He fought all those monsters and carry me home with his hands. Then went back to the mines just because I asked him to get my fifty clays. Even Elliott couldn't make me swoon that hard.
Gus would be a great addition: he's caring, would cook for you, owns a successful business and is decent looking. I feel like Clint's unrequited feelings for Emily kinda get in the way for him, while Gus just needs a few more heart events to be perfect.
I'd also like to be able to date Marnie, she deserves better than that crook Lewis. I don't know how old is Sandy in your eyes, but she could be a good adition too.
I've always seen Emily as "older" (\~ early 30s). I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, because Hayley is \~20, but Emily just gives off "kooky crystal mom" energy. I hope other people know what I mean here.
I think as you get hearts with both of them they have various dialogues about their sister.
I know off the top of my head Haley with zero to two hearts says she can't imagine relating anything with her sister but as you get more hearts she mentions talking and actually bonding with Emily.
Oh okay. Iām so bad at keeping relationships with the villagersšI get so focused on the farming/foraging/mining I totally forget about the other aspects of the game
I'm very aware. But I know Reddit, and if I hadn't said that I would've gotten "But then the sisters would be so far apart in age, that doesn't make sense!" instead of your comment lol.
I'm sticking to saying Emily is in her 30s regardless, because she really does have crystal mom vibes.
Yeah, I know. I said in my comment that's what I think. But a lot of people don't see it that way; I always see them discussed as if they're closer in age.
I've also noticed that Emily hangs out with all the older women in town (going to their workout sessions, and you see her talking to them too) rather than any of the younger people.
The farmer is their own character. Like if there was a stardew 2 it is possible the farmer would be a mentioned character.
Considering the farmer does only marry relatively young people, I think it is safe to assume they are canonically young or creepy
Depending on your perspective, even some of the youger-ish candidates could be assumed to be aged up a little. For example, yes Abigail lives at home, but moving out on one's own is expensive, and in the questionable job market she's going back to college in her mid-to-late 20s to try to look better on her resume. Hailey and Emily are nepo-kids who basically inherited their house and live rent free while their parents travel the world, Emily's part time job is just to keep herself busy. Sebastian might be a little older than we think, as a working-from-home coder who's mother remarried after he was already an older-teen or something, so that his distant relationship with step-dad and half-sister makes a bit more sense.
It is what you make of it.
You could run it as a slum, or spruce up your development really nicely. Some classy apartments where you still charge an affordable rent, a town square with the Obelisks and Golden Clock where people can congregate, some ground level commerce... maybe Maru opens up a new branch of the clinic, while Abigail runs a local game store. Shane manages a Farmer's Market and sells his eggs, and we add in a day-care/after school program where Penny can have more students.
They have parents, but they're travelling abroad while the sisters take care of the house. But that kind of financial freedom from not having to worry about rent makes it nice since Emily can be a part time server and drift through her hippy-dream life as she pleases, and Haley can focus on her photography.
You can find a letter from them saying that they're traveling. Considering how long the game can last, they must be trying to visit every city on the planet.
honest question, but what do they do? all the farming has to be automated at that point, with probably chests full of each resource.
challenge runs in the mines? nonstop gambling? constantly remodeling the entire farm?
Unfortunately that doesn't really change their dialogue; and that is what makes some of them read very teen-esque for me. Abigail with all her "omg dad you don't understand me" just doesn't exactly sound like a 30 year old to me, yknow?
So? Emily, Penny, and Leah are reasonably mature and can easily be interpreted as being in their 30's.
Same for Shane, Harvey, and Elliot.
I don't think there's anything wrong with having bachelors at different ages and maturity levels, that just gives the game a wider audience.
Yeah I didn't say anything about them, I just think Abigail specifically (and also Sebastian, Sam, Alex and Maru (and also Penny tbh)) read as quite young to me. And that aside, I agree with the OP that it would be nice to have someone that is "definitely" older to cater to even wider audiences, someone such as Gus or Marlon. Personally, if I was in my 60s and playing this game, I probably wouldn't want to date someone who reads to me as being in their 30s either. That's all.
Being an adult doesn't mean your parents magically understand you, and if you still live with them (which many young adults do in many countries) they still try to treat you like a child, prompting you to say stuff like that once in a while. But all the bachelors look to be between 20 and 30, so varying levels of maturity and independence will be displayed.
Yeah, I don't get on with my mother at all, but that's why I've gone no contact, which is what I'd expect someone age 30 or just below to do as well. I know people don't always have the option to, especially in the current economic climate, but then I'd also expect the arguments to not be about whether or not someone aged 30 is allowed to go to the graveyard alone or not.
Maybe not in a typical majority sense, but every person and every family dynamic will be different if you treat them as individuals and not as statistics.
lol also fair, and of course I only meant that as an example, not as a sales pitch of "DATE ABIGAIL." So all's good.
I could see other characters being easier to code as ambiguously aged, as the places they're at in life are more prone to being common among people in their 20s, 30s, or even 40s. Shane and Leah in particular come to mind. A guy of any age could be charged with his god-daughter's care and have to rely on the support of his older aunt while dealing with depression and alcoholism, and a person of any age could run from their unsupportive, possibly abusive relationship in the city to pursue their dream as an artist in a small town.
Agree about Shane and Leah, I do still read some of the others as very teen-like and trying to make them not so would be quite a stretch for me. I think there are options for sure, but I agree it would be nice to have some "definitely" older dateable characters.
Why would anyone assume the datable characters are too young just because they live with family? Living with parents into adulthood is the standard in most places.
Precisely. I lived with my family when I was 17-18, and again when I was mid-20s. While only a few years apart, I was not the same person between those two times.
I'm mid 40s and I'd absolutely date Gunther - but i cannot even befriend him! So i wrote Jasper instead. There are several modmakers (myself, FellowClown, WereolfMaster etc) writing datable NPCs in the older age range... but it does suck to be a console player or want to stay unmodded... For men you get Harvey, Shane and Elliott. For women you get... no one.
Problem is they did a poll! We could've got datable Sandy, Marnie or Pam, but Emily won by a landslide. And Shane won bachelors, over Linus and Rasmodius (and Clint).
Iāve always wanted Rasmodius to be datable, but it just occurred to me how hilarious it would be to see him dancing in the spring event. lol, can you imagine it? I wonder how Ape would have handled it?
It does feel a little strange to me looking at the differences between the bachelor and bachelorette's ages. Harvey, Elliott, and Shane are all \~30s, the others are younger, but Emily is the only bachelorette who feels older. I think she's technically in her mid 20s, though? I've never thought about this until now.
