A strange little side quest
Stardew Valley may feel immediate, but the ideas around simulation games have been evolving for a very long time. M.U.L.E. arrived in 1983 with multiplayer competition built around gathering resources and keeping a colony alive, an early example of resource-driven strategy play. The surprising part is how quickly the next milestone followed. Space Invaders, released in 1978, helped push video games into mainstream popular culture. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
