In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Craftlands Workshoppe in the following lists:
Video games and work don’t usually go together. Not, that is, unless you work in the video game industry. The
Safe In Our World charity addresses this world of work and video games to foster positive mental health wellbeing and deliver support for players, developers, publishers and retailers.
“The worlds we create are a refuge for many,” they say about video games, to highlight the importance of also looking after those people who make these amazing spaces. They have some excellent resources available for free and global helplines for a range of emotions and stresses people might be feeling, not to mention some great training resources for companies. Most recent is their
Level Up campaign that challenges businesses within the video games industry to unite and commit to change.
The games in this list offer space to reflect and escape work for a while. But not only to get some distance, but to play something that shines a light on why we do what we do. Some address the world of work directly, while others enable us to consider our choices about how we spend our working hours.
Whether it’s escaping for a lunchtime walk with
A Short Hike. Trying to manage crunch time with
Going Under, or not succumbing to Tom Nook’s invitation for ever bigger mortgages in
Animal Crossing, there are lots of games that can help us find some balance.
Other games, like
Coffee Talk and
Neo Cab help us consider the people we serve at work. This might be conversations with customers, but also the other people we work with in the office or workplace we find ourselves in. Like the game
Good Job encourages us to do.
Then there are games that make us aware of our co-workers. Whether it’s collaborating to identify and store stock in
Wilmot’s Warehouse or getting the furniture into the van neatly in
Moving Out, how we work together and treat the people around us is important.
Video games are often thought of as turning children into small cogs in a machine. Unchangeable, uncreative and demanding repetition of players. However, there are many games that offer players a chance to be the creators, inventors and instigators of some of the most marvellous machines.
This list offers games picked out with the help of Alom Shaha, Physics teacher, author of
Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines and father of two. His book offers playful projects that teach about the centre of gravity, toroidal vortexes, smoke-rings and electromagnetism. The games here mirror this combination of wonder and hands-on science.
Some of these, like
Stormworks, offer a way to experiment with the physics of fluids and gravity. Others, like
Townscaper, are a way to see the impact of the built environment. Then there are games like
Chicory: A Colorful Tale, that invite players to bring a world to life with paint.
The overlap between real world messy-craft and these games can be through the inspiration of making things. But also, some of the games (like
Tearaway) let you download templates to cut, stick and make the video game characters in real life.
Many games let you create your own items, object or levels. But some are specifically designed for you to do this in order to attract characters and visitors to your creation in the game.
Whether it's the perfect garden in
Viva Pinata, the ideal visitor island in
Animal Crossing or the most thrilling ride in
Planet Coaster, these games are fun because they combine creativity and management.
Then there are games where your attractions are more understated. The ideal home and live to keep your
Sims happy. Or maybe create something that doesn't impact the environment negatively like in
Eco.
Whatever you create, as well as attract characters in the game, the creations you make are ideal to share with other people (parents and carers maybe) to show them what you've been doing.
Video games are usually thought to be about fighting, shooting and adrenaline. As regular readers will know, there are video games about everything. Recently I've been noticing games that combine the stewardship of the land and the nurturing of resources.
These games, like
Animal Crossing, present an "ambience of bucolic" and a "reassuring mix of the pastoral and the industrial," wrote
Simon Parkin recently. They offer an escape to simpler times, that provides meaningful work along with the possibility of also working at friendships.
The games collected in this list each offer the chance to escape and absorb yourself tending to a plot of land and nurturing often surprisingly moving relationships. Whether you are diligently cleaning someone's empty flat as in
Sunset, setting up a farm after retiring from your adventures in
Littlewood, reconnecting with grown-up children in
The Stillness of The Wind, nurturing a musical garden in
Mutazione, establishing a coffee shop in
Coffee Talk or even eeking out provisions while you care for children in
This War Of Mine all these games have something to tend to and people to get to know while you do it.
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