Introduction
“Stardew Valley,” created by Eric Barone (also known as ConcernedApe) and released in 2016, is a farming simulation game designed for a broad audience, appealing to both casual and hardcore gamers who enjoy immersive, open-ended gameplay. The game is available on multiple platforms, including PC and consoles like the Switch. Playing “Stardew Valley” as a feminist offers a unique lens through which to analyze the game’s mechanics, narrative, and cultural implications. To elaborate, “Stardew Valley” is a farming simulation game that allows players to cultivate a farm, build relationships, and integrate into a community. From a feminist perspective, the game provides a space where traditional gender roles can be subverted, and players are given the agency to shape their own experiences. Additionally, unlike many games historically marketed to a predominantly male audience, “Stardew Valley” appeals to a broad demographic, including women, and fosters a sense of empowerment through its open-ended gameplay and inclusive design. Playing “Stardew Valley” as a feminist highlights the game’s potential to subvert traditional gender roles and empower players through its open-ended mechanics and inclusive design, though it also reveals areas where the game reinforces stereotypes and could benefit from deeper integration of feminist perspectives to enhance its narrative and character dynamics.
“Agency within Mechanics”
Firstly, the game’s mechanics grant players significant control and agency, allowing them to manage their farms, engage in diverse activities, and build relationships without being confined to traditional gender roles. This aligns with feminist theories that emphasize agency and control in game mechanics. For example, the satisfaction derived from organizing and managing the farm parallels the sense of control and order found in games like “Diner Dash” and “Match 3” games, where roles and tasks typically assigned to women historically are rewarded with satisfaction (62). “Stardew Valley” encourages players to create their own narratives and challenge systemic norms, reflecting feminist ideals of empowerment and resistance against oppressive structures. In a feminist lens, this is something that “Stardew Valley” does a great job at, because while players may engage in “feminine” tasks like caring for animals, tending to the farm, and cooking, it never polices players to fit a certain role and oftentimes rewards players with satisfaction for interacting with characters or doing tasks that might be stereotypically done by men like fishing or mining. Games like “Mystic Messenger” often restricts the agency to go beyond the roles presented in the game, oftentimes “policing feminine bodies” (61) or reinforcing societal roles.
Characters, Stereotypes, and Narratives
However, “Stardew Valley” is not without its critiques from a feminist perspective. While the game promotes agency and inclusivity, its portrayal of relationships and community dynamics can still reflect traditional gender norms and heteronormativity. For instance, although players can marry characters of any gender, the narrative arcs and dialogues sometimes fall back on stereotypical portrayals of masculinity and femininity. For example, characters like Haley and Alex embody stereotypes; Haley as the beauty-focused, superficial woman, and Alex as the athletic, emotionally distant man. While there are characters that fit into stereotypes and character archetypes, ConcernedApe does a great job at balancing this, because there are characters like Robin and Maru who subvert these stereotypes– Robin is a woodcutter and construction worker and Maru is into science and engineering. In my picture below, I got a heart with Robin by returning her axe, which is a key quest that goes to highlight Robin’s characters to players early on.
[me learning more about Robin’s character when I gave her her Axe back]
One thing ConcernedApe could do to better intertwine feminist theories and improve the game is further diversify its character development and narrative options to include more of these characters that break norms and incorporating more varied relationship dynamics. To elaborate, incorporating more complex and varied relationship dynamics, reflecting a wider range of gender identities and sexual orientations, would enhance the game’s inclusivity. Additionally, integrating storylines that address social issues, such as gender inequality, could provide deeper engagement and reflection for players. By doing so, “Stardew Valley” would not only offer a more inclusive and empowering experience but also align more closely with feminist ideals that seek to challenge and transform existing cultural norms.
Conclusion
In conclusion, playing “Stardew Valley” through a feminist lens reveals both its strengths and areas for improvement. The game succeeds in offering agency and a sense of empowerment to players, which aligns with feminist principles. However, it could benefit from a more nuanced approach to gender and relationship dynamics. Utilizing feminist perspectives to further develop these aspects would enhance the game’s ability to provide a truly inclusive and transformative experience.
