Eliciting Affective Responses Through Sentient Encounters in a Farming Computer Game

Lee-Ann Sutherland's study examines how the farming game Stardew Valley generates affective responses through its sentient encounters, using non-representational theory to analyse how players emotionally engage with the virtual rural world. Drawing on more than 200 hours of gameplay, forum discussions, and developer interviews, the author argues that the game's design produces two overlapping "worlds of affect." Livestock care involves routine, daily interactions tied to productivity and financial reward, which cultivates a sense of responsibility for animal welfare, while human encounters with villagers are sporadic, discovery-based, and emotionally more complex.

The central finding is that the game's livestock mechanics, including daily care, a "happiness" heart meter, and delayed financial returns, build emotional attachment in a predictable and safe manner. The sanitised, routinised design yields affective experiences that are comfortable rather than challenging. Animals are treated less as sentient beings than as productive game pieces, though they remain sources of affection for players.

Community encounters, by contrast, require more planning and offer delayed but personalised emotional payoffs. Villager friendships, governed by a ten-point system tied largely to gift-giving, unlock cut scenes addressing alcoholism, depression, and homelessness, which the author presents as moments that complicate the game's otherwise idyllic framing. The study concludes that the game reinforces idealised notions of rurality, with the farm functioning as a restorative "bolthole" from urban life, while also challenging these notions through its community narratives. Its analysis draws on rural geography, animal studies, and game studies, and cites the game's reported sales of over 10 million copies by January 2020 as evidence of its wide reach.