Again on the finish of August we travelled to Seattle to attend PAX West and had the unimaginable alternative to spend half an hour with none aside from Eric Barone, AKA ConcernedApe.
When you don’t know who Eric is, he’s the creator of Stardew Valley; the smash hit farming sport from 2016, which continues to be to today getting substantial updates.
We acquired to speak about his hobbies outdoors of gaming, why he nonetheless comes again to work on Stardew Valley, and the way it was making bosses for a change for his new upcoming sport Haunted Chocolatier.
Observe. This interview has been edited for readability and brevity.
Nintendo Life (Felix Sanchez): I do know you grew up taking part in numerous Harvest Moon, however what different video games formed you rising up?
Eric Barone: So I performed numerous RPGs. Ultimate Fantasy, EarthBound, Chrono Set off, and Zelda video games, that sort of stuff.
What sort of Zelda video games did you play?
The primary one which I performed was Hyperlink’s Awakening for the Recreation Boy, and I actually liked that sport. After which I performed… Let’s see, A Hyperlink to the Previous, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Masks…
Which one do you want probably the most between Majora’s Masks and Ocarina?
Effectively, I am sort of an Ocarina man. I do know lots of people love Majora’s Masks extra they usually say it is the underrated King, and it is cool, however , Ocarina of Time was very particular and nostalgic to me. I feel with Majora’s Masks, with the moon coming down, the time stress sort of confused me out.
It’s humorous—
It is humorous coming from me with Stardew Valley. I do know. [laughs] I ought to take into consideration that.
I do know you do every little thing your self, you may have so many hats on. How do you construction that?
I do not actually have a construction, it is extra simply sort of what I really feel like doing in the meanwhile, with an enormous image in thoughts of how all of that is gonna slot in, after all. There could be one space of the sport the place I do every little thing for that space directly, however I feel the good factor about solo dev is that you would be able to sort of simply comply with your whims. In the future I would simply really feel like doing music, in order that’s simply what I do. So, yeah, I am not very structured in the best way I am going about doing issues. It is sort of spur of the second.
So, I actually just like the Stardew Valley board sport, so I needed to listen to what your hobbies are outdoors of video video games. Do you play board video games your self?
I do. I would not say I am an enormous board sport individual, however I do take pleasure in them. The Stardew Valley board sport was sort of impressed by… Have you ever ever performed Eldritch Horror?
No, I have not.
Okay, properly I used to be slightly bit impressed by that, which I assume [is] a nerdy board sport slightly bit. [chuckles]
I’ve performed the Stardew board sport with my mates and it is simply so funnily structured. I do not play numerous co-op video games myself, however right here it simply works very well. We even placed on the Stardew Valley soundtrack and it really works completely.
I am glad you admire it. How do you discover it when it comes to problem?
I really feel prefer it’s actually good. Within the ultimate 12 months you are actually like, “Okay, we have to do that earlier than it ends.” So it is all the time very shut and I actually like that. There was this one time once we merely didn’t win.
Yeah, once we have been testing the sport, we performed so many rounds of it. And I felt prefer it was in a reasonably good place once we have been constantly barely profitable on the final run.
Yeah, that is what you need.
To reply your query about what I love to do aside from making video video games, the reply I typically give is that every one the stuff that went into solo dev — music, artwork, writing — these are all my hobbies. And so having the ability to mix all of them into my work is de facto satisfying. I get to do all my hobbies in my work.
Out of all of the various things within the sport, what do you love to do probably the most?
I would say most likely my favorite — if I needed to choose one — might be the music. Earlier than I even acquired into sport dev in any respect, my principal pastime was music, like taking part in in bands in highschool.
What did you play?
I performed guitar.
Lead guitar?
Yeah, lead guitar.
Hell yeah!
I used to be in steel bands.
Oh, actually? That’s superior!
However then I sort of acquired into extra like pc music and simply composing stuff. After which I used to be in this sort of experimental pc pop group for some time. However that was all the time sort of my dream as a youngster, to be a musician. Simply being in bizarre indie bands and play[ing] reveals and stuff like that.
In order that was my authentic ardour. However , there’s a part of me that likes all of the completely different features. Typically I will be, “I need to code in the present day,” as a result of that stimulates a sure a part of the mind.
I bear in mind I used to be watching a podcast you probably did with Purpose. I feel it was a two-hour podcast the place you simply talked in regards to the music of the sport and also you even confirmed a observe from Haunted Chocolatier that was a boss theme. I’ve that caught in my head on a regular basis. [*hums the melody*] So speaking about bosses, there’s not likely bosses in Stardew Valley. Was it difficult instantly making a boss?
For Haunted Chocolatier?
Yeah. Are you able to discuss that?
