For this blog post, I chose to look at not just one mod, but a combination of mods recommended by a YouTube video that archives the ultimate “cottagecore” aesthetic in Stardew Valley. The bundle includes Winter Grass to retain grass in the winter, More Grass and Wildflower Grass to enhance the appearance of large patches of grass throughout the seasons, an assortment of recolor mods such as Vibrant Pastoral Recolor to tone down the saturated colors of the game and change the existing mood. Furthermore, the aesthetic is completed by modifications on the style of buildings, interiors, and other miscellaneous details that the player can customize on their own, depending on what “cottagecore” means to them. Being a fan of this kind of aesthetic, I definitely understand the appeal and motivation for community creators to enhance the visual experience of the game, but I wonder what these mods say about our culture. Why do we want to enhance the look of Stardew Valley? Is the existing game not good enough, not pretty enough, not satisfying enough? Furthermore, the urge to customize the appearance of something exists in all kinds of digital media besides gaming – your desktop, your online calendar, and your phone interface. This makes me wonder: what is gained through the aestheticization of daily life?
Grass is everywhere. It grows on your farm, outside your farm, and it changes color throughout the seasons then dies in winter. Aesthetic grass mods are powerful tools to completely change the visuals of the game. Instead of boring green grass that basically looks like a big patch of green in spring and summer, grass mods give variation and make large patches of grass look like a Monet painting. These mods do not change the game mechanics, but they change how I play the game: instead of cleaning out the grass on my farm, they have become too pretty to get rid of. This affects my usual decisions in the game and potentially harms or benefits my farm, since the grass might deteriorate my crops or result in more hay to feed my animals in the winter. Although grass mods are made to be purely cosmetic and do not influence gameplay, it changes the player’s attitude and behavior.
What does it mean to play a “cottagecore” version of Stardew Valley? I would argue that the game is already “cottagecore” in many aspects: it encourages the player to appreciate the beauty of a semi-pastoral lifestyle, raising their own crops, milking cows, and foraging wildflowers. Before I knew about the mods, playing the game already satisfies my “cottagecore” fantasy. By downloading all these mods, it is possible that players can focus too much on the appearance of the game and ignore other important aspects: engaging with characters, improving the community center, and understanding the ideological complexity of the narrative. Therefore, aesthetic mods may never be purely cosmetic. Although they do not impact gameplay by making it easier or harder, they change the player’s decision-making process and possibly deviates them from the original intent of the game developer. At the end of the day, however, the change is pretty minimal and I love the new “cottagecore” look of my game. It makes me happy just wandering around the map, and it’s good for the long-term success of Stardew Valley because it makes me want to play the game more just to try out new mods.
