Why Stardew Valley’s Creator Hated His Game
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- Опубликовано: 20 сен 2024
- Eric Barone is the one man team who created Stardew Valley. Despite the game being a huge success, selling over 30 million copies worldwide, Eric thought the game was terrible before he released it. This is the true story of the development of Stardew Valley
Visual Sources:
Stardew Valley Footage from Casas Plays - • Stardew Valley 1.6 - L...
Eric Barone and Yauhiro Wada - • The creators of Starde...
Eric Barone on the news - • Stardew Valley develop...
Stardew Valley Alpha Footage - • Stardew Valley Gameplay
Stardew Valley Footage from ProfPigglesWorth - • Video
Eric Barone in GQ - www.gq.com/sto...
Stardew Valley Cosplay - / group-cosplay-at-stard...
Another Stardew Valley Cosplay - imgur.com/gall...
Eric Barone at PAX West - / concernedape_was_at_pa...
Stardew Valley PS4 Trailer - • Stardew Valley - Gamep...
Eric Barone at PAX East - ethrildragon.t...
Eric at Auntie Annes - • March 5, 2011
Eric at PAX West - • Stardew Valley - 1.1 u...
90s PC Boot Sequence - • 90s PC boot sequence w...
Duck Hunt on MS DOS - • Duck Hunt (PC MS-DOS, ...
Eric’s Bread Days - • ERICS BREAD DAYS
Reason for Beginners - • Reason for Beginners |...
Auntie Anne’s Store - commons.wikime...
University of Washington Tacoma Ad - • Welcome to UW Tacoma
Another Auntie Anne’s Store - commons.wikime...
Harvest Moon SNES Longplay - • Let's Play Harvest Moo...
Back To Nature Gameplay - • Video
Harvest Moon 64 - • SCARIEST MOMENT IN THE...
HarvestCraft Trailer - • HarvestCraft
Harvest Moon Light of Hope - • Harvest Moon: Light of...
FarmVille Footage - • FarmVille -online game...
Sprout Valley Trailer - • Stardew Valley Trailer...
Minecraft Beta Gameplay - • My Minecraft Beta 1.7....
DeltaRune Trailer - • DELTARUNE Chapter 2 - ...
XNA Code Example - • C# XNA Tile engine tes...
XNA Studio Tutorial - • Video
Pixel Art Tutorial - • OpenGameArt Pixel Art ...
Paint.net Tutorial - • Paint.NET - Crop and e...
Eric Barone playing Moonlight Jellies - • Playing Moonlight Jell...
Civilization V Footage - • Civ V - AI Gandhi usin...
Final Fantasy Longplay - • PSX Longplay [003] Fin...
Old Toyota Camry LE - commons.wikime...
More Harvest Moon Footage - • Harvest Moon: Back to ...
Eric Barone at Treefort Music Fest - www.flickr.com...
Eric Barone AMA at Hackfort - • AMA with the games ind...
Star Trek Original Series Footage - • Star Trek Balance of T...
Vibe With Zac Playthrough - • Stardew Valley Playthr...
Starbound Trailer - • Starbound 1.0 Launch T...
Stardew Valley getting a Stardrop - • Where To Find EVERY St...
Stardew Valley out of bound glitch - • Best Glitches To Abuse...
Eric Barone at Treefort - www.flickr.com...
Stardew Valley Multiplayer Trailer - • Stardew Valley - Multi...
Eric presenting at Hackfort - www.flickr.com...
Stardew Valley 1.1 Trailer - • Stardew Valley 1.1 Lau...
Beach Farm in Stardew 1.5 - • First Look Tour of the...
Eric Barone and Yasuhiro Wada meet - • The creators of Starde...
Haunted Chocolatier Trailer - • ConcernedApe's Haunted...
#StardewValley
Thanks for watching! Who should I talk about next?
Videogamedunkey just released his first game with his publishing company, a game that was also made by a single person.
0😅 2:59 😅
Talk about the free masons!
I wouldn't mind a deep dive into the downfall of Harvest Moon. That game used to be one of my favorites up to the PS2 harvest moon game(Karen4life). The modern ones don't even deserve to be called Harvest Moon. I heard Story of Seasons is made by the original makers but even that one is pretty meh.
Please could you talk about Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale? I would love to Know more about him and his developing of the game
God bless amber, without her we may not even have stardew. She's the definition of a supportive spouse and deserves all the fancy things she can now buy.
money buys nothing but misery......
honestly. it is the worst
@@NotHappening-b8tAh yes the only thing naive people and rich people said
Yeah, money isn’t the most important, but it is still important.
@@angkhoa1216nah poor people say it more nowadays
@@NotHappening-b8t So how you can eat without money?
so basically, Eric got lots of love and support early on from his family, and that determined his strengths. Love and Support gives a human soo much power for creation.
@Frauke_M I completely relate to you. I am the same way, and it sucks.
Well f*ck, I guess that means I can never finish making my dream game lol
@Frauke_M keep going buddy. I know what you're going through. Or at least have an idea about it, since I went though neglect and even severe abuse by my mother. This video hit me hard as well, I actually cried a bit.
There's always a chance to get on the path of getting better though. You don't need to be perfect. You don't even need to be really "good". Just being able to feel 0.1% better by your own doing gives you power. You should be proud you got so far in such circumstances. Don't go hard on yourself. There's good and strength in you. You deserve rest and support after the shit you went through. It's fine you wanna be in your safe space, obviously you need a lot of that right now. Your brain protected you from further damage and now it's just stuck in its' defense mechanisms out of caution. But in a way you can be thankful for them.
Seek professional help if that is available to you. Or any kind of positive guidance, might even be religion (even though that's not my choice). It helped me. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Well if you have support you will make lovlely things that represents the best of the world. If you have darkness you will make dark but beutiful things. Like Moonlight Sonata or fur elise.
