We’re always keeping an eye out for new Stardew Valley mods. For instance, not long ago I played a mod where I could open my own grocery store and make Pierre buy my seeds for a change, dammit! It was satisfying.
But here’s a mod (via Gaming Bible) created by modder kittycatcasey, aka spacechase0, that immediately looks different from all the other Stardew mods out there. That’s cuz it’s in 3D. Have a look at “The Third Dimension,” a proof-of-concept video of a 3D version of Stardew Valley—and then come back here and help me decide if it looks completely rad or vaguely horrifying.
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I’m delighted at first: the video shows the modder strolling around their house, interacting with the kids, and talking with their spouse, Penny. It really is neat seeing the game’s bright and cheerful art in 3D, even though the sprites (except for structures like walls and floors) are all still 2D.
But as I watch more, it quickly begins to get unsettling. Since nearly every entity is still currently 2D, it only has one side to face the player, which means it all swivels to continue facing you no matter where you go. Everything: plants, decorations, furnaces, the mailbox, scarecrows, containers, all slowly turning as you walk by. As if alive. As if watching you. It’s creeptastic.
This is temporary, of course: “Right now just about almost everything besides the terrain is billboarded sprites, but the plan is to over time give everything a unique 3D model,” spacechase0 says.
I feel better again while watching spacechase0 harvest blueberries from the farm: it’s delightful to look up instead of down at the plants, to be surrounded by them like you were really out there doing some gardening. But then I notice the house in the background. It, too, is swiveling to watch you, everywhere you go, like some sort of extremely nosy Baba Yaga’s Hut. I’m glad the video doesn’t show downtown Stardew. Just imagine those shops and houses all turning to watch as you walked around. Chilling!
This isn’t shade on the modder, by the way: turning a 2D game into 3D is really impressive, and even this extremely early proof-of-concept looks great (except when it makes my skin crawl). The second half of the video is a demonstration of the 3D concept compatible with VR, which is amazing—though fighting off bats sure looks tricky.
The mod isn’t available to try yet, which works for me: I think I’d be a little too creeped out with all those sprites slowly swiveling around to stare at me everywhere I went. If you want to play Stardew Valley in 3D or VR someday, though, this is one mod you should keep a close eye on.
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