The game I played is Stardew Valley.
This is a PVE game. And I would also say that it’s not even a “vs” relationship. The player is trying to build relationships with each characters in the game instead of combatting. The objective is to mix into the town that the main character is moving into. There are also subgoals in the game. Initially the small objective is to know all of the 28 people in the town. Below is an example of the UI of the small objective.
The mechanics are just to follow the orders on the screen, either to walk around or to interact. Interaction includes collecting, purchasing, giving, and talking. There is no specific rule in the game; in fact, players can do almost everything in the game.
The targeted player should be old enough to read, and probably has learned some science at school, so I would say 14+. Besides, the targeted audience is those who enjoy a slower pace of life, or those who want to start over again and experience another type of living, or those who enjoy pastoral life styles. I would say that, I’m not among any of the groups, so I didn’t find the game attracting…
The intended type of fun is exploration. Within the game, the player talks to all of the NPCs, and builds connections with them. Below is an example of strength of the connections. When only encountering four NPCs and not doing anything for any of them, here is how they like the main character.
Below is an screenshot I took from my boyfriend’s profile. He has played the game for a really long time, and has built connections with all of them. (To my surprise, he also has a girlfriend in the game.)
Besides human relations, the main character also interacts with the environment: the town and the farm (as the name of the game indicated) that he just moved into. He collects seeds, and performs chores, also builds his own houses. Here is the screenshot of my boyfriend’s profile, with a lot of collections and valuables in the wallet. Besides, he also owns two pets, a horse and a dog, in the game.
Thus, I would say the game definitely fulfils its intended type of fun.
As the reading suggests, the feminist narrative is build in the game. I’ve played several Japanese galgames before, all of which are from a male point of view, doing something to “capture” a female NPC in the game, keeping track of how other girls like the main character. In comparison, even though the main character in Stardew Valley is also a male, and even though this game uses a similar system keeping track of how other NPCs like the main character, there’s nothing specific about the gender. The player can also receive a gift from Grandma for helping her.
The emotional effect of the game is amazing, I have to admit, even though I’m not super into the game. At the beginning, I was amazed by the music. It’s a little bit melancholy, in my opinion, but has hope at the same time. The graphics is also very cute. The pixel art peels the game from reality, even though the stories are super real. It does “resonate with diverse and underrepresented audiences”, as at the beginning, the main character is working in such a boring workplace… It feels like our everyday life.
Also, the clock system is super real too. Shops do not open beyond their corresponding opening time. People need to go to sleep at night (also used for save). This creates a very good sense of “reality”.
The agency is also embodied. The players can select what they want to do. For example, my boyfriend adopted a dog and a horse. The players can also design their own house and own farm. The power of speaking back to the system makes the game “feminism” too.
What I think is a pitfall is that, I feel it’s too slow. Probably this also because I’m no the targeted audience. I’m not good at recognising roads, neither, so the map system is also confusing to me. It’s difficult for me to find somewhere I really want to explore. Plus the character is walking so slowly, and I felt like it’s taking me forever to move around. I’ve already set up “auto run”, so it’s already the faster speed in the game. I’ve also tried to press the shift button to see how normal walk looks like, and feel the speed super intolerable. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be great if they could provide something like “moving instantly”, or just “rushing”, to make things go faster.
Another thing I don’t like is that sleeping is the only way to save the game, and waiting for the night is the only way to sleep. (Probably I’m still too new.) After finally finding almost all other NPCs, I quitted the game without going to sleep, and the progress is not saved. When I tried to open it again, I needed to start over again. I find it super annoying. It would be great if there’s an explicit save button for players who need to exit earlier.
Discussion Question: How important it is for storytelling in a feminist type of game?
