Stay off twitter, please. It is weird and parasocial for me to care about you , but over the years , your videos have proven to be enjoyable , charming , informative and... Transport me to a bifderent world if it makes sence? So , wether i like it or not , me , and thousands of other people are united in our care for you. Please, stay off twitter, less social media you use , the better you are overall, and twitter is a hell hole. And its supplements sometimes too. Want to keep up with the news? Use news websites and do it on your own pace , to be not overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. +Its a great way to not to be caught in an echo chamber. And it destroys your mental health less. Trust all the people coming into the coments to say: twitter is no good for you. Just tell weird thoughts to a notebook or a stranger on the bus, or family , or friends , or put them into your diary or videos. Anything but grip of twitter. You *do* sound distressed. We *are* worried.
Your first mistake was getting a Twitter account, especially now when multiple major damning reports have come out exposing how that platform specifically was responsible for far more spreading of inaccurate, false or fabricated news stories, & misinformation than all the other social media platforms combined within the last most recent five years or so. Literally any order social media platform you can sign up for would be a better option. This isn't to say that your observations are wrong or that the conclusions you draw from them are faulty regarding cozy fiction as an escape- but, to say that choosing Twitter specifically as a social media platform to use was like a lot like choosing to drink digital rattlesnake venom and then becoming shocked that you nearly died from a mental breakdown. Nearly, all other social media platforms that are better at stopping the worst aspects of misinformation spread still have plenty of highly accurate horrifying things going on in the world hosted on their sites- so, again, you are not wrong in your observations; but, that part of the reason for why your own reaction might have been so bad was also likely in part of you being exposed to the worst aspects of collective misinformation spread on a poorly managed social media platform that does next to nothing to stop this spread so as to let people's most deeply held imagined fears that may not actually be really happening in real life, but are no less terrifying, get boosted in the reply feeds in order to farm your engagement so that the algorithm can more effectively figure out how to sell you things via targeted advertising. And I say this, only to say that, you might not have had such a negative reaction to getting a social media account had you done your homework & gone to, again, literally any other platform like Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, etc.- there's plenty of other ones (some more or less well known than others as well) aside from these that you can find & try out, but you get the idea of what I'm trying to tell you: That, not all of social media is created equal & that all of them to a certain extent come with their own unique set of pro's and con's that should always be weighed carefully when making such important decisions when regarding what you want your desired experiences & outcomes to be like when engaging with social media. It's important to do your homework & stay up to date on what platform you want to use, ideally, before going ahead to sign up for any social media account on any platform; but, I understand feeling the peer pressure to just go ahead and 'do it' in order just to cross it off the list. But giving into that peer pressure without proper planning & foresight into finding out which social media platform would have been best suited for you & your unique needs regarding your goals, mental health, and desired outcomes for your future presence online is exactly what led you into jumping in head first into the social media environment unprepared, leading you to have that negative reaction in the first place. And it pains me to inform you that much of that pain & suffering you likely felt from that very negative reaction was likely, even if not entirely, completely avoidable. Digital Literacy, or the literacy of conducting information gathering online for review & assessment for the purpose of planning and constructing achievable goals and actions one can take online, is an extremely important skill to have in the modern era. And your relatable situation is just one small but very important example of why having & using Digital Literacy skills in this instance could have helped you avoid that negative social media reaction you had in the first place. As well as help you to continue to make better informed decisions with what, when, where, and how you choose to conduct your business online so as to maximize your own personal goals & desired outcomes for what you want your experience across your social media feeds to be like moving forward. TL;DR: I know this rant was a long one, but I hope that this has in some way sparked your curiosity about learning & wanting to develop your own Digital Literacy skills set in order to better curate your social media experience into a more positive and enjoyable one while online. Hope this helped. Love what you do, take care of yourself.
Job simulators are popular because modern work is very unlike our intuitive understanding of a job. In a cozy job simulator your tasks are well-defined and your labour brings about change. You demonstrate competence and are rewarded. For a lot of people actual work involves exhausting oneself trying to meet ever-shifting goals, via methods that are abstract and weird, for little tangible effect on the world, and for barely any reward.
What I love is that Isabel from Animal Crossing and Doom Guy are canonically friends (someone started it as a joke, and the two sets of game developers loved it)
This is a hot take for a lot of people, but one of my favorite parts of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the tutorial part. You’re not an epic hero yet, you’re just a farm boy willing to help people, and there’s just something so nice and cozy about that.
I think the reason why I like cozy fantasy is because I’m so tired of the pain/trauma that most fictional characters have to deal with. Just recently I got into two separate fantasy shows and two of my favorite characters from them sacrificed themselves for the rest of the team. That hurts even worse because one of these fictional deaths came right after my own grandfather passed away, and somehow that made it hurt all the more. I’m tired of getting attached to these characters and worlds only for the worst to happen to them, like it does in our world. “Cozy fantasy” takes some of those super high stakes out and let’s you breathe, while also enjoying the ride. Maybe that’s why I’m gravitating more towards those books nowadays
@@parrisxsummersnot really, a study was done that shows human brains emotionally don't see fictional characters any different then real ppl. This is a decently common thing and actually shows a highly developed empathy. In this case taking a step back from sad media bc its sad (as it intended) is a healthy choice.
11:20 the story sounds a lot like Frieren. There is a manga and an anime. Basically the world is saved by a normal RPG party. They plan to meet up man years after. The story follows the elf since her lifespan is so long she basically doesn't age. She has to deal with some of the members being dead or dying, seeing the land how it remembered them, remembering what happen (like one part it showed why they picked a given statue and it was the leader of their party kept picking different poses for the statue), and so on. It does have elements of demons coming back in some places, risk, etc. But it heavily focused on the after, the slow times, and relaxing points.
