Plants vs. Zombies/Concepts

History repeats itself but it
always gets the details wrong.

The content and images in this article are not fake. They are either unused concepts or scrapped features.

"The future's not what it used to be!
There's more of it!"

This article is about upcoming or scrapped features in the respective game. Do not add false information. If you do, it may result in a warning or even a block.

"He just doesn't understand how the zombies get up on the roof in the first place." ^[1]

This page contains information from unknown sources which can make its information unreliable. Please
supplement them if you have any.

This page records the beta content of Plants vs. Zombies. There are unused graphics, texts, and mini-games that still remain in the game's coding. There are also earlier ideas for the game. These concepts began production in 2005.

Installable beta versions

As of October 7, 2021, two beta versions have now been uploaded to the Internet Archive. Version 0.1.1.1014 (named "Bloom & Doom") dated December 2, 2008 can be found here while version 0.9.9.1029 dated February 17, 2009 can be found here.

Early concepts

Early names

Before the game came out, PopCap came up with many different names for it, but ultimately Plants vs. Zombies was chosen.^[1] Some of the scrapped names still were reused later.

Zom-Botany, which was a former name for the game and is a name for mini-games ZomBotany and ZomBotany 2 now.
Bloom and Doom, another former name for the game, is still seen on the seed packets in the game listed as the Bloom and Doom Seed Co.
A list for concept names which contains Plants vs. Zombies twice
Another concept title, which was chosen in a beta test in October 2007
3 different titles made by George Fan, according to him, out of frustration towards "Lawn of the Dead" being rejected.^[2]

Concept art

Most of these concept art images show early ideas of various plants (some of which didn't make it to the final game). The third and fourth images show that the first idea of an enemie were some alien-like creatures instead of zombies. Lastly, the third image shows the early ideas for the mechanics of the game.

Concept art for various plants, most of which made it to the final game.^[1]
Concept art showing the early mechanics of the game and the first idea of a zombie and Sunflower.^[1]
Concept art probably showing early ideas for enemies.^[1]
More early ideas for enemies.^[1]
More concepts of plants from the book, "The Art of Plants vs. Zombies".
Other concepts of plants and possibly the Player's House from the same book.
Early sprite for Peashooter
Alternate concept for Peashooter
Early sprite animations for Peashooter
Early sprite for Sunflower
Sprite for an early plant named the "Diverting Potato", whose design was refined into Wall-nut, and whose ability was refined into Garlic
Early sprite for Wall-nut
Early sprite for Snow Pea
Early sprite for Repeater
Early concept art of the day levels plants.
Early sprite for Puff-shroom
Early sprite for Sun-shroom
Early sprite for Fume-shroom
Early sprite for Hypno-shroom
Alternate purple color scheme for Hypno-shroom
Early concept art of the night levels plants.
Early sprite for Threepeater
Early sprite for Jalapeno
Early sprite for Tall-nut
Early concept art of the pool levels plants.
Early sprite for Cactus
Early sprite for Split Pea
Early concept art of the fog levels plants.
Early sprite for Cabbage-pult
Alternate concept for Cabbage-pult
Alternate concept for Melon-pult
Early concept art of the roof levels plants.
Early sprite for Gold Magnet
Early concept art of the upgrade plants.
All rejected designs for plants made by Rich Werner, including one plant that was never used.^[3]
Early concept art of Chomper and Potato Mine.^[3]
Unused zombie designs made by Werner, with the exception of the Backup Dancer.^[3]
More unused zombie designs.^[3]
Image showing the evolution of the design of the Basic Zombie until the final one was made.^[3]
Concept art of what appears to be zombie kids.^[3]

Unused content

Unused text

We need more gems and sprouts.

This section is currently under construction. You can help expand it; it's your choice.

Most of the text is stored in main.pak/properties/LawnStrings.txt.

[ADVICE_SCARY_POTTER_TUTORIAL]
TEMP - Dave put more vases on your lawn!

[ADVICE_SHOVEL_REFRESH]
The shovel needs time to refresh before digging again

In the final game, the shovel can always be used instantly, probably due to it being to difficult to deal with.

[ADVICE_3_IN_A_ROW]
More vases incoming!
{STREAK} of 3 waves cleared

These lines were probably used in Level 4-5 (Vasebreaker) before Crazy Dave's proper dialog was implemented.

