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Plants vs. Zombies (Windows, Mac OS X)

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This page details pre-release information and/or media for Plants vs. Zombies (Windows, Mac OS X).

Early Names#

Before the game had came out, PopCap Games had come up with many different names for it. Ultimately, Plants vs. Zombies was chosen as the name, but some of the scrapped names still made their way into the final product in some form.

A HUGE list of the game's concept names, although lots of these sound more like terrible jokes. Notably, some of these names eventually made it into the game or other games in the series in other forms, such as "Zomburbia" being reused for the Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 map.
A HUGE list of the game's concept names, although lots of these sound more like terrible jokes. Notably, some of these names eventually made it into the game or other games in the series in other forms, such as "Zomburbia" being reused for the Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 map.
The final name of the game once more, but in an even earlier screenshot from back when the game's internal code was still right on top of Insaniquarium's, as seen with the window's name.
The final name of the game once more, but in an even earlier screenshot from back when the game's internal code was still right on top of Insaniquarium's, as seen with the window's name.
Another punny concept title, which was decided upon in an October 2007 beta test.
Another punny concept title, which was decided upon in an October 2007 beta test.
3 different titles for Plants vs. Zombies posted to George Fan's Twitter, though they were mainly made out of frustration towards "Lawn of the Dead" being ultimately rejected.
3 different titles for Plants vs. Zombies posted to George Fan's Twitter, though they were mainly made out of frustration towards "Lawn of the Dead" being ultimately rejected.
The final name for the game, but in a similar style to the Lawn of the Dead title screen. The Plants vs. Zombies logo also has an exclamation mark in this capture.
The final name for the game, but in a similar style to the Lawn of the Dead title screen. The Plants vs. Zombies logo also has an exclamation mark in this capture.
Zom-Botany. In the final game, this name (ironically) found life through ZomBotany and ZomBotany 2, two minigames. It's also the name of a scrapped final boss track.
Zom-Botany. In the final game, this name (ironically) found life through ZomBotany and ZomBotany 2, two minigames. It's also the name of a scrapped final boss track.
Bloom & Doom, another former name. This name is still seen in the final game as the company who makes the seed packets, and the record studio who published the Zombies on your Lawn music video.
Bloom & Doom, another former name. This name is still seen in the final game as the company who makes the seed packets, and the record studio who published the Zombies on your Lawn music video.

Builds#

Start of development#

  • Insaniquarium_1-0icon.png Weedlings - Unknown Date, 2005

Insaniquarium Deluxe Version#

  • Insaniquarium_1-0icon.png Insaniquarium Deluxe 1.0 - July 26, 2006

Lawn of the Dead Versions#

  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead 0.5 - August 13, 2006
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead 0.6 - October 25, 2006
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead 0.6X - November 22, 2006
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.pngLawn of the Dead 0.7 - March 3, 2007
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead 0.71 - April 3, 2007
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead 0.8 - July 13, 2007
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead 0.81 - July 14, 2007
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead - Halloween 2007 (0.92) - October 31, 2007
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead - X.XX - November 1, 2007
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.pngLawn of the Dead - 0.93 - April 1, 2008
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead - 0.94 - April 22, 2008
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead - 0.96 RELEASE - Unknown Date, 2008
  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Lawn of the Dead 1.0 - Unknown Date, 2008

Zom-Botany Version#

  • Early_PvZ_Icon.png Zom-Botany 0.96 RELEASE - September 5, 2008

Bloom & Doom Versions#

  • PvZ_Icon.png Bloom & Doom COMPANY RELEASE 0.1.1.1006 - October 5, 2008
  • PvZ_Icon.png Bloom & Doom X.X.X.XXXX - October 28, 2008
  • PvZ_Icon.png Bloom & Doom X.X.X.XXXX - October 31, 2008
  • PvZ_Icon.png Bloom & Doom BETA 0.1.1.1014 - December 2, 2008
  • PvZ_Icon.png Bloom & Doom BETA 0.1.1.1057 - January 2, 2009

