Why Care About Wholesome Games Anyway?
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- Опубліковано 10 жов 2023
- It's no secret there has been a noticeable rise in visibility for "wholesome" games-games with non-violent, often inclusive, themes and mechanics. Titles such as Unpacking, A Short Hike, and Ooblets are just some examples of games that have hit a level of popularity, rivaling their more violent counterparts. However, whether it's been content creators, development, discourse, showcases, events, or exploration of cozy games: What are some of the actual numbers behind this rise, and why does it matter? Using information gathered by the creators of Wholesome Games, this 2023 Fair Play Summit panel explores the viability of wholesome games-their business, impact, and meaning for the industry and beyond.
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I love A Short Hike, Journey, Abzu, Wandersong… Surely there are plenty of “unwholesome” games out there. If you don’t like wholesome games, you don’t need to play them.
I feel as though there is an influx of people who have mental health concerns, and that is the reason why wholesome games are doing so well.
Because the world sucks. Wars, terrorism, conflicts, hate. I feel like I no longer want to play games that represent those things
Thank you so much to all the panelists for sharing your thoughts on wholesomeness and coziness in games. I was especially glad that you directed us toward the work by Tanya X Schwartz and the rest of the group at The Twelfth Annual Game Design Think Tank: "Group Report: Coziness in Games: An Exploration of Safety, Softness, and Satisfied Needs" around 53:40. It looks to be an excellent, informative read on how coziness has been used in many popular titles and how it could be best leveraged in future titles.
I like a lot of so-called wholesome games, but going into this I thought of it as a slightly exploitative buzzword to sell games to casual audiences. Now I think it's more accurate to think of wholesomeness as yet another emotional experience that developers can offer players, as either a reprieve from more stressful gameplay elements or life itself.
Does anyone know what is said at around 33:20? "I am an advisor to *Callum Knights*?". Closed caption is scrambled.
Figured it out. "Kowloon Nights" 😇
Can you people suggest a wholesome game settled in space / sci-fi?
Depends on your definition of wholesome, but a few different ones are “Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime”, “Outer Wilds” and “Heaven’s Vault”
Outer wilds is amazing and strangely comforting
Out of Space is a delightful game about cleaning alien goo out of houses in space - it's zany and a bit hectic, but very cutesy and charming
There's a free fan game called "No Mario's sky" where mario explores new planets, each one has different kinds of goombas.
Really cute.
I will try my best! My kids give me inspiration for designing kid friendly artworks and games. ✌🏾🥰💯💙
would be cool if they cover my game
Wonderful panel! We make tabletop RPGs that teach sign language and would definitely define our games as wholesome. Some of our peers don’t appreciate the term for being reductive, but personally I appreciate any association with positivity and potentially community.
these people are so wholesome
10 years ago we were flooded with "walking simulators" that replace gameplay with story. Now the trend is "wholesome" games. Same thing, but switching story with feel good dopamine hits. These games will be easy to spot because they're often also described as "comfy" as well.
i entirely disagree. many wholesome games are defined by their touching and deeply personal stories, and even then manage to retain fun and addicting gameplay - take a look at outer wilds, potionomics or a short hike. you could argue that traditional games with fast-paced violent combat are just mindlessly throwing shallow dopamine hits at the player.
How is outer wilds a wholesome game. It has so many phobias crammed in the small world.@@uhhmir
@@TheOrian34 as the panelists said, its a very subjective category, but i (and other people ive talked to) consider it cozy in a way almost no other video game is. the campfire marshmallows and all of the dudes playing their instruments in their lonely planets just hit me different
I mean, i consider Dark Souls 3 to be a wholesome game, and I think others would agree
It's an interesting way of calling chill giving up against the end of the universe@@uhhmir
Once massive issue i find in the media space today is that the wholesome games are often drowned out by the thousand other movies, games and writings that are dreadfully negative. Often times even with new people joining the industry they'll create a new work that revolved around someone having to survive a brutal adversary/world. It seems that every other movie that my parents watch is someone killing or murdering someone else for the sake of plot. It feels wrong and I'd love to be able to help steer it back toward a more light state of being.
Great panel!
Drink every time they say 'wholesome games'!
How are you saving the environment with one-way coffee cups?
Not a fan of this type of title'ing. Just title it 'Wholesome Games'
...A Short Hike, thatgamecompany, Ico/Shadow/Sky: Children of the Light, Stillness of the Wind (in-ward feelings type games)
but I also balance it out with 'This War of Mine' 'Papers, Please' 'Death Stranding' (games that make you realise other people's STRUGGLES.
You can care about 'wholesome' games, and the 'Me, Me, Me' cozies, but you can also care about games not focused about coddling your feelings and actually help shed light on what is happening in the conflicting natures of humans.
There's religious hate wars going on, and I doubt, a little cozy/wholesome game is going to cover that, so yah, care about whatever is closest to your heart right now.
The cadence of ending the sentences with a fading volume in questioning/uncertain tone. Quit it. Be more assertive and sure about what you're talking about. Victoria and Jenny not so much, but the other two just need to own up and be more sure.
It just sounds like Cancel Culture/Walking-on-egg-shells/I'm always nice type of pretentiousness that I don't care much for.
I reject cosy/coddling games, I just want good art. Theme and messaging are more important to me than dopamine junk food games and I'd like to see the indie scene embrace being bold and making something with a lasting impact over a short-term feel-good cosy injection
Not every game has to reflect the harsh reality, it wont help anyone suffering in real life if you play a game that makes you suffer. sometime people can just enjoy their hobbies. and, if youre looking for a game categorized as "wholesome" that wont coddle feelings, try night in the woods. it offers sharp commentary on economic stagnation in the rust belt, disassociative disorders, familial obligations and the treatments of those who are deemed "obsolete" or "burderns" within society.
@@uhhmir I love Night in the Woods, it has substance. Ultimately a game like Night in the Woods has more lasting appeal than a throwaway cosy game exactly because it has substance; personally I think junk food games could be replaced by any other vice and they don’t impart a message on the player that might go someway towards improving their lives. Games like Journey invigorate me, they’re not just a temporary distraction from a depressing life in the same way alcohol or TikTok are.
Not saying these games don’t have a place in the industry because they do, but I think they’re a little over represented by now
@@Barnacl3_Boi great points, i very much agree with what you're saying, but i think the distinction here is that, in my opinion, things like tiktok and alcohol (strangely bundled into the same category) tend to distract from stress, while "wholesome" games offer actual relief. my country is currently under heavy attack, and i found myself suddenly less inclined to play COD and drawn to open up some mindless relaxing game like unpacking, which actually improved my well being and productivity. theres definitely a lot of generic cozy games, but every game genre has its trash and shovelware, this one's no different
@@uhhmir I hope you and your family are doing okay, it’s awful that countries should be invaded in the 21st century and my heart goes out to you. I guess my position on cosy games is that they have the same cultural value as knitting or colouring- therapeutic during downtime, but I think a game can be therapeutic to play while providing a profound experience like Okami or Journey. I’d like to see more devs try something ambitious and artistic, especially in the indie space where they’re unencumbered by exec demands
Toxic positivity
Wtf are we doing
Why are they wearing masks? Very strange and sus behavior. who asked them to wear it? no one else in the crowd is wearing it.
maybe one of them is sick
Because they care. Because they're not assholes
@@kevinwillems8720 think before you speak. your statement infers that people who do wear masks under unknown circumstances are assholes who don't care about others.
Why do you care so mucH?
not sure what you mean by "so much". But im asking to incite a conversation.