{"id":1188456,"date":"2026-02-16T17:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/UJDHarCxSythTJTcrDVrUM"},"modified":"2026-02-16T17:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:35:31","slug":"i-kind-of-failed-in-that-particular-aspect-eric-barone-doesnt-understand-all-the-pierre-hate-and-wishes-that-hed-been-a-little-bit-more-nuanced-when-it-came-to-creating-jojamart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/i-kind-of-failed-in-that-particular-aspect-eric-barone-doesnt-understand-all-the-pierre-hate-and-wishes-that-hed-been-a-little-bit-more-nuanced-when-it-came-to-creating-jojamart\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I kind of failed in that particular aspect’: Eric Barone doesn’t understand all the Pierre hate and wishes that he’d been ‘a little bit more nuanced’ when it came to creating JojaMart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s hard to imagine Eric Barone saying that he failed in any aspect regarding Stardew Valley<\/a>. What started out as a simple Harvest Moon clone<\/a>, a way to teach him how to code and perfect pixel art, evolved into a phenomenon that is still having a lasting impact on the cosy farming sim genre. But nothing in life can be perfect, and everyone has regrets.<\/p>\n

Talking to PC Gamer at GDC, Barone discussed a couple of areas in which he would improve, if given the chance to revisit 2012, when his work on Stardew Valley first began, namely how on the nose the game’s villain, JojaMart, is.<\/p>\n

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Stardew Valley Guides<\/div>\n
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\"Stardew<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: ConcernedApe)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stardew Valley mods<\/strong><\/a>: Custom farming
Stardew Valley multiplayer<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>Co-op farming
Stardew Valley cheats<\/strong><\/a>: Farm faster
Games like Stardew Valley<\/strong><\/a>: More life sims
Best indie games<\/strong><\/a>: Our mixtape to you<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“That’s one of the things I kind of regret about Stardew Valley,” Barone says. “I feel like it’s a little bit too on the nose with Joja being the bad guys, and the community centre being the right way to do it. If I made Stardew Valley again, I would try to be a little more nuanced.<\/p>\n

“Maybe there are some positives to JoJa, you know. Nothing is that black and white. In reality, there’s usually nuance to everything. It’s something that I wanted to have with Stardew Valley, but I kind of failed in that particular aspect.”<\/p>\n

It is blindingly obvious in Stardew Valley that JojaMart, a chain supermarket, is the villain. Not only is this the company that the protagonist leaves to start a new life on their grandpa’s farm, trading in dull and grey for the exciting and colourful world of farming, but when a new store opens up in Pelican Town, it starts to wreak havoc.<\/p>\n

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