Line #54 VideoGame/Gardenscapes


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gardenscapes.png]]
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3	''Gardenscapes'' is a MatchThreeGame with simulation elements. You play the owner of a mansion, who along with your butler Austin, work to restore the grounds to their former glory. You complete match-three levels to earn stars, which are used to complete tasks around the grounds. As you interact with the townsfolk, they are added to Austin's social media network, where you can see them make posts and comments.
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5	This game was originally released for [[Platform/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] in 2009, before getting ported to [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames iOS]] and {{UsefulNotes/Android\|Games}} in 2011, and on UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS in 2012. ''Gardenscapes 2'' and ''Gardenscapes: Mansion Makeover'' were released for both phones and [=PCs=] in 2013, but falling popularity on the latter, meant that 2016's ''Gardenscapes: New Acres'' and 2017 ''Homescapes'' (where you have to help restore the house where Austin grew up to change the mind of his parents, who have been thinking about selling it) were released only on mobile.
6	----
7	!!Contains examples of:
8	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: After you finish a level, you can skip waiting for the remaining power-ups and combos to clear and go straight to the winnings screen.
9	* BirthdayEpisode:
10	** The story behind the Party Room area in ''Homescapes'' is Austin and William preparing for Olivia's birthday.
11	** The Open Air Cinema room renovation was about preparing a movie night for Einar's birthday.
12	* TheButlerDidIt:
13	** In one of Austin's {{Idle Animation}}s, he is reading a book and makes an exasperated comment about the story's culprit having turned out to be the butler.
14	** When Austin calls Jane to borrow a hazmat suit, she jokes, "Don't tell me the butler did it!"
15	* CatUpATree: You meet Lucy when her cat gets stuck up a tree in your garden.
16	* CharacterBlog:
17	** Austin has an [[https://www.instagram.com/austin_the_butler/ Instagram]].
18	** Robbie has an [[https://www.instagram.com/robbie_the_carpenter/ Instagram]] too, with only one post.
19	* ChildhoodFriends: Austin and Robbie have been friends since childhood. So have Austin and Katherine.
20	* {{Crossover}}: One room renovation event has Austin helping his old friend Carl from VideoGame/ManorMatters fix up an old castle and find a lost crown hidden inside.
21	* ADayInTheLimelight:
22	** ''Homescapes'' puts the focus on Austin's parents.
23	** Certain areas and room renovations focus on certain characters (for example, the tropical corner event focused on Katherine and Stephanie, while the thirteenth area in Gardenscapes puts the focus on Jane).
24	* EpicFail: The ads for ''Homescapes'' show the player using the wrong tools to try to fix the rooms, only to destroy them in the process.
25	* FictionalCounterpart:
26	** During the attic renovation event, Robbie finds records by The Heatles and The Rolling Cones, referencing Music/TheBeatles and Music/{{The Rolling Stones\|Band}}.
27	** The garage renovation in Homescapes centers around repairing Austin's father's old Forsche.
28	* GenuineImpostor: In the Left Wing arc of the Mountain Estate in ''Homescapes'' [[spoiler:Rachel turns out to be a con woman pretending to be a Barrow in order to find and steal a priceless painting of a Barrow ancestor. She ultimately comes to care too much about the family and runs away, leaving behind a clue to find the painting. Austin finds it...and the ancestor is the spitting image of Rachel, proving she really is a Barrow.]]
29	* HappilyMarried: Austin's parents are very much in love with each other.
30	* HelloInsertNameHere: Your name, as well as the names of the dog, the horse and the cat are decided by the player.
31	* IHaveThisFriend:
32	** Annie asks for dating advice by saying it's for a friend.
33	** Before Austin is due to take part in the dive, he posts asking what people do when they're feeling anxious. When his father asks what's got him feeling anxious, Austin says it's for a friend.
34	** When Austin enters a dog show, Peter advises him not to get the time wrong, saying it happened to one of his friends. When Austin says to send his condolences, Peter replies, "Thanks, but it won't happen to us this time!"
35	* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: After each level, you help decorate the garden (mansion in ''Homescapes'').
36	* JerkassHasAPoint: Stephanie Broom may be condescending and boastful about her own skills, but she repeatedly shows that she genuinely possesses the talent to back up her claims, and the points she makes are generally accepted by the other characters. Their response is often a variation of "She's right--I just wish she could be nicer about how she says it."
