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Why are Games About Mundane Tasks so Much Fun?
by Slogging (Slack Blogging)March 1st, 2022
Too Long; Didn't Read
Video games and real-life rarely clash. Most of the things we merrily do in video games would be incredibly boring in real life. For example, farming is arduous and complex, but Minecraft farming is soothing and simple and can be done in bed at 1 am. Likewise, being an urban planner is a brain-wracking job, yet SimCity is absurdly compelling. In this slogging thread, our community discusses why mundane tasks in games are so fun.People Mentioned
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Video games and real-life rarely clash. Most of the things we merrily do in video games would be incredibly boring in real life. For example, farming is arduous and complex, but Minecraft farming is soothing and simple and can be done in bed at 1 am. Likewise, being an urban planner is a brain-wracking job, yet SimCity is absurdly compelling. In this slogging thread, our community discusses why mundane tasks in games are so fun.
This Slogging thread by Mónica Freitas, Sara Pinto, Jack Boreham, Melissa Brown, Limarc Ambalina and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #gaming channel, and has been edited for readability.
Why are games about mundane tasks so much fun? https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/feb/01/pushing-buttons-why-are-games-about-mundane-tasks-so-much-fun
"It’s rare that video game and real-world interests conflict. Most of the time the things we happily do in video games would be unbelievably boring in real life. Actual farming is arduous and complex and involves horribly early mornings; Stardew Valley or Minecraft farming is soothing and simple and can be done in bed at 1am when you can’t sleep. I would rather defenestrate myself than be an urban planner, and yet SimCity is ridiculously compelling."
Sara Pinto, Limarc Ambalina, Jack Boreham, Abeer, why do you think this is?
Mónica Freitas, oh, that's a fun thread haha. I guess that since you can collect your profits sooner, it's more rewarding playing it. Plus, it doesn't require you to do the actual work.
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Mónica Freitas, there are many examples of this. I don't know about you, but at some point, I found cooking games pretty entertaining. But thinking that I actually have to get up and chop some onions doesn't get me that excited haha.
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Mónica Freitas, it's the same when someone asks you to do something: you're probably going to do it anyway, but now that it really has to be done, you don't want to. It's all fun and games until you have to put in actual work and are expected to do those things.
Mónica Freitas, because I'm a simple person, and like doing simple boring things 😂
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Also, it's just because we just need to click a few buttons not actually do the thing. It's more fun that way.
Sara Pinto, I totally get it! I used to love those basic games where you'd have to prepare a character to go out (choose outfits and all) or where you'd have to assemble burgers - as someone who worked at McDonald's, not as fun in real life 😂
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Sara Pinto, I wonder what sort of mundane games are the most popular...for a while, it was Farmville. Farming never looked so easy!
Sara Pinto, I agree with you. I think the pleasure of doing time-consuming things in such an easy way gives us a different kind of pleasure. It's a bit strange but go figure...
Jack Boreham, isn't making house chores simple? 😂
Boring, yes, but simple. And yet there we go creating games about those same chores... we got issues.
Jack Boreham, but it's just like Sara Pinto said. We like to pretend we can do the activity in the game. It's enticing because then it won't translate into real life.
Mónica Freitas, I enjoy house chores, right Melissa Brown? 😂
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Melissa Brown
Jack Boreham, oh yes, always keen to do the chores before I get home from work - it's your first priority!
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Melissa Brown, spill the tea! I know you're doing the heavy lifting! 😂
Jack Boreham, SHAMEEE!
Mónica Freitas, I would say it's farming games as well. In all fairness, Farmville was entertaining. It was just annoying when people asked for things all the time, haha.
Mónica Freitas The human mind is an intriguing subject. I guess we will never understand, haha.
Sara Pinto, asked for things like coins or something? (never played Farmville)
Sara Pinto, ahahah let's just accept we're all a bit mad.
It's a very weird phenomenon for sure. With games like Bus Simulator, Farming Simulator and Train Simulator amassing HUGE cult followings, there is an undeniable market for this stuff.
One of the reasons could be the fantasy of living out a profession you'll never get a chance to do.
Another reason (which is why I think the Sims is so addicting) is it can give you an outlet to do things in your love life, social life, or career, that you might not normally do in real life.
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Mónica Freitas, I never played it that much as well, but my Facebook friends did 🙃 They would send messages requesting tomatoes, corn, cows, and so on. It was really annoying, hahaha.
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Limarc Ambalina, hum, I see what you mean... it could be that we use these games as a "rehearsal" for life's tasks too.
However, games with mundane tasks lose their appeal to me once you experience those chores in real life. I'm not sure if this happens to everyone or it's just a me thing, but that's when those games lose their "magic."
Sara Pinto, ahahaha, that's actually really funny. "Sara, please send me a tomato, and while you're at it, ship me a cow."
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Mónica Freitas, that’s an interesting question 🤔. I remember in college, a bunch of my friends were obsessed with this game called Papers Please where you played a border-crossing immigration officer and you had to carefully look through their documents to make sure they weren’t expired or falsified and that they were legally allowed to cross depending on which country they were coming from. I remember asking what the appeal of the game was because as far as I was concerned it was basically Work: the Game. What one of my friends told me was that it was a good way for her to do tasks that she was good at with instant feedback and no actual consequences.
Abeer, ah that's a good point. So it's essentially doing tasks you fascinate about free of consequences. This deserved a study...
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