In the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, Karl Marx posits his “Theory of Alienation”, which describes how within a capitalist mode of production, the workers are estranged and distanced from what they produce and from other human beings. The theoretical reasoning behind this is that workers begin to lose their individual agency, because all of their actions are being directed by an external source (in his case, the bourgeoisie). I think that not only does the gameplay of Stardew Valley reflect this theory of alienation, it also can help us reflect on our own alienation in our society.
The game begins by setting up a contrast between the grueling corporate lifestyle and a potentially more relaxing and rewarding farming lifestyle, highlighted by our grandfather’s dying wish to have us “escape” the monotony of modern life, and focus on the joys fo urban living. One game mechanic that demonstrates Marx’s first type of alienation — we are alienated from what we produce — is the “collection box” located next to your initial house.
The collection box, in-game.
Anything and everything that you want to sell, you simply throw it into the collection box, and sometime overnight, Lewis (the mayor) collects the box and pays you for the items.
Lewis explaining the purpose of the collection box.
Interestingly, we never see or know what happens to the goods; they aren’t available for sale at either Pierre’s or JojaMart, which indicates that the produce and items we put into the collection box aren’t actually being enjoyed by the townspeople. While this seemed strange to me, I think that most players would just accept that this is a part of the game, especially since the mechanic is introduced at the first quest of the game: grow and harvest a parsnip. Since this is the very first quest of the game, there are many things that we are unable to do with the parsnip just yet; we haven’t learned how to cook or use the parsnip in a recipe, we don’t know how to give the parsnip as a gift to an NPC, we might not even know that we can eat the raw parsnip for some energy and health. We simply throw away these freshly-farmed parsnips into a magic box, go to sleep, and wake up the next day with some liquid capital that we can use to buy more seeds, and repeat the process.
Marx’s second type of alienation — we are alienated from other human beings — can also be seen in Stardew Valley gameplay via the social aspect of the game: giving gifts and interacting with the townspeople. This type of alienation is generated because Marx claims that products should be the result of a productive being’s free, conscious activity, and so laboring to produce commodities for sale thus defiles our relationship to our own human character. In the game, you can pursue relationships with the townspeople, both romantically and platonically, by talking to them and giving them gifts that they like and love. Each successful gift increases your heart meter by one, and as you increase the number of hearts, you begin to unlock one-on-one events. This exemplifies Marx’s second type of alienation, because essentially, you receive quality time with another person in exchange for your individual economic activity. Moreover, the actual mechanics of the game also highlight this interpersonal divide. There are two ways to interact with someone who is working at a store, as shown by their positioning behind a counter/cash register. If you speak to them from behind the counter, then the shop dialogue will pop up, where you can buy and sell goods, or purchase some sort of upgrade or service. If you walk behind the counter and speak to them directly, then you can begin a personal dialogue with the NPC, rather than a transactional one. While this comparison might be a bit of a stretch, it definitely seems like the counter acts as a barrier, created by capitalistic society, that separates personal relationships from transactional ones.