It also brings to mind Castle Waiting. It’s a comic book series about what happens at Sleeping Beauty’s castle after the “Happily Ever After”. The princess went off to marry the prince and the castle becomes a home for a bunch of odd folks and fairy tale side characters. There’s no big arch-villain or curse to be lifted. Just a community of people interacting, helping each other out and living their lives.
I've always thought that stories are most enjoyable when they swap between tones. Being always stuck in this grim, bloody and merciless world still gets boring. But watching plants grow all day also does. Basically all of the big and famous stories told do that. So, having a constant dynamic of jumping from tension to relaxation, seriousness to comedy and drama to happiness just seems to be something humans want.
Also having the cozy or calm moments can also be about way to explore the characters. If done even decently it make the audience care about the character more. It one of the reason what makes persona 3 to 5 and metaphor refantazio work for me. The social links are a way for the character and world to act more "real".
Depends on the writer. If you write the character with the thought "I'm gonna make them super complex hurrdurrr!" then yes, you are likely not doing things right. But if it is more natural results of you fleshing out the character as the story naturally moves forwards, then I do think that's a different story. But I do agree I do like my pure heroes, the reluctant heroes with the heart of gold are oddly refreshing nowadays.
@@Elmithian same with the Pure Evil types. I remember the waves Jack Horner made just by being an irredeemable monster. Villains like him were common place just 20 years ago. Now they’re so rare that the Back To Basics Villains are now breaths of fresh air
@@Broomer52I saw a very good video about this somewhere. The sympathetic villain tries to monologue about his motivations and corruption and before he says much the protagonist stabs him. And goes like "You burned 3 orphanages" nobody cares about your justifications. I think it is called "in defense of the pure villain"
People who say cozy fiction isn't "realistic" probably spend more time in real life doing "cozy things" like cooking, exercising, spending time with friends, etc. than they do killing zombies, dragons, or enemy soldiers.
'Why save world if there's nothing worth saving' struck me so bad it make me rethink my life. Why i have to do this? Why do i have to keep moving? Why do i have keep struggling? Because there's something worth it. Thanks for the reminder
There is an anime equivilent to the "cozy games" genre called iyashikei. Its a subgenre of slice of life that is all about "healing the soul" with compy and cozy vibes
I think the masses are in agreement. Cozy fantasy books like Legends and Lattes are on a massive uprise and anime’s like Frieren show that people are enjoying cozy fantasy.
Watching these videos always encourages me to work on my own story a bit more, today I ended up getting a whole chapter finished which I had been avoiding starting
For the longest time, I had no idea there was a name for what I was writing. I started a little writing project back when the pandemic had first gained steam, and being an international university student living in the campus dorms, I was not exactly flush with options for keeping myself occupied during the lockdown (exercise and studying can't do that much, and my digital library was not in a position to afford any major expansions). I mostly just wrote random moments - not of my life, mind you - and it did not take long for recurring characters (or at least their most basic details) to be established. Then, I started stringing these moments together in one overarching story. From there, scenes and characters got more fleshed out, new scenes and characters entered the picture, certain scenes and characters could no longer work and were thus discarded, and before I knew it, I had written enough to make a trilogy of books (probably novellas - none of them are particularly long). Admittedly, the first of these has the most coziness. Sure, the other two still have it as the majority of the content, but it is definitely the first book where the stakes are the lowest. In fairness, some of the subject matter is not what most might consider ground for writing cozy fiction. I mean, would you consider coping with PTSD (maybe even CPTSD) to be a subject to write cozy fiction around? For me, it has been almost an obsession to see a decent portrayal of PTSD in media; yes, I have seen plenty of attempts, some being better (even MUCH better) than others, but they are not quite numerous and certainly not for those that could offer hope. Mind you, I am not one of those who goes around telling people to "get over it," but I lost a few friends, shall we say, permanently because they could no longer handle their PTSD. Maybe this is my way of trying to make up for what I couldn't do for them. With all this said, I should go ahead and dispel any notion that my project is deep or thoughtful or even researched. Yes, I do research, but there is only so much you can do with Google and a possibly unhealthy dose of skepticism as you have to go about your own life with no real time to directly consult any experts on whatever you research. Besides, there is a lot about what I wrote that is not what most might call realistic. Feel free to comment on how realistic you think it is for an urban fantasy on an alternate-history Earth where the main character is a frontline combat veteran, and he and his team, along with others who threw their support behind them whenever they were at the forefront, were instrumental in a war's progress and ending, leaving him with quite the case of PTSD and forcing him to try (and often fail) to find a way to keep going, ultimately leading him to discovering that Heaven and Hell are real but absolutely nothing like how they are most often depicted in Christianity - and that is just the first book, as the other two have more events and scenarios that are even more bonkers than before, all of which he has to navigate through (not cartoonishly bonkers, at least not for most of them, but still not stuff you would normally expect). I also will not deny, a lot of my more recent additions to my writing were inspired by Terrible Writing Advice.
By nature you made one with your video. It not only gave me the feeling you’re describing, it was even more comforting because you made me not feel alone ❤
One of my all time favorite pieces of fiction is the show called Detectorists. There is some personal drama woven through the plot, but the stakes are small scale, the setting is beautifully quaint, and the characters are endearing and funny. There's something so valuable about it's simplicity. Great writing and acting. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a huge favor and check it out. It's short enough to binge the entire series in a single day.
I never really thought about but a lot of the stories I write could be considered cozy fiction. No major stakes or apocalypses, just quiet day-to day stuff that I find interesting like fixing up a house or driving a quirky vehicle to exploring odd little pocket realities.
