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Hey, thank you so much for playing and sharing your experience. It really means a lot!

I'm currently working on a post-jam version where I’m adding things I didn’t have time for during the jam (like controller support, more dialogue, and interactions). In this version, the “stick” will glow after you interact with the dryad for the first time, so it’s easier to spot. The dryad will also give clearer guidance on what to do next.

I agree the pacing can feel a bit too slow at times. After the post-jam update, I’d love to develop a proper vertical slice that brings more momentum to the gameplay (like enemies that you need to fight and a lot of other ideas I've got in mind).

Thanks again for the kind words! Comments like yours really motivate me to keep pushing this project forward! 😊

Hey! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback and all your suggestions!

Seeing your screenshot and all those plants really made my day 😄 I don’t think anyone has played that long yet. Night 100 - that’s crazy!
I actually saw your comment the day you posted it, but didn’t have time to respond (mine got a bit long - so apologies!).

Crashes:

I looked into it a bit, and it seems like the Intel UHD Graphics 620 is a fairly low-end GPU? I’m not sure if that should be a problem in itself, but maybe something like the volumetric fog I used is more performance-hungry than expected.

Honestly, technical issues like that scare me a bit, because I’m not entirely sure how to prevent them in the future. I really want everyone to be able to play my games!

My best idea so far for future development is to implement a screen before the game starts with some basic graphics settings, so players can adjust things in case something causes issues.

Development:

As you may or may not know, I had just one month to make this for a game jam.
I’m currently working on a post-jam version with small improvements and additions (I just added controller support and an options menu).

After that, I'll expand the concept into a proper vertical slice - so your feedback is really appreciated.

Shovel visibility:

The idea was for players to discover the dryad first, and then “stumble” upon the shovel nearby. That's why it's a little hidden, but I agree, the shovel blends in a bit too well.
I’ll add a sparkle effect after the first interaction with the sleeping dryad to guide players more clearly.

Lavender seed drop rate:

Padding the gameplay wasn’t actually my intention — I was honestly surprised by how long the game turned out to be.
It works like this: every mouse hole spawns a seed during a specific moon phase, but as a player, you can't really tell.

I agree that the beginning feels slow. I’ll probably keep it that way for the post-jam version to stay close to the original, but in future versions I want the start to be more engaging.
I could increase the drop rates, but then players might have too many seeds and not enough energy/water(?). So it’s a matter of which “problem” feels better to play with.

Or maybe just add more mouse holes in different locations.

Shortcuts:

I thought about using the mouse holes as a fast travel mechanic! At least for that one moment when the special moon appears and makes you tiny.

I think it would be a fun and rewarding little secret, especially since you can get two extra lavender seeds pretty early this way.

Failure messages:

The feedback on failed interactions is definitely lacking.
Right now, each interaction has only one fail state, but sometimes multiple conditions are checked, which causes unclear messages.
That bugged me too, but I had to move on due to time constraints.

It should be easy to refactor, and I’ll definitely add that in the post-jam version.

Getting stuck:

I’ve experienced that too, but for now, I figured reloading is an easy enough fix (like you did).
It’s caused by scaling the player, which messes with the collision shape. This is actually something the Godot docs warn about, but it was the quickest and easiest way to implement it.

I’ll fix it by toggling between different hitboxes and adjusting the camera height accordingly.

Nightmare messages:

These were meant to be randomized quotes referencing other games (like Malenia from Elden Ring, who also talks about dreams).
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to implement them, though it wouldn’t have been a huge task.
I’ve already written out quite a few and will add them in the post-jam version.

Long-term, I’d love to include dreamlike scenes where the player reflects on recent events (planting the first seed, meeting a dryad, etc.) in a subtle, non-intrusive way.

Voice acting:

I’d like to add at least “letter sounds” like in Animal Crossing or Celeste, but more gentle.
Another idea is voice cues, like in Zelda (“ah”, “hmm”, “oh” sounds that reflect mood).

Music:

I wanted to give certain areas their own music, but I simply ran out of time. Instead, I went with ambient sounds to at least keep it from feeling too stale.

As for sound effects, I thought no sfx was better than something rushed or annoying. The most jarring for me is the bomb having no sound.

I’m not sure if I’ll add them to the post-jam version, but they’re definitely a priority for the future vertical slice.

Dryad animations:

For the vertical slice, I absolutely want to add more animations.

For the post-jam version, a small touch I’m planning is having Pyra and Ayla close their eyes and place their hands next to their ears during the final cutscene (as if they’re listening to the music).

