I keep seeing how Stardew is great here so I tried it yesterday. First I read an interview with ConcernedApe and love how he’s a solo dev, which is inspiring to me for my own solo project. So I really wanted to love stardew, become attached to it, and view ConcernedApe as a romodel.
Did not happen. Loved the music and gentle nice vibes of the intro, and the different starting choices were cool. First negative tho is something I remember from the article where he said he didn’t really like majora’s mask cuz the time aspect then laughed at the irony since he made Stardew. Well I agree. The time aspect doesn’t make it more fun for me.
I love how different the people are instead of all slight variations of the same model.
thing 2 tho that basically prevents me from getting farther is the ‘work’. Right now I’m loading back in to my Rimworld game. Comparatively, when I stepped out on to that Stardew field with no crops yet planted, my thought was, '“oh am i going to have to do all this myself?” Idk why I would want to spend my time and effort doing what someone in Rimworld does without needing micromanagement.
Tried to get farther this morning and could not.
So I guess it isn’t for everyone, and for me, this is why. Definitely admire ConcernedApe tho and his success and community he creates as a solo dev.
Stardew Valley is basically a love letter to/greatest hits compilation of the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons franchises. It’s kind of the opposite of a management game. There is a little bit of automation later on, but most productivity gains come in upgrading your tools which can either plow more soil in one whack, cut down a tree faster, water large patches of fields, etc.
I definitely see where you fell off because at first it feels like you don’t have time for everything, the clock runs no matter what, there’s only so many minutes in a day etc. Here’s the thing though: There’s no failure state, and the game repeats forever. Each day is short, but days never stop coming. So plant and water a little patch of crops, then look around the town, talk to people, explore. More gameplay styles open up as you play; it’s possible to focus on exploring the various mines or fishing or whatnot rather than farming.
Definitely do give it up for Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone. It’s amazing what the man built single-handedly.