It's legit the worst time in Twitter's history to join Twitter. A mass exodus of artists due to ai policies, problematic figures getting unbanned, and Stephen King leaving for bluesky, and uhh Elon Musk, famous owner of Tesla and possible committer of treason, owns it. Yeah, not the best time 😫
@ryud0 You cannot convince me Elon buying Twitter was good for the site. Twitter sucked before, but Elon started a gas leak while the house was already on fire.
i discovered Cozy Fiction in books with "Legends and lattes". It's the story of an adventurer, who decides to open a coffee shop. That's it. The stakes are low, the events are important for our characters, yes, but overall never really dangerous or even *that* important for the small neighbourhood
My current cozy game is Strange Horticulture. There is a plot in the background with big stakes, but most(if not all) of the game is spent in your shop with your plants, cozy music, and sometimes the sound of rain.
Is it just me or is the music and animation at the end of Tale Foundry videos an excellent example of one of these interstitial, cozy moments of "ma" that this video chronicles?
12:05 I run a pressure washer for a living. Not cleaning houses, but as part of the Sanitation department at a food factory. There is a satisfaction to be had from making things cleaner. But trust me, the frustrations rapidly outweigh the satisfaction. Pays pretty well though.
MY COZY BOOK RESTS IN 90S TOO. ITS ABOUT RUSSIAN HACKERS IN THE WORLD WHERE INTERNET IS TANGIBLE LIKE IN READY PLAYER ONE , BUT TECH IS ON THE LEVEL OF 90S. moomins... Never saw them much. Only couple of times in my childhood. But they are sure beloved. For me they are an inexplicable memory from the time. I migh have even found tophat terrifying in them.
Around the time of the Pandemic, I decided on getting the game Spiritfarer since I was already feeling burnt out from the Adventure games I was playing before it. Spiritfarer drew me in because the art style, music, and story reminded me of the movie Spirited Away. You play as a girl named Stella and her cat, Daffodil (if you're playing 2 Player), and essentially become the new Spiritfarers who's job it is to take care of Spirits and guide them into the afterlife. I would play that game 4-5 hours at a time because there's always something for me to do in this game, but it's actually a really heavy game about death and teaching us to say goodbye to the people we care for.
The real world is why we like to escape into stories; be it fantasy, historical, myth, we can hopefully find whatever we want to remind us that there is still wonder and creativity
I've recently hyperfocused on a game, a sim where you play as survivors of a crash on an alien world. Making settlements, trying to survive on a similar but foreign planet. It's fitting escapism to say the least.
Its either planned or perfectly ironic that James Tallos dropped a vid bashing Cosy Fantasy at the same time My perfered poison will always be those cheap hidden item games. The perfect chill time after a high stakes dungeon dive in other games
This is mostly the reason I watch/read Laid Back Camp. It is just so calming and idilic but it’s realistic in the coziness. The girls have to deal with living under capitalism. Things go awry during the trips. But there’s an everything will all work out mentality. Just go with the flow. And there are character arcs. Not big ones but it’s amazing watching the character shift, evolve and mature. It’s why the movie is so good. You know where the story will go eventually now and watching it get there is so satisfying.
Life within Every Breath, Moments of Emptiness are a Life and Breathing is what we need in those Lives before the Goings On. Heros need their rest, it gives us time to reflect and see why we need to save the world in our own small ways. Thank you for the video, great as always.
4:46 mostly why i fell in love with Breath of the Wild. ive always been a Zelda fan, but something so cozy about running around the wilderness, collecting resources, cooking meals, and discovering a world that is different from any iteration of Hyrule i've seen. It gives me hope since it's set in a post apocalypse, and Tears of the Kingdom kinda gives me the same vibes, even though i'm not a huge fan of the tech mechanic. edit: yay! botw was mentioned, and my point was solidified
Oh, so that's what caused the mass abandonment of X... one bot too many. But, seriously, I think the importance of cozy/ma is understated. So many people often burn out because they can't relax. These moments provide that moment of catching your breath which everyone needs now and then.
Was going to bring up Monk and Robot, but then it was in the video almost immediately. Work simulators, unlike real life, give me immediate feedback about how good I'm doing and how I'm growing. Which is also why I I can't stop reading LitRPG, even though most of them are...less than great. If I could get a notification that I had gotten .2% stronger ever time I finished a set of pushups I would be jacked. I love splicing cozy fics in as breathers between other works, in particular I've got a steady drip feed from an online novel called Beware of Chicken which is primarily about a guy escaping the Cultivator rat race to go be a farmer.
My current cozy fiction obsession is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. It's a manga/anime about an elf, searching for connections to other people after the passing of (most of) the party of adventurers she saved the world with.
thank you for highlighting DDV when talking about bad and dirty cashgrabs. I 1000% agree. and I have...too many hours in that game than I like to admit.
One thing I find interesting about so many of these cozy fictional worlds mentioned here is how many of them could actually be described as crapsack worlds. Breath of the Wild is actually set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic Hyrule with Link trying to put things back together after failing to defeat Ganon 100 years ago. For my own experience, I get a lot of this from Final Fantasy 14, a world overrun with dangers and constantly facing down one world ending threat after another, not to mention a deep sense of melancholy for what once was and is now lost, never to be reclaimed. I think a lot of it ties back in to Tolkien, whose work has a lot of the same themes, but there's always that undercurrent of hope you don't get from dark edgier settings.
My favorite Cozy Fiction is Osamu Tezuka's Unico series. Sure there's dark moments and a few villains that are genuinely threatening and occasionally irredeemable. But the main protagonist is an adorable young unicorn who has the ability to spread happiness and encourages kindness and love. While this sounds cheesy, the themes and stories is super charming and heartfelt. Even the main protagonist is able to see some goodness insides a few antagonists and is able to befriend some of them depending on the storyline. The reboot series that begun August 2024 manages to stay true to Tezuka's intentions for Unico while still feeling fresh for a modern audience.
