Cozy Video Games Are a Lie
Can a horror game like Alien Isolation be cozy? What about Dark Souls? This video explores why the Cozy genre is a lie, and why good game design creates comfort in the most unlikely places.
I also get into the philosophy of meaningful play, intrinsic motivation, and why modern mechanics like Battle Passes are actively destroying the cozy feeling one might seek in gaming.
Games discussed:
Dark Souls & FromSoftware's Design
Alien Isolation & environmental atmosphere
Kingdom Hearts & nostalgic dissonance
Halo 3 vs. Halo Infinite (The Battle Pass Problem)
#cozygaming #cozygames #animalcrossingnewhorizons
Subscribe: / @clickingaming
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Video chapters:
The Cozy Game Lie: 00:00
The Potential for Cozy: 1:11
Tenets of Cozy Video Games: 10:24
Why We Play Video Games: 13:18
Gaming and Need Fulfillment: 18:44
Peace Amidst Chaos: 22:35
How Horror (Alien Isolation) Can Be Cozy: 26:02
Coziness is Player Dependent: 31:46
What Makes Games... Un-Cozy (Halo 3, Halo Infinite): 34:30
Outro: 44:12
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Web sources:
The paper that helped inspire some research: https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/...
Agata Waszkiewicz and Martyna Bakun paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...
(Unfortunately, I wasn't granted access to their paper. I was able to pull their insights from this video: • Agata Waszkiewicz: The Aesthetic of Cozy G... )
https://lostgarden.home.blog/2018/01/...
https://www.yorku.ca/playces/nicksmet...
https://www.polygon.com/23692974/dark...
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/what-ma...
https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Play-Des...
Video sources that weren't credited in-video:
• The Many Horrors of Alien Isolation (I didn't use footage from this, but thank you to this video for inspiring a thought process on Alien's aesthetic coziness! Please check this out, it's an excellent game breakdown.)
• Keynote - Games Are Not Good for You with ...
• Keynote - Good Play with Katie Salen
• Designing Original Games | Daniel COOK
• Agata Waszkiewicz: The Aesthetic of Cozy G...
• Atari 2600 commercial December 17 1977
• The Lost 1984 Video: young Steve Jobs intr...
• Unleashing Houdini for AAA Mobile Games Pr...
• Mountain Cabin Tutorial | Minecraft One Ch...
• Garrus is in the middle of some calibratio...
• MIMIR'S FUNNIEST MOMENTS (God of War Ragna...
• BEST Cozy Games of 2023 (and WORST!)
• World of Warcraft Addict
• Halo 3 TS Perfect Record 50 attempt
• Agata Waszkiewicz: The Aesthetic of Cozy G...
• SGA'15 Conference: Robert Tatnell - Arrowh...
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Intro and Outro music provided by Streambeats by Harris Heller.
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Why EVERYONE Should Play Final Fantasy IV | A Final Fantasy IV Retrospective: • I Played Final Fantasy IV With No Nostalgia
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Playing Resident Evil 2 For the First Time | Resident Evil 2: 24 Years Later - Part 1: • Analyzing Leon A | Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Why You Should NEVER Play Final Fantasy II: • Why You Should NEVER Play Final Fantasy II...
Returnal is STILL the Best PS5 Game in 2022 | Returnal Review & Analysis: • One Of The Greatest Games Ever Made | Retu...
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Follow the channel on Twitter: https://bit.ly/2PLXqyo
Inspired by content from:
@JosephAndersonChannel
@Whitelight
@MandaloreGaming
@TheSaltFactory
@DarylTalksGames
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