The designer talks about how the board game version of the heartwarming farming slow life experience game 'Stardew Valley' was created



The simulation RPG '

Stardew Valley ' is a digital game that can be played on PCs, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, etc. There is also a board game version created by game writer Cole Medeiros. On the board game information site 'BoardGameGeek', Medeiros talks about the production of this board game version of Stardew Valley.

Designer Diary: The Seeds of Stardew Valley: The Board Game | BoardGameGeek News | BoardGameGeek
https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/124539/designer-diary-seeds-stardew-valley-board-game


You can find out what Stardew Valley is like by reading the following articles.

'Stardew Valley' where you can enjoy farming & fishing in the countryside and a slow life where you can interact with residents, a newly added multiplayer system review --GIGAZINE



The board game version of this Stardew Valley was announced on February 23, 2021. This board game version was created by Stardew Valley creators Eric Barone and Medeiros, aka Concerned Ape, over a period of more than two and a half years. The following is an introduction movie of the board game version.

Stardew Valley: The Board Game-YouTube


The board game version of Stardew Valley is assumed to be 13 years old or older, play time 45 minutes, and 1 to 4 players. The purpose is to cooperate with each other to drive out and develop bad companies from the land inherited from my grandfather, Stardew Valley. To develop the city, players will cultivate fields, take care of animals, acquire vocational skills and collect materials through changing weather and various events. So while the rules themselves aren't that complicated, the game itself is by no means short and casual, Barone said.



Medeiros started making a board game version when he was playing Stardew Valley with a friend in online multiplayer, and he happened to know Barone, so he played online multiplayer together. is.

Since Stardew Valley has various resources, items, characters, etc., Medeiros suggested to Barone on the spot, 'Isn't it interesting to make Stardew Valley a board game?', Barone He also agreed with this proposal and was very excited. However, at this stage, he couldn't think of any detailed system or rules.

Immediately after the production of the board game version actually started, Medeiros asked Barone, 'Who is this board game version of Stardew Valley aimed at? Where is the so-called' target group '?' Mr. Barone said, 'I'm not interested in that, so let's make a game that we like.' In response to Barone's answer, Medeiros said, 'This is his attitude. With intuition and a lot of effort, you can move towards what you find fun. Be honest with yourself about whether it's good or bad. It seems simple and very profound. '

The production meetings were basically done online, and we tried out the test version via

'Tabletop Simulator', which allows you to play board games online with a physics engine. 'Tabletop Simulator is a great tool for creating and playing testing board games,' said Medeiros. 'Without Tabletop Simulator, we couldn't have done so much quickly.' ..



In addition, since the actual board game and the digitized game board and card on Tabletop Simulator have different play feelings, Mr. Medeiros seems to have made a prototype in reality in parallel with the trial play of Tabletop Simulator.



After playing an early test version, Barone commented, 'I want more items and spectacular loot.' When playing the digital game version of Stardew Valley, Medeiros did not recognize that the tools that appeared were items or loot, but most of the items actually used in Stardew Valley are RPGs. He noticed that there were two types of items, 'one-time disposable' and 'things that can be used continuously while upgrading'. Therefore, in the board game version, it seems that people can use and master various tools by advancing the technology tree and paying resource costs.

Also, the first prototype wasn't something that could be played as a game, it was just a simple board with pieces and cards lined up. However, because it is the change of time and season that is important in Stardew Valley, a track showing the passage of time and season was added later.



Furthermore, one of the attractions of Stardew Valley is that you can enjoy fishing and mining as well as agriculture. You can also experience fishing and mining in the board game version, but it is said that adjustments have been made so that the play feeling of fishing and mining will never be the same. In addition, collecting things that have fallen or cutting down trees has been stipulated as a free action to be performed while moving through the field.

'The board game version of Stardew Valley originally wanted to be a game that emphasized cooperation between players, so we needed to make sure everyone could discuss their goals and intentions and put them into action. Dew Valley is a game where you can enjoy connecting with people and places. I wanted to make it happen every turn. '



Medeiros and Barone repeated test play many times, but in many cases they could clear the game with one shot, and Barone was worried that 'it might be a little too easy?' Medeiros also states that the ideal difficulty of a cooperative board game is 'the first and second times it fails, but after the third time it can be cleared.' After spending more than a year adjusting the difficulty level, Medeiros and Barone said they were overjoyed because they finally lost the test play.

In board games, not only the game system but also the artwork and graphic design are important. In the board game version of Stardew Valley, the villagers have undergone a significant redesign from the digital game version. This is because Mr. Barone placed particular importance on character design. In addition, the icon was designed with an emphasis on silhouette so that it can be distinguished even from a distance.



The first edition of the board game version Stardew Valley completed in this way seems to have sold out in just under a day. Medeiros wanted to reprint it soon, but Barone decided, 'Gather feedback and see if we can improve it further.' As a result, in response to the impression of the first edition, improvements have been made to improve the user experience, such as adding a tray to store tokens and panels used during the game from the second edition onwards.

The board game version of Stardew Valley is sold at Shopify for $ 55 (about 6100 yen), and at the time of writing the article, it will be sold in stores in the United States, United Kingdom, EU countries, Australia, New Zealand, Canada. .. Localization and sales schedule for Japan are unknown.

Stardew Valley: The Board Game – Stardew Valley Shop
https://shop.stardewvalley.net/products/stardew-valley-the-board-game

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