While love and support does help individuals should also give themselves support yes it's hard but if you truly intent on pursuing your dreams in life no one can hold you responsible except yourself especially with creative fields where it's mentally draining and becomes an extension of you. You need to have motivation outside of what others think and that needs to come from within otherwise what real drive do you have to actually create something if it's not for you attention and admiration and support are nice but will only get you so far
I love this story but not only because Eric did finish his dream game and became so successful, but because Amber is an absolute diamond... She supports the guy for so long, she's one of the two reasons we can play Stardew Valley now, the other being Eric. Such a great and inspiring story!
exactly! she deserves MAJOR props 💖 she's a HUGE reason he was even able to finish it at all; without being able to live with parents AND her financial support, he wouldn't have been able to just work and work and work for all those years straight.
Yesss
@@gaIexy He had part-time jobs while developing the game and he could have continued living with his parents so he could focus on the game 100% without paying rent, it's just not ideal to continue living with your parents when you have a partner because you need your own privacy and space. He also lived at his friend's house so Amber wasn't really making that much money.
@@Vader007. But I think her being his emotional support also plays a big role in all of this.
@@minhmeo5010 and his parents and his friends, not only her, he was already working on the game before he moved with her. He could perfectly have done that game without her.
"He tried to trick him by printing the fibonacci sequence instead of having the computer do the math", guy was already thinking like a game developer.
We’re in update 1.6 now and the game just keeps getting bigger and more rewarding
Seriouslyyyy I'm loving the update! Just keeps getting better and better
@zlatkajupe I haven't played the game since probably 2016-17. I stopped because it was too addicting. Is it worth giving it a try again after so many years? I'm afraid becoming an addict again lol
@@vladimir8035 You really should play it again, especially with the newest update. Only thing is, it's still extremely addicting lol
@@Meg4n Goddamn, becoming an adult sucks. I'll surely give it a try some day this Summer.
@@vladimir8035 definitely check it out again. But I'm sorry to say, it is 100x more addicting now with all the new stuff you can do, If you're really a masochist you can look into mods to add even more. It's never ending
Now imagine all the games that failed, that nobody ever heard of. Years down the drain. Starvation, depression, suicidal ideations, etc. Solo game dev is no joke.
Is why you keep these things as a hobby instead of banking on it
@@chipbutty3645 Fuck that
It's kind of crazy how this man did it himself for years while similar games like Omori had a team yet had development hell. Really makes you think these people are freaks of nature
@@enashimo They probably are. At the very least it takes a special kind of character to pull this amount of dedication. I can't do it. Not if the result is not guaranteed.
@@oredaze True and the thing people usualy don't consider is the general luck and supoort you need to have something like this to work, it's like a puzzle where all pieces need to fit together. Being persistent and have the skill is definitely very important, but people make it look like everything is only about skill but real life doesn't work like that 9 out of 10 times. Usually when you hear storries like this, they always focus on persistence and knowledge, but that's the survivalship bias, you don't hear about the rest of the people who tried to do the same thing, had the skill, tried to be persistent but life screwed them in other ways. Sometimes you may have a great idea or product, but the timing not being right or didn't have the support you needed or life just turned in a completely different direction. I'm very glad the dev of Stardew Valley had that opportunity, support and all pieces fitting together for him, but for most people their partner or parents will be "it's time to stop this and start contributing like an adult we can't keep carrying you on our shoulders".
Major shoutout to Amber for supporting Eric. Now neither of them have to worry ever again
edit: are y'all really arguing in my comment thread?
I know, that is the definition of a loving relationship. She didn’t leave when she wasn’t getting enough from him. She knew he was doing it not only for himself, but for both of their futures.
I’ve been in her position, working more than full time to support my significant other following his dream. It’s extremely hard. You talk about things and you think you have a sense of it, how you’re going to set up the new structure of your relationship, but in 6 months you’re feeling it instead of theorizing it. You’re feeling things you didn’t expect to feel (“I need more interaction from him”) but now you’re ~in it~ and navigating it is much harder than theorizing it.
Major kudos to her!! Thank you for recognizing her hard work throughout this endeavor! :)
Indeed. I always think his gf is awesome as hell. Like damn, the support she gave his is amazing. She is the dream ❤
If it was other way around, the vagina would have left immediately after getting successful
Someone should throw this wrench into the redpillers wheel.
I remember when the game 1st published. my friend asked in one of the forums for help with my broken save. I had given him the save to see if he could fix it.
I was asleep by the time with no idea what was happening. When I woke up I had a message from my friend with an attached file. It was my save. And it was working.
Eric had seen the post and the attached broken file with it. He then took the broken file without saying anything... and fixed it overnight. He contacted my friend at 4 am in the morning with the working file and on top of that... he apologized for the issue.
I have never felt so strongly about any developer. But Eric is one of the best we have.
this has shifted how I think of Mr. Qi's dialogue regarding "perfection" and to never quit seeking it. There's a lot of Eric's mentality in those words
I kinda feel like Mr. Qi is based off of Eric Barone himself, more like his inner mysterious self just like how we have our own. Hitting perfection, not rushing things too early, fruits of hardwork, etc.
@@jhrmd that is a fantastic analysis as well as summary of Mr. Qi!
Perfection is a double-edged sword you can spend all your time trying to make something perfect but if the idea is flawed/unfun it's not really worth it. It's better to create a hundred things but finish them then 1 thing that is "perfect" especially because perfect simply does not exist and chasing it will only make you loath the thing you made as you'll only see the flaws which others may not. It worked out great for him but it absolutely should not be the standard we grow from failure and mistakes it's more important to finish something, reflect instead of constantly wanting it to be perfect.
There is also such a thing as over working something where you constantly get caught up in the tinest little things and because of that it will begin to look muddy. Best approach would be look it over or reflect on it maximum 3 times any more and it's simply not going to be worth the effort he himself was blind to how good his game actually was he also succeed because yes it was a good game but also because he already had a fanbase waiting for it meaning he could spend more time
There's a lot of him in Elliott too - "Taking breaks from work can make you more productive in the long run."
