Tips for Heart Events - Writing and Narrative Design

When creating Heart Events for a custom NPC, it can be difficult to figure out what to write about or how to structure your story pacing. Like other types of art, the writing in this game has a common style tying everything together - Understanding how the vanilla game approaches writing Heart Events can be a useful part of the process, even if your character's story breaks from the usual path!

NOTE: The steps listed below will not work for every story, and should not be considered "rules". Even the game itself breaks this formula, from time to time!

Heart Event Structure

Generally, Heart Events in vanilla are structured with story beats that are fairly consistent across characters. While the earlier story beats can occur at different Heart Events for some characters than others, romantic developments are often reserved for 8 Heart, 10 Heart (Dating), and 14 Heart (Married) Events.

(It's worth noting that while these can technically be looked at as points in a Three-Act Structure, the game approaches each event as if it were an "episode" in the larger overall narrative for the character, which makes those distinctions less clear.)

The Spark (2 Hearts)

This is the character's "first notable" experience with the Farmer after the initial Introduction. This event gives players a sense of their personality, and is the Farmer's chance to make a good (or bad) first impression.

Recurring Arc Begins (2-4 Hearts)

The introduction of a recurring element of the character's arc, that the Farmer can in some way assist with - Often, a choice made here will come up later! While this usually occurs very clearly in a number of 2 Heart or 4 Heart Events, some characters have more internally-driven arcs with the Farmer during this time. Additionally, a small number of characters (namely Abigail and Maru) will hold off on introducing this recurring theme until the 6 Heart Event, so 2-4 Hearts is not a hard rule.

Examples of this story beat that focus on external character motivations include:

• Sam's 2 Heart Event (Helping decide the band's musical genre)
• Leah's 4 Heart Event (Whether to sell art online or do an Art Show)
• Penny's 4 Heart Event (Helping her clean her house, highlighting her relationship with Pam)

Examples of this story beat that focus on internal character motivations include:

• Haley's 4 Heart Event (After helping her open the jar, Haley begins leaning on the Farmer for help and support in times of need)
• Alex's 4 Heart Event (After overhearing him talk to the dog, he begins to open up to the Farmer about his insecurity and parental trauma)
• Shane's 4 Heart Event (When his depression first shows its visibly troubling signs)

You've Made An Impact (6 Hearts)

At this point in the story a moment occurs where the Farmer can choose to assist the character in a more evidently meaningful way, or where their impact in "Recurring Arc Begins" reveals itself more concretely. This can sometimes also subtly lay the foundation for a potential budding romantic interest in the Farmer.

Good examples of this story beat include:

• Elliot's 6 Heart Event (Hitting a roadblock with his book, and romanticizing the idea of being in your shoes)
• Leah's 6 Heart Event: Part 1 (Revealing that she made a sculpture about you after you gave her advice)
• Alex's 6 Heart Event (Apologizing for his arrogance in his 2 Heart Event)

Alternately, this can be used to interject a side story that fleshes the character out more, as shown in:

• Sebastian's 6 Heart Event (Playing Solarion Chronicles with him and Sam)
• Harvey's 6 Heart Event (Discovering that Harvey goes to aerobics class)
• Sam's 6 Heart Event (Watching him grind some sick rail on his skateboard)

Approaching The Boiling Point (8 Hearts)

As the narrative begins to reach its climax, the character invites the Farmer to share in an intimate, momentous or otherwise important moment in their lives. This will usually cement some sort of more concrete romantic interest or gesture, but nothing so big as to admit love (as this will happen in the following story beat). This can also be a time to show off some of the growth that the character has made since you first met them, reach a peak in their Recurring Arc established in earlier events, or set up for the romance of the 10 Heart Event.

Examples of this include:

• Leah's 8 Heart Event (Either the Art Show or online sale, providing both a payoff for the Farmer's advice in her 2 Heart Event and setting up her ex's confrontation in the 10 Heart Event)
• Shane's 7 and 8 Heart Events (Where he begins to go sober, and shows you the blue chickens he wants to pass on to Jas when she grows up)
• Maru's 8 Heart Event (Accidentally shocking you in what would have been a romantic moment as she continues work on MarILDA)

Love Story (10 Heart Event)

The Farmer and the character spend time together that explicitly leads to a romantic confession. The character makes their admission of love to the Farmer, which can be accepted or rejected. This is by all accounts the climax for this character's story, paying off whatever setup has been established in events leading up to this.

(Every marriage candidate does this so I won't provide concrete examples, but my favorites of these are probably Maru's, Leah's and Sebastian's.)

Happily Ever After (14 Heart Event)

Following marriage, the Farmer and their spouse are depicted in a moment that either brings them closer together, allows a character to achieve their dreams, or discover something that fulfills them more. This is the payoff to the character's arc, and they should arrive at a point of dynamic character growth when contrasted to earlier Heart Events (as those Heart Events themselves brought them to where they are now). Where the 10 Heart Event is the story's climax, the 14 Heart Event is the falling action or epilogue.

Initial Character Brainstorming

Do you have a vague idea of a character, but don't know how to explore it deeper? Try asking the following questions to prompt potential ideas and avenues of approach (inspired by a lot of history GMing for tabletop):

1. What is this character's drive, motivation, dreams, aspirations? What do they enjoy doing?
2. What are this character's struggles, obligations, fears, or weaknesses? What frustrates them the most, and what do they dislike?
3. What is the character's background? Where do they come from, how were they raised? How did this affect who and where they are now?
4. At what point in their life is this character? How close are they to achieving their dreams, pursuing their drive, or overcoming their obstacles?
5. Where do you want them to end up? Do they manage to do what they set out?
6. Do their emotional outlook, ideals, dreams or life path change from where they started? If so, how?
7. How does the Farmer assist the character with their growth over the story, and how much agency does the Farmer have in doing so? Is this help welcomed, and does it help?

Additional Tips, Caveats and Notes

Risks to the above Heart Event Structure do exist, so avoid potential pitfalls when developing your character's story:

• Sticking to this formula too rigidly can sometimes make the characters feel arcs feel too predictable - Don't be afraid to break from this guideline when necessary to give the story some intrigue!
• Focusing too much on the character's defining hobby or personality trait can flatten characters into cliche tropes or stereotypes. This can sometimes even be the case with vanilla NPCs, but looking at your character from multiple angles can help give them depth.
• If it's important to focus on a single recurring theme for a character's Heart Events, consider fleshing the character out more in other areas! Festivals, daily schedules, quests and other dialogue are all avenues to highlight your character's personality and interests.
• Showing romantic interest in the Farmer early on can be beneficial if it reflects the character, but may be odd for players who are married when the event plays (looking at you, Abigail...). Consider the player's relationship to other NPCs in your pacing, and if it's absolutely essential consider making a separate version with a Married/Not Married prerequisite!
• Try to keep Heart Events fairly short (within a couple of minutes), as multiplayer does not pause time during cutscenes. One in-game hour is 43 real world seconds, and a full day is 14 minutes 20 seconds... So use your best judgement!
• Remember... This game is a slice of life story! Allowing for some amount of levity, of joy, and embrace of the mundane can help these stories feel grounded, regardless of how deep or dark the themes they may explore. This is especially important when creating a story centered around dynamic character growth, directly influenced by the player's choices.

And again, none of this is a definitive rule. Writing, like any type of art, is fluid and ever-changing. Heck, I break these rules all the time... But knowing the "rules" is what makes intentionally breaking them fun!