WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.259 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking 00:00:03.259 --> 00:00:06.440 a really close look at a game that started small, 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:09.039 almost like a side project. Right, a resume project 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:11.419 actually. Exactly, and it just exploded into 00:00:11.419 --> 00:00:13.339 this massive cultural thing. We're talking about 00:00:13.339 --> 00:00:15.300 Stardew Valley. It really is more than just a 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:17.500 game, isn't it? It's this incredible story of 00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:21.780 solo dedication, really thoughtful design, almost... 00:00:23.099 --> 00:00:25.219 countercultural in a way. Totally. I mean, the 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:28.579 numbers alone are wild. Over 41 million copies 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.100 sold. And it's spent off into cookbooks, actual 00:00:31.100 --> 00:00:32.960 orchestral symphonies. It's kind of amazing. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.560 It really is. And the core thing, the fact that 00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:38.520 just anchors this whole deep dive for me, is 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:40.619 that the first version, the initial release, 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:44.859 it was all one person. Eric Barone. Or Concerned 00:00:44.859 --> 00:00:46.939 Ape, as most players know him. Yeah. He was the 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:49.140 designer, the coder, the animator, the artist. 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:51.500 He did the music, wrote everything. Everything. 00:00:51.579 --> 00:00:54.640 It's just mind -blowing. So our mission... Today, 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:57.479 for you listening, is to really unpack that journey. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:00:59.560 We want to understand what drove Barone, you 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:01.380 know, what sparked it all. Right. The kind of 00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:04.040 desperation almost that led to the project and 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:07.099 how his specific design ideas created a game 00:01:07.099 --> 00:01:09.560 that feels so charming on the surface. But has 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:12.480 this surprising depth, maybe even a critique 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:16.280 of like modern life packed in there. Exactly. 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:19.629 OK, let's get into it. But first. We really need 00:01:19.629 --> 00:01:22.689 to grasp the scale of that effort, his sacrifice. 00:01:23.069 --> 00:01:25.010 Yeah, this wasn't just a quick thing. No way. 00:01:25.209 --> 00:01:28.150 He put himself through this intense crunch, 10 00:01:28.150 --> 00:01:31.030 hours a day, seven days a week. For four and 00:01:31.030 --> 00:01:35.090 a half years straight. That adds up to, what, 00:01:35.150 --> 00:01:38.780 almost 16 ,000 hours. of just him working alone 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:40.859 before it even launched. It's staggering. You 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:42.599 just don't see that in the big studios, right? 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:45.040 Where you've got huge teams, maybe hundreds of 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.879 people. This kind of singular focus let him pour 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.620 his own vision into every tiny detail. And I 00:01:51.620 --> 00:01:53.180 think that's a huge part of why the game feels 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:56.239 so cohesive, so personal. That personal touch 00:01:56.239 --> 00:01:58.359 is definitely key to its charm, its staying power. 00:01:58.579 --> 00:02:00.599 Absolutely. So let's dig into where that vision 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:03.079 actually came from. OK, so Eric Lorenz Barone, 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.000 born in L .A. back in 87. But the place that 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.259 really shaped him and where Stardew Valley was 00:02:08.259 --> 00:02:10.620 born was the Pacific Northwest. Auburn, Washington. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:13.539 Seattle's suburb. Exactly. That environment, 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:16.000 you know, access to tech education, a certain 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.580 kind of culture. It was important. And it seems 00:02:18.580 --> 00:02:21.319 like that creative spark was there way before 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:24.229 the coding really took over. Oh, yeah. sources 00:02:24.229 --> 00:02:26.110 mentioned he was really into music not formally 00:02:26.110 --> 00:02:28.729 trained but played in bands bands doing what 00:02:28.729 --> 00:02:31.789 like rock a real mix apparently everything from 00:02:31.789 --> 00:02:35.550 new metal wow okay to experimental pop so quite 00:02:35.550 --> 00:02:37.430 a range that's interesting it shows a willingness 00:02:37.430 --> 00:02:40.050 to experiment definitely and what's really telling 00:02:40.050 --> 00:02:43.550 is how early he mixed creativity with tech his 00:02:43.550 --> 00:02:46.310 very first game attempt wasn't even stardew oh 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.319 What was it? It was back in 2008. He made this 00:02:49.319 --> 00:02:51.400 point -and -click adventure, kind of LucasArts 00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.520 style, called 17CF Quest. Okay. And he made it 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.539 specifically to promote an album for his experimental 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:01.379 pop band. No way. So that blend of coding, music, 00:03:01.699 --> 00:03:05.060 art, it was his thing from the start, not something 00:03:05.060 --> 00:03:07.819 he figured out just for stardew. Exactly. It 00:03:07.819 --> 00:03:10.219 was like his natural way of operating. So he 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:13.229 had this dual background. the tech guy and the 00:03:13.229 --> 00:03:16.030 self -taught creative, but the actual game idea, 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:18.949 the farming sim. That came from somewhere else. 00:03:19.150 --> 00:03:22.229 Pure nostalgia, pretty much. He talks openly 00:03:22.229 --> 00:03:24.610 about loving the Harvest Moon series as a kid. 00:03:24.710 --> 00:03:27.250 A classic. Absolutely. It was something that 00:03:27.250 --> 00:03:29.349 stuck with him, something he wanted to see evolve, 00:03:29.729 --> 00:03:32.090 you know? But getting from loving Harvest Moon 00:03:32.090 --> 00:03:35.389 to making Stardew Valley... wasn't straightforward. 