Hello Villagers!

We all neglect things they really shouldnt. Maybe its a hard task you dont know how to start. Maybe its just cleaning your room. For me? Its the mushroom gardening hobby in Village Monsters. Its technically been in the game since releasing in Early Access 6 months ago, but you wouldnt know it. Ive barely touched it since then and most players arent even aware it exists. That changes now. Lets talk gardens, and then afterward lets clean our rooms!

Gardening

What was onceMushroom Gardening will now be known as simply Gardening. Yep, you can now cultivate all sorts of new plants beyond just fabulous fungi! But dont expect to be planting boring crops like turnips or corn. No! Instead, youll be growing suitably monstrous plants: man-eating pitcher plants, never-ending creeper vines, fruit that glows eerily in the dark, and yes: mushrooms. To help you with growing all these new plants, garden management has received a complete overhaul in both look and design. Check it out:
Each garden now has its own plot (above) that you can interact with to manage all the plants inside. From this screen you can plant new seeds, view the status of growing plants, cultivate the soil, and eventually harvest any mature plants. Youll be able to purchase multiple plots of varying configurations, but at the start youre limited to the basic 22 model. Your garden wont require a lot of attention if you only care about the basics. You may need to weed it on occasion, and cultivating it with water and fertilizer will definitely help it grow faster, but gardens are otherwise self-sufficient. After all, gardening is meant to be a passive and relaxing hobby. Of course, there are all sorts of benefits if you want to be an active gardener lets look at them now.

Breeding

Im super excited to talk about the new plant breeding mechanics! Thats not weird, right? Youd tell me if that was weird?? In all seriousness, I love breeding plants in video games. Im not sure why its not like I have much interest in real life botany but I always get really into it whenever its offered. Adding this feature to my own game was a no-brainer. In Village Monsters, getting started with plant breeding is actually super easy. You just need a male plant, a female plant, and an empty space. Nature can handle the rest! Your experience as a gardener governs how fast plants grow and crossbreed, and in the beginning of your career it will be pretty slow; plants take several days (and in some cases longer) to grow, and new starter packs are quite expensive and sometimes hard to find.
Dont fret, though! Gardening is designed for exponential growth, and over time a skilled gardeners can completely outpace the other hobbyists.

Hybridization

Hybrids are a very rare type of crossbreed where two plants combine to form a brand new plant.
As you can see from the chart above, hybrid plants generally inherit the shape of the mother plant + the color / design of the father plant. It takes a lot of skill & patience to successfully breed a hybrid; theyre often considered the end goal for most gardeners. There are dozens of unique hybrid combinations, so youll be plenty busy trying to discover them all. The uniqueness of a hybrid makes them highly sought after, and Pishky will pay you very handsomely when youre ready to sell. Better yet, youre almost guaranteed to win any Garden Festival if you put one of these guys in your display.

Future Gardens

There are two more big features Id like to add to gardening, but they wont make the next release (v0.70). Still, this is a dev diary, so I may as well talk about em. The first feature is something Im tentatively calling Symbiosis. The idea here is that gardening should provide benefits to all your other hobbies and vice versa! Everything is connected. For example, you should be able to use certain plants as bait to catch rare fish or critters. Other plants could help you see hidden treasure in the dark. Maybe domesticated critters could provide fast-growing fertilizer for your plants (dont think about this one too much.)
Itll take some time to get it all sorted out, but you can expect this in a future update before release. The second upcoming feature is called Mutation. Mutations will be similar to hybrids with one key difference: they are completely random! Randomized names, randomized look, randomized benefits, and so on. Procedurally generated plants! Thisll take some time, and it may even have to come in a post-launch patch. Ill keep you updated.

Hey, isnt this like

Yes, almost certainly! I really love playing video games, and Im proud to wear my inspirations on my sleeves. Ive borrowed tons of elements from games like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, even Cookie Clicker and Monster Rancher. If you recognize a gardening element from one of your favorite games then it almost surely is on purpose. Video games rule.

When can I play with the new gardens?

Very soon! Everything I described above will be available in Village Monsters v0.70, which will be releasing in the next couple of weeks. Look forward to playing it then!

[ 2020-04-22 20:17:46 CET ] [ Original post ]

Have you ever wondered what happens inside the world of an abandoned video game? All those NPCs with their artificial lives...what happens to them after the game is powered off for that final time?

Village Monsters is a relaxing life sim game set in one such world.

You play as someone booting up the game for the first time in decades only to discover that it is nothing like you remember.

The monsters that were once enemies have thrown away their weapons and have settled down in a peaceful village of their own making.

Stranger still, they're inviting you to come join them.


At its core, Village Monsters is a lowkey, relaxing village life experience.

There are no farms to manage or meters to monitor, and on an average day you'll have complete freedom to do whatever you want.

This is a game that celebrates leisure, so you'll find no shortage of activities and diversions to discover each day.

• Personalize your very own home with furniture, decorations, and upgrades. Plant a garden! Install a secret room! Sit on a golden throne you found in the woods!
  
• Get to know dozens of whimsical monster neighbors, each with their own personalities, activities, and problems to solve.
  
• Pick up a new hobby, like fishing, critter collecting, botany, archaeology, or cooking, then donate your findings and creations to the Historical Society of Monsters.
  
• Leave your mark on the village by unlocking new buildings and influencing its development over time.
  
• Fill out your daily routine with activities like shopping, talking with villagers, watching TV, hunting for mushrooms, and so much more.

The world of Village Monsters may be digital, but that doesn't stop it from feeling alive.

From sunrise to sunset, you'll find a world that changes all around you. Sparrows fly overhead during the day while owls patrol the night. Villagers hang out at home while it it's raining and go shopping for new furniture after it clears.

There are countless little details for you to discover as you explore the game and its simulated systems. In fact, you'll be frequently encouraged to experiment with these systems to see how they interact with you - and each other.

• An immersive day / night cycle where everything has a schedule to keep - the villagers, the birds, and even the flowers.
  
• Dynamic weather changes including dozens of distinct weather types ranging from clear skies to thundersnow.
  
• The world changes with the seasons, and you can expect activities, items, creatures, and even music unique to each month.
  
• A packed calendar full of holidays ensures that every week brings something new. Enjoy events like the monthly Critter Safari, the springtime Good Egg Day Feast, and the Pumpkin Patch Bash.

The premise of exploring an abandoned video game serves as the jumping off point for creating an interesting and unique story.

The village has always been a peaceful sanctuary, but the world outside has been showing increasing evidence of disarray.

Glitches and faults have become more common, and there are even rumors that entire areas have gone missing.

It's as if the digital foundation itself is collapsing, and as an external force you may be the only one capable of finding out what's going on.

• Explore a digital land that’s been transformed by its abandonment.
  
• Experience a unique story told through unusual methods such as via item descriptions, overheard conversations, and anomoly research.
  
• Help unravel the unknown by investigating and solving Mysteries, a unique type of quest system.
  
• Complete a massive compendium that logs your journey through the game. Use it to track Mysteries, collectibles, secrets, and triumphs.