by Tom McNamara
(Credit: Screenshot: Tom McNamara/Download.com)
In the movie business, there's a concept known as "counter-programming," where you release one type of film at the same time as another, to give people more options for what to see that weekend. The typical example is releasing a romantic comedy at the same time as a blockbuster action flick. Doing this lets you capture an audience that would otherwise go unserved.
Today, only days before Red Dead Redemption 2 is set to sweep through wallets across the globe, the award-winning retro farming RPG-sim Stardew Valley has come out for iOS. Speaking of wallets, Stardew has another mark in its favor: a price tag of just $7.99, compared to $59.99 and up for Rockstar Game's epic western.
Plus, Stardew has no in-app purchases, unlike most mobile games. You get the whole game all at once, in a version that you can play on the bus or in a car. However, note that the iOS version doesn't currently have multiplayer.
Of course, as an RPG-sim, you start out with the usual humble origins. The farm you unexpectedly inherit from your grandfather is initially modest and needs a bit of cleanup and repair before you can start growing crops, raising livestock, and earning cash.
However, you can choose to start from one of several different locations on the map, and each spot is geared toward certain play styles. If you like fishing, spelunking mines, or foraging, there's a location that will be suited to your tastes. There's a wide variety of activities to participate in, many of them seasonal.
The developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone says that you can get over 50 hours of gameplay from Stardew Valley. There's crafting, questing, exploration, character and farm personalization, and a village full of characters to interact with, a dozen of which you could marry and settle down with (not all at once, that is).
Barone created the game as a way to fill the gap he felt had been left by Harvest Moon for many years, but he also drew inspiration from Animal Crossing, Minecraft, and Terraria. He was the only developer on the game, writing all of its code and creating all of its artwork, a project that ended up taking about four years before it was release for Windows in February 2016.
When he began the project, he was an usher at a movie theater, and now his game is on eight different platforms, with an upcoming Android release making it nine. You can now purchase the product of his blood, sweat and tears for the cost of a deli sandwich.
Takeaways
The popular retro farming sim Stardew Valley has come to iOS, with a price tag of $7.99. It's inspired by Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, Minecraft, and Terraria.
An Android release is also planned, but no release date has been set.
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