Plants vs. Zombies Versions#

  • PvZ_Icon.png '''Plants vs. Zombies BETA 0.9.9.1029''' - February 17, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies COMPANY RELEASE 0.9.9.1030 - February 18, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.0.0.1051 - May 5, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.0.4.7924 - Unknown Date, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.0.7.2941 - Unknown Date, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.0.7.3556 - Unknown Date, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.1.0.1156 - Unknown Date, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1065 - Unknown Date, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1065 DEBUG - Unknown Date, 2009
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1067 RELEASE - Unknown Date

Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Versions#

  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1073 - Unknown Date, 2010
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1073 RELEASE - Unknown Date, 2010
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1082 - Unknown Date, 2010
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1091 - Unknown Date, 2010
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1092 - Unknown Date, 2010
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1093 - [US: August 9, 2010] [FR: March 31, 2011] [DE: April 12, 2012] [IT: April 19, 2012] [ES: April 20, 2012]
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1095 - Unknown Date, 2010
  • PvZ_Icon.png Plants vs. Zombies 1.2.0.1096 - December 15, 2010

James Gwertzman Presentation#

Watch on YouTubeIn this presentation, one part features every build ever made for the game, from the hard drive of James Gwertzman. These are only the prototypes that weren't released.

  • James_Folder.png 2006_07_26 - July 26, 2006 (Insaniquarium Deluxe 1.0)
  • James_Folder.png 2006_11_22_LawnDemo - November 22, 2006
  • James_Folder.png 2007_03_03 - March 3, 2007 (Lawn of the Dead 0.7)
  • James_Folder.png 2007_07_14_Lawn of the Dead - July 14, 2007 (Lawn of the Dead 0.81)
  • James_Folder.png 2007_11_01_Lawn of the Dead - November 01, 2007 (Lawn of the Dead x.xx)
  • James_Folder.png 2007_04_01_Lawn of the Dead - April 01, 2008 (Lawn of the Dead 0.93)
  • James_Folder.png 2007_04_22_Lawn of the Dead - April 22, 2008 (Lawn of the Dead 0.94)
  • James_Folder.png 2008_09_05_ZomBotany - September 05, 2008 (Zom-Botany 0.96 RELEASE)
  • James_Folder.png 2008_10_31_Bloom and Doom - October 31, 2008 (Bloom & Doom x.x.x.xxxx)
  • James_Folder.png 2009_02_18_Plants vs. Zombies - February 18, 2009 (Plants vs. Zombies COMPANY RELEASE 0.9.9.1030)
  • James_Folder.png PvsZartwork
  • James_Folder.png swfs
  • James_Zip.png 2006_11_22_LawnDemo.zip - November 22, 2006
  • Setup_Build.png 2007_03_03_WinLawnSetup.exe - March 03, 2007 (Lawn of the Dead x.xx)
  • Setup_Build.png 2007_07_14_WinLawnSetup.exe - July 14, 2007 (Lawn of the Dead 0.81)
  • Setup_Build.png 2007_11_01_WinLawnSetup.exe - November 01, 2007 (Lawn of the Dead x.xx)
  • Setup_Build.png 2008_04_01_WinLawnSetup.exe - April 01, 2008 (Lawn of the Dead 0.93)
  • Setup_Build.png 2007_04_22_WinLawnSetup.exe - April 22, 2008 (Lawn of the Dead 0.94)
  • Setup_Build.png 2008_09_05_ZomBotanySetup.exe - September 05, 2008 (Zom-Botany 0.96 RELEASE)
  • Setup_Build.png 2008_10_31_BloomAndDoom.exe - October 31, 2008 (Bloom & Doom x.x.x.xxxx)
  • Setup_Build.png 2009_02_18_PlantsVsZombiesCompanySetup.0.9.9.1030.exe - February 18, 2009 (Plants vs. Zombies COMPANY RELEASE 0.9.9.1030)

Sub-Pages#

Insaniquarium DeluxeEarly development, when the game was directly built off of Insaniquarium. Lawn of the DeadThe game starts to get fleshed out, but isn't quite there yet. Zom-BotanyOnly one version exists with this title. Bloom and DoomGame is mostly finished now, but still with an early title. Plants vs. ZombiesStill has some notable changes. Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the YearPost-release development.

Early Gameplay Media#

Early Graphic Designs#

An early Peashooter animation was seen on George Fan's Twitter, the left showcasing a more Pea pod-like design, and the one on the right with a more finalized version.

