and attributes.

Inspired by the itemization systems of games like Diablo and Path of Exile, Plantasia’s approach to progression revolves around affixes that influence gameplay. Rather than focusing on traditional power scaling, the game prioritizes sensory-driven rewards.

Some affixes modify grow times, others adjust the frequency of environmental triggers, such as watering cycles. Players are encouraged to tailor the system to best fit their own pace and preferences so can enjoy the visual and audio feedback tied to plant growth.

Players can lock, unlock, and trim affixes at any stage of growth or after harvesting for a currency cost. Locking an affix ensures it remains on the child seed, while trimming removes unwanted affixes from a plant or seed entirely.

HYBRID PLANTS

Plantasia’s hybrid breeding system allows players to combine two parent plants to create a unique hybrid species. Using the DNA splicing machine, players merge seeds to generate a child hybrid with a randomized visual mix of its parents and the potential to inherit key affixes

Process

Players select any two seeds—either two base species, two hybrids, or a combination of both.
The DNA splicing machine consumes the parent seeds and produces a new hybrid seed.
The resulting hybrid plant inherits a mix of its parents' base structures, blooms, and colors creating distinct plant variations.

Affix Inheritance

Hybrid seeds inherit a mix of its parents' affixes unless specific traits were locked in the parent plants.
Locked affixes are guaranteed to transfer to the child hybrid.
Certain plant families have unique affixes that carry over to hybrid seeds.

IMPORTER

Managing a system with over 7 million unique plant combinations requires an immense amount of data to populate them effectively. To streamline this process for the team, I developed a custom data importer designed for efficiency and ease of use.

The system is built around a structured spreadsheet that the team can update as needed. With a single click, the importer processes a CSV file containing over 7,000 data entries, correctly integrating all relevant information into the game. It also automatically retrieves the corresponding visual assets for each plant’s four growth stages, pulling them from designated folders based on plant code names. As new plant species are introduced, the total data entries grow exponentially, making automation essential for maintaining a smooth pipeline.

This tool significantly reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors, and accelerates iteration, allowing the team to focus on what they do best rather than wrestling with data management.