I sat down with Maddy Myers and my boy Chris Person to play some nice, relaxing Stardew Valley multiplayer. It was a little like doing your first couple’s trip to IKEA.
I’ve known Maddy for years, and as soon as I saw that Stardew Valley‘s multiplayer was having a public beta, I really wanted to share the game with her. She hasn’t played too much Stardew Valley before, so the idea of showing one my best friends how to grow parsnips for fun and profit seemed like a good way to spend an hour. Multiplayer made that happen, but we also got in a kind-of-not-serious fight.
Somewhere between Chris telling us about his beautiful garden, Maddy had some trouble with the fishing rod. That’s understandable – fishing in Stardew Valley sucks. When I wanted to leave the beach and she was still fishing, I tried to gently remind her that she could wander off and do whatever she wants. “Fine!” she said. “Maybe I will!”
It was so much like many of the fights I’ve gotten into in relationships that I had a flashback to wandering around IKEA, trying to buy a lamp with my ex. The weird thing about those fights is how localised they are. As soon as we left the store and got home, everything was fine.
The same was true with Maddy, but it took a minute. After all we’ve been through together, I’ve even forgiven her for tilling our farm’s soil in a haphazard, asymmetrical pattern.
Only time will tell if my relationship with Maddy will recover. Maybe more time in Stardew Valley will bring us back together.
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