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ConcernedApe's Haunted Chocolatier
- mrkramer 5y agoThis guy is beyond talented. The game looks amazing.
- tckerr 5y agoYou can tell from the video that this game shares a lot in common with stardew valley. I'm assuming he's reusing the engine and even some art assets for UI, etc. Curious to see whether the final product differs in look and feel enough for this to be a unique standalone, or whether it will feel more like a total conversion mod for stardew.
- fartcannon 5y agoThere's not much to say more than, incredible, and I can't wait. I have got to be honest, for some reason I thought Stardew Valley was all that we'd ever see from ConcernedApe. I'm surprised and delighted that there's more to come! Looks great!
- roemerb 5y agoAfter seeing the news interviews with him, I thought the same. He did seem a little burned out to me after dedicating his entire life to Stardew for so long. Really impressive that he still has the energy to start an entirely new game!
- 1_player 5y agoEspecially since he has been adding free content to Stardew Valley after its release, also adding online coop (with help from his publisher). I would have expected him to take a long break and enjoy the fruits of his labour, but as a gamer I'm happy to see him back and whatever is creating is a day 1, closed box purchase for me.
- ehnto 5y agoI have bought a few games purely out of support for how the developers approach making games. This will be one of them. Open Sewer by Loiste interactive was another one, INFRA was such a unique breath of fresh air that I bought Open Sewer even though it wasn't quite my kind of game.
- rococode 5y agoI learned today that Eric (ConcernedApe) does the music for his games too... Music, art and graphics, storytelling, and game development all in one dude, what a talent.
- minimaxir 5y agoToby Fox (Undertale/Deltarune) as well, although he has some art help.
- rictic 5y agoAnd Daisuke Amaya did all of Cave Story too. Some really wonderful games come out of single vision, single execution
- joe-collins 5y agoAdd Thomas Happ (Axiom Verge) to that list.
- namlem 5y agoI absolutely love the soundtrack. The game was great too.
- farazzz 5y agoEric and Toby Fox were literal heroes to me, they introduced the idea to me that someone could create a video game on their own. I grew away from video games, but I probably wouldn't have learnt programming without them
- coldpie 5y agoThe Cave Story guy was this for me growing up :) I made many, many game engines and then got to the content creation part and usually got stuck. If nothing else, it gave me a ton of experience programming, which I then built a career on.
- 5y ago
- terinjokes 5y agoI've loved Stardew Valley, and I'm super excited to try out Haunted Chocolatier once it drops.
- pixard 5y agoThis has the same kind of relaxing vibe as Stardew Valley. A very rare instant purchase for me once it is released. For me personally these games stand out in a huge way in the sea of generic AAA micro-transaction "games". If anyone wants to drop some more SV-like game recommendations I'd love to hear them. I am in continued awe ConcernedApe was able to accomplish all this largely on his own. And beyond this that he continues that approach with his new game even though he could surely afford to just bring on as many developers/designers as he needed. He could even churn out a new game on a yearly basis and "milk" it all to maximize profit. The fact he is doing none of this speaks volumes (at least to me). Eric if you somehow happen to stumble upon this comment know you've brought one couple many many happy hours together. We wish you all the best, and much love!
- weeeeelp 5y agoCheck out Graveyard Keeper, while a mildly more morbid vibe, the gameplay loop, graphics and general feel are quite similar. Definitely worth a try, but I had to mod it a little bit to make the energy mechanics a bit more forgiving and to speed up the gameplay a bit - YMMV.
- Freak_NL 5y agoGraveyard Keeper is good on the story side, but it comes with much more grinding (performing repetitive tasks in the game) compared to Stardew Valley. Something to bear in mind for potential buyers. I didn't bother with the extensions in the end after completing the main game (at this point you can often pick up the game with all of its extensions on sale). Refreshingly original game nonetheless in terms of setting and 'job'.
- lfowles 5y agoI agree it's pretty grindy, but there was a free DLC that introduced "workers" (zombies) and that cut down on a lot of the grind.
