Though there are a wide variety of indie and AA games boosting the cozy gaming genre,Stardew Valleyundeniably acts as a giant among them. Players have fallen in love with the charming farming simulator and its wide array of romanceable (and non-romanceable) NPCs, yet fans constantly experiment with new ideas and additions to the game. A new fan concept could turnStardew Valleyinto the one cozy game to rule them all.
Animals are a part of most farming simulators andStardew Valleyis no exception. With a wide variety of creatures,from pets, like cats and dogs, to standard livestock, like cows and goats, to the extinct, in the case of dinosaurs,Stardew Valleyhas plenty of adorable critters for farmers to fawn over. But one fan turned to a specific class of creatures when creating a new concept for the game – birds.
Bird Watching Would Be a Perfect Fit for Stardew Valley
Like the pets, livestock, and various otheranimals featured inStardew Valley, specific species of birds are more useful than others. Players are more likely to play with the chickens and ducks that are necessary to earn specific items like eggs and duck feathers, rather than Emily’s pet parrot, the crop eating crows, or even ostriches.
The lack of use for birds in the game could be why Reddit user“peakys” developed a bird watching concept forStardew Valley. The image of a bird-watching hut on the north end of the river that runs south of players’ farms was made after the creator visited the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ Ham Wall and Avalon Marshes in the United Kingdom. In addition to the adorable hiding spot that the creator made in celebration of them and their wife’s first anniversary, ten different species of birds native to the U.K. were hidden in the image, including a tawny owl, a blackbird, a kingfisher, and a cormorant.
The image was created using sprite sheets the creator found online and over a hundred layers in Photoshop. The hard work behind the image clearly paid off, with buzz catching on about the concept almost instantly. Though the creator admitted they had no knowledge of how to createmods forStardew Valley, multiple people commented on the image that they would like to see bird watching added to the game.
Neither the creator nor the image itself gave a clear indication as to how bird watching would function inStardew Valley. However, one fan suggested that players could purchase and place certain buildings that could change the environment of the natural areas of the valley. Different buildings could then be more likely to attract specific birds or bird types to spawn, allowing for players to specifically interact with birds.
Stardew Valleyhas already set the precedent of farmers and animals interacting with characterslike the Trash Bear, which appears in Year 3 and assists farmers with cleaning up litter and sewer runoff after a player fulfills gifts and requests from it. Though another creature like Trash Bear could be fun, bird-watching should probably be kept as a more low stakes activity to maintain cozy vibes.
Another idea, inspired by fishing and fishing rods, could force farmers to use binoculars to view specific birds or bird types. In the same vein asStardew Valley’s fishing tackle types, different kinds of binoculars could make bird watching easier. For example, the Trap Bobber causes fish to escape slower when a player is not reeling it in. The bird watching counterpart to this kind of tackle could slow a bird’s movements to make simply viewing or taking photos less difficult. Similarly, the different builds that the fan suggested could act as a counterpart toStardew Valley’s bait system. Like fish, photos or postcards of birds that players have created could act as wares to be sold, or the feature could simply be another fun part of a player’s collection.
ConcernedApe is still in the midst of getting version 1.6 ofStardew Valleyrunning on console and mobileafter the massive update launched on PC back in March, making the addition of bird watching unlikely any time soon. However, fans of both the game and the concept can hold out hope that someone will finally make a mod of this creative idea and bring bird watching toStardew Valley.
Stardew Valley
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You’ve inherited your grandfather’s old farm plot in Stardew Valley. Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life. Can you learn to live off the land and turn these overgrown fields into a thriving home? It won’t be easy. Ever since Joja Corporation came to town, the old ways of life have all but disappeared. The community center, once the town’s most vibrant hub of activity, now lies in shambles. But the valley seems full of opportunity. With a little dedication, you might just be the one to restore Stardew Valley to greatness!