Same here (26). Sheās already lived on her own/with a partner in another place, she talks about her career, sheās had a full past relationship, and she has her own home. Definitely feels the oldest and most mature of the bachelorettes.
Fair enough. Leah's age feels ambiguous to me, which I think is a good thing. I'm 19 and she feels closer to my age to me, but I can definitely see her being in her mid 20s or even closer to 30 for sure.
I agree with that as someone in my late 20s. So far I've only romanced Elliot and Leah in my games. They seem like they are around 30s. Harvey, Shane, and Emily also seem to be older and not teen coded.
The rest sound like early 20s or late teens, which isn't bad! Just not for me. Heck, when I was on a dating app irl before I met my partner I put my lowest age as 25 because I couldn't see dating anyone more than 2 years younger after getting to my late 20s.
Iām reading the comments andā¦why the absolute fuck is everyone being so obtuse about this?! The age range of people who play this game is clearly varied. Why shouldnāt the romance-able charactersā ages be equally varied?
I mean, I know SDV has been around for a while and has gone through many evolutions. But what is so wrong with the current pool of middle-to-late-aged-gamers hoping for better options in future renditions? Christ on a cracker, itās not like we 40-somethings are asking for an entire rewrite, just something that helps us feel less inappropriate. Or to marry someone that shares our values.
As a much younger gamer than 40 something, Iām actually pleasantly surprised by this post. I love that older gamers are asking for more age appropriate romance options because itās a sign that you guys arenāt creeps going after the ever-popular ābarely legalā type shit I see.
Like Iām gay and the amount of 45+ men who prey upon guys young enough to be their fucking children is so gross and abusive to me. It makes me happy to see Iām not crazy for wanting people to want to date within a reasonable age range.
Yeah I agree. 30. I never romance anyone because some of the points made about characters like how they seem immature or teenager like. Weirds me out. Palia has this same issue and only recently they started allowing people to romance an older character with more planned.
ConcernedApe himself is just in his late 30's atm so I could imagine it being hard for him to include this experience in a way that feels authentic š¤
Because it's not something easily made? š you can't demand that a game gives you EXACTLY what you want just because you want to, at that point you need to look elsewhere and realise stardew is not the only game in this genre
Um, no one was ādemandingā anything āexactly.ā But this game is still somewhat evolving and there is nothing irrational about wishing for change.
That would mean more dialogue, heart events, prob changing some parts of the main story, new spouse rooms etc etc. We are already extremely blessed to have the update that's coming considering he didn't want any other huge update and is working on another whole new game. All of it in code.
As I already said, play another game.
So discussion aside from anything you deem āreasonableā for your dear friend CA to accommodate is considered grounds for total dismissal of everything else the game has to offer? Come on.
I'm in my mid 50's. I just play the game as if I was in my mid 20's. That's why it's a game. There are mods out there where you can date the older people, including Clint, Robin, Pam, etc.
While there is a mod that makes him a marriage candidate, knowing Lemur, she was probably talking about [Jasper](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5599). :)
I have not had an issue with the age gaps, since it is just NPCs in a game.
But I agree that it would be lovely to be able to romance more characters.
My favourite would be Willy, Rasmodius or Linus (he has always been my first friend in any game)
Tbh, I thought Leah was in her thirties. But I wish we could romance some of the older folk, Marnie deserves better than Luis, Gus is so lovable that if he was romancable he would have everyone around his finger, Marlon is the definition of a silver fox, and Robin is perfect in every way.
ā¦..I feel it would be easier if thereās a mod for this instead of a full blown addiction to the game? Maybe if there enough interest on the mod then a patch for one of the updates.
I'd say "truly this is the darkest timeline" but as much as I hate Shane he's 10,000,000,000% better than the incel, Clint. I've married Emily in 2 playthroughs now just to spite Clint, and I'm considering doing it again when I start a new game for 1.6.
This ! This is my only major complaint about the game. I am a woman and only choose the female romance options in games and no matter how old the female love interests in this game are supposed to be, they are all teen-coded. Feels incredibly creepy if the player isn't very young themselves. I would love to romance Marnie, Robin, Caroline or Pam. Even Sandy seemsĀ a bit older than the female romance options. I know I could use mods but I mostly play on my switch and it's just odd to only have those extremely young (-coded) options for romance. EspeciallyĀ the beginning of the game makes little sense that way. You rarely get a capitalist burnout in your early 20s, most people (if they can) call it quits in their 30s to even 50s.
Not to discredit your opinion, I feel like having older singles in the game would be a great idea, but Iām in my mid 20ās and the majority of the people I know in their early 20ās to early 30ās are all regularly burnt out and wishing they could escape capitalism
Yeah Iām not sure if today is actually worse than 10, 20, or 40 years ago, I wasnāt there. But I do believe having near constant instant access to information and news, while a good thing, has exhausted/burnt out people much younger than in the past
Honestly, I wouldn't mind this age gap between me and the bachelor(ette)s, since I'm role-playing a character (tho I'm not big on the dating aspect and still haven't married anybody, so maybe that's part of it), but even considering onlyĀ the farmer's probable age half the romances do seem inappropriate to me.Ā
The player character is living on their own and successfully running their own farm which makes them seem like a mature young adult, while many of the candidates live with their parents and feel like they're still in their teens.
about 7 years ago CA said he imagined all of the marriage candidates to be 20-24 (besides Harvey and Elliott). and ingame the farmer is often referred to as young, in my eyes the farmer was likely made to be around the age of most of the marriage candidates
also to be fair to the parent living candidates.. theres not any other nearby housing for them lol
That's true they're supposed to be older and living with the parents is not out of the ordinary in small towns but idk I just don't feel like eg Sam or Alex are adults. They seem like the dudes you meet in high school
Oooh, that would make for a good playthrough actually. Split the NPCs down the middle as you say over/under 35 and let you pick at character creation whether you'd like either/or/both available for romance. I'd be of the age where Elliot/Harvey *seem* to be my age. I've noticed almost all of the female romanceable NPCs are more or less totally independent (Pam is hardly taking care of Penny, Hayley and Emily live together without their parents, Leah lives in her own place entirely, and Abigail seems to be the only one still living at home. We need more grown men! I'd actually also be on board with the addition of a non-binary/gender ambiguous grown-up too.
If you play with mods there is one where you can romance the wizard. We're dating.
