How To (Accidentally) Make A Cozy Game

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🔖 CHAPTERS
0:00 - Intro
1:14 - Oh... I'm Making A Cozy Game
3:53 - What's new in the demo?
5:30 - The funny bugs you found
8:22 - Adding new characters and building a castle
⌨️ Chat Night Stones & Gamedev on Discord 👋
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Night Stones is a cozy open world game. In this episode, I describe my realization that I'm making a cozy game even though it doesn't play like Animal Crossing, Dreamlight Valley, or Stardew Valley (but it is like A Short Hike).
🎬 Video Editing and Music Composition by Jonathan Oster 🎵
www.jonathanoster.com/music
#cozygames #devlog #openworld #indiedev

[@OandCoGames]

"That's not a bug, that's an intentional thing." PREACH. Seriously, intentionally leaving cheese in the game is genuinely a solid design choice.

[@advancenine]

Thanks for the validation. Honestly seeing A Short Hike completed in 3 minutes changed my entire perspective to issues like this...

[@SuPeRNinJaRed]

Agreed! Honestly the beauty of cozy is you can play however you want, wanna clip through trees and ladder jump on top of a roof, go for it! O feel like there is no “cheating” in cozies you’d only be cheating yourself (if you think of it that way anyway)

[@ryanjdevlin87]

@@advancenine things like this will keep people playing your game for years ! very good choice

[@popsters_]

when a player attempts to fly out of bounds, similar to the storm in the water, you could have a big gust of wind that blows them back!

[@emperor8716]

yep!

[@GReimerGaming]

I’m responsible for Bugs 2 & 3 lol. Really loving this game so far!

[@advancenine]

Dude I had to get your laugh in this episode! It’s infectiously amazing :) I liked highlighting our “battle of wills”

[@willgray1090]

Definitely a cozy game! I'd retexture the robots though if they're supposed to read as stone. Right now, they read as metal robots.

[@advancenine]

I like that. That’s super helpful feedback. Thank you so much!

[@anomalina7860]

I was gonna say the same thing... the Oracle Walkers don't look "of" this world, they look like Gizmo-Duck or somethin'

[@Pengiiii2]

WOAH THIS NEW CHARACTER ART IS AMAZING!!!

[@advancenine]

Really? Oh I’m so glad you think so. This is the tip of the iceberg. There are some REALLY cool new character models showing up soon :) thanks for the kind words!

[@k12moyo]

10:27 I should what!? I SHOULD WHAT!? Lol

[@shawns4354]

You should buy 10 copies and share with your friends and family....??? Lol

[@advancenine]

@@shawns4354 THIS! This is right answer lol

[@stray1239]

10:14 THE STICK IS OUR SAVIOR

[@advancenine]

Hahahaha! I love writing dialogue like that! Thanks for catching it!

[@skandev1921]

Been following for a while , the new graphics ( logo , steam page picture , ui) defiently gave the game the right identity , everything is coming along really nicely , Well done!

[@myrrysmiasi4866]

You really seem to be growing, both when it comes to game dev as well as in front of the camera :) it's really nice to see! I'm a big fan of the story of the stone golems that mindlessly expand an abandoned castle because they haven't been instructed to stop :D

[@advancenine]

Yo! This means alot to me because I HATE being in front of the camera so much. So this comment means a ton to me. Thanks for being so cool.

[@nkish]

I really enjoy that you’re including the bugs in your videos! Those are entertaining.

[@hamzahgamedev]

What a legendary game this is. It inspired me to make my own cozy open world game and make devlogs about it! Super excited for Nightstones and I REALLY can't wait to play it! 💖💖

[@MiruuuDraws]

This look amazing! I've been following your progress since the first gamedev and I'm truly impressed! At first as I saw you using all these preexisting assets, I thought the game lacked uniqueness. But now it's starting to take a really interesting shape. Slowly and steady the game is finding it's own voice. Congrats!

[@13x666]

Now that the character is customizable, there's a fun new challenge: dealing with conjugation based on grammatical gender in other languages, yay :D I love following this project so much. Great progress, congrats!

[@advancenine]

Hahahaha! That was one of my resistances to doing this. Then I remembered I always call the player “Traveler” until the very end. Lucky break! I did have to find multiple jump sounds though :)

[@13x666]

@@advancenine Hmmm! That might help in some relatively rare instances, but it doesn't really solve it. E.g. in Ukrainian (and other Slavic languages) "when I was little" - a line from the video - definitely changes depending on the gender of the speaker (unless the translator rephrases it to be something like "back in my childhood"), as does any first-person verb or adjective really. Any word in agreement with "you" would also have to change depending on the gender of the addressee. And even the word Traveler would still need to change, ideally. So yeah, something to look into :)

[@advancenine]

@@13x666 omg you’re right! I speak Spanish which has masculine and feminine adjectives and I didn’t even see it. YIKES!

