Capitalism sucks.
Eric Barone couldn’t help but conclude that life would be better without all this employment
nonsense.
He’d graduated with a decent college degree, but no matter how hard he tried, nobody seemed
interested in hiring him.
Eric was desperate to find a job that he’d enjoy.
While none of his leads were exactly jumping at the chance to grab him, he couldn’t quite
convince himself to apply to any of the big technology companies that might want him.
Cubicles didn’t sit well with Eric.
Neither did the idea of being forced into a rigid schedule.
Commuting felt like a horrid idea, and worst of all, there was a danger that, if he pursued
a job at a large global company like Amazon or Google, he’d be trapped forever in an
endless routine of crushing monotony.
But there was another option.
As he considered his future, Eric couldn’t help but be drawn to the idea of laboring
on making his own computer game, all by himself.
No studio, no deadline, no fixed development period.
Just Eric, his computer, and all the time he needed to create something all of his own
design.
And so, Eric turned away from the corporate machine, giving up on pursuing a boring desk
job at a busy company.
Instead, he’d embrace the freedom – and turmoil – of dedicating himself to building
his very own game, without any outside help.
That game was Stardew Valley.
Creativity came naturally to Eric Barone.
From his earliest childhood, he’d always been drawn to the idea of building, making,
crafting, and producing things.
He dabbled in everything, from art to music, and was a fairly accomplished guitar player.
In high school, Eric tried out a few different creative projects, forming a metal band with
some friends, and then, in a rapid change of gears, trying out synth pop.
Eric didn’t really mind what he was creating, as long as he was making something fun.
This passion for making things didn’t lend itself very well to making friends, though.
Eric was naturally a fairly lonely guy, and didn’t mind shutting himself away for weeks
at a time to complete his pet project.
His satisfaction came not from interacting with others, but from being proud with his
own creations.
This wasn’t to say that he was completely isolated, but, like many introverts, Eric
was comfortable letting his art do the talking when communicating with his friends.
Eric found that his drive to create could be put to good work, and, with some effort,
he attained a degree in computer science from the University of Washington-Tacoma – a
success which he celebrated with his girlfriend, Amber.
But as the prospect of adulthood loomed close, Eric found that he was utterly disinterested
in the idea of becoming a slave to the daily grind.
He’d rather be fulfilled than wealthy, and as his hopes of landing a job at an exciting,
interesting company began to dwindle, Eric decided to go it alone in dedicating himself
to creating a video game.
This was a somewhat novel experience.
Eric had never built a game before, and had a limited understanding of how he should go
about it.
For months, he experimented, trying to figure out how to make the idea that existed in his
head come to life.
Eric wanted to do a game about escaping the modern world.
His project would have a strong narrative, focusing on the battle between corporate greed
and the dream of a quieter, simpler life.
For inspiration, Eric turned to one of his favourite game series, Harvest Moon.
He had fond memories of playing these games as a child, growing crops and raising animals
in a quiet, calm environment that didn’t require too much stress.
Eric found himself making a game that borrowed many of the elements of the Harvest Moon series,
expanding on some of the core concepts to take them in new directions.
He felt that some elements, such as Harvest Moon’s romance mechanic, could do with more
nuance and options, including a wider variety of potential romantic partners to suit all
users’ needs.
As his work progressed, Eric saw his game morph and change into more than he’d originally
planned.
He’d originally planned for the game to be a simple title that he could upload to
the Xbox Live Indie Games marketplace, but as he worked, he began to realize that he
was outgrowing this limited vision.
What had originally been a relatively small project grew in scope and design as he learned
the art of game making and discovered what potential his game had.
Eric worked tirelessly, all by himself, to craft every aspect of the game.
He wrote the code, created art assets, and composed music.
It was wonderfully freeing to have complete control of his creation, even if it did mean
a lot of work.
But Eric couldn’t keep working on this forever – he wasn’t earning money that he needed
to survive, and there was no guarantee that his game would ever actually produce financial
rewards.
He got a weekend job at a theater, which he enjoyed, but this was nowhere near enough
to cover his expenses.
As he worked, Eric found the looming specter of capitalism growing more and more prevalent.
He couldn’t keep working on this game forever without more money, but if he relented and
got a boring deskjob, all of his time would be taken away, and he’d never finish his
game.
It was at this time that Eric’s girlfriend, Amber, stepped up.
Eric’s project was important to him, and Amber decided that in order to make him happy,
she was going to save the day.
As Eric continued to work, Amber took over the role of provider, earning money to keep
them both afloat.
The pair moved in together, and Amber worked hard to support Eric while he crafted his
masterpiece.
Their relationship didn’t feel particularly balanced when it came to earnings, but they
made it work.
With Amber on his side, Eric wasn’t about to slack off or let his girlfriend down.
He pushed himself to spend every available second working on his game.
It might not be a paying job, but he was hardly wasting time – he’d spend at least ten
hours a day working on his big project, trying to make everything perfect.
