Plants vs. Zombies
Encyclopedia
Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense
action video game developed and originally published by PopCap Games
for Microsoft Windows
and Mac OS X
. The game involves a homeowner using many varieties of plants to repel an army of zombies from "eating their brains". It was first released on May 5, 2009, and made available on Steam on the same day. A version for iOS
was released in February 2010, and an HD version for the iPad
. An extended Xbox Live Arcade
version introducing new gameplay modes and features was released on September 8, 2010. PopCap released a Nintendo DS
version on January 18, 2011 with content unique to the platform. The PlayStation 3 version was released in February 2011. An Android version of the game, exclusive to the Amazon Android App Store, was released on May 31, 2011. Furthermore, both the original Windows and Mac version of the game have been re-released with additional content in a Game of the Year version. The game received a positive response from critics, and was nominated for multiple Interactive Achievement Awards, alongside receiving praise for its musical score.
s from devouring the brains of the residents. The playing field is divided into a number of horizontal "lanes", and with rare exceptions, a zombie will only move towards the player's house along one lane (the main exception is if it has taken a bite out of a garlic). Most plants can only attack or defend against zombies in the lane they are planted in. In the game's initial levels, if the zombie reaches the player's house, a one-shot tool (e.g. a lawn mower) can be used to completely wipe out zombies in that lane, but the tool will not be restored until the next level. In later levels, players have to purchase upgrades so as to adapt their lawn mower to new environments like pools or rooftops. Except in special cases, Zombies attempt to devour any plants in their way while heading towards the house.
The player starts with a limited number of seed pack types and seed pack slots that they can use during most levels. New seed packs are gained by completing levels, while the number of slots can be increased through purchases with in-game money. At the start of a level, the player is shown the various types of zombies to expect and given the opportunity to select which seed packs to take into the level. In order to plant a seed, the player must have collected a specific amount of sunlight. Sunlight is generated by sunflowers which provide sunlight at regular intervals, or is automatically generated regularly for the player in very small amounts during daytime. Seed packs also have a short (or, in some cases, long) time delay before the same seed can be planted again. Several plants are nocturnal, like mushrooms, having a lower sunlight cost, and are ideal for nighttime levels, but will remain asleep during daytime levels unless awoken by a coffee bean. In the "backyard" levels that include a swimming pool, seeds must be planted atop lily pads
on water spaces (some plants, such as the Tangle Kelp, are aquatic and do not need to be planted on lily pads), while on the roof levels, all seeds must be planted in flower pots; the flower pots cost sunlight as well as the plants, therefore making the game a little more difficult. The various plant abilities include firing projectiles at zombies, turning zombies against each other, quickly exploding and wiping out an area of zombies, or slowing down zombies. Certain plants are highly effective against specific types of zombies, such as the "Magnet-shroom", which can remove metallic items from a zombie, such as helmets, buckets and ladders.
The zombies also come in a number of types that have different attributes, in particular, speed, damage tolerance, and abilities. As the player progresses in the game, the zombies will include those wearing makeshift armour, those that are able to jump or fly over plants, or a dancing zombie that is able to summon other zombies from the ground. In the later stages of the game, a mining zombie will dig itself a tunnel underground, avoiding the various plants, and then will eat the plants from the front to back. In each level, zombies will approach the house randomly. At special points where the player will be inundated with a huge wave of zombies; a meter on screen shows an approximate timeline for the level so the player can prepare for these waves, as well as determine the general stage length.
The game also features extra modes that are unlockable as the player progresses through the main adventure mode. These include a survival game
with hard or normal mode, a puzzle mode, and a selection of mini-games which include zombie-themed versions of other PopCap games like Bejeweled
. The game also features a "Zen garden
", where players can care for plants they acquire from fallen zombies during game play. The in-game store also carries items that help with the Zen Garden. In the Android and iOS versions of the game it is about the same, except for small things removed. The Xbox Live Arcade version of the game includes 5 multiplayer modes, both co-operative and competitive, additional mini-games and a virtual house where players can show off their achievements to friends.
game after both thinking of a more defense-oriented version of a previous title of his, Insaniquarium
, and playing some Warcraft III tower defense mods
. While he was looking at the towers in Warcraft III, he felt that plants would make good towers. He wanted to bring something new to the genre with Plants vs. Zombies, and he found common tower defense game play elements such as mazing and juggling to be too awkward, causing him to use the five and six lane set-ups that were used in the final version.
