My first interaction with Stardew Valley was when we played the game in discussion. Just simply watching from the sidelines, I struggled to understand why this game was so popular as others have told me. From what I saw in front of me, the player mostly just keeps chopping for items or interacting with the preset characters and other players in the game. These two actions seemed very passive to me as a viewer and even in watching the playing experience of those in front of me, it did not seem like the game elicited any strong emotion or engagment in the player themselves. At the end of discussion, I concluded that the game was boring and mundane.
However, in speaking to some friends who have played the game themselves. They expressed excitement and enjoyment when speaking about their experience in the game. Although I was mainly skeptical at first, I do wonder if it was the experience of physically playing the game that led to such strong emotions. But, even in watching a game like Mario Kart, I would feel more engaged than watching someone play Stardew Valley. Is that then because I have played Mario Kart before? Or is it because Mario Kart provides more visually engaging graphics and actions that simply attract our attention more?
But that's only part of the point. If that is that impact that Stardew Valley had left on me, how did it reach its popularity? If one is not enticed by watching the gameplay but only engaged through actual gameplay, how did people know to commit to buying the game? Perhaps, the co-op aspect of the game somehow lets others experience the game without financially committing while still engaging the players and prompting them to buy their own game. From this perspective, we could say that the co-op aspect of games actually encourages its distribution. Either players get to experience the game before they purchase it, leading to increased exposure to consumers, or players might feel compelled to buy the game to play with their friends remotely.
Ultimately, I'm not yet compelled to buy Stardew Valley, but I'm glad I kind of understand why it's so popular and why others like it so much.