Backstory

[PookieDoodle]

Some of the NPC characters are pretty complex and there are a few I'd appreciate knowing their backstories. Who would you like to know more about?

There's Elliott, who I don't think has much of a backstory. He just loves nature and is artistic. So he lives in Stardew Valley so he can be near the ocean and forest.

But then there's Haley. Why would her parents just up and leave for several years?

Leah is someone who I'd like to know more about. We get a little glimpse into her past but not enough to know much about her as a person.

Jodi and Kent I could care less about knowing more about them then I already do. Both of them are so self centered and neither one of them give their sons any emotional support. I've never even heard Kent acknowledge Vincent's existence.

I think we can all agree that Lewis is a dirty old man. There must be a pretty good backstory to how him and Marnie hooked up. Either that or just a lot of beers at the Dew Drop Inn. Either way, I don't want to know about them either.

Marlon and Gil. Now there's a pair I'd love to know about. How long have they been friends? What kind of adventures have they been through together? What's the deal with Marlon's cape?

And finally, Mr. Qi. Now there's a major backstory I'm sure.

 

[CryogenCrystals]

I think all of the characters really. It is neat imo to have a bit of an unfolding story line for characters... makes it more interesting in some ways.

 

[Boo1972]

I also wonder why Emily and Haley’s parents left. Were they planning on leaving their daughters forever?

And what about Linus? What made him turn his back on civilization? And how did he and the wizard become friends?

I bet Marlon and Gil have some great stories. I’d love to take them to the Stardrop Saloon, buy them a few beers, and listen to tales of their greatest adventures. I wish Marlon would stop creeping around my farm late at night though. Is it anyone’s business if I sleep, ok pass out, on my front porch?

 

[CryogenCrystals]

I’d love to take them to the Stardrop Saloon, buy them a few beers, and listen to tales of their greatest adventures.

This would be such a cool thing to add to and interact with in the game over, love this idea! I have to admit that this kind of random character interaction discovery would be pretty fun. I'd have made it part of my day to go hear the story unfold. Even if I could only have it in a mod, it would be pretty neat.

 

[PookieDoodle]

This would be such a cool thing to add to and interact with in the game over, love this idea! I have to admit that this kind of random character interaction discovery would be pretty fun. I'd have made it part of my day to go hear the story unfold. Even if I could only have it in a mod, it would be pretty neat.

It would make a great cut scene for the next update. Then after they first come into the saloon, maybe they'd be there a few nights a week and could be gifted. I think out of all the NPC's that aren't 'friendable' right now those two have the most content to discover.

 

[MissDandy]

This would definitely add just a bit more significance and personality to the game. I think Elliott is a good example. Does he have any family? Old friends? Giving the characters a little more meaning in the game could definitely make it more personal for players who want that. I know I would!

 

[CryogenCrystals]

Yeah, I agree, it could be fun as a combination of cut scenes and added responses and storylines to the game to give just a bit more variation. I seriously love Boo's suggestion though of being able to take a character to the pub and learn more about them this way, that would be a neat element, and could perhaps even give slight additional friendship points as another avenue to friending characters, without having to much of a disruptive effect on the game. Folks that really enjoy the character elements would get a bit more from this perhaps.

 

[Giant Octopodes]

Personally I think that you've got to be careful about overdoing backstories with stuff like that.

One, because narrative in which the player is not directly involved, and has no meaningful choices to make, but is rather just receiving a data dump, is always going to be less interesting than narrative that Does focus on the player, and their relationships and interactions with the characters. So though many would enjoy it, it's harder to make something universally or even widely loved just based on the nature of the narrative being told there.

Two, and probably more importantly, it's really easy to take away from characters relatability by making their arcs overly specific. A LOT of folks can relate to Kent if they came back to their family after an extended absence, or know someone who went to war, and so forth. Make him less 'generic' and it becomes harder to see yourself or those you know and love in that character. The same is true across the board - it's a balancing act, you add emotional weight via context, but risk diminishing emotional weight because of losing that relatability at the same time.

Third, selfishly, I think the game has actually done a spectacular job of balancing that personally, so I wouldn't want to see a ton of additional backstory myself. As such, though I know others would enjoy it, I'd hate to see a bunch of development time spent on something which might not land the way the developer or others might hope. I think in a lot of cases the stories that might be told there could be less impactful than the ones you tell yourself about those characters, and getting that in lieu of getting say special conveyor belt floor tiles that connect multiple machines to a hopper, could be disappointing.

 

[PookieDoodle]

What's great about this game is you can take your own path. If you're playing mostly for grinding, then that's obviously there for you. But some players, like myself, enjoy the 'human' aspect of the game. I find it much more enjoyable if I walk past an NPC and instantly think about their family life/history that they've trusted me enough to know about. It makes me feel more connected to the game and gives me a purpose for goals/achievements. Otherwise, it's just mindless repetition. ...which is fine, I no all about that. But what I'd like to see happen is NPC background expanse by choice. What I mean is, if you become endeared or curious about an NPC then you can learn more about them just by conversing with them. Not gifting, remembering birthdays, etc. That's a whole other thing. But say I go to Leah's house and look around, with her there. Maybe if I click on a book she has, painting, look at a pic, etc. it initiates new dialogue for me to have with her. So that part of the game is always there, but not necessary in any way. I also think it would take determining who you'd like to marry to a whole new level.