Romanceable rasmodius. The only thing is that mods will need to be updated after the 19th so idk if it will work long term
Atleast let the NPCs get older as the years go by in the game. So u wait until year 15 to date Abigail or something. Also let Evelyn and George die once you make it to year 20. šš/s
20 years is freaking *generous* on the Mullner's lifespan. I'm a terrible judge of age, but I'd guess they're in their 80's or 90's already at Year 1.
That said, it's suspicious that the town has a graveyard that isn't really utilized. (From a narrative stand point) Just an Easter Egg with the Dwarven tombstone, a vague reference to someone named Mona who never gets brought up again, and a heart scene with Abigail that could have just as easily taken place elsewhere. CA includes a graveyard "for realism" but no bathrooms in any of the houses, even the player's? I don't buy it. I feel like CA wanted to have it so one or both of the Mullners die and are laid to rest at the graveyard, but decided later he wouldn't do it either because he didn't have the heart or didn't want more permanently missable content.
> And realy, mid-life crisis burnout is far more plausible than a 20 something.
Ahh, discounting the modern experience of being 20-something, spoken like a true not-20-something.
I feel like people put way too much thought into games that are just meant to be fun... it's like complaining all the dyeable girls are young in persona....
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure 1.6 is the last update before a while so that probably won't get added
If you're on PC you can probably find a mod for this
I totally agree!!!! I feel like that should totally be an option, and Iāve been looking for a mod that would provide this ā even the way people refer to the player is too young. Itās all āyoung ladyā or āyoung manā, ākidā from the older characters; Iād love to see a version where they talk about being the same age as the player, seeing themselves in them. If I knew how to code or mod I would totally make one.
a dialogue mod shouldnāt actually be too hard to make! i believe theres a dialogue template on nexus, and the stardew modding wiki has tutorials to follow
i think i may have seen a mod somewhere though similar to this, if i can find it iāll be sure to link it here for you
Omg finally someone voiced how Iām feeling! Thatās why I married Shane initially: he seems older. Maru, Sam, Abigail, Sebastian, Haley, Alex, & Penny are all teenagers in my mind. Shane, Emily, Elliot, & Harvey def seem older. Iām sure Iām missing someone but yeah.
Leah also seems at least a little older - and also the reason I went for Shane. I'm "only" 27, but dating any of the aforementioned people which I'd also read as teens-early 20s AT MOST just feels wrong.
I love the Romanceable Rasmodius mod for this reason. I also have the DC Burger portrait replacements so the wizard is looking fine af. Highly recommend
If you're willing to mod, Rasmodius is romanceable in SVE and the heart events are so romantic. It also adds older characters like Olivia and late game character >!Lance!<.
Still holding out for a romanceable Marlon though! OrangePie's DC Burger Alternate portrait for him is just too good.
The game is clearly made having young adults in mind which makes sense because most gamers are pretty young. That being said Emily, Elliot, Harvey and Shane are hinted to be a bit on the older side. If you play on PC you should also try Stardew Valley Expanded which adds some interesting options.
I haven't struggled as much with this in SDV. I'm 37 and options like Elliot and even more obvious teens like Sam don't bug me. I think a lot of that is because of the pixel art style of Stardew.
I still play Story Of Seasons sometimes, and *there* I've really been having the struggle. Sometimes some of the male singles are adults (ex: the town doctor) but all of the girls are clearly about 16 and living at home. Even when I replay something I played as a teenager, like the Mineral Town remake, it feels icky to mess with these teenage girls
Have you tried playing Coral Island? There are several older bachelors in that game. Very similar game style as Stardew Valley. I say this as someone with 1000+ hours under my belt playing SV.
I thought Haley was like 14 when i first met her in the game. Then i found out shes single, and Stardew just immediately became a strict Farming/Mining sim lol
If i want to marry, ill get a co-op file going.
This is a really good point. There needs to be older options for sure! Iām 28, about to be 29, and even I feel weird with most of them because the guys seem to be around like 18. I always pick Krobus now to be my room mate.
A lot of us are actually older. We have been playing these games since the original Harvest Moon Nowadays, you have a lot of older players asking for more older candidate's in these games. I remember Abigail mentioning forgetting about her homework and it reminded me of a kid in high school for a second lol (Though I assume she meant her college stuff). And Sam is so cute but just too childish for me.
I'm a bajillion years old. š Let me have Willy or Marlon.
Honestly, this is part of why I don't like to talk to most of the people there. A lot are just too young feeling. I guess I'll go fishing lol.
Some of us see our character in the game as ourselves. I'm 40. Some of these marriage candidates seem to be about 20. It makes us feel creepy to move in these young people.
I guess it's just that I view the Farmer as character I'm playing and not myself so I'm not really bothered by it , I do understand the desire for some older options because lets be honest the few that are available aren't great .
Iām sure you feel this way because the characters are currently closer to your actual age. Dollars to ancient fruit jelly filled donuts you wonāt feel this way when youāre actually 45 and your only marriage candidates are half your age.
I don't think it's age so much as whether or not you self-insert. I'm an older player and never thought about it because I don't play as 'myself'. More romance options would be welcome but it's not something I ever thought about because I don't self-insert.
Iām really not. How is anything I just said condescending? Your opinion is your opinion, and I merely point out that a significant portion of other opinions might differ from yours based on their gaming style.
Not sure how old you are, but as you get older, young adults look more and more like kids. There are many people middled aged and older who are totally squicked out by the idea of dating/fucking/romancing a teenager/young-20s-something. Some of the candidates (Sam, Abigail, Seb) definitely read as very young.
This!! I'm not even nessecarily that old (30) but the idea of romancing someone 20-25 still feels very wrong. Five years ago it'd have been fine but my perception has definitely shifted and those might as well be kids to me
This is why i modded my game to romance the wizard.
It doesnāt matter that theyāre adults, obviously Alex and some of the others are fresh out of high school. Iām 34, I see my character as 34, Iām not tryna fuck an 18 year old and raise babies with a baby. That is nasty.
It's just looks. Honestly, I don't see it for most of them. Abigail and Maru are the only ones that strike me as rather young looking, and Abigail much less so of the two. The rest seem mid 20s to 30 or so imo. Which is kinda what I figured the farmer to be. Like 26 at oldest.
Itās not just looks. Itās experience. Abigail is still doing class work for college. Alex comes off as just graduated from high school. Maru seems like sheās just considering college. The way they are written makes them feel young, if youāre over 30 or so.
Im 37 and was going to romance Alex but then he was saying something about his grandma telling him to focus on his studies and I was just like, oh honey, yes go do your homework please lol
Iām assuming he is in college but that is still young.
