Storm628
Greenhorn
One thing that could make Stardew even more fun, is more ways of befriending villagers. I feel like (birthday) gifts are still the dominant method of maximizing friendship and I would appreciate more variety. Below are some concrete ideas I came up with.
Selling loved items
I think it would be really cool if you could gain a small amount of friendship every time you sold an item that is loved by a certain villager. Even if it is only 2 or 4 points per normal quality loved item sold, this can still add up in the long run.
For immersion I think it would make the most sense if you only gain some friendship points with one (not maxed out) villager when selling a love item. It feels a bit weird if all villagers gain friendship because you sold one pearl. I can also imagine that there will still be a weekly limit for how much friendship you can gain via this method, and that you can only gain friendship with characters you've already met.
Slaying monsters
The method above can work greatly for characters that have good loved gifts to sell, but how about characters like Pierre or Kent? Both men seem like the kind of people who would appreciate some monster slaying. Pierre because he is concerned about Abigail, and Kent because he generally values safety.
It seems unrealistic that characters could gain friendship from the far away act of killing monsters. For a more practical implementation, the altar of Yoba might be an option. Kent goes there every Sunday and Pierre can check up whenever. And it seems realistic that Jodi and George also gain friendship from monster kills. George knows the dangers of the mines and Jodi might be concerned for Vincent, who has a love for hunting bugs.
With what is currently available in game, the best I could come up with is a weekly offer of monster loot at the alter, giving a friendship boost on Sunday. And who knows, maybe the extra offers to Yoba will make Kent return home earlier?
Trash bear
One difficult to gift characters that doesn't seem to fit with killing monsters, is Alex. So I brainstormed a bit, and realized that the trash bear upgrades the dog pen. It would make sense if you gain some hearts with Alex for this, and maybe the general cleanup could also give a small friendship boost with all villagers.
Selling loved items
I think it would be really cool if you could gain a small amount of friendship every time you sold an item that is loved by a certain villager. Even if it is only 2 or 4 points per normal quality loved item sold, this can still add up in the long run.
For immersion I think it would make the most sense if you only gain some friendship points with one (not maxed out) villager when selling a love item. It feels a bit weird if all villagers gain friendship because you sold one pearl. I can also imagine that there will still be a weekly limit for how much friendship you can gain via this method, and that you can only gain friendship with characters you've already met.
Slaying monsters
The method above can work greatly for characters that have good loved gifts to sell, but how about characters like Pierre or Kent? Both men seem like the kind of people who would appreciate some monster slaying. Pierre because he is concerned about Abigail, and Kent because he generally values safety.
It seems unrealistic that characters could gain friendship from the far away act of killing monsters. For a more practical implementation, the altar of Yoba might be an option. Kent goes there every Sunday and Pierre can check up whenever. And it seems realistic that Jodi and George also gain friendship from monster kills. George knows the dangers of the mines and Jodi might be concerned for Vincent, who has a love for hunting bugs.
With what is currently available in game, the best I could come up with is a weekly offer of monster loot at the alter, giving a friendship boost on Sunday. And who knows, maybe the extra offers to Yoba will make Kent return home earlier?
Trash bear
One difficult to gift characters that doesn't seem to fit with killing monsters, is Alex. So I brainstormed a bit, and realized that the trash bear upgrades the dog pen. It would make sense if you gain some hearts with Alex for this, and maybe the general cleanup could also give a small friendship boost with all villagers.
