The Humaniquarium New Player Guide: How It All Works!
Ever wanted to have your very own on-the-go pocket bonsai garden? Well, you’re in luck — because Humaniquarium can give you that and more!
A portmanteau of “human terrarium,” Humaniquarium is a free-to-play indie title developed by Jupiter Lighthouse Games and published by Dogira Studios. It’s designed around the idea of raising procedurally generated bonsai trees and taking care of the little people who live under them.
If this is your first time hearing about the game, welcome! We’re so glad you’re here. If you’re from the Dogira Studios community, we’re sure that you’re hungry for some new info before the game goes live.
Join us as we dive into the ins-and-outs of Humaniquarium — from its systems, to early game, and what you can expect as you raise your trees.
Did You Eat the Berries…?
Your adventure kicks off with a Park Ranger discovering you “conked out” under a tree.
From there, you get introduced to the map system that will guide your story progression! Naturally, you’re quickly put to work like you’re one of the park staff (yeesh, someone should probably give the local Parks and Recreation Department a phone call).
Players will discover a strange egg, a seed, and a stone. Nothing useful for getting rid of that berry-fueled stupor, but plenty useful for the beginning of Humaniquarium’s gameplay loop. After the seed is planted and the egg is hatched, you’ll be tasked with learning a few different systems:
- Tree level
- Little Person management
- Creative Energy
- Cash flow
Your tree will progressively level up, which gives you a few different opportunities to pursue — each giving you a short term buff. The choice is up to you! Each level up reward will prompt your procedurally generated bonsais to grow taller and wider.
Little Person happiness is linked to the overall health of your tree. Is the tank’s climate good for the tree? Your Little Person (LP) will be quite happy! Are you prompting your tree to drop enough fruit for the LP to collect? Each LP has different needs and wishes for you to fulfill. Completing these tasks will produce Creative Energy.
Creative Energy is generated by your LP, crafting, and completing tasks around your tank. As you generate more creative energy, you’ll be able to craft new blueprints and learn how to build new things for your bonsai habitats — some Creative Energy blueprints even act as passive buffs for your trees.
Cash is earned through crafting items, completing tasks, and more. The more cash you earn, the more you can spend to get new decorations for your planters and tanks from the in-game shop. Cash is 100% earned through game play… Humaniquarium is free after all! We hope you enjoy creating unique environments for your bonsai trees.
Pocket Full of Zen
This game can be played for quite a while in one sitting, especially at the beginning as you’re discovering new items, systems, and blueprints!
However, Humaniquarium is designed to be a daily ritual — something you come back to every morning, afternoon, and evening for a few minutes to check on your trees, plant a few new flowers, and make sure your LP is happy as can be. At the end of the day, it’s designed to be a game that lets you take a break from the stresses of the day!
So as you play the game, we recommend taking it at a pace that suits you. We’ve kept the introduction to the game short so that you can get a hang of the basics right away, and discover the rest at YOUR leisure. Take your time…
Your pocket bonsai garden will be waiting for you when you return.
Minigames, Updates, and More!
The guys over at Jupiter Lighthouse Games, Andy and Dylan, have been hard at work polishing up Humaniquarium and they absolutely want to keep adding on to the game!
As we get more feedback from players about what they’re enjoying, we hope to be able to bring new features online, and create new, meaningful systems for you to engage with.
While a few of the features shown off back in February 2022 didn’t make it into the final build, there’s PLENTY for players to dig into and enjoy. Perhaps with more time and development they can make their way into the game — or even completely new features. It all comes down to you and the Humaniquarium community!
Let us know what you would like to see and what you’re enjoying so Jupiter Lighthouse can continue shaping this incredible little game.
Okay so, we’ve talked about the core gameplay loop above, but there’s a ton of little secrets, story beats, and more to discover as you play.
Every once in a while, players may encounter minigames that bestow unique bonuses and rewards. Over time, players will also discover exotic new types of trees — each with unique trunks, growth patterns, and colors. Have fun discovering all the amazing trees you can raise and level up!
About Release Day…
For the Play Store… It’s live RIGHT NOW!
Click here to get it downloaded.
We ARE planning to also have Humaniquarium live on the App Store, however there are a few more hurdles we have to clear for publishing on there. We apologize to any iOS-only users who will have to wait to play — but your time is coming.
We hope everyone is as excited about this game as we are! We are thrilled that many of you will be able to get your hands on it.
-The Dogira Studios Team
