Stardew Valley’s Community Center Can Lead the Way for Haunted Chocolatier

Stardew Valley's Community Center Can Lead the Way for Haunted Chocolatier



Haunted Chocolatier could carry over key features and mechanics from Stardew Valley, and the latter’s Community Center should help inspire the direction and design of ConcernedApe’s next game. While Stardew Valley allows players to freely explore and experience farming at their own pace, its Community Center guides player progression as they complete bundles throughout the year and restore the center to its full former glory. With how similar Haunted Chocolatier appears to be to its predecessor Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe’s upcoming game may repeat and hopefully expand on this approach.




However, choosing to restore the Community Center in Stardew Valley is actually one of two options for players to choose from, as players have the alternative of purchasing a JojaMart membership and replacing the center with a Joja Warehouse. While players are encouraged to side with the community of Pelican Town over the antagonistic Joja Corporation, Haunted Chocolatier could explore more nuanced player choices and evolve their gameplay. After the community restoration model proved effective in Stardew Valley, Haunted Chocolatier can use it as a guideline for its own local town and its people.

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As a spiritual successor to other games like Harvest Moon, one of Stardew Valley‘s core themes is the rejection of commercialism and urbanization in favor of the rural community spirit, something best embodied by the Community Center’s restoration. While it is unknown if Haunted Chocolatier will feature similar tones and themes, Stardew Valley‘s option to choose between starkly different gameplay styles shouldn’t be overlooked. Thanks in part to a big shift in concept, Haunted Chocolatier can offer choices to players that are better balanced and more nuanced than Stardew Valley‘s pro-community bias.

Stardew Valley Community Center Joja Mart


When players choose between restoring the Community Center or joining JojaMart, there are a few ways in which Pelican Town and its citizens change to reflect this, such as several lines of negative dialogue about the player’s decision or new day-to-day schedules. Ultimately, players might join JojaMart beacuse it’s an easier and quicker way to earn money and “complete” the game, while restoring the Community Center requires more planning, time, and engagement. However, influencing the world and its characters through choices like renovating the Community Center could be explored in Haunted Chocolatier to expand and improve how players navigate the game.

For instance, Stardew Valley already includes player choices that change how the game progresses, such as deciding between a fruit bat or a mushroom cave on the player’s farm. Much like the choice between the Community Center and JojaMart, Haunted Chocolatier could use these in-game decisions to allow players to gradually evolve their gameplay over time. Examples of this could include who players can sell their chocolate to and how much for, where they source ingredients and recipes from, and more:

  • Choosing whether to create chocolate for younger or older customers, like children or adults.
  • Supporting characters like Nigel when sourcing alcoholic ingredients for making chocolate.
  • Deciding which stores, bakeries, or restaurants can buy and sell the player’s chocolate.


Player Choices in Haunted Chocolatier Could Help Progression and Replay Value

By offering more choices that customize Haunted Chocolatier‘s overall gameplay and story in new directions, players in the endgame stage would have even more incentive to replay the game, thanks to all-new narratives to explore through different decisions. Taking after Stardew Valley‘s Community Center, the local town of Haunted Chocolatier could help guide player progression and offer greater in-game autonomy while still providing something new with each playthrough. Even though little is known about Haunted Chocolatier and how it will differ from Stardew Valley, the Community Center still stands as a template for how to engage players and guide their progression.

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