From Fan History Wiki

[edit] Introduction

This section needs more information.

[edit] The Game

The basic Harvest Moon formula has rarely been altered since the first game in the series debuted on the SNES. You play as an outsider (generally a man) who comes to a small town, aiming to take over a run down farm. In addition to planting crops and raising animals, you also befriend the local villagers and usually court eligible bachelorettes.

Some Harvest Moons, such as Save the Homeland and Magical Melody, involve a set goal. In Save the Homeland, you must save the town from development in 9 different possible ways. In Magical Melody, you must collect notes to revive the dormant Harvest Goddess.

Recently, Marvelous Interactive, the maker of Harvest Moon, has released versions of the game where it is possible to play as a female farmer and woo the local bachelors. More Friends of Mineral Town and Harvest Moon: DS Cute are the girl counterparts to previous games. In Magical Melody, you may choose to play either gender in the beginning of the game (with the exception of the European version, where this feature was removed in localization, limiting your choice to the male character only).

There have also been deviations of the main Harvest Moon formula, notably Rune Factory. In addition to the traditional farming and relationships, you must battle monsters to move the plot forward. Rune Factory has become its own series, but is still part of the Harvest Moon fandom.

The upcoming English release of Tree of Tranquility for the Wii and Island of Happiness for the DS is highly anticipated by the fanbase. Fans are especially intrigued by the way the wii-mote will be used to simulate actions like chopping wood and watering plants.

[edit] Terminology

Below is a list of terms and their definitions that are used in this fan community.

AWL - A Wonderful Life

AnWL - Another Wonderful Life

FoMT - Friends of Mineral Town

MFoMT - More Friends of Mineral Town

MM - Magical Melody

ToP - Tree of Peace

IoH - Island of Happiness

Jack is the generally accepted name for the main male character. Jill is the accepted name for the brunette female player and Claire is used for the blonde player. However, their official names vary and many authors prefer to use an original name that they may have used as their character name in-game.

When describing romantic couplings, many fans simply combine the two names into one. For example, a Grary story is about Gray and Mary and a Graire story is about Gray and Claire. There are many other examples of this throughout the fandom.

[edit] Timeline

Below is a partial timeline of events that took place in this fan community.

[edit] 1999

In the winter of 1999, Gamergirl87 created the Harvest Moon fansite, Harvest Moon Farm. [1]

[edit] 2000

On April 5, 2000, Harvest Moon 64: Grudge Match by Jedi 007 became the first Harvest Moon story published on FanFiction.Net. [2][3]
In July 2000, Gamergirl87 did a major update and revamp of Harvest Moon Farm. [4]
In August 2000, Gamergirl87 changed the colors on the site layout for Harvest Moon Farm as traffic to her site increased. [5]

[edit] 2001

In February 2007, Gamergirl87 changed hosts for Harvest Moon Farm. [6]

[edit] 2002

On May 13, 2002, the LiveJournal community harvest_moon was created. [7]

[edit] 2003

On May 24, 2003, La Ultima Esperanza by Gochi Glay Lover became the first Spanish language Harvest Moon story published on FanFiction.Net. [8][9]

[edit] 2004

On April 3, 2004, an English language article about Harvest Moon was created on Wikipedia. [10]
On July 9, 2004, a French language article about Harvest Moon was created on Wikipedia. [11]
On July 22, 2004, Won, the travelling salesman by Aislin Barit became the first Polish language story published on FanFiction.Net. [12][13]
On August 15, 2004, a German language article about Harvest Moon was created on Wikipedia. [14]

[edit] 2005

On January 2, 2005, O Amor de Mary by FireKai became the first Portuguese language story published on FanFiction.Net. [15][16]
On June 14, 2005, Les évadés de la prison de Godérak by Foxmccloud118 became the first French language story published on FanFiction.Net. [17][18]

[edit] 2007

On January 30, 2007, Vergissmeinnicht by Hau-mich-Blau became the first German language story published on FanFiction.Net.
On May 27, 2007, a Portuguese language article about Harvest Moon was created on Wikipedia. [19]
On July 22, 2007, Going Under by mizz_neko became the first Harvest Moon story published on FanLib. [20]
On August 22, 2007, the FanFiction.Net forum The Village Square was created by The Scarlet Sky. [21]

[edit] Kerfluffles

This section needs more information.

[edit] Influential communities

Ranch Story, formerly Evergreen, houses a popular HM forum.

HM Otaku is a site for game information, fan art and fiction, and forums.

Harvest Moon Farm also serves as a fansite that houses fan fiction and art.

[edit] Influential fanworks

This section needs more information.

[edit] Fandom members

See Harvest Moon fans.

[edit] Fandom size

It is a medium sized fandom, with several large fansites, including Ranch Story, HM Otaku, and Harvest Moon Farm and many devoted fans who have been playing games in the series since the original SNES game or its sequel on the N64.