The lack of evil in Stardew Valley

[24k Ancient Fruit]

A list (by no means comprehensive) of "evil" things that a player can do in Stardew Valley:

1) Pelt villagers with objects using a Slingshot on a regular basis
2) Only give villagers Hated and Disliked gifts
3) Say the meanest possible things to every NPC
4) (IMHO) Date every eligible single in town at the exact same time

And sure, the player also has the option to join Joja (again). However, as it is not evil, per se, to own a business and want to see it prosper, I am leaving that one off the list.

And I'm not even sure if the monsters, whether they be in the Mines or Skull Caverns and whether those areas be standard or dangerous, are totally evil for one reason:
When the player passes out inside these areas at 2AM while there are still hostile monsters around, wouldn't it make sense that the player would be monster food at that point? But no! Somehow, Linus, Marlon, Joja Corps, or even a kind traveler passing by is somehow able to find you sleeping there regardless of how deep inside the cave system you had managed to reach and carry you home! Either the monsters are not as evil as we have made them out to be or perhaps even monsters have a 2AM curfew too!

As far as being evil is concerned, that's just about as good (bad?) as it gets in Stardew Valley -- we can't really get that much more heinous that that!

Could this game still work if there were evil paths to potentially take (aside from murder, of course!)?

For example:
- Stealing: lucrative but with harsh penalties for being caught (I know that there already exists a Mod for this)
- instigating villagers to turn against and fight one another (perhaps by spreading gossip)
- hostile takeover of certain businesses in town by industrial espionage or sabotage

 

[DragonGwen]

Stardew Valley is a peaceful farming sim not a bloodbath (though I am not a pacifist) you're not supposed to do stuff that destroys the valley, I mean there's probably nuke mods out there but that's just stuff that people added because they were bored

 

[Gardening Spirit]

I think it would be fairly easy for CA to make the game more evil as there is already underlying tension between some villagers in dialogues. I can understand people wanting something a bit different and challenging like that.

But for me I love a cozy game where your character doesn’t die and there’s nothing too sinister or violent. I mean my husband plays shooting games like Far Cry and I find even just watching him play stressful. Too much adrenaline for me :). But each to their own!

 

[MogBeoulve]

I think it's funnier to believe that the monsters also have a 2 AM curfew, and go promptly to bed.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

You seem to have a particularly vague and narrow definition of 'evil'. There's exploitation of indigenous junimos, a monsanto-level of monopolistic practices of raising crops and livestock, including the use of industrial fertilizers with no respect for the land or its inhabitants, all in the name of profit. And that's just a standard playthrough.

You want theft? The farmer is sitting on his farm making millions off the backs of Junimos and not paying a dime for it. He hasn't paid his property taxes either. Knocking over poor rustics for pocket change is for small-time chumps.

You want instigating fighting? How about when Pierre puts one in Morris's eye after finishing the community center? You want gossip? How about airing Mayor Lewis's dirty laundry out in public? And I do mean that quite literally. Putting it in your garange display is bad enough, but you can put his purple shorts (and given they were found in Marnie's room, I very much doubt their cleanliness) in the luau pot! Then there's spreading gossip about Marnie and Lewis, pissing off Demetrius by flirting with his 'baby girl' Maru... there's plenty of trouble you can stir up in town!

You want hostile takeover? How about I do you one better and be the entire revenue generation for the entire town? The whole community is effectively completely dependent upon you for revenue generation. No one but you buys anything, no one but you appears to have an income source beyond minimum wage. You effectively have an economic strangle-hold on the entire town.

 

[DragonGwen]

You seem to have a particularly vague and narrow definition of 'evil'. There's exploitation of indigenous junimos, a monsanto-level of monopolistic practices of raising crops and livestock, including the use of industrial fertilizers with no respect for the land or its inhabitants, all in the name of profit. And that's just a standard playthrough.

You want theft? The farmer is sitting on his farm making millions off the backs of Junimos and not paying a dime for it. He hasn't paid his property taxes either. Knocking over poor rustics for pocket change is for small-time chumps.

You want instigating fighting? How about when Pierre puts one in Morris's eye after finishing the community center? You want gossip? How about airing Mayor Lewis's dirty laundry out in public? And I do mean that quite literally. Putting it in your garange display is bad enough, but you can put his purple shorts (and given they were found in Marnie's room, I very much doubt their cleanliness) in the luau pot! Then there's spreading gossip about Marnie and Lewis, pissing off Demetrius by flirting with his 'baby girl' Maru... there's plenty of trouble you can stir up in town!

You want hostile takeover? How about I do you one better and be the entire revenue generation for the entire town? The whole community is effectively completely dependent upon you for revenue generation. No one but you buys anything, no one but you appears to have an income source beyond minimum wage. You effectively have an economic strangle-hold on the entire town.

*Claps* you are a evil man. There is nothing else to say

 

[nicodeux]

As far as being evil is concerned, that's just about as good (bad?) as it gets in Stardew Valley -- we can't really get that much more heinous that that!

Could this game still work if there were evil paths to potentially take (aside from murder, of course!)?

I understand that some may want Stardew Valley to be less Carebears like. Though some evil things like alcohol addiction or hostile economic behaviours are in.

But I see enough evil in my daily life, ranging from verbal meanness to physical agression (in a direct or indirect way), for not wanting to also see it made obvious in the game I'm playing. Especially as there are plenty of games where evil holds a central place, as said in this thread.