- umvi 5y agoNot exactly farming or SV-like, but "A Short Hike" (https://ashorthike.com/ https://ashorthike.com/) is a laid-back, wholesome, "no-stress" kind of game I can highly recommend.
- Snetry 5y agoI am going to be honest with you, reading ConcernedApe made me think of NFTs.
- anentropic 5y agoSame here, I'm so glad it actually a game instead
- rnoorda 5y agoI have been amazed of what Eric has created single-handedly already, and am so pleased he's doing something new! Stardew Valley is a prime example of what I want in modern games and so often find lacking. No microtransactions, single-player-friendly, not graphic-intensive. Not every game needs to or should be Stardew Valley, of course, but there's not enough Stardew Valleys out there. Few of us are as talented as Eric is, but I wish more of us tried a little harder to create what we wish existed, and not fall into the trap of what's popular. To bastardize legend, "If I were not [me], I wish I were [ConcernedApe]."
- mepiethree 5y agoI think about this all the time. I’m pretty young, don’t want kids, and tech pays so well right now, that I’m quite optimistic that I’ll have the opportunity to pursue a pure passion project like this in my 30s or 40s, heavily inspired by ConcernedApe
- zibzab 5y agoI like this guy, he is very talented but also down to earth. He is like a more adorable version of notch, before he locked himself in his mansion and started saying questionable things. Hopefully he will stay that way when someone hands him a few billions.
- amelius 5y agoNobody is going to make billions from making retro video games.
- z3c0 5y agoStardew Valley has sold 15 million copies in 5 years. That may not be billions in sales, but it's at least hundreds of millions. I don't think billions is that far-fetched, especially with multiple games.
- mywittyname 5y agoI bet SV is worth well over a billion dollars. If it sold tomorrow, I would not be surprised on bit to hear a ballpark of $10-15 billion. Anyone with some business acumen can look at the game, and realize that there's a ton of untapped potential there. Merchandising, licensed show potential, faster release cadence for new games/content, more complicated versions of the games for adults (MMO), less complicated versions for small children. The merchandising thing seems like a no-brainer. Children really love toys associated with video games, movies, and the like. I wouldn't even think of it as selling out or milking the brand, it is letting people enjoy the game in a way that doesn't involve sitting in front of a screen.
- mepiethree 5y agoCertainly not billions, but it’s still pretty astounding that basically one developer made a game that grossed >$200 million (15 million copies!)
- tomrod 5y ago
- phgn 5y agoThis looks awesome, if a bit too similar to Stardew Valley for me (the fighting & town people). I hope Eric lands on something that works. He spent 4 years alone on the previous game [0] - imagine how lonely & isolated that can get. Hopefully he gets good feedback and motivation from this announcement. [0] https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-4-years-of-self-imposed-crunch-that-went-into-i-stardew-valley-i- https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/the-4-years-of-self-i...
- joeberon 5y agoI personally find it's very disappointing that the game is almost entirely visually indistinct from Stardew Valley. In fact even the sound effects are identical. I understand that this saves a lot of time and money, but this feels more like bonus content or an impressive mod of SDV than really having its own new identity. I'm sure a vast majority of people are in the "don't care, this is exactly what I want" category, and I wish that were me too, but unfortunately it's just not happening for me.
- tmountain 5y agoI agree with you. I loved SDV, and I will probably play this, but it looks like an expansion more than a new game.
- revolvingocelot 5y agoI'm excited for the game, but I understand your position -- I don't like it either. The effect is lessened a bit, for me, by remembering that it's just the one guy doing all of this. Plus, we don't know that the sounds/tileset aren't just placeholders to allow him to release the trailer's vertical slice! I appreciate that this is unlikely, but still! What we recognize as normal development practices don't necessarily apply to a studio of one.