I’m only part-way through this but, of all things, collecting scraps of food, finding a nice little hiding spot, chucking (or gently placing) shiny or useful baubles at scavengers to earn their trust, and exploring an ecosystem that refuses to die, while bringing old colorful pearls to the nice blue robot to learn about the everyday lives, politics, and beliefs, is why I think I like Rain World so much, aside from the specbio aspect. Especially Saint, since the snow means you’re more finding as much warmth as you can until you find shelter, and being an herbivore means you’re simply looking around for fruit.
My cozy games are the original Spyro trilogy and the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. I do not game as much as I used to, and when I do it is usually one and done experiences since I treat games more like books/shows these days (just wanting to get the narrative and move on). However, the Spyro and DKC games manage to actually make me feel immersed in a pleasant/cozy world where I can just retreat into it and vibe out for hours.
My go to 'cozy' fantasy stuff lately have been the Atelier games; they're proper JRPGs, and some of them can get a little stressful with time limits but they still have a big 'cozy' element and the stakes are usually lower-scale and more personal to the character (trying to pass your alchemy exams, finding their missing sister, trying to help their new talking book friend regain their memories by learning alchemy recipes, saving their hometown, etc.) and I just generally love the aesthetics of the different entries.
I never really thought my forced usage of entertainment as a child growing up was an escape. I’ve always preferred being out hanging with my dangerous amazing friends but my mom was so overprotective I thought I might as well investigate why people are always saying I’m creative. My dad was early to explain autism and my diagnosis was even quicker. But he never explained why I was creative or funny or beautiful. So i spent twenty years confused about doing the right thing. I finally made a new Twitter yesterday, my official feed is from summer 2018. Elon has changed a lot there since last time I was there, before the X logo change but after he already won the bet. Hayao Miyazaki must have understood why people are in love with boredom and despise entertainment. Meditation is the easiest for people who anchor and sacrifice 24/7 it seems. Education is never boring, entertainment is at least respected in the long run. But conflict is humbling for different reasons. Most people seem to want conflict to cause non insanity, interest and worthiness. Some others are like I said in love with boredom, and meditate like it’s second nature.❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉
One of my favourite games for this was Oblivion. It was the first time I really felt like I was a character in a lived-in world. And what I find most interesting is that in the story, you aren't the main hero who is destined to save the day; that character is Martin Septum, and your quest is basically to support him in saving the world. So you can kind of justify wandering around the forests and mountains for hours.
This was so aptly timed! Me and my boyfriend got excited seeing our favorite games mentioned by our favorite creator. We've been so burnt out by trying to get our degrees to make the world a little better. I'm doing biomedical engineering to help people with faulty organs and he's trying to make cheaper stronger technology to replace the current stuff we use for science and stuff. Watching your video is our second of pause from studying and well existing. It's really calming. We eat, and watch and comment our thoughts. I don't comment usually but I decided to today cause I felt it hit especially now. I'm sleepy, since I had finals I crammed for, so idk if it makes much sense. To take some time to feel okay and pause to recharge Is something I hope I do more of.
Never have I thought someone would understand my thoughts on cozy games. But man you seriously explained it perfectly I absolutely love simple happy games like minecraft and stardew valley and I hate that those are really the only good cozy games cause about everything else is just shovelware chore simulators I also would like to mention that about any game with a hint of coziness can boost its greatness tenfold. Theres a VR game I play called "Into the radius" it is a horror shooter where you go into a dangerous foggy zone that is filled with deadly entity's and anomaly's and the game is absolutely terrifying. But in between every mission you return to your home base to stock up on supplies and chill for a second. And even thought your home is cold, bleak, and sad. It is incredibly comforting and nice to be able to return from the radius and simply sit next to the fireplace and load your magazines with ammo or play the guitar (I also need to say. Best guitar I have ever seen in VR)
Deleting twitter was the best mental health decision i ever made back in 2021. i don’t even think about it anymore and i was way too obsessed before dropping it. do as you please mr. foundry, but twitter really ain’t it. stay safe :)
Man, I really like your voice. It's smooth, even when talking about jagged topics, and you do a good job of modulating it when you're talking as someone else. I found your channel a few days ago, but I'm definitely subscribing for your great narratives, analyses, editing, and animation. Keep it up!
I really want to write cozy fiction but I don't want to try without being able to make it worth reading. I often have ideas for things based on bedtime fantasies before falling asleep and a lot of it is just comfy cozy stuff.
Well, just try then. Everyone has to start somewhere. First drafts are always bad, but they are simply a direction for better stuff. I once wrote something I hated so much that I rewrote the entire thing. It was much better, but if I didn't write the bad draft, I'd be stuck with only vague ideas rather than the start of a world.
I never even knew cozy fiction was a thing or needed defense. What do you mean fishing in the Shire or farming in Stardew Valley are perfectly valid forms of fiction?! Of course they are! And the best fictions is the kind that transitions from Cozy to Dark Fantasy and/or Zombie Apocalypse like that one zootopia farming game whose name I cannot remember, or Small Saga. What if the Hero has to face the big bad evil guy not just to savethe world, but preserve their cozy fiction home. It's 2 jn the monring. But I digress, cozy fiction sounds cozy and it's making me crave coffee and Night in the Woods. Or building a snow golem army when winter hits
Night in the woods is surprisingly cozy despite some weighty themes and a twist that has to be seen to be believed. You play as Mae as she returns to her decaying home town after dropping out of college. The game is mostly talking with townsfolk and hanging out with friends. It’s slice of life yet, I connected with her struggles on a far deeper level than I expected. It’s a must play.
A game that treats time as a primordial mechanic is Outer Wilds, there is an inevitability that always happens, regardless of your decisions or actions, simply fantastic.