[@lucbloom]

Good luck! You can have optional _m or _f translations in you text database that the game looks for based on gender. If it’s not there, it picks the id without the m/f append.

[@lucbloom]

Another option would be to say; “ever heard of cross-dressing and gender fluidity? Hello?! It’s 2024! Traveler always identifies as he/him” ;-) jk don’t do that :-)

[@afirstlovelost]

As an inspiring dev and watching your videos since the 3 dev log. I'm so happy you figured this out and been transparent about your shortcomings. I hope this will help me and others learn more!

[@Selrisitai]

Did you mean _aspiring?_

[@k0cc425]

I was surprised when you remarked that the oracle walkers were made of stone - definitely gave metal vibes to me with the bluish tint; perhaps something to do with the animation as well, as it reminds me of those ever-so-common robots moving about on a single wheel.

[@morning_marie]

Love that you added keepsakes and character customization

[@ashleykettle343]

I love this art style! I do think the terrain could use actual cliff meshes rather than just the texture. I think this would really make the environment pop and read a little bit better. Great stuff mate!

[@airyspaw]

Yay update! I am glad you are still working on this game. I can't wait for it to come out!

[@m4r_art]

I'm glad you're making your project into a reality. Young people have no idea how complex it is to actually follow through on your ideas in game design with all the daily tasks life has for you. Once you're done with the project you should consider making a course about making a game from no skill to platform release. It would be a good way to you to backtrack on the process and in the same time teach others what it takes to make it happen.

[@foldupgames]

That's very funny. Realizing there's an existing category for what you're already making helps you lean into established tropes or subvert them with intent.

[@cryingwatercolours8127]

2:13 i found a design document for cozy games and it was crazy, these students made this whole theory on what makes a cozy game and it’s awesome

[@advancenine]

Really? Hahaha. I have to see this... any chance you could send me the link?

[@Cxrsed_rl]

you gotta make this a rogue like bro with perks and stuff, would be sick

[@thaumaticpig]

I always love your alpha tester clips, lol. Can't wait until I get my own game to a stage where I can release a pre-build for people to break

[@ChillinWithTheCapuchins]

Super cool to see how things are progressing! My favorite feature of my favorite cozy games like A Short Hike and Lil Gator Game, is that they are NEVER frustrating. And I don't just mean well designed but just that the games never do anything negative to the player. There is no fail state, no death, no health, no way to lose progress. I find these games to be so refreshing because I'm just free to explore and find all the nooks and crannies and hidden secrets without worrying about any consequences or skill. Providing a challenge is one way to make a game fun, but making moment to moment gameplay interesting is another great way to make a game fun. And I think that is part of what draws so many people to cozy games.

[@Thaneye1]

Please take all the time you need to finish your game the way you envision it. I have been following from your first video and the progress is amazing. Do not rush to release it. We will wait and we will be there to buy it when it's out. Kudos

[@Gnomable]

Kinda wild you got this far without realizing the genre of the game. I love the bug showcase. I really like the new character options!

[@advancenine]

Wild is a word for it. Not smart is probably a better description though lol

[@ponodude101]

Great stuff as always! I loved the demo when it first released, am so excited to get back into it with these new features, and can't wait for the full release! Also, I love your embracing of silly nonsense exploits as not being bugs, but in fact being "for speedrunners". Amazing! Please never fix these! Love it.

[@LavxaGames]

Congrats on the feature! Love this journey

[@lucbloom]

Thank you for customization!!! My daughter will love it!!! Thanks for listening to this and other requests. Like the camera movement and the box carrying exploit.

[@CozyToni]

I am so excited and cannot wait to play this game! Great job!! 👏🏽😊🎉

[@ChinnyD]

I've been silently following the progress of this project for close to a year and I'm always impressed with the updates but wow it's really coming together now! Congrats on finding the cozy genre and it doing so well so far. Excited to play one day!

[@generrosity]

The ui and logo are CRISP and look fantastic! The crisp lines of the fireball sigil on the ground also is a great pop of detail in the softer world 👍

[@HomeCode]

Always appreciate the updates! Can't wait for the game and I really hope it really is the game YOU wanted to play because that's the game I want to play 😊 going to play the demo for the 3rd or 4th time tomorrow 😊

[@youtubewatchlist]

I'm am going to check this out. Great video-especially at the end. LOL

[@Nounsi_Dev]

Woah this game has come so far and im all here for it

[@kipporah]

Nice loving the looks and the game dev's are incredibly creative.

