Things I did in the Sims:
* Box in one sim into a room to see how long they can survive by themselves.
* Set various sims on fire.
* Try to get sims to drown in the pool.
* Holding house parties WHILE people are drowning, to see their social scores drop at the horror of dead bodies.
* Try to "summon the clown".
* Try to kill the clown by burning its picture / effigy on top of the fireplace.
Etc. etc.
----------
"The Sims" isn't about "housework". It was about "pretend house", the same toy-houses / Poly-pocket / action figures that we kids grew up with except in video game form.
Just as I imagined fights and killing and battles with action figures as a (younger) child, the Sims offered me a "virtual" version of that, where I can play around and toy with the sims.
I wasn't completely a "Sim Sociopath" (I often made "new saves" when I was in a sociopathic mood). I also tried to reach the top of the job ladders (level 10 jobs and whatnot) and tried to make lots of money sometimes. But not always.
Sometimes, you just want to watch the world burn, and "The Sims" 100% allowed you to mess up the dollhouse's life entirely.
-------
I never got into Grand Theft Auto, but based off of what I've seen in that game... it sounds more like a sandbox game than a 3rd person adventure game. (Where simulated people act "kinda sorta" like a human with social effects, so you can mess around with the world with your own sick, twisted imagination. Or jump off a building with a motorcycle to see if you can reach the other building with enough speed (etc. etc.))
The specialty rule is that there weren't enough beds, so I tried to get them all into relationships so they would share beds with minimal interaction. If they didn't, then some would pass out on the floor.
They all lived a life of luxury with how much money they printed.
You are right, games let us do things you couldn't and they just give you more control.
Sandbox games specifically just let you do whatever you want, from testing to see how long npcs can survive X scenario to making the perfect environment in your eyes.
Thats why my most played game is garry's mod. One day I am putting npcs into a mini world war and the other I am pitting them against a death robot I build.
Its really no different from how most children act, honestly.
Look at the still active mod community, social network communities or youtube communities. There are some goofballs doing extremely antisocial things but the 99% of that community are authentically playing the game and enjoying it as an interior design / life simulator.
I fundamentally believe that game developers ignore female and feminine interests in games to their massive detriment, and games like the Sims demonstrate the massive size of the feminine audience for non-violent and rewarding peaceful games.
Nowadays, there seem to be quite a few kid EdTech startups/solutions which use gaming. This seems relevant, as the interactivity (from the simulations' simulated actions) helps it seems.