Game Title
Flower Station

Developer Name
Shambling Mound Games

Short Promo Blurb
Keep your gas station open by servicing cars, but be careful or all of your flowers will die!

Full Description
Play as a gas station owner inspired by the beauty of flowers! Earn money to keep the lights on but be careful to take care of your flowers or else your Flower Station will close. Purchase upgrades to make it easier to stay open and eventually pass the torch to the next generation and retire.

Promo Image(s)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OqVxD3Mv_9Ws6p9N7DKdX_d5tCYW70N8?usp=sharing

Promo Video
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1msfS-GWDQI-bN6tJ1i5MjGhIWrqnWIi6?usp=sharing

Artistic Statement / Use of Theme(s)
This game incorporates the theme of the jam because it changes the way that a gas station is fundamentally run.

Normally, gas stations could care less about pollution, their goal is to make money by selling a resource that pollutes the earth. This game turns that idea over by directly linking the success of the gas station to the health of the flowers out front.

We need to be more concerned about nature in every aspect of our lives, especially in regards to consuming a non-renewable resource that directly impact climate change.

Development Summary
This was my first ever game that I created so there was a lot of ups and downs along the way to releasing the game. I think at first I had so many things I wanted to put into the game, some that did end up in. A lot of the ideas, however, didn't get implemented due to lack of experience and time constraints.

I was pleasantly surprised during the prototyping stage because at the end of it I had a game loop that was actually playable. Having never done this before, I was proud of what I could accomplish.

After the prototyping stage, however, I found it really difficult to put my actual art into the game. Somehow I broke the game when I put in the new assets because my project wasn't laid out properly. I definitely lost some time to getting everything working again with the new assets. I absolutely learned how to set up a prototype properly and won't make that mistake again.

When it comes down to it though, keeping in mind that it was just me that did everything, I felt comfortable trimming all the ideas down to their core. I made a complete game loop at the end of it and it was a great learning expirence.

Release Plan
I do not plan on working on this project any more. I think this was a great experience and I will carry what I learned from it onto other projects.

If I were to continue with this game, I think adding a tutorial round to highlight the things you can do in the game would help settle the confusion. I would also think about adding in electric charing stations and different types of cars that could come in. Each could do a different thing. Who knows, maybe I will get inspired after I learn more about game development and circle back to this project.