MEDIA PROJECT - Oct. 8, 2018
Harvest Moon v. Story of Seasons v. Stardew Valley: A Look at Authenticity
My favorite video game came most unexpectedly to me one Christmas day from an aunt, notorious for giving odd (if not unwanted) gifts, who handed me a bookbag. My initial disappointment melted away to confusion which transformed into unconcealable excitement as I discovered one unheard of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life hidden inside, and, quite quickly, I developed a love for the idyllic life-simulation game set on a farm in rural valley that flourished with flora and fauna, and NPC neighbors who all had personalities, depth, and growth as the in-game years passed. Soon, I was lost in a world quite unlike my own in Queens, New York, as the sounds of nature rang out of my TV speakers and I found joy in routinely sharing love with my animals and fellow residents of Forget-Me-Not Valley.
This immense astoundment and fondness was the reason for my later devastation upon realizing that the quality of my favorite franchise’s releases had declined exponentially. The already-small fanbase constantly spurted complaints of “the old games were better!” and, as much as I hated to admit, I agreed, increasing shallowness of characters, uninteresting storylines, and once quick and efficient gameplay mechanics that had downgraded to sluggish and tedious. To make matters worse, in 2014, publishing company Natsume split with developer Marvelous Inc, maintained the ownership of the Harvest Moon name, and began to release their own (terribly received) farm-life simulation games. Although that marked the beginning of yet another farm-life franchise, rather than twice the fun, fans were left to pick their poison: a “has-been” under the new name Story of Seasons (a change numerous casual fans were unaware of), or a wannabe with the recognized title Harvest Moon.
However, fans rejoiced in 2016, not because of the latest Harvest Moon: Seeds of Memories installment, nor because of the release of Story of Seasons: Trio of Town, but instead because of indie-game-developer ConcernedApe’s Stardew Valley, also a farm-life simulator, but with quick mechanics, colorful characters, mystery-and-lore-intertwined narratives, avatar customization, same-sex marriage, and so many new components that brought players back to the cozy, family-like community once found in old Harvest Moon titles, with contemporary updates that keep their attention and intrigue at their peaks.
I am consistent buyer of every Story of Season release but wouldn’t be surprised if told my pupils dilated upon seeing the words “Harvest Moon”, and am, much more than for the other two, a huge admirer of both ConcernedApe’s game and the developer himself.
And thus, I was left wondering, what is considered a “true” Harvest Moon game? What should be considered true? What is the backbone of authenticity and somethings “essence”? I reflected this conflict in my media project, which parodied social media interactions between characters within the three franchises. While not only exemplifying unique and varying dialogue styles, (a core aspect of all three) this mock-Twitter thread snarkily criticized each game and brought to attention flaws that may hold each back from being “truly Harvest Moon”. A Twitter-like platform would provide the means for people so far from one another’s lives (like characters in different universes) to come into contact, as well as multiple voices to chime in and be heard, for a both humorous and engaging effect. And while unfortunate that I could not actually create Twitter accounts and role-play as each character, (Twitter found my attempts “suspicious”) I was able to imitate the format of a Twitter thread with a drawing software Krita to include profile pictures, “Twitter” handles, tags, hashtags, and, most importantly, text showing the characters interacting and replying to one another.
As I am sadly not an avid user of Twitter, memes, or youths’ ever-changing lingo, some aspects of my recreation are bound to be inaccurate, whether be the structure of the “tweets,” the proper usage of a meme, or old-fashioned style of typing. However, I do believe that fans of the three franchises would appreciate the satire in the characters arguing about their respective games’ authenticity and shortcomings, as so many players do so as well, and the nuances of personalities and game details reflected in the imitation-thread.
As I personally never participate in the Internet-culture of debating subjective opinions online, I found that creating this piece of media to be revealing of my own feelings towards the subject: firstly, I absolutely detest the new “Harvest Moon” games. Secondly, even considering my distaste, I find the debate petty and unimportant, rather, only enjoying witnessing the extremes people go to in order to defend their favorites. I will forever love the old titles, will try to give Story of Seasons as many chances I can muster, will avoid Natsume releases, and enjoy Stardew Valley updates—at least for now. And that is honestly the only opinion that matters.
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- ASPA FINAL PROJECT Megan Yip
