Stardew Valley Creator Explains Reason for Long Development of New Game Haunted Chocolatier

Work on Haunted Chocolatier is slowly progressing.

Recently, Stardew Valley creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone once again reminded everyone about his new project, Haunted Chocolatier. He doesn't often share news, so some players thought development had stopped.

Eric denied these rumors:

Yes. I am still working on the game. I feel a bit silly posting the same thing over and over again, but that's the reality.

He admitted that development takes a long time. According to Eric, this is largely due to his very thoughtful approach to every aspect of the game:

The things that the player will interact with frequently must be "perfect." They must be seamless, understandable, intuitive, enjoyable, and aesthetically pleasing.

Recently, the developer was reviewing the chocolate recipe book, which he had reworked "many times" (like many other elements of the game), each time bringing it closer to the "final version":

For me, this is not an easy task, because I literally torment myself over every little thing. This is an interface that you will use quite often, so it must be perfect. You must be able to achieve your goal with a minimum number of clicks. The amount of information should be exactly what is needed: not so much as to overload, but not so little as to make everything seem primitive or boring. And how this information is arranged on the page is extremely important…

Eric noted that Haunted Chocolatier is a big game, so "there are many such things that I nitpick."

Work continues, and the project currently has no release date. The developer doesn't often publish screenshots and is in no hurry to reveal details of the game systems while everything is still in development: "Partly because it's like serving undercooked bread."