Summary
- Eric Barone, creator of Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier, is hands-on with updates, adding more than planned to the popular game.
- Fans of Stardew Valley can expect major content additions to come directly from Barone, as he wants to ensure the game stays true to its brand.
- While Haunted Chocolatier may be a ways off, Barone is taking his time to ensure the game is a promising follow-up to Stardew Valley's success.
Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier dev Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone recently spoke about the games, detailing how the development of his new game is taking some time. The news is great for fans of Stardew Valley, but could spell a long wait yet for Haunted Chocolatier.
ConcernedApe was the sole developer behind the creation of Stardew Valley, which ended up becoming one of the biggest indie video game hits around. While he now has a small team assisting with updates to the title, the game has also received far more updates and alterations than was initially expected.
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In a recent interview with Aftermath, Eric Barone spoke about the two games, his interest in music, and the success of Stardew Valley. ConcernedApe explained that every time he "opens the book" on Stardew Valley, he can't seem to stop adding more to it. Although he now has a team assisting him with the title, he likes doing things hands-on himself. However, that means focus is taken away from Haunted Chocolatier. Initially, the recent Stardew Valley 1.6 update was intended to only be technical fixes and alterations, but ConcernedApe had problems with that idea as time went on.
"Stardew has grown into something beyond me, but at the same time, I still feel very personally responsible for the brand and the concept of Stardew Valley."
Owing it to the Fans of Stardew Valley
The developer felt that if he released the update with no new content in it that fans would be disappointed. Initially, he only intended to add the Desert Festival, but said that once he starts with something to do with the game, he can't stop, leading to numerous additions arriving in the 1.6 Stardew Valley update. He's clearly very in-tune with the community, as he went on to talk about how he not only feels responsible when someone is disappointed with something to do with Stardew, but he also cares about adding new things that fans of the game will love and have fond memories of.
While Barone could rely on his team to do future Stardew Valley updates, he doesn't feel comfortable letting them entirely take over on major content changes. He noted that future updates could come to Stardew Valley that the team could handle, like technical improvements or a new mob, for example. However, any major content additions would have to come from him, and he isn't sure yet if he wants to entirely move on to Haunted Chocolatier when the 1.6 Stardew Valley update comes to mobile and consoles. While he does feel some pressure from the community, he says Haunted Chocolatier will release it when it's ready, and it's clearly important to him to get it right.
While it could be some time yet before fans get to try out Haunted Chocolatier, it sounds as though the game will be a promising follow-up to the success of Stardew Valley.
Haunted Chocolatier
- Developer(s)
- ConcernedApe
WHERE TO PLAY
Haunted Chocolatier is an upcoming adventure game from Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe (Eric Barone). The game is currently set to feature a lush explorable world, chocolate making and cooking, a spooky theme, and more. There is currently no release date or time period for the game.
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Simulation