I stumbled i to the 90s moomins cartoon a bit ago and it quickly became a comfort show for me, like their just some kids playing around in nature and live in a comfortable home with caring parents, somrimes some small stakes come in but they always get quickly resolve. I feel like its just a safe comfort that i need rn so imagen glad i found it :] (It's on TH-cam btw if anyones intrested)
I became aware thanks to Wee Lass Reacts' recommendation of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. After reading it, I became addicted to the "subgenre" and ended up collecting up to a dozen titles
Weirdly Subnautica is one of my cozy fantasy games. I can stay in the safe shallows and if i do venture into the scary depths, I know the fear isnt my fault. The leviathans still scare me, but its not something I can change. The leviathans are just living their lives, the same as me.
Rune Factory 4 Special is in my opinion the best cozy game. Mixing the cozy with adventuring, and having an emotional rollercoaster of a story all blends so very nicely.
The world is always on fire somewhere, it has even littereally done so even before humans arrived/have no influance. Just remember while one part burns a larger number of others are growing from the ashes. Just not many people click on all the small wins and nations that have had decades of peace and comfort without seeing massive wealth and growth/are simple and happy. Not saying we need to be complacant, just reenforcing your message that will not be ready jump on an oppertunity to take action make a difference if we burn ourselves out observing.
Your first minute is an apt example of why not to engage with social media at all. It's a cancer and it does bad things to people, on multiple levels, not just what you already observed. It is the worst thing to come from the internet so far. I swore off it in 2020 and never looked back. (I do consider TH-cam different, because it is, although I'm also trying to cut back on that 😅, and real time chat is very different - one of the key differences being the immediacy of social feedback, as well as the scale.) I do enjoy cozy games from time to time but not my bread n butter, so to speak. One game that I find kind of weirdly cozy in spite of being about trying to help a settlement survive in a hostile environment is Against the Storm.
My debut novel "the Witch who Chases the Sun" is a cosy fantasy novel that's publishing in summer of 2025 by Asteria Press (an indie Press that specialize in publishing cosy fantasy). But it is very much a story with a lot of darker elements (necromancy/war etc), the story takes place after a typical fantasy war and dives into the aftermath of the hero characters who survived ("won") the war but yet still having to deal with the consequences of it about 10 yrs after their victory. I am usually a horror writer but I wrote that story very much in the darkest time of my life, and writing it made me create hope that I didn't see irl during that period of time. When I got in contact with my publisher, I was actually a bit apprehensive about labeling the book a cosy fantasy as it contains a lot darker elements. But that apparently like you said in the video was what grabbed my publisher's attention. Cosy fiction is about escaping into sth nice and warm when around you the world is kind of burning down. But personally it's more about the hope of having faced a lot of horrible things but the cosy atmosphere of these stories provides a counterbalance - a sense of hope that we can survive the dark times in our lives.
Most of the Wizard of Oz series of books are this. L Frank Baum's stories are just kinds of a piece of life in magical lands. Some of the books have literally no antagonist at all. I'd love to see you cover those book sometimes, I love them.
One of my "non-cozy but actually cozy for me" game is Valheim. It's really one of the case of routines and having the ability to just enjoy a beautiful scenery in between fighting trolls and draugr.
12:10 I would have to disagree in regards to power washing; it is immensely satisfying to watch the water erasing months or years of grime, and like in the game I feel compelled to scrub every inch.
it's always interesting to me to see what games people find cosy and relaxing. like. my mother enjoys Skyrim and Fallout, and most people seem to find Minecraft relaxing. personally, i've been enjoying Dredge and animal crossing.
When I write, I get out of the stress of the real life, and go into the stress of my main character's life. But it's calming for me. I may get interrupted by my family cuz I'm talking to myself, but that's okay, I don't mind. I am my character and I want to know what he's doing that minute or hour or whatever days I've put him into. I get inspiration through music nowadays. The calm ones give me a sense of my character in a peaceful setting. The more upbeat ones, could be like he's in battle or something. All in all, my books make me calm. I love playing video games too and yes, while grinding for materials seems like a chore to do, grinding for those materials is calming to me. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor shall my little base even though I really could build it in a day, maybes less than a day from all the grinding I've been doing. LoL! I do like your videos too, they are calming. So keep doing what you're doing and thanks for sharing! Have a great day!
I think that there need to be more video games with a focus on wildlife conservation. Off the top of my head, the only good ones that I can think of are: Wild Earth: African Safari (2008), Endless Ocean: Blue World (2009), Safari Adventures: Africa (2009), Beyond Blue (2020), and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (2020). They're fun and teach you more about the world. 🦁🐋
I know that you are really interested in that genre, but I'm glad that it's not horror again. This type of content was very repetitive imo, so something different is good change of pace
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Stay off Twitter, I recommend Blue Sky instead
Stay off twitter, please.
It is weird and parasocial for me to care about you , but over the years , your videos have proven to be enjoyable , charming , informative and... Transport me to a bifderent world if it makes sence?
So , wether i like it or not , me , and thousands of other people are united in our care for you.
Please, stay off twitter, less social media you use , the better you are overall, and twitter is a hell hole.
And its supplements sometimes too.
Want to keep up with the news? Use news websites and do it on your own pace , to be not overwhelmed with fear and anxiety.
+Its a great way to not to be caught in an echo chamber.
And it destroys your mental health less.
Trust all the people coming into the coments to say: twitter is no good for you.
Just tell weird thoughts to a notebook or a stranger on the bus, or family , or friends , or put them into your diary or videos.
Anything but grip of twitter.
You *do* sound distressed. We *are* worried.
Your first mistake was getting a Twitter account, especially now when multiple major damning reports have come out exposing how that platform specifically was responsible for far more spreading of inaccurate, false or fabricated news stories, & misinformation than all the other social media platforms combined within the last most recent five years or so. Literally any order social media platform you can sign up for would be a better option.
This isn't to say that your observations are wrong or that the conclusions you draw from them are faulty regarding cozy fiction as an escape- but, to say that choosing Twitter specifically as a social media platform to use was like a lot like choosing to drink digital rattlesnake venom and then becoming shocked that you nearly died from a mental breakdown.