I think he can relate more to Sebastian and I heard idk where he said it himself
Sadly a lot of stories like that would end up in disaster, the game not ever releasing or making any money, the partner not being able to be supportive for so many years, or health problem coming in the way of actually finishing the game.
These success story are inspirational but they exist within a system that's designed to make that kind of stuff a dangerous gamble that most will fail while the few successes are shown as a way to justify that it's all just about hard work when it's not.
I was contemplating that also. We all love edgy success stories...
Within a "system"? Is it yet another "capitalism bad" comment? Can you describe a utopia where you can spend half a decade making a video game, writing a book etc. not working and just relying on your partner (in Soviet Union you had to work officially btw, because there was a law against "dependency", "izhdivenchestvo"), not having a censor to ban your game because it promotes "petite bourgeoisie" or LGBTQ values instead of "socialist realism", and then to sell it on a free market, and not hope that some "Ministry of Culture" will throw you some bits and pieces as a reward?
As someone who had a multi-year indie project fail, this is completely inaccurate. It's emotionally crushing for sure, but you can just go get a normal job after since you have a ton of experience. There's nothing of "the system" being designed to make it dangerous at all (unless you're assuming that other people should be forced to support you while you make games, which is just dumb).
@@La0bouchere If you could work for multiple year on your indie project you either had some amount of support or starting ressources that allowed you to do that. Not eveeryone has that.
People aren't obligated to support you but I think it's important to point out that those success stories aren't the result of pure willpower, people don't all have the opportunities to even try or the leeway to be able to afford to fail their project (and getting a job isn't exactly a guarantee especially with a large gap on your resume) and even when all the conditions are there you still have pretty high odds for it to fail.
Point is the "rag to riches" type of story are not the norm and in most cases it's just "rag to rag" or "riches to more riches" and if you are already struggling financially you have much less opportunities to take risks like that. The exceptions shouldn't be heralded as exemples to follow because they aren't reproducible. At many point within this story the guy could have just gone homeless or in medical debt or anything along those lines if something did go wrong.
@@La0bouchereYou can’t just “get a job” after spending years on a project that fails, interviewers aren’t looking at the knowledge you gained from the experience, what they’re looking at is the 2+ year gap in your resume, which isn’t going to be better when you tell them it was from a *failed* project.
I love how he still to this day interacts with his community and is so down to earth. Really great person.
Yeah my few interactions with him when the game wasn't even released yet but tease online were nothing but pleasant :) dude deserves the success
Making your girlfriend work two jobs for 5 years while he works no job is not a good person. He is not a man.
This actually had me tearing up. It has taken me a long time to finish my undergrad (engineering). It took me 10 years, with a whole lot of turmoil and pain. I have finally passed everything and my graduation will be this July. I can certainly empathise with the feeling that you are failing and wasting your life on a dream, being supported by others, the imposter syndrome, the embarrassment when people ask what you do or how long until you finish, and the feeling of needing to prove yourself even after the fact.
I'm glad he has found success. I have never played stardew valley, but I feel like buying it now to support him, having heard his story (even though I certainly need the money more than he does right now 😅).
Hey I wanted to let you know it took me 10 years to finish engineering school too! I feel embarrassed by it but I know my path thru college had its reasons and I wouldn’t be who I am today without the 10 years in college. Stardew Valley and games like this truly help thru those days where you’re tired, overwhelmed, and need a break from it all. It was also the motivation at times for me to finish studying and course work too lol.
I recommend getting it if you haven’t and also thanks for sharing your college journey. You’re not alone in it.
FYI I see your graduating this month (or have). It took me 6months to get a job (graduated in 2021). Don’t let the applications and job search burn you out. There’s light. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut and turn down a job (if you haven’t lined one up). I’ve worked contract, consumer product, and vacuum technology. Tell yourself in the moment where you feel like you’re not good enough for the job someone believed in you, and that’s why you have the role. You can do the job and it takes years to be a good engineer
@annonone93 Thanks, I appreciate the kind words and encouragement!
I actually already have an engineering job. :) I will need to leave at some point for a higher paying job though.
@@JonathanTrevatthi! , im currently interested in engineering major , mind if I ask a few questiosn regarding engineering?
1. Is electrical engineering the hardest engineering major??
2. What major I should take to learn sound/audio engineering?
3. What kind of major that is best if I wanted to make speakers or headphones or earbuds
Sorry if I had a bad grammar because english isn't my first language 😅 anyway ,Thanks! For reading it, I Really appreciate it 🙏🏻
@tonystank8676
1. I don't think that any engineering discipline is especially more difficult to any other. It's mostly conceptual, since a lot of the math is similar anyway.
2. There are 2 different jobs that people call "sound/audio engineers." One type isn't actually an engineer at all. But actual sound engineering is I think technically a subset of mechanical. When I studied, I took sound engineering as an elective. It depends on your university and an advisor at your university could tell you more, but at mine, I think you just had to select appropriate elective courses.
3. If you want to design audio equipment, then you might want to do electrical, with electives chosen to specialise in sound, electromechanical devices, and product design.
You can usually do a year or two of study before you completely decide, because most of the first courses are common between all engineers.
Hope this helps 🙂
@@JonathanTrevatt hi! , thank you so much for answering all my questions! , hope you have a great day and God bless you and your family 🙏🏻
He made me realize you can create something even in your lowest times and it be something everyone enjoys. It takes time and patience for something you dream of
becoming a reality😭
As Mr. Bigweld once said "You Can Shine No Matter What You're Made Of."
Art comes from pain. When you're at your lowest, your creativity is the highest.
@@Alexander_Grant Take that same philosophy with chores and other things outside of Art, and yeah, it convinces you to finish it as much as you can.
His girlfriend was in her lowest times working two jobs supporting this "man". He was at home chillin making video games and not even talking to his girlfriend much.
@@Alexander_Grant i politely disagree
This story should be a movie. It actually made me cry knowing that everything ended well and he kept his essence. Great video.
