What made you fall in love with Stardew?

[Confused]

When I first started playing Stardew Valley, what made me fall in love with the game was the feeling of advancement.

I didn't really know how to befriend villagers at the time, so instead of looking into the character lore, I would do my best to slowly developed my knowledge for the game by trying to finish the community center. I loved seeing the next prize I'd get from each bundle, and I felt so proud... Even though I was really bad at the game. :/

It made me feel all 'organized' and 'calculating' when I'd have to choose between a piece of basic furniture and the seeds I needed to finish the very last bundle.

Good times... Eventually, I realized I could talk to the villagers and fell in love with Shane, but the game had secured my love for it from the very beginning.

But my question is how did you realize you liked the game? Was it the money-building aspect? The story? The villagers? Or trying to figure out all the villager's juicy secrets like a weirdo?-

 

[Hill Myna]

For me, it was when I found these awesome forums!

I get to share my experiences, others can share theirs, and we can have inspirational conversations that I can then apply in-game!

But I played for about 1.5 years before I joined. So what drew me in then? Probably the idea that this game was going to be updated, and sure enough, after somewhat losing interest in Stardew, 1.5 came out and I had so many other things to go and explore for the first time!

I was even fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play split-screen with my Mum! It was a different experience, which mixed it up, plus I got to strategise and plan ahead with her, which was so much fun.

Also, it is the fact that every save will be different, and that I have to adapt my plans around that.

And isn't Stardew just the perfect game to discuss? There are so many ways to play the game, so many different perspectives, and there are new people joining every day!

So yes, it is the wonderful, growing community that I get to be a part of that keeps me connected to Stardew!

 

[FilthyGorilla]

I absolutely agree with most of what @Hill Myna has stated and while it wasn't the forums that dragged me in, they have been a great part lately of my continued love for the game.
I originally played stardew on an Ipad which was absolutly horrid, I cheated a lot on my first save but had so much fun nonetheless, later, I stardew a legitamit file on mobile on hilltop and played that for more than 120 hours and eventually want to transfer it over to PC.
I felt really missing out on the 1.5 updates and as 1.5.3-4 were rolling out I felt as if I needed to pick up the PC game which I had already bought a year before for multiplayer but never really played.
That's were my fun became more and more apparent and I began to really invest free time into it, my file started in november 2021 now has more than 200 hours logged into it and I have way more challenges to optimize it and reach my final goal of one billion g in hand.
For me, the love of the game came with the fact that you can do anything and impose challenges upon yourself unlike most games. This also has to do with what I love in games, the bility to infinitly optimize and differ so greatly between files/worlds. To this day the only games I have invested actual meaningful time into besides old .io games when I was young are Minecraft, TABS, and Stardew, all games where you can really do anything and do whatever you want.
Minecraft I love to because of this ability to optimize but there are so many people playing that same game you can never really be that great, with stardew, I can actually be the first to do something that isn't niche to a point of obscurity, and I am, I'm trying for the fastest ig time for a billion g which is a feat so few have ever done and want to do that even while not being a god at the game, I can still achieve, while in minecraft there are people who have worlds with 1000's of hours and infinite wealth that just feels incomparible to me.
Thanks for listening to my pseudo rant and have a great day.

 

[SurprisedPikachuBob3]

I really fell in love after the main game when i realized i could turn my small farm into a money making machine

 

[FilthyGorilla]

I really fell in love after the main game when i realized i could turn my small farm into a money making machine

Capitalism is beauty.

 

[imnvs]

Capitalism is beauty.

Please, don't bring billionaire worship to SDV. You know that most everyone considers it somehow "dirty" to go the Joja route, yes?

 

[Colleen&Potato]

I’m not sure… when I first started playing, I was about ten or eleven and didn’t play any video games at all. My brothers did, so I guess having the game in general was special because it was mine and mine alone and something I really enjoyed playing. I loved learning how it worked and how happy it made me, and sometimes I wish I could just forget that it exists/everything about it and discover it all over again.

