Cozy Games Gone Bad - Classifying Wholesome Games - Extra Credits

The weather outside's looking pretty frightful, but you know on days like this it feels great just to curl up with a good mug of cocoa and play something cozy, you know? And look, I don't know if it's the crippling dread of whichever fresh hellscape is currently outside of our windows or that we've really come a long way in games, but it does seem like lately there are more and more options for video games that feel like a warm blanket of coziness. I mean, heck, there's even a showcase devoted to them now. Kind of feels like we could be looking at a whole new genre. Oh, we're going to do this now. Well, all right. I was just getting cozy though. Thanks so much to Curiosity Stream for giving us a bunch of content to cozy up to. Okay, now that we've all been cozyfied, let's try to figure out what exactly are cozy games. Cozy or wholesome games, as they're sometimes called, seem to be a new emergent segment in the game space. From well-established games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley to lesser-known gems like Spirit Farer and Behind the Frame, there are a lot of titles that convey that same kind of vibe. So, if you want to design a game

that feels like a warm fall sweater, where should you start? Well, one place we could begin is with mechanics. Cozy games tend to employ a number of different elements found in simulators, platformers, and puzzle games, but they also have a few similarities throughout. These games tend to be slower-paced or at least willing to follow the pace of the player, kind of like how the way PowerWash Simulator has unlimited water and unlimited time just to clean. And when there are time elements, they do tend to be extremely lax. I mean, Animal Crossing technically has time-based events, but they're small additions to the game. And even if you miss them, there's a pervading sense that there'll always be a tomorrow or a next week or a next year. There's no real punishment for falling behind. And when multiple players are involved, those gentler paces help create collaboration and cooperation. Things like sharing farm space in Stardew Valley or writing kind letters to strangers in Kind Words create a sense of community, which is important to coziness. But, just having easy-going mechanics or cooperative elements don't seem to be enough to create a cozy game. After all, we know of narrative games like Gone Home, which

true, don't have fail states or time pressures, but I don't know anyone who would call it cozy. Not to mention games like Overcooked that rely heavily on collaboration and cooperation, but yeah, cozy it is not. Oop, order up. So, maybe cozy games can't be defined by mechanics alone. That's okay, because if those elements aren't the answer, maybe we can find more common comfy ground in the discussing of narrative themes. Most cozy games have stories or narratives that feel a bit more grounded. And even when there are more fantastical elements like witches or magic, it's usually less about devastating spell combos and more about mundane things like running a potion shop or brewing tea. Also, while the story isn't a traditional power fantasy, it often centers around a different fantasy. That of having space or time for yourself or others. Many farming games showcase this, at least thematically. A dip into the make-believe of escaping the pressure of hectic isolating city life to a literal greener pasture, connected to the land and connected to the community. Even if you know, real-life farming is actually a lot of hard scheduled work, but again,

fantasy. Connection is another common theme in cozy games. Emphasis is placed on social connections to NPCs, connections to locations, or even in some cases, our connection to objects. For example, the game Unpacking really touches on the way objects and homes might tell us stories about the people who live there. And through these themes of building digital spaces and homes for ourselves, for fostering connection and building community, it's also important to talk about cozy games push for inclusivity. A lot of cozy games are brimming with gentle optimism, gaining a reputation for highlighting diverse characters in narratives we don't very often see. In Arthur's experience, he tells me that it's comforting to see people who look and love like him be loved and respected right off the bat. Instead of yet another emotionally heavy coming out story. Because of this, cozy games can feel like an imagining of what our communities could look like, and that's just a wonderful thing to experience. On the other hand, not every cozy game checks off all those boxes. Some have darker themes in side stories and even part of the main story line. Even Stardew Valley, which is often

brought up as a wholesome game, has one romantic route featuring alcoholism and depression. Spiritfarer is a game centered on death, unfinished business, and learning to let go. And of course, Animal Crossing has the 4:00 a.m. music. So, yeah, themes like these could have the ability to turn an experience uncozy pretty quick. So, I don't think it's safe to say that a game with just a nice story makes it cozy or that serious topics disqualify a game from being cozy. Well, okay, if it isn't the mechanics and it isn't the narrative, then where is the one unifying feature that tells us for sure whether something is definitely cozy or not? Well, plot twist, there isn't one. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on. I promise there's still a point to this episode. Hear me out. Remember when we mentioned the G word at the beginning of this episode? That wasn't an accident. But before we dive deeper, we need to note that in the game space, the term genre means different things to different people. For instance, take first-person shooters. Now, that seems fairly easy to define, right? Any game that takes place from a first-person perspective and involves some good running and gunning should fit that bill perfectly. But wait

a sec, does that also include space battle games like Elite Dangerous, which are technically from a first-person perspective and you are technically shooting, but you're also in a spaceship with 360° of movement? So, does that make it a different genre? Now, there are industry professionals, including our studio director and long-time game designer Jeff, who've spent a large part of their career working on the semantics of genre definitions. The word genre in his world has a specific context for data analysis, green-lighting games, and publisher content strategy, and create strict definitions of genre to fit that purpose. But as we all know, genre can be used much more casually. Most folks who play video games rather than design them use the term genre to lump together loose categorical groupings of elements like setting, narrative, art style, and camera perspective for easy conversation. And that's super useful for conveying expectations. Like if I tell you something is a fantasy game, it might not have dragons, but you probably wouldn't be surprised if it did. Whereas if that fantasy game took place in outer space and featured spaceships and laser guns, well, you might be a little

confused or disappointed because that's not something we generally expect from fantasy. Not now, cat. We are already so in the weeds here. And you know what got Arthur thinking about all of this in the first place was the game Boyfriend Dungeon. For those unfamiliar, it's a very cute game about dating weapons and fighting your metaphorical insecurities with said partners. Pretty cozy so far, but as part of the main story line, there's an NPC who stalks the main character. Now, there's a content warning up front for the game, which is great, but seeing how Arthur was cursed by a malevolent spirit to eternally wander the halls of Twitter discourse, he couldn't help but notice people discussing whether that story line should even be included in something that was supposed to be a cozy game. Now, regardless of where you fall on that debate, it goes to show that there was a segment of the audience that had an expectation of Boyfriend Dungeon, and some felt that their expectations had not been met. Which, come to think of it, is kind of awesome, actually. I mean, no, not the disappointment, of course, or the Twitter discourse stuff, which is always wretched, but the fact that there are certain loose

expectations for cozy games means, hey, we may have a new genre on our hands. Thank you, Jeff. And even though it's a bit of a moving target, it's still important to have these discussions around games and genre. A gut check on what those expectations are and how we can push and pull their boundaries. And after everything that's been going on for the past, you know, however long time is a construct, we're just happy to see a group of games that inspire community and connection. But you know, that's just our take on it. A few different ones, actually. What I want to know is what do you all think of when you hear the phrase cozy games? Do any favorites come to mind? Let us know in the comments below, and we'll check them out right after Excuse me, take a take a quick little snooze. Oh, was that on my screen I heard such a clatter I sprang from my nap to see the source of the chatter. And what do my wondering eyes should appear but a nebula star ringing in the new year. Nailed it. Nebula is our by creators for creators streaming service that's home to a ton of our favorite educational entertainers on the internet such as Princess Weeks, Real Science, and

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