The Beautiful Illusion of Cozy Games

The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare! Link here: skl.sh/zoebee01241
Is the world of The Sims a utopia? Is Animal Crossing perfect? Are cozy games lying to us? Let's find out.
Sources (in order of appearance):
------ "Realism is Bad, Actually" ( • Realism is Bad, Actually )
------ @TheSims "The Sims 4 For Rent Expansion Pack: Official Reveal Trailer" ( • The Sims 4 For Rent Ex... )
------ "Game Master" by John Seabrook in The New Yorker (www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...)
------ "Simplification: The Sims and Utopianism" by Ann McGuire in Papers: Explorations into Children's Literature (ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/p...)
------ @lilsimsie 's channel: / @lilsimsie
----------- "i built an ENTIRE STREET of shops in the sims" ( • i built an ENTIRE STRE... )
----------- "i'm only allowed to make money by STEALING in the sims" ( • i'm only allowed to ma... )
------ @BramdeGrootYT "The Ethics of Zoo Tycoon | a video essay" ( • The Ethics of Zoo Tyco... )
------ @PresCities "How Cities: Skylines Makes You Plan Bad Cities" ( • How Cities: Skylines M... )
------ @ThoughtSlime "Fake Economies in Minecraft" ( • Fake Economies in Mine... )
------ @BramdeGrootYT "The Sims (2000) as Anti-Capitalist Critique | a video essay" ( • The Sims (2000) as Ant... )
------ Zoe Bee's Sims Playlist: • Zoe Bee's Sims Playlist
All in-game footage captured by me!
Music (in order of appearance):
------ Title Screen - Animal Crossing New Horizons
------ Buy Mode 1 - The Sims Soundtrack
------ Summer (Nature's Crescendo) - Stardew Valley OST
------ Minecraft - Minecraft
------ Rito Village (Night) - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
------ Buy Mode 1 - The Sims Soundtrack
------ Treasured Memories - Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack
* To Support Me: *
---Become a channel Member! ➤ / @zoe_bee
---Join the Patreon! ➤ / zoe_bee
---Make a one-time donation! ➤ ko-fi.com/zoebee
---Join the Discord! ➤ / discord
---Check out my second channel! ➤ / @zoecee
---Watch my Warrior Cats Podcast! ➤ art19.com/shows/the-only-warr...
---Watch my D&D game! ➤ / @thejaycorn
---Watch my Blades in the Dark game! ➤ / itucrew

[@zoe_bee]

The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare! Link here: skl.sh/zoebee01241

[@alexiskaas907]

If I binge watch skill share and Zoe Bee writing advice I might actually finish producing a video of my own! I've been thinking a lot about making content after watching "Why we want the world to end" video, it really demonstrated to me that preppers aren't just lunatic libertarians with guns, and I might have a place in that world.

[@magnificloud]

Can anyone explain more/give more sources on the original intent for the sims? I know it was to some degree, a satirization of consumerism, but I don't think I fully understand how

[@shzarmai]

Do you know of any Socialist Simulator games? Or Georgist simulator games?

[@Ilikefire2793]

Tbh i spend more of my time using creative mode in minecraft, and using the "motherlode" cheat in the sims 4 whenever i play them and just building whatever i want to my hearts content. If anything, im kinda breaking the cozy games lie cycle by essentially taking advantage of the fact that just like in star trek's universe, once you have access to almost 100% free infinite resources, capitalism becomes what it always tried to hide being, i.e. a system that unfairly limited people's access to what they need and may eventually want to get for themselves, with no real proper ways to ensure that said resources would ever be distributed properly and / or used intelligently by responsible people.

[@lenabillare4443]

I appreciate your video, it's a good critic. I know times are hard, but skillshare or betterhelp are worse. People get scammed or hurt. If you can, please think about your sponsors.

[@greggorytame6672]

What makes these games cozy is that; for just a little bit, you get to play on the winning side of capitalism.

[@darthbob88]

Not even the winning side, since (AFAIK) you still have DEBT to pay in Animal Crossing and the like. You just get to play in a gentler capitalism, where failure doesn't mean an ever-deepening spiral.

[@piplupz1586]

​@darthbob88 true, you aren't the capitalist, just a consumer

[@geekxlove81]

There is no winning side of capitalism, since to become the owner class is to forfeit your humanity

[@quickfrog57]

​@@darthbob88 the rich often have boatloads of debt, it's a useful tool. They just have the collateral to carry a lot and the influence to socialize their losses as necessary.

[@bdarecords_]

@@geekxlove81 Nonsense. We always invent these fairytales about who is and isn't human. Humans are the product of their material conditions. There is no such thing as forfeiting humanity. The "owner class" is human like you and me.

[@BrigitteEmpire]

I find cozy games pretty realistic in that 100 hours in I start to feel existential dread that nothing I’m doing matters

[@ville__]

Who cares anyway. But I made a video about a girl dylng and she was crying in pain(try not to Laugh video).❤

[@mommalion7028]

Your profile picture is tiddies.

[@drasco61084]

Lol that's when I give up playing for months 😂

[@Eiol01]

Always happens to me in Minecraft, thought I was the only one hahan't

[@ninototo1]

Why?

[@doktoracula7017]

The fact that Sims were created to be a critique of capitalism, yet now it's nowhere to be seen and it instead is a tool to make more money reminds me of Disco Elysium quote from Joyce Messier: "Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would *critique* capital end up *reinforcing* it instead"

[@Techno-Wolf]

Yes! Just like how the matrix was also consumed and bent to its will!

[@anthonygranziol7957]

If you want to have a peek at how a parody and critique can bite its creator, have a peek at the Wired article about the game "Cow Clicker". It's a danger of any satire that it can become what it mocks and, in so doing, reinforce rather than ridicule.

[@patientallison]

It reminds me of "The Landlord's Game", a satire of corporate greed (created by a woman, no less). Then the rights got sold to a corporation who removed all hint of satire and made it the unironic goal to crush your opponents in debt and renamed it "Monopoly".

[@Sqwivig]

Holy shit that's so fucking true!

[@Sqwivig]

​@@patientallisonYou're talking about Monopoly the game right?

[@testdummymedia]

This video got me out here wondering if I should stop birthing 200 iron golems an hour just to cull them for their flesh

[@ultimateo621]

Nah how are you going to craft your pistons without that

[@duckalotl]

i mean technically it isn’t flesh so…

[@RichConnerGMN]

yeah ive never liked golem farms for that reason

[@ember9361]

@@duckalotl An iron golem sits inside of an iron house. Is the house made of flesh, or it the golem made of house? He Screams For He Does Not Know

[@JoelMcCary]

​@ember9361 they are both made of iron just like how carbon is used both for our body's and for our houses

[@VeroniaStudios]

The pivot to the skillshare ad reminding us of the paywalling of education as capitalism devours humanity was as inevitable and thematically appropriate as it was soul crushingly demoralizing.

[@colonelweird]

First time I've ever seen a video essay structured as a lead-in to an ad where it was thematically appropriate.

[@alexiskaas907]

I really like the sponsored content model rather than pre-roll or mid-roll ads, it gives the creators much more agency over the situation and its far less disruptive because it's coming from the same audio editor so the levels don't go nuts.

[@vylbird8014]

You can get pretty much all knowledge for free if you don't mind some piracy. Won't do you a lot of good in your career without the accredited piece of paper to prove your skill, but good for hobbies.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

@@vylbird8014 Most things on skillshare have equivalents on KZbin with a little searching. It’s just not as curated and you may have to go through more steps to find the right instruction set.

[@ember9361]

sponsorblock is amazing, i didn't even notice that there

[@ajplays-gamesandmusic4568]

Cozy games are wish fulfillment for cozy people. Sometimes we wish for superpowers, and perfect aim, and a war to fight. And sometimes we just wish we lived in a world where we can easily get a home, a romantic partner, friends, an equitable job, and affordable healthcare.

[@tempesttossed6029]

This does explain why my husband's faves are cozy games and mine are ultrviolent shooters. He's very soft, cozy, and sweet mannered where I'm filled with a rage that has no easy outlet.

[@demihau]

yes, i want to play a real life sims sessions where i will just make my sims do fluffy stuff like hugging sitting around the firepit and being at home as a family. but sims 4 devs decided they need to ruin it for me. like i’m trying to have a dinner with my sims and some random townie i never invited comes across my house and bakes a cake. um.. thanks? or these packs like star wars world or supernatural creatures. i don’t need them, but i need clothes and items from pack. but you can’t have them without these creatures.i just want a normal predictable life without vampires and random events. worst thing you can’t set the game for you specific tastes, and it makes playing it frustrating.

