Haunted Chocolatier Promises to Outshine Stardew Valley in Scope and Ambition
Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone, the mastermind behind Stardew Valley, is currently balancing a lot on his plate. With the highly anticipated 1.7 update for Stardew in the works, a mountain of fan mail to sift through, and celebrations for the game’s tenth anniversary, it’s impressive he finds time to rest. On top of all that, he’s making strides on his next venture, Haunted Chocolatier, which is shaping up to be even more expansive than fans might have anticipated.
In a recent interview, Barone shared insights into his passion for game development and his busy schedule. He revealed that he’s dedicating five days a week to Haunted Chocolatier while reserving the remaining two for Stardew Valley, which is gearing up for its much-anticipated update. With Haunted Chocolatier consuming most of his time, it’s evolving into a project with significant depth.
“It’s way bigger than Stardew Valley, at least in terms of the number of maps, the variety of monsters, the complexity of the item system, and all the equipment slots,” he explained. “Everything is cranked up.”
Barone hinted that Haunted Chocolatier will explore slightly darker themes compared to Stardew Valley. He expressed some hesitation about making certain changes in Stardew, such as allowing characters like Caroline and Robin to become romanceable through divorces, fearing that such plot points might feel “too real.” However, in Haunted Chocolatier, he’s embracing a more adventurous narrative style. “I’m interested in exploring a darker theme, a darker atmosphere,” he noted. “The ghosts, the haunted nature, the castle, allows for a lot of interesting, creative things that I can do that are kind of creepy, like not totally horrifying, but maybe slightly, you know, creepy stuff.”
Barone also shared his heartfelt thoughts on the art of game development, expressing his disdain for AI, which he described as “a soulless machine.”
“Ultimately, I just want to bring magic to people. I want to delight people with magical feelings. It’s the same way that when I played games as a kid, I felt that—and not just games but other things, movies or books or whatever—but [games] gave me this special magical feeling that it’s almost hard to describe… It’s this ethereal feeling that just makes… I think kids are very attuned to that sort of thing.”
He continued, “Like they see gnomes and they see things because I think they’re more connected to that creative, spiritual side, in a way. We kind of love that as adults, and I think it’s sad. I want to at least create one area where adults can kind of suspend their disbelief and feel that again for a little bit. And I think I achieved that sometimes in Stardew Valley, and that’s what I’m hoping to continue to achieve with Haunted Chocolatier.”
Hearing developers share their creative journeys is always a treat, especially when they delve into the whimsical aspects of their work. Barone’s comparison of the magic in Stardew Valley to the wonder children feel when they see gnomes resonates deeply. Stardew Valley is one of those rare games that has captured hundreds of my hours, and I’m excited to see if Barone can recapture that sense of wonder in Haunted Chocolatier, gnomes or not.
