Provides an opportunity to probe deeply into the genre of “cozy” games, which came to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic with games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020). We consider not only how gentle, wholesome, and domestic games predated the “cozy” label, but also how the moniker “cozy” predates cozy games (for instance, in cozy mysteries). In addition to questioning the typical gender coding of these games and their players, we will read and play extensively in order to think about the genre’s contested boundaries and why its classic themes of comfort, domesticity, and interpersonal relations often dovetail with (implied) violence, nature and the outdoors, and even death.
4
UnitsOptional
Grading1, 2, 3
PasstimeNone
Level LimitLetters and science
College
Christina Venegas
2.4
Charles Wolfe
4.4
Lisa Parks
4.4
Peter Bloom
2.6