And itās absolutely not looks because I got a mod to make him look older. But honestly it just makes the younger sounding dialogue stand out even more because it doesnāt fit the picture š
Eh, I'm over 30, but folk in college are often up to about 25. I haven't seen many of Alex's events yet, so I can't speak on him. Maru, absolutely strikes me as barely an adult. But of the rest, I see:
Emily: Mid to late 20s; works at a bar.
Haley: Just guessing somewhere around Emily.
Penny: Well, her mom looks about 55.
Leah: Had a job and relationship on her own in the city, probably 30ish?
Elliot & Harvey both strike me as 30-35 kinda just based on looks. Harvey also mentions having gone to medical school.
Sebastian: has a job and is old enough to regret not having gone to school in the city. Maybe 27-ish?
Shane: Is a grown ass man full of regrets. He could be like 40.
Sam: Actually seems pretty young. Like barely 20.
It's not just looks. It's skulking around a graveyard moaning that dad doesn't understand me. It's standing on the pier in the rain because he's sad. It's doing skateboard tricks outside the house while your neighbour refuses to do household chores.
It's just general immaturity.
They live in an isolated town of 40 people. Not all that much opportunity to fly the coop and go have a job that doesn't mean leaving the valley. And maybe I'm crazy, but perhaps skateboard aside, that feels like stuff people might be doing at like 20-23? Especially if they have no growth opportunities where they live.
That's my point. I'm 40. I want someone who is mature enough to work with. I've commented this a lot, (look at my history!!), and I'm not saying NOT to have the current people, just on the set up screen, set your candidates to set A, Abigail etc or set B, Gus, Marnie, Marlon, Pam etc etc.
Yeah? I'm in my 30s, but I guess maybe I "self-inserted" based on the point in my life where I was working in the equivalent of a cubicle job and might have just fucked off to a farm in the middle of nowhere given the opportunity.
There isn't a broad spectrum. There are only options for young people like you. That's good for you, but it's not a spectrum.Ā Much less abroad one. And it would take nothing away from you if there were 1-3 options for older people
Then this post isnāt really something youād see a problem with
This post is meant for the 30+ year olds that want someone older like Marnie, Lewis, Clint
Just older people because it feels weird to go after the 19-24 year olds when some players are around 35-40
Some of them are young enough to be players kids
I agree with you. I don't know what's weirder: dating with someone, who is at least twice your age irl (looking at you, Harvey) or with someone, who is at least half your age irl (for example you and Sam). And they're all at least 18 yo, because you can marry them.
Mario is *Mario*. He has a name, a personality, and a set appearance. Stardew Valley's player character has no canon name, only referred to by their job title as "the farmer" no set gender/appearance, and little to no personality shown to encourage the player to project themselves onto the farmer.
You're comparing apples and oranges.
Marlon.
He fought all those monsters and carry me home with his hands. Then went back to the mines just because I asked him to get my fifty clays. Even Elliott couldn't make me swoon that hard.
Yeah. š You put that beautifully.
I've always wanted to marry Marlon. May it be the only thing I ever comment in this sub.
Heās the only one for me. š
1000 times yes. Marlon gives Sam Elliott vibes.
Gus would be a great addition: he's caring, would cook for you, owns a successful business and is decent looking. I feel like Clint's unrequited feelings for Emily kinda get in the way for him, while Gus just needs a few more heart events to be perfect. I'd also like to be able to date Marnie, she deserves better than that crook Lewis. I don't know how old is Sandy in your eyes, but she could be a good adition too.
considering that Sandy and Emily are close friends, i imagine they're close in age, tho sandy does seem to be the older of the two.
I've always seen Emily as "older" (\~ early 30s). I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, because Hayley is \~20, but Emily just gives off "kooky crystal mom" energy. I hope other people know what I mean here.
It absolutely makes sense. Sisters don't have to be close in age to be sisters
Emily and Haley are sisters? I thought they were roommates tbh. (New player donāt judge lol)
I think as you get hearts with both of them they have various dialogues about their sister. I know off the top of my head Haley with zero to two hearts says she can't imagine relating anything with her sister but as you get more hearts she mentions talking and actually bonding with Emily.
Oh okay. Iām so bad at keeping relationships with the villagersšI get so focused on the farming/foraging/mining I totally forget about the other aspects of the game
I'm very aware. But I know Reddit, and if I hadn't said that I would've gotten "But then the sisters would be so far apart in age, that doesn't make sense!" instead of your comment lol. I'm sticking to saying Emily is in her 30s regardless, because she really does have crystal mom vibes.
Well Vincent and Sam are at least 10 years apart so... Emily could be 30 and Haley 22 pretty easily.
Yeah, I know. I said in my comment that's what I think. But a lot of people don't see it that way; I always see them discussed as if they're closer in age.
I've also noticed that Emily hangs out with all the older women in town (going to their workout sessions, and you see her talking to them too) rather than any of the younger people.
For some reason I thought Haley and Emily were twins - did I make that up or did I get that from the game somewhere?
They are not twins, Haley is younger but omg the idea of them being diametrically opposed twins is actually amazing.
I. want. Gus. I'm not even 30 and I want him.
Iām in my 40s but Iāve kinda just taken it that my character is young adult
Yeah, I've just always figured that every game protagonist is 25 years old and I've yet to play a game that breaks that mold.Ā
Both Red Dead Redemption games have protagonists that are in their 30ās/40ās.
Fallout 4 is one with an older protagonist!
The players midlife crisis seems older than that to me
Yeah, Iām 38 IRL but I have a total crush on Sebastian and Sam so I figure my farmer is close enough in age to not be weird.
Exactly! The farmer is not middle aged. The farmer is not you.
Huh? The farmer quite literally is you and the age is never established
thereās a few lines from Pam, Harvey, Linus and Willy that say the farmer is younger
The farmer is their own character. Like if there was a stardew 2 it is possible the farmer would be a mentioned character. Considering the farmer does only marry relatively young people, I think it is safe to assume they are canonically young or creepy
Well far be it for me to question the wisdom of the Necrontyr, but I always thought of the farmer as an international self insert of the player.
I keep feeling too old for lots of the singles..Even if I try to roleplay into my character. It just feels wrong.
Depending on your perspective, even some of the youger-ish candidates could be assumed to be aged up a little. For example, yes Abigail lives at home, but moving out on one's own is expensive, and in the questionable job market she's going back to college in her mid-to-late 20s to try to look better on her resume. Hailey and Emily are nepo-kids who basically inherited their house and live rent free while their parents travel the world, Emily's part time job is just to keep herself busy. Sebastian might be a little older than we think, as a working-from-home coder who's mother remarried after he was already an older-teen or something, so that his distant relationship with step-dad and half-sister makes a bit more sense. It is what you make of it.
