It’s fair to say that there haven’t been too many Broadway performances with a loud applause break due to the mention of an upcoming video game patch. And yet The Town Hall, a 103-year-old music venue in downtown Manhattan, erupted last night when composer Eric Barone mentioned “the 1.6 update.”
He’s obviously talking about the next big update Stardew Valley, scheduled for release on March 19 on Windows PC. Barone, better known to the world as ConcernedApe, is the creator of Stardew Valley and the composer of the game’s soundtrack. He was visiting New York as part of a live concert series for the game, with 45 shows across the United States, Asia, Europe and Oceania (most of which sold out within minutes).
Despite the fanaticism of the fans, the show feels intimate, with a dozen musicians performing newly arranged classics from the United States Stardew Valley soundtrack, which largely follows the chronological events of the game as the seasons move from spring to winter, with some special moments highlighting the various festivals and villagers in the game.
Speaking to Polygon, Barone specifically mentioned one of his favorite songs. “‘Dance of the Moonlight Jelly’ is obviously a big hit. And it’s a special song and it takes place at a tender moment in the game. So I was very happy to see that.”
Barone collaborated with Thanapol Setabrahmana, a composer from Thailand, who helped with the arrangement Stardew Valley‘s digital soundtrack into something that could be performed by a live orchestra. The end result perfectly captured the laid-back atmosphere of the farming sim (aside from a brief portion of the show devoted to the Indiana Jones-esque Journey of the Prairie King mini-game, which certainly got the blood pumping).
In addition to the concert series, Barone is predictably focused on the 1.6 update. “It’s stressful, but also exciting,” he said. “The releases are the most fun part of game development. It’s when you actually see people playing and talking about (the game) and sharing their screenshots. So I’m really looking forward to that. It is also a time of high intensity. The patch is almost ready to use. But there are a few things I still need to do. Until everything is completely locked down, it will be a bit stressful.
Quite a bit is known about the 1.6 update, which will add new festivals, a host of late-game content, and even cold-weather outfits for the villagers in winter, but Barone says what is publicly known only scratches the surface. “What I have released is just a little bit. There is a lot more to the update than people think,” he said.
When asked to compare it to the 1.5 update, a huge patch that added a brand new island to the world Stardew ValleyBarone said this one is a little different. “It’s more focused on the valley and the core areas of the game. It just adds so many things to all the different aspects of the game.
After the patch launches, Barone’s focus will be on fixing bugs and bringing the update to consoles and mobile platforms as quickly as possible. He says he’s working on the Stardew Valley update forced him to press pause on his other game, Harried chocolatierbut he’s looking forward to getting back to work on it once version 1.6 is on the market.
As for whether 1.6 will be the last major Stardew Valley update, Barone knows better than to make predictions. “I feel like I’m the boy who cried wolf, because I’ve said it myself many times (this is the last update) and I always end up making a new one Stardew Valley update. So it’s like, I’m just saying, who knows? I don’t think I’ll ever officially close the book. The book is always open.”