[@Abyssalwolf413]

@@demihau atleast were getting paralives ovo

[@demihau]

@@Abyssalwolf413 who knows if it will be good tho…

[@ia490]

​@@demihau you need to lock your front doors lol you can set it so it only allows friends and employees to be able to come in without having to invite them in

[@tristanbrooks4755]

I think the purpose of these games has nothing to do with the larger world. They are about giving YOU the chance to do or be anything you want. If Sims has landlords or a military it is for you as the player to have fun being a landlord or a soldier. You are always completely control. I think this is actually what makes them feel cozy: control. You are never truly at risk. There is no danger. The world itself is your domain. We escape to these games to give ourselves a sense of order, while real life lacks this order.

[@nonbineyspoonie]

Yes, thank you! Not to get way overly serious about this, but as a marginalized and traumatized person, the *safety* in simulation games, in being able to pick and choose how your characters struggle... it's also why I write and play ttrpgs. I can choose to process my own struggle with my disabilities absent of an environment where ableism is ubiquitous, and how that might change my feelings about it, even, and also what that says about my current feelings about ableism itself. I can torture my characters with drama and death without subjecting them to the forms of bigotry I face too much to be fun. Even classism is often a non-issue in cozy games, because class simply doesn't function the same way in a simulated capitalist world... precisely because we say so. It's like how I like reading dark fiction. I don't honestly think living in the world of the sims or animal crossing would be a true utopian ideal. I also don't actually want to fight dragons and evil kings (on the fantasy side) or deal with some of the very serious trauma I have actually experienced that I read and write about to process. Even when enjoying media where certain immoral dynamics are romanticized or even sexualized (as an easy example, yandere personality types), it's different, precisely because I'm entirely in control. In the real world, it's not, because I'm not in control and therefore can have my consent and autonomy violated in ways that a game or any other media simply cannot do.

[@gallaghergrl97]

exactly!

[@YisYtruth]

They're not simulating reality. They're simulating childhood play. Adventure, friendship, exploration. That's what's cozy about them. It reminds us of our childhood.

[@wygolvillage2637]

I feel like Minecraft hits closest to that idea since it's a sandbox, but generally if I want a game that "feels like childhood" I generally don't gravitate towards resource management? Like, if I want a childish adventure where friendship is valued above all else I usually play Pokemon or some kind of RPG. If anything games that simulate jobs, economies, resource accumulation, etc feel too close to the stressors of adult life for my liking when I'm in a "cozy" mood. That might just be me though

[@chowderman8888]

I never played house as a kid so not really my childhood. I always played with transformers so that would be my childhood game lol

[@cassiedevereaux-smith3890]

This is a fantastic description! Gonna chew on this for a while.

[@simonholmes841]

I don't think there's a difference. The type of childhood play you're talking about is simulating reality (in an accessible, incomplete way), and video games do the same. But most things that remind me of my childhood are not cozy, and I think reminding people of times they felt more secure is incidental to games that feel secure.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

@@chowderman8888 There is nherrently no difference between playing transformers and playing doll house. A transformer and any action figure is essentially a ‘doll’. A small simulated humanoid form-like thing that kids use to play make pretend stories. It doesn’t actually matter if that ‘doll’ is a ninja turtle or Barbie. Lego figures or Polly Pocket. It’s all the same ‘dollhouse’ imaginative play in the end.

[@luniasta]

When you asked if it's really cozy, I kept thinking YES. It's cozy to pretend to be in a world where there's the systems you know but you can succeed in them for once. I think that's part of the appeal. They don't deconstruct it, but it was so comforting to gather bugs on a cute island to pay off a home in the uncertainty that was spring 2020. I think we don't ignore the similarities to the issues of a modern world when we play these games, I think we enjoy the illusion because of it

[@zoe_bee]

I don't disagree! I really recommend checking out the video I mention at the end about the "Fake Economies in Minecraft," which ends up saying exactly this!

[@SnoFitzroy]

I think this is an excellent point. In ACNH I *can* own a home, decorate it with the tackiest combo of ice-themed stuff, and pay off my debts without needing to have them forgiven via some weird application I can barely understand. And in ACNH, there's also the benefit of the landlord being an adorable tanuki :3

[@luniasta]

@@SnoFitzroy not to mention, the mortgage does not need to be paid off, there's a stress and danger free debt. As I was struggling to pay my irl bills, that notion was all bringing me to tears

[@jgcoverkknot5701]

​@@SnoFitzroy Tom Nook supremacy

[@lilymulligan8180]

I thought the same thing. We all know there's a capitalist hellscape out there. The Sims is still capitalist, but it's not a hellscape. One of the biggest things that makes it enjoyable to me is that it's the only place where I CAN win at capitalism. Also worth noting that, technically, you don't really need to play the game of capitalism in the Sims - it's equally interesting to play a sim who is homeless and has to forage for things. It's just different. Furthermore, the game doesn't necessarily get better when your sim is wealthy. Sure, they might have a big house and tons of stuff, but that can cause glitching. Sure, they might not have to work, but you still have to fill their time with some kind of activities. Playing the Sims has helped a lot at improving my attitudes towards work and money, actually. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@DaBezzzz]

We need a cozy game where the gameplay loop is doing things for people in a community and sharing and asking for things as we and others need them

[@Nezul]

Anarcho-Socialism, let's go.

[@jesru101010]

So...Dwarf fortress?

[@lrgui9792]

there's plenty, here are some: a short hike, alba, lil'gator game, sable, haven park

[@DaBezzzz]

yeesss... suggestions... exactly as planned

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

i mean the Cottage Living DLC for Sims 4 has this element where you do favors for townfolks, but it’s just a gameplay loop explicitly for rewards in-game much like the Eco-Lifestyle expansion mostly ‘rewards’ you for positive community impact. Which is nice and all but, you know, I think that stuff is more important IRL then in a game where I am playing for a specific reward for my ‘good deeds’.

[@DamnCyrus]

"Eat the Rich includes Tom Nook" she just like me forreal

[@cassiedevereaux-smith3890]

That said..... if I could own a 6 room house by fishing and catching butterflies....

[@ErutaniaRose]

I always find the hate for Tom Nook interesting, since I wouldn't necessarily categorize him consistently as a capitalist. Depending on the part of the lore--but overall he's the equivalent of a "Nice landlord" I guess. He's not horrible, doesn't give you all the extra charges, etc. but in the end, his position existing is still problematic in many ways.

[@Ironsuaba]

In Minecraft, the best way to get a lot of stuff is... enslaving the villagers and often also displacing them/colonizing their villages. Fun stuff!

[@Blodwynnn]

Folding Ideas has a great video on this subject and it’s a major reason I’ve never been able to get into the survival gameplay loop honestly since the introduction of mending to say the least

[@gambilious9690]

Minecraft could be like capitalism or communism, depending on how you play.

[@blahajblast122]

​@@Blodwynnn Honestly I can't either and I love Minecraft. Every villager gets taken care of (even the zombies get cured), given a home, crops, and community in my world. I fix up villages when damaged or in dangerous areas. I never take more than I need and opt to live in nature almost all of the time be it living at the bottom of the ocean and admiring the fish, building Hobbit holes and allowing forest fauna to flourish with help, and farming in whatever way I can that requires the least amount of space. It's weird but honestly, Minecraft for me is most enjoyable when treated as my ideal fantasy, living in nature surrounded by animals and community that thrives on bartering and trading, not money. Survival in any other way just grows tiresome after a while. What's the point of something where creativity bounds when it's solely used for false economic gain?

[@lulunuyear8809]

The Valley of Wheat lives on

[@headphonesaxolotl]

Does that make me a bad person for my style (making myself the "mayor and building a little protective wall and a large central house so I can use the village farms + trades)

[@mymo_in_Bb]

Ever since getting Stardew Valley, I've been wanting to create my own cozy game, set in a conworld I've been working on for some time, where the player lives in an island community operating without money, where everyone collaborates etc. I have a hell of a lot of planning and researching and learning and first of all finishing my degree to do, but I hope I'll manage to make something like this someday - a simulator that instead of trying to criticise capitalism and consumerism, instead shows a world without it.

[@lux_fero]

Good luck then. But how are you going to make it interesting? I mean that playing loop in Stardew or Minecraft is pretty easy to understand and it works. You will need to make a fundamentaly different type of game cycle and I would like to see it succeed

[@Aslianaa]

If you want some reading, fitting for that, I would recommend the two books in the Monk and Robot Series by Becky Chambers. Both are quick to read, but are so good as well.

[@mymo_in_Bb]

@@lux_fero yea, i understand that, and as i say, this is still very much in the realm of "dreams I'd love to fulfil one day." i have no concrete ideas about the game as of yet, just the constructed culture and some lore for other projects. but if i were to guess what could be the game's game loop, it'd probably be something like remaining in a good standing with the rest of the village, and completing quests. Anyway, thanks! :D edit: i also plan a major part of it to be discovering the history of the place and and connecting it with the constructed mythology.

[@mymo_in_Bb]

@@Aslianaa Thanks a lot, I'm definitely saving this advice!

