Marriage System
4 Things Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons Can Learn from Stardew Valley
Marriage has always played a big part in games like Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons. Aside from all the farming, you can woo a bachelor/bachelorette by showering them with gifts. Once they fall in love, you can eventually start a family with them. While it isn’t a required gameplay mechanic, there’s no denying that marriage has been a popular gameplay feature in farming games.
That said, diversity is becoming a popular topic in modern gaming and Stardew Valley accepts this by including same-sex relationships. You can woo any of the bachelors as a male and any of the bachelorettes as a female. While Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons don’t exactly have to copy the same idea, it’d be a great option if they could include a few romanceable LGBT characters. There’s no doubt that this added feature will attract more players to the series.
Overworld
4 Things Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons Can Learn from Stardew Valley
Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons have experimented with each game’s world by adding more explorable locations. This makes it so players have more activities to do when they’re not busy farming. However, they’ve been expanding the game’s world by including several smaller towns that all nearly have same functions. In turn, you’ll find it easy to ignore most of the other towns in the game. What’s the point of going to Town B if you can get everything you need for the current season in Town A?
Stardew Valley, on the other hand, ditches creating multiple towns for one large world instead. That way, there’s no need to scatter redundant shops around the overworld for no reason at all. The establishments are also strategically placed, making it easier to find the shops you’re looking for. Players can grab everything they need from Pelican Town before setting off on a journey to the mines in the north, or a quick fishing trip to the beach in the south.
Specialized Farms
4 Things Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons Can Learn from Stardew Valley
Despite being farming simulators, Harvest Moon, Story of Seasons, and Stardew Valley also offer other recreational activities. Players can also make a living out of fishing and mining if their crops are still growing during the early days of each season. However, these activities are a bit downplayed in the recent Story of Seasons and Harvest Moon games. Fittingly enough, most of the importance is placed on farming, but having more options in the game is always welcome.
In line with this, Stardew Valley has a total of five farms you can choose from before starting the game. There’s the Standard Farm that focuses more on farming, Riverland Farm for those who prefer fishing, Forest Farm for foraging materials, Hill-top Farm for the miners, and a Wilderness Farm for players who prefer fighting. Players aren’t simply tied down to farming and they focus on the livelihood niche they enjoy the most.
Game Pacing
4 Things Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons Can Learn from Stardew Valley
Pacing is an important factor to consider in any kind of video game, especially for simulation games. These games usually follow an in-game clock that determines what you can accomplish during a single day. Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons have a relatively normal pace, but there will be plenty of days when you can finish your tasks done by noon. With nothing left to do, you’re basically forced to either wander around town or call it a day. It’s a bit strange sleeping at three in the afternoon, but sometimes there’s really nothing left to do. In turn, work can become a repetitive cycle since you can finish all of your daily tasks and more during a certain day.
Stardew Valley mixes things up by including a faster time cycle. Going to town from your farm can already shave off around half an hour or so, depending on how fast you walk. With faster pacing, you’ll have to put in more effort behind planning your schedule every day. It’s also a bit difficult to squeeze in every venture the game has to offer due to the limited time and energy. Because of this, each day feels different as you’ll be juggling different types of activities. You might find yourself deep in the mines today, while you’ll be out foraging for materials for that house upgrade tomorrow.
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