Very first concept sketches of the Chomper and Potato mine as seen on Rich Werner's Twitter.1

Three different artists who were candidates for the final in-game art. Artist #1 was Enrique Corts, artist #2 was Sergio Lobato, and artist #3 was Derek Yu who went on to create Spelunky. Rich Werner, the chosen artist for the game, had 3 different entries for the plants and zombies with some seen in the concept art below.

Many earlier plant designs posted on George Fan's Twitter, featuring the Peashooter, Sunflower, Wall-Nut, Cherry Bomb, Repeater, Hypno-Shroom, Snow Pea, Cabbage-pult, Jalapeno, Stinger, and Garlic. The Cabbage-pult originally countered screen door zombies, which is why it turned into both the final Cabbage-pult and the Fume Shroom.

Many earlier zombie designs once again posted on George Fan's Twitter, featuring the basic Zombie, Conehead Zombie, Buckethead Zombie, Football Zombie, Screen Door Zombie, and Propeller Zombie. These zombie designs went for a more medieval theme.

Early designs for all the plants that are introduced during the day stages posted on George Fan's Twitter. George considers the Chomper to have had the most significant visual change originally going for a "Giger alien look complete with neck spines".

An extremely early version of what would become Garlic. This design was later updated and reused for the Wall-Nut. Claimed to be "Wall-Nut's unused alter-ego, the Diverting Potato!" on George Fan's Twitter.

Early designs for all the plants that are introduced during the night stages also posted on George Fan's Twitter.

An image of what George believes to be an alternate to the Hypno-shroom, being purple instead of red like in the other pixel design, posted on George Fan's Twitter.

Early designs for all the plants that are introduced during the pool stages posted on George Fan's Twitter. The squash took inspiration from the Thwomp from the Mario series.

Early designs for all the plants that are introduced during the fog stages posted on George Fan's Twitter. The biggest change here is the Plantern, who was originally a lightbulb mushroom named Lamp-shroom.

The Beehive and Stinger, which were even earlier versions of the Cactus. They shot bees and could only shoot airborn zombies.

Early designs for all the plants introduced in the roof stages posted on George Fan's Twitter. Flower Pot's design was short lived and "uninspiring" while the Marigold was one of the last plants added. Marigold was also one of the first plants designed by Rich Werner so George wanted to find a way to add it into the game. The Coffee Bean used to hover over sleeping shrooms instead of disintegrating.

Early tree versions of Cabbage-pult and Melon-pult.

Early designs for all the upgrade plants posted on George Fan's Twitter. The Gatling Pea and Twin Sunflower were originally their own plants before they were going to be upgrades. George didn't bother doing a pixel art version of the Gloom-Shroom and Spikerock because they were one of the last plants made. Cob Cannon was original going to occupy 1 space instead of 2 hence its upward design.

Better quality image of the Gold Magnet image compression.

Designs of plants that went unused and an early iteration of the Imitater posted on George Fan's Twitter. The second plant was a turnip was from the Weedlings prototype, they were called "Tubers". The third plant is a cucumber that George sketched while on a plane and had a fondnes over its design. The fourth plant was called a "Yampoline" which bounced zombies forward like the Pole-Vaulting Zombie.

Early Screenshots#

All screenshots are presented and put in order with dates from descending to ascending.

2007#

PvZ_aG884y2uIo.pngPvZ_n7sdlWMfKQ.pngPvZ_fCbgaM1Gk0.pngPvZ_cCw1elQP10.png

From a later, unknown build. This shows the progression of 1-5. It initially started with the removing tangle kelp (or tangleweed) from the lawn, albeit with its original design, and had no accompaning mini-game. Then it became removing wall-nuts and placing peashooters from a conveyor belt, now known as Can You Dig It from the Limbo Page. Then it became the cancelled mini-game Squirrel where you dig up wall-nuts to try and find Crazy Dave's lost squirrels.

A screenshot of an early Night level, featuring a different Night background, and horizontally flipped graves. The UI differences are that the money bank is using Insaniquarium Java's design. Also, Hypno-shroom costs 100 sun instead of 75.

An early screenshot of the Roof. There are many differences here such as Sunflower and Ice-shroom costing 100 sun, Blover costing 150 sun, Melon-pult using an early and crudely drawn sprite whilst costing 250 sun, Potato Mine and Tangle Kelp costing 50 sun, and Threepeater costing 300 sun. Lawnmowers are also used here instead of roof cleaners.

