Plant Fever is a pixel-art platformer designed to make plant science more engaging for the public. The game translates my collaborator Dr. Namami Gaur's (LinkedIn) research interest in plant pathogens into an interactive and relatable quest.

The story is simple: you have grown a plant from seed. Now you must carry it through a hazardous landscape to show your grandparent—your plant mentor who inspired you to grow. To get there, you must protect your plant from a barrage of pathogens, all while an in-game plant scientist acts as your guide.

Beta versions of the game have already been exhibited by Dr. Gaur at V&A Dundee and Dundee Plant Power 2025. Today, it continues to be used by her colleagues at the James Hutton Institute at public engagement events to spark curiosity about plant science.

Why this game matters

The motivations for designing this game were twofold:

1. To start building a culture where plants aren't overlooked and undervalued, but seen as living beings worth understanding, protecting and celebrating.
   

2. To support my own doctoral research in plant awareness disparity (previously plant blindness)—the general inattention to plants in one's surroundings. The phenomenon is predominantly explored from a plant science education lens, thus collaborating with a plant scientist on a public engagement tool helped me explore what this broad and complex phenomenon means to this specific field.