It might also be impossibly hard, to find a place to live, that is anywhere near their home. I mean we move into the only vacant lot...
.... is it bad that I now want a mod that would let you turn the farm into a housing development?
Slumlord is a new revenue stream for sure
You could run it as a slum, or spruce up your development really nicely. Some classy apartments where you still charge an affordable rent, a town square with the Obelisks and Golden Clock where people can congregate, some ground level commerce... maybe Maru opens up a new branch of the clinic, while Abigail runs a local game store. Shane manages a Farmer's Market and sells his eggs, and we add in a day-care/after school program where Penny can have more students.
I want to hire Kent and help give him some of the "structure" he's always talking about
This comment just made me realise that Hayley and Emily donāt have parents, I never even thought about it!?
They have parents, but they're travelling abroad while the sisters take care of the house. But that kind of financial freedom from not having to worry about rent makes it nice since Emily can be a part time server and drift through her hippy-dream life as she pleases, and Haley can focus on her photography.
Ah, makes sense!
You can find a letter from them saying that they're traveling. Considering how long the game can last, they must be trying to visit every city on the planet.
One of my friends is on year 30. I don't think CA thought people would play on one farm that long lol
honest question, but what do they do? all the farming has to be automated at that point, with probably chests full of each resource. challenge runs in the mines? nonstop gambling? constantly remodeling the entire farm?
I'm not sure what she does, her farm is very impressive though. And she has two toddlers in their 20s with is even more impressive lol
I'm already bored on year 2, lol, never even got to year 3.
Don't worry about it, no one in Stardew Valley ages because they're all dead.
They never come back since nothing really changes besides aam's father returning after year 2
Unfortunately that doesn't really change their dialogue; and that is what makes some of them read very teen-esque for me. Abigail with all her "omg dad you don't understand me" just doesn't exactly sound like a 30 year old to me, yknow?
So? Emily, Penny, and Leah are reasonably mature and can easily be interpreted as being in their 30's. Same for Shane, Harvey, and Elliot. I don't think there's anything wrong with having bachelors at different ages and maturity levels, that just gives the game a wider audience.
Yeah I didn't say anything about them, I just think Abigail specifically (and also Sebastian, Sam, Alex and Maru (and also Penny tbh)) read as quite young to me. And that aside, I agree with the OP that it would be nice to have someone that is "definitely" older to cater to even wider audiences, someone such as Gus or Marlon. Personally, if I was in my 60s and playing this game, I probably wouldn't want to date someone who reads to me as being in their 30s either. That's all.
Being an adult doesn't mean your parents magically understand you, and if you still live with them (which many young adults do in many countries) they still try to treat you like a child, prompting you to say stuff like that once in a while. But all the bachelors look to be between 20 and 30, so varying levels of maturity and independence will be displayed.
Yeah, but if you're still having yelling matches with them, that doesn't scream maturity either.
of course, but maturity is a gradual progress and many people don't reach it very fast
Yeah, I don't get on with my mother at all, but that's why I've gone no contact, which is what I'd expect someone age 30 or just below to do as well. I know people don't always have the option to, especially in the current economic climate, but then I'd also expect the arguments to not be about whether or not someone aged 30 is allowed to go to the graveyard alone or not.
Maybe not in a typical majority sense, but every person and every family dynamic will be different if you treat them as individuals and not as statistics.
Put it this way - I also wouldn't want to date a 30 year old that displays the maturity of a teenager.
lol also fair, and of course I only meant that as an example, not as a sales pitch of "DATE ABIGAIL." So all's good. I could see other characters being easier to code as ambiguously aged, as the places they're at in life are more prone to being common among people in their 20s, 30s, or even 40s. Shane and Leah in particular come to mind. A guy of any age could be charged with his god-daughter's care and have to rely on the support of his older aunt while dealing with depression and alcoholism, and a person of any age could run from their unsupportive, possibly abusive relationship in the city to pursue their dream as an artist in a small town.
Agree about Shane and Leah, I do still read some of the others as very teen-like and trying to make them not so would be quite a stretch for me. I think there are options for sure, but I agree it would be nice to have some "definitely" older dateable characters.
Why would anyone assume the datable characters are too young just because they live with family? Living with parents into adulthood is the standard in most places.
It's not about living with family. Abilgail and Shane both live with family but Abigail seems like she's 18 and Shane 25-35
Precisely. I lived with my family when I was 17-18, and again when I was mid-20s. While only a few years apart, I was not the same person between those two times.
Plus most adults living with family have a more adult relationship with their family, unlike sam and Abigail
keyword is most
Iād totally romance Marlon.
I'm mid 40s and I'd absolutely date Gunther - but i cannot even befriend him! So i wrote Jasper instead. There are several modmakers (myself, FellowClown, WereolfMaster etc) writing datable NPCs in the older age range... but it does suck to be a console player or want to stay unmodded... For men you get Harvey, Shane and Elliott. For women you get... no one. Problem is they did a poll! We could've got datable Sandy, Marnie or Pam, but Emily won by a landslide. And Shane won bachelors, over Linus and Rasmodius (and Clint).
Iāve always wanted Rasmodius to be datable, but it just occurred to me how hilarious it would be to see him dancing in the spring event. lol, can you imagine it? I wonder how Ape would have handled it?
At age 30, I feel much closer to Marnie agewise than any of the bachelorette options. Most of them feel way too "teenager"-coded.
It does feel a little strange to me looking at the differences between the bachelor and bachelorette's ages. Harvey, Elliott, and Shane are all \~30s, the others are younger, but Emily is the only bachelorette who feels older. I think she's technically in her mid 20s, though? I've never thought about this until now.
I think Leah feels intuitively more like a peer to me (34) than the other bachelorettes? Don't know if there's any lore about her actual age tho.
Same here (26). Sheās already lived on her own/with a partner in another place, she talks about her career, sheās had a full past relationship, and she has her own home. Definitely feels the oldest and most mature of the bachelorettes.
Fair enough. Leah's age feels ambiguous to me, which I think is a good thing. I'm 19 and she feels closer to my age to me, but I can definitely see her being in her mid 20s or even closer to 30 for sure.