Fan included elements from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering
while teaching his girlfriend Laura Shigihara how to play it, showing her how to customize their decks. That inspired him to include the seed packets as opposed to using a conveyor belt that produced randomly selected plants, due to the complexity of this system. Another influence on Plants vs. Zombies besides Warcraft III and Insaniquarium was Tapper
, crediting the use of five lanes to this game. Various members of PopCap Games
contributed to the development of Plants vs. Zombies through an internal forum where they gave feedback.
Plants vs. Zombies was originally much like Insaniquarium in that it involved nurturing the plants by watering them and growing grass, but the developers found it to be tedious. It was originally called Weedlings, but this concept was scrapped after the developers realized that there were far too many plant-growing games on the market (the idea had been partly recovered into the aforementioned zen garden feature). One of the critical changes to the game was the lowering of the price of Sunflowers from 100 to 50 suns, as those new to the genre would spend their sun power on pea shooters and inevitably lose. While it required that the game be rebalanced, fans found it worth it. More inspiration for Plants vs. Zombies mechanics came from the film Swiss Family Robinson
. Fan watched the film while he worked on the game, and specifically mentioned a scene where the family defends themselves against pirates. He cited two things that made the scene exciting—the traps they laid, and watching enemies fall into them. This was the inspiration for the Potato Mine; Fan stated that it was satisfying to watch a zombie step on the mine, being defeated and covered in mashed potatoes.
The developers focused on the Adventure mode for the first year of development, but programmer Tod Semple finished his development tasks ahead of schedule. Afterward, he was looking for something to do, and began work on minigame
ideas. The Puzzle mode had similar origins; Vasebreaker and I, Zombie came from single-level minigames, but after playing them to tweak them, he found he was addicted to them. Fan found it impressive how well-designed they were, stating that while they were using the same plants and the same zombies, they were reinventions of the game mechanics. Fan worried that the minigame and puzzle modes may distract from the main game, so to keep players focused on the Adventure mode, he required that they beat it before they could move onto these modes. However, this was changed due to comments from beta testers that they would like to try these modes out sooner. The developers allowed players to play a few of the stages from these modes in the middle of Adventure mode. Fan stated that it's a common perception amongst players that the Adventure mode is 90% of the game, while the rest of the game is merely additional content. He hoped that players would appreciate the post-game content. Another mode is the Survival mode, which included an Endless mode. After players were getting to the hundredth level in only three hours, Fan decided to make it more difficult, adding powerful zombies after the 20th level, like the Pogo Zombie.
Fan stated that every game he worked on had only him designing the prototype, adding that he used to draw a lot before he made games, where he made pixel art. The final designs of the zombies and the first plants are similar to how they were initially. After searching for an artist, they discovered Rich Werner, who Fan thought clicked with what he intended for the design. He attributed the intrigue of the design to its animation scheme; Tod Semple suggested that they animate it in Flash and export it into the game. Fan worried that this would look like it was cut out from paper, and would resemble South Park
too much, but was satisfied in the end, attributing this to Semple and Werner's talents.
Fan was most proud of the Tall-nut, Torchwood, and Cob Cannon plants. He explained that the Tall-nut has character, citing its "determined gaze" and how it sheds a single tear when hurt. Laura Shigihara could not stand to see this, and protected it with a protective plant called a Pumpkin, which can protect plants inside it. He felt that the Torchwood required players to think of how plants interacted with each other. The Cob Cannon went through many design changes, but Fan was happy with the final design. Another favorite plant of Fan's was the Squash, due to how well it explained its purpose, to squash things. A plant was proposed that is similar to the defensive item Umbrella Leaf, which would be planted above other plants to protect them from airborne zombies. However, it was difficult to visualize their positions.
. It borrows elements from the pop music genre, as well as console chiptune
s. Before the inception of Plants vs. Zombies, Fan asked Laura if she would like to compose the music for his next title after following her for some years. She accepted, owing to his creativity. Shigihara described the music as "macabre, yet goofy". Using the night stage as an example, she used a combination of "Big Band" and swing beats with "several haunting and serious melodies". The songs "Loonboon" and "Brainiac Maniac" were written towards the end of production. She stated that these were reactionary songs that she wrote to fit the feel of the game after having played through it twice. She tried to make the game have a Danny Elfman
feel to it, while mixing in melodic tunes and funky beats. She describes a song early in the game, which uses marching band percussion and swing beats. She described another one which used techno beats with organic sounds.
