Celebrate Plants vs. Zombies' 10-year anniversary with a look at its humble, alien-themed beginnings

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Zombies were a much better choice

Plants vs Zombies
(Image credit: PopCap)

Timeless tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies made its debut ten years ago on May 5, 2009 - so to celebrate, game designer George Fan shared some sketches and insights about the game's beginnings on Twitter. If you have fond memories of collecting sunshine, building Peashooters, and singing along to "There's a zombie on your lawn," Fan's new info is a delight. 

Fan breaks down his sketches in more detail in the Twitter thread, and reveals some intriguing facts about PvZ's early designs. For instance, the game originally had you repelling aliens rather than the undead - the same aliens from PopCap Games' fish tank clicker game Insaniquarium (which I completely forgot existed despite playing it for hours in computer class). The adorable sunflowers that produce the energy needed to build your defenses originally started out as "radish-like plants" called Tubers, which bear a striking resemblance to the weaponized vegetables in Super Mario Bros. 2. Speaking of which, the Shy Guy variant Snifit from SMB2 was the inspiration for a spitting tomato with a bazooka-like mouth that would later become the iconic Peashooter. 

Other fun tidbits include an initial six-lane design that was scribbled out, and a deck-building system using seed packets in place of cards. Destructoid also did an in-depth interview with Fan that includes even more info gems, like a time-stopping plant that got cut and the fact that Fan provided the babbling voice lines for Crazy Dave. If you want to see what Fan's up to these days, check out the arcade action of Octogeddon, which is a bit like Rampage if it starred an octopus with genetically modified tentacle weapons. It debuted on Steam last year, and will come to Nintendo Switch on May 16.

It's great getting to see a glimpse of an accomplished designer's process, and Fan's sketches serve as a reminder that some of the most popular games start as a collection of scattered ideas and scribblings. If you're feeling nostalgic for Plants vs. Zombies, be sure to check out the rest of Fan's timeline, as he's been retweeting tributes from fans and fellow developers alike.

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Lucas Sullivan
Lucas Sullivan

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them.