Stardew Valley creator shares never-before-seen concept art, fans immediately ask for more

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An early look at the community center looks strikingly like the final game

Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, better known to many as ConcernedApe, recently rediscovered and shared some old hand-drawn concept art for the explosively popular farming life sim, and then shared a little extra after eager fans asked to see more. 

In a tweet, Barone said he literally "found my old notebook with the original community center concept," complete with a description to match a rough sketch featuring the Junimo helpers. "What do they do with the bundles?" the draft asks. "Maybe return them to their proper place for you or bring them to their hut, then when you've completed a broad goal, they bring out a glowing star and add it to the plaque."

This being the Stardew fandom, which is extra active on the heels of the surprise announcement of update 1.6, plenty of fans were hoping to see some early art for other elements of the game. Barone obliged, quickly returning with concepts of mining levels which seem to be marked by the coffee stains of game development. "Yeah I always spill everything I'm holding," Barone explained in a reply. 

In a broader piece of concept art – still packed into the same college-ruled paper – Barone showed some basic versions of different spaces in the community center, as well as what look like a bunch of shortcuts that would go on to become handy features for players.  

We also got an early look at Morris the JojaMart manager, who looks a lot creepier as a rough ink sketch. There's just something about those... teeth. 

It's fascinating to see the origins of Stardew Valley's myriad characters and updates, especially when so much of this old art is so similar to the final game. Barone's napkin-math style also seems oddly fitting for a game like Stardew, which has always had a clear personal touch. 

To this day, Stardew Valley players are turning the game into literal science, and that includes pig-keeping. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.