Alternate endings:

At the very least, I'll add extra dialogue if you try to give the flute to Pyra or Ayla. A few people actually tried this. One even refused to give it to Syll (the first dryad) because she was too mean (lol).

Originally, I wanted each dryad to have her own instrument, which you’d find in the second cave. They would play together to ward off an enemy (more on that later).

Dryad interactions:

I definitely think there’s room for more dialogue and interactions with the dryads.

I like the idea of a simple friendship system where you do little favors for them, as you described.
Planting seeds and bringing the dryads’ areas back to life is something I also had in mind — just like you!

Future plans:

This wasn’t part of your suggestions, but I originally intended to include enemies that spawn during specific moon phases. So you’d need to defend the dryads and bring peace to the forest. I think this would also add a bit of urgency and purpose to the beginning, and make the gameplay more engaging.

Technically, I also want to add more verticality to the world. Right now, the whole grid system is flat, but I’d love for players to reach higher areas (using a special plant that grows like a ladder, for example). Of course, there are a lot more things I want to add and change. I'm really looking forward to it!

Thanks again for spending so much time with my game and leaving such great feedback!

I could really tell you engaged with it — and I truly appreciate that!

Thank you so much for the feedback and for taking the time to write this out. I appreciate it! I agree with most (if not all) of your points.

This is a bit long (so apologies!), but it helps me reflect:

As you may or may not know, I had one month to create this jam game. Of course, there are lots of things I would have liked to do differently or iterate on, but for most parts, I got something working and moved on.

Based on feedback and watching others play, I noticed several times that certain things weren’t clearly communicated to the player. That stems from the design approach I had in mind (one that was a bit risky and, as in your case, could lead to an experience like yours). That said, with some fine-tuning, I think those issues can be avoided. I also plan to expand the idea into a proper vertical slice of a larger game.

1. I tried this approach: letting players discover the controls more organically through context-based prompts. For example, when selecting an item in the inventory or looking at objects (which is also lacking, there shouldn’t be a prompt when something isn’t even possible, and/or the failure messages need to be clearer).

Still, I fully understand the importance of having a proper control reference (especially when you're setting up a custom controller layout like in your case).

In a more complete version, I would absolutely add an options menu where you can
a) view all controls, and
b) rebind them freely.

I also want to add full controller support from the start (maybe even gyro aiming if that's feasible in the godot engine).

2. I intended to encourage players to figure things out on their own. That’s why the starting area is quite limited and the number of possible interactions is small.

There is a bit of dialogue if you try to give the dryad a lavender seed (she tells you to pick up the spade, dig a hole, plant the seed, and water it). But of course, not everyone will do that, and I assumed that confused players would try different things and eventually discover that hint or the mechanics on their own.

I’m not personally a fan of games giving you a hint/tutorial for every single action (but that’s just my preference, and this approach doesn’t always align with everyone's expectations). I need to find a better middle ground here.

One idea is to let the dryad explain exactly what to do (and how) if you speak to her a second time.

The nightmare messages were meant to be randomized quotes referencing other games (like Malenia from Elden Ring, who also talks about dreams). Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to implement them, even though it wouldn’t have been a huge task.

In an expanded version, I’d love to include dreamlike scenes where you reflect on events from the previous night (planting your first seed, meeting a new character, etc.) in a subtle, non-intrusive way.

3. I understand what you mean. The idea was to gradually introduce mystery: at first, it feels like a standard farming game. Then, after meeting the second dryad, you get some lore and learn that something is missing. Later, you stumble across wall paintings that serve as clues, hinting at a puzzle and an end goal. But right now, the world can feel a bit trivial or meaningless until you reach that point. 

Originally, I had planned to include enemies that appear during certain moon phases and attack the dryads. The player would help defend them. In the second cave, the player would find musical instruments, which, when returned to the dryads, would allow them to play together and permanently ward off the threat.

Because of time constraints, I could only include one instrument and the final cutscene. Even some dialogue was not finished. For example, I wanted Syll to apologize to the player for being harsh/mean earlier in the game.

I want to expand on this idea with clearer stakes and a stronger sense of urgency from the start. The player character will also have a more defined role in the story (including a clear reason why the sun must be avoided).

Thanks again for your feedback and for pointing out these things!

Thank you so much for playing my game and for the lovely feedback! I watched the whole video! It was really entertaining and insightful for me.

I love that you liked Ayla so much! I honestly can’t decide who my favorite is… I like all of them in their own way.

You're actually the second person who thought about gifting the flute to one of the other dryads! I’ll definitely add a dialogue for that in the post-jam version I’m working on right now.

