Years after initially wowing fans with the reveal of Haunted Chocolatier, Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone (a.k.a. ConcernedApe) has provided a rare development update. Barone has been candid about the reasons the highly anticipated simulation RPG is taking so long to reach the finish line. In a candid blog post titled “Still here, still grinding…,” he admitted that his own pursuit of perfection has slowed down the process.
The burden of being a perfectionist
Fans have been buzzing more and more about the idea of walking a mile in the shoes of a castle-dwelling confectioner, but Barone shared that his creative process involves a lot of iteration. He said he is fine-tuning every mechanic that the player will see, making sure that standard features are as seamless and enjoyable as possible. “Not an easy task for me as I torture myself over every last detail,” Barone said about his recent work on the game’s chocolate-making recipe book UI. A busy user interface has to strike a fine balance of data displayed, the developer says, providing enough to make it feel engaging without cluttering the screen or overloading the player. Fundamentally, Haunted Chocolatier is a bigger game than Stardew Valley, and achieving this level of polish across dozens of interconnected systems will inevitably push the timeline out.
No Early Marketing
The update also gave insight into Barone’s infamous silence in promotional materials, trailers, and screenshots. A steady drip-feed of content is standard practice for many modern indie titles to keep the community engaged, but the Stardew Valley creator prefers to keep his cards close to his chest.
Barone compared the sharing of early, mid-development screenshots to serving “half-baked bread,” saying he’s much more interested in delivering a fully baked product when the time is right. “Also, core gameplay features are often changing during production, so showing work in progress runs the risk of setting false player expectations. Luckily, I’m in a position where I don’t have to sell the game, so I can do what I want.” Eric Barone
Upcoming Major Projects
Not only has the developer’s timeline been split by his own high standards, but also by his continued devotion to his debut masterpiece. Barone has grown his team to deal with more of the ongoing Stardew Valley updates, like the upcoming 1.7 patch, but a large part of his own focus is still split between the two properties, since he wants to maintain creative control over both.
Barone didn’t provide a firm launch date or window for Haunted Chocolatier but did close his letter by thanking the community for its continued patience. The solo dev is bucking traditional marketing deadlines and corporate demands to make sure his sophomore outing lives up to the grand legacy of its predecessor.