[@yoavshati]

I want to create a socialist game too, but I don't really know what else it will have other than being socialist One idea I had is something like Factorio but backwards, where you start in a world that had already been colonized and industrialized, and you have to maintain people's needs while deindustrializing

[@theprinceofinadequatelighting]

Hmm... a consumerism simulator where my character goes to work every day to make money to buy more meaningless stuff? I guess that explains the fight club my sim started in his basement.

[@QueArres]

This has given me the sudden desire to do the same...

[@gamewrit0058]

Stardew Valley can be played on an infinite loop, but you don't have to farm, fish, forrage, or mine for minerals: no matter what your choices each day, even if you pass out or get knocked out, you wake safe and warm in your bed the next morning, and never lose the cabin you inherited from your grandfather.

[@mushuwu]

I think the definition of cozy games has gradually morphed and expanded over the past few years. The games no longer have to simulate idealistic lifestyles. The gameplay loop just needs to provide the feeling of stability and consistency that the real world is lacking. Some recent, lesser-known titles like Dredge, Dave the Diver, and Hardspace Shipbreakers depict your character in a stressful and/or underserved position. But they're considered by many to be cozy because the gameplay loop focuses on a few menial but cyclical tasks that you gradually get better at. Interestingly, because the ultimate goal is infinite growth, there also also cozy games that critique capitalism. Dave the Diver has you gradually killing more rare and exotic fish to make more exquisite dishes. Hardspace Shipbreakers explicitly spits in the face of corporate exploitation and legalese. Dredge has you literally ending the world in the pursuit of knowledge. We're now able to incorporate more complex themes and messages in cozy games than before because of their unique role as interactive media.

[@zoe_bee]

As a huge fan of Dredge, I don't consider it a cozy game. It stresses me out! haha (And the rest of your comment I definitely agree with!)

[@eos_aurora]

Yeah I’d love to see Zoe’s thoughts on the rise of Baldurs Gate 3 as a cozy game haha

[@DarkTwinge]

That'll also vary a fair bit with player temperaments too -- I personally don't tend to enjoy the traditional cozy experiences like Stardew Valley, but instead find stuff like Factorio nicely fills that niche for me: enough added complexity that I get more of a puzzle-solving sort of satisfaction, while still broadly being open to do things how I want to and do them at my own pace. (Still a game with an extremely exploitive/capitalistic bent, of course...)

[@darkstarr984]

Whoa. It’s like how my job is cozy now, since it’s mostly very stable and consistent (besides my specific department, which is sheerly chaotic due to needing to coordinate so many different issues).

[@tanasaky]

One of my cosy games of choice is Terra Nil. It's core gameplay is about bringing dead planets to life - bringing water, growing trees, attracting animals etc etc. And at the end of the map you LEAVE! You get the F out of the way. No money, no capitalism, no humans. Infinite growth? We doin' infinite de-growth, baby!

[@cwicseolformask]

It's a nice game that can be enjoyed on its own merits, but food for thought. Warning: long, hopeful. I can't help but want to challenge the idea of a pristine, human-free wilderness, because we were taught it as a cozy fantasy in school apparently across the English-speaking world - but it was a fantasy, originally constructed to serve colonialist ends and exported across the globe, that we need to seriously consider when invoked. All the species in the game - which are modern species - DID coexist with humans, usually in good balance, for thousands of years. Just not empire-culture humans in the last five centuries of the colonial era. We were taught to imagine that e.g. beaver and deer and timber wolves lived in a pristine wilderness with no people because Europeans were a lot more comfortable taking North American land if they could simply forget there were millions of indigenous people tending the Atlantic forests & savannah already. Arctic indigenous peoples coexisted with e.g. narwhal, fox, and polar bear. The vaguely pacific/ Asian, and vaguely tropical biomes draw from species spread across the world and aren't as specific to a real region (except panda) but all those species coexisted with humans in their ancestral habitats for millennia too. Notably, the common thread is the people who thrived in & alongside the depicted biomes are not what South Africans (the studio) or US/EU (targeted audience) would consider white humans, so on a subconscious level, it relies on an inherited fantasy which blithely forgets any other sort of humans exist, or ever existed. It also quietly denies that *any* human culture CAN exist without obliterating the world around us, as if all of humanity is reducible to the destruction machine a few greedy jerks & their kids forced everyone into in the last, catastrophic centuries. But that is not the natural or automatic state of humanity; it is less than 0.25% of our history as a species. We can do better, and there are hundreds of generations of proof all over the world. We even have the technology to do for modern populations, happily, without the wasteful footprint, if we show the will. I did enjoy the game, but I really wish that they would make a DLC that reintegrated humans, too, as a last step, in a genuinely sustainable way that did not compromise the flourishing of the restored biomes - just as we did in the real world with all these species. That would be a genuinely utopian, post-solarpunk vision, with a lot more potential to inspire a way forward.

[@Apes_are_monkeys]

SAVING THIS FOR LATER OMG

[@cordeliaistheone]

​@@cwicseolformask love this analysis so much! Like all the people who said "humanity is the virus" erasing indigenous peoples throughout history and today working in tandem with nature to maintain our ecosystems that colonialism and capitalism have disrupted and continue to destroy for profit. It is absolutely possible for humans to exist in an environment without harming indigenous life and taking more than they need.

[@cwicseolformask]

@@cordeliaistheone Exactly. It's also been studied empirically - search S1462901119301042 and you'll get a 2019 paper titled 'Vertebrate biodiversity on indigenous-managed lands in Australia, Brazil, and Canada equals that in protected areas' - this isn't just a pattern confirmed by most of human history, it's still ongoing right now!

[@kataevellei415]

I think the reason why most cozy games are simulators is that this way, they don't have to have a proper, overarching plot and/or story with a beginning, middle and end. In order for a story to work, you need conflict and stakes, which are antithetical to the feel-good aesthetics of cozy games. As a result, they replace story with micro-interactions.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

I mean the story is self created, that’s the point of a sandbox. Rather it’s a rags to riches or mastering growing more/better crops or improving the island. The goal is to learn what the achievable progression mechanic of the game is. Tetris and Candy Crush have no point, but getting better at the gameplay loop still feels rewarding because Real life doesn’t have rules there are no guareented rewards for effort. You could work ‘hard’ all your life and still have nothing. But sandbox gameplay can become a relaxing endorphine effect because skill progression is always rewarded in some way. It doesn’t need a story, it just needs progression mechanics and the best sandboxes actually work best on very loose story telling as oppose to concrete. Like a town could have lore, but there is no defeat the big bad that ‘ends’ things.

[@Densoro]

I read an interesting article about ten years ago now -- The Significance of Plot Without Conflict -- describing a Japanese literary tradition called kishoutenketsu. 'Ki' corresponds to the introduction. 'Shou' corresponds to 'rising action.' 'Ten,' though, signifies learning new information _which recontextualizes the events which came before._ 'Ketsu' is a conclusion where the characters _and the audience_ reconcile this new understanding. The article offered two example comics, each four panels long: In the conflict-centered comic, 1) A character orders something from a vending machine. 2) The vending machine jams. 3) The character cleverly jostles the vending machine. 4) The item finally comes free. They have overcome the adversarial glitch in the machine. In the kishoutenketsu comic, 1) A character orders something from a vending machine. 2) The vending machine complies. 3) We see the character _bringing the drink to their friend._ 4) We realize that we assumed the character was ordering for themselves, but in fact, this was a _favor_ for somebody else, implying some mundane level of closeness. Perhaps sharing this drink is just the beginning of their quality time together. I've heard that anime is actually _rife_ with this. Even if stories _feature_ conflict (even obvious, violent examples), _structurally_ they're about trying to square a circle and reconcile perceived contradictions. It's got me rethinking what a story 'can be' in order to work.

[@Imthefake]

Stardew does have both an overarching story and small ones with every other character as you develop friendships

[@ceciliaalves4945]

My favourite cozy game of all times is Coffee Talk, it has a beginning, a middle and an end. Games with an infinite loop ends up starting to feel dreadful to play as most end up feeling like we don't matter, the NPC's only keep saying the same things, the festivals are still the same and at least for me, it stops being fun and start making me feel like I'm playing god and not a character inside that world

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

@@ceciliaalves4945 Well with Sims for me, a new birth is always a new beginning. It’s why Sims 2 was so exciting, it introduced the ticking clock of life itself. There’s birth and life and how much you accomplish before you die and you get to do something different in the middle if you want with the next Sims. With Animal Crossing there was a point where I was just kinda done, there was nothing I wanted to change about my island anymore. It was either a point to start over and do something different from scratch or play something else. Both of those choices are fine with me and doesn’t reduce there cozy-ness. Sandboxes are only problematic if you make the same choices over and over again when the gate is wide open to make different ones.