By the way, I’m currently learning Japanese. Your subtitles were super helpful. I even picked up some new vocabulary thanks to you!

ありがとう！

Hey, thank you so much!
Crocotile is a really great program for low-poly pixel art style.
It takes a bit of time to get used to, but it’s definitely worth it!

The developer, alex, is super nice. He actually implemented two features I requested!
He even played my game, by the way. Super chill guy! He also has a YouTube channel with tutorials.

As for the camera thing, that’s actually on purpose!
Every once in a while, a special moon appears. In this case, it was the super moon, which makes you really small. It’s just a little funny thing I added. There’s also a sugar moon, which makes you super fast, and a few others.

Thanks again for the lovely feedback!

Hey! Thank you so much!

Ocarina of Time was actually the inspiration for the world!

The hollow stumps you walk through to traverse the areas are a direct reference to the Lost Woods!

(there’s also the moon from Majora’s Mask as an easter egg, but it only shows up after playing for a while!)

Thanks again!

Hey Ryan!

Thank you for checking out my game and for the lovely feedback!

In an older version of the game, plants would despawn if you pressed E while sleeping. That was actually a debug function I forgot to remove. But I’ve fixed that in the latest versions. Did you download the game recently (in the last 7 days), or could you be playing an older version?

Plants also despawn if you don’t water them for two days. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to make that clear to the player. I had planned to add a dry-soil model with a withered version of the plant instead of just making it disappear.

Fully grown plants can only be used a limited number of times: Sickle Leaf 3 uses, Fire Lily 2, Bombkin 1. After that they disappear from your inventory (which also isn’t very well communicated to the player. Syll does mention it when you "attack" her with the Sickle Leaf, but not everyone ends up doing that, of course).

If you don’t mind, you can send me your save file on discord (I left you a message there).

You’ll find it here:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Godot\app_userdata\FarmJam\savegame.json

Then I can check if anything weird is going on and restore the missing plants!

Thanks again, and kind regards,

Oakhardt

The first time I played it was before you added the tooltips, I think. So it took me a while to figure out that I had to hold left-click and then use right-click to dig (even though it was explained in the control section).

The part with the dirt wasn’t explained, I think, so it also took me a bit to realize I needed to place dirt on the fields to free up inventory space.

And one last thing: when pressing Q or E to open the progress/rewind menu, you can only end the cycle if the moon is in a specific section; otherwise, the option doesn't show up.

These were just small things that confused me at first, but after a bit of fiddling around, I got it.

The first time I played it was before you added the tooltips, I think.
So it took me a while to figure out that I had to hold left-click and then use right-click to dig (even though it was explained in the control section).

The part with the dirt wasn’t explained, I think, so it also took me a bit to realize I needed to place dirt on the fields to free up inventory space.

And one last thing: when pressing Q or E to open the progress/rewind menu, you can only end the cycle if the moon is in a specific section; otherwise, the option doesn't show up.

These were just small things that confused me at first, but after a bit of fiddling around, I got it.

It was really fun! I only made it to wave 5 after three attempts. It felt like it got too hard too quickly, maybe? I really liked the commentary on the mechanics and the creative process.

The music reminded me of HoloCure!

It was really fun! I only made it to wave 5 after three attempts. It felt like it got too hard too quickly, maybe?
I really liked the commentary on the mechanics and the creative process.

The music reminded me of HoloCure!

Hey, that was great! I really liked that you had three different resources. I never felt like I was wasting anything or making the wrong choice. The characters and story are super cute, and everything is so well drawn!

I had a few small issues, though. One was the UI, which sometimes seemed to overlap a bit.
     

The other was the controls. It felt a bit unintuitive to move the camera with Q and E instead of using right mouse drag (I know that right-click currently closes the planting menu). Personally, I’d prefer to move freely with left-click, and open the planting UI with a different key instead, maybe where the player is currently standing. One time, I accidentally planted things all around me and couldn’t move the next day. A bit silly on my part, but I thought I’d mention it!

I liked that the experience was short and sweet! You really accomplished something here, and I can only imagine how hard it must be to work as a team and coordinate all the different parts to make something coherent in the end. So congrats on your entry!

(Funny coincidence: one of my dryads is also named Syl, just with two Ls!)

Hey, that was great!
I really liked that you had three different resources. I never felt like I was wasting anything or making the wrong choice.
The characters and story are super cute, and everything is so well drawn!

I had a few small issues, though. One was the UI, which sometimes seemed to overlap a bit.