Shigihara also composed and performed the music video shown during the credits of the game, titled "Zombie
s on Your Lawn
".
's "Dead Parrot sketch". Two of the mini-games—"Zombiquarium" and "Beghouled"—take their names from two other PopCap games, Insaniquarium and Bejeweled
respectively. Two levels in "vasebreaker" puzzles "Scary Potter" and "Ace of Vase" take their names from Harry Potter
and Ace of Base
and in "I, Zombie" puzzles there is a level called "Dead Zeppelin" which resembles Led Zeppelin
. Originally, the dancing zombie resembled Michael Jackson
from the music video "Thriller
". Though the Jackson-inspired zombie was present in the game before Jackson's death, the estate of Michael Jackson objected to its inclusion more than a year after his death; PopCap agreed to remove the Jackson-inspired zombie and replaced it with a more generic disco
-dancing one for all future patches and releases of the game. Ironically, a "disclaimer" in the game's almanac states "Any resemblance between Dancing Zombie and any persons living or dead is purely coincidental." Some Plants vs. Zombies advertisements parody controversial Evony
ads, showing a drooling zombie instead of a voluptuous woman.
A planned name was Lawn of the Dead, a pun on the title of the George A. Romero
zombie film Dawn of the Dead. For legal reasons it was changed to Plants vs. Zombies. It spent three years in development, and was released for the PC on 5 May 2009. Since it was released, it has been announced for multiple platforms, including the Xbox 360
's Xbox Live Arcade
digital distribution service and the iOS
.
The song "Loonboon" was inspired by composer Laura Shigihara's cat, which they named Metroid. She explained that the stage she was composing for was frantic, so she watched Metroid as he ran around the house, jumping off walls and playing with his toy mouse. "Brainiac Maniac" was inspired by older Capcom
games, specifically those in the Mega Man series
, describing its songs as melodic and complex. She was inspired to make the Plants vs. Zombies music video by her desire to make a theme song for the game. She specifically chose the Sunflower to be the one singing by wanting to have it communicating with the zombies. She later suggested that it be made into a funny flash video, and Rich Werner and Tod Semple, an artist and programmer, respectively, from PopCap came down and worked on it. Once it was completed after two weeks of work, the PopCap marketing team enjoyed it enough that it used it as a marketing tool. Previously, there were no plans to release the soundtrack as a stand-alone item, but Shigihara stated that she wished to do it, so she thought there was a good chance of it. In November 2010, Shigihara released the soundtrack through her Bandcamp
page. Individual tracks are sold at USD
1 per track or US$10 for the full album. It comes with a cover art designed by George Fan.
Plants vs. Zombies itself was referenced in "The Passing" campaign of Valve
's fellow zombie game Left 4 Dead 2
, in which the player can stumble upon in-game graffiti attributed to the character of Crazy Dave. A five-level quest chain culminating in a quest entitled "Lawn of the Dead" in the massively multiplayer online game
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
is based on Plants vs. Zombies, using Warcraft elements to recreate the gameplay. Blizzard Entertainment
had contacted PopCap about the inclusion, and Laura Shigihara was able to record some new music for the Warcraft version of the game.
Zomboni is a zombie riding a Zamboni, an ice-cleaning truck used to clean the ice surface in ice hockey
. The zombie riding the Zamboni is a Canadian stereotyped zombie.
and an 89.5% from GameRankings. IGN
editor Andy J Kolozsy commented that it featured a lot more content than other games in the genre, as well as praising its addictive nature. However, the DS version was criticised for its lower quality graphics and expensive price point. GameSpot
editor Chris Watters praised the design of the plants and zombies, as well as the visuals and its overall value. However, he found fault in the learning curve. 1UP
editor Alice Liang found the game enjoyable, commenting that the lawnmowers that protect the left side of the screen strikes a good balance between ease-of-use and indepth game play. Edge
's review praised PopCap Games for adding an imaginative touch to every little detail of the game. He also credited them for taking the tower defense genre and making it their own.
Laura Shigihara's music video also received praise, with Hatfield attributing his interest in the game to the video. Liang also praised the song, asking how anyone could not want Plants vs. Zombies after seeing the video.
