As a game developer I'm curious to know if there are any games with crafting you've played that you enjoyed? (For example, blacksmithing in Ultima Online is pretty simple but was fun because of the MMO/community aspect. I wonder if there are any games with more involved steps you appreciate?)
No, I don't get any satisfaction crafting things in games (and that goes back to Ultima III which I was playing around the same time I started making armor).
For example right now I'm playing Diablo IV wandering around finding stuff to make more powerful weapons, and it does nothing for me. It's entirely about the physical details of making a thing with my hands.
Which is funny because I hated to play D&D with people "by hand" while I loved when the computer was the DM.
Chiming in to say that "crafting" in games is really just a game mechanic for me, and gives me zero satisfaction. I also dabble in game dev on the side, and whilst some of my favourite games do include crafting aspects, I see it for what it is, which is a way to artificially extend the length of the gameplay experience as necessary.
The older I get, the more substance I want from my games. If it's short and sweet, just a few hours long? Great. Better than padding it for sixty hours rinse-and-repeating busywork. I can take the hours I would have spent on the busywork and instead put it into something productive, or other games.
I love making things, always have done, and it's not something that you can really capture in a game.
Not OP, but as a person who likes to make stuff with my hands and also enjoys video games, these are a few games with crafting mechanics I think are pretty decent:
For mobile: Stardew Valley crafting is very good. It’s simple and satisfying but still complicated enough not to be boring. Ocean is Home is a less popular game, but also has pretty good crafting although the amount of resources needed can sometimes make it a bit grind-y. But you can build a lot of stuff through crafting including walls, roof sections, etc to build a house, as well as make weapons, backpacks, and a huge myriad of other items. It’s almost like a more realistic Minecraft.
For VR: Song in the smoke has a physically realistic crafting mechanism that is both simple and satisfying. It’s very immersive without it being too labor intensive. Township Tale is also a game with realistic physical crafting mechanisms but can be a bit tedious at times (although I’ve only tried out the game a few times, so my impression could be off).
For console games: While not the typical type of crafting, I think Elder Scrolls Oblivion has a very cool method for crafting potions, enchanted items and spells. It is very customizable, and the way it is designed makes you want to play around with coming up with the best potions and spells, etc. It’s on the more complicated side of things and there is a bit of a learning curve, but the amount of possible new spells, potions and enchanted items you can craft is basically endless.
These are just examples I could think off the top of my head, but hope this gives you a bit of insight.