The other was the controls. It felt a bit unintuitive to move the camera with Q and E instead of using right mouse drag (I know that right-click currently closes the planting menu). Personally, I’d prefer to move freely with left-click, and open the planting UI with a different key instead, maybe where the player is currently standing.
One time, I accidentally planted things all around me and couldn’t move the next day.
A bit silly on my part, but I thought I’d mention it!

I liked that the experience was short and sweet!
You really accomplished something here, and I can only imagine how hard it must be to work as a team and coordinate all the different parts to make something coherent in the end.
So congrats on your entry!

(Funny coincidence: one of my dryads is also named Syl, just with two Ls!)

Funny entry! I also accidentally killed my sheep in the beginning. On my second attempt, I got pretty far, I think.

I don’t know why, but I really enjoyed scrolling to pick up multiple wheat and feeding the sheep with a single click.

Funny entry!
I also accidentally killed my sheep in the beginning. On my second attempt, I got pretty far, I think.

I don’t know why, but I really enjoyed scrolling to pick up multiple wheat and feeding the sheep with a single click.

A really good entry! The visuals are lovely and give off a cozy vibe. This could totally become a great idler game on Steam!

I mostly used the third tier of mushroom and skipped a whole bunch of the others. Maybe there could be a second requirement for unlocking the rest, like harvesting the previous type 10 times or so? Just throwing around ideas, and I mean it as constructive feedback for an already well-polished entry!

My favorite was the mushroom that produces light, combined with the one that withers quickly in the dark. Being able to plant mushrooms inside the tree at the end was a cool surprise!

A really good entry! The visuals are lovely and give off a cozy vibe.
This could totally become a great idler game on Steam!

I mostly used the third tier of mushroom and skipped a whole bunch of the others.
Maybe there could be a second requirement for unlocking the rest, like harvesting the previous type 10 times or so?
Just throwing around ideas, and I mean it as constructive feedback for an already well-polished entry!

My favorite was the mushroom that produces light, combined with the one that withers quickly in the dark.

Being able to plant mushrooms inside the tree at the end was a cool surprise!

I liked it overall! The story element was nice. Unfortunately, I got stuck at some point. I stopped receiving any resources.

I'm also not quite sure what the big flowers in the fields do. I wanted to play more, but after three attempts, the outcome was more or less the same each time.

I loved the music! Did you make it yourself? Where can I find it?

I liked it overall! The story element was nice. Unfortunately, I got stuck at some point. I stopped receiving any resources.

I'm also not quite sure what the big flowers in the fields do. I wanted to play more, but after three attempts, the outcome was more or less the same each time.

I loved the music! Did you make it yourself? Where can I find it?

I also liked the opening animation — very charming! 

It’s impressive how much world you’ve built, though I did feel like moving between areas took a bit too long.

I played until I was harvesting multiple different crops!

I feel like there’s something I’m missing.  In one area, there are a lot of portals, but most of them just bring you back to the farming area. I’m guessing you’re supposed to try them all and maybe find a secret or hidden place?

Is there some kind of endgame or special location to discover? (edit: Just read the description. Turns out I missed crafting the fire wand!)

I really respect the effort you put into this!

I also liked the opening animation — very charming! 

It’s impressive how much world you’ve built, though I did feel like moving between areas took a bit too long.

I played until I was harvesting multiple different crops!

I feel like there’s something I’m missing.  In one area, there are a lot of portals, but most of them just bring you back to the farming area. I’m guessing you’re supposed to try them all and maybe find a secret or hidden place?

Is there some kind of endgame or special location to discover?  (edit: Just read the description. Turns out I missed crafting the fire wand!)

I really respect the effort you put into this!

I saw some other projects on discord that didn’t get finished or submitted, so I really respect that you still pushed through and uploaded yours!

I saw some other projects on discord that didn’t get finished or submitted, so I really respect that you still pushed through and uploaded yours!

I know it's a prototype, but was there any way to plant a seed? Sometimes when I was dashing around on the left side of the screen, a prompt or something popped up, but I couldn't make out what it said.

I think it's an interesting concept that's definitely worth exploring!

I know it's a prototype, but was there any way to plant a seed?
Sometimes when I was dashing around on the left side of the screen, a prompt or something popped up, but I couldn't make out what it said.

I think it's an interesting concept that's definitely worth exploring!

I liked the tutorial! It was really charming. The tool mechanics were pretty cool, especially the axe. Swinging the mouse instead of clicking was a nice idea!

