Inspiration

I’ve always enjoyed games with a repetitive yet deep gameplay loop, titles where the mechanics themselves are not overly complicated but complement each other in a way that makes their interactions engaging. Farming games often rely on predictable gameplay, and that’s not a flaw. Many players appreciate this kind of experience. However, to keep the player interested over a long period of time, the game should offer enough mechanics that naturally reinforce and expand each other.

Ideas

Originally, the game had a fairly simple story and gameplay. The narrative will unfold through the descriptions of plants and items. In short, these entries will contain the memories of the main character. For now, the goal of the game is to unlock new areas of the farm, discover new plants, and gradually build the farm of our dreams. However, the game also has an “ending”: growing the flower a mythical bloom said to grant any wish. But when we finally grow it, we can only place it on the grave of our ancestor.

And the farm will continue to live on, because nature by its essence is eternal and cyclical. That is why the game is called Everlive Garden.

What it does

Players can look forward to:

Planting flowers, vegetables, and a variety of other crops
Tending a garden full of empty beds waiting to be planted, watered, and cared for
Combining different seeds to create new, unique flower species
Completing various orders and requests

How I built it

The game was created using Unreal Engine 5.6 (Meta fork). I also created models and textures in Blender. Few models were taken from Fab, and all required licenses are included. Creators who shared their models under CC-BY will be acknowledged in the Credits section of the start location. Thank you so much!

Challenges were ran into

Thanks to the Meta plugin, developing for VR became significantly easier. However, I still faced several challenges, such as creating 3D models and rewriting parts of the logic after adopting new ideas. Optimization prior to submission also proved to be a hurdle, but this is an area I plan to refine in future updates

Accomplishments that we're proud of

As a beginner in VR development, I started by mastering vector math, and then moved on to understanding the core principles behind creating a farming game.