Devlog Day 7: Life at Pixel Farm

Game loop complete & more immersion

Hello fellow devs! 🌱 Today, I’m bringing you the latest update from my journey in developing “Life at Pixel Farm” for the GameDev․tv Game Jam. As a reminder, this is a casual VR game built with Unity and designed with a 2D aesthetic in line with the jam’s theme of “Life in 2 Dimensions”. Now, let’s dive into the exciting progress I made during Day 7 🌱

Live Stream Recap 🎥

To kick off the day, I hosted another live stream where I tackled several tasks related to improving gameplay mechanics. If you missed it, don’t worry - you can still catch the recording. And while you’re there, make sure to subscribe so you’ll be notified when I go live again (probably Monday around 10:00 PM CET).

YouTube

Growing Plants and Adding Challenge 🌻

My main goal for today was to finish implementing the growth of plants according to their data. With some tweaking here and there, I managed to get it working smoothly. However, I didn’t stop there - I also started working on a feature where plants die if the player doesn’t harvest them within two days.

To further increase the challenge and engagement for players, I made it so plants will die off and lose their value if they don’t receive water. Now the player has to water their plants every two days as well.

Soil Degradation and Maintenance 🌧️

Another realistic touch I added was soil degradation over time. The ground dries out gradually, requiring players to water their plants again. If they neglect this task, the dirt turns back into grass, and the plant dies.

Sounds for Immersion 🔊

To enhance the overall gameplay experience, I searched for some CC0 sounds online and added distinct sounds for tilling, watering, planting, and harvesting. I even included a sound for using the rake! Time permitting, I might add a feature where weeds have a chance to grow through crops each day – requiring players to use their rake to remove them.

Day-Night Cycle Sounds 🐦🦗

Lastly, I wanted to make the day-night cycle more immersive by incorporating ambient sounds. After editing bird and cricket sounds to create seamless loops, I programmed them into the day-night cycle. Now players will hear birds during daylight hours and crickets at night.

And that wraps up Day 6 of my devlog for “Life at Pixel Farm”! Stay tuned for more updates as we continue building this unique VR experience together. Also, make sure to follow the Itch.io page of the game.

Happy coding! 🚀