More initiatives of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft
De
More initiatives of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft

Games Lift: Elin Meinecke on sowing diversity

One person is behind farming sim RPG Evergreen Garden: Elin Meinecke is solely responsible for the art and game design of her project. She brings a degree in illustration to her work in the incubator – and inspiration from her garden.

(Photo above by Selim Sudheimer)

Elin stops and thinks before giving an answer: "It's going well!" she says about the past few weeks. Her application to the Games Lift Incubator has already started to pay off. Elin Meinecke is delighted with all the lessons she has learned. That’s not just due to the full schedule of the first few weeks, but also to the helpful feedback from other teams in the incubator program.

Working with a deadline helps Elin focus on the essentials. Most important for her project right now are the "mechanics" of gardening, she explains. This might sound strange at first. Gardening and farming have been a popular element of gaming for decades, with well understood mechanics: Plow, sow, water, harvest. But this simplification of reality has an unfortunate effect: Plants don’t interact with each other or their environment. That’s why many games on the subject end up supporting just one effective tactic – monoculture farming.

Elin’s experience is a different one. She grew up in the pastoral Lüneburg Heath, close to Hamburg. Her Grandmother lived next door. Elin was "always in the garden".

Evergreen Garden Key Art by Elin Meinecke
Evergreen Garden Key Art by Elin Meinecke

What a garden is about

Elin has grown to love nature. But she has also learned "what gardening is all about." Obstacles and challenges abound. Plants get sick, snails eat everything. But Elin is adamant that "every animal is part of the environment." She loves the experience of gardening "with nature and not against it". A diverse garden that attracts different animals and insects is better for it; it is more robust and resilient.

Elin has a degree illustration from HAW Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, but her enthusiasm for games is not new. The first Harvest Moon she played was on the Super NES. Inspiration for Evergreen Garden came to her, when she was enrolled and living in Hamburg. Aphids had infested a rose in her small garden. Elin was angry at first, but then she found the challenge interesting: "This could work in a game!", she thought. Pesticides are not the only way to fight Aphids. Ladybird larvae eat them, and they in turn are attracted to marigolds.

In Evergreen Garden, players have to use the interactions between plants and the environment to grow a healthy and diverse garden. (Concept art by Elin Meinecke)

In Evergreen Garden, players are "rewarded for growing many different plants," Elin explains. They have to consider who stands next to whom and what influence they exert. Elin sums up her vision: "If you grow diversity, the game world becomes more diverse in general."

Painting a game

At first glance, however, it is not this idea that leaves the biggest impression. It is Evergreen Garden’s remarkable art style. The game, still in an early stage, already looks alive, quaint, and easy to read. Elin paints each and every graphical element of her game by hand, with acrylic paint on paper. The fact that her canvas won’t let her undo anything is what makes the method "really exciting" to her. And from study projects, she has learned how to paint elements modularly, so they can be assembled, moved and rearranged in a game.

Elin Meinekce working on illustration for her game's art in the Code Working Space - a shared office all Games Lift participants can use to work on their projects. (Photo by Selim Sudheimer)

Elin doesn't want to do everything alone. During her studies, she has learned first-hand that you can achieve "much more as a team." A coder is already involved in the project, even though he is not part of her incubator team – Elin knows him "since sandbox days". Many elements of her game, from the village with its inhabitants to other player activities will have to come later. And the team will have to grow as well.

Elin paints a clear picture of her priorities. Her first playable prototype will show the farming mechanics in action, and soon: The graduation pitch is scheduled for December 1. "I'm doing well," Elin says. She has to stick to her plan and cannot give in to her "perfectionism" when working on illustrations. At this stage of development, graphics are not yet important. That may be true, but it makes the vibrancy of Elin’s work-in-progress-illustrations all the more impressive. It will take time until Evergreen Garden blooms – but something special is obviously growing here.

 

This article is part of our Games Lift Log series, in which we share peeks behind the scenes of our Games Lift Incubator program and portrait the teams that joined the incubator program this year.

More Games Lift News

Games Lift: Why We Went to Nordic

Conventions are an essential part of gaming. They bring the industry together for fun and business. That’s why the trip to Nordic Game in 2025 was a highlight for Gamecity Hamburg.

The Hamburg Delegation poses in front of a Nordic Game Sign

Recap: Nordic Game Conference 2025

Let's look back at our Nordic Game Conference: We attended the Nordic Game Conference 2025 in Malmö, with the Games Lift Incubator 2024 teams and four Hamburg indie game developers and their game projects who attended via Road to Nordic 2025.

Deutscher Computerspielpreis 2025 Photo by Franziska Krug/ DCP via Getty Images

Games Lift: An Incubator With Quantifiable Success

Is the Games Lift incubator worth it? Sure. Anyone can say that, but facts are better than empty claims. We have numbers to show what the incubator brings. 

Games Lift 2025: Apply now from May 2 until June 10

Applications for Gamecity Hamburg's 2025 Games Lift are open from May 2 to June 10. Five teams will receive financial support in form of 15,000 euros, a comprehensive workshop program and access to the Games Lift Network of international industry experts. In addition, the teams can benefit from 1,000 euros in coaching budget. After a three-month workshop phase, the teams will be further supported with individual mentoring and will travel together to an international industry event until August 2026.

Games Lift: A beginning, not an end

Graduation is in the books. The Games Lift class of 2024 has aced their biggest test yet with flying colors. On the stage, the teams revealed what’s next for their projects.

German Developer Award 2024: Hamburg Studios win big

At the German Developer Award on December 3, 2024, "Closer the Distance" by Osmotic Studios won in the 3 categories Best Audio Design, Best Story and Innovation. The Ubisoft Newcomer Award went to "Map Map - A Game about Maps" by Pipapo Games, which is also represented in the Games Lift Incubator 2023 and the Prototype Funding 2024 of Gamecity Hamburg.

Games Lift: Duck ’n’ Run raise the level

It looks like a finished game – the prototype for “Light of Atlantis” from Duck’n’Run Games has already found fans and won awards. But the trio behind it is far from finished.

Games Lift: Tales from the Garden on letting ink bloom

Some games work without words. “Garden Ink” is a playful and intuitive experience, but behind the relaxed vibe lies a lot of hard work - and a clear vision.

Games Lift: Triflgard develop more than just a pub

In “Pubcrawler”, it's not the people who are setting forth to the pub, but the other way around. Triflgard bring a sense of wit and warmth to the Games Lift incubator that also works on sober minds.

Games Lift: Rouven Cabanis has Frisia on his mind

Occasionally stereotypes can be true: The developer of a game with stunning vistas impresses in the Games Lift Incubator with his far-sightedness. A portrait of Rouven Cabanis in our Games Lift Log about his game “Frisia - Cozy Villages”

Games Lift: Kick-Off with a Bang

The new cohort of the Games Lift incubator has officially started. The kick-off event brought together new teams, experienced mentors, and alumni. On the seventh floor Am Sandtorkai, the future of the games industry is sitting on the couch.

Games Lift 2024: These are the five teams

For 2024, five great teams of Hamburg game developers impressed the awarding committee of the Games Lift Incubator with their exciting projects.

More News
Cookies are used to make this website work and to enhance your experience.

To learn more about the types of cookies this website uses, see our Cookie Policy. You can decide for yourself which categories you want to allow. Please note that based on your settings, not all functions of the website may be available.

Cookies are used to make this website work and to enhance your experience.

To learn more about the types of cookies this website uses, see our Cookie Policy. You can decide for yourself which categories you want to allow. Please note that based on your settings, not all functions of the website may be available.

Your cookie preferences have been saved.