2008#

Mushrooms sleeping near the pool with early sleeping bubbles. What appears to be an early version of Magnet-shroom can be seen at the bottom left.

An early version of the Dr. Zomboss fight. The roof appears to have a blue hue covering it, and the conveyor belt has a more horizontal design as if you were to see it from the side. Dr. Zomboss seems to have a more distinctly leaned over pose to summon bungee zombies. The level progress bar also has early graphics used.

An early version of the main menu, dated August 21, 2008. Most notably, the gravestone and its buttons have a more beige-tinted color. Survival is placed under Adventure, a "Challenges" button which may have been an early name for Mini-games, and the Zen Garden has its own button instead of a watering can icon. No Puzzle button exists yet, but was introduced with Vasebreaker over a week later (see below). There's also a vase tipped over in the background, and the options vase has one extra flower. Normally the 4:3 aspect ratio doesn't allow you to see the clouds that is under the screen, and some grass can be seen floating, so this menu could've been a mock-up or the window's size was extended for development purposes. The wood player selector sign seems to be imperceptibly different, but it is less detailed compared to other screenshots. Curiously, this menu (or a version close to it) seems to be used on one of Zombatar backgrounds, judging by the flipped vase and similar color of the visible grave piece. There's also a night version of it which features a fence, but it's unknown if it's an edited variant of the previous one, or an actual menu that could be used on night levels, similarly to Crazy Dave's Twiddydinkies changing its background depending on what level you are.

Another early version of the main menu, dated October 8, 2008. The tipped vase still remains intact, but the most notable thing is that one button has been changed. Survival and "Challenges" still remain where they were, while the Zen Garden button was replaced with "Vasebreaker." The current order in the game is Mini-games, Puzzle and Survival. An oddities is seen as there is no text on any of the vases, even though they are present on the August screenshot.

(Source: https://plantsvszombies.fandom.com/wiki/Plants_vs._Zombies/Concepts#Other_beta_screens)

Early Demos#

A gif of the old lawnmower system posted to George Fan's Twitter.

James Gwertzman Presentation#

Watch on YouTubeIn 2010, James Gwertzman made a presentation on the game, titled "Plants vs. Zombies: Creating a Monster Mobile Hit." Part of the presentation shows very early prototype gameplay.

1st Prototype#

The main menu screen shows a generic background with a stock image of zombies. This image also can be seen (plus overlayed with sunflowers and other plants) in George Fan's presentation "How to Choose a Theme for Your Game." The background music in the main menu is playing the track that was left over from the 0.1.1.1014 prototype known as openingmusic.ogg.

[0:29-0:58] Choose Your Seeds Screen

This screen shows the leaves background that was leftover from the previously mentioned prototype.

James explains that in this screen, instead of selecting one type of plant, you would have to select multiple copies of the same packet, as that packet only has 1 use, like to "pick cards, and put them in your deck." The game would then randomly choose what packets it would give you based on the probabilities (percentages) seen on the packets. The plants have early descriptions, like with the almanac entries. They are as followed below. It is worth mentioning that Tangle Kelp had the earlier name, "Tangleweed," which would be reused later on as an ability for Chomper in Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare under the name "Spiky Spikeweed." Tangleweed would basically act as a potato mine in this build as it insta-kills a zombie when the zombie interacts with it.

Plant

Description

Peashooter

Shoots at the enemy

Sunflower

Gives you additional sun

Snowpea

Shoots frozen peas, which slow the enemy down

Tangleweed

Grabs a zombie and pulls it underground
[0:59-1:21] Start of the Level

No "READY, SET PLANT!" graphics exist. Seeds would have a one time use, meaning you would need to carefully use seeds at your disposal since there is no recharge system or any other way to get them back.

[1:22-2:00] First Waves Begin

When the first wave arrives, it uses text saying "WAVE %". Waves after this will not have the graphic "A HUGE WAVE OF ZOMBIES IS APPROACHING!" appear but rather still uses "WAVE %" to signal other waves. A track with a similar style to openingmusic.ogg plays that was not present in the previously mentioned prototype. Zombies' walk speed also seems to be faster than the final game's. Waves also seem to be a lot more frequent, but usually just contain 1 zombie per wave, and also explains why there are 20 waves in this fourth level.