37	* LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine: Jane the scientist is usually wearing a lab coat.
38	* MarriedToTheJob: Winston's relationship status is "Married to his job", and Jane's is "Conducts research".
39	* MeaningfulName: Many of the townsfolk have these.
40	** Robbie Wood is a carpenter.
41	** Martha Goodwill loves animals and runs an animal shelter.
42	** Winston White runs a cleaning service.
43	** Colin Stone is a mason.
44	** Claire Hoverson flies a helicopter.
45	** John Rockit throws firework shows.
46	** Annie Smith is an apple farmer.
47	** Jason Armstrong is well built.
48	** Jonathan Mooney is an astronomer and is first met being nervous about a date -- mooning over someone is something someone on a date might do.
49	** Stephanie Broom is a rather stuck-up woman, leading to people say she's a witch.
50	* NeverTrustATrailer:
51	** In the late 2010s, ''Gardenscapes'' among other [[MatchThreeGame games of this style]] started putting out misleading ads which portray the games as being chaotic SolveTheSoupCans games of various styles (such as choosing objects to fix a broken house or pulling giant pins to get someone out of a dangerous situation) that very rarely have ''anything'' to do with the actual premise of the game in question. Minigames of that sort were introduced in mid-2020 as a response to false advertising complaints, presented in-universe as "Austin's Bad Dreams" (or as "Austin's favourite videogame" in ''Homescapes''): however, they rarely come up.
52	** A few trailers for ''Homescapes'', for some reason, portrayed Austin being in a romantic relationship with Katherine and cheating on her with Jane from ''Gardenscapes'' (who is presented as a housemaid rather than a scientist).
53	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
54	** A "Patty Kerry" is mentioned on a newsfeed, referencing Music/KatyPerry.
55	** The camper renovation event centers around Robbie buying a camper and discovering it was once owned by "Rick Dagger" (a play on "Music/MickJagger").
56	* ObnoxiousEntitledHousewife: Stephanie Broom, a stuck up woman who goes about her way to criticize Austin and his family (even her friend Olivia) and tries to control her adult daughter Katherine.
57	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Early on, Austin cuts down a tree, which falls into a fountain which he then needs to get repaired. Any time dealing with a tree comes up after that, expect someone (usually Robbie) to remind him of this.
58	* PunnyName: Some of the townsfolk have these, such as John Rockit the fireworks guy, Annie Smith the apple farmer (like the Granny Smith apple), and Henry Right the reporter.
59	* ShoutOut:
60	** When Austin posts a photo of himself wearing a hazmat suit with the caption "Getting ready for an experiment!", Robbie comments, "Looks like Austin is Series/{{breaking bad}}…"
61	** In ''Homescapes'', when Austin buys an aquarium, the fish have a strong resemblance to the major characters in ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''.
62	** In ''Homescapes'', there are some references to ''Literature/HarryPotter'', who gets identified as "the boy with the scar". When Austin tries to find a way to open the secret room near the library (the cinema room), somebody suggests hissing at a faucet.
63	** After you plant the hedge maze, you get a letter inviting you to take part in "a new action movie called Hedge [[Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries Maze Runner]]".
64	** Jason posts that he was thinking about making an iron man suit, but it turns out [[ComicBook/IronMan someone beat him to it]].
65	** When Colin is working on a sculpture in the pond, Austin looks at the unfinished column of stone and says it looks like an evil fortress from a fantasy novel... and the image he thinks of looks a lot like the film version of Barad-Dur from ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''.
66	** One of the things Austin can see while reading the newspaper is the results of a lottery where the winner gets a flight to a tropical island. The winning numbers are 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, referencing ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
67	* VitriolicBestBuds: Stephanie Broom and Olivia are the embodiment of this trope, as captured in ''Homescapes.'' At first Stephanie is straight-up rude to Olivia, but after completing the Kitchen Area, the latter defeats her in a cooking challenge, which [[DefeatMeansFriendship mellows Stephanie out.]] Even so, she remains uptight, but it's clear that the two enjoy their banter and have accepted their clashing personalities as a major part of their long friendship.
68	* WeddingEpisode: One Area Story is focused on the wedding [[spoiler: of Alex and Jason]].

Context VideoGame / Gardenscapes