Honestly, Amber is the GOAT in this story. She supported Eric all throughout and that makes Amber an absolute gem. Kudos to you, Amber!
Totally agree - behind every great person, there’s a bunch of other unsung heroes. His parents must have been pretty cool too to let them both live there rent free/ low rent for ages too. His dad encouraging him to learn laid a solid foundation too.
No it makes her dumb. You don't support a "man" who doesn't work for 5 years while she works two jobs. That is not a man.
All artists doubt and hate their own art. This is very common. The important thing is to get it finished and get it out there.
real. you spend hours and hours on your art, experincing it constantly until you are drained, and you of all people know every little single flaw, artists are always their harshest critics
@@maximilianhemann Well put. This is exactly why I didn't choose a designer or artist livelihood. I always felt drained when doing art. Probably cause I never learned a balanced work ethic or system.
Impostor syndrome. I am glad he defied his.
Can confirm. As a creator, when you look at your work, you only see all the flaws you could not resolve.
Eric gotta go down as one of the most legendary creatives out there, and the support Amber gave him fully made his dreams reality. Such an inspiration, I wouldn't know what the guy is feeling right now
Chucklefish actually helping him to release and port the game, without screwing it or him up, brings back some hope for publishers.
He's really lucky he had so many people around to support him through the game's development.
I met Eric a few days ago. Super sweet guy. Our steel pan band is playing “spring” from Stardew, and we practice in Fremont, which I think is where his office is. So he came, and actually played music with us. Super cool.
aha thats sick
That's a fun expression of the weird connectedness of things these days
"Imagine playing the same game, all day, for 4 years..."
I don't think this guy is built for RuneScape 😆
Or fifa
Or minecraft
Or WoW, PoE, LoL
i thought about this too XD
I'm pretty sure they mean to play the same game from the start everyday just to ensure that the game run smooth without bugs and glitches.
Imagine playing the tutorial mode 1000x.
It’s a true rags to riches story. So much respect for both of them pulling it off. Many have tried. I’m a fellow musician, composer, illustrator, writer and coder. But it’s insane what Eric is capable of creating on such a high level.
@nutcase Yes it’s very inspiring. And also discouraging. Who would be capable of such an achievement? Not many I believe.
Eric Barone is one of the best devs ever to exist. Even better he's an awesome person too.
He's definitely up there with the likes of devs like Redigit.
and he's hot
@@dustbucketau If your "hot" boyfriend told you to support him for 5 years while you worked two jobs, you would have dumped him as any body should.
@@romanboi10 should or would
Honestly was really relieved when he finally got a part time job. 😅 Amber likely needed a break from the stress whether she wants to admit it or not from being the breadwinner and the sunny Linda to his Bob while going to school on top of it all. I’m glad they were able to work so hard together ❤
She was smart enough to realize he was the true breadwinner. Patience is important when it comes to something like this.
Man his standards must be super high. Even on release stardew valley was awesome. No clone has really been able to do the same quality work as concernedape did, and he was by his self doing it.
I bought stardew on release, and it was definitely great back then too. Most of the issues were small like forgetting levels in the mines or spouse jealousy.
hard to judge when there is nothing similar , when Minecraft came out 15 years ago lots of people just thought it looked like pixelized shit , it did and still does but visuals were never the point , and until today only vintage story has been able to improve on the original feeling Minecraft had , and mostly because Microsoft barely touches the game
@@MrRafagigaprwhat is YOUR POINT?
@@prumchhangsreng979 my point is that if you made something that was never been done before , even if you dislike it , it could be very good for someone else because people have different tastes and like different things in games
I don’t think you could say that for Stardew Valley. RPG game with pixelated graphic had exist and thriving for years and years. Even now, it’s hard to find game that give the same joy and vibe. So stardew valley is good not because the standard is low, it’s good because it’s good.
Same could be said about minecraft, u forget the simple fact that not everybody judge the game based on it graphics like u. There are other factor that make a game good. There are many people who prefer indie game kind of graphic over graphic that are too realistic. Lot of people like the simplicity of minecraft. Beside, if u do something that no one do it before and now it has nothing to compare to. THEN that alone is a FEAT worthy of respect, and can be something that consider to be “good”
so amber was the hero of the story
While Eric made the game alone, it wouldn't be possible without the support of friends and family. What an amazing story!
This guy followed his dreams and had the work ethic and good morals to back it up. This guy is aspirational.
Be careful with the whole "With enough persistence you can truly what ever you want in life". This guy had a pretty good start, people to support him, etc. Stories like this are part of the survivorship bias, because you don't hear about the people that grind their life to the ground.
This story could have easily lead to a ruined existance if only one factor had been different.
He had parents which lead him into that direction, and massive support from all around. His family, friends and most importantly his partner.
@@jasperzanovich2504 Exactly!
@@jasperzanovich2504also the fact that his game was basically an overnight sensation. It could have just as easily be lost in the sauce of all the other indie games that came out.
I love stardew valley, and I love that Eric was the one who got to reap the rewards of his labour, but luck of the draw had played a part in it. Man got that luck buff on lock
Everyone knows that failure can happen tho. It’s what’s stopping most people from even trying. A bit of encouragement and an inspiring story isn’t a bad thing.
I’ve been obsessed with creating things all my life. I had many failures. And a couple of successes, which more than made up for it. Had I stopped trying, I would only have had failures.
@@svenmify You'd be surprised.
This one can be dangerous because it is one that could've ruined his life.
This was also not many failures leading to success. This was, again, potentially life destroying choices that lead to success
What's horrifying about stories like this is that for every Eric Barone you will find dozens of people who let a project like this completely consume their life yet never have anything to show for it. The life of an entrepreneur really scary.
This story is so inspiring. A SINGLE person created a full game, and not just any game, but a great game.
I really admire this guy.
It's really touching how humble he still remained even after the success. Blessing upon your home and hearth, Eric! May you and Amber live a long life together!
For anyone wondering about the copyright dispute I have a short version.
Harvest Moon is a game series from Japan. It was originally localized by a different company.
