Off the Shelf Media

On February 26, 2016, Stardew Valley 1.0 was released by independent game developer Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe. The premise was simple, but its impact has been immense. 

It most recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and has officially become one of the best-selling games of all time with nearly 50 million units sold, putting it in a similar league as franchises like Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, and even Call of Duty, according to CNN. 

Personally, it is my favorite game of all time, and at the time of writing, I have about 250 hours logged on Steam alone, not including my hours spent on my Switch. To give you some additional context, my second most-played game, Disney Dreamlight Valley, is about 100 hours less. 

It has also expanded to become more than simply a 2D farm simulator. The game has sparked worldwide orchestra tours, a cookbook, and heaps of merch, both official and fan-made. It even has free mods built by fans to bring other beloved franchises to Pelican Town, such as the Baldur’s Village mod. 

Stardew Valley has evolved beyond a game and has become a full-blown community of fans in only 10 years. 

To commemorate the occasion, Barone released a video on YouTube, offering fans an inside look at Stardew Valley through the years and announcing two new marriage candidates players can romance in the next update. Here’s a rundown of what was shared. 

Early developments & concepts 

Most Stardew Valley fans likely have heard that the inspiration for the game derived from Barone’s love and appreciation for the original Harvest Moon. If you’re a fan of both, you should check out the joint interview Barone and Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada did with PC Gamer back in 2016. 

But what you might not know, at least I certainly didn’t, is that Stardew Valley took four years for Barone to launch 1.0. Notably, he was working independently to build every aspect of the game in those early stages, from the art design to the music, character scripts, and more. 

Getting to actually see where he began in 2012 puts “labor of love” as an almost inadequate title to the work and commitment shown by Barone. Yet, witnessing Sprout Valley, the game’s original title, evolve into what we know as Stardew Valley today is fascinating. Some features, including the bus to the desert, were original concepts that survived every iteration and adaptation. The mines, however, are perhaps the most evolved. 

A lost opportunity

Barone’s original mines system is perhaps the most different from early concepts. 

Originally, he was envisioning a procedurally generated cave system, rather than the random but still relatively static layout that we see in the current version. Though I do think this could have been interesting, Barone opted against it due to the many bugs and complexities it would have required. Logistics aside, I agree with his decision and think his current mine system works well. It avoids being too repetitive while also not being impossibly difficult, which I think serves the varying fans of Stardew Valley well. 

However, there is one insight Barone shares that I truly think was a lost opportunity, and I disagree with his call to not release it in the game: the underground goblin village.

Barone states in the video that he doesn’t regret removing this aspect of the game, elaborating further to say that the goblins are not canon to the Stardew Universe. Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a version of this in Barone’s much-anticipated release, Haunted Chocolatier. 

While such content would have probably been well received, it is important to keep in mind how good the original release of the game was. Such a massive section, as an addition of an entire goblin village, could have taken time and resources away from the other aspects that managed to come together and work perfectly. For instances the relationships may not have been as fleshed out, or even fewer characters in the main town to balance that of the underground village. This is not an absolute, but important to keep in mind how much of Stardew Valley is intricately laid out to balance skill progression along with the changing seasons.

I can hear the bells

A 1.7 update has been in the works for some time now, but Barone does not delve much into what fans can expect or when. However, he does offer one major update. 

Finally, the video ends with Barone announcing the two new marriage candidates for the next update (drum roll, please). 

Players will soon be able to romance Sandy and Clint. 

So far, this is being met with mixed reviews. Apparently, not many fans are fans of Clint. I’m not sure I fully understand the dislike, but to each his own. 
Is Stardew Valley one of the best long-term games ever developed? What type of farms or other content are you hoping to see in 1.7? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe and follow us across all channels to stay up-to-date with the latest from Off the Shelf Media.