[ADVICE_I_ZOMBIE_PLANTS_NOT_REAL]
Do not be alarmed
Plants are not real

This text was probably used in I, Zombie puzzles before Crazy Dave's proper introductions were implemented.

[UNLOCKED_SURVIVAL_MODE]
Survival mode unlocked!
Play it from the main menu!

This suggests that Survival mode was once a from a present item. It's not unlocked from a present item anymore, so this text goes unused.

[WIN_MESSAGE1]
You have defeated the Boss Zombie!

[WIN_MESSAGE2]
Congratulations!  You have most triumphantly fended off the zombie attack!  Your lawn is safe... for now!

This message was used in the pre-GOTY version, but became unused in the GOTY version; when you beat the final boss, the "achievements unlocked" screen will appear, but this message is not displayed.

Warning

Unknown Text, could have been a placeholder for Dave's speech before the Zomboss Fight.

[VASE]
Mysterious Vase

Possibly used for the unused vase item you can spawn in-game, It works like the gardening can in 5-5, but unlocks vasebreaker, and I, Zombie. Because of the vase texture used when summoned, I, Zombie was most likely thought of after vasebreaker was created, thus the reason for the exclusion of I, Zombie in puzzle mode in most of these early texts.

[FOUND_VASE]
You found a Mysterious Vase!

Probably connected to the previous message.

[VASE_DESCRIPTION]
Now you can play
Vasebreaker Mode!

In the final game, Vasebreaker and I, Zombie are introduced at the same time. It was possibly different, as I, Zombie might have been thought of after these messages were scrapped.

[MORE_SEEDS_HEADER]
More seeds?

[MORE_SEEDS_BODY]
Would you like to be able to plant more kinds of seeds?

These lines were probably used when the player was offered to increase the number of their seed slots before Crazy Dave's dialog was introduced.

[ZOMBATAR_FINISHED_WARNING_HEADER]
WARNING!

Another warning, but this time a Zombatar warning. Something to note is that the GOTY version of the game came after the OG version, so this being here is strange.

[REPLAY_LEVEL_BODY]
Do you wish to replay level 3-4?

Shown when the demo is completed, as it ends on 3-4.

[SCARY_POTTER_10]
Vasebreaker Facebreaker

An unused Vasebreaker level. This possibly could have been the last Vasebreaker level, before endless replaced it.

[SQUIRRELS]
Squirrels

A leftover from the cut Squirrel minigame

[EXPLODE_O_NUT_TOOLTIP]
Explodes on contact

A tool-tip for the Explode-o-nut. Can be viewed in the almanac using hacks, but displays incorrectly

Trivia

Dog Walking Zombie, Dog Zombie, and Propeller Zombie were going to appear in the game but were taken out and there are no sprites for them but only artwork.
The shovel had to be recharged before it could be used again.
Survival Mode was going to be available from a present item but now it is unlocked after beating Adventure Mode for the first time.
There was supposed to be a Mysterious Vase that unlocks Vasebreaker mode, but in the final game, both Vasebreaker and I, Zombie are unlocked at the same time.

Unused graphics

Plants

An unused degrade sprite of Spikeweed.
Gray Spikeweed.
Ditto, first degradation.
Ditto, second degradation.
An unused second stage of degradation for the Pumpkin.
Pumpkin with a rounder front (ripped from the files).
Pumpkin's rounder first degrade (ripped from the files).
Pumpkin's rounder second degrade (ripped from the files).
Pumpkin's rounder third degrade (ripped from the files).
Pumpkin's rounder back (ripped from the files).
Full image of Wall-nut found in files, in the game, the sprites are separated in parts.
Full image of Lily Pad found in files, in the game, the sprites are separated in parts.
Unused eyebrow for Starfruit.
Unused sprite for Sea-shroom's eyes, which in the final game are part of the head sprite.

Zombies

Unused Bungee Zombie scared sprite.
Unused Gargantuar headwear, Most likely for the Giga-Gargantuar.
Unused damaged flag texture (ripped from the files).

