Videogame mods typically entail the addition of new content. Whether it be new reskins, mechanical features, or narrative lines, mods create more specific and improved experiences. It is, therefore, important to outline the exceptions to this rule, those being the mods that remove from the base game. In removing a feature, the modder seeks to create an improvement, a kind of addition by subtraction. In Stardew Valley, such an example is the Remove Fishing Minigame mod. On a surface level, this might appear like an increase in efficiency that functions as a kind of cheat code. This, however, is not really the case here. While it could be said that the mod does in fact save time for the player, it does not entirely remove the waiting experience of fishing nor does it remove the stamina cost of fishing. The player must still wait for the fish to bite the lure, and must still return to sleep after the same amount of fishing is completed. While the player will not have to purchase improved rods and will instantly capture legendary fish and treasure, the efficiency of the mod is not a complete removal of the fishing experience. In that sense, the modder is not demonstrating a desire to completely remove the devotion of resources to fish, but instead, wants to remove a specific aspect of the task that they see as annoying or taxing.
Personally, as I experimented with this mod, as a player who typically enjoys the fishing aspect of the game, I found myself drifting more mentally and disconnecting from the game entirely. The fishing minigame allows some skill expression in memorizing and predicting fish behavior, and there is some joy in knowing what kind of fish you have on the line based on the movement pattern. The rewards for higher quality fish based on the ability to maintain control of the encounter, as well as the difficulty and achievement of legendary fish, makes the experience memorable. Without the minigame, a player who enjoys fishing is pushed in other directions to seek fulfillment.
Comparing a mod of this ilk to those that function as more comprehensive and literal cheats that essentially turn the game into a “creative mode”, removing all hindrance of progression and resource, is fruitful. These mods which on the surface seem to give the player everything that the base game has to offer are actually even more subtractive than the fishing mod, in that they remove core functions and tensions of the base game. A player no longer has to work for their resources, no longer must progress steadily towards building up their farm. Aspects of resource and time management become irrelevant and the game can quickly feel vapid for players who seek the kind of fulfillment that suspension of rewards provides them. There is a delicate balance for game designers to create challenging and rewarding experiences, but also ones that do not feel like filler and busywork. Games that require the player to grind for a specific item or achievement can easily fall into the trap of frustrating the player or becoming too transparent in their tactics of reward delay. A cheat code, however, is the opposite of this and drastically reduces the amount of time a player might feel like playing the game at all. A player who cannot find meaning in the journey of the game and is given all tools from the start is likely to put down the controller and move on at a faster rate. The very fact that the Remove Fishing Minigame mod exists proves that a certain faction within the game’s player base sees the minigame as a frustrating stalling tactic that arbitrarily adds a grind to the game. While I lean towards disagreeing with that sentiment, it is clear to me that the player has removed what they view as an unnecessary roadblock. By not entirely reducing the resource and time requirement of fishing, however, they have tried to toe the line of reward suspension. They have found a middle-ground between grind and cheating that best suits their playstyle.