The Japanese company that made the games decided to localize it themselves at their American branch. The company that was doing it before obviously didn't like that.
The original localization company owned the rights to the Harvest Moon title. So following the split the original game series that was called Harvest Moon had to change it's name over here to Story of Seasons.
The localization company started putting out their own games with the title of Harvest Moon, so that people who didn't know about the change would buy it based on the title. Generally most people agree those games are not very great.
So tldr
The original game series that was called Harvest Moon is now called Story of Seasons. And any games coming out called Harvest Moon are a different game series that has had consistent issues.
And both are boring compared to Stardew.
Story of Seasons is still pretty bad though which is sad. OG Harvest Moon up to like PS2 era was 10/10. Not sure why their current game is aggressively underwhelming.
@@Sephiroso. They didn't even sell the PS2 games in Europe. Until DS harvest moon wasn't published or changed heavily in Europe ....
@@Sephiroso. Story of Seasons is phenomenal, just got to pick up the right titles. Friends of Mineral Town is one of the best remakes I have ever played, and A Wonderful Life was nice as well. Yeah, sad that their best games are remakes, but I still think they can do it. The first Story of Seasons game was pretty good, SO close to being a proper Harvest Moon game in looks and vibe.
i had no idea my most beloved game had such a touching story to its creation. so real and absolutely raw
Everybody needs an Amber in their life, doesn't necessary have to be a girlfriend. Your parents can be your Amber too
Dont forget that you can be the Amber you wish to see in the world
Or you could be the other Amber... the one so infamous, she kinda brought down a veteran actor in an iconic series.
@@triadwarfarethey both are bad people, and also what the hell do they have to do with anything
That would be nice, but some of us just have to tough it out alone when it comes to our dreams. The fact is that for most people, myself included, nobody fucking cares what your dream is or how hard you're working at it. It's the norm to have to wait until things blow up and your success looks like it was always a foregone conclusion before anyone starts believing in you. Eric got very lucky to have somebody that supportive in his life.
If ypu try to be an amber people will just take advantage of that
This case was an exception not the rule
You cant trust humans
This man created his magnum opus and his wife stood by him every step of the way. What an inspiring story.
I find it funny how people say Amber was crazy for supporting him like that. I think she wasn't at all. I think she is a smart woman who knew exactly what made original harvest moon great as she was a fan and she knew stardew valley would be a hit. And she knew her partner was dedicated enough to polish it to perfection.
Anyone who tells people they are crazy for supporting their significant other, are just plain wrong. That's how its supposed to be, something that is now lost in these days.
no one can actually know if something is gonna be successful, especially when you're doing indie games. We have the luxury of knowing it's already a success so we could say that, but realistically, supporting someone like this is a huge gamble. But if it's your significant other, then they should be supporting regardless of the probability of success.
She wasn't crazy, she was a genuine good woman.
I don't think it was crazy, but I also don't think it would've been crazy or unfair to not put up with this situation. Amber took a gamble and she was willing to take it for Eric. But it was definitely still a gamble and I couldn't fault anyone for wanting to leave such a situation.
She didn't know anything all she did was push forward and try to keep her marriage afloat
His life sounds so much like my life now... Thank you for the video. This really gives me an encouragement.
This vid made me realize how much concernedape proyected himself onto Sebastian when it comes to them both being programmers, with a specific goal and working by themselves because they didn't want to "be a part of the corporative rat race" (literally said in his 2 heart event). Amazing video! keep up the great work :)
tfw I love Sebastian so much I marry him every playthrough... LOL. No wonder his gf/wife always stayed. Hell of a guy.
@@spectrademonica I always marry Sebastian, too.
Amber is a real one fr
I know after hearing all this telling this man he deserves a break wont really do anything cause his anxiety wont let him. So uh just... Dont let Haunted Chocolatier do you in, hope he learned how to take it in alittle slower and learned he knows how to make a good game.
I think he did learn. He isn't really saying anything about the game other than it exists and a couple little teasers. He's also taking breaks on HC to come up with new ideas for SV and explicitly stated it will be out when it's ready. Being able to go between projects, even if they are both coding/art/etc is a huge stress relief over constantly doing the same thing. Plus, now he has the financial freedom to work on it as his own pace without worry.
well now he can not rush it seeing as before he was scared of failing
i mean if he was essentially a stay at home partner that did all the house chores, then working to support both of you is not that big of a deal as long as your jobis not soul crushing and earns enough. house chores, cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, laundry, etc, are no tasks to be laughed at as any single houshold can attest to. which i say as a single household. i would happily pay for a potential partner as long as they did something to earn their stay too.
Most artists hate their own work. I can never push through that myself.
The worst part of YT for me as a creator is having to listen to my own voice lol
I kept pushing through until one day things started to click and now I love my own style. It’s easy to get lost in all the awesome art on the net and never feel satisfied with your own, but if you stop caring about what everyone else is doing and really focus on building a style you’ll eventually reach a place where art is satisfying.
I remember when it was first released. Patches upon patches within the first 2 days. I remembered wondering "Does this dude even sleep?" Because i was just here enjoying the game.
Wow a supportive wife and parents and a successful game. Glad it all worked out for him
As a 26 year old guy with a degree in Biochemistry, this story is inspiring and relatable. I got really good grades and I am smart, but I'm not looking forward to the grind of a Chemistry PhD. I'm single, working almost a minimum wage job, and luckily living with my grandpa rent free. I am currently stuck because I know that where I am currently and where I am headed is not what I want.
'
This is an encouraging story though and maybe I'll go out and try some things I have been putting off. I want to at least try standup comedy and/or start a RUclips/Podcast. I'm just trying to figure out what I can offer that will stand out and actually make a difference.
Sometimes I feel like we already have enough people that want to be famous influencers. Truth is I don't care about fame at all. I just want enough money to get out of my grandpa's house, find a wife/start a family, and live a decently comfortable life without having a job I hate and having to worry about money. Maybe that is too much to ask for in the modern world though.