 

[FilthyGorilla]

Please, don't bring billionaire worship to SDV. You know that most everyone considers it somehow "dirty" to go the Joja route, yes?

Yeah I know, but honestly, this aspect of the game is one of the only if not the only where I am like "this is a game, I am the only one benefitting from this" and where I'm only getting something (the autopetters + free joja cola) versus nothing.
You also don't have to go joja to be a capitalist, I honestly have bought only 1 of my 24 (at least, maybe more) auto petters and that's all that really changes once you do decide to go either way.
Also not in any way trying to bring "billionaire worship" to SDV, just making a joke, though you could be doing so too.

 

[Lew Zealand]

...sometimes I wish I could just forget that it exists/everything about it and discover it all over again.

It's amazing how many people have expressed the same wish here.

I think the game gives you a personal experience which is lacking in almost all other games. Not to say other games aren't as good in their own way, but this one resonates with a lot of people looking for a game in which they can express themselves, and Stardew Valley is flexible enough to accommodate so many different expressions. The Valley Showcase, or an internet search for 'Stardew Farm', or the Fan Works section are all testaments to the various ways different people use various parts of the game to make themselves happy. For instance, as much as I'll never play the game the way Dangerously Funny did, I very much enjoyed his twisted exploration of the capabilities of it with all its modding flexibility.

Stardew Valley seems more carefully crafted to draw you in to a new experience than the vast majority of games out there and that's part of its success. I've played a number of games which approach the new player's experience a number of different ways and SDV is at the very top when it comes to this. And it maintains this high user engagement for a very long time even through multiple replays, though as you said:

There's *nothing* at all quite like that first time.

 

[hexnessie]

I loved the feeling of "playing home", the homebuilding of the initial days on the farm: clearing out weeds and rocks, making plots, planting and watering things, getting a coop and petting chicken -- it all really resonates with some basic human need to find a spot of land for themselves and make it yours.

I didn't like the villagers at first as they were almost all horrible to me :P But I grew to like them too, after all.

 

[hexnessie]

Please, don't bring billionaire worship to SDV.

But it's not, though. The "capitalism" in SDV has a fairytale, wholesome quality, it's the ultimate paradise where you CAN and WILL prosper and make money justly, without exploiting anyone, and to the benefit of the entire community.

This, sadly, never happens in real life. That's why it's so nice to pretend and that's why SDV is so lovely.

 

[imnvs]

But it's not, though. The "capitalism" in SDV has a fairytale, wholesome quality, it's the ultimate paradise where you CAN and WILL prosper and make money justly, without exploiting anyone, and to the benefit of the entire community.

This, sadly, never happens in real life. That's why it's so nice to pretend and that's why SDV is so lovely.

I was mostly joking.

 

[FairyRing]

It was a slow love. I picked up SDV after watching some YouTubers play it and it intrigued me. I think it was the relational aspect that first had me curious. But from the opening music to this moment right now on the forums the game has blossomed to me like a lotus flower. Then the game let me marry another female! I was surprised and didn't know that it was part of the game. I think that is when I truly knew there was no going back for me. From there it was how each piece of music unfolds and draws you into each cut scene, character, season, festival. To the unlocking of new places to explore, new things to find, collect and do. Everyday I fall more and more in love with SDV and I know I am better person because of it (too dramatic?), it's only ever inspired me to go beyond what I think is the end.

 

[Magically Clueless]

For me, no joke, it was the animation of the trees falling on the ground. I used to play Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town religiously and yearly, and I love that game to bits. I was craving something like it to play, and then I learned about Stardew Valley. I watched a stream of it while I was in college, and... I saw a tree fall to the ground. It was such a smooth animation, on a game that was still 2d, it had so much life and I wanted to experience it and play it, I wanted to see what Stardew Valley had.

