http://hdl.handle.net/11089/53914 2026-04-04T09:36:03Z 2026-04-04T09:36:03Z Mazurkiewicz, Adam http://hdl.handle.net/11089/53939 2024-12-10T02:31:15Z 2024-11-29T00:00:00Z

Gry farmerskie utrzymane w estetyce cozy jako fantazmat marzeń o prostym życiu Mazurkiewicz, Adam The article is devoted to the trend of farm games, which can be described using the aesthetics of cozy / “coziness”. The countryside life they create is based on cultural phenomena (mainly slow cinema and idyllic images derived from popular songs). What characterizes cozy games is creating the impression of slowness and putting relationships above competition or achieving the intended goal. For this reason, the stages of “life” on the farm, which make up the player’s functioning in the game – sowing, waiting for the harvest, and harvest itself – become the goal in themselves, constituting a source of satisfaction thanks to their repetition. The cyclicality inherent in the routine corresponds to the renewal proper to ritual time. The participation in this act of the user of the game allows them to enter this time in order to take part in a ritual that gives additional meaning to what is monotonous. The aim of the article is to present farm games as a realization in the digital space of a phantasm about a “simple life,” which is a response to the social reality dynamically changing due to the influence of technology. At the same time, this dream is an artistic manifestation of a broader existential project, which is the slow life trend.; Artykuł poświęcony jest nurtowi gier farmerskich, które można opisać za pomocą estetyki cozy/„przytulności”. Kreowane w nich życie na wsi oparte jest o zjawiska kulturowe (głównie kino slow cinema i idylliczne obrazy wywiedzione z piosenek popularnych). Tym, co charakteryzuje gry cozy, jest tworzenie wrażenia powolności i przedkładania relacji ponad rywalizację czy osiągnięcie zamierzonego celu. Z tego względu etapy „życia” na farmie, składające się na funkcjonowanie gracza w rozgrywce – sianie, oczekiwanie na zbiory, żniwa – urastają do celu samego w sobie, dzięki swej powtarzalności stanowiąc źródło satysfakcji. Wpisana w rutynę cykliczność koresponduje z właściwą dla czasu rytualnego odnową. Uczestniczenie w tym akcie użytkownika gry pozwala mu zarazem wejść w ów czas, aby wziąć udział w rytuale tworzącym sens naddany temu, co jednostajne. Celem artykułu jest prezentacja gier farmerskich jako realizacji w cyfrowej przestrzeni fantazmatu o „prostym życiu”, będącym odpowiedzią na dynamicznie zmieniającą się pod wpływem technologii rzeczywistość społeczną. Marzenie to jest zarazem artystycznym przejawem szerszego projektu egzystencjalnego, jakim jest nurt slow life.

2024-11-29T00:00:00Z Buergi, Justin http://hdl.handle.net/11089/53938 2024-12-10T02:31:18Z 2024-11-29T00:00:00Z

Idle Games: A Cozy Genre Turned Exploitative Buergi, Justin This paper explores the connection between cozy games and idle games, analyzing shared elements and underlying principles. Cozy games are characterized by an emphasis on comfort, relaxation, and safety, offering players an escape from the pressure of daily life through soothing gameplay experiences. Meanwhile, idle games feature waiting as a core mechanic, allowing progress to be made even in the player’s absence. This provides a continuous sense of growth and progression throughout the player’s day but may also lead to frequent engagements to optimize production. Furthermore, this desire for continuous progress may also be exploited by developers who capitalize on player impatience by incorporating microtransactions that expedite progression in exchange for real-world money. Thus, while idle games can fit within the cozy game genre, their monetization practices raise questions about ethical responsibility on the part of game developers and taint the genre’s potential as a serene gaming experience.

2024-11-29T00:00:00Z Chmielewski, Krzysztof Majewski, Jakub http://hdl.handle.net/11089/53937 2024-12-10T02:31:13Z 2024-11-29T00:00:00Z

Brewing Happiness Design Aspects of Coffee Representation in Cozy Games Chmielewski, Krzysztof; Majewski, Jakub This paper examines the way coffee is represented and used in cozy games. As a genre, cozy games are defined by the concepts of safety, abundance, and softness, which together establish a sense of coziness. Coffee, commonly associated with casual and friendly social situations, has a potential to be a strong contributor to coziness within cozy games. To explore this, the authors identified 27 cozy games containing coffee-related elements, and then performed a qualitative analysis on their content. The analysis found it was comparatively rare for coffee themes to strongly impact the overall game experience; however, there was a significant tendency for coffee to amplify the game’s overall sense of coziness.

2024-11-29T00:00:00Z Smith, Caighlan http://hdl.handle.net/11089/53936 2024-12-10T02:31:16Z 2024-11-29T00:00:00Z

Getting Cozy with the Zombie Apocalypse: The Saferoom as Capitalist Breakroom in "Left 4 Dead" and "Back 4 Blood" Smith, Caighlan This article considers how players experience coziness inside t h e saferooms of Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, and Back 4 Blood, which are ot herwise high-demand, fast-paced first-person shooter zombie games. Pairing Agata Waszkiewicz and Martyna Bakun’s concept of “situational coziness” with James Ash’s “intense space,” this discussion first explores how moments of coziness can occur within competitive and stressful FPS environments, and indeed may be considered cozy specifically in how they afford temporal, spatial, aesthetic, and audial reprieves from the stress of those environments. I explore how such situational coziness, when produced as both break from and reward for succeeding at stressful zombie apocalypse gameplay, contributes to the zombie genre’s ability to allow players performances of an idealized iteration of capitalism’s work/ leisure cycle, as both “work” and “leisure” have come to be defined under and in service to exploitative capitalist labor conditions.

2024-11-29T00:00:00Z