Updates for Stardew Valley 1.6
The most recent update to Stardew Valley, version 1.6, added a lot of interesting fresh material to improve players' gaming experience. But one of the new elements—the spread of multiplayer to allow eight players—has inadvertently blurred the lines separating personal farm life from corporate-like business operations.
Joja Mart in Stardew Valley
Run by the Joja Corporation, Jojamart is a store in Stardew Valley known for its unscrupulous methods of upsetting the local Pelican Town economy. Often portrayed as the enemy, Jojamart uses price cuts to undercut nearby companies such as Pierre's store. This presents JojaMart as a force looking for profit at the expense of the community clearly.
Stardew Valley multiplayer expansion: eight-player farms
Although having eight players on a farm is a good thing since it gives more freedom and cooperation, it unintentionally gives the game a corporate vibe. With eight players, the farm becomes a sizable business, a major departure from the individualistic attitude to farming first offered in the game.
Effects of an eight-player farm on Pelican Town
With 35 people living in Pelican Town, suddenly it finds itself with eight more residents—about 20% of the total town population. Working together as a sizable farm, this flood of players changes the dynamic and makes them less like people looking for a simpler life and more like a corporate entity setting a presence in the town. The line separating players as individuals from players as a collective business gets hazy, and this parallels Jojamart's presence in the town.
Player interaction inside Pelican Town: a transactional relationship
Stardew Valley's multiplayer feature—many players helping to run a bigger farm—may change the way the player interacts with Pelican Town into a more transactional relationship. Although individual players might have felt a sense of community and connection with the town, the large-scale farm operation—like JojaMart—becomes essentially profit-making focused.
Motivating Profit: Stardew Valley Gameplay Mechanisms
The gameplay of Stardew Valley encourage players to make money even in apparently charitable pursuits like maintaining the community center. Although the game honors players for helping the community, it is clear that the player's actions are finally motivated by the need to help the business of their farm. Although the base game included these mechanics, the larger scale of the eight-player farm highlights the transactional character of player actions, so reflecting JojaMart's exploitative policies.