00:03:35.689 --> 00:03:38.629 There was a major hurdle. Yeah, the career crisis 00:03:38.629 --> 00:03:40.590 right after college, that was the real turning 00:03:40.590 --> 00:03:42.689 point. He graduated from University of Washington 00:03:42.689 --> 00:03:46.449 Tacoma in 2011, computer science degree. Should 00:03:46.449 --> 00:03:48.550 be set for a job, right? Especially in that area. 00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:50.680 You'd think so, but he just couldn't find work 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:54.020 in the tech industry. Ouch. That's tough. A lot 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:57.180 of grads face that gap between the diploma and 00:03:57.180 --> 00:03:59.879 the job offer. Exactly. And that's why Stardew 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:02.060 Valley started. It wasn't some grand artistic 00:04:02.060 --> 00:04:04.800 vision initially. It was practical. Totally practical. 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:06.840 He just wanted to practice coding and see Char 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:08.819 build something impressive to put on his resume. 00:04:09.139 --> 00:04:11.719 So it was literally meant to get him a job. Yeah. 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:15.159 The ultimate portfolio piece. To show employers, 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:17.519 hey, I can actually build stuff. And instead, 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:22.100 it became this life -consuming marathon. It really 00:04:22.100 --> 00:04:23.720 did. Let's talk about that dedication again. 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:26.420 Four and a half years, 70 -hour weeks. That's 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:28.819 grueling, especially with no money coming in. 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:31.920 How did he even manage that? Well, for a big 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:33.980 chunk of that time, she lived with his parents 00:04:33.980 --> 00:04:37.480 to keep costs down. Then, when he moved to Seattle, 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:39.459 things were still really tight. His girlfriend 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:43.120 at the time, Amber Hagman, she worked two jobs. 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.959 Wow. Two jobs to support them both. Yeah. While 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:48.040 he was coding all day, and he also worked a part 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:50.819 -time job himself in the evenings. Doing what? 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:53.279 He was an usher at the Paramount Theater. Taking 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:55.759 tickets. Man, you have to picture that. Coding 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:58.240 this beautiful, peaceful farm escape all day. 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:00.860 Right. In a basement or a tiny apartment. Knowing 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:02.740 your partner's working double shifts and you're 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:04.680 off to the theater later just to keep the lights 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:07.060 on. It adds this whole layer, doesn't it? It 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:09.540 really does. It makes the game feel less like 00:05:09.540 --> 00:05:12.620 just a product and more like this testament to. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:16.980 personal sacrifice and mutual support absolutely 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:19.740 yeah and that lack of budget that pressure it 00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:22.300 directly impacted how he built it right the tools 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:25.240 he used for sure no money meant finding accessible 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:28.220 software the pixel art he did that using paint 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:31.000 .net which is free yeah yep and for the music 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:32.560 and sound effects which are amazing by the way 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:35.240 he used reason studios powerful software but 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.519 something one person could realistically manage 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:40.879 so Literally built from the ground up with affordable 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:44.480 or free tools, he started coding in C -Shark 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:48.300 with MicroKoft XNA. That's right. But XNA, while 00:05:48.300 --> 00:05:50.480 it got him started, had limitations down the 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.120 road. Limitations how? Well, years later, long 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.160 after the game was a huge success, he actually 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:57.899 went back and did this major technical overhaul. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:02.180 He moved the entire game engine from XNA to Monogame. 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:04.560 Why bother? The game was working, selling millions. 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:07.319 Why change the engine? It sounds technical, I 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:09.060 know, but it was really important for the game's 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:12.620 future. XNA had this technical ceiling, especially 00:06:12.620 --> 00:06:15.439 with how much memory RAM it could use. It often 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:17.560 capped out around 4 gigabytes. Okay, which is 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:19.959 fine for simpler games, but... But Stardew Valley 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:22.720 lives and breathes because of its modding community. 