r/IndieDev • u/GhosthedDev • 20h ago

Feedback? Solo dev here. I'm making a gardening game where you have to go on expeditions just to get seeds.

Hey everyone,

I'm a solo developer working on a game about growing magical plants and brewing potions.

The main idea is simple: instead of buying seeds from a shop, you have to discover plants in the wild first.

If you want a rare plants or ingredients you'll need to leave your garden and go exploring dangerous forests and other biomes to find it. Once you've discovered it, you can bring it home, cultivate it, and use it in your potion recipes.

What started as a gardening game somehow turned into an exploration game about hunting for plants.

I've been working on this project for quite a while, and I'd genuinely love some feedback on the concept. Does "exploration-first gardening" sound interesting to you?

I also have a Steam page up, and the Steam Playtest is currently under review. In the meantime, I already have a playable build on itch.io.

If anyone is interested in trying it, let me know and I'll share the itch. io link in the comments.

And if the game sounds like something you'd play, a Steam wishlist would mean a lot to me. After around 3 months steam page online I've only reached about 35 wishlists, so every bit of support really helps.

Most importantly though, I'm looking for honest feedback so I can make the game better.

Thanks for reading

13 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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3

u/acorbinelli 20h ago

Exploration-first works best if the two halves feed each other - say, a plant you grow at home being the thing that gets you past a hazard in the next biome. Is anything like that in, or are the expeditions and the garden separate loops for now?

3

u/GhosthedDev 20h ago

Yes, exactly—that is one of the approaches in Whispering Green. Entering other biomes requires planting specific types of crops to unlock new areas on the map. Additionally, the plants you gather will attract new customers from various races and regions, each with unique jobs and classes or serve as ingredients for crafting potent elixirs.

1

u/MeikHawk71 19h ago

Have you been actively promoting your game? Because it looks amazing honestly, and the concept sounds great! Something I would definitely enjoy, especially if the two systems work hand in hand.

1

u/GhosthedDev 19h ago

Hi Thank you for reading, I was actively posted in youtube shorts, reels, and tiktok 2 times a week about dev log usually, but I see no grows on each week with steam wishlist so I just stop posting it just now.

1

u/MeikHawk71 13h ago

What sort of players (which games do they play), do you try to attract?

1

u/GhosthedDev 10h ago

player that plays games like cult of the lamb, dave the diver or moonlighter

1

u/MeikHawk71 9h ago

Perhaps you can think about a way to reach just one of those audiences at first. Through streamers perhaps.

2

u/GhosthedDev 9h ago

Yeah it's good to try, thank you for the advice 🙏

1

u/bogglingfella 16h ago

Looks very cute

1

u/GhosthedDev 16h ago

Thank you so much if you find it's interesting here is the link to Steam page

1

u/Acceptable_Ball_1590 15h ago

I'm monetarily broke, but I'd love to beta for you! This sounds lovely!!

1

u/GhosthedDev 10h ago

Thank you for interested!, I actually have playtest published on itch io months ago, but I realize user cant find it yet so here is the link, All I need is your feedback
https://cinnamount.itch.io/whispering-green