Thoughts on Minmaxxing and speedrunning SDV?

[MungoWasTaken]

I see alot of minmaxxing and speedrun content on youtube and for some reason it kinda irks me.
it almost feels like a homey kind of mom n pop restaurant has become bulldozed over by a mcdonalds.
Don't get me wrong, speedrunning and minmaxxing gameplay style have their place but the fact that I see it so much kinda makes me sad for some reason, like people are not just enjoying the game for what it is and are caught up on starting the third industrial revolution.
not to mention the game is just beautifully made (art, writing, characters) and full of heart that often gets brushed aside when people speedrun or minmax the game.
The game itself also kinda echoes this with like the whole Jojamart invading Pelican Town and putting Pierre out of business (the industrialisation).
Granted the game has been out forever and the base game might have bored many already, i just feel its kinda off to play the game fast and cold. Also the game is a sandbox game so play it however you want, i just feel that speedrunning and minmaxxing kind of go against how the game is.
idk just some ramblings that i wanted to put out and see if anyone had similar thoughts,

edit: wow i love the diff perspectives on this, really interesting, thanks for being nice btw, fairly new stardew player

[ChrillBill]

To each their own how they want to play. The only thing I find problematic is when people start complaining about how stressful the game is, that there isn't enough time to do stuff and because of that the game is ruined for them. I often wonder if those people are coming straight from watching one of those videos you are mentioning because;
1) The game isn't really stressful at all
2) You have all the time you could possibly ask for

Conclusion: Don't want to stress? Change your mindset and let go of the notion that everything has to be done all at once, and as fast as possible. It's that simple.

[BirbNotBird]

Short answer: It's a different community and has different perspective on enjoying the game.

Long answer: I have respects for them. Really. Although I would say I'm not the guy who min maxing. I love making a peaceful farm and upgrading Pelican Town.

Think of speedrun things as answers to the question "How many slap till you cooked a raw chicken." Yes, it may sound ridiculous, but that's how speedrun is. It's a way to give answer to the question nobody will usually tell you. Like "Can you beat Stardew Valley without Stamina?" etc things and that.

Ditto what Bill said though, whoever complains stressful or not enough time in speedrun, probably not healthy individual for you to know speedrun.

[MungoWasTaken]

Originally posted by BirbNotBird:

Short answer: It's a different community and has different perspective on enjoying the game.

Long answer: I have respects for them. Really. Although I would say I'm not the guy who min maxing. I love making a peaceful farm and upgrading Pelican Town.

Think of speedrun things as answers to the question "How many slap till you cooked a raw chicken." Yes, it may sound ridiculous, but that's how speedrun is. It's a way to give answer to the question nobody will usually tell you. Like "Can you beat Stardew Valley without Stamina?" etc things and that.

Ditto what Bill said though, whoever complains stressful or not enough time in speedrun, probably not healthy individual for you to know speedrun.

oh yeah dont get me wrong, speedrunning is an art and i have massive respect for speedrunners but i sometimes feel like its against the games philosophy, like ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ how many games allow you to play for (in-game) years? i still see your point though. In the end we all love stardew for being a wonderful experience

[MungoWasTaken]

Originally posted by ChrillBill:

To each their own how they want to play. The only thing I find problematic is when people start complaining about how stressful the game is, that there isn't enough time to do stuff and because of that the game is ruined for them. I often wonder if those people are coming straight from watching one of those videos you are mentioning because;
1) The game isn't really stressful at all
2) You have all the time you could possibly ask for

Conclusion: Don't want to stress? Change your mindset and let go of the notion that everything has to be done all at once, and as fast as possible. It's that simple.

yeahhhh true. also i think those people have selective memory because sometimes, even though i have 101 things i need to do in the game and my character is often up at 1:00 am planting seeds and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ i still find alot of dead time with not much 'productiveness'. In those dead times i just talk to npcs or fish. I guess part of the games charm are these moments of stillness

[ChrillBill]

Oh I have many moments of stillness in game :P Some days I just want to fish! Even though I don't need to, but I want to. This game is excellent for roleplay purposes and I for one like to take my sweet time. Lewis is still waiting for his truffle oil, one year after the request was made... I simply had better things to do :D

[Maya-Neko]

Originally posted by MungoWasTaken:

Don't get me wrong, speedrunning and minmaxxing gameplay style have their place but the fact that I see it so much kinda makes me sad for some reason, like people are not just enjoying the game for what it is and are caught up on starting the third industrial revolution.

What makes you think they don't enjoy speedrunning or minmaxxing? They wouldn't put thousands of hours into the game if they hate it or wouldn't have fun with it

And the same for "take for what it is". Like what do you think they're doing? They utilize the game as a whole, look into every feature and test tons of things in an attempt to actually understand the game to its core. Casual players on the other hand usually stay on the surface and rather ignore a few features. That's obviously not wrong, but neither of those playstyles are superier over the other

[MungoWasTaken]

Originally posted by Maya-Neko:

Originally posted by MungoWasTaken:

Don't get me wrong, speedrunning and minmaxxing gameplay style have their place but the fact that I see it so much kinda makes me sad for some reason, like people are not just enjoying the game for what it is and are caught up on starting the third industrial revolution.