[@Radar_of_the_Stars]

I think another aspect of the cozy genre (at least the good cozy games) that most people don't realize is a staple of the grenre is creativity, and I think it's for the same reason, most people don't have the time, energy, or money to paint or sculpt, or other traditional means of expressing creativity, but it's not very hard to build a house in Minecraft, or customize your farm in Stardew Valley, or make the perfect themed island in Animal Crossing

[@AnaPie896]

I have severe RA that’s taken away my ability to paint most days, but I have enough hand function to play games. I 100% use decorating animal crossing islands as a creative outlet now that I can’t express myself through paintings the way I want. Thank you for bringing this up

[@ARareAndDifferentTune_13]

I think you’re spot on with this. I’ve only ever played one video game by choice (the rest were as a kid my brother forcing me to play with him and I HATED THEM!! 😂) and it was a cute little game in which you decorated a terrarium with little plants and statues and fed animals. I reveled in making them perfect, and exactly how I wanted them aesthetically. I realize now this was a creative outlet that was very low stakes, free, and accessible. Thank you for that insight!

[@JamieLBW]

I am in a very hectic part of my life with young kids and don't have much time to myself right now. Sitting down for 45 minutes and decorating a Sim or building a house is a little creativity outlet I have the time and energy right now

[@jakubek278]

In my opinion, Dan Olson (FoldingIdeas) has an interesting take on his "accidental colonialism" in Minecraft which further goes into similar topic to this. "Minecraft, Sandboxes, and Colonialism | Folding Ideas"

[@zoe_bee]

Yes! Love this video and definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn't watched it!

[@vsmash2]

The difference between a "cozy game" and a "power fantasy game" is the amount of visually realistic violence permitted.

[@Delmworks]

You’re out of right, but you’re line

[@princessjellyfish98]

I think this disconnect of "what is a cozy game" has always existed in the community but I think that's actually what defines "cozy gaming" more than the simulation genre. People also consider puzzle games as cozy or even many RPGs (based on art style or other content). I think what pulled the cozy gaming community together more than anything is a group of gamers who didn't feel seen by the wider gaming community. A lot of cozy gamers are women, a lot of cozy gamers are queer. Cozy gamers like to be creative and tell stories. I think it's good to analyze the limits of these simulations, and it was really cool seeing the sims community having these conversations when the "for rent" pack came out. I've been a lifelong simulation game player. I started playing games like the sims and animal crossing before I even fully knew how to read. I started watching lilsimsie when we were both in high school (it was actually her first channel that got stolen by her neighbor lmao). I feel the coziness less from the games themselves and more from the community they create, one where MY lifelong experience as a gamer is recognized as a legitimate and serious hobby, even if I didn't grow up playing Halo 2 or Call of Duty or even flash games on Newgrounds (would the flash dress-up games of the past be considered cozy games?). I appreciated this analysis a lot. I hope as more indie developers get into the simulation genre that we get to see a diversity in the types of simulations and the underlying mechanics of these artificial worlds.

[@isadora6092]

in defense of stardew valley, the opening sequence is an escape from being an overexploited worker (even if the means by which you do it are inheriting land which isnt really fair), then you're incentivized to repair the community center over doing the jojamart route, and connect with nature spirits and pay atention to the npcs you have relationships with, and it's perfectly possible to do an enjoyable anticapitalist/no profit run!!

[@CynthiaMcG]

Also, you can overwork yourself in the mines to such an extent that the Joja Corporation will literally pickpocket you after bringing you home.

[@verytallsam]

evil fact of the day: technically this qualifies as a Machinima given using in-game footage to represent your own self talking

[@joshwi4193]

I wonder how much of it is to do with how we perceive progress. Under a capitalist regime, playing games is time spent not earning money, so most games have to be 'worth' our time to play, which we would measure by achieving goals, gaining levels, or acquiring stuff. One of the few games that gets to be quite aimless and cosy is an esoteric game called "Everything"

[@tofuhearts]

I love how cozy really just = will not trigger your fight or flight response

[@lrgui9792]

that's why, for me, the coziest of the coziest games are not the types you mentioned, but these: a short hike, alba, lil'gator game, sable, haven park, etc... they achieve max coziness by being about community, doing good, nice relationships with the land, no consumerism, no capitalism.

[@DarkTwinge]

Can definitely second A Short Hike -- even as someone that often doesn't enjoy cozy-style games, it was definitely a comfy experience, and getting to the top of the mountain is absolutely lovely.

[@sasi6897]

Yes! Exactly this. At some point every game that's based around resource extraction just... gets boring and unsatisfying - you have all the money, all the skills, everything achieved and there's very little reason to keep playing, except feeling like you put a lot of hours in. It wouldn't be fun at all if the game started out at the end point. Fun is inverse to time spent playing. I'm much more into fixed length story-based games like those you mentioned, where even if it is somewhat on a trading/resource mining basis it is about the journey... towards a conclusion. Spiritfarer, The Gardens Between, Gris, Night in the Woods, Old Man's Journey... I return to these types of cozy games much more than any never-ending sim game. I don't really get the focus on cozy games being a lie tbh - this the same for all big games - I don't think cosy gamers are any less aware of this false construct than those that play other types of games?

[@danielconnor8516]

Alba genuinely made cry so hard because she had such a great childhood because of how lovely the people are around her. It's just overwhelmingly positive in a very real way.

[@danielconnor8516]

To add to this, another cozy game genre that is mostly ignored by a lot are puzzle games. A good snowman is hard to build, baba is you, push pipe paradise (my fave), and other goofy puzzle games is cozy in a sense that you can just sit there and think, listening to the amazing soundtrack/soundscape, and feeling extra proud after you solved the gruelling puzzle. I find the coziest puzzle games are the ones that has world secrets that you'll find after actually getting to know the puzzles, or the world expands as you learn what anything means. Great examples of this are The Witness, Toki Tori 2, Her story, and Chants of Sennar.

[@its_just_seb]

Sable gave me more existential dread than coziness on account of the "growing up and deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life" aspect. The ending where you actually pick your mask felt so sad to me. I wished I could roll credits while keeping the child mask. It felt like choosing a mask would only be to Sable's detriment. I ended up choosing the climber's mask because it would at least allow her to keep traveling, but it still filled me with such sadness.

[@amelie5475]

For me, the illusion has always been being able to design and build without the price. I am a woodworker, I build organs for a living and it sucks so much that I still need to go to Ikea to furnish my flat because wood is too expensive for me to make my own stuff. I have largely stopped playing cozy games, because when I stop playing, it makes me feel sad and unproductive, but I still keep the illusion going by drawing rooms and houses and designing furniture in the hope that I get to use these plans some day. And if not, that's fine, I still got to practise my drawing skill.

[@fiercerodent]

Zoe Bee is the idealised version of a KZbin essayist; even depressing topics make for cozy watching on this channel.

[@SteveJubs]

My cozy game is Ghost of Tsushima. I’ll wander around at walking speed in full stealth gear through the landscapes, and if I stumble across any especially pretty views, I’ll pause for fifteen minutes at a time in photo mode so I can watch the grasses and the trees all rustle in the wind. It gives my mind the time and space to wander, too, like on a real walk, even if it isn’t one (real walks are pretty much out of the question in winter in my climate). A lot of cozy games give me that crazed dopamine “gotta get this and then do this so I can get this” rush, which doesn’t really feel cozy to me at all.

[@elfsongtavern]

I’ve been really wanting to play Oblivion again for this reason

[@notiddypunkgf2246]

As someone who doesn't really like cozy games but has an insatiable thirst for violent action games, I find this video really interesting, since it feels like you've kinda reached the same conclusion a lot of more critical fans of violent games come to about the violence, except in this instance it's about the less overt ways that cozy games replicate the structures of capitalism. Good stuff.

[@tempesttossed6029]

I don't understand what the same conclusions would be for violent games. Could you explain?

[@wygolvillage2637]

"is it cozy to see every part of the world as a resource to be extracted" huh, that explains why i really only play minecraft on creative mode. i just like building and hanging out with my pets, and hate "efficiency"

[@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton]

same, and also i'm just really slow to play survival normally, but creative lacks the sense of progress and the feeling that i made a project myself, with my own efforts, and there's no in-between to that...

[@Kleines97]

Haha same. I love building. That's why I play Sims 4... Sims 2 and 1 were my cozy games were I played like intended (if not cheated) but sims 4 isn't my go to to play stories I'd rather build 😂 sometimes I cheat and I only cheat in cozy games. I never cheated on other games only those build or life simulator games 😂

[@pseudodidact3956]

This video came out at the perfect time for me. I tried making an eco-friendly, Neolithic-ish “utopia” world in Minecraft, but I quickly found out that wasn’t entirely possible when playing a game that’s main objective is to accumulate massive quantities of resources.😅

[@AnnikaVictoria24]

I think there's a Modpack called Regrowth(?) that might get you closer to that goal!

[@happytofu5]

I am curious what made it hard, bc as far as I know, Minecraft does not have an objective. Did that change in the last ~10 years?

[@pseudodidact3956]

@@happytofu5 Sincerely asking, what do you think the word objective means in this context? Are you under the impression that a game that’s primary mechanics are mining resources and crafting things has no goal for you to mine and craft?