. The game received nominations in "Best Game Design", "Innovation", and "Best Download Game" for the Game Developers Choice Awards
. Plants vs Zombies was picked by Gamezebo
as one of the 'Best games of 2009'.
. Plants vs. Zombies director George Fan estimated that half of the game's sales are from hardcore gamers.
According to PopCap, the iOS release of Plants vs. Zombies sold more than 300,000 copies in the first nine days it was available on the App Store, generating more than $1M in gross sales, and considered it "the top-grossing iPhone launch".
was revealed at the 2011 American International Toy Fair
. Being produced by Screenlife, the 2–4 player game is expected to be available in late 2011.
A version of the game was added in patch 4.0.3 of World of Warcraft
which used similar mechanics as a homage to the popularity of the game. A reward of a non-combat pet sunflower is given to those who can beat the minigame.
The success of the game has lead to the creation of Plants vs. Zombies lottery tickets.
True Blood
has referenced the game twice in Season 4. In Episode 5, "Me and the Devil", a guard in Bill Compton's office is playing the game on his phone, and in "Cold Grey Light of Dawn", a guard outside of Marnies' cell is playing the game on her iPad.
Tower defense
Tower defense is a subgenre of real-time strategy computer games.The goal of tower defense games is to try to stop enemies from crossing a map by building towers which shoot at them as they pass. Enemies and towers usually have varied abilities, costs, and ability costs...
action video game developed and originally published by PopCap Games
PopCap Games
PopCap Games is an American video game developer and publisher, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka, and currently employs about 400 people...
for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. The game involves a homeowner using many varieties of plants to repel an army of zombies from "eating their brains". It was first released on May 5, 2009, and made available on Steam on the same day. A version for iOS
IOS
iOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club...
was released in February 2010, and an HD version for the iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
. An extended Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
version introducing new gameplay modes and features was released on September 8, 2010. PopCap released a Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
version on January 18, 2011 with content unique to the platform. The PlayStation 3 version was released in February 2011. An Android version of the game, exclusive to the Amazon Android App Store, was released on May 31, 2011. Furthermore, both the original Windows and Mac version of the game have been re-released with additional content in a Game of the Year version. The game received a positive response from critics, and was nominated for multiple Interactive Achievement Awards, alongside receiving praise for its musical score.
Gameplay
In Plants vs. Zombies, players place different types of plants and fungi, each with their own unique offensive or defensive capabilities, around a house in order to stop a horde of zombieZombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s from devouring the brains of the residents. The playing field is divided into a number of horizontal "lanes", and with rare exceptions, a zombie will only move towards the player's house along one lane (the main exception is if it has taken a bite out of a garlic). Most plants can only attack or defend against zombies in the lane they are planted in. In the game's initial levels, if the zombie reaches the player's house, a one-shot tool (e.g. a lawn mower) can be used to completely wipe out zombies in that lane, but the tool will not be restored until the next level. In later levels, players have to purchase upgrades so as to adapt their lawn mower to new environments like pools or rooftops. Except in special cases, Zombies attempt to devour any plants in their way while heading towards the house.
The player starts with a limited number of seed pack types and seed pack slots that they can use during most levels. New seed packs are gained by completing levels, while the number of slots can be increased through purchases with in-game money. At the start of a level, the player is shown the various types of zombies to expect and given the opportunity to select which seed packs to take into the level. In order to plant a seed, the player must have collected a specific amount of sunlight. Sunlight is generated by sunflowers which provide sunlight at regular intervals, or is automatically generated regularly for the player in very small amounts during daytime. Seed packs also have a short (or, in some cases, long) time delay before the same seed can be planted again. Several plants are nocturnal, like mushrooms, having a lower sunlight cost, and are ideal for nighttime levels, but will remain asleep during daytime levels unless awoken by a coffee bean. In the "backyard" levels that include a swimming pool, seeds must be planted atop lily pads
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The genus...
on water spaces (some plants, such as the Tangle Kelp, are aquatic and do not need to be planted on lily pads), while on the roof levels, all seeds must be planted in flower pots; the flower pots cost sunlight as well as the plants, therefore making the game a little more difficult. The various plant abilities include firing projectiles at zombies, turning zombies against each other, quickly exploding and wiping out an area of zombies, or slowing down zombies. Certain plants are highly effective against specific types of zombies, such as the "Magnet-shroom", which can remove metallic items from a zombie, such as helmets, buckets and ladders.
