pastoral monotony, "Stardew Valley," and gameplay feedback loops

My preference for those farming-simulator games comes and goes--typically I get pretty fixated for a month or so, and then I stop playing for a while. But recently I went to a Stardew Valley concert, with a full orchestra performing the soundtrack. I had a great time, but more importantly, it got me thinking about that game again (and caused me to want to start playing again too). I started thinking about farm simulators, and even other simulator games. There is a draw to them--especially in Stardew Valley's case. Simulator games are extremely popular, and I've never really thought deeply about why.

https://www.stardewvalley.net/, Players harvesting different crops in fall.

The question that I find myself asking is, why play a game about something you could easily do in real life? Farming games like Stardew Valley, or other simulators like PowerWash Simulator, House Flipper, even The Sims is a simulator of real life. And yet, these titles are immensely popular.

My immediate answer, and the reasoning that immediately comes to mind, is satisfaction in the gameplay loop. In Stardew Valley specifically, it's very satisfying to watch your crops grow, to harvest product, and sell it. All that work is cycled back into the farm, with more buildings, better tools, and bigger farms. Unlike the other games I listed above, Stardew Valley has the added benefit of a loose storyline. There are characters the player can interact with--a whole town of people acknowledge the player's actions and their impact. You can improve the town in a very direct way, and that kind of influence can feel pretty fulfilling.

My next answer would be a sort of longing, due in part to the digital age. I mean, it's pretty ironic that a video game about farming is this popular. Perhaps I'm only speaking for myself here, but I would like to think that most people playing this game partly wish their own lives were this simple. Just wake up, watch some TV, water plants, run to the store, maybe go fishing. Then you go back to your cozy little farm, curl up in bed and sleep.

But comparing those activities to real life, they can seem pretty arduous--farming isn't nearly as easy as Stardew Valley makes it seem, even if it is fulfilling in both cases. This game plays through rose-tinted glasses, and I think that's why people like me keep coming back to it. Stardew Valley romanticizes this sort of pastoral life for those that might not live it. For a game (somewhat) grounded in reality, the game is a fantasy, an escape. Even in the events of the game, the reason the player character goes to Stardew Valley is because they are fed up with their office job. Even the player character was longing for something else, something simpler--and perhaps that connection is what solidifies this romantic view of the pastoral throughout Stardew Valley.