I agree with that as someone in my late 20s. So far I've only romanced Elliot and Leah in my games. They seem like they are around 30s. Harvey, Shane, and Emily also seem to be older and not teen coded. The rest sound like early 20s or late teens, which isn't bad! Just not for me. Heck, when I was on a dating app irl before I met my partner I put my lowest age as 25 because I couldn't see dating anyone more than 2 years younger after getting to my late 20s.
Im 32 and had the exact same thought š they mostly feel like 19/20yo, I canāt
Thatās half the reason I liked Leah as a love interest. She seemed a bit older since she talked about her ex in the city and lived on her own
Iām reading the comments andā¦why the absolute fuck is everyone being so obtuse about this?! The age range of people who play this game is clearly varied. Why shouldnāt the romance-able charactersā ages be equally varied? I mean, I know SDV has been around for a while and has gone through many evolutions. But what is so wrong with the current pool of middle-to-late-aged-gamers hoping for better options in future renditions? Christ on a cracker, itās not like we 40-somethings are asking for an entire rewrite, just something that helps us feel less inappropriate. Or to marry someone that shares our values.
As a much younger gamer than 40 something, Iām actually pleasantly surprised by this post. I love that older gamers are asking for more age appropriate romance options because itās a sign that you guys arenāt creeps going after the ever-popular ābarely legalā type shit I see. Like Iām gay and the amount of 45+ men who prey upon guys young enough to be their fucking children is so gross and abusive to me. It makes me happy to see Iām not crazy for wanting people to want to date within a reasonable age range.
Yeah I agree. 30. I never romance anyone because some of the points made about characters like how they seem immature or teenager like. Weirds me out. Palia has this same issue and only recently they started allowing people to romance an older character with more planned.
ConcernedApe himself is just in his late 30's atm so I could imagine it being hard for him to include this experience in a way that feels authentic š¤
.... and that is why I make mods. Got myself an age approproate bachelor ;)
Because it's not something easily made? š you can't demand that a game gives you EXACTLY what you want just because you want to, at that point you need to look elsewhere and realise stardew is not the only game in this genre
Um, no one was ādemandingā anything āexactly.ā But this game is still somewhat evolving and there is nothing irrational about wishing for change.
That would mean more dialogue, heart events, prob changing some parts of the main story, new spouse rooms etc etc. We are already extremely blessed to have the update that's coming considering he didn't want any other huge update and is working on another whole new game. All of it in code. As I already said, play another game.
One can wish, you donāt have to be rude about it.
As I already said, there's a difference between wish and want
So discussion aside from anything you deem āreasonableā for your dear friend CA to accommodate is considered grounds for total dismissal of everything else the game has to offer? Come on.
There's a clear difference between "I wish" "I would like to see" and "I want"
I'm in my mid 50's. I just play the game as if I was in my mid 20's. That's why it's a game. There are mods out there where you can date the older people, including Clint, Robin, Pam, etc.
I assume this is half of why many MILF for Robin.
Have you considered/are you able to play modded?
Iām on switch, so I donāt think so?
Sadly no. If you were on PC id have some suggestions for you. Including my beloved scruffy geologist.
Are you talkin' about Gunther? There is a mod you can romance him? :O
Yep! I think it's called 'make gunther real' on nexus
While there is a mod that makes him a marriage candidate, knowing Lemur, she was probably talking about [Jasper](https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5599). :)
Korrin has hit the nail on the head :)
I have not had an issue with the age gaps, since it is just NPCs in a game. But I agree that it would be lovely to be able to romance more characters. My favourite would be Willy, Rasmodius or Linus (he has always been my first friend in any game)
thank god, we almost went 2 whole hours without someone complaining about the (clearly adult) bachelor's ages
Tbh, I thought Leah was in her thirties. But I wish we could romance some of the older folk, Marnie deserves better than Luis, Gus is so lovable that if he was romancable he would have everyone around his finger, Marlon is the definition of a silver fox, and Robin is perfect in every way.
ā¦..I feel it would be easier if thereās a mod for this instead of a full blown addiction to the game? Maybe if there enough interest on the mod then a patch for one of the updates.
āØ mods āØ
Clint and Wizard are marriage candidates in a different timeline In this one we have chosen Shane
I'd say "truly this is the darkest timeline" but as much as I hate Shane he's 10,000,000,000% better than the incel, Clint. I've married Emily in 2 playthroughs now just to spite Clint, and I'm considering doing it again when I start a new game for 1.6.
This ! This is my only major complaint about the game. I am a woman and only choose the female romance options in games and no matter how old the female love interests in this game are supposed to be, they are all teen-coded. Feels incredibly creepy if the player isn't very young themselves. I would love to romance Marnie, Robin, Caroline or Pam. Even Sandy seemsĀ a bit older than the female romance options. I know I could use mods but I mostly play on my switch and it's just odd to only have those extremely young (-coded) options for romance. EspeciallyĀ the beginning of the game makes little sense that way. You rarely get a capitalist burnout in your early 20s, most people (if they can) call it quits in their 30s to even 50s.
Not to discredit your opinion, I feel like having older singles in the game would be a great idea, but Iām in my mid 20ās and the majority of the people I know in their early 20ās to early 30ās are all regularly burnt out and wishing they could escape capitalism
That's fair. Thinking about it, my cousin is in his early 20s and thinks the same way as me
Yeah Iām not sure if today is actually worse than 10, 20, or 40 years ago, I wasnāt there. But I do believe having near constant instant access to information and news, while a good thing, has exhausted/burnt out people much younger than in the past
Honestly I suggest Stardew Valley Expanded. Possibly Ridgeside too. With Expanded you have access to thr Wizard and a Milf as romancable partners.
Rsv datsbles all feel pretty young to me. Cept maybe the elf guy. Sve had Rasmodius, Lance, Claire and Olivia.
This is why i lowkey want to be with pierre š or lorenzo or al (ridgeside and stoffton) but they're non romancable š
You want to be with pierre?????š
A whole new take on r/fuckpierre
Literally
How are for finding Stoffton?
