How I Explain Stardew Valley as an "Endless" Game to Someone

"I love watching the fireflies on a hot summer's night. It's the closest I'll ever come to visiting the stars."

-Haley (Stardew Valley)

So a friend of mine who don't see how "endless game", in this case Stardew Valley, is good asked me how it's enjoyable and how it's good. So I happily gave him my most honest answer from the bottom of my kokoro. And the topic became wider to the difference of graphic style, what the game offer, and such. I hope you enjoy it.

My father introduced me to this tech-savvy guy a while back, more tech-savvy than me, and he helped me fix my PC, gave me some tips, talking about gaming and stuff. This happened yesterday when he came over to my house while I was reading Stardew Valley's multiplayer update. 

He asked me what I read and what's that game about. As I was kind of busy with my reading I answered with the simplest answer you can get, 

"It's a farming game, like Harvest Moon." 

Just when I was about to explain a bit further, he asked me another question that I rarely hear. And I answered jokingly yet also being serious about it.

"Like Harvest Moon? So this game has no ending?"

"Yes, it's a... life simulator(?) so you keep playing until you are bored to death or you finally meet your death."

"Man, I totally can't stand games with no end. It's.. unlikeable, it's no fun. I prefer something with a story that will end at some point, like NieR: Automata, the game I'm playing right now, you should definitely get that one instead (because now I have my PC)."

^{My old screenshots that I took just because I'm a screenshot freak and I knew I'd need them someday when I have my own PC back.}

I do respect people's opinion, and to him Stardew Valley is not a game for him. Which is fine. But when someone push the principle "If I don't like this, that means this is not good." to me like that, it leave an uncomfortable itch to me and I'm like.. "Do you want me to hit you with my pixelated Iridium pickaxe? No." Then he asked me "How this game is great?" as simple as that. Fortunately I like explaining about video game to someone, so I happily tell him everything I feel about this kind of game, specifically Stardew Valley.

"Now that you ask me like that, I don't really know why I, and probably thousands of gamers find this game amazing and enjoy this game. But let's make the view smaller to just me. Something you can see clearer than the rest of its enjoyable aspect is the relaxing atmosphere and gameplay. You see, just like that two different colored-socks you are wearing (I don't know what kind of trend is this), video game also has variety. There are games that make you feel excited, intense, epic, and then cry at the end of the story, like NieR: Automata, but there are also games which role is to sit back and relax in without bullets, terifying monsters, politics, and game over screen, and one of them is Stardew Valley.

The game is 'slow', but that's what makes it incredibly satisfying. Cleaning your front yard and planting your seeds in your desired patterns day by day, watching them grow closely as you keep watering them while also taking care of your chickens and cows, and get to know the town's people better as they also grow on you. With every stories you unfold, every crops you harvested, and every improvements you get from your efforts, you get this.. little joy for knowing that if you keep doing it you can improve your farm more and more.

The game is like a never-ending machine that induce happiness and satisfaction to you little by little. And that's how you find yourself relaxed in a game with so many tasks that require good time management in it, and that's how you find this endless game is great. It's difficult to explain the "satisfaction" I'm talking about... It's like being slapped to the face, you feel the pain on your cheek but you can't touch it, but you know it's there. Except Stardew Valley's slap feels nice... Ugh, that sounds weird."

While I was explaining all of that, he kept nodding his head showing that he was listening closely as he looking at the game's screenshots I showed him. And then he asked me another question.

"Ehh.. I still prefer NieR: Automata if I were you. Because your PC is quite decent, it can even run Assassin's Creed Black Flag in high quality, can't it? It's better to use it to play games with better graphics, pixel graphic is cool, but you know, like.. more modern."

If you guys think his comment is annoying, comparing graphics like that, sorry he's not much of a gamer alright, but he's a nice guy. And I answered again.

"As I said before, different game varieties, different things you'll get from it. While NieR: Automata offers great combat gameplay, story, and android booty, Stardew Valley offers a not fast-paced gameplay, freedom, and pixelated girlfriend. It's like picking food. You want something cool under the heat of the day? Then you get ice cream. You want to burn your tongue? Then you get wasabi. It's as simple as that. You don't have to play them all.

Even if this is an Alienware 17, if I want Stardew Valley then I'd get the game. It's not just about graphics, dude. Besides, these games' (NieR: Automata and Stardew Valley) graphics are in different style, realistic(?) and 2D pixel art. Those are two different sweet things and neither is on top of the other, they have their own standards; how detailed the realistic graphic is and how good looking the pixel art is. But of course, 2D pixel art may not everyone's cup of tea, so the fact that you're not interested in Stardew Valley because of its graphic style is completely fine. If you like it, you like it. If you don't, then you don't. (Sips my tea)."

^{It doesn't look so nice, I know. I didn't obtain much of the furnitures that matched with each other yet. So I put everything I had.}

He asked me about a part of the answer I forgot to explain, the "freedom". You might as well wondering about it too right now. What freedom? StaRDew For the Freedom of Mankind? What I meant is this..

"Oh right, it's about the freedom of your choices and customization such as how your character look like, who do you want to befriend with and marry later, although it's best to befriend all of them, the shape of your farm and your house's interior that you can design with the buttload of furnitures you can obtain, or whether you want to focus on farming or mining or fishing. That's simply the game's aspect to fill its "endless" nature.

Games with end gives you amazing experience greatly until you reach the end. And games with no end gives you amazing experience little by little without a stop, or until you decided to stop. At least that's the way I see it, I told you it's difficult to explain."

It was not my intention to change someone's mind bu in the end, he understand more about the difference of video games. And he had to leave when his fiancé called. It was 6 p.m. already without us realizing it and this conversation ended the day.

This conversation is written as accurate as I can remember. I don't remember some of the exact dialogue, because you know, I'm not a recorder, but I the points are still exactly what was asked, no more no less. This makes me remember the similar experiences of how I explained other games to my friends. Maybe I'll write them too later.

I don't dislike NieR: Automata, that's definitely one of the game I should play and it is under my wishlist along with a bunch of other titles, but I can't purchase a bunch of games at once, can I now? Making money in real life is not as easy as you do in Stardew Valley, you know. Thanks to him for helping me brought my PC back from the dead (seriously, it was really ded) and now I can purchase Stardew Valley myself, but I think I'll wait until the multiplayer out. 

Thanks for stopping by, Steemian! 

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