00:06:23.610 --> 00:06:26.949 People create these huge, complex mods. Right, 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:28.990 like Stardew Valley Expanded adds tons of new 00:06:28.990 --> 00:06:31.970 stuff. Exactly. Those big mods were starting 00:06:31.970 --> 00:06:34.430 to hit that four gigabyte limit, causing crashes, 00:06:34.629 --> 00:06:37.769 instability. Ah, I see. So migrating to Monogame 00:06:37.769 --> 00:06:40.670 wasn't about fixing current bugs. No, it was 00:06:40.670 --> 00:06:43.470 about, as he put it, future -proofing the game. 00:06:44.170 --> 00:06:46.870 Monogame doesn't have that same RAM limit. It 00:06:46.870 --> 00:06:49.850 lets mods use way more memory. So it was an investment 00:06:49.850 --> 00:06:51.939 in the community. ensuring people could keep 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:54.740 adding to the game for years. Precisely. It shows 00:06:54.740 --> 00:06:58.120 this long -term commitment. So looking back at 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:01.420 this whole origin story, the job crisis forces 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:03.800 him into this intense focus. Which leads to this 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:06.100 massive game. And even after it's successful, 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:09.079 he's still meticulously refining the core tech 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:11.579 to support the players who embraced it. Yeah. 00:07:11.930 --> 00:07:14.290 And because he did everything himself, that scarcity 00:07:14.290 --> 00:07:16.889 forced him to understand every single part of 00:07:16.889 --> 00:07:19.629 it. Every pixel, every line of code, every musical 00:07:19.629 --> 00:07:21.870 note. He knew it inside out. Which leads directly 00:07:21.870 --> 00:07:24.709 into the very deliberate, very intentional design 00:07:24.709 --> 00:07:26.810 philosophy of the game itself. Right, it wasn't 00:07:26.810 --> 00:07:29.790 just a copycat. The design choices feel really 00:07:29.790 --> 00:07:32.610 purposeful. He was trying to solve problems he 00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:35.290 saw in the genre. Absolutely. His main target 00:07:35.290 --> 00:07:38.050 was the Harvest Moon series, which he loved but 00:07:38.050 --> 00:07:40.959 felt had. Well... Kind of lost its way after 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.439 Harvest Moon, back to nature. What did he think 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:46.680 went wrong? He felt the later games got too complicated 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:49.860 and maybe a bit confusing. And critically, they 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:52.480 added too much time pressure. Ah, the deadlines. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.560 I remember those in some of the older games. 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:57.360 Like, you had two years to achieve X, Y, and 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:00.500 Z. Exactly. And Baron specifically wanted to 00:08:00.500 --> 00:08:03.100 avoid that. He made Stardew Valley completely 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:06.199 open -ended. No hard end point? No failure state 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:08.120 if you don't get married by year three or whatever? 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:11.019 Nope. No final whistle. And that one decision 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:13.779 drastically changes how you play. It encourages 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:16.519 relaxation, immersion. Instead of just chasing 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:18.519 goals against the clock, it lets you breathe. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:20.639 Right. It's about building a life at your own 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:23.199 pace, not beating the game. And the core gameplay 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.959 loop supports that slower rhythm. You inherit 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.240 this rundown farm near Pelican Town. And the 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.540 goal is just bring it back to life. Restore the 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:34.370 land and maybe the town itself. The community 00:08:34.370 --> 00:08:36.330 center is key there, right? That's kind of the 00:08:36.330 --> 00:08:38.710 main progression driver. It is. Restoring the 00:08:38.710 --> 00:08:40.509 community center involves collecting specific 00:08:40.509 --> 00:08:43.950 items, stuff you grow, forage, mine, or fish. 00:08:44.769 --> 00:08:47.149 Completing those bundles unlocks new parts of 00:08:47.149 --> 00:08:49.710 the game world, new activities. Like that whole 00:08:49.710 --> 00:08:52.789 new island they added later, Ginger Island. Exactly. 00:08:52.870 --> 00:08:55.289 That came from completing the community center 00:08:55.289 --> 00:08:57.600 path. But it's not just farming. You're juggling 00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.899 a lot of different skills. Yeah. Five core skills 00:08:59.899 --> 00:09:02.960 that level up independently. Farming, foraging, 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:06.000 fishing, mining, and combat. It creates this 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:08.600 really diverse little economy for yourself. The 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:10.980 combat is the surprising part for some people, 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:13.879 I think. They expect pure tranquility. Right. 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:16.320 But the mining involves going deep into these 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:18.500 caves and they're full of monsters. So you're 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:21.059 switching between your pickaxe for ores and your 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:24.000 sword for slimes and bats and stuff. Yep. It 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.720 adds this whole action RPG feel, which mixes 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:29.620 things up nicely. That mix is cool. But let's 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:32.019 talk about the design choices that really push 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:35.679 immersion over just like raw efficiency. The 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:38.179 animals are the first big one. He made a very 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:41.039 conscious decision. You cannot butcher your farm 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.159 animals for meat. Really? So cows just give milk. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:48.100 Chickens give eggs. Pretty much. There's no gameplay 00:09:48.100 --> 00:09:51.240 incentive to, you know, turn Bessie the cow into 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:53.539 burgers. So they're not just resources, they're 00:09:53.539 --> 00:09:57.059 pets almost. Yeah. You name them, care for them. 00:09:57.220 --> 00:09:59.500 Exactly. It encourages an emotional connection. 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:04.149 It subtly shifts the game away from pure... optimization 00:10:04.149 --> 00:10:06.490 and towards maybe a more humane perspective on 00:10:06.490 --> 00:10:08.850 farming, even in pixels. That's fascinating. 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:10.830 And the cooking system does something similar, 00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:13.789 right? It discourages pure profit -seeking. Oh 00:10:13.789 --> 00:10:16.190 yeah, this is super clever. He deliberately designed 00:10:16.190 --> 00:10:18.870 it so that selling cooked dishes is almost always 00:10:18.870 --> 00:10:21.149 less profitable than selling the raw ingredients. 