Hand-drawn story-driven adventure game Vivarium announced
Help grow the giant tree in the center of the terrarium.
A currently unnamed studio that consists of creator Michael Nowak and collaborator Trent Garlipp (A Walk With Yiayia) has announced Vivarium, a hand-drawn story-driven adventure game inspired by Love-de-Lic cult classics Chulip and moon, as well as slice-of-life adventure games like Boku No Natsuyasumi, with visuals and audio inspired by 1974 to early 1980s anime and manga. Platforms and a release date were not announced.
Here is an overview of the game, via the developers:
About
Vivarium is a story-driven adventure game set in the world of a terrarium!
Key Features
- Gameplay focused on exploration and character storylines—expanding on the RPG town concept from games like Stardew Valley.
- Hand-drawn cel-animation graphics inspired by classic anime—akin to Cuphead‘s take on 1930s cartoons.
Story
Jenny lives in a quaint ranch house by herself in the whimsical world of Vivarium.
…However, not all is as it seems in the terrarium.
Objective
Jenny finds the giant tree in the center of the terrarium has died—throwing off the balance of the world in Vivarium.
However, a new sprout has taken root in its place.
As Jenny helps characters, solves puzzles, and grows in her experiences, the tree sprout grows in size.
Characters
- “Yulia” the talking Slavic Dog hermit
- “Rishi” and “Gunter,” the local shopkeepers
- …and more to meet in the world of Vivarium
Game Loop
- Explore – Gain access to new locations and characters.
- Find Quests – Take on quests and mysteries in the terrarium.
- Solve – Solve puzzles with items, conversation, and ingenuity.
- Grow and Repeat – Gain experience with your actions, causing the sprout to grow.
World
Explore a dense, hand-painted world in Vivarium—filled with scenery, nooks, and secrets to discover.
Art Style
Our style is inspired by classic animation, especially from 70s to 80s Japan.
Vivarium features a totally hand-drawn traditional cel-animation process—reflective of the media it’s inspired by. Every frame of the game is hand-crafted with love!
Vivarium‘s environments are rendered in rich, thickly saturated gouache painting. Every area features its own original art assets and highly detailed painted backdrop.
Vivarium uses subtle post-processing, lighting, and color grading to achieve a retro-cinematic aesthetic. Hand-placed dynamic day-night cycle lighting. Grain, lens focus-blur, and a cel drop-shadow are all applied in-engine. These effects replicate the look of traditional animation photographed and printed on film.
Watch the announcement trailer below.