Stardew valley is a popular game with people in my generation.
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Two of the most momentous parts of the game are when you fix the public bus and when you get the ferry service working again.
You bring all of the materials to fix the boat but still need to buy tickets to use it because buying tickets for a nice functional local public transit system are kind of part of the whole allure.
my entire stardew valley experience consists of me gawking over my kid's shoulders until they notice and say "go away i'm busy"
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
@earthlightning @futurebird "Well, shit."
"Yeah, uh, that's actually one of the reasons why the sewers are a problem..."
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
@earthlightning @futurebird I would play the heck out of that.
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
@earthlightning @futurebird I swear I have played this but my memory has purged it, possibly as a form of self-defence
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
@earthlightning @futurebird krobus complains about sewage backing up into his lair
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Stardew valley is a popular game with people in my generation. Like most video games it's a power fantasy.
In this case about growing food, having a functional "third space" in your community and fixing public transit. Pure escapism.
Also there are magic forest spirits and dungeons with monsters and treasures.
@futurebird @emlove and, of course, the undisputed pinnacle of power fantasy: getting 8 consecutive hours of sleep at a time of day you want to after which you feel well rested
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Two of the most momentous parts of the game are when you fix the public bus and when you get the ferry service working again.
You bring all of the materials to fix the boat but still need to buy tickets to use it because buying tickets for a nice functional local public transit system are kind of part of the whole allure.
@futurebird Also, the consistent conversion of labor into product, and then being able to easily and reliably sell that product for the same amount of money and thus have more than enough to live on.
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R relay@relay.an.exchange shared this topic
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aw man I was pulling for Willy or Gunther. Well Sandy is a nice addition. And I guess Clint deserves a redemption arc. Maybe.
Willy is top of my wish-to-date list after Krobus. It's so easy to make him happy, he just Likes Fish So Much. Plus a lot of the dateable characters are *way* too young for me.
Krobus I would actually get down with. Who doesn't want to date Shadow Daddy?
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Fair point, but I'd want to keep more of the social element of infrastructure.
I like the way Stardew gives you a cast of characters whose wants and needs are part of the story, and I'd like an infrastructure game that leans into that even more.
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@futurebird Did you see the announcement about 1.7? Clint and Sandy are now marriage material!
@carrideen literally just hearing about this from you now. tysm
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Fair point, but I'd want to keep more of the social element of infrastructure.
I like the way Stardew gives you a cast of characters whose wants and needs are part of the story, and I'd like an infrastructure game that leans into that even more.
Everybody play my thrilling game where you persuade the townsfolk to pass an income tax to pay for maintenance workers.
Is there an analogue to Stardew's choice between the community center and the corporate franchise? You bet! You see, at a certain point the maintenance workers decide they want to unionize, and you have to decide which side you're on.
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Stardew valley is a popular game with people in my generation. Like most video games it's a power fantasy.
In this case about growing food, having a functional "third space" in your community and fixing public transit. Pure escapism.
Also there are magic forest spirits and dungeons with monsters and treasures.
Presumably there are dowsers there too?
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@carrideen literally just hearing about this from you now. tysm
@AmateurExpert @futurebird Check out ConcernedApe's new YT video!
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
@earthlightning @futurebird This is actually a game. I'm trying to remember what it's called, but it actually exists. Literally exactly that.
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@futurebird @emlove and, of course, the undisputed pinnacle of power fantasy: getting 8 consecutive hours of sleep at a time of day you want to after which you feel well rested
@OctaviaConAmore @futurebird @emlove I dunno. The way Stardew Valley handles sleep is more of an anxiety inducing panic IMO. In every stream I've seen there was at least once with the person running in panic as that clock ticked down.
I still can't, for the life of me, understand why they made the timescale so much worse in Stardew Valley versus the games it's copying or, for that matter, why they made the punishment for not going to sleep on time so much worse, or why they made the time you must go to sleep or else so blasted early... In Rune Factory you go to sleep by 4am or you have a random chance of maybe getting sick (which can be cured by taking a sickness cure or at the clinic in some games — was a good excuse to visit Iris in Oceans, lol.)
It just temporarily lowered stats.
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
@futurebird Pretty sure I've played that.
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
So, Sim City, but without the map? Or Animal Crossing but only the mayor's parts? -
@beemoh @earthlightning @futurebird Yes, but the other 10% is murdering the locals upset by the pollution from your mines and factories.
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Now I'm imagining an "Ooops, all infrastructure" version of Stardew. You move into a crumbling town, and instead of farming, you spend all your time fixing issues with transit, water, power, and the library.
You could even follow the classic farm arc, where you start out repairing everything by hand and gradually move up layers of abstraction, maybe through organizing fellow townsfolk to pitch in.
Mid-game you think everything is going great, and then someone tells you about the state of the sewer system.
@earthlightning @futurebird not all at a Stardew vibe, but this reminds me powerfully of the game "Infra", in which your Finnish engineer character does unhurried inspections & impromptu repairs to buildings, starting with small scale rural bridges and a sawmill, and progressing to larger and more involved facilities as you continue your afternoon shift walking to successive assignments along the riverside path that leads slowly into town. One of the most marvelous, engrossing games I've played
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@earthlightning @futurebird not all at a Stardew vibe, but this reminds me powerfully of the game "Infra", in which your Finnish engineer character does unhurried inspections & impromptu repairs to buildings, starting with small scale rural bridges and a sawmill, and progressing to larger and more involved facilities as you continue your afternoon shift walking to successive assignments along the riverside path that leads slowly into town. One of the most marvelous, engrossing games I've played
@earthlightning @futurebird https://store.steampowered.com/app/251110/INFRA/
There is more to it than this. A plot emerges, that goes places I guarantee you do not expect, but suffice to say that spoilers are a disservice - I went in blind and unprepared, and as a result it was an incredible once in a lifetime experience.
