# ‘Planted!’ Game Dev Ben Cawthorne On Digging Up Chaos In A Competitive Gardening Game

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/planted-game-dev-ben-cawthorne-on-digging-up-chaos-in-a-competitive-gardening-game/
- Published: 2026-11-01T16:31:53+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-01T17:24:35+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/11/planted-video-game-interview-ben-cawthorne-1237210860/
- Topics: Film

## Key points

- *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.

## Summary

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.

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