[@happytofu5]

@@pseudodidact3956 I meant objective as in "a quest tells to to do xyz" but of course you are right, there is an inherent objective. I think its different from games like stardew which explicitly tell you to do so.

[@pseudodidact3956]

@@happytofu5 Yes, I was referring to the inherent objective of the game. The things that specifically held me back from my Neolithic play-style mainly had to do with the unbalanced amount of mining and tree harvesting that’s required to build things like stone tools, torches, and building different structures. There’s also a wall you’ll hit where there’s no way to progress or do new things without excessive mining and harvesting. It’s fine for regular playthroughs, but not my specific one.

[@gillsmoke]

Ok having you talk to us through your game avatars was pretty cool to me, is your minecraft skin really chicken in a business suit? Weird flex but I fully approve.

[@zoe_bee]

Thanks! And yes, I love the little business chicken. He brings me joy.

[@retro2103]

I just got done playing a little of The Sims 1 for nostalgia's sake, and that game honestly feels less like a cozy life sim and more like a satire on consumerism at your expense (the original manual came with recommended reading on sociology and economics). There is an almost understated mean streak to it that every game after it in the series never replicated where it did become more of an ideal life simulator to escape into.

[@klickwitch3612]

The Sims was originally made to be a house building simulator. You were supposed to be able to design and decorate a house. It was originally called Doll House. However, the creators found people had more fun watching and engaging in the people living in the house built, than just building the home. So they added more things for the people to do and embraced that element. Not trying to dismiss your point, I just always found the origin of the Sims very interesting.

[@ruzinus_]

"Is it cozy to X?" People have been reporting that doing so makes them feel cozy for years, so yes. Maybe filling a house with things you like is good, actually.

[@TranshumanMarissa]

no.. no not really. also, I dont think any of X was 'is it nice to own things you like' lmao

[@devforfun5618]

but do you like everything ? or you need a bunch of stuff because in those games you need to do everything and so the games forces you to take more space overtime just to store the stuff you must own, like the games dont even let you complete quests slowly, if a quest requires 100 logs you need to store 100 logs, instead of sending then as you acquire then

[@wildwestrom]

13:44 "What if we had a real sandbox game to play around in?" It wouldn't be a game then, you'd have Minecraft creative mode. You can only take away so many limitations until it ceases to be a game and just a highly idiosyncratic canvas. Canvases are great, but I believe many of us don't actually enjoy having a lot of creative freedom.

[@SomniRespiratoryFlux]

To me, what makes a game "cozy" could be summarized mostly as a matter of low stakes. The gameplay and music are often slow and relaxed, there's often little story to get invested in (or if there is it's safely contained so that you can tackle it at your own pace), and there's no singular goal and no fail state. There may be some stakes, sure - in Animal Crossing, you can get stung by a bee, or have a villager you like move out, or you can upset a villager, or that fish or bug can get away, or you can accidentally buy a fake painting... But those things don't really interrupt the game or count as failures, really, and they're often easy to avoid or count as minor setbacks at worst. In regards to this video, I think that in that light, the point of a cozy simulator game is less to make a truly idealistic world, to challenge the things that seem normal but ultimately cause harm, but rather to give you a sense of those being only minor issues that are easily overcome. I wouldn't call it propaganda to inoculate society against changing those things, exactly. Maybe on some level it can breed false contentment, but it can also just as easily be an outlet for those dreams we know to just be dreams, and to make them real in some small way. That way, we can maybe hope to reshape society now that our real lives don't have to look like the false utopia of consumerism. Is that overly idealistic of me to say? Maybe. But it's a good way to make some proverbial lemonade.

[@kamilman0]

I'm someone who always looks for a way to challenge other people's ideas and words. Your video will be no different. One thing that cozy games offer is a possibility of doing what we wish we could do IF we had the right circumstances from our very birth (i.e. the spawn point). I can create an amazing automated lumber mill in Autonauts and not fear that resources will ever deplete (which is why trees can be planted in that game and grow fairly quickly); I can mine blocks in Minecraft and not worry about depleting the resource because the world is (in theory) infinite; I can organize shelves in Unpacking and not have to worry about 1. Getting all the stuff that the game offers. 2. Having the space to organize all the stuff in. 3. Having to spend the exorbitant amount of money in order to afford both previous points; I can throw on a game of Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley or any other management system game without having to put in the amount of hours (or in this case years) to be able to have the skills to become a "manager" or my own boss. The utopic gameplay that those games offer are not there to keep us in the capitalistic dream just for the sake of it. I believe they are letting us have a glimpse of what that capitalistic world is and simply enjoy it, even though the grand majority of us will either never be able to achieve it or never had the slightest ounce of chance to experience it in the first place. Also, I will pick up on the "honesty" angle you mentioned near the end of your presentation. Honesty does not grant happiness. Honesty is not something that is always joyful and honesty is not necessarily something that has a positive outcome. Also, honest does not let one cut corners and achieve more wealth faster. It's quite the opposite, actually. It's the dishonesty, or should I say the illusion, that lets us cut corners and advance faster, at the risk of being unmasked and have the consequences fall on us like a tidal wave. At least, that's the theory. [insert Game Theory catchphrase] Games do an excellent job in creating an illusion of wealth, an illusion of accomplishment, an illusion of, and this might be the key word here, control. I like the video. It's a very good way of starting a discussion and as you can see, it did so for me. Not "but" necessary. And it actually gave me additional thoughts that I might put in a book I'm writing, about the world seen through the eyes of a gamer. So thank you for the food for thought.

[@joebot86]

I guess I dont tend to.play Minecraft by hoarding stuff, but by just exploring a vast world to see neat things. But this video helped me finally understand why i don't like a lot of "cozy" games, im just not interested in collecting for collectings sake.

[@JohnOhno]

Isn't part of the joy of this genre specifically that it's a simplified version of the structure of our actual lives (juggling work with resource and task management made easier enough that we can succeed in the simulation even when we are struggling in the real world? I know I turn to this kind of game exactly when I feel like those things in my life are starting to get out of control.

[@Master_WannaBe_]

This got me thinking critically of Stardew Valley, my go to cozy game, because its whole premise rests on being lucky enough to inherit land from a dead relative. You are effectively playing as a Nepo-Baby. Your farm doesn’t pay any taxes or at least doesn’t show you paying taxes when you sell your products, you don’t provide jobs, you have to extract resources from a nearby cave and kill the native species who are just protecting their home, and all the money you make goes back to you and hardly any goes into the community. Sure there’s an evil corporation you can run out of town, and you participate in many local events, but for all intents and purposes, you play as a land baron. It’s good capitalism vs bad capitalism. And yet I still enjoy the game.

[@pansexualpixels1910]

Yeah! Like…I wish our farmer could be less…well, like Nepo baby. Then again I usually just spend my game bothering Sebastian and Elliot and cooing over my chickens-

[@disasterarea9341]

they sound just like real farmers to me...

[@lazydroidproductions1087]

Well I’d assume local and regional sales taxes are being taken whenever you sell any of the goods you produce, so in reality, everyone else are the louts while you are single-handedly making the town insanely wealthy, just, yourself as well

[@tempesttossed6029]

Either a nepo-baby or a person lucky enough to have a comfortable retirement. But games dont usually focus on old people so nepo-baby is the more common plot.

[@isadora6092]

i feel like the game gives you the freedom to be this land baron figure, but it also gives you all the tools not to? like, you're incentivised to do quests for the npcs for some change on the bulletin board to establish better relationships with them, you repair the entire community center (if you wish to), the slimes you kill at the mines arent endangered species and will never stop spawning, so that's more akin to hunting than just mass killing of animals. people mail you recipes and things you can use on your daily life and you can gift them stuff in turn. you can help nature spirits and if you do it enough times they give you an oportunity to have them assist you at your farm. i feel like if you play like a capitalist, sure, you will become one, but if you play like a small farmer, growing what you need to eat and interacting with the community, that's where the game shows its value.

[@gabrielasilva3561]

For half of the video I was like "girl chill, no one's turning into Elon Musk because they play The Sims and Stardew Valley" and after your conclusion, I get it, but still... We can't defeat capitalism with games, like... Why is that even a problem? Cozy doesn't mean perfect. Sometimes cozy just means I can forget about my real life job, and that's it Also I think that limitation is in yourself, like mentioned lilsimsie, she always talks about how she wants to play with packs in a way that's not intended, like for the landlord pack, she just used it to have family living next to her and that's it, she always talks about how The Sims is a lot of pretending, there isn't only one path of work and be rich, and that's what makes it cozy, no one looks at those games and think "oh wow how I love capitalism" we just play.

[@chowderman8888]

My idea of cozy games were the life comfort games like games I could come back and just be good at it. I was never good at animal crossing or the sins they just felt like work to me do my cozy game is like skyrim or borderlands like a game you can just boot up and play n not think about it. I know that's definitely not everyone but that's me

[@chowderman8888]

Or pokemon! Like you just start it up and know what to do

[@CDKohmy]

Couldn't we also apply the term "katharsis" to these like we do to action games? Get your greedy side out in-game to help you not be greedy irl just like it is healthier to get the violent streak out in-game rather than lashing out irl.

