Blueberry Garden is a forthcoming indie release from Erik Svedäng that looks like ... well, I'm not entirely sure. A surreal, super-minimalist Viva Piñata, perhaps? Your guess is as good as mine. I'm totally mystified, and I kinda like it. There's a bit more information over at the creator's blog (plus info on his other games), including a short story from Blueberry Garden involving party hats, birds, blueberries, and starving party hats. Poor little party hats. My interest is piqued and I'm waiting to find out more.
Weird Preview of the Weekend: Blueberry Garden
6:00 PM on Sat Mar 8 2008
By Maggie Greene
5,028 views
58 comments


















Comments
It's obviously a game that's got alot to do with Blueberries...
crack?
More and more independent developers are "breaking" the mold by making games look like short animated films that no one sees but yet somehow manage to get nominated at the Oscars which no body watches.
@sisedi: That made me "lol".
Thanks for pointing our attention to this neat little game, Maggie.
@Nisori: ;)
Party hats! Are there 16 of them?
I love what appears to be the creatures mating.
So that's how baby party hats are made. I always wanted to know but was too afraid to ask.
Me likes the music. Me no likey the Blueberrys. They not blue!
I love the direction that games are going...
Just because something breaks the mold doesn't necessarily make it a good game, but its important to be constantly pushing those boundaries. You aren't going to do something thats both innovative and commercially successful the first time around, it takes a lot of trial and error thats why companies tend to just rehash what has proved successful, but if you never try for something new then eventually everything becomes stagnant. From the looks of it this game could prove very interesting, and I'd like to give it a try.
@sisedi: I was reminded the same way, hehe.
Great little preview nonetheless.
If anyone else enjoyed the music as much as I did, it's here:
[www.jamendo.com]
as a free download. The artist goes by daduk.
I'm amazed at how that preview has piqued my interest more than any game in recent history. controllable art. incredible
@Atheist Jew: thanks for the link
@Atheist Jew: Shalom, you're a mench!
@sisedi:
Actually, I think they're creating a new mold. The graphics of this game don't seem that original to me. I'm more excited about how it seems to have mixed a physics engine with plant growth. BTW, the first developer to create an engine that incorporates realistic physics and chemistry will be like a god to me.
If the game keeps that music in it then that is almost reason enough for me to buy it.
@gamadaya: Realistic chemsitry, eh? So when stuff spills on the floor it actually has chemical properties, molarity, etc and can then react with other things that spill uponst it or if it's a corrosive solution it can start eating away at the set pieces...interesting.
The art style is so cute, reminds me a lot of some of the character-themed stationary that I impulsively buy and seldom use. Very charming.
@Atheist Jew: Thank you very much for the link! Reminded me a lot of some of Yann Tiersen's stuff.
I laughed when the baby appeared after a round of kissing. Still have no idea what this is about, though.
What's with the new video player format?
That was oddly relaxing.
That was pretty freaking incredible
That's it, I'm gonna go make a game about random things strung together and call it a work of art.
That was really neat. I too love the direction that games are going. There seems to be a real avante garde uprising in the last couple of years. I think it's mainly due to the surge of downloadable games. Small developers can throw their hat into the ring with really wonderful looking stuff. Here's hoping the game is as fun as the visuals.
@Atheist Jew:
Thanks for the link!!!
@epherlite:
Definitely sounds like Yann Tiersen's stuff.
@Atheist Jew:
BTW, how did you find out about him?
@Atheist Jew: Yay, the music was great. That clip was utterly bemusing though. Interesting at the same time, I'm keeping an eye on this one.
It looks like a good game to relax... ;-)
@meandering_drivel: You're welcome!
@Lixie: You're welcome!
@epherlite: You're welcome!
@dead_red_eyes: You're welcome!
@MajorMcMuffin: You're welcome!
@dead_red_eyes: It's not like I knew about the guy and his music before the clip was posted. There's a link off the game dev's blog to the album. :D
So thats how babies are made.
Looks like fun count me in.
That thing rips Amelie just a bit....
That left me nothing but confused. How am I supposed to be excited about a game when I can't even imagine how the game will play? Oh, I forgot, when you're an indie dev you can show pretty much anything remotely resembling a game, add a tiny smidgen of stylization, and you've created art. Bravo Blueberry Garden.
@unmarkedone: :D LOL!
I keep wanting to sing "I found my thrill... on blueberry hill..."
It looks like a quirky and fun little game. :)
It's interesting that when a game is designed so self-consciously, it pulls you away from the fact it is a game with more effect and impetus than so many "immersing worlds".
It will be interesting to see how it balances challenge against its dream-like state.
It certainly looks and sounds amazing, but what are we actually supposed to do in the game?
Still, my interest, as they say, is piqued.
Looks interesting... something to do with physics it seems. And kissing. And poping up babies. And drugs... tons of them.
Hmm, I think I dig the idea, although it;s a bit hard to tell this early. That said, I kind of hate party hats ever since I miscounted to lose the red PS3.
Trippy. Could be interesting.
The art style is intriguing, but the trailer doesn't say much about gameplay, imo. A little clarification would be nice.
The hand-drawn stuff is always full of awesome...but it's almost becoming cliche' don't you think?
Almost.
Don't know what it is, but I'll take 3.
I see some very creative things being done. I also see a very boring or repetitive game.
@Atheist Jew: Great link man! I'm enjoying and downloading other albums as we speak.
Thanks :)
This is probably the first game i've seen that clearly defines "games as art". There are heaps of games with great art (wow where to start), but i don't think anybody viewing this would dispute it's inherent "artsy-ness" or that it is in fact a game.
Looks like a swede made up his own version of Yoshi's Island with a set of 256 berol colored pencils. I'm into that sort of thing.
did they just mate and pop out a child?
Excellent O.S.T., it loses points for looking like it should be on newgrounds.
Seems like video game art.
@sisedi: That's because they give awards to talent not popularity.
@Atheist Jew: Thanks for the link.
@Pornosaur:
i laughed. thank you for that.
@collusioned: what is that? is that a stick?! whats a stick doing up your ass.
OMG there's sex in this game! Didn't you see those party hats making out to see a baby party hat?
THESE THINGS CAN MULTIPLY IN SECONDS AND TAKE OVER THE WORLD!
Totally digging the art direction of this game. Definitely looking forward to seeing more.