With digital entertainment climbing in popularity as the century goes on, especially since 2020, even people that are not typically dedicated players are picking up a genre called “simulation games.”

     Simulation games are typically open world, diverse, and immersive, allowing the player to play a particular character and do activities they would do in their everyday life. It is similar to an RPG (roleplaying game), except that simulators are typically based on real life activities, such as farming, driving, house decorating, or having a family. 

     Junior Emma Cieri found herself enjoying a popular simulation game called Stardew Valley in about 2020 during one of the peaks in its popularity. Stardew is a farming simulator, where the player’s character moves into the old family farm to get away from their corporate job. They are able to farm, fish, cook, or even have relationships with the new townsfolk. 

     “I’m the one person that loves romance, so the ability to have a spouse and kids was attractive to me,” Cieri says, appreciating that even though it’s marketed as a farming game, there are many ways to play depending on the person.

     “There’s no real ‘goal’–you can take your time progressing, getting to know the characters, and just having fun in general,” Cieri continues. She enjoys just sitting down to play and mess around, even if her typical in-game tasks aren’t completed, the game still allows you to do so.

      The visuals and music are another reason Cieri enjoys the game, with the game set in a retro pixelated style with a soundtrack full of calming tunes. “I would play for hours just because I liked the calm atmosphere and soft music, which changes fairly often so you don’t get bored of the same piano tune,” she says.

     Student Isabella Silvestri, senior, enjoys this genre the most, and has been playing The Sims 3 and 4 since elementary school. This franchise has been around since the very early 2000’s, and has been a favorite for many types of people, gamer or not. 

     In The Sims, the player can essentially do anything that can be done in real life: buy a house, get a job, go on dates,  have a family, etc. Players can also create their own custom characters called “sims” and can have up to eight in one household.

     “My absolute favorite thing is to make characters or build houses,” Silvestri says. “I spend hours designing things.” Her dream for the future is to be an interior designer, so she enjoys having The Sims to help her simulate that experience. She says that it helps calm her anxiety after the school day because “it’s so calming to just sit down and design.”