

Even highly talented independent game developers generally have to collaborate with a few people to span all the skills required. The breadth of skills required makes game development much harder for smaller teams than other art forms such as music, writing, or visual arts. Game development requires programming, visual art, musical composition, story writing, game design, and dozens more skills, depending on the genre and style of game developed. AAA game companies budget hundreds of millions of dollars and employ thousands of people on their top titles. “But it could have been so much better.” He knew that if he didn’t follow through with his own vision, that improved version would never be a reality.ĭeveloping a commercially successful video game isn’t easy. “I loved that game,” he said about his childhood experience with the title.
#Stardew valley portraiture mod series
He wanted his game to pay homage to Harvest Moon, a charming Japanese series of games in which the player must build a successful farm: grow crops, raise animals, explore the countryside, and form relationships with other villagers. He had decided that he wanted to make his own video games and that now, before he got comfortable in a salaried programming job, was his opportunity to do something about it. "Eric Barone had just graduated from the University of Washington Tacoma with a degree in computer science when he thought, Now’s my chance. Įxcerpt from the book Ultralearning by Scott Youn. It should be coming into Early Access early next year. My own game, Moondrop Mountain, is trying for a roguelike farming experience. It plays differently enough with your hodgepodge boat-city of ghosts, but it feels the closest in spirit ( rimshot) to Stardew.

Your mileage may vary with each, but I enjoyed parts all of them. Graveyard Keeper, Littlewood, and My Time In Portia are closer to being "Stardew, but X". More "arranging your house and island" than farming.Ĭozy Grove is Animal Crossing with a far better narrative. Īnimal Crossing is the granddaddy of cozy games, but the core loop didn't keep me engaged. I also wrote an analysis of Stardew's game design that was well-received on Hacker News. I'm working on my own indie game that's inspired by Stardew Valley, so I've done a good bit of looking at similar cozy farming games.
