I had heard a lot about Stardew Valley before I started playing. “You play a farmer and you farm things.” “You can have a farm with your friends.” “You can be gay!” “Blueberries are so expensive.” It seemed to be a game of endless possibility with infinite ways to play. This is apparent even from the initial character creation as it includes 2 genders, 24 skin tones, 73 hairstyles, 112 shirts, 4 pants, and 20 accessories. (https://stardewvalleywiki.com/The_Player) As you play, more areas of the map give you access to different game mechanics beyond farming including fishing, mining and even magic. It is truly no wonder that many people have come to find some aspect of Stardew that they resonate with. However, as a game which seems to do everything, it also seems to be a perfect example of “Jack of all trades, master of none,” with an emphasis on the latter. I know members of the LGBTQ community who have cited the lack of complexity of the expression of love in-game as a representation of sexuality that lacks nuance. I know people of color who have criticized the game’s lack of diversity, its base version only including 2 people of color. As I played, I had to agree that as technically impressive as it was, the game lacks in its social aspect. At the same time, as a game meant to address the limiting gameplay of the Harvest Moon series, rather than explicitly addressing the issue of social awareness, I had to take a step back and wonder if it was fair to critique a game off of something it wasn’t intending to offer in the first place. However, as I played it dawned on me that there was one aspect of the game which, amidst the infinite possibilities, is immutable and intentionally included and yet, has not had commentary offered on its shortcomings. As I played, I realized. I do not know any farmers.
This is not to the dismiss the responsibility of game creators to their due diligence when including queer people and people of color. It is necessary to be mindful of these things, especially if there was an explicit decision made to include them. However, when talking about what specifically inspired him from the Harvest Moon series he said, “They had created these rich and special worlds that you could get lost in. The gameplay was very simple, but there was something kind of addictive about it: You wake up every morning, you check your farm, and you’re excited by the simple beauty of your crops going from seed to harvestable product. There was something about that relaxed gameplay in this immersive, beautiful world that felt really special. It was touching in a certain way.” (https://www.vulture.com/2016/03/first-time-developer-made-stardew-valley.html)
Farming obviously has an appeal which contributes to the core aesthetic and atmosphere of the game. This got me thinking about the portrayal of farming in media, video games specifically. In Stardew, farming is intensely idyllic, its bliss accentuated by its beautiful artwork and its delightful music. The farming mechanic itself is simple and generally intuitive. Step one, clear the ground of any grass. Step two, hoe the area you want to plant seeds in. Step three, plant your seeds. Step four, water daily until fruit appears. Stardew Valley introduces complexity to this mechanic by having certain produce only growable during certain seasons and items available to upgrade the soil or automate the process.
Clearing the space
Hoeing the ground
Planting seeds
Watering
Certainly, at a basic level, this model hits many of the key aspects of caring for plants. At the same time, this is perhaps the most reductive way to portray the actual process of farming. In actuality, farming is a process which is far less picturesque and often associated with a lack of dignity. The problems that farmers face are much more wide-ranging than the success of crops including the issues of pesticides, genetic modification, exploitation, and simply the toll that physical labor takes on a person. If we were to put this version of a farmer in a movie then tell the audience that this is an immersive farming experience, it would be wrong.
A few questions arise out of this idea. For one, is it even possible to capture the full depth of farming with keystrokes? If it were, would it completely defeat the purpose of games such as Stardew? What is the purpose of Stardew? At the core of this line of questioning is the idea of what it takes for gamified media to have its own critical discourse. If accurate portrayal of diverse experience is a necessary facet of legitimate media, to what extent is that possible in a gamified medium? To what extent is that the purpose of a gamified medium? If we are placing the same responsibilities that other media, such as books or films, have in terms of representation (such as experiences of queer people and people of color), it is necessary to see how the mechanics of the game itself shape the way we interpret media.
