'I just need to disappear, go into a cabin': Eric Barone has found the answer to Haunted Chocolatier's development distractions

Fans have been clamouring for Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone's next game, Haunted Chocolatier, for a almost five years now, and while he's largely kept a lid on its development he has revealed in a recent interview with GameInformer that it's not taking more of his time than Stardew Valley.

"It’s kind of hard to switch gears sometimes, to be honest, but it’s just what I’ve got to do," Barone says. "It’s just another challenge, because I have two games that I’m working on. I just have to do it. It’s not my preference, but it’s just what needs to be done." Barone is now working on Haunted Chocolatier five days a week, with the remaining two being spent on Stardew Valley.

"It’s a lot harder than when I was making Stardew Valley," Barone adds. "I’ll be honest. [During the making of] Stardew Valley, I was a nobody. Nobody knew who I was. I didn’t get fan mail. I didn’t have business people asking me for this or that all the time. I could just literally lock in and work.

"I need to just disappear, go into a cabin, and work without distraction. So it is very difficult and distracting, I’ll be honest, to have Stardew Valley and have people sending me fan mail. I appreciate that people love the game so much. But it is true that it’s difficult to juggle all those things and to be able to fully lock in."

I want people to be delighted by things that are unexpected.

Eric Barone

Hopes have certainly been set high for Haunted Chocolatier, Stardew Valley isn't exactly the easiest game to follow on from. But Barone isn't pulling any punches: "It’s way bigger than Stardew Valley, at least in terms of the amount of maps, the amount of monsters, the depth to the whole item system, and all the equipment slots and all the stuff like this. Everything is cranked up."

But unlike Stardew Valley's cosy farming, Haunted Chocolatier will explore slightly different, more creepy themes. "The ghosts, the haunted nature, the castle, allows for a lot of interesting, creative things that I can do that are kind of creepy," Barone says. "Not totally horrifying, but maybe slightly, you know, creepy stuff. I want people to be delighted by things that are unexpected and that they’re kind of like, 'Wow. Like, I have no idea what’s going on, but I like it.'

"There are other things I want to share, there are other ideas I have, there are other themes I want to explore, just to fully express myself as a creator. So that’s why I feel like I need to make Haunted Chocolatier and beyond. It’s part of my own need to fully express myself while I’m on this earth."

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