Sapling is my first completed game project.

The idea came to me when Ceres Fauna announced her retirement. I wanted to create something that her fans could look at and remember how precious and full of heart the Sapling community was—and still is.

The game is a standard virtual pet game. The Sapling is the main character, and you need to take care of it through different seasons and weather conditions. It also has basic needs like eating, drinking, and playing.

My original idea was to make an idle game. You can check in from time to time and take care of your Sapling. However, this created a problem for players who wanted to play more often since there wasn’t much else to do. To fix this, I added a few simple minigames, each with a scoring system so players can try to beat their high scores!

At the beginning, the game might feel a bit slow because the Sapling starts as just a tiny sprout. I wanted players to feel excited about watching it grow—watering it and making sure it has enough light at night.

After a couple of days, the sprout grows into a Sapling, and from that point, the player can interact with it more. If enough time passes and its needs are met, it will grow again—becoming either a flower or a tree. This makes the game more long-term, as players might want to plant new seeds and see how they grow.

This game was made by just one person with no experience in game development. I know it lacks content, polish, and has simple artwork. But with limited time and resources, I feel like I achieved what I set out to do.

I truly appreciate everyone who took the time to play it despite its flaws. I hope you can feel the message behind the game: If you do what you love, you will enjoy the journey toward your goals. And when you look back, you can be proud of all the love and effort you put into it.