- joeberon 5y agoI think it's one of those situations where it's like, yeah I appreciate that it's just one dude, but for me as the player, that doesn't actually affect my enjoyment of the game, so there's only so much I can ignore that stuff. The problem is that I already felt "done" and moved on from SDV (actually I was never that into the game, which is also a factor to being disappointed here) and this just feels like, we're gonna get another few years of the same thing..
- rkangel 5y agoDon't forget that it's early. I'd be surprised if it didn't diverge more and more from looking like SDV as time progresses. It's to be expected that prototyping leverages assets that he has readily available, but then as the game's individual personality develops it will be reflected in the UI and the look and feel.
- Slippery_John 5y agoThis seems a little bit like Reccatier in that you're going into a dungeon to get things to sell in a shop you manage. I'm very excited for it!
- dom96 5y agoI was expecting something completely different. As somebody that hasn't really liked Stardew Valley that much, this just looks exactly like Stardew Valley. Maybe these games aren't for me.
- rashkov 5y agoI personally got a lot of joy from watching my significant other play the game and making suggestions as she went along. The gameplay isn't my kind of thing either, but I really enjoyed watching the story reveal itself, as well as making suggestions for optimizing the farming activity
- floatingatoll 5y agoThat's my view of Undertale: It was fun to watch someone play it and I helped with one particularly difficult dodging section so they could get a [redacted] win, but I don't want to play it myself at all. Loved Stardew, though. All of the joy of an RPG without the drudgery of a 3D FPS walking simulator.
- wodenokoto 5y agoWhile it looks a lot like stardew valley it surprised me to read that it is based on a new engine _and_ it’s developed in evenings and weekends as a side project to ongoing stardew valley work. All by a single person.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- juanuys 5y agoI wonder if it will feature Chocolatiers [0] as a mini-game... 0. https://www.proudlion.co.uk/product/chocolatiers/6476 https://www.proudlion.co.uk/product/chocolatiers/6476
- quaffapint 5y agoI love that SV was written in C#. Who would of thought? I wonder if it's the same here? https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/75ag0g/im_concernedape_creator_of_stardew_valley_ask_me/do4qp8g/ https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/75ag0g/im_concern...
- thrower123 5y agoStardew Valley is a wonderful example of what a great game framework XNA was, and what a shame that it did not receive continuing development from Microsoft. An amazingly productive tool for one person or a small team. I'm not sure if he has moved on to Monogame (I assume he must have by now).
- jetpackjoe 5y agoFrom the FAQ on the game's page: > Is it the same engine as Stardew Valley? > No, it’s a new engine written in C#/Monogame… however there are some areas where I can reuse code from Stardew Valley, so that is nice
- gnagatomo 5y ago>I'm not sure if he has moved on to Monogame >Is it the same engine as Stardew Valley? >No, it’s a new engine written in C#/Monogame… however there are some areas where I can reuse code from Stardew Valley, so that is nice. https://www.hauntedchocolatier.net/faq/ https://www.hauntedchocolatier.net/faq/
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Calamitous 5y agoI’ve bought Stardew Valley three times on three different platforms with no regrets. I suspect this game will be no different.
- danparsonson 5y agoOh good lord.... I'll never see my girlfriend again
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- wly_cdgr 5y agoI have zero interest in playing this but will probably still buy to support
- colinmhayes 5y agoThe developer has easily $100 million. I think he'd probably prefer you support someone who needs it more.
- wly_cdgr 5y ago1. Who are you to divine what he would prefer or to conclude that $100 million is enough for working on Stardew Valley for 10 years 2. I don't care what he would prefer, anyway 3. Regardless, it's not an either or situation
- Zababa 5y ago> However, if Stardew Valley mostly channeled the energy of the sun, Haunted Chocolatier channels the energy of the moon. That may explain why I didn't really like Stardew Valley. It's hard to put into words better than how he explained it though.
- risedotmoe 5y agoI’m excited. In my opinion pixel art is timeless and has a charm no other style can compete with. Concernedape makes such a lovely game without being preachy and political. I’m looking forward to another gem.