• to make the player feel like a plant

simulation of slow time scales

• the real challenge is to make it interesting and engaging to have stillness. to BE slow.

chaos. nature is chaotic. (chaos as a design tool)

• Chaotic systems are systems that look random but aren't. They are actually deterministic systems (predictable if you have enough information) governed by physical laws, that are very difficult to predict accurately (a commonly used example is weather forecasting)

from Chaos

• Chaos features three main characteristics:
• it is a bottomless gulf where anything falls endlessly. This radically contrasts with the Earth that emerges from it to offer a stable ground.
• it is a place without any possible orientation, where anything falls in every direction.
• it is a space that separates, that divides: after the Earth and the Sky parted, Chaos remains between both of them

simulation of the non-visual, of other senses. (of plant senses?)

• the wind
• the feel of the sun
• the water flowing through your veins
• (is it a sound?)

All this time we've been thinking about RPG's because of the terminology of guilds and classes. BUT The Ultimate Expression of Brainless Gameplay is the “casual game” genre. and The King of all casual games is Match Three type puzzles. e.g. http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/genres/17/match-3.html

Use seasons as tools All seasons exist at the same time the plant can “dream” of a different season or shift between the seasons at will to take advantage of the benefits that season has to offer. (use in 'battle' between plants, an invading vine or weed for example.) uuh, need to think about how this would work more in-depth but suffice to say that one can see the same garden shifting through any time of year.

We can define a benefit to each season and the player could decide when to use that benefit. Depending on how well he or she prepared, the benefit will pay off more or less.

probably 2d will be more flexible (but let's keep our options open) anyway, 2d -like: somewhere between Puzzle Quest <img src=http://pix3lnati0n.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/puzzlequest.jpg> and an ornate mosaic tile http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11828819/Mosaic_Tile_Pool_Floor.jpg the game of life http://bendiken.net/images/scripts/javascript/game-of-life.png

The interactive part should probably be 2D but we really should have a 3D representation. The design of the Nintendo DS comes to mind (lower screen for systematic input, upper screen for fancy rendering).

A plant always grows, mostly influenced by its environment. There's not much choice involved. Even when the player does not actively play, the plant will still continue to grow. So the impact of the player should be on making the plant more lush and more beautiful. Analogous with the way in which humans can tell whether a plant is “happy” or “healthy” by just looking at it (more and bigger leaves, more flowers, bright colours, etc).