Yeah, no, I am glad to speak about that… to a level. Designing bosses is an entire new ball sport from something that is Stardew. And I feel I needed one thing completely different. I needed a problem as a result of I need to continue to grow as a sport developer. I did not need to simply do precisely the identical factor once more. I do know lots of people say, “Haunted Chocolatier seems prefer it’s only a copy and paste Stardew Valley.” However they have not performed the sport, so they do not actually know. However yeah, designing bosses is sort of an artwork kind all unto itself, and I am nonetheless studying stuff. And a few of the bosses are going to be like, “Hopefully you will see my development all through the course of the sport.”
Like which of them you probably did first?
Yeah, precisely. However I feel even a boss will be easy however nonetheless enjoyable. What issues on the finish of the day is enjoyable. I feel that is the primary factor I care about.
You do not need to make it too simple. That is a very laborious stability to strike.
Yeah.
So, in the event you work on one thing for seven years, you are going to be burned out, proper? However you retain coming again to the sport. You are even engaged on this new sport, however you retain including new stuff [to Stardew Valley].
That is true. I’ve so many concepts for Stardew. I really feel like I may work on it for the remainder of my life, and simply preserve enhancing it, including extra stuff to it, extra content material, fleshing out the present content material. That is the primary factor I need to do is flesh out the present content material. And okay, here is one other factor: It is so standard.
Yeah, it is offered like 30 million copies? It is insane.
One thing like that. So, due to that, I really feel like I need to preserve it alive, preserve it contemporary, delight the followers, as a result of it is simply enjoyable to interact with that. It is a uncommon alternative I’ve that there is so many individuals who love this sport and can play no matter replace I make. And what I like to do is create issues after which share them with folks and provides folks experiences. And Stardew is such a superb platform for that as a result of it is extremely standard and it is nonetheless actually energetic.
So it is sort of laborious. I do not need to see it fizzle out, I need to preserve it alive, however then I additionally need to make a brand new sport. So I am all the time like—
It is a laborious stability.
It’s.
And also you’re just one one that makes it.
Effectively, I do have some assistance on Stardew updates now.
What half do you get assistance on?
Principally largely the coding. The technical stuff.
You additionally acquired assist with the multiplayer side proper?
Yeah, true. It is like, , with the inventive stuff, I am very specific and I need to guarantee that it is my imaginative and prescient. However with the programming, I am extra like, does it work? You recognize, the gamers do not actually get to see underneath the hood on the code.
I completely get that. For instance, with video modifying, generally I want somebody may simply watch via it to be like, does this work?
Effectively, there’s additionally simply areas the place I am simply not that good at or I haven’t got the information to do actually deeply technical stuff. I am sort of a gameplay programmer, ? It is simply I am not a chic programmer. Make it work, make it enjoyable for the participant – that is my angle.
So, I work distant[ly] myself. I do not actually hear or see my co-workers aside from on the display. Once you work on a sport for thus lengthy, that should be fairly lonely. How did you cope with that?
It helps that I am a reasonably solitary individual generally. I feel I am simply sort of good at that. I are likely to get into my very own world with my inventive pursuits after which I simply lock in. I imply, yeah, it’s a little bit lonely. And when you’re creating one thing like Stardew Valley or making a sport by your self, , for probably the most half, there are some sacrifices it’s a must to make. However, I do not remorse it. I imply, this can be a dream come true for me to see one thing that I made blow up and lots of people find it irresistible.
You most likely get requested rather a lot what your favorite music observe in Stardew Valley is, however what’s probably the most underrated one? The one that folks do not actually discuss, nevertheless it’s only one that you simply’re actually happy with.
I just like the city theme. I’ve by no means seen anybody speaking about it, however I feel it actually has a superb vibe to it. And there is these sort of primary… I name them ‘the nation songs’ and there is a city theme, a few of the store themes. There’s one which performs in Marnie’s store they usually simply have this feelgood [mood], units the tone and the vibe of the sport. Folks latch onto the large tracks like Moonlight Jellies or the winter songs that actually hit laborious, however I [like] the delicate atmospheric ones that give this nation vibe to the entire city.
So, there’s numerous nice sound results in Stardew Valley. Did you make all these [with] synths, or did you go file stuff in actual life too?
Most of them have been simply synthesisers. I might simply go in and tweak the waveforms till I acquired one thing that sounded proper. There have been a few issues that I recorded. Notably, if you break rocks within the mines, there’s this rock sound, yeah I used to be out on the garden at my mother and father’ home and I used to be simply throwing rocks.
Oh, that’s superb!
However most of them are synthesisers. After which there’s a number of, the ambient soundscapes, which I acquired on royalty-free web sites.