[@tempesttossed6029]

Yeah, you're right. I think the takeaway then is to question why so many can't have nice things irl. Of course it's catharsis. Isn't it incredibly bleak that so many will never own a home, be able to fund their hobbies, live in beutiful places, or generally just exist with such low stakes in their life? Catharsis indeed

[@MegaRonTV]

Your Sims can get squashed by a vending machine!? 😮

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

They can also get killed by extreme emotions and having a murphy bed which can randomly kill you for no good reason. You have to kick and shake the vending machine to get killed by it. You cause it. But there are also random death possibilities in Sims that feel almost unfair tbh. But that’s life. 🤷‍♂️ At least in Sims resurrection is legitimately a possibility. Sometimes.

[@MegaRonTV]

@@TheDawnofVanlife My brother and I were playing the Sims on GameCube and he randomly got eaten by a plant. That was a lot of fun. 😂

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

@@MegaRonTV Ahh yes, dear old Cowplant. 🤣🤣🤣

[@MegaRonTV]

@@TheDawnofVanlife Hungry thing, that Cowplant!

[@bookcat123]

You can also get killed by a rabbit.

[@Biittle]

My cozy fantasy is bringing order into chaos, which is why I sometimes turn fallout 4 into a cozy game by installing a mod that lets me remove debris and trash from any settlement. Cleanup sims are such a good time.

[@leo_warren]

They're a way to escape the box, only to be in a bigger box. It's boxes all the way up and all the way down.

[@CapnNapalm]

Tom Nooks immense wealth has sort of been built up over the series. He was pretty much running a shack in the first game through the wii one, but was funded enough to expand his local store through house payments and store purchases. In Animal Crossing New Leaf, his real estate business grew massively, and he no longer needs the retail store, passing it down to his nephews. I interpret his "empire" at this point as him having a chokehold on the entire real estate market in the new leaf town, since he's the only builder in town. He likely also gets a kick back from the old retail store as well. With this in mind, its possible that he would have the money to create that whole island retreat thing from New Horizons On a funnier note, I've seen a few reports that the original games directors don't intend for tom nook to be considered a bad guy, and were very taken aback when fans saw him in a negative light

[@lazydroidproductions1087]

Hey, the guy built his empire from nothing and builds full houses in single nights that are cheap enough to pay off by selling fruits, bugs, and flowers for a few days, with 0% interest.

[@kcazllerraf]

Adding to the list at the end, Dan Olsen's "Oops I did a colonialism in minecraft" is another really insightful look at the uncomfortable parallels between sandbox games and reality

[@antoinechampagne7108]

I truly think cozy games are not that deep. Cozy is defined by what you find relaxing, and this usually comes with simplicity, lack of consequences, lovable characters and fun. I consider Haven, Sands of Senaar and Sable to be cozy games. Yet they are displayed in futuristic and post apocalyptic settings, some of them presents a harsh world in which people around you struggle for food or deep elitism causing problems to our characters and giving a reason to make them evolve in the world. In the end thought, despite how terrible their universes are or may be, the point of the game is still to just run around, explore in a smooth easy to pick up gameplay that doesn't need deep game knowledge, reflexes or mechanical mastery to enjoy. It's games you can play because they are simple and far from stressful. Not everything needs to have a message.

[@Rizhiy13]

5:05 TBH a bit of a US-centric perspective. Given adequate rental protections and healthy housing market, renting can be much better than owning. You don't need to worry about shit breaking, you have the freedom to move around often, you don't need to worry about most of your net worth being tied down in one illiquid asset, etc. I'm renting currently, even though I could buy the place I live in, but I don't think buying will make sense for me until I get children.

[@angelsartandgaming]

The whole thing with Minecraft reminds me of my favorite survival world. I spawned in these massive terracotta badlands. I've mined, build, and soon even transferred villagers from one place to this big terracotta town that I've made. But I have chests upon chests of pickaxes I've used for mining up this fairly rare biome. So one day, as an experiment to see how far I've come, I copied the seed and put myself in creative as a before and after. I saw just how different it was compared to what I've done. Some cliffs no longer existed and I forgot they were there in the first place. I realized how much I've stripped just to make a huge town for myself and these villagers I admit stole from another town way further away. There's a part of me that says that the villagers are happier here since there's more space, the houses are prettier than the oak homes they had previously, and the town has protections against zombies and pillagers. But was it worth stripping a lot of the rare terracotta badlands? Not sure. But despite this, I still love playing that world. It's where I've found the warden and lived, it's where I've found a nether fortress by myself, it's just a cool world.

[@NichePlays]

"They're not realistic; they're idealistic" -- You literally just found the words for something I wanted to describe in a video essay I wrote yesterday lmao. Mind if I snip that clip and use it in a video someday?

[@zoe_bee]

Of course, feel free! I'm excited to see it when it comes out!

[@rept7]

The bunch of hypothetical "Is it cozy to do X"s would probably have landed more if my playstyle in Animal Crossing New Horizons wasn't just "Try to woo the gazelle. Acquire hubby" instead of obsessing over bell and furniture acquisition.

[@appleseed8282]

I hate "Cozy" games because 80% of the time they are the most stressful things possible by being a Time-Attack calander Farming Sim

[@randomtinypotatocried]

I stopped playing Stardew Valley since the time system in the game stressed me out. I don't want to feel like I need to hurry up and get a bunch of stuff done in a short amount of time especially really get into farming

[@pisscvre69]

rise and grind is still rise and grind on a farm

[@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton]

same, i can't get into stardew valley for that reason, it makes me tired rather than relaxed

[@wygolvillage2637]

i feel like the idea of setting up a home and an economy on "uninhabited" land and controlling everything about it, like the island in animal crossing, the giant worlds of minecraft, etc. could warrant its own video essay, since the concept is kind of a colonialist fantasy?

[@zoe_bee]

I really recommend watching Folding Ideas' video on Colonialism in Minecraft! (kzbin.info/www/bejne/mmfMZoyiqpWgna8si=-kBvLMVFCrduCTS9)

[@lazydroidproductions1087]

Well if there’s nobody there, then yeah it’s technically colonialism like how Iceland was a colony of whichever mainland country its people came from, but who’s being hurt by it?

[@tempesttossed6029]

The word you're looking for is pioneer, not colonialism. Pioneer for uninhabited lands.

[@eos_aurora]

I know we all live in a capitalist society and that’s reflected in our games, however I am engaging in the fantasy of home ownership and that’s enough for me

[@Alyss93]

I find that as soon as my Sims get wealthy, and I make them a huge and fancy house, I get immediately bored. Totally agree with Simsie - the struggle, and the overcoming of it (or hilarious failure), is the fun.

[@alex_jellymath]

Great video! Some thoughts somewhat related to the topic: * It's a bit funny for me to see The Sims as a cozy game. I played only the first game in school and I had almost no idea how to manage sims so all kids usually end up somewhere in the military college, adults were struggling with jobs, etc. * I feel like I would personally think about the definition of "cozy game" as something without time constraints, easy to pick up, with a recognisable and rarely updated gameplay loop with some possibility to self-inserting yourself as "I am a farmer" or "I am an island inhabitant" * Because of that some games might work in some context, but not in all contexts. Like The Sims didn't work for me _initially_ but worked nicely as "I am a house builder" later... when I enabled cheats. Same with Minecraft, there is a lot of things happening at once initially, but if you focus on building and/or automation, there is a nice gameplay loop to do and it starts being cozy * With this definition some games might be fitting which I wouldn't include otherwise, but thinking about it, yeah, they are pretty cozy to me. One example of that is Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. Usually, not really cozy. Premium adventure (basically the game after the main story is completed) tho? Yeah, just do fishing, bowling, maybe some butt-kicking, and then repeat until you want to do something else in your life * In terms of more simulation-y games, I feel like the idea of basing it on real world and then removing all the flaws might be beneficial for ability to relate to this world and to set up a system where potential goals are clear enough without needing to explain everything. While my initial reaction for "mortgage" stuff in Animal Crossing was something along jokingly saying "oh no, it's too real", it also gave the idea "yeah, I guess I know what I need to do" and by doing that, inviting me to the gameplay loop of this game. Not too sure how it would work if you start in the world without those questionable assumptions. But it might be interesting to see as well

[@lazydroidproductions1087]

Uhhhh yeah I’m gonna get back to my endless production and industrial expansion simulation games, the inexorable tide of progress isn’t gonna march itself.

[@turtleme4811]

Literally

[@thrillhouse4151]

That’s what Final Fantasy 14 has turned into for me. Once I subbed and got access to the market board I immediately turned into a conniving merchant. In my last Minecraft world I had a sacrificial pit in the middle of my village and an eldritch portal machine that shredded pigmen from hell and filtered out their gold.