00:10:21.429 --> 00:10:23.610 Oh wait, really? Usually crafting or processing 00:10:23.610 --> 00:10:25.370 stuff is where you make the big bucks in games. 00:10:25.490 --> 00:10:28.049 Now here, Barone flipped that. In Stardew, cooked 00:10:28.049 --> 00:10:30.750 food gives you temporary buffs. Buffs? Like what? 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:33.240 Bonuses to your skills. Maybe you move faster 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:36.179 or mine quicker or get luckier finding items 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:38.320 or your fishing bar is bigger. Things that help 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.039 you do stuff in the game. Ah, so you cook the 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:44.600 spicy eel not to sell it, but because it gives 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:46.980 you speed and luck for a dangerous cave dive. 00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:49.779 Precisely. You're incentivized to use the food 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:52.379 to enhance your experience, to explore more, 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.019 engage deeper, not just to make more gold. It's 00:10:56.019 --> 00:10:58.500 like behavioral design, nudging you away from 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:01.240 the spreadsheet brain and towards just... living 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:03.940 in the world. Yeah. He knew some people would 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:06.740 still min -max, but the system gently pushes 00:11:06.740 --> 00:11:09.580 most players towards immersion. It's brilliant, 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:12.460 really. Okay, shifting to the people. The relationships 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:14.940 with the townspeople are a huge part of the game. 00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.659 Central. There are over 30 characters in Pelican 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:19.659 Town, each with their own schedules, personalities, 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:22.340 likes, dislikes. And you build relationships 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:24.340 by talking to them, giving them gifts they like. 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:26.860 Right. Thoughtful gifts matter. As you get closer, 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:28.919 you unlock more dialogue, special cutscenes, 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:31.340 learn their stories. And this leads to marriage, 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:33.940 eventually, with some of them. Yep. There are 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:36.639 12 specific characters, bachelors and bachelorettes, 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:38.820 that you can romance and marry. And this is where 00:11:38.820 --> 00:11:40.879 the game got a lot of positive attention, wasn't 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:43.519 it, for its inclusivity? Definitely. A major 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.440 point was that you can marry any of the 12 candidates, 00:11:46.659 --> 00:11:49.440 regardless of your own character's gender. And 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:51.899 the game treats it completely normally. No gameplay 00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:54.580 difference, no awkward commentary? None at all. 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:57.620 Which, back in 2016, was still pretty forward 00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:00.080 -thinking for a mainstream game. Major outlets 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:02.600 like the New York Times, Washington Post, Eurogamer, 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:06.919 all praised that positive LGBTQ plus representation. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:09.399 That's great. Was there any criticism around 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:12.080 representation? There was some discussion, yeah. 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:14.899 While the same -sex marriage options were praised, 00:12:15.139 --> 00:12:17.240 some critics noted a lack of racial diversity 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:20.259 among the marriage candidates specifically. Okay, 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:23.240 so good progress in one area, maybe room for 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:25.899 growth in another. It's nuanced. It often is. 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:28.039 Finally, let's touch on the sort of underlying 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:30.019 social commentary, the whole JoJo Corporation 00:12:30.019 --> 00:12:32.379 thing. Ah, JoJo Mart. Yeah, this is where you 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:35.019 get those analyses like from Paste Magazine calling 00:12:35.019 --> 00:12:37.539 the game anti -capitalist. Why is that? What's 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:39.620 the deal with JoJo? Well, when you arrive in 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:42.460 Pelican Town, it's kind of struggling. And the 00:12:42.460 --> 00:12:45.159 big looming corporate presence is Joja Mart, 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:48.220 this generic soulless supermarket on the edge 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:50.960 of town. Okay. And JoJo's basically trying to 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:53.340 take over. They offer convenience, but they're 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:55.519 pushing out the local businesses, like Piers 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:58.419 General Store. And you, the player, get caught 00:12:58.419 --> 00:13:00.419 in the middle. You get a fundamental choice. 00:13:00.659 --> 00:13:02.860 You can either restore the rundown community 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:05.320 center, the heart of the old town, by collecting 00:13:05.320 --> 00:13:07.580 all these different bundles of local goods. Which 00:13:07.580 --> 00:13:09.960 takes a lot of time and effort, gathering specific 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:13.779 crops, fish, minerals. Right. It's the path of 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:16.980 community effort, localism, rebuilding tradition, 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.009 or... You can just buy a Joja Mart membership. 