The zombies also come in a number of types that have different attributes, in particular, speed, damage tolerance, and abilities. As the player progresses in the game, the zombies will include those wearing makeshift armour, those that are able to jump or fly over plants, or a dancing zombie that is able to summon other zombies from the ground. In the later stages of the game, a mining zombie will dig itself a tunnel underground, avoiding the various plants, and then will eat the plants from the front to back. In each level, zombies will approach the house randomly. At special points where the player will be inundated with a huge wave of zombies; a meter on screen shows an approximate timeline for the level so the player can prepare for these waves, as well as determine the general stage length.
Game modes
The primary game mode is a single-player and Adventure mode, pitting the player against wave after wave of zombies. Killing any zombies and finishing the levels may earn the player money that can be used at a store run by the neighbor "Crazy Dave" to buy new seed packets and other bonuses. In some levels of the game, the player will be provided with random seed packets, with no sunlight requirement, at regular intervals, and the player must figure out how best to survive with the random seeds given.The game also features extra modes that are unlockable as the player progresses through the main adventure mode. These include a survival game
Survival mode
Survival mode is a video game mode in which the player must survive by keeping their character alive or preventing the enemy from reaching a certain location for as long as possible, while the game sends waves of enemies to the player that become stronger with each subsequent wave. Another variant...
with hard or normal mode, a puzzle mode, and a selection of mini-games which include zombie-themed versions of other PopCap games like Bejeweled
Bejeweled
Bejeweled is a puzzle game by PopCap Games, first developed for browsers in 2001. Three follow-ups to this game have been released. More than 75 million copies of Bejeweled have been sold, and the game has been downloaded more than 500 million times....
. The game also features a "Zen garden
Japanese rock garden
The or "dry landscape" gardens, often called "Zen gardens", are a type of garden that features extensive use of rocks or stones, along with plants native to rocky or alpine environments that were influenced mainly by Zen Buddhism and can be found at Zen temples of meditation.- Overview :Japanese...
", where players can care for plants they acquire from fallen zombies during game play. The in-game store also carries items that help with the Zen Garden. In the Android and iOS versions of the game it is about the same, except for small things removed. The Xbox Live Arcade version of the game includes 5 multiplayer modes, both co-operative and competitive, additional mini-games and a virtual house where players can show off their achievements to friends.
Development
Concept
Plants vs. Zombies director George Fan intended on balancing the game between a "gritty" game and a "sickeningly cute" game. Strong strategic elements were included to appeal to more experienced gamers, while he kept it simple without requiring players go through too many tutorials to appeal to casual gamers. He was inspired to make it a tower defenseTower defense
Tower defense is a subgenre of real-time strategy computer games.The goal of tower defense games is to try to stop enemies from crossing a map by building towers which shoot at them as they pass. Enemies and towers usually have varied abilities, costs, and ability costs...
game after both thinking of a more defense-oriented version of a previous title of his, Insaniquarium
Insaniquarium
Insaniquarium is a computer game created by Flying Bear Entertainment and PopCap Games. The title is a portmanteau of the words insanity and aquarium....
, and playing some Warcraft III tower defense mods
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
. While he was looking at the towers in Warcraft III, he felt that plants would make good towers. He wanted to bring something new to the genre with Plants vs. Zombies, and he found common tower defense game play elements such as mazing and juggling to be too awkward, causing him to use the five and six lane set-ups that were used in the final version.
Fan included elements from the trading card game Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
while teaching his girlfriend Laura Shigihara how to play it, showing her how to customize their decks. That inspired him to include the seed packets as opposed to using a conveyor belt that produced randomly selected plants, due to the complexity of this system. Another influence on Plants vs. Zombies besides Warcraft III and Insaniquarium was Tapper
Tapper
Tapper, also known as Root Beer Tapper, is a 1983 arcade game released by Bally Midway. The goal of the game is to serve beer and collect empty mugs and tips.-Overview:...
, crediting the use of five lanes to this game. Various members of PopCap Games
PopCap Games
PopCap Games is an American video game developer and publisher, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka, and currently employs about 400 people...
contributed to the development of Plants vs. Zombies through an internal forum where they gave feedback.
