Eric Barone isn't worried about "pressure" on Stardew Valley follow-up Haunted Chocolatier: "It's a game that I'm deciding to make. I don't need to make it"
May. 16, 2024“When it’s ready, that’s when I’ll release it”
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Stardew Valleycreator Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone isn’t worried about the pressure that invariably comes with developing a follow-up to one of the most successful independent games of all time. Although fans' expectations forHaunted Chocolatierareundoubtedly astronomical, Barone is taking his time.
The solo developer said as much in an interview withAftermath. While he admitted to feeling some pressure from fans, he iterated on a famous quote often, andquite possibly mistakenly, attributed to Shigeru Miyamoto: “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.”
“[Fan expectation] definitely puts pressure on me,” he said, “but it’s better to have a delayed game that’s actually good than a bad game that’s on time. When it’s ready, that’s when I’ll release it. I’m not too concerned with the pressure. I don’t feel like I owe anyone anything when it comes toHaunted Chocolatier. It’s a game that I’m deciding to make. I don’t need to make it.”
At the time, Barone said the game was “developing organically” and suggested it could wind up going in different directions, but at the end of the day, the game is called Haunted Chocolatier. It’s safe to say there will be ghosts and making of chocolate.
There’s no release date yet for Haunted Chocolatier, but now thatStardew Valley 1.6is out the door, hopefully Barone is freed up to work on it at a faster pace.
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After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar’s west coast Staff Writer, I’m responsible for managing the site’s western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I’m too afraid to finish.
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