Nearly, all other social media platforms that are better at stopping the worst aspects of misinformation spread still have plenty of highly accurate horrifying things going on in the world hosted on their sites- so, again, you are not wrong in your observations; but, that part of the reason for why your own reaction might have been so bad was also likely in part of you being exposed to the worst aspects of collective misinformation spread on a poorly managed social media platform that does next to nothing to stop this spread so as to let people's most deeply held imagined fears that may not actually be really happening in real life, but are no less terrifying, get boosted in the reply feeds in order to farm your engagement so that the algorithm can more effectively figure out how to sell you things via targeted advertising. And I say this, only to say that, you might not have had such a negative reaction to getting a social media account had you done your homework & gone to, again, literally any other platform like Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, etc.- there's plenty of other ones (some more or less well known than others as well) aside from these that you can find & try out, but you get the idea of what I'm trying to tell you: That, not all of social media is created equal & that all of them to a certain extent come with their own unique set of pro's and con's that should always be weighed carefully when making such important decisions when regarding what you want your desired experiences & outcomes to be like when engaging with social media.
It's important to do your homework & stay up to date on what platform you want to use, ideally, before going ahead to sign up for any social media account on any platform; but, I understand feeling the peer pressure to just go ahead and 'do it' in order just to cross it off the list. But giving into that peer pressure without proper planning & foresight into finding out which social media platform would have been best suited for you & your unique needs regarding your goals, mental health, and desired outcomes for your future presence online is exactly what led you into jumping in head first into the social media environment unprepared, leading you to have that negative reaction in the first place. And it pains me to inform you that much of that pain & suffering you likely felt from that very negative reaction was likely, even if not entirely, completely avoidable.
Digital Literacy, or the literacy of conducting information gathering online for review & assessment for the purpose of planning and constructing achievable goals and actions one can take online, is an extremely important skill to have in the modern era. And your relatable situation is just one small but very important example of why having & using Digital Literacy skills in this instance could have helped you avoid that negative social media reaction you had in the first place. As well as help you to continue to make better informed decisions with what, when, where, and how you choose to conduct your business online so as to maximize your own personal goals & desired outcomes for what you want your experience across your social media feeds to be like moving forward.
TL;DR: I know this rant was a long one, but I hope that this has in some way sparked your curiosity about learning & wanting to develop your own Digital Literacy skills set in order to better curate your social media experience into a more positive and enjoyable one while online. Hope this helped. Love what you do, take care of yourself.
Job simulators are popular because modern work is very unlike our intuitive understanding of a job. In a cozy job simulator your tasks are well-defined and your labour brings about change. You demonstrate competence and are rewarded. For a lot of people actual work involves exhausting oneself trying to meet ever-shifting goals, via methods that are abstract and weird, for little tangible effect on the world, and for barely any reward.
Thats... An increadibly interesting thought.
Thank you for it.
You know what? That makes a lot of sense.
As children we are taught that effort always gets rewarded. Once we become adults we realize that isn't the case at all.
Very Well Said. And very depressing :)
@RamshacklePrefect896 we should be taught that effort is good enough in itself and it should be.
But sadly none of those things are true
What I love is that Isabel from Animal Crossing and Doom Guy are canonically friends (someone started it as a joke, and the two sets of game developers loved it)
It’s the best😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤
I love that. Thank you for such a fun smile. 😊
I think they’re married (not entirely sure if sources are true)
@nicolasmazo4198 I saw a funny animation referencing that, but I don't know if it's canon
Life is worth living
This is a hot take for a lot of people, but one of my favorite parts of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the tutorial part. You’re not an epic hero yet, you’re just a farm boy willing to help people, and there’s just something so nice and cozy about that.
I feel this so hard, I spent hours just hanging out in the “safe” part of games like Ordon Village, Windfall Island, and Dephino Plaza ❤
I think the reason why I like cozy fantasy is because I’m so tired of the pain/trauma that most fictional characters have to deal with. Just recently I got into two separate fantasy shows and two of my favorite characters from them sacrificed themselves for the rest of the team. That hurts even worse because one of these fictional deaths came right after my own grandfather passed away, and somehow that made it hurt all the more. I’m tired of getting attached to these characters and worlds only for the worst to happen to them, like it does in our world. “Cozy fantasy” takes some of those super high stakes out and let’s you breathe, while also enjoying the ride. Maybe that’s why I’m gravitating more towards those books nowadays
This
@@parrisxsummersnot really, a study was done that shows human brains emotionally don't see fictional characters any different then real ppl. This is a decently common thing and actually shows a highly developed empathy. In this case taking a step back from sad media bc its sad (as it intended) is a healthy choice.
Same. I was nvr the type to see characters in pain no matter the purpose of the story.
11:20 the story sounds a lot like Frieren. There is a manga and an anime. Basically the world is saved by a normal RPG party. They plan to meet up man years after. The story follows the elf since her lifespan is so long she basically doesn't age. She has to deal with some of the members being dead or dying, seeing the land how it remembered them, remembering what happen (like one part it showed why they picked a given statue and it was the leader of their party kept picking different poses for the statue), and so on. It does have elements of demons coming back in some places, risk, etc. But it heavily focused on the after, the slow times, and relaxing points.
It also brings to mind Castle Waiting. It’s a comic book series about what happens at Sleeping Beauty’s castle after the “Happily Ever After”. The princess went off to marry the prince and the castle becomes a home for a bunch of odd folks and fairy tale side characters. There’s no big arch-villain or curse to be lifted. Just a community of people interacting, helping each other out and living their lives.
I've always thought that stories are most enjoyable when they swap between tones.
Being always stuck in this grim, bloody and merciless world still gets boring. But watching plants grow all day also does.
