Hey everyone,
I’ve noticed a recurring theme lately whenever an indie dev shares a clip or a screenshot of their upcoming top-down pixel game. Almost immediately, the comments are flooded with: • "Gee now what does this remind me of?" • "I'm skipping this; it’s just a Stardew clone." • "Looks way too similar to stardew."
Stardew was groundbreaking and pretty much shaped cozygaming as we see it now. But I think as a community we need to be more welcoming of creators and not immediately bash them for looking “similar”
First off, ConcernedApe has said he likes that creators are inspired by his work. He’s been incredibly supportive of the cozygaming. If the creator of StarDew isn't offended, maybe we shouldn't be either?
It’s also important to remember that Stardew Valley was heavily inspired by by Harvest Moon (Eric has mentioned this in multiple interviews). The premise, the graphical direction, all of it was inspired by Harvest.
Now, there is a huge difference between being "inspired by a genre" and "copying assets." We can all agree that doing a complete complete clone is not it (Super Zoo Story) where the initial images looked like they completely ripped Stardew’s assets. A situation like that I get it.
However, using a top-down perspective and pixel art to tell a story about farming, community, or management doesn't make a game a "rip-off." It makes it part of a genre. Sure there should be differences between Stardew and the promoted game but you get the idea.
If someone is putting in the work to add their own mechanics, a unique world, or a different spin on the farming loop, I just think we should try to be a bit more welcoming. The "Cozy" genre is big enough for more than one farm-sim. If we shut down every dev who uses pixel art, we’re going to miss out on some truly incredible experiences.