Serenity Forge Founder Z on Trauma, Fractured Blooms, and Why Games Matter

Serenity Forge founder Zhenghua “Z” Yang believes games can change lives.

Serenity Forge founder Zhenghua “Z” Yang doesn’t make games because he loves everything the medium already does. He makes them because he’s angry about what it leaves unexplored.

I sat down with Z to discuss the personal experiences that shaped Serenity Forge, how those experiences influence the games the publisher champions, and why he believes games can reach people in ways other media can't. His current project, Fractured Blooms, offers a particularly raw example of that philosophy.

On the surface, Fractured Blooms looks like a cozy life sim about gardening, cooking, and caring for a home. That routine gradually gives way to something much darker, drawing from Z's family and the people around him.

From Steam:

Inspired by a true story.

Restore your neglected house to its former glory by growing crops, cooking delicious meals, learning new recipes, and taking care of its inhabitants in this psychological life sim!

Play as Angie, a teenage girl who finds herself stuck in a time loop and a world that is soft and still. Every loop is a strategic game of resource management and discovery. Plan each day carefully to manage your food and stamina. Only by mastering your routine and finding ways around challenging tasks can you dig deeper into the blessed reality around you.

The interview also explores Z's near-fatal illness, the creation of his first game, Loving Life, and the experiences that shaped his belief in games as more than entertainment.

Fractured Blooms is currently in development for Steam. A free demo is available now.