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:22.350 And what does that do? If you buy the membership, 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:25.149 Joja basically bulldozes the community center 00:13:25.149 --> 00:13:27.490 and turns it into a warehouse. And then instead 00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:30.090 of collecting bundles, you just pay Joja large 00:13:30.090 --> 00:13:32.370 sums of money to fix up the town's facilities, 00:13:32.690 --> 00:13:35.809 repair the bridge, the mine carts, etc. So it's 00:13:35.809 --> 00:13:38.149 the easy way out, but it means letting the corporation 00:13:38.149 --> 00:13:41.070 win. Exactly. It's convenience versus community, 00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:43.649 corporate takeover versus local restoration. 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.639 If you think about Barron's own story, feeling 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:49.320 pushed out by the system, wanting to build something 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.320 authentic, the theme of rejecting the corporate 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:54.179 grind and building something meaningful yourself 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:56.759 really shines through. It's like the ultimate 00:13:56.759 --> 00:13:59.919 fantasy of opting out. Pretty much. A quiet rebellion 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:02.700 wrapped in a charming farming game. And that 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:05.899 quiet rebellion, that incredibly personal project, 00:14:06.179 --> 00:14:10.289 it just... Absolutely took off. The launch was 00:14:10.289 --> 00:14:13.190 huge. Huge is an understatement. It came out 00:14:13.190 --> 00:14:16.450 February 26, 2016, just for win days initially. 00:14:16.710 --> 00:14:18.929 And the sales velocity was insane, wasn't it? 00:14:18.950 --> 00:14:21.129 Completely insane. In the first two weeks alone, 00:14:21.370 --> 00:14:25.909 it sold 425 ,000 copies within two months. Over 00:14:25.909 --> 00:14:29.090 a million for one guy working out of his apartment, 00:14:29.149 --> 00:14:32.149 basically. That's almost unheard of. It clearly 00:14:32.149 --> 00:14:34.820 struck a chord. people were hungry for this definitely 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:37.360 valve saw it immediately they listed it as one 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:40.039 of the top 24 highest grossing games on steam 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:43.899 for all of 2016. the stardew valley effect was 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:46.399 real right from the start and the community reaction 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:49.299 was so positive even beyond just buying it yeah 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:51.440 there were these amazing stories reported people 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:53.580 who had you know pirated the game initially felt 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:55.480 compelled to buy it because they loved it so 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:57.759 much and respected the solo effort that's amazing 00:14:57.759 --> 00:15:01.009 goodwill And others were offering to buy copies 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:03.370 for people who couldn't afford it. It just generated 00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:06.509 this wave of positivity. Which was backed up 00:15:06.509 --> 00:15:08.669 by critical acclaim, right? Absolutely. Critics 00:15:08.669 --> 00:15:10.169 loved it. It started getting called one of the 00:15:10.169 --> 00:15:13.590 best games ever made. Barone landed on the Forbes 00:15:13.590 --> 00:15:17.820 30 under 30 list in 2017. Deservedly so. Gom 00:15:17.820 --> 00:15:21.779 Sutra called him a top developer of 2016, specifically 00:15:21.779 --> 00:15:25.240 for single -handedly reviving the whole farming 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:27.759 sim genre. And the ultimate compliment, perhaps. 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:30.659 Came from Yasuhiro Wada, the guy who created 00:15:30.659 --> 00:15:32.379 Harvest Moon in the first place. What did he 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:35.019 say? He praised Stardew, saying it carried on 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:37.500 the spirit of his original games, especially 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:39.700 that sense of freedom, which he felt some of 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:41.860 the later Harvest Moon games might have lost 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:43.940 touch with. Wow, that must have felt incredible 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:46.820 for Barone. I can only imagine. But, okay, here's 00:15:46.820 --> 00:15:49.500 where the story gets a bit more complex. Turning 00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.659 this solo hit into a global business. Right, 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:54.240 because he couldn't handle everything himself 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:58.080 anymore. Publishing, ports, localization. Exactly. 00:15:58.279 --> 00:16:00.679 That's where Chucklefish came in. They're a publisher. 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.039 When did they get involved? They actually approached 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:06.279 him way back in 2013 after the game got attention 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:09.460 on Steam Greenlight, which was like a way for 00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:11.580 indie games to get voted on to the Steam store. 00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:14.399 So before it was even finished. Yeah. They offered 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:15.960 help with things like setting up the website, 00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:18.860 hosting, managing a wiki, the behind the scenes 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:21.940 stuff. Did he take funding from them? No. Importantly, 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:24.840 he didn't take development funding. And he made 00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:28.230 a key choice early on. No steam early access. 00:16:28.549 --> 00:16:30.590 Meaning he waited until it was fully finished 00:16:30.590 --> 00:16:33.230 to release it. Right. He wanted version 1 .0 00:16:33.230 --> 00:16:35.330 to be polished and complete, which probably helped 00:16:35.330 --> 00:16:38.110 that massive positive launch reception. Smart 00:16:38.110 --> 00:16:40.870 move. So after the Windows launch, Chucklefish's 00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:44.490 role grew. Massively. Starting around May 2016, 00:16:44.870 --> 00:16:47.409 they handled the huge job of localizing the game 00:16:47.409 --> 00:16:49.309 into other languages. Which is essential for 00:16:49.309 --> 00:16:51.879 global sales. Totally. They also managed the 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:54.500 ports to Linux and Mac OS, which came out just 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:57.220 a couple of months later, July 2016. And then 00:16:57.220 --> 00:16:59.600 the consoles started rolling out. Yep. PS4 and 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:02.559 Xbox One landed in December 2016. Then the big 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:05.579 one, Nintendo Switch, in October 2017. They canceled 00:17:05.579 --> 00:17:07.440 the Wii U version for that, right? They did. 