[2:01-2:43] Wave System Logic

James explains that the waves are "not fun" because the zombies are actually random, and not predetermined like in the final game.

Intermission#

[3:10-3:12]

There is a brief moment where the screen shows possibly all of the game's prototypes' directories.

2nd Prototype#

[4:23-4:28]

The openingmusic.ogg file plays once more. The gravestone has the same shape, but the buttons are different. There is only 3 buttons instead of 4 like in the final game, with bottom spot unbound. The top button says "Adventure" as usual, and is more rounded than the final's. There is 2 other buttons that are either completely greyed out or missing. There is no wood sign for the player selector. A vase is also tipped over in the background like in this prerelease image:

[4:29-5:05]

The Ice Level is shown, using static, sampled stock textures of glaciers. The zombies in the background are also most likely part of the background and not real enemies. The Snow Pea and Chomper both cost 200 sun rather than Snow Pea costing 175, and Chomper costing 150. James explains that this level was released on April Fools day in 2008, and people were confused as if this level was broken or frozen. This whole event explains why the level appears to not work in the final game, as the whole level was a joke all along. As a result, the Yeti zombie was created after this build.

Screenshot of the level.

Zack Scott's "Plants vs. Zombies 10th Anniversary Interview with George Fan!" Video#

Watch on YouTubeOn PVZ's decade old anniversary, long renowned PVZ2 enthusiast Zack Scott interviewed the creator of the series George Fan himself on how he created the game, how he grew his success over it, and other quirks.

Gargantuar Pole Alternatives#

[48:48-49:29]

George had a few notes written down he still had, and came across that the Gargantuar was going to wield "A leash with a Chihuahua tied to it," which did not make it into the final game (also probably trying to reuse the Dog Walking Zombie concept). Another idea was the Gargantuar holding a phone booth with a person still inside, rather strange. Zack additionally said maybe this will be put on the wiki and the source will be this video,2 and yes it is Zack, yes it is.

Old Dancing Zombie Design's Removal#

[54:23-55:10]

George confirms that the Dancing Zombie's and Backup Dancers' design change was because of a cease and desist letter from Michael Jackson's estate, and they later changed the designs in the GOTY edition.

Pre-GOTY

GOTY

Pre-GOTY

GOTY

Concept Art#

As seen in earlier concept art for the game, the player was to fight against aliens rather than zombies. This concept is derived from another PopCap game, Insaniquarium. Some sketches show plants that do not appear in the final version. It also suggests that Jalapeno was going to be bound to the ground, rather than hovering slightly like in the final.