[@Tebbylous]

I think it's notable that Sims 2 and 3 (though especially 2) were FAR more outright sinister games. The sims in both had far more adversarial relations and negative traits, etc etc. It's one of the most common criticisms of Sims 4 in that everything about the sims is sanded down to this sort of generic blandness where-in nothing really happens. In Sims 2 it's honestly sometimes a struggle to keep your sims alive - it's very possible to just game your sim into a spiral of "Bad things happen, get sad, can't fix bad things because the sim is sad, get more sad," leading to death! Which is just grim! By comparison though Sims 4 was made far more inoffensive and free of conflict, which I think then in turn does far more to highlight the contradiction of this "whimsical capitalism" state of the world; because it's really all that's left.

[@Alex_Barbosa]

I dont know if id want to play a game that is just a sandbox though. Without that accumulation and distribution of resources there wouldnt be much gameplay. What im imagining from that would be something more along the line of Gary's Mod. You need that loop of spend, to make more, to spend more, to make more, and so on, in order to be a game. Alot of these games when played effectively come down to management simulators. Without that progression you dont have much left to gamify. Its just a sandbox. Like playing minecraft in creative mode. Which is fine, but its not really a "game". One way ive heard this described that i really liked is this: the difference between a game and not a game is like climbing a mountain. You could take a helicopter up there. Itd be much faster, convenient, and you could do what you wanted and move on to something else. But you dont want to do that. You want to climb the mountain with your own feet. Make the plans, put in the effort, and feel the struggle. When you get to the top you've won.

[@SavannahBurris]

Oh I’ve joked about the sims for years - “imagine being able to afford a house!”

[@BramdeGrootYT]

Kind of surreal to see my own work referenced by a video essayist I've been following for so long, but definitely flattering. Great video as always!

[@zoe_bee]

Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I love your work!

[@thag_simmons]

for me, part of what makes a game cozy is actively being able to make the choice not to repeat the cycle. Dwarf Fortress is one of my favorite games for this reason: much of the game will be violent and messy while never forcing me to be violent OR non-violent in return. If a family heirloom is stolen, I CAN send an army after the thief - but more often, I find myself switching control to an independent adventurer to track it down myself and wrestle it back when the thief is asleep. If monsters or other civilizations are interested in raiding my fort, I CAN make civilians armed to the teeth in labyrinths of saw-blade traps - but I think it's more fun to train civilians in dodging and escaping wrestling pins while building cage traps to catch and release anything too persistent. If my neighbors have goods and resources I'm interested in, I CAN mint coins so I can buy from them or just raid them outright - but I find it more fun to barter, even working around any annoying cultural restrictions on import and export. It feels meaningfully satisfying to me _because_ I'm allowed to choose torturous, apocalyptic violence and exploitation just as much as I'm allowed to choose altruism and sacrifice wealth for a happier society.

[@kylearchung8229]

this video is making me giddy. I love the spirit of this video. This is the kinda stuff i think of when i get high and reasses my beliefs.

[@Lunareon]

When you can't afford material things, vitality, control, and success in real life, the capitalist system offers you a digital substitute, in the form of a game, to keep you compliant in the system exploiting you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[@Critter_Farm]

Anytime I play Minecraft, I try my best to mess with the environment the LEAST that I can. I keep terrain manipulation to a minimum when building, I neurotically replant every tree I cut down, and I avoid strip mining. I didn't always do this; in older worlds, when I was younger, I'd spend a lot of time flattening the ground, filling in big gaps, hollowing out mountain sides, and making cave systems look like swiss cheese. Ever since I implemented my new gameplay habits, I have much, MUCH more fun with the game, and I feel like my construction projects turn out better because of it. It's definitely not for everyone, especially for chronic min-maxers or completionists (which I feel like most "cozy" games encourage by default), but I love it.

[@randomVimes]

'Imagine if the games werent constrained by these systems'... my imagination fail me, help? I think these games speaks to some base hoard-resources need in us humans, simple. And them scratching the creative itch, its a good combo. I dunno, watching this through a game design lens; the take felt off.

[@DrPhoerrets]

Thank you for this video! I've always felt uncomfortable with most cosy games as I can't *not* notice the capitalist systems in any and all cosy games. I've been playing a lot of Powerwash Simulator, and even that is all about getting paid to buy better equipment. I don't know what I want instead, maybe something about building, supporting, and sustaining a community through conversation, sharing resources, and making things together?

[@sco145]

There are so many games that are about accumulating wealth (but in a cute way)

[@pisscvre69]

i hate that all media is so focused on change, never just learning about a nice something thats unchanged by the end, like why not have a game where the beginning middle end, its all the same, your just doing an enjoyable thing and dont need any end point any endless growth just a nise little slice of existence to visit whenever you play, and consumerism is weird to me, ive rarely owned much of anything of my own i have no money of my own cuz disability, i just don’t understand the obsession with endless things, even with things i like like i love cute dresses but i dont feel a need to have every cute dress i just like that i have some i really like and will hold onto for prob many years unless theyre to damaged

[@tempesttossed6029]

​@@pisscvre69sounds like the type of game where you have a virtual pet or plant to care for. Rarely any plot, rarely do the subjects die, they are just there to care for endlessly and remain unchanged for the duration that you interact with them

[@Robert-vk7je]

My favourite cozy game is "Voices of the Void". You play as a scientist, capturing and decoding signales from space, while maintaining giant satellite dishes in a mountainous area somewhere in switzerland. Yeah, it's a horror game to be true, but I somehow find it also very cozy.

[@pisscvre69]

that fog in silent hill 2 is so cozy tho, the music is cozy, its all “creepy” sure but theres something comforting about it, but then many things i find calming others find unerving lol

[@Robert-vk7je]

@@pisscvre69 I'm glad to hear, that I'm not the only one. :)

[@pisscvre69]

@@Robert-vk7je creepy cozy gang UWUUWU

[@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton]

creepy and comfy. The Librarian's channel is focused on that kind of thing, and he played VotV as well. i love that.

[@Robert-vk7je]

@@spoonkyscenvyscreeleton I recently imported music videos from 65daysofstatic into the game and they play in the background of the ingame tv. Especially "Trackerplatz" suits a night in VotV so very darn well.

[@weberr313]

I find when I play "cozy" games (Palia, Minecraft and Animal Crossing) I have this period of excitement and fun that degrades into "grind" and you put this progression and the dirft I feel from the games (which is pretty faster now than when I first started playing these type games) gets faster every generation. You really got to the heart of it, I love your work.

[@sourgreendolly7685]

I never thought of The Sims as idealist tbh. Been playing from the start and it's always been about storytelling to me. The perspective makes sense, just hadn't considered it before.

[@BlackJar72]

"The seminal cozy game..." where my whole family died in 5 minutes, and second household was almost destroyed by a demonic clown.

[@aislingayers5214]

This was a good analysis! I would like to throw into the mix that there's a really good three-part video by Nowhere Grotesk called "Your Island is a Commune," that analyzes Animal Crossing specifically in the context of the historical legacy and traditions of the Japanese Anarchist movement. It changed a lot of how I though of the game and actually made me understand its functions and Tom Nook specifically a lot better.

[@iansw8536]

I definitely never considered Minecraft survival mode to be cozy. It can be downright terrifying. It also does illustrate an important point about accumulation of resources in that, if the player doesn’t care about (or has already defeated) the Ender Dragon, there becomes a threshold of power & building wherein boredom starts to happen. Once the challenge is gone and the biomes explored, either one has to enjoy making interesting & weird shaped buildings and red stone mechanisms, or one is likely to lose interest entirely (if they stick to lone survival mode).

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

I think a survival game can be cozy. Like you CAN starve to death in sims if you don’t make money and eat food. You can drown. You can electrocute yourself if you mess with too many electronics unskilled. There’s even a range of accidental deaths possible that would technically not be your fault and just be random chance (like the murphy bed death). Many of them, however, are intentionally unrealistic and the possibility of resurrection even exist . But this is still unlike something like Animal Crossing where eating food is a booster. Your character could never eat and they won’t die. Project Zomboid is in a way a cozy game as it really is a survive-as-long as you can game loop. Much like say Tetris, there is no real ‘end’, it’s about how long you can keep going and the goal is to do better and better each loop as you understand the mechanics of the gameplay loop and what leads to not dying quickly. Cozy doesn’t have to mean a candy-colored wonderland, it just doesn’t have the direct goals of some more story based RPGs. It can have story, but it’s usually a little loose with it’s rules when it does.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

I agree with a lot of what you said, but kinda disagree on For Rent introducing something out there with property ownership and landlords in For Rent. You have a landlord in both the City Living and Eco lifestyle packs if you rent the prebuilt apartments in the game so landlords who could come after you for Rent already existed as unplayable NPCs for many years now and as soon as you rent in city living, which is several years old at this point, you get the reminder not to miss rent or else. And you could own AND profit from real estate in Sim 3. Sims 2 also had an NPC landlord figure. The only change is being able to PLAY landlord and not just be on the receiving end of their property neglect. Cause there is is no gameplay loop if everything is just perfect in the apartment. Sims still has ‘having a home’ by default. If you do get evicted you just go back to the bin of ‘not in world’ and can litterally move back into the apartment you were evicted from and just keep playing. The bigger problem of For Rent is the pack literally sucks and didn’t work on Launch and the world of Tomerang had less lots then most Expansion Packs for Sims 4. My sims tend to stay middle class. I never chase the mansion unless it’s for storytelling. When I feel they have the exact right size house and things for their needs I tend not to worry about giving them more. Or bigger and focus in the next generation and getting them there. I actually felt done with Animal Crossing when there was no need to change my house or the island anymore, my character had what she needed and the island was where I wanted it. More gameplay would have been change for change sake and I was happy having written an end point. The ability to achieve satisfaction and let go is what’s cozy about cozy games to me. In Sims if my elder dies having lived a decent life, I am ok with that even if he never bought a mansion.