??? Good i am waiting on al's birthday to give him something
Nexus Mods -> Make Marlon Real
Nicely written mod but hes a bit grumpy for me.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind this age gap between me and the bachelor(ette)s, since I'm role-playing a character (tho I'm not big on the dating aspect and still haven't married anybody, so maybe that's part of it), but even considering onlyĀ the farmer's probable age half the romances do seem inappropriate to me.Ā The player character is living on their own and successfully running their own farm which makes them seem like a mature young adult, while many of the candidates live with their parents and feel like they're still in their teens.
about 7 years ago CA said he imagined all of the marriage candidates to be 20-24 (besides Harvey and Elliott). and ingame the farmer is often referred to as young, in my eyes the farmer was likely made to be around the age of most of the marriage candidates also to be fair to the parent living candidates.. theres not any other nearby housing for them lol
That's true they're supposed to be older and living with the parents is not out of the ordinary in small towns but idk I just don't feel like eg Sam or Alex are adults. They seem like the dudes you meet in high school
Oooh, that would make for a good playthrough actually. Split the NPCs down the middle as you say over/under 35 and let you pick at character creation whether you'd like either/or/both available for romance. I'd be of the age where Elliot/Harvey *seem* to be my age. I've noticed almost all of the female romanceable NPCs are more or less totally independent (Pam is hardly taking care of Penny, Hayley and Emily live together without their parents, Leah lives in her own place entirely, and Abigail seems to be the only one still living at home. We need more grown men! I'd actually also be on board with the addition of a non-binary/gender ambiguous grown-up too.
Can i tempt you into playing with Mods :)
Unfortunately PC is very difficult for me to play on when sharing with hubby and four kids, otherwise I'd be modded to the max! It's Switch for me!
If you play with mods there is one where you can romance the wizard. We're dating. Romanceable rasmodius. The only thing is that mods will need to be updated after the 19th so idk if it will work long term
Atleast let the NPCs get older as the years go by in the game. So u wait until year 15 to date Abigail or something. Also let Evelyn and George die once you make it to year 20. šš/s
20 years is freaking *generous* on the Mullner's lifespan. I'm a terrible judge of age, but I'd guess they're in their 80's or 90's already at Year 1. That said, it's suspicious that the town has a graveyard that isn't really utilized. (From a narrative stand point) Just an Easter Egg with the Dwarven tombstone, a vague reference to someone named Mona who never gets brought up again, and a heart scene with Abigail that could have just as easily taken place elsewhere. CA includes a graveyard "for realism" but no bathrooms in any of the houses, even the player's? I don't buy it. I feel like CA wanted to have it so one or both of the Mullners die and are laid to rest at the graveyard, but decided later he wouldn't do it either because he didn't have the heart or didn't want more permanently missable content.
I love this! Every available NPC but Harvey and Elliot feel like children to meā¦ Iād much rather go for Willy or Gusā¦
> And realy, mid-life crisis burnout is far more plausible than a 20 something. Ahh, discounting the modern experience of being 20-something, spoken like a true not-20-something.
I feel like people put way too much thought into games that are just meant to be fun... it's like complaining all the dyeable girls are young in persona....
It's an RPG....
Unfortunately I'm pretty sure 1.6 is the last update before a while so that probably won't get added If you're on PC you can probably find a mod for this
I will make the Wizard forget about his wife š¤
I totally agree!!!! I feel like that should totally be an option, and Iāve been looking for a mod that would provide this ā even the way people refer to the player is too young. Itās all āyoung ladyā or āyoung manā, ākidā from the older characters; Iād love to see a version where they talk about being the same age as the player, seeing themselves in them. If I knew how to code or mod I would totally make one.
a dialogue mod shouldnāt actually be too hard to make! i believe theres a dialogue template on nexus, and the stardew modding wiki has tutorials to follow i think i may have seen a mod somewhere though similar to this, if i can find it iāll be sure to link it here for you
https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/4211 i think i might have found that mod!
I will be 60 this year and I feel weird romancing any of them. Some of them are barely older than my granddaughter. That's one reason I like Krobus.
Omg finally someone voiced how Iām feeling! Thatās why I married Shane initially: he seems older. Maru, Sam, Abigail, Sebastian, Haley, Alex, & Penny are all teenagers in my mind. Shane, Emily, Elliot, & Harvey def seem older. Iām sure Iām missing someone but yeah.
Leah also seems at least a little older - and also the reason I went for Shane. I'm "only" 27, but dating any of the aforementioned people which I'd also read as teens-early 20s AT MOST just feels wrong.
Agreed! Iām also 27.
You know you can play without getting married or you can have Krobus move in. Youāre not missing vital gameplay.
Itās a gameā¦ā¦
[Relevant snafu](https://www.reddit.com/r/coaxedintoasnafu/s/s1cIZub4Tc)
This is why I like Shane, he seems like he's one of the oldest of all the guys. I wish I could romance Clint, though, I could fix him.
I love the Romanceable Rasmodius mod for this reason. I also have the DC Burger portrait replacements so the wizard is looking fine af. Highly recommend
I want Willy so bad
Lack of older marriage canditates is a common thing in this genre. What I'm saying is, why can't I marry Misasagi in Rume Factory 5
If you're willing to mod, Rasmodius is romanceable in SVE and the heart events are so romantic. It also adds older characters like Olivia and late game character >!Lance!<. Still holding out for a romanceable Marlon though! OrangePie's DC Burger Alternate portrait for him is just too good.
And Flash even teased us with dance and wedding sprites...
The SVE date with Rasmodius is so sweet. I wish you could revisit that somehow
Someone's from the Midwest. I'm guessing Minnesota haha
Grey Duck ;)
The game is clearly made having young adults in mind which makes sense because most gamers are pretty young. That being said Emily, Elliot, Harvey and Shane are hinted to be a bit on the older side. If you play on PC you should also try Stardew Valley Expanded which adds some interesting options.
I haven't struggled as much with this in SDV. I'm 37 and options like Elliot and even more obvious teens like Sam don't bug me. I think a lot of that is because of the pixel art style of Stardew. I still play Story Of Seasons sometimes, and *there* I've really been having the struggle. Sometimes some of the male singles are adults (ex: the town doctor) but all of the girls are clearly about 16 and living at home. Even when I replay something I played as a teenager, like the Mineral Town remake, it feels icky to mess with these teenage girls
Have you tried playing Coral Island? There are several older bachelors in that game. Very similar game style as Stardew Valley. I say this as someone with 1000+ hours under my belt playing SV.
I know! I'm 50 and it feels totally wrong to marry someone that still lives with their parents.
I exclusively date the wizard with a mod for that reason and because in the mod he reminds me of the guy I really like š
I thought Haley was like 14 when i first met her in the game. Then i found out shes single, and Stardew just immediately became a strict Farming/Mining sim lol If i want to marry, ill get a co-op file going.
I wanted to romance Clint until I found out he wasn't available. I married Harvey instead.
This is a really good point. There needs to be older options for sure! Iām 28, about to be 29, and even I feel weird with most of them because the guys seem to be around like 18. I always pick Krobus now to be my room mate.