Overall, I think the pacing was a bit slow. There were quite a few moments when I was just standing around and waiting. I played for a bit and sold each product twice.

I liked the tutorial! It was really charming. The tool mechanics were pretty cool, especially the axe. Swinging the mouse instead of clicking was a nice idea!

Overall, I think the pacing was a bit slow. There were quite a few moments when I was just standing around and waiting.
I played for a bit and sold each product twice.

I think it’s super cool! It has that Overcooked feeling, where you have to fulfill orders as quickly as possible.

Was that the inspiration, maybe? I think there's potential for further development! It could be a really fun and stressful (in a good way) multiplayer game.

The crops wither a bit too fast in my opinion. Though maybe it would be too easy otherwise.

I only needed one attempt to understand everything, and by the second round, I was already starting to strategize, which is a good sign, I think!

I think it’s super cool! It has that Overcooked feeling, where you have to fulfill orders as quickly as possible.

Was that the inspiration, maybe? I think there's potential for further development! It could be a really fun and stressful (in a good way) multiplayer game.

The crops wither a bit too fast in my opinion. Though maybe it would be too easy otherwise.

I only needed one attempt to understand everything, and by the second round, I was already starting to strategize, which is a good sign, I think!

I like the cute visuals! I was kind of hoping for a little interaction with the jumpy slime. :)

I accidentally set my farm on fire twice (after that, I stopped pressing A)!

I know the key prompts are there in some way, but a short instruction would have helped. I realized way too late that you can skip the night by sleeping in the bed - I thought it was some kind of shipping box, like in Stardew Valley! Eventually I noticed you can sell your crops at the shop.

And as I’m writing this… I just realized the world changes over time? So there are seasons, apparently. That’s cool!

I played up to the point where I had a full field of carrots!

I like the cute visuals! I was kind of hoping for a little interaction with the jumpy slime. :)

I accidentally set my farm on fire twice (after that, I stopped pressing A)!

I know the key prompts are there in some way, but a short instruction would have helped. I realized way too late that you can skip the night by sleeping in the bed - I thought it was some kind of shipping box, like in Stardew Valley! Eventually I noticed you can sell your crops at the shop.

And as I’m writing this… I just realized the world changes over time? So there are seasons, apparently. That’s cool!

I played up to the point where I had a full field of carrots!

I needed a few attempts to get the hang of it!
I like the idea and theme. It's really cute, together with the art and music! 😊

Unfortunately, I got a bit stuck because I ran out of inventory space.
That means I can't use the shovel anymore (there’s no room for the dirt).

I needed a few attempts to get the hang of it!
I like the idea and theme. It's really cute, together with the art and music! 😊

Unfortunately, I got a bit stuck because I ran out of inventory space.
That means I can't use the shovel anymore (there’s no room for the dirt).

I like the minimalistic style and how everything happens on one screen. Feels clean and focused. I do wish I could play the game in fullscreen, though!

I tried to beat the game, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy the fifth house. After saving and reloading, all houses became available for purchase again. When I clicked on one of them, I got this error:

ERROR in action number 1 of  Step Event0 for object Control_Obj: Variable <unknown_object>.houses_rebuilt(100022, -2147483648) not set before reading it. at gml_Object_Control_Obj_Step_0 gml_Object_Control_Obj_Step_0 (line -1)

I like the minimalistic style and how everything happens on one screen. Feels clean and focused.
I do wish I could play the game in fullscreen, though!

I tried to beat the game, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy the fifth house.
After saving and reloading, all houses became available for purchase again.
When I clicked on one of them, I got this error:

ERROR in action number 1
of  Step Event0 for object Control_Obj:
Variable <unknown_object>.houses_rebuilt(100022, -2147483648) not set before reading it.
at gml_Object_Control_Obj_Step_0
gml_Object_Control_Obj_Step_0 (line -1)

Thank you so much! <3
Yeah, I wish I’d had more time to add sound effects and music to the different areas,  but if you make it to the end, there’s a little track waiting for you. 🎵

Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

You can gift the purple dryad lavender as well. Just plant the seed and let it grow.

Once it’s ready, harvest it and combine it with one of the crops you’ve gathered earlier. Simply place it on the ground, then activate it with the other (left click) and see what happens.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

You can gift the purple dryad lavender as well. Just plant the seed and let it grow.

Once it’s ready, harvest it and combine it with one of the crops you’ve gathered earlier.
Simply place it on the ground, then activate it with the other (left click) and see what happens.

Check the project page for a link to a youtube video. It's just a short "movie". The .exe isn't really different. Enjoy!

He's super cool!!