''Forever Growing Garden'' is an educational video game developed by
Communication Wave
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
and published by
Media Vision in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
. The game has a simple interface for easy seeding, watering and growing of plants in three locations. The game is programmed so that the growing process can continuously occur even when the computer is off. A French version of the game was also released with the title "Le Jardin Enchanté".
Gameplay
The player does botany in the game first by going to a gardening shop to get some seeds. Some of the plants in the game are entirely fictional, but fun to grow. Each seed type can be planted in an open hole in the ground, then watered with a watering can. The player may choose the time settings for plants to grow, from realistic timing (1 day per growing stage) to very fast timing (1 second per growing stage). Plants can also be removed with the trowel tool. There is also a minigame to catch a gopher and avoid the skunk. Finally, the player can save the garden and create a new one at any time.
There are three scenes where the player can grow plants. The first scene is a Suburban Home, where flowers can be grown. When they are fully bloomed, they can be cut with the shears tool and taken to the Flower Shop to be neatly arranged in a jar. The second scene is a Farming Field, where vegetables and a few flowers can be grown. When the vegetables are ripe, they can be harvested and taken to the Market to be weighed and sold. The third scene is a Medieval Castle, where flower rows and bushes can be grown. When the bushes are fully grown, they can be cut into interesting shapes with the shears tool.
Availability
*"Forever Growing Garden" was released on a compilation CD along with "Always Arthur", "Who Wants Arthur", and "Buster's First Thunderstorm".
Reception
In April 1994, ''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' said that "this garden simulator will provide much soil-spading fun".
References
External links
*{{moby game, id=/forever-growing-garden
Growing your Garden on a Computer Disk - NY Times
1993 video games
1993 software
Windows games
Classic Mac OS games
Educational video games
Video games about plants
Video games developed in the United States
Single-player video games
Children's educational video games