Miscellaneous

Unused Quick Play screen.
An unused zombie vase with other vase sprites.
Unused Vasebreaker Menu Button.
An unused alternative damaged RV sprite.
Unused silver coin design.
Unused gold coin design.
Unused icon from store (left-over from trial version).
A squirrel that was supposed to be in the Squirrel mini-game.
Wall-nut eyeball that supposed to be in the Art Challenge Wall-nut mini-game.
Gold fertilizer, scrapped upgrade for the Fertilizer.
Gold phonograph, scrapped upgrade for the Phonograph.
Unused icon for Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick.
Unused icon for Zombiquarium.
Lex found in files.
Skull.
Early speech bubble probably used for plants.
Unknown file, most likely just a development texture.
Ditto.
Ditto, but possibly used for Plantern.
Unknown gray-brown square with the name "cobblestone".
Unknown empty file.

Trivia

The unused zombie vase makes its debut Plants vs. Zombies 2 using a different design and color, and always spawns a Vase Gargantuar.

Unused plants

Plant	Description	Sun cost	Recharge	Additional notes
Cherry Hover-bomb	Omb [sic] that can be planted atop other plants	175	Very slow	Shares design with beta illustrations of Cherry Bomb and would have functioned similarly. Was likely scraped due to redundancy.
Duplicator Cycler	Rows seed packets	150	Very slow	Repeatedly cycles through the entirety of the seed packet bar. The player can then click on the seed packet of the plant that they want to place on the lawn. After the plant is placed, the Duplicator Cycler enters cooldown for 50 seconds. Was likely scrapped in favor of Imitater, which can copy a single selected plant and also inherit its recharge time.
Iceberg Lettuce	Hurls ice-cold lettuce, which slows the enemy down	200	Slow	Is for all intents and purposes the Snow Pea equivalent to Cabbage-pult. Was scrapped in favor of Marigold.^[4]
Beehive/Stinger	Shoots bees at balloon zombies	125	Slow	Can only target flying zombies and can also be planted on top of other plants. Has official artwork by Rich Werner and was scrapped in favor of Cactus^[5]
Time Stopper	Instantly recharges your other seeds	50	Fast	Momentarily pauses all activity on the lawn after played, allowing seed packets to recharge. Was scrapped in favor of Imitater because George Fan deemed the mechanics of this plant to be too uninteresting.^[6]
Yampoline	Bounces zombies forward over plants^[7]	N/A	N/A	Originally an obstacle. Was removed because according to George Fan, "Making zombies tougher to deal with is not a good look for a plant's resume tho".^[7]

Gallery

Initially, players were going to water and pluck plants known as "Tubers." This was deemed too tedious, and so the Sunflower and the concept of collecting sun was created.^[8]
Early sprite for the Tuber
Cherry Hover-bomb's sprites
Iceberg Lettuce's sprites
Iceberg Lettuce's idle animation
Left over from green turnip (plant from the very old version)
Iceberg Lettuce's seed packet
Iceberg Lettuce's projectiles
Beehive alongside both designs for Stinger and a bee projectile^[9]
Stinger's sprites
Stinger's idle animation
Stinger animation attacking a Bungee zombie
Stinger's projectiles
Rich Werner's design for Beehive/Stinger
Ditto
Time Stopper's sprites with Duplicator Cycler
Digitized sketch for a cucumber plant^[10]

Almanac entries

Cherry Hover-bomb's almanac entry
Time Stopper's almanac entry
Stinger's almanac entry
Iceberg Lettuce's almanac entry

Unused zombies

Zombie	Description*	Health	Additional notes
Dog Walking Zombie	Dog Walking Zombie description	200	Probably was re-worked into Newspaper Zombie.
Dog Zombie	Dog Zombie description	280	Its height allows it to avoid projectiles fired by straight shooter plants
Propeller Zombie	Propeller Zombie description	420?	The rotor can be destroyed by Cactus, stolen by Magnet-shroom, and Blover removes it when airborne. Changed To Balloon Zombie In The Final Release which isn't vulnerable to Magnet-shroom.

*All zombies listed only have placeholder text for their descriptions

Gallery

Dog Zombie's sprites
Rich Werner's design for Dog Zombie.
Propeller Zombie's sprites alongside the sprites for Balloon Zombie's early design
Propeller Zombie's animation
The propeller separate

A Zombie is from the Lawn of the Dead fangame

Early and unused designs

Lawn of the Dead Zombie (ripped from the files)

Early beta illustrations for various plants and zombies as well as concept art by Plants vs. Zombies artist Rich Werner, courtesy of his official website.

