<aside>
Designer’s Note: This one is more unfinished than usual. It still needs the table at the bottom filled out, but I ran out of time (and steam).
</aside>
A chaotic solo journaling game about time management, writing bad poetry, and the imagined tranquility of farming.
<aside>
Designer’s Note: This game comes off a little… mean. To be fair, it is intentionally critical of the elitist romanticization of owning a farm that works like Stardew Valley hinge upon (and which you do occasionally see people espouse in the real world).
But I do think that there are genuinely meditative and positive things that come from gardening and time spent in nature. Still, on the other hand, I believe that labor is labor and any labor under late-stage capitalism will nearly always come with conditions that are meant to stifle and overwork you. I also think art is hard to make in the midst of demanding work, but worth attempting despite the constraints. Meanwhile, it’s hard to cut yourself slack when work is too much on its own; the productivity mindset is very hard to escape.
The thematic implications of the mechanics in this game are way muddier than I’d like, but there are kernels of my real feelings about these topics; I hope some of it comes through.
</aside>
<aside>
With the shortages nowadays, just about anyone can qualify. The pay is… Well it’s pretty crap, but at least it comes with a place to live. Certainly no lack of open space, and all that. Folks say it’s tough work but what isn’t?
And you know what? You’re going to enjoy this work, god damnit. Ever since you got out of that nightmare corporate office job, you’ve been itching to do some real, meditative labor. To touch soil and feel breezes, to watch animals and compose poems in your head all day. No more back to back meetings, no more endless email exchanges, no more soul-sucking days spent getting irradiated by fluorescent glare at a featureless desk.
So what if this farming gig is “fast-paced” and “highly-engaging” work? They say that on every job listing these days just to make it seem remotely interesting. There’s no way this could be anything but relaxing compared to what you’ve been through.
</aside>
To play this game, you’ll need to plant crops, give them time to grow, and then harvest them at the appropriate time.
To do this, you’ll need to be able to quickly create timed alarms on your phone or computer, ideally with two different sounds. There will be overarching timers for the seasons, as well as individual harvest timers for each plant that you place. Each plant will list a number of minutes for which the timer will be set (if this sounds like a nightmare to you: yes).
<aside>
The reams of instruction manuals that you were given are alarmingly intense, filled with dire warnings about lethal dangers in the alien ecosystem and even more dire warnings about wage reductions resulting from underperformance.
But it’s all your typical bluster. You’re not going to let them get to you. Alien or not, this out here is nature, and you’re ready to get so goddamn folksy and artsy and one-with-yourself out here. It’s time to be in the world again. It’s time to get fucking contemplative. It’s time to start thinking poetic thoughts.
</aside>
These days they’ve got agriculture down to a precise science. The alien atmosphere on Pastoria—the remote planet where you’ll be stationed—produces extreme and unfamiliar weather, but the agricultural subsidy programs have prepared you. They’ve provided a careful selection of seeds that are designed to thrive in Pastoria’s environment, provided you plant and harvest them in the appropriate seasons.
Each plant takes a number of days to mature once it’s been planted. You’ll start off with a small plot to get the hang of things. Play will take place over the course of the first year (and the following week or two) on your new farm. Your task is to try to plant and harvest all of your available seeds once so you can get the hang of them. You’ll start in the season of 🌫️ Graylurk and end in the first couple weeks of 🌫️ Graylurk of the following year, harvesting the last few crops that you planted.
The year will progress in seasons, with each season taking 7 weeks (7 minutes). If you’re able to, give your season timer a different alarm sound.
When the season alarm goes off, the seasons change. Look at all your currently planted crops and remove any that are no longer within their growing season. These crops are lost; make a separate pile for lost crops.
The seasons on Pastoria are as follows: