The entirety of Pelican Town in LEGO bricks?! This wild idea is a reality thanks to Steve Jenson, a fan of the 2D farming simulation game, Stardew Valley. The 75,000-piece LEGO recreation debut at BrickCon 2024 in Bellevue, Washington. The sole developer and creator of Stardew Valley, Eric Barone, known professionally as “ConcernedApe,” also took notice of the large model. Barone praised Jenson in person, as seen in an Instagram photo posted by Jenson.
Jenson’s LEGO build of Stardew Valley included iconic locations from the game, including JojaMart and the Wizard’s Tower. Jenson built a sign that mimicked the game’s title card to tie the entire map together. The build took over two years, and Jenson had to take some creative liberties with it to accomplish the model to the scale he did. To make the game into LEGO, Jenson imagined what the sides and backs of buildings only shown from the front looked like. Additionally, Jenson converged separate pieces of Pelican Town’s map to create a cohesive build. The video below offers a closer look at all the impressive details in the model.
When asked about his favorite part Jenson told PC Gamer, “the Hat Shop, because I was able to make [it] almost entirely hollow, so you can look through the cracks and broken parts, and see through to more such openings on the other side. Just as a rundown, abandoned structure would be.”
The Nintendo Switch version of Stardew Valley largely influences the color and style of the LEGO Model’s design. Jenson combined different game progress levels and seasons to show elements within their respective stages. All of Jenson’s efforts paid off at BrickCon, where his LEGO build won the People’s Choice award.