Games Decisions

Hey!

Today's reading section dived deep into how to design a COZY game,

Cozy?

coziness refers to how strongly a game evokes the fantasy of safety abundance and softness.

safety: a cozy game has an absence of danger and risk. nothing is high risk and nothing invokes loss or threat.

abundance: all low level needs are being met such as food and shelter, providing space for work on higher needs.

softness: cozy games have strong aesthetic signals that tell players they are in a low stress environment full of abundance and safety. 

Cozy games are made to fulfill needs,

play can be a form of safe practice, a desk worker who wont experience fighting off attackers could practice in a game to prepare him for the future. Cozy games give players space to deal with emotional and social maintenance.

certain aspects that can negate coziness,

-danger, fear, threat,

-responsibility

-phobias 

-confinement

-deception,betrayal,lies 

Why make cozy games?

it feels good to help others, there is an inherent joy to making games that help explore their higher order needs.

Coziness can be player dependent, you cant force coziness on your player but you can try to encourage it. The coziest places may not feel cozy to certain players.

Coziness thrives on authenticity,

the closer coziness gets to a real world situation with real people and honest human pleasures the stronger the impact 

ingredients for cozy aesthetics 

-abundance 

-smooth transitions

-protection and support

-focus 

-mundanity 

-refuge and escape

-human-centric 

-welcome 

-seasons

-ritual

cozy visuals include 

-colors

-light

-natural materials 

-space

-contrast 

cozy audio

-ambient music

sound

-any hint of external threat or danger should be distant

-gentle fire

-non-violent storms

all activities should be rewarding and satisfying, another important aspect is optional activities, a player should never feel forced to partake in an event.

safe rituals,

some player activities can achieve a sense of coziness due to their familiarity.

repeated low risk tasks allow player to relax.

examples

a mundane act of organization or tidying.

a walk down a familiar path.

searching or collecting for diamonds berries or fossils.

Challenges related to making a cozy game 

Emergent extrinsic rewards

-some mechanics may start off as cozy, but later become reduced or compromised as players acclimate to game play systems and seek to min/max them.

cozy monetization

-coziness can be weaponized, because it establishes intimacy an vulnerability, it can used to lower barriers to purchase.

The challenge of too much coziness 

-forcing intimacy 

-lack of dissent 

-not being honest about the stakes or impact of a power differential

thanks for reading !!!