{"id":71417,"date":"2020-09-08T18:02:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T18:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/?guid=e18249f393e7c96ba91ec5a9e7b69123"},"modified":"2020-09-08T18:02:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T18:02:00","slug":"how-stardew-valley-keeps-building-on-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/09\/08\/how-stardew-valley-keeps-building-on-success\/","title":{"rendered":"How Stardew Valley Keeps Building On Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stardew Valley released on PC in 2016, captivating players with its idyllic vision of simple farm life. In the four years since, the game has been ported to consoles and mobile, and sold more than 10 million copies across all platforms. However, the success of this relaxing retro simulation isn\u2019t a past phenomenon \u2013 it\u2019s an ongoing effort. Since launch, developer Eric Barone (a.k.a. ConcernedApe) has continued creating significant updates for Stardew Valley, improving and expanding the gameplay and story without charging players anything extra.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s gaming landscape, post-launch updates are common; studios release patches to fix bugs, as well as add new features or content. But even considering those practices, what Barone is doing with Stardew Valley is exceptional. He has given the project years of sustained support, refining the experience even after all of the acclaim it received at release.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until the game came out and most people loved it that I was like, \u2018Okay, I guess the game is actually good,\u2019 but that\u2019s kind of how I am,\u201d Barone says. \u201cI always have doubt about whether it\u2019s good. I always think it\u2019s bad. But I actually think that is a tool to my benefit, because it compels me to always go above and beyond and keep trying. I want it to be perfect, because I always feel like it\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Past updates have included a variety of major and minor tweaks, including new farm buildings to buy and upgrade, additional romantic interests to marry, and more annual festivals to celebrate. However, the single biggest new feature was the addition of multiplayer, which allows four people to play together cooperatively. \u201c[Multiplayer] was something that I had promised originally \u2013\u00a0that was one of the big selling points,\u201d Barone says. \u201cI had to make the hard decision to release it without multiplayer and patch it in later \u2026 Thankfully, now multiplayer is in, and the promise has been kept. That was a big relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

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If co-op isn\u2019t your thing, you aren\u2019t left out in the cold. One of the great things about Stardew Valley is how it accommodates a breadth of playstyles. If you are mainly interested in making money for better upgrades, you can pursue that loop. If you love the life-simulation angle and want to befriend all the townspeople, that\u2019s another option. When determining what changes to pursue in any update, Barone tries to balance the needs of all kinds of players. He compares the process to preparing a meal: \u201cYou can\u2019t just have the meat; you also have the potatoes, and the salad beforehand, to make a perfect meal. And then it all needs a lot of sauce on top, and salt. If you don\u2019t have all that, it\u2019s not going to be good.\u201d In short, a good update needs something in every category: end-game activities for experienced players, engaging content for new players, and quality-of-life changes for everyone.<\/p>\n

For example, the most recent 1.4 update included a clothes-tailoring system, new hairstyles for your character, a \u201ctrash bear\u201d that demands specific items and only appears after the second in-game year, a new farm map with co-op in mind, and much more. It\u2019s a lot of varied content, and because it\u2019s all free for people who own the game, you can always come back to Stardew Valley after time away and find something new.<\/p>\n

But is it possible to change too much? The core Stardew Valley experience is a carefully paced introduction to the systems and world, and messing with that could disrupt some of the game\u2019s magic. \u201cI\u2019m very cautious about making changes to the base game,\u201d Barone says. \u201cI really don\u2019t want to mess with the early-game experience; I don\u2019t want people to boot up the game and say, \u2018Wait, where\u2019s my Stardew Valley?!\u2019 I always try to make sure that if there are big new things you can do in the early game, it\u2019s extra. It\u2019s peripheral. It\u2019s not affecting the core experience of the game. And if there are things that change that, I want to make sure they\u2019re optional. There\u2019s some new stuff in 1.5 that I think will be a good way for people to replay Stardew Valley and get a fresh experience, but it\u2019s optional. If you\u2019re new to the game, you\u2019ll have the classic Stardew Valley experience. But if you\u2019re are an experienced player, you have this option to play something fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n