[@byronlopezellington8839]

Not this coming out right after I decided to start a new Stardew Valley farm lmao. Great video! I want to add though that I think SDV, while still idealist, engages a bit more heavily in critiquing its own world (and ours) than many cozy games, with most of the characters having some depressing part or another of their backstory, often caused by the systems of capitalism (that the player, admittedly, then uses to help fix those problems).

[@EnordAreven]

I was wondering if you were going to mention the time when the Sims had its first press release and due to the fact that they put it to an older version that was more consistent all the Sims we're walking around being bisexual and it was one the first times LGBT characters got representation in mainstream Gaming.

[@nevercurrentgames90]

You should play Spiritfarer. It gets around a lot of the cozy game tropes by being set in the afterlife, so the idealism comes less from resource extraction and consumerism, and more about giving lost souls a comfortable time in purgatory before they embrace true death. Each objective ends with a profound connection to a character rather than continuing in perpetuity for the sake of it.

[@LaPrincipessaNuova]

This was good timing for this video for me, because I finally got around to trying Stardew Valley and then have been playing The Sims a lot over the last week or two after getting bored with Stardew Valley. I found myself sitting there being like, “This is supposed to be my escape from the capitalist grind to have a nice, peaceful moment, but now I’m just watching my Sim sit in front of a computer writing a book, feeling guilty about the fact that I should be working on my book.” I also was thinking there are three versions of The Sims I want to see now: - One where the economy is zero sum, and every bit of money you make comes from another Sim in the world, and as you get richer, you see the Sims around you getting poorer, sicker, etc due to your actions. - One where you slowly dismantle the capitalist system and build a communist utopia - One where your Sim starts to become capital-obsessed the more money you make and the actions available start to become increasingly evil, e.g. dehumanizing the poor in social interactions.

[@otherperson]

Another good KZbin series on the cozy game Animal Crossing is Nowhere Grotesque's "Your Island Is A Commune" which talks about how part of the joy of Animal Crossing relates to the autonomy and local particularity inherent in concepts of Furusato, social ecology, and anarchism.

[@Namadu7]

Thank you for this! Just watched the first video thanks to your comment, and it was an excellent and very thought-provoking watch! I've never played Animal Crossing, but that perspective kinda makes it appeal to me more now... ...Oh, I kinda forgot to actually watch Zoe's video. Maybe I should do that next. :P

[@SnoFitzroy]

I never thought of Minecraft as falling into the "cozy" category, especially considering how the online community has been acting lately, but this video kinda turned me around on that. Also, I gotta know: What's your favorite mob? I unironically love Creepers and Phantoms because I find them adorable, even though everyone else considers them annoying LOL

[@themadkipaerys6713]

Same here. I do wish the community was a bit nicer I personally love the new Sniffer (what’s not to love about a dinosaur-pig-turtle with six legs?), as well as the axolotl, wandering trader (fun and intriguing) and drowned (Spooky creatures coming up from the depths with flooded lungs and pupiless dead eyes. Scary in a somewhat unique and evocative way)

[@milesmartin9624]

I think basically anything that isn't competitive/ranked multiplayer has been described as "cozy"

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

I think minecraft is cozy. Plenty of cozy games have toxic gaming communities. Anything that gets big enough will have that problem.

[@ember9361]

@@TheDawnofVanlife yeah, but some games kind of harbour a ... special... type of toxic.

[@TheDawnofVanlife]

@@ember9361 Litterally I have never seen one big game escape having a toxic side to it. They all kinda suck after a while, even the cozy games that look like sunshine and rainbows on screen can have really toxic sides to their community.

[@hhhpestock951]

I wanna create a 'cozy' game where just about everything is always scary and going wrong But still make it feel cozy just to mess with you while you play it

[@brittballsVLOGS]

Some of the “coziest” games in history have led to me and many of my other gamer friends having pages upon pages of notes on things to acquire, fish to catch, meals to cook, flowers to breed etc. I had to use a white board to finish stardew valley

[@Drawoon]

Have you heard of A Short Hike? I found that game to be much cozier than stardew valley or minecraft. And as far as I remember, it doesn't have capitalism.

[@001variation]

Does OP want a video game that has no money? Like an animal crossing with no shop, the only things you get are things you find or are given. Or some kind of post-capitalist thing with no money that's just a game of social politics. Idk. Don't be afraid of money, it's a useful concept in real life and in video games.

[@luvamiart8567]

Another part of the cozy illusion is a working meritocrazy. If you do things right, it turns out right. You get what you work for and your work always has the same value. There is no bad luck or corruption of the system, no uncertainty of the unknown. (Love your videos, Zoe!)

[@robloggia]

My go to cozy game is The Forest. It provides the cozy experience of building a log cabin in the pacific northwest but will occasionally remind me that circumstances set in motion decades before my birth mean that peace was never an option.

[@erikbrock5444]

That same realization was what ultimately made me lose interest in playing these kinds of games. Like omg, I'm literally just doing more 9 to 5 busy work, except with a fantasy skin pasted on it.

[@eos_aurora]

Good exploration, I like that you don’t shy away from the contradictions in your ideas and thoughts

[@olympiaelda1121]

The Sims was created in times when home-ownership was affordable and degrees did give you a headstart...

[@agithamoon2436]

To me, the "hard work will always pay off" factor is very big. As an artist, I can never be 100% sure that my hard work will get recognition or even a paycheck. But even for people with stable jobs, the future seems to look more and more unstable and bleak. There may have been a time where a half time job would get you through college or where you would be almost gauranteed to get a job afterwards and keep that same job (that btw pays for a house, car, wife, kids, a vacation once a year and a hobby) until you retired. In animal crossing or stardew valley or the sims, the grinding will always pay off. And in those games you can choose to go the boring, grindy route to get rich af or you can take it slower and live more modestly (not sure if that is the right word in english) but you still won't starve or be in danger of being homeless or getting ill, etc. And if you're done living like a wild man or rummaging through garbage or selling rocks you found... the normal life (or the intended gameplay loop) in those games will always welcome you back! You can take breaks and work hard when and how long you like. In sdv I won't lose anything by just living off forage and never touch a hoe or watering can, ever. And if I'm sick of doing that, I can still put in the elbow grease and craft a million kegs to get filthy rich. There is no real timer that runs out, you will never lose your skills and you don't have to worry about what others think. And there are people who make those cozy games harder for themselves by making them more realistic, more punishing but even then the hard work and persistence will pay off eventually. Real life is like a game based entirely on luck and a million hidden stats that are so complicated that you can't really figure out how they decrease or increase or how they affect any given situation. Cozy games are kind of "life but fair" and that's why we like capitalism in those games. Because capitalism wouldn't be too bad if it was entirley predictable and somewhat optional. Sorry for my long rant, I really liked the video and it explained a lot to me =)

[@seacrystal6189]

I don't think these games are trying to spread a particulary capitalistic message. Yes, being free irl with no bosses and landlords ect. would make life infinitely more enjoyable, but these are games. In games you need to have goals. If it really was a complete sandbox with nothing holding the protagonist back it would be boring as hell Look at Papa's games for example. The plot of those games is always something along the lines of an average person without much money being forced to do a minimum wage job by themselves, as well as buying upgrades for the restaurant with their own money. Does that make Papa's games a critique of capitalism? Or are they simply using the mechanics that are usually used to keep players hooked on the game?

[@diegoseba12]

I've played some "cozy games", like Stardew Valley and The Sims, and I never really found them relaxing. Personally I was always looking to minmax and do everything as efficiently as possible lol Although people wouldn't classify this as a cozy game, Factorio did make me feel relaxed somehow lmao

[@jademonass2954]

my favorite cozy game is stardew valley but it is FAR from a "doing very little" type of thing, its a "im completing the CC in year 1 and achieving perfection by the 2nd" type of thing 100% doing the captalism simulation type of game, you are so correct