Feeling snug in the virtual.
THOUGHTS ON #6: COSY PIXELS
‘Tis the season and all that, and it just so happens that this particular season relies heavily on cosiness. Videogames aren’t necessarily cosy in and of themselves, but certain titles definitely evoke the feeling, and cosiness while playing is definitely a thing, but actually within the virtual worlds themselves? With some games it’s joy or fear, with others it’s excitement, and quite often frustration rears its head, but on occasion, you’ll get one that makes you feel cosy. It isn’t really a feeling I had associated with the content of games before, or at least it’s not something I’d given much thought to – maybe I’m appreciating the nuance of the range of experiences games can offer the older I get? Regardless, looking back, it’s definitely something I have experienced. Other than the elemental feedback of impacting events on a telly, and as I said, the excitement, frustration, joy, fear, and whatever other emotions that games usually elicit from us, there is also cosiness. The former examples I’m sure are universal in gaming, but cosiness? It doesn’t, or at least didn’t seem to be at the forefront of the kinds of experiences game designers wanted to impart (at least in the games I usually play), but it’s there. This got me thinking the other day about what games have created this experience for me in the past, and thus this list was formed. Not a top ten, not the cosiest ever, nor a comprehensive list (not by a long shot). Just a list of a few games I’ve played over the years that I’ve felt cosy in. This isn’t an essay either, by the way, just to temper your expectations… although the word count is already ridiculous seeing as I haven’t even properly started. Oh, the joys of writing on my own blog – jokes on you readers. Cue maniacal laugh, and a laborious transition to the first example.
Please excuse the excessive use of .gif files throughout the post by the way, but I felt they illustrated the point much better than a static image. Some loading may be required!
TOCA 2: Touring Cars (PS1):
My early forays into vehicular gaming were things like Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing, Crash Team Racing, Colin McRae Rally, Driver, Ridge Racer, Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer, F-Zero, and Daytona USA. The latter there is driven particularly deep into my mind as the music was always blaring out from the arcades on our numerous summer beach days. It resides in my mind as a sort of screen saver, and more than once has prompted my wife to tell me to shut up if I’m repeatedly banging out the limited lyrical content in my less than tuneful voice. Regardless of the rather large variety of racing games I played as a child, none of them made me feel cosy, as you might expect. The one that did, however, was TOCA 2, and I didn’t even own the thing at the time, just having access to a demo of it, which was mostly likely acquired from Official PlayStation magazine, or the like.
From my memory, the demo had a smattering of available tracks and cars, and starting out on whatever track I picked, I entered first person view, and took over from the driver, the wheel before me, surrounded by dials and trim. The weather was gloomy, and the sky was dark. It was raining too, and the windscreen wipers swung side to side in a hypnotic motion. This along with the pita patter of rain, and in the brief moment of calm before the lights switched to green and the race began, I felt cosy, and this feeling only endured as I pulled up on the gravel and sat in quiet contemplation.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2)
The Elfsong Tavern… The hauntingly melodic singing that is synonymous with the location only adds to the cosy feeling here. The tavern is dimly lit, decorated with the trophy of a Beholder, and populated by a smattering of the city’s folk. You arrive after being accosted in the streets by bandits, and it is here that you’ll find a safe haven, albeit briefly. The calm before the storm, as it were, is found here. This won’t be the only tavern on the list, and in putting this together, I get the feeling that I am lacking in real world pub time. Although giant rats in the basement isn’t something I usually go for, but beggars can’t be choosers - and neither can weary adventurers.
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (PC):
The emerging theme of this blog is that at some point SWG gets mentioned. That won’t likely change as it was, and still is such a big part of my gaming DNA. It’ll come as no surprise then that this entry gets two examples. There are more than two examples of cosiness in Galaxies – a lot more, but I’ll restrict myself to two for now. The first, and probably the most enduring of all is the following, and it’s a very wanky write up of my early memories of playing the game, so I do apologise.
Night falls on Corellia, and you venture out of Coronet cantina, leaving behind the hubbub there, having been buffed up and rested in preparation for your upcoming adventure. You climb aboard your land speeder then and weave through the dense city, and swarming crowds, coming to the Starport. There you hop off and pick up a couple of missions from the terminal before climbing into your speeder again and darting out of the city, passing under an arched gate and out into the open wilderness. You navigate the rough terrain then, crossing rivers and lakes as you avoid lairs of aggressive creatures. You pass through the forest and come to the grassy plains beyond, eventually reaching the coast. You look up and smile to see the starry nights sky streaked with whirling clouds and as you come to a stop by a quiet clearing, you decide to camp for a while. You check your inventory and unpack the tent you constructed earlier. A moment later the domed structure, complete in a vague camouflage, is built. A campfire is lit, and a small folding chair is placed beside it. The crackling of burning logs sounds out over the faint music that plays in the background (composed by John Williams, of course), and as you take a load off, you watch the distant herd of Gurrcats passing by and the butterflies flittering about your camp. Perhaps you’ll go down to the water for some fishing, or remain in camp to practice your Slitherhorn? You could meditate on your Teräs Käsi skills perhaps? Or prepare yourself to complete the missions you picked up in the city? Whatever you choose, you’ve got plenty of time ahead of you, and as you relax in your camp, you enter the cosy zone.