Gallery

A Zombie with tongue (Lawn of the Dead)

Trivia

The concept of Garlic makes it look like a vampire, which is ironic since vampires traditionally have a weakness to garlic. (Unsourced)
Some plants have armor on their concept art page. (Unsourced)
The Pole Vaulting Zombie concept appears to be a zombie with a concussion, wearing a hospital gown.
Magnet-shroom was going to look like a mushroom with a magnet welded to its head.
Sea-shroom was originally going to have no cap and have leaves or seaweed.
There was a "timestopper plant" that was basically an apple as a clock face, which was removed because it made the game unfun to play while that ability was in effect. It was most likely changed to Ice-shroom. (Unsourced)
The beehive plant, named "Stinger"^[5], originally functioned just like Cactus, countering a propeller zombie. The developers replaced the zombie with Balloon Zombie, and, quoting George Fan, "the “pointiness” of the projectile was more important than the “flyingness”, which lead to it being replaced by Cactus.
Split Pea's head-like-growth was originally going to have larger eyes, a small peashooter-like leaf, and what appears to be its own body dangling off its head.
The Gargantuar's unused helmet's design is a reference to Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome's Master-Blaster, hence the entire design references the imp being The Brains, Master, and the Gargantuar being The Brawn, Blaster.

Earlier gameplay

As seen in earlier screenshots of the game, Snow Pea was going to cost 200 sun, Tangle Kelp was going to be a ground plant, and plants were given via conveyor style, but the player still needed sun to plant them. Possibly, players were going to select the rating of getting plants on the conveyor belt. Also, in October 2007, when the name was "Lawn of the Dead", the progress bar was shorter, the Sunflower costed 100 sun, the sun counter was near the right side of the screen, the lawn was zoomed in more, the lawnmowers were closer to the grass, and Potato Mine cost 50 sun instead of 25 sun and was bigger, as wide as a grass tile. Like the Snow Pea, Chomper originally costed 200 sun, and in an ice world (most likely Ice Level), the Wall-nut was seen costing 75 sun.

Gallery

(Unsourced)

The player was going to be able to select the rarity of plants
The rarity choosing background, likely a placeholder
Screenshot featuring a mystery seed packet that costed 300 sun
Tangle Kelp-like plant in another old screenshot
Dog Zombie and its walker that got cut from the game
An image from George Fan's twitter showing which prototype zombies from said screenshot (and a few previously not shown ones) became the zombies in the finished game.^[11]
The earliest known screenshot from 2005: what seem to be early Cabbage-pults attacking alien-like enemies.
An image from George Fan's twitter showing old versions of plants.^[12]
Old backyard design. There is no pool, but rather higher ground (not a fence) that blocks projectiles.
A VERY old Catapult-like plant. Ripped from Iceberg Lettuce files.
A gif of the old lawnmower system.
An early start screen, which has no Adventure, Minigames etc. Selections.
An early pause screen, containing Insaniquarium leftovers.
Plants vs. Zombies Beta Prototype Builds Footage- July 2006 v1.0 & Lawn of the Dead April 1 2008

5 Minute long footage of the very early 2006 Build of PVZ and footage of the Ice Level April Fools Build.

Limbo Page

Main article: Limbo Page

The Limbo Page

The Limbo Page Almost completed. If you spawn a money bag during Zen Garden, You can beat it. Other than that it is complete.

The Limbo Page is a hidden amount of data in the PC version of Plants vs. Zombies that contains ten mini-games, along with four variations on Survival: Endless, that were going to be added to the game, but were eventually canceled and removed from the game. It is possible to access this page via using third-party memory editing programs such as Cheat Engine and changing specific data values.

Unused achievements (GOTY only)

All but Sultan of Spin, which was an unused achievement on the PC version, were originally intended for the iOS version but were removed. (Unsourced) They can still be found in the codes.

Sultan of Spin - Upgrade all of your plants in Beghouled Twist.
Disrespect The Dead - Remove 10 graves during a single nighttime level.
Heavy Weapons - Complete Last Stand using only Cob Cannons to kill zombies.
Zen Profit - Earn a total of 100,000 coins through your Zen Garden.
May Not Contain Nuts - Defeat a nighttime level without using Wall-nuts or Tall-nuts.
Even Morticulturalist - Use every Plant at least once.
Beat It - Defeat a Dancing Zombie before he summons Backup Dancers.
Gold Farmer - Plant 5 Marigolds and a Gold Magnet in a single level.
Face To Face - Complete a level with Digger Zombies without any of them reaching the left side of your lawn.