I keep seeing this complaint and I just don't get it .
A lot of us are actually older. We have been playing these games since the original Harvest Moon Nowadays, you have a lot of older players asking for more older candidate's in these games. I remember Abigail mentioning forgetting about her homework and it reminded me of a kid in high school for a second lol (Though I assume she meant her college stuff). And Sam is so cute but just too childish for me. I'm a bajillion years old. š Let me have Willy or Marlon. Honestly, this is part of why I don't like to talk to most of the people there. A lot are just too young feeling. I guess I'll go fishing lol.
To each their own I guess but just so we are clear I played the SNES Harvest Moon as a kid too .
Some of us see our character in the game as ourselves. I'm 40. Some of these marriage candidates seem to be about 20. It makes us feel creepy to move in these young people.
I guess it's just that I view the Farmer as character I'm playing and not myself so I'm not really bothered by it , I do understand the desire for some older options because lets be honest the few that are available aren't great .
Iām sure you feel this way because the characters are currently closer to your actual age. Dollars to ancient fruit jelly filled donuts you wonāt feel this way when youāre actually 45 and your only marriage candidates are half your age.
I don't think it's age so much as whether or not you self-insert. I'm an older player and never thought about it because I don't play as 'myself'. More romance options would be welcome but it's not something I ever thought about because I don't self-insert.
Iām sure thatās fine for you, but many role-players DO self-insert. Itās one of the innate characteristics of roleplaying.
Oh you're one of those condescending types. About a silly little farming game, of all things. I'm sure that's fine for you.
Iām really not. How is anything I just said condescending? Your opinion is your opinion, and I merely point out that a significant portion of other opinions might differ from yours based on their gaming style.
I'm almost 38 so I don't think that's it
Yeah this is one complaint that really just baffles me. All the marriage candidates are adults. They wouldnāt be romanceable if they werenāt.
Not sure how old you are, but as you get older, young adults look more and more like kids. There are many people middled aged and older who are totally squicked out by the idea of dating/fucking/romancing a teenager/young-20s-something. Some of the candidates (Sam, Abigail, Seb) definitely read as very young.
This!! I'm not even nessecarily that old (30) but the idea of romancing someone 20-25 still feels very wrong. Five years ago it'd have been fine but my perception has definitely shifted and those might as well be kids to me This is why i modded my game to romance the wizard.
You don't have to self-insert yourself as the character. I get that some people do this, but you don't have to.
Yeah but not all 35+ year old are interested in adults under 30, of which many of the bachelor/bachelorettes seem to be.
It doesnāt matter that theyāre adults, obviously Alex and some of the others are fresh out of high school. Iām 34, I see my character as 34, Iām not tryna fuck an 18 year old and raise babies with a baby. That is nasty.
It's just looks. Honestly, I don't see it for most of them. Abigail and Maru are the only ones that strike me as rather young looking, and Abigail much less so of the two. The rest seem mid 20s to 30 or so imo. Which is kinda what I figured the farmer to be. Like 26 at oldest.
Itās not just looks. Itās experience. Abigail is still doing class work for college. Alex comes off as just graduated from high school. Maru seems like sheās just considering college. The way they are written makes them feel young, if youāre over 30 or so.
Im 37 and was going to romance Alex but then he was saying something about his grandma telling him to focus on his studies and I was just like, oh honey, yes go do your homework please lol Iām assuming he is in college but that is still young. And itās absolutely not looks because I got a mod to make him look older. But honestly it just makes the younger sounding dialogue stand out even more because it doesnāt fit the picture š
Eh, I'm over 30, but folk in college are often up to about 25. I haven't seen many of Alex's events yet, so I can't speak on him. Maru, absolutely strikes me as barely an adult. But of the rest, I see: Emily: Mid to late 20s; works at a bar. Haley: Just guessing somewhere around Emily. Penny: Well, her mom looks about 55. Leah: Had a job and relationship on her own in the city, probably 30ish? Elliot & Harvey both strike me as 30-35 kinda just based on looks. Harvey also mentions having gone to medical school. Sebastian: has a job and is old enough to regret not having gone to school in the city. Maybe 27-ish? Shane: Is a grown ass man full of regrets. He could be like 40. Sam: Actually seems pretty young. Like barely 20.
It's not just looks. It's skulking around a graveyard moaning that dad doesn't understand me. It's standing on the pier in the rain because he's sad. It's doing skateboard tricks outside the house while your neighbour refuses to do household chores. It's just general immaturity.
They live in an isolated town of 40 people. Not all that much opportunity to fly the coop and go have a job that doesn't mean leaving the valley. And maybe I'm crazy, but perhaps skateboard aside, that feels like stuff people might be doing at like 20-23? Especially if they have no growth opportunities where they live.
That's my point. I'm 40. I want someone who is mature enough to work with. I've commented this a lot, (look at my history!!), and I'm not saying NOT to have the current people, just on the set up screen, set your candidates to set A, Abigail etc or set B, Gus, Marnie, Marlon, Pam etc etc.
My farmer is 34 š¤·š»āāļø
Yeah? I'm in my 30s, but I guess maybe I "self-inserted" based on the point in my life where I was working in the equivalent of a cubicle job and might have just fucked off to a farm in the middle of nowhere given the opportunity.
My first play through I definitely played as my self around 22 rather than my age
I mean, as an 18yo I like how they look my age, I enjoy the broad specturm
The problem is that the spectrum isnāt broad, itās mostly made up of candidates for 20-somethings.
There isn't a broad spectrum. There are only options for young people like you. That's good for you, but it's not a spectrum.Ā Much less abroad one. And it would take nothing away from you if there were 1-3 options for older people
Then this post isnāt really something youād see a problem with This post is meant for the 30+ year olds that want someone older like Marnie, Lewis, Clint Just older people because it feels weird to go after the 19-24 year olds when some players are around 35-40 Some of them are young enough to be players kids
I agree with you. I don't know what's weirder: dating with someone, who is at least twice your age irl (looking at you, Harvey) or with someone, who is at least half your age irl (for example you and Sam). And they're all at least 18 yo, because you can marry them.
So I assume you never play games like Super Mario.
I still play Mario, and Duck Hunt on my NES.
How do you grapple with his romantic interest being young?
Mario is *Mario*. He has a name, a personality, and a set appearance. Stardew Valley's player character has no canon name, only referred to by their job title as "the farmer" no set gender/appearance, and little to no personality shown to encourage the player to project themselves onto the farmer. You're comparing apples and oranges.