Some days were more productive than others, but he did his best to keep himself focused
on the task at hand, in order to make something he could be proud of, that would prove that
Amber’s faith in him wasn’t misplaced.
Eric also had another useful support throughout his game’s development.
From the strength of his work, and as a direct result of the tireless effort he put in, Eric
was able to sign on a publisher, Chucklefish, which gave him some degree of legitimacy as
he worked.
This wasn’t just some silly hobby project, Eric felt.
He had Amber’s support, both emotionally and financially, and he had a publisher that
believed he could succeed.
For their part, the team at Chucklefish did a phenomenal job at spreading awareness of
Eric’s game, getting early builds of the game out to YouTubers and Twitch streamers
to help push the game into the spotlight.
It was clear early on that Eric had tapped into something potent.
Fans of Harvest Moon were extremely excited at the prospect of this tribute game, that
would, it appeared, expand on the classic game’s premise to produce a more expansive,
immersive experience.
In addition to oldschool fans of farming simulators, though, Eric’s project began drawing in
younger fans who were intrigued by its simple, relaxing gameplay, and its adorable art style.
There was something here that audiences connected with – something that resonated deeply within
many members of the growing online community that surrounded the project.
Drawing from his own experience, Eric made his game about a player character that fights
to escape the soul-crushing corporate world.
Players start in a small cubicle before escaping to the countryside for less profitable, but
ultimately more fulfilling work.
Even out in the middle of nowhere, though, the player finds the machinations of capitalism,
as the player’s main competition is a large convenience store that’s owned by the company
the player used to work for.
Nevertheless, Eric didn’t want players to feel like the aim of the game was to fight
against this big corporation.
He deliberately designed the game so that making money is harder than simply running
a farm to survive.
Cooking eggs, for example, provides a boost to the player’s energy, but doesn’t make
any more money than selling raw eggs.
The last thing Eric wanted was for players to lose sight of the game’s simple rural
experience in a mad dash to make as much money as possible.
This wasn’t always easy – Eric posted regularly online about his game, and, thanks
to the work of his publisher, he began to attract a modest following of players who
were interested in his game.
Many would request various changes or features, but Eric wasn’t always eager to accommodate
fan demands.
This game was his baby, his pet project.
He wanted to it be exactly the way he envisioned it, and while some suggestions from fans were
useful, he ultimately didn’t include anything that he felt altered the way he wanted people
to experience his work.
Finally, after four long years of work, Eric’s project drew near to completion.
It had been a trying time for him, albeit a fulfilling one, and he was tired from long
nights that had kept him from spending as much time with Amber as he’d have liked.
As he finished off his initial build of the game, Eric doubted that he’d see much of
a return for his labours.
This had been an entirely personal project, one which spoke to Eric’s own desire to
escape the corporate world for a simpler lifestyle.
No matter how many people already seemed to express an interest in his game, Eric doubted
that wider audiences would have much interest in his message.
But Eric was wrong.
From the moment his completed project, Stardew Valley, was released to the world, fan love
for the game exploded.
Gamers couldn’t get enough of his farming simulator, and they quickly rallied around
the title and began publicizing it far and wide.
For a creator like Eric, though, this was no time to rest on his laurels.
With popularity came critique and complaints, and he realized that his enormous army of
fans were running into trouble with various parts of his game.
As problems arose, he worked tirelessly to patch errors, bugs, and glitches, making sure
gamers got the most enjoyable experience possible.
While he’d been working ten hour days before Stardew Valley came out, he was now working
up to fifteen hours a day, attempting to perfect all the little flaws that fans were discovering.
The community surrounding Stardew Valley saw this, and they loved Eric all the more for
it.
Here was a developer who practiced what he preached, and was in this for the love of
the game, rather than for praise or financial reward.
Of course, with this level of success, riches were unavoidable.
Stardew Valley sold in the thousands, then in the hundreds of thousands, then in the
millions.
Eric and Amber sat back in amazement as they watched the numbers rise.
They’d become millionaires in a matter of weeks.
Eric didn’t really care, though.
This hadn’t been about the money.
If he’d wanted to be rich, he would have done things very differently.
His goal had been to escape capitalism and live a simple life, building up something
that he cared about.
He’d achieved his goal.
He’d found a place in the world that truly fit him, and he would never, ever have to
work in a boring cubicle.
The moral of this story is one of freedom.
There are a lot of paths open to us in life.
It may take a while to find where you belong, and where you fit in the world.
Take time to think about what you truly want from your time on this planet, and what you
hope to achieve.
Your goals may seem difficult to achieve, but it’s worth giving yourself something
to work towards.
As you push yourself, you might make mistakes, but you’ll learn along the way, and find
greater satisfaction from what you accomplish.
Remember that true happiness doesn’t come from reaching a particular destination.
What matters is that you enjoy yourself, and you find something that brings you joy, and
helps you to feel satisfied in the experience of working hard.
When you finally discover this path for yourself, you’ll feel truly free.