I love talking to people, giving speeches, debating, teaching, making people laugh, and learning new things. Finding a job that makes decent money doing that is hard unless you get famous.
"With enough persistence..." and a huge amount of support from everyone around you... :D
And the biggest dose of luck imaginable - the game was an overnight success. For 99.9% of devs this would not happen. :D
Thanks you for sharing Eric's story, it's really inspiring and make me appreciate the game even more.
Whilst I doubt I’ll ever be as great or popular as Eric Barone or Toby Fox, their accomplishments forever serve as my goals. I see myself quite a lot in Eric but I have one major flaw that he didn’t and that is an extreme inability to focus when I can’t see the path ahead. Eric somehow kept his head down and worked non-stop whereas I’ve been stuck on the narrative part of my game for half a year with little progress. I have the discipline to sit down and try all day everyday to make a game but lack the focus to actually make any progress. I refuse to give up though. Before starting game development, when I had just turned 18, I had literally zero skills, I was pathetic and had even been told by one of my friends that “if i was you, I’d kill myself” obviously im no longer friends with them… but yeah, one of my biggest motivators for making a full complete commercial game is to prove to myself that i can accomplish something most couldnt, that i am not worthless, it has always been a dream of mine to make a game but i always disregarded the idea because everyone would always say it’s near impossible and i would never be able to do it, this is what i want, and i refuse to let it go, im so sick of giving up and never committing to things i want or need… making this game is incredibly important to me, i know i shouldnt connect my self-worth with a goal but i can’t help it, i don’t know what i will do if I can’t finish this game, that is why I need to succeed! I only want to release a game im happy with, i dont care if i lose money on it, it’s not about fame or riches, it’s about proving to myself that i am not a waste of oxygen and completing what i always thought was an impossible task. Whilst I do see myself a lot in Eric, Toby has had the most influence on me due to his game being about determination. I can tell all my friends don’t believe in me… I started game development almost 2 years ago and they haven’t really seen anything from me… i can’t blame them… But that doesn’t matter because I believe in myself, I don’t care if it takes me 10 years, I refuse to accept anything less than a complete game. I do hope I will improve to the point where I can get a job in the industry, as much as I like working at a supermarket, I’d like a fixed salary in career im passionate about.
Sorry im rambling like crazy, i wont delete this though, i feel like im fighting impossible odds and i want people to know that it’s no longer stopping me from trying.
Good luck lad!
Please don't beat yourself up. If they're your friends, I'm sure they believe in you! What friends don't believe in their friend?
Could you possibly find a way to disconnect your identity to the game's progress? Your self-worth is certainly more than just your passion project. At the very least, please don't compare yourself to others.
Please pay attention to all the small improvements you have made as a person and hold onto that. And then see how far you have come and the next steps to improve!
The completion of the game is great, but the journey is more important! That's what makes the completion great and if it was easy, it wouldn't be worthwhile.
So keep going! Tell those inner thoughts to shut up and keep working towards your dream!
I'm reminded of a great quote from Xenoblade 3:
"“Memories melt in the morning light, and then, a new day begins. Roads stretch out before us. So many paths. Which do you choose? That’s up to you. Sometimes, you might run astray. You’ll stop, maybe cry in frustration. But, you know, that’s all right. For the roads… They go on without end. So look up, face forward, toward your chosen horizon… And just… walk on.”
No matter how far you think you have gotten off your path, keep moving forward and eventually it will lead to something worthwhile!
@@SuperSSSSooonniicccc Good friends, friends that can see my flaws and still accept me, they don’t have to believe in me, I’ve given them no reason to… yet. And no, I won’t disconnect my identity from my game, as they are one in the same. I’m so passionate about game development that it is now who I am, I was a nobody, an empty canvas, so it wasn’t hard for my first real passion to become my personality, and I am using game development as a form of expression for myself, if I give up my game, I’m giving up on myself. I remind myself of all my flaws so I know how far I’ve come.
But yeah I pretty much agree with your entire reply, even if it seems conflicting
I agree that you shouldn't be so harsh on yourself, given that you have lot of symptoms of ADHD, that I highly doubt you got even diagnosed with or gotten a good treatment for it. So, if you get a good medical support for your ADHD, maybe you'll be able to focus much more! You are very valid and can accomplish what you dream of, I wish you find cooler people aswell along the way.
I’m in a similar situation.
The most important thing is to not give up and don’t stop believing in yourself.
If you’re stuck on one thing, and it’s mentally draining you, let it rest for a while and see if there’s something else you can work on instead. Just keep moving forward.
My parents were idiots who told me I could do ANYTHING I wanted, never gave me any direction or positive feedback, never explored or encouraged any of my talents, and kept saying "just do whatever you wanna do" up until I joined uni. I dropped out. Then my country went bankrupt. Fun.
Your whole country?
Lebanon?
Skill issue 💀
Your entire country's economy was based on you joining uni?
Damn, Amber is a trooper and I am glad it all paid off in the end for Eric and Amber.
This is lowkey one of the most inspiring videos and stories I’ve ever seen on this platform. Thank you for breathing life into this incredible story!❤️
Splendid video quality, exceptionally smooth to follow. I didn't even realize it was just released until I looked at the comments, after watching it in full. Keep it up!
I really appreciate that, thank you!!
yo're story teller, the music and vides all amazing it makes me feel what eric felt when developing stardewa valley. great job
As an artist, we are all our own harshest critics. Ive been told my drawings and cartoons are really good and fun looking. I still dont like what I make, but i know i see all the flaws in my own work and others just see the art subjectively and have differing opinons.
I needed to read this today.
Well, I think the big difference is that you see what you made compared to what you _wanted_ to make, and then look at all the differences between those two as flaws and mistakes, whereas others often don't have any idea what exactly you were aiming for and just evaluate what is actually there. While the former might be an okay way to critique the act of making the art, I think the latter is actually a more honest critique of what you ended up making.