Basically all of the big and famous stories told do that. So, having a constant dynamic of jumping from tension to relaxation, seriousness to comedy and drama to happiness just seems to be something humans want.
Also having the cozy or calm moments can also be about way to explore the characters. If done even decently it make the audience care about the character more. It one of the reason what makes persona 3 to 5 and metaphor refantazio work for me. The social links are a way for the character and world to act more "real".
It's actually more interesting when a hero is a hero now a days. Most just try to be complex but complex as a shallow pool
Depends on the writer. If you write the character with the thought "I'm gonna make them super complex hurrdurrr!" then yes, you are likely not doing things right.
But if it is more natural results of you fleshing out the character as the story naturally moves forwards, then I do think that's a different story. But I do agree I do like my pure heroes, the reluctant heroes with the heart of gold are oddly refreshing nowadays.
@@ElmithianYeah sometimes you want to see a hero do good and think "I wanna better myself" than go on the give up set.
@@Elmithian same with the Pure Evil types. I remember the waves Jack Horner made just by being an irredeemable monster. Villains like him were common place just 20 years ago. Now they’re so rare that the Back To Basics Villains are now breaths of fresh air
@@Broomer52I saw a very good video about this somewhere. The sympathetic villain tries to monologue about his motivations and corruption and before he says much the protagonist stabs him. And goes like "You burned 3 orphanages" nobody cares about your justifications. I think it is called "in defense of the pure villain"
Exactly. Couldn't agree more
People who say cozy fiction isn't "realistic" probably spend more time in real life doing "cozy things" like cooking, exercising, spending time with friends, etc. than they do killing zombies, dragons, or enemy soldiers.
What type of life do they have to make them say that?
I have never heard anyone say that.
The doomers.@@Bunni504
'Why save world if there's nothing worth saving' struck me so bad it make me rethink my life.
Why i have to do this? Why do i have to keep moving? Why do i have keep struggling? Because there's something worth it.
Thanks for the reminder
The fact that this video was released the same day as James Tullos releases his video about how he hates cozy fantasy
booktube civil war
Librarians Assemble!!!
Just watch a few shonen Anime, then you’ll get to see way too repetitive non complex hero’s
@aiderbichler that's exactly why I mostly stopped watching battle shonen animes when I grew past 13
Who?
We were never made to take in this much bad news at once. Escapism can be a reset button, I think.
There is an anime equivilent to the "cozy games" genre called iyashikei. Its a subgenre of slice of life that is all about "healing the soul" with compy and cozy vibes
I think the masses are in agreement. Cozy fantasy books like Legends and Lattes are on a massive uprise and anime’s like Frieren show that people are enjoying cozy fantasy.
Because most of us lost hope for real life, these game are as close as I get to come to being alive.
Watching these videos always encourages me to work on my own story a bit more, today I ended up getting a whole chapter finished which I had been avoiding starting
The whole premise of art is to bring or shape beauty (idealism, hope, vision) into this world, from “an unreal world.”
For the longest time, I had no idea there was a name for what I was writing. I started a little writing project back when the pandemic had first gained steam, and being an international university student living in the campus dorms, I was not exactly flush with options for keeping myself occupied during the lockdown (exercise and studying can't do that much, and my digital library was not in a position to afford any major expansions). I mostly just wrote random moments - not of my life, mind you - and it did not take long for recurring characters (or at least their most basic details) to be established. Then, I started stringing these moments together in one overarching story. From there, scenes and characters got more fleshed out, new scenes and characters entered the picture, certain scenes and characters could no longer work and were thus discarded, and before I knew it, I had written enough to make a trilogy of books (probably novellas - none of them are particularly long).
Admittedly, the first of these has the most coziness. Sure, the other two still have it as the majority of the content, but it is definitely the first book where the stakes are the lowest. In fairness, some of the subject matter is not what most might consider ground for writing cozy fiction. I mean, would you consider coping with PTSD (maybe even CPTSD) to be a subject to write cozy fiction around? For me, it has been almost an obsession to see a decent portrayal of PTSD in media; yes, I have seen plenty of attempts, some being better (even MUCH better) than others, but they are not quite numerous and certainly not for those that could offer hope. Mind you, I am not one of those who goes around telling people to "get over it," but I lost a few friends, shall we say, permanently because they could no longer handle their PTSD. Maybe this is my way of trying to make up for what I couldn't do for them.
With all this said, I should go ahead and dispel any notion that my project is deep or thoughtful or even researched. Yes, I do research, but there is only so much you can do with Google and a possibly unhealthy dose of skepticism as you have to go about your own life with no real time to directly consult any experts on whatever you research. Besides, there is a lot about what I wrote that is not what most might call realistic. Feel free to comment on how realistic you think it is for an urban fantasy on an alternate-history Earth where the main character is a frontline combat veteran, and he and his team, along with others who threw their support behind them whenever they were at the forefront, were instrumental in a war's progress and ending, leaving him with quite the case of PTSD and forcing him to try (and often fail) to find a way to keep going, ultimately leading him to discovering that Heaven and Hell are real but absolutely nothing like how they are most often depicted in Christianity - and that is just the first book, as the other two have more events and scenarios that are even more bonkers than before, all of which he has to navigate through (not cartoonishly bonkers, at least not for most of them, but still not stuff you would normally expect).
I also will not deny, a lot of my more recent additions to my writing were inspired by Terrible Writing Advice.
I would love to read what you're writing if you're willing to share... :)
By nature you made one with your video. It not only gave me the feeling you’re describing, it was even more comforting because you made me not feel alone ❤
One of my all time favorite pieces of fiction is the show called Detectorists. There is some personal drama woven through the plot, but the stakes are small scale, the setting is beautifully quaint, and the characters are endearing and funny. There's something so valuable about it's simplicity. Great writing and acting. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a huge favor and check it out. It's short enough to binge the entire series in a single day.