 

[CryogenCrystals]

Yep, carefulness makes sense, I agree. I personally still find the backstory is interesting regardless if it is involved in additional interaction or not (though one or two characters at most having additional interaction would be neat--have played other games that have this and I was made so curious and engaged with these!). After the 3rd or 4th time early in the game of getting the same few messages, I can feel apathetic enough to reduce or stop interacting with them, and after friendship is full too of course... I guess for me it would be nice to put this off a little longer by having a bit more reason/use to continue interacting with them. Maybe there's an enriched middle ground between few/repetitive speech and too-specific story arc? Such could be a game option, to have extended dialogs or added character quests depending on player preference. Also, the added speech doesn't have to be overly prescriptive, it could still be considerably open to imagination while adding some variation. One way to do this is to describe the effect something had on a character and not to provide the cause (leaving the cause open-ended for reader's to fill seems to be how most character arcs work now and doing more doesn't necessarily mean straying from this?). I appreciate your point about not upsetting the balancing though, I agree, that would be a shame. This is straying into suggestions talk though maybe, which fits better in the suggestions forum, so I'll leave it at: Everyone has some good points, seems fun to dream of a solution that is mindful of all of these different points. :)

I actually found Willy to be most intriguing because of his differences and teaching me his trick to forage in garbage cans for stuff I "need" (for other aspects of gameplay). I thought it was funny and cute to add this element of "hey it's a game so you can do this" to the game, and the conflict added by being essentially "caught" by other characters was also pretty funny. I like how games allow us to suspect reality (if we let it) and provide (and make it fine) to engage in situations and activities we'd never normally engage in--part of the fun and freedom in it for me.

 

[PookieDoodle]

Yep, carefulness makes sense, I agree. I personally still find the backstory is interesting regardless if it is involved in additional interaction or not (though one or two characters at most having additional interaction would be neat--have played other games that have this and I was made so curious and engaged with these!). After the 3rd or 4th time early in the game of getting the same few messages, I can feel apathetic enough to reduce or stop interacting with them, and after friendship is full too of course... I guess for me it would be nice to put this off a little longer by having a bit more reason/use to continue interacting with them. Maybe there's an enriched middle ground between few/repetitive speech and too-specific story arc? Such could be a game option, to have extended dialogs or added character quests depending on player preference. Also, the added speech doesn't have to be overly prescriptive, it could still be considerably open to imagination while adding some variation. One way to do this is to describe the effect something had on a character and not to provide the cause (leaving the cause open-ended for reader's to fill seems to be how most character arcs work now and doing more doesn't necessarily mean straying from this?). I appreciate your point about not upsetting the balancing though, I agree, that would be a shame. This is straying into suggestions talk though maybe, which fits better in the suggestions forum, so I'll leave it at: Everyone has some good points, seems fun to dream of a solution that is mindful of all of these different points. :)

I actually found Willy to be most intriguing because of his differences and teaching me his trick to forage in garbage cans for stuff I "need" (for other aspects of gameplay). I thought it was funny and cute to add this element of "hey it's a game so you can do this" to the game, and the conflict added by being essentially "caught" by other characters was also pretty funny. I like how games allow us to suspect reality (if we let it) and provide (and make it fine) to engage in situations and activities we'd never normally engage in--part of the fun and freedom in it for me.

I LOVE your game option idea! I've played both kinds of games. Games that you don't feel engaged with at all. Just tasking. And then games where there is SO much dialogue, you're like "just get on with it already". But if you could tweak to what your game style is. Wow! I totally get what you're saying about how your interest in NPC's just drops like a rock when you get the heart meter up. That's the heart of the game. ....pun intended. When you're working on heart leveling and you gift and conversate with all the NPC's. You fee like you're in the loop. Then, once you get 10's across the board, you just walk past the NPC's as if they weren't there. Reminds me of friends you'd have in school because of location. You'd become best friends with someone mostly because they sat next to you. A few years later, because you didn't sit near each other anymore, you'd just pass in the hall without even acknowledging each other. That's how this game feels when you get all the NPC's to 10 hearts.

 

[PoppyForPenny]

I would like to know more about the characters and the world. There's a lot that's only hinted.
Just enough of Elliot's dialog and liked/loved gifts to suggest he may be a merperson.
Haley's parents, plus she hates prismatic shards...dove?
Jodi & Kent have only a single bed...

I wish you could get the newspaper, more info in the library, more gossip, and what is Harvey watching on the history channel?

 

[BurntToast]

Elliott does have a bit of a story in that his family didn't believe he could become an author so he left and found the house on the beach. But he is afraid of being alone all his life. He's happy now we're married and still writes. Feed him pomegranates and you can see what happens when married to him. I'd feel mean divorcing him!

Kent's PTSD is a bit sad.. the way Vincent says he likes that his father is home but he's different now is really clever.

 

[Sockpuppet]

The only NPC backstory I would even remotely have any kind of interest in would be the witch.

 

[PookieDoodle]

The only NPC backstory I would even remotely have any kind of interest in would be the witch.

There's definitely unresolved issues between her and the wizard. It always cracks me up when he states that her flying around cursing everything isn't very mature. lol I'd like to know their story. He still talks about her, and she's a witch with a broom. She could be anywhere, yet she chooses to stay near him.

 

[StarPlatinum]

Would be interesting if the merchant of the violet caravan have a backstory too.

 

[PookieDoodle]

Would be interesting if the merchant of the violet caravan have a backstory too.

I said before and I'll say it again. I really just need to know the deal with the hog that wears a fez.