Plants vs. Zombies was originally much like Insaniquarium in that it involved nurturing the plants by watering them and growing grass, but the developers found it to be tedious. It was originally called Weedlings, but this concept was scrapped after the developers realized that there were far too many plant-growing games on the market (the idea had been partly recovered into the aforementioned zen garden feature). One of the critical changes to the game was the lowering of the price of Sunflowers from 100 to 50 suns, as those new to the genre would spend their sun power on pea shooters and inevitably lose. While it required that the game be rebalanced, fans found it worth it. More inspiration for Plants vs. Zombies mechanics came from the film Swiss Family Robinson
Swiss Family Robinson (film)
Swiss Family Robinson is a 1960 American Technicolor feature film starring John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, and Sessue Hayakawa in a tale of a shipwrecked family building an island home. The screenplay by Lowell S. Hawley was loosely based upon the 1812 novel Der Schweizerische Robinson by Johann...
. Fan watched the film while he worked on the game, and specifically mentioned a scene where the family defends themselves against pirates. He cited two things that made the scene exciting—the traps they laid, and watching enemies fall into them. This was the inspiration for the Potato Mine; Fan stated that it was satisfying to watch a zombie step on the mine, being defeated and covered in mashed potatoes.
Design
The team wanted to bring back the aliens from Insaniquarium, but in the end were changed to zombies, which players could react to more easily because of how slowly they moved. Fan's favorite zombie was the Pole Vaulting Zombie, due to the hilarity involved when a player encounters it for the first time, using a specific example where a player tries to block it with the Wall-Nut, only to have the zombie jump over it. The developers intended to make sure the zombies were not just more powerful versions of earlier zombies, trying to find interesting designs and interesting ways for the players to defend against them. An example of one zombie that did not make the cut was a zombie walking a zombie dog, which was invulnerable because it was too short to be hit. Once the zombie was defeated, the dog would go crazy and charge forward. But this did not enhance the game play enough, and Fan was worried that players would not understand the game mechanic.The developers focused on the Adventure mode for the first year of development, but programmer Tod Semple finished his development tasks ahead of schedule. Afterward, he was looking for something to do, and began work on minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
ideas. The Puzzle mode had similar origins; Vasebreaker and I, Zombie came from single-level minigames, but after playing them to tweak them, he found he was addicted to them. Fan found it impressive how well-designed they were, stating that while they were using the same plants and the same zombies, they were reinventions of the game mechanics. Fan worried that the minigame and puzzle modes may distract from the main game, so to keep players focused on the Adventure mode, he required that they beat it before they could move onto these modes. However, this was changed due to comments from beta testers that they would like to try these modes out sooner. The developers allowed players to play a few of the stages from these modes in the middle of Adventure mode. Fan stated that it's a common perception amongst players that the Adventure mode is 90% of the game, while the rest of the game is merely additional content. He hoped that players would appreciate the post-game content. Another mode is the Survival mode, which included an Endless mode. After players were getting to the hundredth level in only three hours, Fan decided to make it more difficult, adding powerful zombies after the 20th level, like the Pogo Zombie.
Fan stated that every game he worked on had only him designing the prototype, adding that he used to draw a lot before he made games, where he made pixel art. The final designs of the zombies and the first plants are similar to how they were initially. After searching for an artist, they discovered Rich Werner, who Fan thought clicked with what he intended for the design. He attributed the intrigue of the design to its animation scheme; Tod Semple suggested that they animate it in Flash and export it into the game. Fan worried that this would look like it was cut out from paper, and would resemble South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
too much, but was satisfied in the end, attributing this to Semple and Werner's talents.
Fan was most proud of the Tall-nut, Torchwood, and Cob Cannon plants. He explained that the Tall-nut has character, citing its "determined gaze" and how it sheds a single tear when hurt. Laura Shigihara could not stand to see this, and protected it with a protective plant called a Pumpkin, which can protect plants inside it. He felt that the Torchwood required players to think of how plants interacted with each other. The Cob Cannon went through many design changes, but Fan was happy with the final design. Another favorite plant of Fan's was the Squash, due to how well it explained its purpose, to squash things. A plant was proposed that is similar to the defensive item Umbrella Leaf, which would be planted above other plants to protect them from airborne zombies. However, it was difficult to visualize their positions.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Plants vs. Zombies was composed by Laura ShigiharaLaura Shigihara
Laura Shigihara is a video game composer, independent game developer, and singer-songwriter. She has created music and sound for over 25 videogame titles, but she is best known as the lead composer and sound designer for the tower defense video game Plants vs. Zombies...
