My experience over the past two years has been drastically different from anything that has come before. Even in a generational sense, the pandemic is rather unprecedented, and there has not been a sizable spread of a virus like this in what is over one hundred years. However, this time around we have transitioned to an age of intangibility. Screens have dominated my daily life over the past few years, whether it be through Zoom calls, scrolling various websites, or playing video games. Stardew Valley has entered my life pretty late in terms of video games (I have been gaming since I was a young child), but it is one that has very different mechanics than the games I have played before.
My video gaming life before Stardew Valley was always one that consisted of Nintendo games, whether it be Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros., or Donkey Kong Country. I would argue that these specific games that I named lack a sense of tangibility. I understand that they are video games and are therefore intangible projections of game world that I am able to enter, but regardless, they do not feel palpable. This is most likely due to them being more “gamey” and cartoonish than Stardew Valley (considering you are often playing in matches or games rather than a day cycle). For example, in Mario Kart you would simply play continuous three lap races until you got bored; there is not really a sense of tangibility or grounded-ness. However, in Stardew Valley, you are able to plant something and watch it grow over the continuing day cycles until you can reap your reward (such as a turnip). This type of cause-and-effect gaming is one that I believe brings a sense of tangibility to the game, and it makes me feel accomplished when I am done. This is important in the age of intangibility and screens because it brings a sense of fulfillment to my daily routine. Mindlessly scrolling the web and attending Zoom meetings becomes repetitive and tiring, and, while a video game might not seem like the type of media to be fulfilling to me in this age, it ends up being an unlikely form of satisfaction despite the ubiquity of screens.
Another point I would like to make is one of escapism. The beginning of the game, when you are subject to mundane desk job and intense surveillance via cameras, sort of serves as a representation of the age we live in now. The suffocating feeling of a lack of privacy is one that I have certainly felt over the past two years, and I think that Stardew Valley does a great job at portraying my desire for escapism and freedom, as well as the want to explore the outside. That is why the whole premise of the game is so fascinating to me — because it is a manifestation of that dream. By living in a day-to-day routine through Stardew Valley, I feel as though I am able to accomplish, in a way, the dream of escaping the age of intangibility, at least as long as it takes to manifest that dream in my own reality.
