Returning to Stardew Valley
It’s fun talking to others about how they play Stardew Valley. I first wrote about the farming game a couple of years ago and it became the first big hit for the blog. And in the classic mold of becoming what you set out to destroy, an article where I wasn’t sure I liked the role that Stardew Valley played in my life expanded the role that Stardew Valley played in my life. That said, writing about and talking about the game with friends ended up completely changing how I think about and play the game.
In the early days of the pandemic, I spent a lot of time reconciling myself to having fun. Historically driven by awards, accolades, and recognition, I like accomplishments. The whole process of going to school fed and thoroughly rewarded that desire. When I finally learned that academics and academia were never going to meet and satisfy me in the way I wanted, I was already halfway through my Master’s degree in physics. This realization didn’t change my desire for improvement. Instead, it reoriented the area for improvement from my academics to my Christian faith and, honestly, myself. But the pandemic put the world on pause and as I was talking about Stardew and realizing just how much I struggled to allow myself to have fun just because it’s nice to have fun, I realized that endless achievement and production aren’t very Godlike. Afterall, on the seventh day, God rested.
Playing Stardew Valley as a vehicle to connect with people isn’t my new justification for making the game a part of my life. I was playing Stardew because it was fun, and that was good. Incidentally, I was also connecting with friends, old and new, through the game, which was also good. So, on and off over the last year and a half, I’ve been revisiting Stardew Valley. I immediately got to work perfecting my farm. Soon, nearly every available acre was planted with ancient fruit and I had an army of kegs waiting to transform the crystalline blue fruit into hyper valuable wine. I had an entire shed full of machines that produced diamonds which I lavished on the town until I was universally beloved. I bought the most expensive capstone item in the game and had cash to spare.
At that point, I started talking to other people about how they played the game and realized I’d done the same thing in the game as I’d been doing all my life. One of my friends would just fish most of the time and hand out salads at the bar on Friday nights. My cousin would date different guys to see who she liked best instead of immediately singling out one person for her affections. Another friend just let trees grow on their farm for the look of them. A final friend discovered that the train drops gifts hours and hours before I accidentally found out, and has way more animals than crops.
The way I played Stardew Valley was optimized and repetitive in a way no one else’s was. Optimization seemed like the obvious way to play, but evidently I just really like repetition and optimization. And comparing my farm to everyone else’s, I realized I’d become the thing I’d set out to destroy. In the game, you leave your all consuming job at Joja Mart, a Walmart+Amazon mega corporation which is slowly but surely taking over the world. Instead of toiling at your desk, you take over your late grandfather’s run down farm. The way I played turned my farm into just a bigger and better Joja Mart, optimized for profits and efficiency. I’d even relocated magical beings to do my labor for me without any compensation. And more personally, my farm was me the way I was in high school, always chasing the next achievement along the road to what seemed like the right way to play.
I started over, this time trying to recenter myself on different values. My goal this time wasn’t to make the most money as quickly as possible but to be the highest level of friends with everyone by the end of the second year (when the game ‘ends’), and to go to church on Sundays. I’ve always known there is a church in Stardew Valley, but unlike real life, I’ve never attended. There was always too much work to do on the farm and in the mines. But this playthrough, optimization wasn't what I was aiming for. I was trying to reflect the person that I wanted to be in reality.
It’s honestly been amazing how different the game feels with these goals. I used to finish up my work on the farm and go straight to the mines, delving as deeply as possible, and returning with iridium, gold, and diamonds, smelting them in the fires of industry (those machines that make diamonds don’t make themselves). Ancient fruit was the most valuable crop and thus the only crop worth considering. But now, I have a greenhouse totally dedicated to growing and brewing coffee. After letting out the animals to graze and picking the coffee beans, I wander into town and hand out hot coffees to whoever I run into. All of the adults in the game like or love coffee (as is proper), and then I have to find things like duck feathers to give to the kids. Rainy days used to mean an immediate rush to the mines, but once in this playthrough it rained on a Sunday. My ingrained reaction to hearing the low rumble of thunder in the night was I had to get to the mines. But then I remembered it was Sunday, and now Sunday is about church. So I stayed in town. I brought my hot coffee to church and waited for the other regulars to show. But the rain kept everyone else at home, so I sat by myself for three hours in the little chapel built into the back of the general store and dedicated to Yoba and I prayed.
And now I have questions for the game that I never thought to ask. Why does the elderly George go to church but not his wife Evelyn? For most couples I know it’s the opposite. Or is it hard for Jodi and Kent that their two kids don’t seem to be interested in church? Parents I know in reality struggle with that a lot, and I know new parents who worry about that potential future. And I love the detail that Korbus, one of the Shadow People, is silent on Fridays out of dedication to Yoba.
I’m glad to be back in the Valley. I’m glad to have that experience to talk about with friends and to feel the gentle joy of seeing digital coffee bring a smile to digital eyes. And while I’ve always loved the game, I’ve never enjoyed it more than I’m enjoying it now, trying to bring who I am today to the game and not just getting stuck in the past. And seeing the way new goals impact how I spend my time in Stardew Valley encourages me to follow those goals in real life. I ran into a friend at the grocery store that I hadn’t seen since the pandemic and took the step of following up and grabbing coffee with him. My wife and I are forming our own book club. And when I sleep in, I make time during the day to still do Morning Prayer. So, in the next year and a half, I’ll still probably be playing Stardew Valley. Maybe I’ll branch out to espresso instead of just coffee. And maybe I’ll stand in the sewers all day Friday with Krobus and be silent and love a God who rests.
