Stop and smell the flowers
My Dad likes to tell this story from when I was a teenager.
We were talking about the price of eggs.
And the order in which we were planting crops to ensure the greatest yield.
My poor father interrupted us, turning in his seat to ask what the hell we were talking about.
Its a game were both playing calledHarvest Moon I scoffed in his direction.
Its hard to describe what made Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life so compelling.
The magic of A Wonderful Life lies in the introduction of time skips.
The result is a peculiar game that has never quite been replicated.
You see, I have been spoiled by modern farming sims.
It wasnt until I started playing A Wonderful Life that I realised just how rich and generousStardew Valleytruly is.
You are given two fields to work with at first, with a third unlocking later in the game.
Characters repeat the same lines of dialogue every single day.
Even seasons last a fraction of the time they do in Stardew.
My first few hours were spent panicking.
Has Stardew reduced this once essential game to little more than a tedious list of repetitive tasks?
Whats the point of playing beyond simple nostalgia?
I was bored, and that boredom was bumming me out.
Four hours later, something clicked.
A Wonderful Life isnt sparse, it merely provides space to breathe.
I am simply taking my time.
Every morning I would brush and milk my cows.
I watered my crops.
I gave a flower to my sweetheart (Molly, who works in the local cafe).
I bought some seeds from Celia, who would blush and fumble whenever I went to visit her.
I did a spot of fishing by the waterfall.
I went to bed, tired and content.
Every other day, I was treated to a cutscene.
The scientist and the bohemian guitar player are talking about apples.
Molly has come to visit but has annoyed my mentor Takakura by interrupting a conversation about turnip deliveries.
The twins are about to begin their annual firework festival.
They recommend I ask someone to be my date.
From the beach, Molly and I watch them sparkle and fizzle out above the waves.
Because what else is there to do but take it easy?
My fields have limited space and my farmer is capable of only doing so much work.
After that, my options are few.
It’s because of my limited options that my decisions have started to feel like they carry more weight.
I am being forced to live deliberately, and it is giving me the chance to breathe.
There are no battle passes.
Except now its bigger and more complete than ever before.
you’re able to romance anyone, as long as theyre single and open for love.
My only gripe is the way it looks.
Bereft of that, the game has arguably lost something integral to its tone.
Its OK for a game to be a little dirty, Marvellous.
Not everything has to resemble something that wouldnt have looked out of place in the Early Learning Centre.
I would have told him about the joy of the pastoral, of nature and nurture.
Its enough to simply exist.
Instead, I rolled my eyes because teenagers are fucking awful.
Its nice that you were taking an interest.
