PETAL PATCH

A browser-based plant genetics game where you explore procedurally-generated plants.

What is it?

PetalPatch is an interactive genetics simulator. You start with a small collection of starter plants, each with unique genetics. Cross-breed them to create offspring, watch them grow through distinct life stages—from tiny seed to full bloom—and discover how small genetic changes lead to dramatically different plant forms.

Every plant is entirely procedural: no two are exactly alike. Growth is governed by L-system grammars (formal rules that expand iteratively), meaning plant structure is data-driven and emergent rather than hand-drawn. Combine that with carefully tuned randomness, and you get plants that feel alive and surprising.

How It Works (Technical)

Each plant is defined by a genome containing:

Breeding blends two parent genomes: axioms splice, rules mix (unique parent rules included with probability), parameters interpolate, and mutations add variation. Offspring are never exact clones—even crossing identical genomes twice yields visibly different plants.

Growth is stage-based (Seed → Sprout → Sapling → Juvenile → Mature → Blooming), with each stage expanding the L-system grammar to add more branches, leaves, and petals. Rendering uses turtle graphics: each symbol in the expanded string is a drawing command (forward, turn, branch, etc.).

The visual result: plants with rich structure—varying branch density, leaf placement, and bloom patterns—all emerging from compact, genetic rules.

Built With

Godot 4.6 (GDScript), L-system parsing, procedural noise (FastNoiseLite), and persistent JSON save files.

Start with a single starter variety. Breed it with itself or others. See what evolves.