‘Planted!’ Game Dev Ben Cawthorne On Digging Up Chaos In A Competitive Gardening Game
Cloth Cat Games’ *Planted!* turns gardening into a competitive multiplayer game where players grow crops, then use them to defend their patches or disrupt rivals. Creative producer Ben Cawthorne says the idea grew from the studio’s interest in local, couch-based multiplayer and a question: what would gardening look like as a competition? The contrast between a calm activity and chaotic combat gives the game its deliberately silly tone.
Players claim plots by digging, and the game tracks soil water and nearby sources; crops grow at different rates, some need more water, and fertiliser can make them bigger. The initial prototype worked for four local players, and the team later tackled the technical challenge of adding online play. Cawthorne says these gardening basics help ground the absurdity of throwing vegetables at opponents.
In short
- *Planted!* makes gardening a competitive multiplayer game.
- Players grow crops, then use them to disrupt rivals.
- The game began as a four-player local prototype.
Explained simply
Gardening games usually focus on planting, tending and harvesting crops, often at a relaxed pace. *Planted!* takes those familiar tasks and makes them part of a contest between players sharing a garden.
Players dig to claim plots and grow crops, with different plants needing different amounts of time and water. They can use what they grow to protect their patch or interfere with rivals, combining ordinary gardening choices with playful competition.
The game was developed by Cloth Cat Games, whose creative producer Ben Cawthorne says the idea came from the studio’s interest in local multiplayer. The contrast between a peaceful pastime and chaotic play helps explain the game’s comic tone.