As you can tell, I did indeed see what it has

 

[Greengrass]

I just love immersing myself in SDV world. The main charm of the game for me is the ability to do whatever I want and whenever I want to do it. The way you can personalize your farm and your house. The huge collection of mods which brings so much contents. Plus the simple storyline and pixel graphics, what's not to love?

 

[MissDandy]

Honestly for me it was that the game provided everything I wanted in my search for escapism. Country life, weapons and fighting, animals, relationships and good music.

Capitalism is beauty.

Also I would have to agree with this. In the game, setting your own goals for the sake of personal gain and profit is pretty realistic if you ask me. (Also, the tax breaks are just a nice thing that adds to the stress-free vibe of the game.)

Your contribution to the town is a result of your wealth, so you definitely are not the only one benefiting from your success. Just look at Pam... she got a whole freaking house thanks to you. @imnvs that is some trickle down economics right there

 

[FilthyGorilla]

Honestly for me it was that the game provided everything I wanted in my search for escapism. Country life, weapons and fighting, animals, relationships and good music.

Also I would have to agree with this. In the game, setting your own goals for the sake of personal gain and profit is pretty realistic if you ask me. (Also, the tax breaks are just a nice thing that adds to the stress-free vibe of the game.)

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Your contribution to the town is a result of your wealth, so you definitely are not the only one benefiting from your success. Just look at Pam... she got a whole freaking house thanks to you. @imnvs that is some trickle down economics right there

yeah, though half a mil robin, how much of that aree you pocketing?
Lol, half a mil is so little to me now though (My end farm will make 3 times that much every day)

 

[linus-enthusiast]

When I first started playing Stardew Valley, what made me fall in love with the game was the feeling of advancement.

I didn't really know how to befriend villagers at the time, so instead of looking into the character lore, I would do my best to slowly developed my knowledge for the game by trying to finish the community center. I loved seeing the next prize I'd get from each bundle, and I felt so proud... Even though I was really bad at the game. :/

It made me feel all 'organized' and 'calculating' when I'd have to choose between a piece of basic furniture and the seeds I needed to finish the very last bundle.

Good times... Eventually, I realized I could talk to the villagers and fell in love with Shane, but the game had secured my love for it from the very beginning.

But my question is how did you realize you liked the game? Was it the money-building aspect? The story? The villagers? Or trying to figure out all the villager's juicy secrets like a weirdo?-

i don’t really know how to describe it. whenever i play stardew, all i’m thinking about is getting to the next level in the mines, or catching that next fish. if i’m playing stardew, everything else has to wait.

 

[MoonlightFarms]

When I first started playing Stardew Valley, what made me fall in love with the game was the feeling of advancement.

I didn't really know how to befriend villagers at the time, so instead of looking into the character lore, I would do my best to slowly developed my knowledge for the game by trying to finish the community center. I loved seeing the next prize I'd get from each bundle, and I felt so proud... Even though I was really bad at the game. :/

It made me feel all 'organized' and 'calculating' when I'd have to choose between a piece of basic furniture and the seeds I needed to finish the very last bundle.

Good times... Eventually, I realized I could talk to the villagers and fell in love with Shane, but the game had secured my love for it from the very beginning.

But my question is how did you realize you liked the game? Was it the money-building aspect? The story? The villagers? Or trying to figure out all the villager's juicy secrets like a weirdo?-

I first fell in love with Stardew Valley because of the animations- They were just stunning! And I gave the game a try. After that, the moment i started to farm i fell in love, and just couldn't stop. I was pulled further in my the NPC's, and their personalities, and then the money system. The more i started to play, the more in love I fell. I have a feeling ill be playing Stardew Valley for a very, very long time!

 

[Thaddeus_]

Sprinkler setups, the artisan goods setups, and the simple math like "I have so many sprinkler, how many seeds do I need" that I can just quickly figure out in my head. Also the advancement, fishing, the incredibly detailed npcs, the minigames, and the sheer breadth of artistry that is woven into the game.

I don't often say that games are perfect, but this is a perfect game.