. It borrows elements from the pop music genre, as well as console chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
s. Before the inception of Plants vs. Zombies, Fan asked Laura if she would like to compose the music for his next title after following her for some years. She accepted, owing to his creativity. Shigihara described the music as "macabre, yet goofy". Using the night stage as an example, she used a combination of "Big Band" and swing beats with "several haunting and serious melodies". The songs "Loonboon" and "Brainiac Maniac" were written towards the end of production. She stated that these were reactionary songs that she wrote to fit the feel of the game after having played through it twice. She tried to make the game have a Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
feel to it, while mixing in melodic tunes and funky beats. She describes a song early in the game, which uses marching band percussion and swing beats. She described another one which used techno beats with organic sounds.
Shigihara also composed and performed the music video shown during the credits of the game, titled "Zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s on Your Lawn
Lawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
".
Cultural references
Plants vs. Zombies uses many cultural references in its names of stages and others. The gravestones' inscriptions ("Expired", "Ceased to Exist", "Just Resting", etc) were taken from Monty PythonMonty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
's "Dead Parrot sketch". Two of the mini-games—"Zombiquarium" and "Beghouled"—take their names from two other PopCap games, Insaniquarium and Bejeweled
Bejeweled
Bejeweled is a puzzle game by PopCap Games, first developed for browsers in 2001. Three follow-ups to this game have been released. More than 75 million copies of Bejeweled have been sold, and the game has been downloaded more than 500 million times....
respectively. Two levels in "vasebreaker" puzzles "Scary Potter" and "Ace of Vase" take their names from Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
and Ace of Base
Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...
and in "I, Zombie" puzzles there is a level called "Dead Zeppelin" which resembles Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. Originally, the dancing zombie resembled Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
from the music video "Thriller
Thriller (music video)
Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jackson....
". Though the Jackson-inspired zombie was present in the game before Jackson's death, the estate of Michael Jackson objected to its inclusion more than a year after his death; PopCap agreed to remove the Jackson-inspired zombie and replaced it with a more generic disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-dancing one for all future patches and releases of the game. Ironically, a "disclaimer" in the game's almanac states "Any resemblance between Dancing Zombie and any persons living or dead is purely coincidental." Some Plants vs. Zombies advertisements parody controversial Evony
Evony
Evony is a browser-based multiplayer online game with graphic elements reminiscent of Civilization. The game is set in medieval times where a player is to establish a city, begin developing various technologies, and build supporting structures to generate armies and resources for the purpose of...
ads, showing a drooling zombie instead of a voluptuous woman.
A planned name was Lawn of the Dead, a pun on the title of the George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
zombie film Dawn of the Dead. For legal reasons it was changed to Plants vs. Zombies. It spent three years in development, and was released for the PC on 5 May 2009. Since it was released, it has been announced for multiple platforms, including the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
's Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
digital distribution service and the iOS
IOS
iOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club...
.
The song "Loonboon" was inspired by composer Laura Shigihara's cat, which they named Metroid. She explained that the stage she was composing for was frantic, so she watched Metroid as he ran around the house, jumping off walls and playing with his toy mouse. "Brainiac Maniac" was inspired by older Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
games, specifically those in the Mega Man series
Mega Man (series)
Mega Man is a video game franchise from Capcom, starring the eponymous character Mega Man, or one of his many counterparts. The series is well-known and comprises well over fifty releases, easily making it Capcom's most prolific franchise. As of December 31, 2010, the series has sold approximately...
, describing its songs as melodic and complex. She was inspired to make the Plants vs. Zombies music video by her desire to make a theme song for the game. She specifically chose the Sunflower to be the one singing by wanting to have it communicating with the zombies. She later suggested that it be made into a funny flash video, and Rich Werner and Tod Semple, an artist and programmer, respectively, from PopCap came down and worked on it. Once it was completed after two weeks of work, the PopCap marketing team enjoyed it enough that it used it as a marketing tool. Previously, there were no plans to release the soundtrack as a stand-alone item, but Shigihara stated that she wished to do it, so she thought there was a good chance of it. In November 2010, Shigihara released the soundtrack through her Bandcamp
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an online music store, as well as a platform for artist promotion, that caters mainly for independent artists. Artists on Bandcamp have a customizable microsite with the albums they upload. All tracks can be played for free on the website and some artists offer free music downloads...
page. Individual tracks are sold at USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 per track or US$10 for the full album. It comes with a cover art designed by George Fan.