Mechanics of the game explained including a plant that looks like a turnip or tomato.
Mechanics of the game explained including a plant that looks like a turnip or tomato.
Concept art of monsters, early enemies you were to fight in the game.
Concept art of monsters, early enemies you were to fight in the game.
More concept art of monsters.
More concept art of monsters.
Various scrapped plants. Only what appear to be the Cabbage-pult, Wallnut, Garlic, Doom-shroom, Threepeater, Sunflower, Blover, Jalapeno, Chomper, and Marigold made it into the final game.
Various scrapped plants. Only what appear to be the Cabbage-pult, Wallnut, Garlic, Doom-shroom, Threepeater, Sunflower, Blover, Jalapeno, Chomper, and Marigold made it into the final game.
Some Peashooter designs including another early sunflower, and possibly tangle kelp. The Peashooter's pod design would later be made into the Peapod in the game's sequel.
Some Peashooter designs including another early sunflower, and possibly tangle kelp. The Peashooter's pod design would later be made into the Peapod in the game's sequel.
Some plants consisting of what looks like an evergreen tree crossed out, a corn cob which has the text "Secret Agent Corn" which probably became Cob Cannon, but it is also worth mentioning that in Plant vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, there is a Kernel Corn NPC that is also named "Agent Corn." There is also an angry broccoli, some sort of plant with a mask(?), a tree which would sneeze, possibly an attack, the pumpkin, some sort of potted plant(?), a happy tomato and some squash, and a grumpy non-carved pumpkin.
Some plants consisting of what looks like an evergreen tree crossed out, a corn cob which has the text "Secret Agent Corn" which probably became Cob Cannon, but it is also worth mentioning that in Plant vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, there is a Kernel Corn NPC that is also named "Agent Corn." There is also an angry broccoli, some sort of plant with a mask(?), a tree which would sneeze, possibly an attack, the pumpkin, some sort of potted plant(?), a happy tomato and some squash, and a grumpy non-carved pumpkin.
More early sketches of plants featuring an expressionless strawberry, a cherry without a face which probably became Cherry Bomb, another strawberry but with sunglasses, a plant which has some sort of fruits on a leaf that looks similar to Holly Barrier from PVZ2, the turnip seen from the early build, pea pods, which probably became the variants of the peashooter, a banana, and 2 different versions of a Jalapeno.
More early sketches of plants featuring an expressionless strawberry, a cherry without a face which probably became Cherry Bomb, another strawberry but with sunglasses, a plant which has some sort of fruits on a leaf that looks similar to Holly Barrier from PVZ2, the turnip seen from the early build, pea pods, which probably became the variants of the peashooter, a banana, and 2 different versions of a Jalapeno.
Even more early plant designs including a potato which probably became potato mine, a peanut with a appearance that of Mr. Peanut from the Planters brand along with 2 more peanuts, some sort of carrot with a "rock out" pose, a generic mushroom which could be the Doom-Shroom or Hypno-Shroom, celery stalks, a gourd(?) without a face, a more conventional looking Wall-Nut, more generic mushrooms, another potato, and an onion.
Even more early plant designs including a potato which probably became potato mine, a peanut with a appearance that of Mr. Peanut from the Planters brand along with 2 more peanuts, some sort of carrot with a "rock out" pose, a generic mushroom which could be the Doom-Shroom or Hypno-Shroom, celery stalks, a gourd(?) without a face, a more conventional looking Wall-Nut, more generic mushrooms, another potato, and an onion.
Once more, there is early plant concepts. There appears to be another onion, 2 different designs of the Garlic, 2 scrawled out tomatoes with one not scratched out, an eggplant which probably turned into chomper later on, a spearmint, and test that reads "Spearmint (frost), Iceberg lettuce, Snow peas, and Winter melon."
Once more, there is early plant concepts. There appears to be another onion, 2 different designs of the Garlic, 2 scrawled out tomatoes with one not scratched out, an eggplant which probably turned into chomper later on, a spearmint, and test that reads "Spearmint (frost), Iceberg lettuce, Snow peas, and Winter melon."
Plants vs. Zombies seems to have an exceptionally great amount of concept art. The plants shown here are a singular cherry bomb without a face, a plant with text saying "small apples(?)," the Garlic along with the text "DIVERTING GARLIC," a potato which would divert zombies with a resemblance similar to Wall-Nut, a sprout, some dandelions which would grant some sort of speed boost, a pumpkin with "LOTS OF HP," a Jalapeno which is rooted to the ground oddly labeled as "NAPALM PEPPER," the Sunflower, a CLOVER that would slow down flying zombies, the Cabbage-Pult, a Venus Flytrap which would probably later become Chomper, the Threepeater which is called "3peater," a "MIND-CONTROL MUSHROOM" which probably became Hypno-Shroom, a "Carrot Needle," and the BLOVER, which also has 3 other aliases known as "GUSTER," "WINDCLOVER," and "BLAWVER" which would repel zombies. Why would George Fan make two REALLY similar clover plants which do practically similar but not exactly the same functions? Who knows.
Plants vs. Zombies seems to have an exceptionally great amount of concept art. The plants shown here are a singular cherry bomb without a face, a plant with text saying "small apples(?)," the Garlic along with the text "DIVERTING GARLIC," a potato which would divert zombies with a resemblance similar to Wall-Nut, a sprout, some dandelions which would grant some sort of speed boost, a pumpkin with "LOTS OF HP," a Jalapeno which is rooted to the ground oddly labeled as "NAPALM PEPPER," the Sunflower, a CLOVER that would slow down flying zombies, the Cabbage-Pult, a Venus Flytrap which would probably later become Chomper, the Threepeater which is called "3peater," a "MIND-CONTROL MUSHROOM" which probably became Hypno-Shroom, a "Carrot Needle," and the BLOVER, which also has 3 other aliases known as "GUSTER," "WINDCLOVER," and "BLAWVER" which would repel zombies. Why would George Fan make two REALLY similar clover plants which do practically similar but not exactly the same functions? Who knows.
