The Garden Path Launches Kickstarter Campaign

At E3’s Wholesome Direct, I caught a glimpse of The Garden Path, a new game being developed by Louis Durrant (AKA carrotcake). He is a solo developer and illustrator, making a game entirely around gardening, building a safe space, and making new friends. Now it seems that Durrant has begun the Kickstarter campaign for The Garden Path, with a playable demo on itch.io as well.

The Garden Path is planned to release later this year, on PC and potentially consoles as well. While there are no stretch goals as of yet, with only $4,666 pledged out of his goal of $27,417 (converted from British Pounds to USD), but he is making progress with 29 days left. If you haven’t heard about The Garden Path yet, here is what the press release has to say about it.

“Featured on Wholesome Direct’s E3 showcase, The Garden Path is a game about the joys of gardening, the comfort of building a safe place, and the butterflies you get from making new friends. It’s a life sim that celebrates the tranquil and the pensive, the quiet moments of a life well-lived, where your garden will grow to reflect both the passing of time and your own design. Time here runs in concert with the real world, and the passing of seasons heralds new encounters and a new story to weave.

Curate, craft, and grow the garden, go fishing for a big catch, make copious amounts of tea, and hang out with your new vegetable and animal-headed friends. Built to be played as and when you wish, the garden will present new encounters, stories to weave, and distractions each time you play. Of course, you may also like to check back in to see how your flowers have grown!”

Currently, the game is being developed by carrotcake, and as a result, is taking a bit of time. However, the developer has stated that he intends to finish the game regardless of whether the Kickstarter is a success. The Kickstarter’s purpose is to allow him to hire some collaborators, bring the game to more platforms, and ensure a healthy work-life balance for everyone involved.

I’m very excited to see how the campaign shakes out, and I hope it goes well for him. The game looks very beautiful, and I think we could all use some cozy, hand-drawn gardening gameplay from time to time.