Flowers

Overview

The majority of flowers in games are used in a purely aesthetic capacity. Most are implemented either ornamentally in indoor settings or in vibrant outdoor settings, and are typically intended to give areas a pleasant or natural and thriving aesthetic. Traditionally representing life, innocence, femininity, and beauty, flowers can also be used symbolically in games. A common example is male characters giving flowers to female characters in order to express love or fondness. In other cases they may be used as part of character costumes, such as with Marin in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, or female characters may share their names with flowers, such as Daisy in the Mario franchise.

Perhaps the best known character in video games connected with flowers is Aerith Gainsborough, a party character in Final Fantasy VII who is introduced as a flower seller. Some games such as Conker's Bad Fur Day and Undertale feature anthropomorphic flowers. A game that is itself particularly known for its flowery thematics is thatgamecompany's Flower, an art title in which players control a wind blowing through fields of flowers, carrying petals into the air.

In some games flowers become part of the gameplay. In fantasy games such as World of Warcraft or Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, flowers can be collected and used to create potions that can advantage the player character in various ways. In life simulator The Sims, flowers can help increase the environment score of a room. In series featuring gardening mechanics such as Viva Piñata, Animal Crossing, and Harvest Moon players can take care of and tend to flowers, while in wildlife-themed strategy franchise Pikmin, flowers can be harvested to help create more Pikmin or alter the properties of those the player is currently in control of.