[@cryingwatercolours8127]

8:32 thank god!!! omg i was praying for this one! not being able to play as a girl would have caused a lil disconnect for me personally but being able to customise it would be even better! it’s been really frustrating with kickstarter games recently, making the ability to play as a female a fund raising goal…

[@advancenine]

Thanks for validating! You can thank my nieces for helping me see the light. But as soon as I saw the girl in the game, I realized it had to be this way. The girls look so good in the game! #girlpower

[@unspi554]

Amazing work, nice new character. That so cool that you get more visibility with the cozy genre !!!

[@N0AHL0C0]

I remember watching your first dev log since then your game has really grown it looks amazing !!

[@CyberStudios]

Keep it up :D. Routing for you all the way

[@advancenine]

Really cool thing to say! Thank you!

[@andygeers]

I love watching your videos, and this was is such a joy. Your bug section is always so fun to watch - LOVE that battle of wills!

[@K1ngWerth]

One thing I'll suggest is toggling the collission of the trees on and of when the plalyer is walking and flying

[@Eriyvi]

The world is so agitated that a cozy game is all what a gamer want to play nowadays to get out of stress and have fun at same time! I played "A short hike" and i loved it soo much and your game devlog and trailer of "Night Stones" gives so much coziness and adventure, everything i love in a game :D Btw, the new feature of customize our character is top tier!!

[@lillyblackblood]

I feel like there should be some feedback on the fire. Just running into an invisible wall is weird.

[@shawns4354]

Agreed, a stagger back animation would be nice.

[@xaph1]

Can you do a video/vlog series about your modelling journey too? Im guessing its in Blender, but Id love to see you in action, coming up with and creating your ideas. You are doing a great work!

[@egretfx]

i would change the UI panel designs for dialogue and stats to something that fits in with the cozy design, everything else is 10/10, this is a good looking game, very much congrats to you sir!

[@mimivrc4148]

did the thumbnail just change for this video?! I saw it all day in my suggestions and I swear it was a different character! this new one is cute though!

[@advancenine]

Ha it totally did. I mess with the thumbnail and title til I get it right… glad you like the new girl character though :)

[@MrMpa31]

Great lesson in proper tagging, categorization and targeting the proper audience

[@Alepoke35]

Looks great! I found a few bugs and left some comments to videos I uploaded on the last video. There were a few parts of the game where I would get stuck and wanted to point them out!

[@advancenine]

I appreciate you pointing them out! I believe I addressed them all. I REALLY appreciate you helping me :)

[@Enite]

A quick writing suggestion! Your MC dialogue's inner monologues are speaking to the player as though YOU aren't playing them... "It's my mother's tea pot!" Instead, consider a more first person inner monologue ie: "It's mom's tea pot!" Keep killing it! 🤘

[@advancenine]

Nice one! I would have never seen that myself but I totally see it now. This will be way better. Thank you for this :)

[@Enite]

@@advancenine Your grace is admirable! Thanks for being such a kind and sweet soul! Too many... ahem... KZbin Devs make it about them, not about their art :)

[@fumetsusozo]

I feel like that example is little subjective, because I am the type of person in real life who would say "It's my mother's tea pot!" over the other way even to myself. =p

[@owenhey3187]

Great update! A small note about something you probably were going to change anyway - the "blow up" / scale effect when you select each element on the UI is much too drastic - tone it down and make it quicker. It should be a tiny pop not a slow explosion.

[@mason8714]

me and my son are loving this game and cant wait for it to come out!

[@DirectorAmelia]

The progress looks great! 🥳✨

[@ltsecondincomand]

I hope you keep being able to climb trees, I always wanted to see that in this kind of game but never do.

[@jaimyyelvingtonmusic]

Trying out the demo now, I just recently found your channel. Hoping to make a game myself one day but I have zero knowledge on how to do so.

[@lexibyday9504]

In my mind, a cosy game is a game you don't have to stress about playing. For example Stardew Valey, which everyone says is a relaxing game, gives you a lot of stuff to do and lots of time limits to get all that stuff done in. True if you're great at time management, which I am very much not I am incapable of time management, you can play the game without stressing. For me those games are industrial strength stress generators. So to me a cosy game would give you a few things to do at your own pace and, when you have completed them or are ready for more, you can ask for more to do.

[@SlimeTlme]

Love the bug clips! Cant wait to play

[@shawns4354]

Love the customizations added to the game. My wife will be pleased to play as her gender in the game. You already had her at the Zelda influences!