I can relate. I’m an indie developer and I’ve been working on my indie game for about 6 months. Not nearly as big or intricate of a game as Stardew valley but still a large task for one developer. I got to the point about a week ago where I honestly couldn’t tell anymore if the game looked or felt good. I then started to stress about it sucking. It’s a scary thought when you pour your heart into something that it just might not be good. This is the first game I will be releasing on steam too so I think that is also putting on pressure. I then realized that even if worst case senerio people hate my game, it will only improve me as a developer.
A love just like Amber? No amount of iridium ores can surpsss that.
it should be the common thing to expect from a partner
@@kairi8882 expected, but not entitled. Regardless of gender or circumstances. Flawed people arent deserving of such unconditional love, tho it isnt real love if you have to earn it too. It's complicated.
Historically, a huge amount of the art, literature, and other works of creativity and genius that we have, would never have existed if someone hadn't helped support the artist financially, especially early in their career.
The ultimate power couple 😍 great things can happen when you and your SO work as a team, greater than the sum of the parts
Ya she was too supportive. Any girl should have dumped him because making your girlfriend work for 5 years while not working is not a man.
@@romanboi10 strongly disagree
@@romanboi10 working 10h a day developing an indie game is not working?
@@velius_development Finding success in a indie game is rare. Essentially you are saying to your girlfriend, hey babe I'm going to work on this passion project while you work overtime for rent and food for two people, for 5 years. Thanks babe. Or you could be a man and help pay rent and food while you work on your projects in your off time.
@@romanboi10 Sure but even unpaid work still is work. So saying he was "not working" is simply wrong.
Such a great video, we all know it takes a factory of workers to assemble a car, people often forget that making solo art also takes a whole community of support, generosity, and commitment as well. Im so happy for Eric and Amber that they get to enjoy the results of their trying times
I literally don't know why this makes me cry
You're not alone, friend haha seeing him get to meet the creator of the game that brought him and Amber together and inspired his whole journey had me welling up and asking who's cutting the onions lol!
I like how eric treat his game fans, he really think of his game and players
when the world needed him most, he returned
The dream team. 😍
A screenshot with Stardew Valley above Manor Lords is crazy
Yooo guys he remembered his account password!
I know a lot of the alpha testers of SDV didn’t think much of the game. Some are still confused how it got as big as it did.
Im guessing the testers were pretty hardcore gamers and stardew valley is very casual,I see it played it a lot as a couple bonding game tbh
18:06
Someone's never seen the "tea" cutscene with caroline
Hell with how much the saplings are worth? There's no way it's actually tea
"Medicinal" tea probably 😂
"You smell grass"
Jas
As a solo developers stories like this are a massive inspiration. My family means everything to me and supports me even thought I feel I'm massively disappointed them. This last year I gave myself an ultimatum to stick to a schedule working on my game or I'd get a job that I can actually get paid for. So for it looks like I'll have to get that job, no, being honest I needed to get a job that actually pays me a decade ago. I only started working on making a game two years ago. I don't have some grand backstory about making games since I was a kid, I'm just some guy who decided after being depressed for several years after doing something stupid and getting expelled from high school that they were going to follow their dream.
I'm 31 and I found my dream, but my parents are getting older and I can't keep leaning on them. I need to get paid, so while i refuse to give up my dream I also need to make room for the real world. If my dream ever comes true, I don't know, but even if I'm still working toward it into my 40s, my 50s, my 60s, or however long it takes. I'll make a dang game. I've lived all my life without a dream and I'm not giving up the one I found. I'll die first.
Doesn't have to be a good game, I just gotta prove it to myself that I can do it.
Stories like this and streamers like PirateSoftware have been really big inspirations, the mood raiser I truly need when I'm feeling down. They inspire people to make games and no matter you age they serve as role models and icons of the gaming industry. Go make games, don't let anybody stop you. Not even yourself.
What a great story! It’s so great to find out the backstory of my favorite game creator. Thanks for posting this.
As a solo developer seeing anyone doing thing alone inspired me, they always bring my passion back to continue making stuff. I'll make everything, and no one can stop me or ruined my passion.
As someone in college for data science who needs to get a job to make it work this year, hearing about the Auntie Anne's era is really cool! Gives me hope and makes me feel like less of a loser for not having an internship yet
This guy accomplished the dreams I've failed at so far. Metal band, and creating a game.
"With enough persistence..." and support and an absurd amount of luck. If Stardew Valley had been lost in the sheer volume of Steam releases, which happens to a lot of games, the story could have ended very sadly. Stardew Valley is an absolute exception - a success story among thousands that have failed.
I'd be the first to admit that I'm legit angry at how easy things were going for him.
However, I think it's more useful to look at his story and learn from it. In his case, he obviously saw he had a stable and welcoming family where he COULD take his time. A partner that was willing to support him. Friends to move in with etc. He saw it and he used it. Yes, you won't be able to do the same, but why do you have to? I think the lesson here is to look at yourself and your environment and act accordingly. You'd be surprised how much you can actually do. Or maybe you'd realize how little you can do, in which case you can continue on in with more peace of mind instead of lamenting over the idea of making a successful game or whatnot.
I do think Steam lowering its standards has been bad for indie devs. The store is so flooded with crap that finding the good stuff can be hard.
Dude has the most realistic game development story of anxiety, and real life struggles.
His publisher only asked for 10%? They ask for 50% now (after Steam's cut that is)
No way where does it say that
50% seems high, but usually cuts are decided based on hype of the game already. If the publisher has to work harder and spend more money, the cut will be higher. SV was already hyped before the publisher joiened in. 10% is a really great offer, but it's not like they had to do a whole lot to hype the game and it's not like it used to be where the publishers were responsible for the physical copies of the game which took money to do. Now that it''s all digital and not even on their servers, but steams, they don't have the overhead they used to have to publish games. Server cost's are a reason Steams cut is so high
@@MerccreM15 > Server cost's are a reason Steams cut is so high
Monopoly and market capture is the reason Valve's cut is so high.
