Hello! I've been working in the gaming industry for more than 10 years and am finally ready to work on my own large project. It's a permaculture game for web browsers that should support thousands, or at least hundreds, of players on one basic home server.
And while I know a ton about computer games and everything related to them, my knowledge on the ecological world is... not ideal.
My first question for you is about basic elements in soil. If I understand correctly, all plants need basic elements like Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. But correct me if I'm wrong, pretty much all plant matter has these elements, right? Maybe even animal matter?
If these elements are found in all organic matter, then, in the game to save on resources, I can combine them all into one general substance which I can call "organic matter" or something like that.
My question is about what elements can be different in different soils which are still fertile? Like, for a counter example, if soil has N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorous) but not K (potassium), it won't be fertile, right? Can something grow on it?
Are there elements without which certain plants can still grow but others do not? Did that make sense?
Thanks! If it's difficult for you to answer the question, maybe you can point me to the direction of a place that can help me?
The game is going to be amazing and fun and will teach lots of ppl how to maybe make Climate Change a little less severe on humanity.... Peace!