LogInThe indie developer also talks about the real pressure when working on Haunted Chocolatier.
ConcernedApe
If you are an owner of one of the copies out of the over 30 million Stardew Valley has sold, the chance is that you're also looking forward to Haunted Chocolatier, the new game from the developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Now that this year is coming to an end, the indie developer has brought some updates on the game's development and status.
The good news is that the game currently has a "skeleton with most (not all) of its bones in place," while it may be less exciting for some to hear that it will still take a while before the game is ready to release.
Haunted Chocolatier was developed in the same way Stardew Valley was, which means ConcernedApe is the solo developer who covers all the aspects of the development process, creating art and coding, etc. The developer has not worked on the project in a while because the work on the Stardew Valley 1.6 update, which dropped this March, has taken his time.
On the one hand, the developer has a huge commitment to Stardew's huge loyal fanbase, while on the other hand, ConcernedApe also wants to create more games to share with the community with the new title and maybe more in the future. He talks about what Haunted Chocolatier means to him and how it looks right now:
"Even though Haunted Chocolatier has only been revealed publicly to a tiny degree, in my own private world it's a special place, and I'm very attached to the characters, themes, and ideas. Also, I've already done a ton of work on the game. Before I took this break for Stardew 1.6, I had created a 'vertical slice' of Haunted Chocolatier, essentially a skeleton of the game with most (not all) of its bones in place."
ConcernedApe
Now that the basic shape is there, the upcoming work would be to make adjustments and tweaks and complete it with all the content until he is happy with all of them. "Yes, it's going to be a lot of work still, but it's okay, I'm addicted to the grind."
When it comes to the launch of the game, the developer has a clear goal and vision: "I will not be doing any “early access, "crowdfunding, or pre-orders, so I don't feel a ton of external pressure to finish the game on a timeline." Yet, external pressure does exist, mainly from the fans' accumulated excitement over this upcoming title since it was announced back in 2021. "If I take a long time, people might become sad. That is a real pressure to me. "
Read the full update blog here and join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.