An early design of the Zombot, looking more like a frankenstein-monsterish Gargantuar.
An early design of the Zombot, looking more like a frankenstein-monsterish Gargantuar.
Early designs of both the Chomper and the Potato Mine. They seem to look slightly more 'organic'.
Early designs of both the Chomper and the Potato Mine. They seem to look slightly more 'organic'.
Various plants, some of which sporting different designs. There is a Peashooter with 4 leaves which then became the repeater, a Spikerock that appears to have no spike crowns on its head (as seen in the 0.1.1.1014 Bloom and Doom build, a Coffee Bean that has wings (a feature seen in some promo art), a Kernel-pult that doesn't have eyebrows or a bucket to shoot its corn, and a Cactus that uses its elongated form to pop Balloon Zombies. Some of the art featured here was reused for the HD version of PVZ for iPads and Android tablets.
Various plants, some of which sporting different designs. There is a Peashooter with 4 leaves which then became the repeater, a Spikerock that appears to have no spike crowns on its head (as seen in the 0.1.1.1014 Bloom and Doom build, a Coffee Bean that has wings (a feature seen in some promo art), a Kernel-pult that doesn't have eyebrows or a bucket to shoot its corn, and a Cactus that uses its elongated form to pop Balloon Zombies. Some of the art featured here was reused for the HD version of PVZ for iPads and Android tablets.
More concept designs for plants. Among other notable things, a cut bee-like plant known as the “Stinger” can be seen.
More concept designs for plants. Among other notable things, a cut bee-like plant known as the “Stinger” can be seen.
Concept designs of zombies which show early versions of the Jack-In-The-Box zombie, and the Zomboni's main design.
Concept designs of zombies which show early versions of the Jack-In-The-Box zombie, and the Zomboni's main design.
Several different scrapped zombie designs, showing off a zombie with a cluster of bandages on its head, what is most likely an early Jack-In-The-Box design with a monkey on top of the box, an original Buckethead design that reveals what appeared to be blood on its bucket as mere red paint, a zombie wearing a hoodie, a more tank-like Imp or early design of a Gargantuar, and another early design of the Gargantuar carrying its telephone pole.
Several different scrapped zombie designs, showing off a zombie with a cluster of bandages on its head, what is most likely an early Jack-In-The-Box design with a monkey on top of the box, an original Buckethead design that reveals what appeared to be blood on its bucket as mere red paint, a zombie wearing a hoodie, a more tank-like Imp or early design of a Gargantuar, and another early design of the Gargantuar carrying its telephone pole.
More zombies. We can see what appear to be another early Jack-in-the-Box zombie that's going for less of a "mental asylum escapee" vibe in favor of a clown aesthetic, the infamous early backup dancer zombie (but without a face), a Dog Zombie, as seen in the 0.1.1.1014 build (albeit less crudely drawn), a zombie that looks like some sort of mother, and a possible other Gargantuar design.
More zombies. We can see what appear to be another early Jack-in-the-Box zombie that's going for less of a "mental asylum escapee" vibe in favor of a clown aesthetic, the infamous early backup dancer zombie (but without a face), a Dog Zombie, as seen in the 0.1.1.1014 build (albeit less crudely drawn), a zombie that looks like some sort of mother, and a possible other Gargantuar design.
More concept zombie designs, including a Conehead Zombie wearing some construction worker attire, another potential early Gargantuar, and two zombie children. One of these designs is called "The Tangler".
More concept zombie designs, including a Conehead Zombie wearing some construction worker attire, another potential early Gargantuar, and two zombie children. One of these designs is called "The Tangler".
Werner's concept designs of the zombie, each one evolving further into the design we know today. He was told to tune down the original design as to not be too frightening.
Werner's concept designs of the zombie, each one evolving further into the design we know today. He was told to tune down the original design as to not be too frightening.
The original lineup Werner made as he was creating characters as to see what they would look like in-game. the hospital gown zombie was changed due to it "not clicking" and the intestines on the bungie zombie was changed to a rope to be more family friendly.
The original lineup Werner made as he was creating characters as to see what they would look like in-game. the hospital gown zombie was changed due to it "not clicking" and the intestines on the bungie zombie was changed to a rope to be more family friendly.
Concept art for the front lawn drawn by George Fan, as seen in the Plants vs. Zombies Replanted concept art gallery. While much of the "concept art" featured in Replanted was either entirely falsified or originated from later Plants vs. Zombies games, this one was confirmed to be genuine by Enrique Corts, the game's background artist.
Concept art for the front lawn drawn by George Fan, as seen in the Plants vs. Zombies Replanted concept art gallery. While much of the "concept art" featured in Replanted was either entirely falsified or originated from later Plants vs. Zombies games, this one was confirmed to be genuine by Enrique Corts, the game's background artist.
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Early Music#

