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When you think about hit video games, it’s easy to picture studios with infinite money working in big teams to push out a product for gamers. But what happens when you have one person, a passion for gaming, and a solid idea? You get Stardew Valley.

Released on February 26, 2016, this love letter to games like Harvest Moon tasks players with taking over a farm from their grandfather. With bright, 16-bit graphics, you can grow crops, raise animals, and discover the secrets of Stardew Valley. There’s also cave exploring, relationship options, and new areas and items to unlock the more you play.

With so much content, it can be hard to believe that the game was created by one person, but it was. Eric Barone, possibly better known as ConcernedApe, is the sole creator of the hit farming sim, and you can see his love of Harvest Moon throughout the game.



Equipped with a computer science degree, Barone originally set out to take a “traditional” path, looking for a programming job. With no promising offers though, he turned his passion into creating a video game. What makes this even more amazing, is that Stardew Valley really started out as a way for him to improve his programming skills, but the more he created, the more potential the project showed.

While some games wow you with their sheer scope, Stardew Valley draws players in and keeps them there by paying attention to the little details. The world itself is inspired by the Pacific Northwest, where Barone grew up. Then, the NPCs are full of life and have stories that encourage players to finish up their daily chores so they have more time for socialization. Finally, little touches like appealing sound effects and small woodland creatures running around help players lose themselves in the game.

According to one interview, Barone worked on Stardew Valley for four years, 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. During this time, he also worked part-time at a movie theater in Seattle. Living with his girlfriend also probably helped! Obviously, this dedication paid off, as Stardew Valley has sold well over 10 million copies across different platforms since its release.



An awesome, one-man show

When we say Barone is the sole creator of the game, we mean it! From programming and graphics to art and music, Barone created it. Maybe that is why the game feels so complete because the vision and execution all came from one mind.

Originally, Barone planned on releasing the game on Xbox Live Indie Games because it is pretty easy to release a game that way. But, the more he worked on the project, the more he realized it could become something bigger. He publicly announced the game in September 2012, posting about the game and submitting it to the Steam Greenlight system. Months later, he was approached by Chucklefish, a publisher and developer. Chucklefish helped with non-developmental activities at first, like setting up websites and more. Eventually, they would work together to release the game on consoles.



One interesting fact about the development process is that Barone didn’t want to use the popular early access systems for the game. He wanted to release a full title, one that he was happy with and could stand on its own.

"I remember saying, like, I would be happy if the game sold ten thousand copies," Barone said in a recent interview.

That bet paid off, as Stardew Valley quickly became a huge success, surpassing sales milestones along the way. But Barone isn’t resting on the success of the game. Since launch, he has continued to push out updates that add hours and hours of additional enjoyment. New quests, multiplayer, and more have been added in the years since release.

If you’ve never had the chance to check out all Stardew Valley has to offer, there is never a better time as it is currently celebrating its 5th anniversary!

What do you think? Have you played Stardew Valley? Plan on it? Let us know down in the comments!
There's a fascinating chapter in "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels" by Jason Schreier about this game, describing in details the whole process of its creation.
An absolutely fantastic game! I played it for many hours, alone and with friends.
One of the great examples I think of when I consider game development for indie devs.
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sahl: ...
Honestly. Isn't it another FarmVille? Nothing but grinding? Kind of clicker?
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ciemnogrodzianin: Honestly. Isn't it another FarmVille? Nothing but grinding? Kind of clicker?
No, not even remotely, where did you get that hilariously warped lens?

Imagine Harvest Moon on the SNES.

Now throw in an astounding amount of quality of life features, four player co-op, split screen local, a whole lotta polish, an amazing soundtrack, and keep in mind: This is mostly the work of one very dedicated guy.
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ciemnogrodzianin: Honestly. Isn't it another FarmVille? Nothing but grinding? Kind of clicker?
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Darvond: No, not even remotely, where did you get that hilariously warped lens?

Imagine Harvest Moon on the SNES.

Now throw in an astounding amount of quality of life features...
5 years later, still no manual saving anytime without going home and to bed.
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GOG.com: [game] is currently celebrating its 5th anniversary!

What do you think? Have you played Stardew Valley? Plan on it? Let us know down in the comments!
To answer the question, I think time flies for no obvious reason.
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ciemnogrodzianin: Honestly. Isn't it another FarmVille? Nothing but grinding? Kind of clicker?
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Darvond: No, not even remotely, where did you get that hilariously warped lens?

Imagine Harvest Moon on the SNES.

Now throw in an astounding amount of quality of life features, four player co-op, split screen local, a whole lotta polish, an amazing soundtrack, and keep in mind: This is mostly the work of one very dedicated guy.
Took many additional years for those features to get added though. Anyway, it's an excellent game when it comes to indie ones but it lacks in certain departments when compared to "properly" produced games. Most notably are the lack of depth of characters as well as the questionable artstyle. But...well, can't have it all. If anything, the developer did a great job seeing a niche (hordes of Harvest Moon fans(myself included) who wanted to have a decent game again that is also available on PC) and filling it. The early success and the great support really helped spreading the good word around. Too bad we never got any other such games (Harvest Moon clones) that are also good in the wake of it. Marvelous Interactive really dropped the ball there and the only game that was released on the PC was a pointless remake of a great game which I had already played on the GBA back in the day.
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ciemnogrodzianin: Honestly. Isn't it another FarmVille? Nothing but grinding? Kind of clicker?
Wake up, my wife helped water and pick some of the vegetables to help me out.
Checked on my cows and chickens, make sure they have enough feed and collect milk and eggs.
It's a good thing she helped me out, because today I'm going to adventure as deep as I can in the caves looking for treasure, I just need to drop off a gift to a friend in town first :)

The game.
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Lucumo: Took many additional years for those features to get added though.
The updates added more, but even from original 1.0 release the game was a shining gem. It's only become more and more multi-faceted as time has gone on. I could see arguments that 1.1 (October 2016; about 7 months after 1.0) was the first "finished" release, but even that was just... more polish over an already good game.
Nice game. Are there other similar type games like this on GOG?
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Swissy88: ... I'm going to adventure as deep as I can in the caves looking for treasure, I just need to drop off a gift to a friend in town first :)

The game.
Not a treasure map of old? Why'd ye break youre role-playing?
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Dohi64: 5 years later, still no manual saving anytime without going home and to bed.
Making an instantaneous way home is trivial and the game can be paused indefinitely.
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Dohi64: 5 years later, still no manual saving anytime without going home and to bed.
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Darvond: Making an instantaneous way home is trivial and the game can be paused indefinitely.
yeah, because running the game for 3 hours while I do something else is true quality of life, instead of simply letting me save and quit without losing progress or wasting the rest of the in-game day.
It's a shame that it's only one day, but boy this game is a good relaxing time-killer