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:10.859 Good call, obviously, given the Switch's success. 00:17:11.539 --> 00:17:13.759 Stardew became huge on Switch. They even did 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:17.079 a PlayStation Vita port in May 2018. Wow, Vita 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.000 2. They covered everything. What about mobile? 00:17:19.349 --> 00:17:21.569 Mobile was handled by a different company, actually, 00:17:21.710 --> 00:17:24.529 called the Secret Police. iOS came first in October 00:17:24.529 --> 00:17:27.829 2018, then Android in March 2019. And they did 00:17:27.829 --> 00:17:29.349 that cool thing where you could transfer your 00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:32.130 save file? Yeah. You could move your PC farm 00:17:32.130 --> 00:17:34.950 over to your phone. Super player -friendly. Shows 00:17:34.950 --> 00:17:37.329 Bayron's focus on convenience for the players. 00:17:37.650 --> 00:17:39.869 But eventually, Bayron wanted full control back, 00:17:39.950 --> 00:17:41.609 didn't he? Even from the publishers who helped 00:17:41.609 --> 00:17:44.039 him expand. That seems to be the case. It aligns 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:46.519 with his whole solo developer ethos, wanting 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.599 complete independence. So starting around late 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:53.460 2018, early 2019, began the process of shifting 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:56.339 to self -publishing. Was it like a messy breakup? 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.160 Doesn't seem overtly messy, but it was definitely 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:01.539 a complex multi -year process. It wasn't just 00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:04.019 flipping a switch. How did it work? He regained 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:06.579 the publishing rights platform by platform under 00:18:06.579 --> 00:18:09.690 his company name, Concerned Ape. He took back 00:18:09.690 --> 00:18:13.210 PC rights first, I think in late 2018, then Switch 00:18:13.210 --> 00:18:17.210 rights in October 2019. So negotiating with Sony, 00:18:17.390 --> 00:18:21.690 Microsoft, Nintendo, Google, Apple, one by one. 00:18:21.829 --> 00:18:24.490 Pretty much. It highlights how complicated game 00:18:24.490 --> 00:18:27.569 publishing is globally. Each platform holder 00:18:27.569 --> 00:18:29.849 has different contracts, different requirements. 00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:32.730 When did he finally get full control back everywhere? 00:18:33.130 --> 00:18:35.970 The last piece fell into place in March 2022 00:18:35.970 --> 00:18:38.250 when he regained the Android publishing rights. 00:18:38.529 --> 00:18:41.150 That officially ended Chucklefish's involvement 00:18:41.150 --> 00:18:44.690 with the game. So a four year process just to 00:18:44.690 --> 00:18:46.450 become fully self -published for the game he 00:18:46.450 --> 00:18:49.819 built alone. Wow. Yeah. And since around 2019, 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.039 to manage this huge ongoing operation, he has 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:55.059 started working with a very small team. There's 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:57.019 another designer involved now helping with updates 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:59.079 and stuff. But he's still the main creative force. 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:01.420 Oh, absolutely. It's still very much his vision 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:03.240 driving it. And the result of all that work, 00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:06.460 that control, those massive sales numbers. 41 00:19:06.460 --> 00:19:09.799 million copies sold as of December 2024. It's 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:11.220 just phenomenal. Let's break that down again. 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:13.599 PC is the biggest chunk. Yeah, 26 million on 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:17.049 PC alone, which really speaks to the power. of 00:19:17.049 --> 00:19:19.509 that platform, the modding scene keeping it fresh 00:19:19.509 --> 00:19:22.119 forever. And Switch is next. Nintendo Switch 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:24.619 is huge, too. 7 .9 million copies sold there. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.160 It really found a perfect home on that console. 00:19:27.380 --> 00:19:29.220 It just shows the game crossed over from being 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:33.200 a PC indie darling to a genuine mainstream global 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:35.640 hit. And a big reason for that lasting success, 00:19:35.859 --> 00:19:38.119 those continued sales, is that Burrow never really 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:40.599 stopped working on it. The game keeps growing. 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.160 It's not just sitting there static since 2016. 00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:45.720 Not at all. Multiplayer is a prime example. That 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:47.259 was something he wanted for launch, but it was 00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:49.460 just too much for one person. Right. Coordinating 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:51.700 multiple players on one farm. arm, technically 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:54.400 complex. Extremely. So it came later. The PC 00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:57.900 beta was April 2018, official PC launch in August 00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:01.859 2018. Then consoles followed. And how does multiplayer 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:05.500 work? Up to four players can share one farm. 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:08.140 You share the land, the money, the house upgrades, 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.220 but you can work together or separately. So one 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:13.039 person can focus on mining, another on fishing. 00:20:13.220 --> 00:20:15.619 Exactly. One tends the crops, one deals with 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:17.880 animals. It adds this whole cooperative layer, 00:20:18.059 --> 00:20:20.279 turns the solo escape into a shared project. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:23.240 Very cool. But the updates go beyond just adding 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:25.299 multiplayer, right? He's still adding significant 00:20:25.299 --> 00:20:28.420 content. Oh, yeah. The 1 .6 update is the most 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:32.980 recent big one. Hit PC in March 2024, then consoles 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:35.779 and mobile later that year, November 2024. What 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:39.039 was in 1 .6? A ton of stuff. New festivals, new 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:42.299 items, dialogue, secrets, major support for modding, 00:20:42.380 --> 00:20:44.839 quality of life improvements. It was huge. So 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:47.019 big that IGN actually re -reviewed the game. 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:50.680 They did. In July 2024, eight years after launch, 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:53.680 they gave it a perfect 10 out of 10. Wow. They 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:55.799 cited how it had just kept growing and evolving 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:58.680 into this undeniable modern classic. Getting 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:01.119 a perfect score years later is almost unheard 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:03.319 of. It really shows commitment. And he's still 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:06.000 looking forward. Seems so. We know a version 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:07.960 for the Nintendo Switch 2 is planned for fall 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:10.920 2025, keeping the Valley alive on new hardware. 00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:13.339 And a huge part of keeping it alive is that modding 00:21:13.339 --> 00:21:15.039 community we mentioned. It's crucial, especially 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.200 on PC. The creativity there is just wild. Like 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:20.980 Stardew Valley Expanded. Over 3 million downloads. 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:23.579 Yeah, that one's massive. Adds whole new areas, 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:26.819 dozens of characters, tons of content. It's practically 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:29.799 an unofficial expansion pack made by fans. Shows 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:31.539 how much people love the base game that they 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:33.680 want to build on it endlessly. But sometimes 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:37.109 that fan creativity bumps up against... corporate 00:21:37.109 --> 00:21:38.950 realities, right? There was some legal drama 00:21:38.950 --> 00:21:42.210 recently. Ah, yes, the Baldur's Village incident. 00:21:42.349 --> 00:21:44.430 That was interesting. What happened there? Okay, 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:48.309 so in March 2025, a fan made this really popular 00:21:48.309 --> 00:21:51.589 mod that themed Stardew Valley around Baldur's 00:21:51.589 --> 00:21:54.950 Gate 3. Okay, missing two huge games. Yeah. Sounds 00:21:54.950 --> 00:21:58.839 fun. Yeah, people loved it. But then... Lawyers 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:00.920 representing Wizards of the Coast, they own Dungeons 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:04.980 and Dragons, and thus the Baldur's Gate IP, they 00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:08.339 issued a DMCA takedown notice. So they legally 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:11.819 forced the mod offline. Initially, yes. Standard 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:13.980 corporate IP protection move. Right. But the 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:15.940 reaction was really interesting. Sven Vinke, 00:22:16.099 --> 00:22:18.160 the head of Lorraine Studios, the guys who actually 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:21.480 made Baldur's Gate 3, he publicly praised the 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:23.359 mod and basically said, hey, this kind of fan 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:25.720 creation is cool. Maybe don't be so aggressive 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.079 with the legal stuff. So the developer liked 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.759 it, but the IP owner's lawyers shut it down. 00:22:31.079 --> 00:22:33.660 Awkward. Very awkward. Fortunately, Wizards of 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:35.839 the Coast backtracked pretty quickly. They apologized, 00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:38.039 said the DMCA was in an error and the mod was 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:42.390 allowed back up. Phew. Happy ending. But it shows 00:22:42.390 --> 00:22:44.730 the tricky line, Barone's Game Walks, being so 00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:47.309 open to mods. Definitely. It's a balance between 00:22:47.309 --> 00:22:50.890 fan freedom and external IP rights. Moving beyond 00:22:50.890 --> 00:22:54.529 the game code itself, the music has taken on 00:22:54.529 --> 00:22:56.970 a life of its own. Oh, hugely. The soundtrack 00:22:56.970 --> 00:22:59.509 is beloved. You hear it on game music radio shows 00:22:59.509 --> 00:23:01.650 all the time. And Barone, the self -taught musician, 00:23:01.869 --> 00:23:05.170 took it further. Orchestral albums. Yeah. In 00:23:05.170 --> 00:23:08.069 2020, Symphonic Tale, The Place I Truly Belong, 00:23:08.069 --> 00:23:11.039 came out. recorded by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. 00:23:12.089 --> 00:23:14.630 15 tracks given the full orchestral treatment. 00:23:14.809 --> 00:23:16.710 That elevates it, doesn't it? Shows the quality 00:23:16.710 --> 00:23:18.890 of the compositions. Absolutely. And he also 00:23:18.890 --> 00:23:21.230 leaned into the game's relaxing reputation with 00:23:21.230 --> 00:23:23.769 a lullaby album. A lullaby album? Yeah, part 00:23:23.769 --> 00:23:25.710 of the Prescription for Sleep series. They give 00:23:25.710 --> 00:23:28.430 piano and saxophone remixes of game music. The 00:23:28.430 --> 00:23:31.549 Stardew one came out in 2021. Ten remixes plus 00:23:31.549 --> 00:23:33.710 a brand new track Barone wrote just for it called 00:23:33.710 --> 00:23:36.509 Beauty in the Seasons, done in that calming style. 00:23:36.769 --> 00:23:39.450 That's amazing. From new metal bassist to composer 00:23:39.450 --> 00:23:42.289 of orchestral scores and lullaby. Quite the journey. 00:23:42.509 --> 00:23:44.750 And the music isn't just recorded anymore. It's 00:23:44.750 --> 00:23:47.529 being performed live. Concert tours. Two different 00:23:47.529 --> 00:23:49.710 ones, actually. There's the Festival of Seasons 00:23:49.710 --> 00:23:51.829 tour, which started announcement back in late 00:23:51.829 --> 00:23:55.269 2023. And then a second one, Symphony of Seasons, 00:23:55.329 --> 00:23:59.549 announced late 2024, featuring a 35 -piece orchestra. 