[@lemonplays-gaming]

It just shows how important it is to tag your games correctly so the right people can find them.

[@malorum]

The bug testing section of the video is the best!

[@shawns4354]

For those concerned about the cozy tag think of games as multi genre experiences. Think of NS as Cozy-lite.

[@advancenine]

Good call. Thats something I was totally unaware of... just how broad that term is. Shows what I know...

[@izybit]

Instead of having to backtrack over fire, when crossing the fire's path it should go out past the point (resetting the tiles). This makes more sense puzzle-wise.

[@advancenine]

Dang that actually makes a lot of sense. Really good and helpful observation. Thank you!

[@KrAvE4KaRnAgE]

This game keeps getting better and better, the graphics are stunning. You used to include more of the technical coding, theory and development steps in your devlog videos. Is there a reason you have moved away from this? I found them quite interesting and informative but understand that it may not be to everyone's taste. Thank you so much for sharing your journey!

[@xtheyan]

That's so amazing ! The camera angles remind me of Bomberman 64.. The magical forests remind me of Ocarina Of Time.. The music literally cures my anxiety and every single texture is beautiful.. Congrats man, you created a masterpiece.

[@advancenine]

Get out of here with your Bomberman 64 reference. Thats too kind and I can't believe anyone besides me still remembers that game. Seriously thank you for the amazingly kind words. I really REALLY appreciate it :)

[@user-uk9er5vw4c]

lots of work man, respect

[@josewenzel]

Dad game dev at it again... awww man I love you

[@advancenine]

Not nearly as much as I love you. Thanks for being rad and supportive :)

[@neonswift]

Cozy games can definitely have time limits. Stardew (and by extension many farming games including Harvest Moon) literally has a day/night cycle where you pass out if you don't sleep by 2pm. I would argue that a cozy game can have a time limit BUT it needs to be balanced to ensure it doesn't detract from the overall cozy nature of the game. I'm glad you figured out what kind of game you are making and now have a better way of marketing it. I have been keeping a close eye on this.

[@sams_3d_stuff]

Thanks for being an inspiration. Wishlisted loong ago.

[@advancenine]

Really appreciate that. I’m working hard to put an amazing game into your hands :)

[@2goofyskaters]

I can definitely see this game being on Nintendo Switch...what do you think about that? By the way, I've really been enjoying seeing Night Stones slowly progress over time, keep up the good work!!

[@dbweb.creative]

Found an exploit: the storms don't matter if you hop hop hop on the water haha, I was able to bypass storms in the water like that. Actually pretty much the first thing I did when I tried demo xD

[@Gleamiarts]

the way i ran to download as soon as you said a demo was available

[@advancenine]

Thanks for giving it a shot! I hope you like it but if you don't please let me know how I can improve :)

[@MrSpacepauls]

Ah you've gotta add some simple farming elements to the game now.

[@guilhermehenrique-zj5tt]

can i give you a feedback? that mining thing. just make it fly towards us like a magnet. because thats going to be anoying really quick.

[@Eizenz]

I am a fan of a lot of genre's. Cozy games are an important part. It does look very cozy. Wishlisting. EDIT: Also, thanks for providing a free demo on Steam. Personally that's a huge plus trying it out before committing to a sale.

[@advancenine]

You wishlisted and noticed the demo. Heck yeah! Thank you! That’s literally soooooooo helpful and I really appreciate it!

[@yuiop271]

This looks so good. And I would wishlist it if it was on a console

[@Xenwing]

I am loving this game, keep it up...

[@srsherman7]

Oooo I must play new demo! 😃

[@DarrGabb]

Have you considered adding multiplayer / co-op to the game? I would love to play this game with my friend!

[@ChaloopaJoe]

It's probably already a feature, but it'd be good to have a button that instantly resets the camera to the default position. I always get frustrated when I can't reset something back to its intended setting 😂

[@andrewpullins8817]

8:03 you shouldn't "fix" some of these issues, that way speed runners have exploits. But you should make sure that speed running does not break your game too bad.

[@StefanEnslin]

I would love to take a look at the demo, unfortunately steam is currently blocked where I live.

[@youknowwhoiamcdm]

been waiting for a new video for so long. like i would just open yt every day to see if you posted a new video. I might be overreacting but i think the character customisation is a pretty bad addition i always saw it as a zelda like game where everyone plays as the same character. but because of the character customisation the idea of a main character. I do think that a girl as a playable character would be cool. (I still love the game and have tons off respect for everything you've done so far).

