PLANTS EXPOSED: Plants in Videogames 1/5

We learned in high school that Biology is the branch of science which focuses on the study of living things, organisms that have...LIFE. The word "bio" actually came from the greek word bios which means "life"1. We were also introduced to the three(3) out of five(5)2 Life Kingdoms on earth namely: Kingdom Animalia, Kingdom Fungi and Kingdom Plantae. I think Kingdom Monera(Bacteria) was also mentioned in our biology class, but I can't seem to remember the details about it. Out of the three top kingdoms, Kingdom Plantae is said to have been the start of life on earth. From the existence of water and sunlight, algae was introduced and from these simple life forms, oxygen was manufactured and made available in our planet. Given the basic needs of animals: water and oxygen, animals emerged and thus started the introduction of more complex life forms on earth.

Since Plants from the Kingdom Plantae are given given high importance and is the primary source of life on earth, I intend to emphasize in this post, their significance and contribution to the existence of life on earth...to your existence, to my existence...to the existence of man. However, the post will have a twist. Instead of the usual formal complimentary style of writing, I will use a medium, specifically VIDEO-GAMES, as sources of information with which I plan to tell the world(like what other people do) that plants are living organisms too! Therefore, this post kicks-off, PLANTS EXPOSED: Plants in Videogames.

I used to be an avid(addict) gamer during my pre-teens, teens and early adult stage(and a normal gamer now), I have read and played a dozen or more games. I am not too old to have played with the Atari but is old enough to have played with Game&Watch and the Nintendo Family Computer. From the games I've played, I will try to share videogames exposing plants as part of the gameplay, a playable character or a supporting character in the game. I also ranked the games according to the significance of exposure, quantity of exposure and my gaming experience. Significance of exposure answers the question, "how important the plants were in the game?". Quantity of exposure, on the other hand, answers the question "how many times the plants were exposed?". Lastly, my gaming experience answers "how satisfied was I in playing the game when the "plants" were exposed?"


We can now start the Top Eight(8) Videogames with Plant Exposures!*

#8 Patapon

Sony Computer Entertainment America, 2008.

PSP

Patapon is one of the most unique games ever published in the gaming industry. The game boasts of its rhythm based gameplay where the player must follow a rhythmic pattern with which corresponding actions are undertaken by the playable characters. For example, by pressing CIRCLE,CIRCLE,SQUARE,CIRCLE...it orders your army to attack enemies if they are on sight. Pressing SQUARE,SQUARE,SQUARE,CIRCLE will tell your army to continue walking in their path. Surprisingly(hehehe), I haven't completed this game. Since with my experience, the game failed to keep me in playing the game with the very feature that made it one of the most innovative games produced for the PSP. Rhythm or Music games are just not my forte I guess. Patapon won several awards in 2008. It is one of Gamespot's "Best of 2008" winning the awards for "Best in Music" and "Most Innovative Game". IGN on the other hand, awarded the game with "Best Music/Rhythm Game", "Best Artistic Design", "Best Original Score" and "PSP Game of the Year". The game as of this date, has two sequels namely, Patapon 2 and, well...yes...Patapon 3.

So where are the plants? The Plant Exposures are actually the presence of a tree in "Pan Pakapon Mini Game" and that of the "Mater Tree"(and some minor appearances of sunflowers). In the mini-game, you will guide Pan in playing his trumpet, making sure that he is able to follow the "Bon-bon" song of a SINGING TREE. The Singing Tree is the first significant plant exposure in Patapon. The Tree has no name, but it sings, talks and has human feature such as eyes, nose and mouth! And during the course of the mini-game, the Singing Tree dances in a disco like manner complete with disco lights in multicolor effect too! The second exposure is the "Mater Tree". This Mater Tree is the tree where all the characters/Patapons are born. With the presence of selected materials such as "Banal branches", "Tender Meat" and "Stones". Combining different materials will produce different types of patapons such as Yaripons, Tatepons and Yumipons.

The significance of the plant exposures in Patapon is good. I regret though that the Trees don't feature the dominant color of most plants....GREEN. They are shown in very dark colors, dark grey and black shades. However, it is repeatedly shown since you see them everytime you need to get special items from the Pan Pakapon mini-game and everytime you want to add or revive patapons from the Mater Tree. This is Plants in Videogames #8....the game that shows the wacky side of a singing tree and that which brings us to the basic scientific theory that "Life on earth started with plants"....PATAPON.

TO BE CONTINUED......

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A trip to my garden this weekend gave me an opportunity to take photos of some plants in bloom! Here are some of the flowers in the secret garden.



My Episcia Cupreata in bloom, I will try to get some other color variety for company. :)



This is my Latana with lots of blooms last Friday.




A Mini-Rose in bloom.



The following are photos of my Calliandra Haematocephala...


This is the flower in full bloom.




This is the flower bud just a day before it will fully bloom.



This photo shows three stages of the flower. From the berry-like bud to the flower in full bloom.

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Hope you enjoyed this weekender post! Happy Gardening!

"To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves."
by Mahatma Gandhi

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* Final Fantasy Games are excluded from this feature because I intend to post a separate PLANTS EXPOSED article featuring the grandest and most addicting RPG game in the industry(IMHO).

References:
1 www.thefreedictionary.com
2 waynesword.palomar.edu/trfeb98.htm

Image References:
www.ign.com
www.kingPs3.com
mysite.verizon.net
krooze.wordpress.com
www.unikgamer.com
library.thinkquest.org
www.beastbeat.net
www.pinoypsp.com
www.emuparadise.me
www.Iparchive.org
www.gamerdna.com
chrono.gamewiki.com
videogameafterlife.blogspot.com
www.jap-sai.com
www.plantsvszombies.com
www.techpinas.com
http://gweenkent.blogspot.com
www.pippysays.com
www.cashgenerator.co.uk

Bibliography:
waynesword.palomar.edu/trfeb98.htm
www.blueplanetbiomes.org/plants.htm
www.gamefaqs.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patapon