Plants vs. Zombies itself was referenced in "The Passing" campaign of Valve
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
's fellow zombie game Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It is the sequel to Valve Corporation's award-winning Left 4 Dead. The game launched on November 17, 2009, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in the United States and November 20 in Europe; in 2010, Left 4 Dead 2 was made available to...
, in which the player can stumble upon in-game graffiti attributed to the character of Crazy Dave. A five-level quest chain culminating in a quest entitled "Lawn of the Dead" in the massively multiplayer online game
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is the third expansion pack for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft, following the last expansion Wrath of the Lich King. It was officially announced at BlizzCon on August 21, 2009, although dataminers and researchers discovered details...
is based on Plants vs. Zombies, using Warcraft elements to recreate the gameplay. Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
had contacted PopCap about the inclusion, and Laura Shigihara was able to record some new music for the Warcraft version of the game.
Zomboni is a zombie riding a Zamboni, an ice-cleaning truck used to clean the ice surface in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. The zombie riding the Zamboni is a Canadian stereotyped zombie.
Reception
Plants vs. Zombies has received a positive reception from critics, garnering an aggregate score of 88/100 from MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and an 89.5% from GameRankings. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
editor Andy J Kolozsy commented that it featured a lot more content than other games in the genre, as well as praising its addictive nature. However, the DS version was criticised for its lower quality graphics and expensive price point. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
editor Chris Watters praised the design of the plants and zombies, as well as the visuals and its overall value. However, he found fault in the learning curve. 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
editor Alice Liang found the game enjoyable, commenting that the lawnmowers that protect the left side of the screen strikes a good balance between ease-of-use and indepth game play. Edge
Edge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
's review praised PopCap Games for adding an imaginative touch to every little detail of the game. He also credited them for taking the tower defense genre and making it their own.
Laura Shigihara's music video also received praise, with Hatfield attributing his interest in the game to the video. Liang also praised the song, asking how anyone could not want Plants vs. Zombies after seeing the video.
Awards
Plants vs. Zombies has been nominated for the "Casual Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design" Interactive Achievement Awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & SciencesAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences , founded in 1996, is a non-profit organization that promotes computer and video game entertainment with the annual D.I.C.E. Summit event, where its Interactive Achievement Awards ceremony has been held annually since 1998...
. The game received nominations in "Best Game Design", "Innovation", and "Best Download Game" for the Game Developers Choice Awards
Game Developers Choice Awards
The Game Developers Choice Awards are annually presented by the Game Developers Conference for outstanding game developers and games.Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards, which were presented from 1997 to 1999.The 2009 award presentation was...
. Plants vs Zombies was picked by Gamezebo
Gamezebo
Gamezebo is a website that focuses on editorial coverage of the casual games industry, offering interviews, features, reviews, previews, strategy guides, news and podcasts....
as one of the 'Best games of 2009'.
Sales
To date, Plants vs. Zombies is the fastest-selling video game created by PopCap GamesPopCap Games
PopCap Games is an American video game developer and publisher, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka, and currently employs about 400 people...
. Plants vs. Zombies director George Fan estimated that half of the game's sales are from hardcore gamers.
According to PopCap, the iOS release of Plants vs. Zombies sold more than 300,000 copies in the first nine days it was available on the App Store, generating more than $1M in gross sales, and considered it "the top-grossing iPhone launch".
Legacy
A Plants vs. Zombies board gameBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
was revealed at the 2011 American International Toy Fair
American International Toy Fair
The American International Toy Fair is one of a few major toy industry trade shows held around the world. It is held annually in mid February in New York City's Toy Center, located at 23rd Street at the crossover of Fifth Avenue and Broadway and at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and is...
. Being produced by Screenlife, the 2–4 player game is expected to be available in late 2011.
A version of the game was added in patch 4.0.3 of World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
which used similar mechanics as a homage to the popularity of the game. A reward of a non-combat pet sunflower is given to those who can beat the minigame.
The success of the game has lead to the creation of Plants vs. Zombies lottery tickets.
True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
has referenced the game twice in Season 4. In Episode 5, "Me and the Devil", a guard in Bill Compton's office is playing the game on his phone, and in "Cold Grey Light of Dawn", a guard outside of Marnies' cell is playing the game on her iPad.