THE world may not be a nice, happy place for a lot of people at the moment – but a Melbourne-based games studio has created something to help brighten things up for gamers all the same.
Wylde Flowers, developed by Melbourne-based Studio Drydock and published by Apple via Apple Arcade for iOS devices, may be just the gaming experience a lot of people are looking for right now.
Described as a “cozy, magical life game”, Wylde Flowers casts the player as Tara Wylde, an early 20s woman who has returned to her childhood home on the island of Fairhaven to help her aging grandmother (“Gramma”) manage the farm.
Gameplay wise, it draws from titles such as Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, but the magical twist on things and lovingly crafted world full of engaging characters and activities.
Tara spends her days farming, crafting, trading and becoming part of the very diverse (in pretty much every sense of the word) community on the island of Fairhaven. Adding to the experience – it turns out Tara is a witch (the 1990s Sabrina kind, not the dark-and-gritty reboot kind) and, after discovering this, is learning how to use her powers.
Despite being about as far from the target audience for this game as it’s possible to get, I still absolutely loved it. It’s such a nice, warm, inviting experience and when combined with the lovely artwork and the absolutely incredible voice acting work is really something special.
The voice acting in Wylde Flowers is, without a doubt, the absolute best I have ever encountered in a mobile game. It’s not just good, you can actually feel the character’s emotions and personalities coming through; whether it’s Tara’s nervous enthusiasm or Kai the surfer dude’s laid back chilled vibes or Amira the town doctor’s caring yet stern concern for the islander’s wellbeing.
Backing up the incredible voice work is a pitch-perfect soundtrack that perfectly creates the idyllic atmosphere the game is going for.
The game has a great mix of things to do and all the systems integrate well together without feeling grindy or shoehorned in. Tending to your crops basically means watering them once every couple of (in-game) days – just the right amount of interaction to feel involved, but not like actual work or grind, and the construction chains are logical – iron ore can be smelted into ingots which can be used to create better tools, sold for money, etc. You can also bake food from the ingredients you grow or buy, and sell the results or give them to other islanders as gifts.
There are about 30 characters in the game to interact with, and they all have their own stories which are revealed through conversation and helping them out with tasks. There are also romantic options, regardless of what orientation you want Tara to have, as well as the option to keep things strictly platonic as well.
It really is a delightful experience, quite unlike anything else I’ve played, and made even more remarkable because it’s a mobile game.
I spoke with Studio Drydock founder and game creative director Amanda Schofield about the game’s development, starting with what a “Cozy Game” actually is.
“In layperson’s terms, it’s a non-violent game where you feel safe,” she said.
“Cozy games are often about creativity and self-expression, which is not necessarily at the forefront of other games.
“I think there’s a place for all sorts of games, but I think this [cozy games] is a new space that’s developing and growing – it’s so needed.
“Our game is trying to step forward in the space – cozy doesn’t necessarily mean simple, cozy doesn’t necessarily mean small.”
And small Wylde Flowers most certainly is not – Ms Schofield said the game had 19 hours of recorded dialogue and a 205,000 word script; a complete playthrough would take most first-time players about 40-60 hours to complete, depending on their playstyle.
Despite the size of the game, it’s still incredibly accessible, either for a short play or a longer session.
“Each day is only seven minutes long – so you can play in a bite-size chunk and still feel like you’ve made progress,” Ms Schofield said.
Speaking from my own experience with the game, this is completely true – you can get quite a bit done in an in-game day, and the seven minute length of those days means that even if you’re on the bus/train or in a waiting room or something, you can jump in, do a few things, feel like you’ve gotten somewhere, and come out straight away.
The autosave system is brilliant too; you can jump out at any time (say, when your real-life family needs your attention) and when you come back to the game later, it’ll be exactly where you left it – no check points etc involved.
Ms Schofield built on her experiences developing The Sims Freeplay to bring a similar welcoming, safe, but engaging mobile game experience to life in Wylde Flowers.
“What we learned is The Sims is a game about self-expression and your own creativity – But that that doesn’t mean people don’t want to engage with a hand-crafted story,” she said.
“It really got me thinking about what other life simulation games out there have a bit of simulation in them.”
Ms Schofield said one of the game’s major themes was young female empowerment – Tara is, quite literally powerful – but they still wanted to deal with some real-world issues too, and magic allowed for that.
“We wanted to have scenes of discrimination, but we’re still a cozy game so wanted to have a way people could deal with that,” she said.
The Fairhaven coven are essentially outsiders in the picture-perfect world, and the challenges they face are intended to be a relatable but non-confronting metaphor for some of the experiences players may have experienced in their own lives.
Wylde Flowers has been in development for more than three years and although Drydock is headquartered in Melbourne, it draws talent from across the world.
“We like to tell people we were remote before it was cool,” Ms Schofield said.
“We’ve been able to big this big, beautiful story with an ensemble cast of voice actors who can bring it to life.”
Wylde Flowers has been released on Apple Arcade ahead of a PC and console launch later this year, and Ms Schofield said Apple had been absolutely instrumental in bringing the game to life.
“I honestly don’t think it would be the game it would be today without Apple… It’s why it has that incredible voice acting, it’s why the art is so high fidelity,” she said.
Wylde Flowers really is something special and unique. It’s welcoming, it’s inclusive, it’s engaging, and it’s highly recommended for anyone looking for a bit of sunshine in their gaming world.