What makes you think they don't enjoy speedrunning or minmaxxing? They wouldn't put thousands of hours into the game if they hate it or wouldn't have fun with it

And the same for "take for what it is". Like what do you think they're doing? They utilize the game as a whole, look into every feature and test tons of things in an attempt to actually understand the game to its core. Casual players on the other hand usually stay on the surface and rather ignore a few features. That's obviously not wrong, but neither of those playstyles are superier over the other

im not saying its wrong and its great if speedrunners and minmaxxers are enjoying themselves, by all means! Its a sandbox and people should be allowed to play it how they want. I just wanted to see if anyone had similar thoughts about what I was saying

[MungoWasTaken]

Originally posted by ChrillBill:

Oh I have many moments of stillness in game :P Some days I just want to fish! Even though I don't need to, but I want to. This game is excellent for roleplay purposes and I for one like to take my sweet time. Lewis is still waiting for his truffle oil, one year after the request was made... I simply had better things to do :D

haha same, marnie asked me for some amouranth in like spring and i only gave it to her at the end of winter

[HowDen『Van』]

Originally posted by MungoWasTaken:

for some reason it kinda irks me.

See it from the other side: a lot of these folks *have* already experienced everything there is to see in the game, and they still *want to* play it, for hundreds of more hours.

What greater compliment to a game is there than playing it far beyond what a "normie" would get out of it.

[Sunny]

The only thing I get cranky about is when the minmaxers talk down to noobs like they're idiots because they aren't optimizing the game/try to imply that that's how other people SHOULD play that results in the whole 'oh this game is so stressful' feeling noobs.

It's annoying (but not quite the level of cranky making) when they do it to people who have been playing for forever, but particularly irritating when it's noobs who don't seem to know better. mutter.

[Psycho]

I think it's a really good game to speedrun. Since it's a game you take your time with, it's cool to see someone do the opposite and be as efficient as possible

[red255]

Depends.

if they do in depth seed manipulation its like a minecraft speedrun where he just happens to find a chest with all the stuff he needs right away.

there was a guy who said Stardew valley is a game about 'progress bars' you go around you do things, those things fill up progress bars, when those progress bars get filled you get a reward.

So long as those min-maxings don't break the core of the gameplay loop, they are fine.

LIke I watched a guy route out getting fishing XP from 0 to 10 in a single day. and then did a few attempts executing it.

thats sort of the speed run mentality. his plan was to set up an elaborate farm with fishing ponds, using the farm teleport devices and bombs to quickly move thru his overly complicated maze of fish ponds, before fishing a few legendary fish (probably with the basic rod)

the theory behind the run was interesting, like getting fishing from 3 to 10 in a single day? probably easy, we can get better fish for our ponds, we can get crab pots. but 0 to 10, its an interesting thought experiment to route it out.

the run itself is just the proof of the thought experiment. the task is a self made progress bar. which you set up and execute. and the reward is the answer.

but if you mean some guy trying to speed run joja using RNG abusing Clay farming techniques, and SEED that gives him day 1 diamonds in trashcans and on the message board and god knows what else.

then no, thats not interesting.

[Antidote#77]

I'm trying to reach Perfection but only selling things from the Mines, i like the challenge cause it make each save files much more unique, however i don't really like min-maxing cause it just not fun and for me. The beauty of Stardew is that there isn't a right way to play, if you want enjoy the game in a particular way there is nothing stopping you from doing so.

[xicewindex]

Some people like speedrunning, others mod the game to the brim and other people like to just relax and shuffle around.

Each there own imo but probebly the time played in this game also has an effect.
With less than 50 hours played there is noway you have seen everything the game has to offer so that feeling of awe will still be there.
But with many starts and restarts you know every bit of the (base)game and people look for different ways to enjoy the game they love.

[Zachmark571]

Everyone enjoys different things. I like to calculate things and aim for "efficiency", but I also want to experience games (aka. every minute of every day is used, but I haven't watched any tutorial videos in my 100+hours of playing SDV). The way to relax is a bit different when you're the kind of guy that makes spreadsheets for fun.

There is also a subset of players who have been wired to do everything efficiently, even at the cost of their enjoyment of the games they play.

I used to be an achievement hunter as I was wired to think "playing for achievements" is worthwhile, but it wasn't. I liked the aspect of aiming for 100%, but once I started playing games through guides, it became a chore.
What I want to put out, is, if anyone feels like their enjoyment of a game is less than it should be, there's a possibility they are playing games with a misguided mindset.