File this under “very cool.”
Independent video game developer Flying Robot Studios, based in India, released their tea farm and factory management game, Two Leaves and a Bud, on April 14th on Steam.
The tea garden simulator game brings the real-world farming and processing techniques into a fun-filled and challenging gameplay, taking a combination of understanding the age-old craft of tea production and managing the business operations.
The Two Leaves and a Bud simulator was made with consultation and partnership with the Chengmari Tea Estate.
The game was launched on Steam under “Early Access,” and it will remain in that category for a year, approximately. During this time, more equipment, weather, tea farming and processing techniques of different cultures will be added to the game by the developers.
The current “Early Access” version of the game provides players with five different farms and eight types of factory equipment to choose from.
Some of the noteworthy features include:
- The ability to produce different types of tea – Green, Oolong, Black, White, Matcha, CTC.
- Choose from a clone bank of different tea varieties, each with its own pros and cons. Use research to make new tea clones with desired qualities.
- Analyze the terroir, soil and treat your land to produce the desired result.
- Organize work schedules and progress through the game day by day.
- Time of the year: There’s a dynamic weather system reflecting the unpredictability of real-world climate.
- Protect your tea plants through specific treatments depending on the type of pest and disease.
- Prune or pluck your tea. Choose specific types of leaves to pluck for different teas.
Craft Your Tea
Players can also craft their tea in a factory through the game's four tea-making processes: Withering, Rolling, Oxidation and Fixing. Each type of tea needs to be crafted in a certain way to achieve the best results, so players will have to learn and master each one.
According to the game’s developers, the simulation engine is based on real-world tea chemistry with expert consultation from Chengmari Tea Gardens.
Flying Robot Studios is an award-winning game development studio based in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 2012 by Satyajit Chakraborty, a video games industry veteran. The company has clients like Missing Link Trust, The University of Helsinki and Jhpiego (John Hopkins University Affiliate). They’ve also won several awards, including Nasscom Game of the Year in 2016 and World Summits Awards 2019.
To learn more, visit TwoLeavesandBud.com.