The Cozy Games Controversy - Extra Credits - Game Design
Added 2021-12-14 18:31:00 +0000 UTCCurling up with a cozy game like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, or Behind the Frame for the holiday? Come to think of it, what makes these wholesome games so cozy in the first place? Is it the narrative or theme? Maybe the mechanics, or connection you feel to people and characters? Join in on our discussion as we go behind the game design and explore the cozy game genera.
An let us know in the comments what your favorite cozy game is! Our current fave has to be Animal Crossing.
Comments
That's a great idea! I'm going to have to do that myself!
Extra History
2022-01-31 20:30:59 +0000 UTCI've been able to play Sid Meier's Civilization 4 with war simply turned off. That was cozy. And I've even had games of Civ 6 where there was no fighting, just building. There was even one game wherein none of the AI powers even went to war with each other, and they left the city states alone, too.
Bill Lemmond
2022-01-31 01:11:22 +0000 UTCCozy and Puzzle games are totally my jam. After work, I usually want to relax and play a game rather than get worked up with something adrenaline-driven or exhausting with long gameplay hours. So cozy games seem to fit well between work and family life for me too.
Extra History
2021-12-17 02:30:54 +0000 UTCI love Cozy Grove so much! Like a lightly goth version of Animal Crossing with more story involved. I also liked the cut-off point so I wouldn't play too far into the night.
Extra History
2021-12-17 02:26:52 +0000 UTCWhat a perfect example! I love playing Borderlands and usually dislike the majority of FPS. However, Borderlands always felt like everything was centered around the how and why things were happening. It gave me a reason to play a style of game I consider bland in most cases.
Extra History
2021-12-17 02:24:41 +0000 UTCI've been enjoying Cozy Grove.
Jennifer Wilson
2021-12-15 20:11:04 +0000 UTCWhat I consider to be a cozy game is one where I can take my time, there’s no giant clock ticking, and in some ways it’s just relaxing yet goal-oriented. Some are kinda strange: there was one that gave you an inventory of mirrors and other reflecting/refracting surfaces, there was a laser or two or three, a target or some other goal, and you had time to think things through and plan for how the laser would end up hitting the target. Incredibly boring to many, but for me it was fun, thoughtful, and pleasing. Another was something called “bubble tower defense” or similar, and there was a string of bubbles/balls moving along a track. The task was to prevent the balls from getting through their path by placing towers and laser cannons (or whatever) in different locations and seeing how things evolved. Rarely anxiety provoking as the scoring was subtle and there really wasn’t a time limit. Both of the above were simple graphical games, no story line, yet hugely satisfying. Sure, ultimately you won or lost, but it wasn’t calamitous. Both easy to play nearly one handed on the phone, and no long term ramifications from continued losing or winning. If you really were interested, there were some good statistics available, but it wasn’t in the face. One game I really liked hugely (ran on the PC) was Rail tycoon, a world-builder type game where the goal was to build out a rail empire before the computer’s own AI characters were able to do so. I think I still have the CD for that program, and last time I checked it works on my current pc. Simple games with simple rules, no violence, some competition, but not completely heartless. Cheers - Jon Phoenix
Jon Adams
2021-12-15 19:06:22 +0000 UTCWhen it comes to the discussion of Genre I have really only one thing to say that I'd like to see discussed some day. I'm going to use a specific example here... Borderlands. I see it as an RPG with minor FPS elements because while technically it is in First Person perspective and there is a lot of shooting, I find that leveling up, spending skill points, and finding new gear matters WAY more than my level of skill. But nearly everybody I talk to about the series argues that it's a FPS first with minor RPG elements. Not sure how much discussion there is to be had here, but the way I see it, either "cozy" can be described as a genre purely at one's own discretion and so genre is meaningless... OR we should have an episode about what makes a game belong to any given genre. At what point does it truly cross from having elements to actually being in that genre
Kevin Bartelen
2021-12-15 02:47:29 +0000 UTC
