“Experience the Beauty of Zen in 3D Japanese Garden Simulator”
The 3D leisure “Garden – Japanese Garden Simulator” (tentative translation, Niwa – Japanese Garden Simulator) from the developer Niwa Studios will be available for free early access on Steam today (24th), allowing players to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and design their own Japanese garden, letting their body and mind experience the beauty of Zen.
The Japanese word “Garden” (にわ, Niwa) refers to the courtyard. Japanese gardens emphasize simple design and delicate layout, using Zen-like natural materials to create a quiet atmosphere and reveal a strong oriental heritage. This game takes players to Kyoto, the birthplace of Japanese gardens, and allows them to become an apprentice at a gardening company to create a garden.
Currently, there are only four levels available, with scenes located in every corner of Kyoto. Practical teaching tasks are compiled, asking players to use a budget of 200,000 yen to create a beautiful Japanese-style garden. Players will gradually master the layout skills of floors, flowers, trees, dry landscapes, and other materials during the mission, and record the results through the game’s built-in photo mode.
The loading screen uses several Japanese landscape photos, with the “Garden” in the loading screen using the handwritten font of Tachibana Toshitsuna, the author of Japan’s oldest garden book “Zakui Garden”, paying tribute to traditional Zen gardens.
“Yardyard-Japanese Garden Simulator” is open to play on Steam today. In order to collect enough player feedback in the early access version, the developer has made it free in advance. It is said that it will be sold at a suitable price after it is officially launched, attracting all Japanese garden enthusiasts for fun.