What do you miss from old-school virtual pet games?

I grew up loving virtual pet games, but one thing I’ve been thinking about a lot while building Sensipets is what made those worlds feel special beyond just collecting pets.

Was it discovering weird hidden features? The economy? Minigames? Community? NPCs and lore? Just having a little world you could check every day?

Sensipets has grown into a pretty big interconnected world, but I’m always trying to make sure it keeps that feeling of discovery (like with Bands).

What’s something you miss from older virtual worlds that modern games rarely recreate?