Stardew Valley isn't exactly a hotspot for controversies. Developer Eric Barone, also known by his online username ConcernedApe, is well-known for being a kind and patient person, never sparking any kind of problems with his community. Likewise, Stardew Valley is a relaxing game with no heavy themes or opinionated takes, meaning that it's rarely seen any kinds of controversies since its release.
Still, though, there have been a few opinions rising in the community, some pointing out the game for being problematic, though it's not often agreed upon by a large percentage of fans. For example, whether or not players should be allowed to wipe the memories of their exes in order to re-marry them, or the lack of diversity among the cast. But other situations were big enough to have seen responses from Eric Barone.
Accusations Against Chucklefish for Exploiting Developers
This controversy isn't centered around Stardew Valley, but rather another indie game published by Chucklefish. Chucklefish also acted as the developer for Starbound, but back in 2019, Chucklefish was accused of exploiting volunteers for their work on Starbound. Some volunteer developers were logging hundreds of hours of work, completing tasks similar to those of paid employees, but without any compensation.
Many involved with Starbound's development process supported these accusations, including Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale who also worked on Starbound's music. Following this news, many fans of Stardew Valley became concerned about its development process as well, but Eric Barone came forward to clarify the situation from his angle. This news came following Barone parting with Chucklefish, choosing to take over publishing duties in regards to PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions of the game while Chucklefish continued to take care of the Switch and mobile versions of the game.
Essentially, Stardew Valley was created by Barone solely until the multiplayer update was introduced with Version 1.3. But other than providing this code for PC, Chucklefish was not involved in Stardew's development process at all. Chucklefish only served as its publisher, meaning Barone could not be exploited for free labor during this process.
However, he ended the blog post by saying that he believes in "compensating developers for their contributions in working on games." Chucklefish responded to the accusations by claiming these volunteers were not obligated to complete tasks or work a certain number of hours, and did not deny the claims made against the company.
Abigail and Her Guinea Pig
Though Stardew Valley largely involves raising farm animals, sometimes, other types of animals pop up in the game as well. For example, for those that romanced the bachelorette Abigail, they'll have noticed the guinea pig on her dresser named David. While this might seem harmless, one Redditor came forward, accusing Abigail of "irresponsible pet ownership."
According to u/Buffy_B, Abigail is making many mistakes with the way she raises David, including by raising the guinea pig on his own rather than in a herd, having a wheel in its cage, and having an aquarium for a habitat rather than a cage. Buffy was concerned this would lead to poor and dangerous pet ownership habits in real life. Many responded to this Reddit post, feeling that this inaccuracy is trivial and not worth the criticism.
Barone, as well, saw this detail as minute during his development process. "I don't remember looking into it that deeply," he said in an email to PC Gamer back in 2017. He explained that he wasn't sure if the game would actually result in harm towards guinea pigs, and therefore would consider the importance of changing it. However, Barone did in fact end up changing the container to a cage as requested by the fan, which can be verified in-game as of the 1.5 update to Stardew Valley, but it's unclear at what point the change was made.
Super Zoo Story's Similarities to Stardew Valley
These recent accusations are probably the biggest controversy to come out of Stardew Valley's history. Since 2020, a Twitter account began promoting an upcoming game, Super Zoo Story, by posting updates on its development process with screenshots and models. But it wasn't until more recently when the developer posted a clip of a new scientist character Mary before people started to raise their eyebrows.
Super Zoo Story claimed to take inspiration from Stardew Valley, but many people thought it looked too similar to Stardew Valley and was more than just inspiration, but possibly even ripped Eric Barone's assets. The accusations escalated when the developer responded poorly on social media, getting defensive and asking others for "proof" of copied graphics. But it was clear upon looking at side-by-side comparisons of the two games that Super Zoo Story may have crossed the line. For example, ground and water textures look nearly the same, and dialogue text looks to be the same font.
One fan reached out to Eric Barone to get his insight on the matter. Barone agreed that the graphics looked too similar, and if Zoo Story were using any of his own graphics, he wouldn't be okay with it. However, he also encouraged the developer to come up with their own art style. As many Twitter commenters said, changing the color palette could likely resolve many of the similarities between Zoo Story and Stardew Valley.
Following this, the developer released a statement apologizing for the situation, saying that it wasn't their intention to copy Stardew Valley but can see that Zoo Story's art is too similar. Going forward, the developer will change "any and all assets" that might look too similar so as to continue confusing fans or look as if they were ripped from Stardew Valley.
Some fans of Super Zoo Story, on the other hand, are sad to see the developer "harassed" by others, as it's simply yet another game inspired by Eric Barone's creation. This happens quite often, such as with the farming sims Kynseed or Coral Island. Some point out that Stardew wasn't an original concept. In fact, some gamers have even accused Barone of copying Harvest Moon too closely, or not coming up with his own original idea. But, as many know, while Stardew Valley started as a personal project to study code, it evolved into the groundbreaking indie many know it to be today.
Stardew Valley is out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: PC Gamer