Hi.
So, this is a rather wild idea, but I think it could actually work. This is actually going to directly address some taboo subjects, including Ulti-May Ayer-Play, but let's quickly move on and hope EmeraldPlay didn't hear that when they were reading. ;-)
Basically, make a prequel game. It could be one of the earliest explorers of the Far Far Range, possibly someone who was a mentor to Hobson or Thora. Think "Slime Rancher: Retro Chronicles!".
And... and this may blow up the thread faster than multi player...
Make the prequel a retro-style RPG Maker type game, in a similar vein to Stardew Valley.
I know that it totally contrary to the "jumping into a ball pit" idea behind Slime Rancher, but give it a little thought.
First, the retry style RPG's can be an excellent medium for story telling. Besides Stardew Valley being an excellent example, there are also games like "To the Moon" and "OPUS: The Day We Found Earth".("OPUS: Rocket of Memories" is supposed to be excellent as well.) The people behind Monomi Park have proven that they can write a story, and there is already fertile ground that can be tied into Slime Rancher.
Second, if it is designed through RPG Maker or something similar, it could be easily opened to modding. With the teleporters, it would be easy to splice in fan-created areas. An old post of min here (
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4673&p=35547) was the idea for a "teleport nexus" that could be used to add new areas, official, DLC, and fan made. Of course there would be the caveat that if you use mods, your on your own. The game could also have "Original Mode" which contains only the official story and content, and "Open Mode" which enables modding support, so players could do whichever they wished, or do both in parallel. I think everyone can see that there is a lot of creativity in the fan base. An Original Mode setting would preserve the artistic vision of Monomi Park, while Open Mode would let players run a tweaked to downright messy game at their own risk. Someone with RPG Maker (I think there is still a free version) could see their wiggly vision of their own ideas appear in the game.
Third, this could potentially have a multi-player mode. With a retro game, it would be entirely possible. Granted, it would not be the Splatoon free-for-all some would like, but it could still be fun.
And, just as an aside, it could also be real cool if Beatrix finds an area that relates to the retro prequel. Perhaps it could be an old, dilapidated farm with one or two salvageable ranch plots. Add to that a damaged silo and damaged computer, and have the Slime Rancher game read the Retro save game. As different milestones are reached, the computer Beatrix sees could have old journal entries recovered, told by that character years later before he/she leaves their ranch. Late in the Retro game, the silo Beatrix finds could be slowly repaired, and each of the four silos (or perhaps the old models only have two, or two or three single-silo structures) is eventually restored containing a few fruits/vegetables or even plorts of plants and slimes that have become extinct, or are from a distant part of the Far Far Range. (The Retro character gets lots at sea, and captures Squid Slimes. Stuff happens, and a trigger is met. In Original Slime Rancher, Beatrix is notified that the ranch computer has repaired a silo, which ends up containing a few Ink Plorts, that she can feed to Water Slimes and turn them into Squid Slimes. Something like that.)
And the big question... Why?
First off, more Slime Rancher! We see a small slice of a much larger world. There is a lot of history, and there could be other stories to tell. A prequel could expand the narrative while leaving Beatrix's story intact.
Second, I really have absolutely no doubt that Monomi Park could make an excellent retro game.
Third, it would be a "best of both worlds" scenario. We would have the ball pit fun of slime rancher. The retro game would be a more fan-interactive outlet. Modding could add player ideas, and multi-player would be much easier to implement. We could have our Cake Slime and wiggle it too!
To close, I do want to say that I know this would not be a quick or frivolous undertaking. I know we all cannot just clap our hands, fart three times, and it will appear in a poof of pixie dust. This idea hit me a few weeks ago, and the more I think of it, the more I think it would be a good idea. (Granted, I could be wrong, and I'm expecting that explanation soon.)
Thank you for your time. Stay wiggly!