"I don't know what I was thinking": Stardew Valley creator went through hell 6 months before launch, and the game didn't come together until "the last moment"

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Stardew Valley, creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone has shown off a bunch of early versions, saying the game never really came together until the last minute.

Just over 10 years ago, Stardew Valley launched, and the Harvest Moon-like indie hit did pretty well all things considered, given that it's now sold over 50 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games ever made (that's better than any single Call of Duty or Pokemon release has ever done, for context). And its 10-year reign of cozy terror is only seeming to grow as it's still getting substantial updates this much time later, with 1.7 set to add two new marriage candidates with Clint and Sandy – although with the reaction to Clint being one of those, it may as well be one candidate.

To celebrate the anniversary, Barone released a big video in which he did his own retrospective of the game's development and ensuing 10-year run. This included the original Sprout Valley prototype from 2012, which Barone tore into, with such polite criticism like "the pixel art basically looks like crap.

Stardew Valley 10-year Anniversary Video (Retrospective & New Spouse Reveal) - YouTube

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However, you'd be surprised by just how close Barone felt he was cutting things. The 2015 prototype was also shown from around 6 months ahead of the game's actual launch in 2016. "There are a ton of things that are just like, not finished yet" Barone explains, adding "This shows just how much Stardew Valley just kinda came together at the last moment."

He starts the retrospective by noting that the farmhouse has a strange layout that shows a "nose"-like block of floor sticking out further than everywhere else where the door should be, saying "I don't know what I was thinking there."

He continues "I did a ton of work in the last like six months. I think I was just at the point where I knew it was so close. I needed to finish the game." He adds, "and that's what gave me the drive and the motivation to make all these little changes in the last 6 months to prepare the game for release." Barone specifically cites the "goofy look" of the farmer that was eventually changed, so you were 6 months away from your characters looking way worse.

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