[Industry news] Treeplanter is out now on Steam & for every copy sold, one real tree gets planted

This is a press release posted in addition to our usual editorial content.

ICYMI Indie developer / sixth-generation farmer Henry Driver and publisher Future Friends Games (SUMMERHOUSE, Tiny Aquarium and Gourdlets) launched the interactive woodland toybox game Treeplanter on Steam, where for every copy sold, Henry will personally plant a tree on farms and schools!

The game has launched as part of the Earth Appreciation Festival on Steam and is available in bundles with Terra Nil (Free Lives/Devolver), Little Corners (Weekend Games) and SUMMERHOUSE (Friedemann/Future Friends Games).

About the game:

Welcome to Treeplanter, an interactive woodland that changes with the seasons. Piece together a small grove of trees. Watch as their roots blossom under the soil. Based on what you place and build, an ecosystem of animals, plants and birds will move in, turning your creation into their home!

Treeplanter is created by digital artist Henry Driver, previously known for Secrets of the Soil (‘A Spectacular Underground Cosmos’ – Vice). Each copy of the game sold helps Henry plant trees, wildflowers, meadows and community orchards through partnerships with schools, farms, communities and woodland charities. This means you’ll help restore real-life nature, too!! During development, Henry planted 1000 trees on farms and schools in Suffolk. Our first goal is to plant 10,000 trees, can you help us get there? If we do, we’ll be planting millions of wild flowers to celebrate and move on to planning our next planting goal!

Combining meditation and education, Treeplanter aims to teach players about the interconnected wonders of the natural world, above and below ground.

Features:

• A soothing interactive toybox for fans of games like Summerhouse and Tiny Glade!
• Piece together woodland with a playful LEGO-like design!
• Procedural creatures turn your grove into a living landscape!
• Watch the woodland change throughout the different seasons!
• Learn about the natural world above and below!

Background

The Treeplanter prototype was co-created with a small team of rural young people, aged 18-20, they created the majority of the art, visual effects and also did cool things like the fungi and root growing systems! They were paid and mentored thanks to funding from the Eastern Education Group, and were directed by me (Henry). Then we finished Treeplanter off with help from talented friends. Big thanks to everyone, especially Rianna Suen (lead code) and Halime Karaca (lead art).

The game has been playtested at a special educational needs and disabilities charity LEVEL, where it was presented in an immersive four 4K projector wraparound space. Audiences aged from 5 to 85 were invited to play and give feedback. There are plans underway to take Treeplanter to schools and libraries through an educational licence scheme.

About the developer:

Henry Driver is a sixth-generation farmer and digital artist creating video games (using solar energy) to connect players with nature and enable real-world change, including planting hundreds of trees every year on local farms and schools. Driver’s games have been exhibited in Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Sainsbury Centre and the Barbican, as well as other festivals and events worldwide. Previous commissions include BBC Arts, Science Gallery, ARM, and Red Bull.