Hydroponica

THE GAME

You're stuck in this space station, and unfortunately oxygen is running low - you'd be doomed if it wasn't for plant power! Well, you're doomed anyways, since these things are inefficient, but maybe you can prolong your existence for a smidge longer with their help.

THE CONTROLS

Here's a more comprehensive guide than what's written in the game:

• You can drag the screen about by dragging witht the left mouse button across the screen
• To survive, you need to let plants grow on their own to produce oxygen, whilst building machines to produce carbon dioxide to fuel them. Try and keep oxygen and carbon in equilibirum, but beware that the plants will reproduce until there's no more carbon left!
• To build machines, you first need scrap metal which can be gained by clicking on tiles. Then, right click to bring up the menu, and left click when the placement is valid to place a machine. Build them far away from plants; the seeds get in the machinery.
• If needed, you can cull the growth of plants by destroying the blocks they're situated, but be careful not to overdo it.

MEET THE FLORA

CROWGRASS

This hardy grass proliferates in anoxic environments, which makes it perfect for planting on space stations. The fact it grows on actual metal helps too. Considered a weed by many because of how quickly it spreads (and because it grows on actual metal).

STAR REEDS

Star reeds are renowned across the galaxy for being one of the only members of the reed family to grow away from water - in fact, they even grow in the void of space! Nobody has yet figured out how they evolved to do this, but that doesn't stop them growing everywhere.

FLUFFLEAF

Despite its sharp looks, the fluffleaf is actually surprisingly soft, hence the name. When properly processed, it makes great clothing, and when not, the seeds get out and grow on anything solid. That's probably how it ended up here.

LESSER BUMBLEROOT

The lesser bumbleroot is a species of vine that likes to grow downwards, clinging to roofs. Many have asked how it does this on a space station where the gravity comes from rotation, and where there is no downwards to grow towards - the root just seems to be clever enough to figure this out itself. Strangely, nobody has discovered the greater bumbleroot yet.

ETHERWEED

Etherweed is an interesting plant, since it seems to love growing on the sides of things and the sides of things only. Besides this, however, it is also famed for its hidden thorns, which seem to serve no purpose except to annoy passers-by.

MY THOUGHTS

I feel ambivalent about this game; I definitely like what I've made, and it's pretty fun to just watch and see the plants grow across the map. In a way, I wish I'd gone back and expanded on that a bit more, since I feel as though the gameplay is a little weak, and I'm more interested in seeing the plants grow than the oxygen levels. It's a bit late to be fixing that now, but in future I'll keep it in mind! Even some new mechanics or variety probably would've helped a little, but what happens, happens. And, having said all that, I still do like how the game looks and feels, I like the effects I've added, and I've tried out a few new coding patterns and techniques and so on (though I know you can't see those - trust me on this one!). Overall, I'm glad I made something, and it was definitely fun to make! I hope you had fun playing it too. How long did you last?