You know if you live in a flat, and in mid-December, because you don’t have a fireplace, you have to put a YouTube video of burning logs on your telly, and have a massive drink of Kahlua or something? Well, that comes close to the kind of cosy I’m edging towards in my second example. SWG, for some reason, has a particular Christmassy feel about it for me. Perhaps because I played it more during the winter months, or because it’s full of Life Day items… Either way, there is a certain aesthetic that emerges from a well decorated player house that drives this feeling. One can put their own stamp on things with the decoration and crafting systems afforded to the player by the game, and these systems only improved with age. The decoration commands in particular were rather rudimentary to begin with, especially by today’s standards, but with simple tools, great things can be accomplished. Back in the day on the old SOE forums there was a competition known as the Galactic Home Show, and this allowed for players to show off their creativity with décor, and it was a point of pride to have the associated badge on my forum name, having won it once or twice. Complex and creative scenes within player structures were impressive, but for a sense of cosiness, it was the more restrained and homely designs that worked best. Unfortunately, as the original servers have long since been shut down, and I am unable to offer an insight into my house then, but having played on the Legends server for several hundred hours, I have managed to recapture some of the magic… The Gamorrean serves an excellent Vasarian Brandy, if you ask nicely.
Click the link below for more thoughts on this game.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360):
Much like Dark Alliance, Oblivion shares the aesthetics that compliment cosiness best. Fantasy games are perfect for this sort of thing, and Elder Scrolls games are no exception. North of the Imperial City, along the Red Ring Road, we find a little haven, a place to warm our hands and to fill our bellies. The Roxey Inn. The Elder Scrolls games are jam packed with taverns, of course, but this one remains in my mind for it was the first time in the game that I met an NPC with a full set of Daedric armour (not pictured, and not particularly cosy). I felt rather insignificant in the world at that point, and while any one of the characters there could have cut me to pieces, it felt safe there, and the crackling fire only helped.
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (PC):
Another drinking establishment here, and this one is Salieri’s Bar. No, obviously I wouldn’t actually want to find myself in the headquarters of a mafioso family, but there is absolutely no arguing the fact that old Don Salieri runs a decent watering hole. The atmosphere here changes throughout the game, but on occasion it’s bustling, full of life, and there’s a haze of smoke in the air, making it even more cosy. No one wants to stink of cigarettes in reality, but it’s certainly a nice touch here, and as you can see, the bartender Luigi ensures that all the glassware is spotless.
Click the links below for more thoughts on this game.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox):
Umm… does this count as a tavern? It’s a cantina… I’m not an alcoholic… Anyway, cantinas are abundant in the Knights of the Old Republic, and while there isn’t a huge variety in them, they each offer a strange kind of comfort. Perhaps it’s the melodic music, the entertainers, the Pazaak players? Or perhaps it’s the thrill of the underworld… whatever the case may be, stopping off for a bit down time a long time ago and very far away is always enjoyable.
I thought I was done with this one, but I just couldn’t help but include the Ebon Hawk, one of the best ships in a game, and also one of the cosier spaces comprised mostly of metal… Here you’ll speak with your companions as you travel the galaxy, and if no one is feeling chatty, you’ll always get some companionship from the soft humming of the hyperdrive in the background, and the odd beeping of T3-M4 and the various pieces of equipment that keep the ship running. There are other ships in other games, of course, but this one sums them all up.
Fable (Xbox):
This is more of a hall than a tavern, although all the taverns in Albion provide an equally excellent atmosphere. After your village has been burned to the ground, your family and everyone you know killed or captured, you are taken into the care of the Heroes’ Guild, and it’s there you spend the rest of your youth, living and training within its walls. You eventually grow into an adult as the game progresses, and you embark on your adventures as either a hero, or a villain. You can also become known as arse face and you can kick a lot of chickens... That’s beside the point however, through all your exciting questing, you can always return home to the guild, and there you will find friendly and like-minded individuals, and at the heart of the institution is the feast hall. Hard to capture it in its most spirited form, but it’s cosily lit, and tended by a hearty barkeep. The perfect place to recuperate after a busy day of farting and flirting - where better to enjoy a well-earned tankard of mead?
Minecraft (PC):
I have played Minecraft a lot over the years, the desire to jump into that blocky word comes in waves. It has been a long time since my last visit, but one thing that stays with me is the feeling one gets when you’ve dug out and built up your first hovel. You’ve made your bed, eaten some roasted chicken, and you’ve got a nice crackling fire going. It’s dark and stormy outside, but the door is shut tight, you’re surrounded by strong walls, and you’re safe in the knowledge that at least for the duration of your stay, you’re in a creeper free zone.
So there we have it, as you can see, the primary requirements for me to feel cosy in a game are some kind of drinking establishment, an open fire, possibly some rain, and a space away from enemies… Perhaps it’s all about being safe within the virtual space, who knows? What are some of the games that make you feel cosy? Are any the same as the ones listed here? Let me know in the comments!
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