Gardens of Kyresoo

Creating Moments of Beauty

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This project is currently dormant

To contact us, emal kyresoo@timedancer.com

 

The Gardens of Kyresoo is massively multi-player gardening game, or perhaps more accurately a pastime. The game objective is to “create moments of beauty” by breeding flowers and laying them out in formal gardens. It is a cooperative game, in which you display your flowers to fellow gardeners, and freely exchange seeds to increase the overall beauty of the world.

The world of Kyresoo is quite alien, but the biology of the plants closely mimics those of Earth. This gives the flowers you grow an alien but strangely familiar appearance.

Gameplay in Kyresoo is intended to be slow paced, non addictive and cooperative. More like puttering around in your garden than battling monsters. Gardens of Kyresoo is quite different from most online games out there. Some of the differences are:

  • The game objective is to create “moments of beauty” rather than “moments of destruction”
  • Cooperative rather than competitive play
  • Relaxed, slow paced non-addictive gameplay you can take a break from at any time.
  • Minimal reliance on a central server. Players host their own gardens in the world.
  • Free to play, but with added status from becoming a financial supporter of the world.

When can I play Gardens of Kyresoo?

The Gardens of Kyresoo is currently in development. A technology demonstration of the flower breeding portion of the game is available. The "world" aspects of the game, planting and viewing gardens, travel, social communication etc. are yet to be coded. The Tech Demo release covers the most difficult part to the game, breeding flowers and engineering novel gene combinations. So be aware this Demo is throwing you in at the deep end. The later phases of the game, touring gardens, picking ready made seeds, and planting your own garden, will be much more accessible.

For more background on the game click the FAQ link at the top of this page. If you are interested in growing digital flowers, click the DEMO link. The main game documentation can be found on our FORUMS, where you can also post your feedback and questions. The IMAGES link leads to a couple of screenshots of the Demo flower growing trays, with some comments on their function.

Windows, Mac and Linux

The Demo code and data is currently available in an easy to install package for Windows. Code and data files are also available for the Mac and Linux. These have not yet been tested on those platforms, so will require some technical expertise to install. The game is written in the Java programming language, so should be runnable on all three platforms. See the System Requirements page, referenced on the DEMO page above, for more on running on the Mac and Linux.