You could have a nationalized alternative that only charges 3.5%, but nobody would ever use it because their library belongs to Valve. Being an internet landlord's a really sweet gig if you can hit the jackpot.
Valve doesn't have to make a single new video game in their entire lives, and they'll continue raking in more profit than all other publishers and video game developers in the history of the human species combined.
@@BMoser-bv6kn Valves profits are a fk ton but they're extremely far from matching "all other publishers combined". Rockstar and Activision already surpass them.
Valve also isn't a monopoly. There's plenty of other stores out there and anyone can easily self publish their game on PC anywhere on the internet. They're big because people (both users and developers) like using their service.
This has motivated me to get back into writing and drawing. And hopefully one day a game can come of it :)
This video is extremely high quality! How do you only have 46k subs!?!?
I played Stardew before and never knew that this game was a one-man made, what a legend, props to Amber for supporting him so much. I don't play Stardew anymore but I still love all the moments I spent in the game, it was one of the few and likely rare of a gem game that makes me really appriciated all the effort that was put in to make such a memorable genre of a game.
Weird seeing this video with 140 views and not like 1.2m or whatever
Hopefully soon :D
Hope so!
Let it cook bro, it was just posted yesterday.
This comment didn't age well
bro the chicken's not done yet give it time
Bro drove his ship to the bottom of the ocean, through the core of the Earth and back through the ocean again only to reach the stars.
Damn, when the bit came up with Amber and how she didn't feel they had enough interaction even though she supported him, that hit really close to home.
I was in this exact same scenario and my then fiance wasn't having it, after 15 years almost on the day, no less.
I lost my home, became homeless for a couple of month with nothing but my computer to my name stored away at my old place until it was rennovated.
It broke me and completely denied any and every progress I had made on the game, both physically and mentally.
She took the Dog that I basically inherited from my Dad after he passed at age 50 from cancer so I had nothing to cling on anymore.
Karen took the dog
I loved this. Very humanizing. Great video!
AMazing video, and really important. It is usually overlooked ConcernedApe's background when ppl talk about "solo indie dev can mae a huge hit like Stardew Valley". Eric had A LOT of background in all areas.
This is not meant to discourage people, but do keep your expectations in check, and never give up =)
there's two things.
1- every creator, at some point, hates what they did. it's because they are either too deep into it to see the truth or because they grew.
2- there's 2 harvest moons. the originals and the ones that have the name because the translation company owned the title "harvest moon" and started developing because of that copyright thingy and that's sad because harvest moon died there basically. copyrights do hurt a lot when used incorrectly.
good for both of them. one followed his passion, and the other supported him during the process and eventually it worked out for them both. its a great story, wish there were more like this. great vid.
I'm not gay, but I would marry Eric purely on the product he created. What an absolute love letter from a person's soul. Really excited for the next one.
When you say perseverance can get you anywhere in life, you meant to say that if you have an Amber in your life you can go anywhere
my favorite thing about eric is how, after so many years of this game being out, he’s still so down to earth and cares about his fans. i follow him on twitter and he often personally responds to issues reported in the comments, even offering to look at their game log if needed. it’s super cool to see from a game developer.
God this is so me...everyone tells me the game I've been working on for years is going to be good...I totally feel that same anxiety and I'm not sure if I'm on the right path...maybe my story will be on this youtube someday...
It’s a simple answer for people who work in creative fields, such as me being a film, Director. After you’re done, shooting your movie, you go into the editing bay and you sit there watching the same scene over and over and over again making notes making slight adjustments, so you sort of grow to hate your own project.
It’s a experience that you cannot explain to someone unless they work in creative fields
That also happens in non creative fields
@@MrWebon yeah but I’m saying it’s 1 for 1 for art because you are looking at the same thing over and over again
It's even worse in writing. Imagine at least 4-6 drafts of a book, writing and refining the same story over and over again. And when that's done, you need to pick out all the typos, spelling and grammar mistakes...
It's the same with making music too. You start to hate/get sick of the songs you make because of how many times you have to edit them
hyperfocus, creativity and procrastination, sounds like ADHD
yes, i got identified there
That was literally the first thing I noticed lol He's textbook ADHD. I know cuz I'm the same way. Days where you can't work at all and get sidetracked with games, day where you're a hyper focused productivity machine... ADHD for sure :D
Je me reconnais particulièrement dans ces 3 états, suis-je aussi TDHA ?
yep
It's only ADHD if it happens in a span of 5 minutes.
Otherwise it's just being normal lol
His girlfriend is a unicorn for being so supportive.
She really is a keeper, very few women would do that!
Congrats to the dev also and good luck!
I never played Stardew valley but this video was so entertaining!
It's nice that Eric (and Amber) hard work payed off in the end but i hope he can work he less stressful/healthy way now.
I can’t recommend it enough. It really is designed to appeal to almost everyone.
Thank you so much for this video! I really appreciate listening to the breakdown of the backstory. Very fine work!!
as a metalhead that also rescues cute kittens and cuts hair for a living, i'm glad to hear that Eric is into that music. i kinda figured he was after hearing the breakdown toward the end of Sam, Sebby', and Abby's gig in Zuzu City. yes; i am 40 years old and Stardew Valley took my "best game ever" spot away from GTA: San Andreas after almost 16 years of it being my all-time favorite game. SA still owns the #2 slot. DOOM Eternal is a close third.
She believed in him and it paid off. Awesome story.
I was really shocked when I saw the view count. Goated video.
I love Stardew, and sould never dream of being upset at ConcernedApe, but if I was living in my mom or girlfriend's house, I bet I could make a game by myself, too.
Eric sounds like such a great dude. I'm curious, did you talk to him at any point? You really managed to dig it all up, well played! :)
Thanks for diving into this and making a great video. I don't even play the game and watched the whole thing.
Keep doing exactly what you're doing, your energy and approach is appealing. :) You just got yourself a new sub!
I briefly spoke with him over email, but only about what happened to his Toyota Camry :) Thanks for subscribing!!