This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically: Figure out what the differences are, and possibly the ones that aren't, if any.

The game's composer, Laura Shigihara, has some early and unused tracks available for sale on her Bandcamp. A few of these tracks were used in the 0.1.1.1014 prototype of the final game. This is the original soundtrack with effects and high quality samples before the decision was made to switch to tracker music for dynamic drums and presumably space concerns.

  • Crazy Dave Theme (Main Menu Theme)

OST

Final

The fadeout is not present, and the song in general is quieter than the final.

  • Choose Your Seeds

OST

Final

The older version of the song has a noticeably awkward cut-off due to the lack of a loop, whereas the final has a proper loop added. The instruments of the first version are also deeper. Oddly, the IOS version of the game seems to use this version of the song, causing it to have a very noticeable loop.

  • Grasswalk

OST

Final

The earlier version of the song is in a slightly lower key and is quieter than the final.

  • Loonboon

OST

Final

The older version of the song has a little more echo than the final.

  • Moongrains

OST

Final

Appears to be missing the "Fast" part of the track, making it much shorter than the final.

  • Zen Garden

OST

Final

The older version of the song is a bit louder than the final version.

  • Watery Graves

OST

Final

Major instrument changes. Additionally, the "second loop" at the end, which can be found as an unused part of the sequence in the final, is present here. There are also two different versions of the song included, one at a faster tempo that is closer to the final version, but still includes the "second loop". In both versions, the "second loop" sounds different from what is heard unused in the final game, missing a few notes at the end. Shigihara used the final part of the slow version of the earlier song to compose the tune for the song Zombies on Your Lawn.

  • Watery Graves (Google Pages)

This needs some investigation.
Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page.
Specifically: Check the other songs on the page for differences

Google Pages

OST

On Laura Shigihara's old Google Pages website, there is an older version of Watery Graves. The track has the album labelled as "Bloom and Doom" and features several differences from the OST version, being faster than all of them at 120bpm. The intro ends with a jazzy organ section instead of pianos, the strings are missing at 0:40, the sine instrument is missing across the entire song, the piano is different, and the song ends rather abruptly. Overall, the earlier version sounds noticeably more empty than the OST version.

(Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/PlantsVSZombies/comments/1qao79g/about_the_beta_pvz_music/)

  • Ultimate Battle

OST

Final

The older version of the song has a four-second outro that isn't present in the final version, as it needs a loop.

  • Rigor Mormist

OST

Final

The early version of Rigor Mormist; the instruments are a bit deeper than in the final.

  • Cerebrawl

OST

Final

The early version of Cerebrawl. The main instrument is an octave lower than the final. The song is much quieter than the final version due to the use of different instruments. Like the early version of Ultimate Battle, it contains an outro that isn't present in the final version.

  • Graze the Roof

OST

Final

The early version of Graze the Roof. The lead instrument is a piano, and the song is much shorter, jumping into the "main" part of the song much quicker. It also sounds rather unpolished in general. Interestingly, the rendition of the DS port seems to be based on this version rather than the final.

  • Brainiac Maniac

OST

Final

The older version of the song is slightly shorter than the final and the instruments are rather different; this is apparent in the opening of the song.

Unused Track#

  • Zombotany

Intended for the final boss. According to Laura Shigihara, the "intense" parts of the track were not long enough to sustain the entire battle. This led to it being cut entirely and replaced by Brainiac Maniac.

References#

  1. 2010 Press Conference Presentation↩︎
  2. https://youtu.be/I3_xTshLDhs?t=2928↩︎