[@themule8625]

Game looks amazing

[@Kio_Kurashi]

"If you'd like to see all the Night Stones development progrogress, up until this point, then you shu-" We "shu" what? Tell us! (You also missed a word when talking about hitting the golem with a stick).

[@Planko991]

is the end abruptly cut off?

[@SuperDoomKing]

Now this is a cozy video.

[@advancenine]

BAM! Thats exactly what I was after :) Thank you!

[@2leon1_]

how did you create the game tho what software did you use??

[@KryyssTV]

The thrust of cosy games are just titles with miminal player resistance by the game itself and an atmosphere which feels inviting and calm. It's typically the kind of audience who lead stressful lives and want some escapism which means cosy games are more about atmosphere than technical complexity. Think of them like slipping into a hot bubble bath at the end of a work day. Quite often the content is little more than busy work with players not being expected to meet any rigid criteria so that they are free to set their own gials. This is why cosy games are typically sandbox titles. As it stands the Zelda-esque nature of your game with combat and dungeons will not appeal to the target audience who won't want to feel tension. Instead you're going to need low stakes puzzle dungeons or monsters only existing as obstacles that need you to learn how to overcome. A simple example of this may be a monster that copies your movements so you move around in such a way as to trap them in a corner or walk them into a hole so you can get passed.

[@advancenine]

This is super good feedback. I think you made me realize a messaging issue I have. I think you think there is timing based combat in the game. Is that correct? The reality is the combat is essentially a puzzle without any time constraints. I truly appreciate your amazing insight :)

[@KryyssTV]

@@advancenine It was more to do with you having monsters that you fight with wands and swords ect. While you cannot be killed by these enemies, as you said, the gameplay videoes show that you need to attack them while avoiding getting hit. The fact they only move when the player moves doesn't reduce the tension they'll cause due to the need to deal with an aggressor. By all accounts a cosy game needs to avoid hostilities of any kind because of the needs of the target audience. Take Stardew Valley for example, you'll quite often see players asking if they can complete the game without doing dungeons or wanting mods that make dungeon exclusive items available by other means. You also see a higher number of players with mental health issues turning to cosy games for a calming distraction so these people will have a more severe reaction to even minor anxiety inducing threats.

[@ritpop]

"That's not a bug its for speedrunners" lmao when you starting to make a lot of translation i would love to help with brazlian portuguese

[@cheesesnax6190]

Wait... is that Revita kid?

[@brovideolol3488]

"its not a bug its a feature" 😄

[@advancenine]

lol. Words to live by :)

[@Selrisitai]

Raised by a father after the mother left? O.K., I'm in. I mean, I already was in, and already wishlisted, but now I'm _double_ in. I have a soft spot for portrayals of strong father figures, hence Treasure Planet is one of my favorite movies.

[@advancenine]

Thanks for the wishlist. That’s the best possible way to help me and I really appreciate it. Thanks for the kind words.

[@unspi554]

Take care with the assets you get for free from nice people, you can get legal issue if they dont sign a document thay they wont ask for royalties or someone attack your for unpaid job, I know that Jonas Tyroler had to make 100 peoples sign a thing for the translation of his game.

[@lloyd011721]

i can see the windwaker inspiration, but where is the ff 7 part?

[@KJ7JHN]

When using Google translate go English to Chinese, but, afterwards, copy the other language text, and in a new translator instance translate it back to English. Just copying it over won't work. Needs to be a new instance. It'll show gramatical errors.

[@lucbloom]

[Localization] Some Latin-based languages will have you translate sentences targeting female characters differently than male. Prepare for that if you want Spanish AND character customization.

[@lkt153]

Was looking for this. Yes, in latin genders need to be treated differently. You should also check for German, which has not only that, but very long words, which tend to break UI (and make dialog boxes huge), and something like Arabic, which is written Right-To-Left. I think that along with Chinese, these should cover all your main problems - Huge number of characters - Japanese, Chinese - Very short text - Japanese, Chinese - Very Long text - German - Digraphs - Latin languages, German, etc. (umlaut, acute, etc) - Gender changing words - Portuguese, Spanish - Right-to-left writing - Arabic

[@Hiramas]

If that artist send you art for free: FIND A WAY TO PAY THEM! Artists deserve to be payed!

[@advancenine]

I totally agree artists need to be paid for their talents. Did I somehow make it seem like I don't think that? I'm super sorry if I made it seem I'm taking advantage of someone...

[@melinarose3645]

I WANT TO PLAY IT NOOOW

[@advancenine]

Dooooooooooooooooooo it! I'd be so pumped if you played the demo :)

[@Brick_is_cool]

Epik

[@pidginmac]

Cool