Three Sheep and a Wood

As I’ve mentioned, Stardew Valley primarily derives its fun from the expression, submission, and discovery core engagements. However, this game has an extremely loose structure in that it does not require the player to engage in any of the core mechanics. I can wake up and go straight back to bed if I so desire, moving the timeline forward without making any actual progress in the story of the game. If we choose to entertain the mechanics, the primary purpose of the game is to grow crops and raise farm animals to earn money to re-invest in your farm. These mechanics lean into the submission and expression aspects of the game. Simultaneously, a storyline plays out as I earn more money, grow new crops, catch new fish, make new friends, mine new ores, discover new artifacts, and attend new community events. This storyline plays into the discovery aspect of the game, as I can learn more about the individual lives of the other members of the community and unlock new areas of the town map. Additionally, if I choose to direct my resources to the overgrown “community center” of the game rather than sell them for monetary gain, I can unlock even more interesting aspects of the game, which removes much of the monotony and submission from everyday chores, and repurposes them into a discovery mechanic, or perhaps even a challenge mechanic. As new areas are unlocked, such as new levels of the mine, the enemies that must be battled increase in difficulty, and I often find myself actually struggling to fight monsters. The challenge of acquiring the materials necessary to discover new aspects of the game could be seen as a distraction from this mechanic, but it also increases the stakes and appeal of the discovery. At the end of the day though, the true “purpose” of the game is entirely dependent on the player, which is why it appeals to so many types of gamers. I can choose to play the game without engaging in just the challenge aspects or just the discovery aspects or even just the expression aspects. Without engaging in these aspects though, the game would not be much of a game at all.