00:24:00.049 --> 00:24:03.289 So Stardew Valley music is now like actual classical 00:24:03.289 --> 00:24:05.970 concert repertoire. Pretty much. It shows the 00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.250 depth and appeal of the score. And the expansion 00:24:08.250 --> 00:24:10.589 isn't just music. There's physical stuff, too. 00:24:10.750 --> 00:24:13.470 Board games, cookbooks. Right. Stardew Valley. 00:24:13.690 --> 00:24:16.789 The board game came out in 2021. It's cooperative 00:24:16.789 --> 00:24:19.009 players work together to save the valley, kind 00:24:19.009 --> 00:24:20.910 of like the community center quest. Did people 00:24:20.910 --> 00:24:24.079 like it? Loved it. The first printing sold out 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:27.299 almost instantly. Huge demand for that shared, 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:30.500 cozy experience in a physical form. And the cookbook. 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:33.359 That feels like the ultimate crossover. The official 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:36.759 Stardew Valley cookbook came out May 2024. Barone 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:39.660 co -authored it. Over 50 recipes based on the 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:41.779 food items you cook in the game. So you can finally 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:44.420 taste those pancakes and survival burgers. Exactly. 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:46.859 It bridges that gap between the digital world 00:24:46.859 --> 00:24:49.680 and your actual kitchen. All of this, the updates, 00:24:49.799 --> 00:24:52.759 the music, the merch. It just builds this incredible 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:55.619 legacy. It really does. Industry folks widely 00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:58.319 credit Stardew Valley with sparking this huge 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:02.059 resurgence in farming sims and the whole cozy 00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:04.740 game genre. It opened the door for a lot of other 00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:07.400 games. Definitely. And culturally, its impact 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:10.480 is just massive. NME ranked it as the number 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:12.980 one game for stress reduction. I can believe 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:14.940 that. It has that therapeutic quality. Totally. 00:25:15.140 --> 00:25:17.819 And it pops up in unexpected places. Burrown 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:20.440 did animation for an Alvarez music video. The 00:25:20.440 --> 00:25:22.859 indie band. Cool. He voiced a character in Hollow 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:25.299 Knight, Silksong, the game's playable in Teslas 00:25:25.299 --> 00:25:28.359 now. In the car. Yep. Tesla Arcade. Yeah. And 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:31.180 even fan tributes get recognition like that Lego 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:33.740 model of Pelican Town that won an award at BrickCon. 00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:35.940 It's just everywhere. Scardew Valley isn't just 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:38.599 a game anymore. It feels more like a cultural 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:41.279 touchstone. Proof that one person's dedicated 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:44.319 vision can resonate incredibly deeply. Hashtag 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:46.700 tag tag outro. So, yeah, if we kind of wrap up 00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:49.099 this deep dive. Yeah. It's just this amazing 00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:51.400 story, isn't it? Eric Barone facing unemployment. 00:25:51.559 --> 00:25:53.660 Right. Starts a project just for his resume. 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.170 Pours four and a half years of intense. solo 00:25:56.170 --> 00:25:58.289 work into it with his partner supporting them. 00:25:58.390 --> 00:26:02.190 And creates this game that's not just fun, but 00:26:02.190 --> 00:26:04.589 full of these really thoughtful design choices. 00:26:04.910 --> 00:26:07.430 Yeah, the open -ended play, the way cooking works 00:26:07.430 --> 00:26:10.390 against pure profit, the relationship options, 00:26:10.509 --> 00:26:14.349 that subtle Joja critique. It's all so deliberate. 00:26:14.589 --> 00:26:18.109 And that care translates into this massive success, 00:26:18.250 --> 00:26:21.819 which he then carefully manages. taking back 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:24.299 publishing control to protect his vision leading 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:28.339 to you know 41 million copies sold symphonies 00:26:28.339 --> 00:26:31.380 board games cookbooks the whole package and he's 00:26:31.380 --> 00:26:33.359 not stopping we know he's working on his next 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:35.579 big game haunted chocolatier and apparently he's 00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:37.500 doing it the same way again coding it drawing 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:39.500 it pretty much all from scratch himself that 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:42.299 same commitment to the singular vision that's 00:26:42.299 --> 00:26:44.400 incredible dedication yeah but he has said haunted 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:46.880 chocolatier will have more focus on combat Right. 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:49.099 More action. He has, which brings up an interesting 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:51.359 question for you, the listener, to think about. 00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:54.259 Well, Stardew Valley built its legacy on being 00:26:54.259 --> 00:26:57.880 this ultimate cozy, relaxing, stress -free escape. 00:26:58.859 --> 00:27:01.500 If Haunted Chocolatier leans more into combat 00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:05.059 and action, how might that change the feel? Will 00:27:05.059 --> 00:27:07.359 it still have that same comforting appeal that 00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:10.440 defines the Concerned Ape brand? Hmm. Will the 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:13.619 next escape be as peaceful or something different? 00:27:14.009 --> 00:27:16.170 More challenging. Exactly. Something to ponder. 00:27:16.329 --> 00:27:17.809 Definitely something we'll be watching closely. 00:27:18.150 --> 00:27:19.970 Thanks for joining us on this deep dive into 00:27:19.970 --> 00:27:21.809 the valley. Yeah. Thanks, everyone. What will 00:27:21.809 --> 00:27:22.730 your next deep dive be?