I never really thought about but a lot of the stories I write could be considered cozy fiction. No major stakes or apocalypses, just quiet day-to day stuff that I find interesting like fixing up a house or driving a quirky vehicle to exploring odd little pocket realities.
I'm glad you're talking about the more cozy types of fiction. things to comfort and just let you slip into another world of more peaceful adventure.
@TheTaleFoundry thank you for being my piece of coziness.
"I finally made a Twitter account."
NOOOOOOOOOOO
It's legit the worst time in Twitter's history to join Twitter. A mass exodus of artists due to ai policies, problematic figures getting unbanned, and Stephen King leaving for bluesky, and uhh Elon Musk, famous owner of Tesla and possible committer of treason, owns it. Yeah, not the best time 😫
Sus, aint it?
twitter is better than its ever been. whats wrong? not enough censorship for you?
the bad ending
@ryud0 You cannot convince me Elon buying Twitter was good for the site. Twitter sucked before, but Elon started a gas leak while the house was already on fire.
i discovered Cozy Fiction in books with "Legends and lattes". It's the story of an adventurer, who decides to open a coffee shop. That's it. The stakes are low, the events are important for our characters, yes, but overall never really dangerous or even *that* important for the small neighbourhood
I thought this was reserved for fanfiction where the writer just makes the characters cuddle eachother or something
5:21 I legit burst out laughing at this, I was not expecting this at all LOL
I can’t tell if this was by accident or on purpose
My current cozy game is Strange Horticulture. There is a plot in the background with big stakes, but most(if not all) of the game is spent in your shop with your plants, cozy music, and sometimes the sound of rain.
Is it just me or is the music and animation at the end of Tale Foundry videos an excellent example of one of these interstitial, cozy moments of "ma" that this video chronicles?
12:05 I run a pressure washer for a living. Not cleaning houses, but as part of the Sanitation department at a food factory. There is a satisfaction to be had from making things cleaner. But trust me, the frustrations rapidly outweigh the satisfaction.
Pays pretty well though.
The Moomins is my favorite cozy fiction. Especially the 90s iteration. ❤
MY COZY BOOK RESTS IN 90S TOO.
ITS ABOUT RUSSIAN HACKERS IN THE WORLD WHERE INTERNET IS TANGIBLE LIKE IN READY PLAYER ONE , BUT TECH IS ON THE LEVEL OF 90S.
moomins... Never saw them much. Only couple of times in my childhood.
But they are sure beloved.
For me they are an inexplicable memory from the time.
I migh have even found tophat terrifying in them.
Around the time of the Pandemic, I decided on getting the game Spiritfarer since I was already feeling burnt out from the Adventure games I was playing before it. Spiritfarer drew me in because the art style, music, and story reminded me of the movie Spirited Away. You play as a girl named Stella and her cat, Daffodil (if you're playing 2 Player), and essentially become the new Spiritfarers who's job it is to take care of Spirits and guide them into the afterlife. I would play that game 4-5 hours at a time because there's always something for me to do in this game, but it's actually a really heavy game about death and teaching us to say goodbye to the people we care for.
The real world is why we like to escape into stories; be it fantasy, historical, myth, we can hopefully find whatever we want to remind us that there is still wonder and creativity
For me, they are the silence after the storm. A reminder that no storm goes forever...
Well, if you are not in Jupiter, that is.
I've recently hyperfocused on a game, a sim where you play as survivors of a crash on an alien world. Making settlements, trying to survive on a similar but foreign planet. It's fitting escapism to say the least.
What game is it?
@DrowsyCarbon it's called Stranded: Alien Dawn!
Its either planned or perfectly ironic that James Tallos dropped a vid bashing Cosy Fantasy at the same time
My perfered poison will always be those cheap hidden item games. The perfect chill time after a high stakes dungeon dive in other games
Eastshade is one of my favorite "cozy" games.
Play as the fantasy equivalent of Bob Ross.
Skyrim Bob Ross! So nice 🙂
This is mostly the reason I watch/read Laid Back Camp. It is just so calming and idilic but it’s realistic in the coziness. The girls have to deal with living under capitalism. Things go awry during the trips. But there’s an everything will all work out mentality. Just go with the flow. And there are character arcs. Not big ones but it’s amazing watching the character shift, evolve and mature. It’s why the movie is so good. You know where the story will go eventually now and watching it get there is so satisfying.
Life within Every Breath, Moments of Emptiness are a Life and Breathing is what we need in those Lives before the Goings On.
Heros need their rest, it gives us time to reflect and see why we need to save the world in our own small ways.
Thank you for the video, great as always.
Please stay off Twitter, for your own mental health.
stay off social media as a whole if we are talking about maintaining mental health.
All social media is poisonous.
@@LordSockenIoch
🤓
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Twitter is Based. Trump MAGA MAGA MAGA
We have to save TALE!!
4:46 mostly why i fell in love with Breath of the Wild. ive always been a Zelda fan, but something so cozy about running around the wilderness, collecting resources, cooking meals, and discovering a world that is different from any iteration of Hyrule i've seen. It gives me hope since it's set in a post apocalypse, and Tears of the Kingdom kinda gives me the same vibes, even though i'm not a huge fan of the tech mechanic.
edit: yay! botw was mentioned, and my point was solidified
You and the tailoids have *always* been my weekly cozy storytime, Talebot.
Even when you're talking about horror stories. ❤
Oh, so that's what caused the mass abandonment of X... one bot too many.
But, seriously, I think the importance of cozy/ma is understated. So many people often burn out because they can't relax. These moments provide that moment of catching your breath which everyone needs now and then.
What does "suspiciously good timing" mean? Are you accusing Tom Nook of being patient zero?
i have waited for this day my whole life to finally see tale foundry do something for legend of Zelda this gave me joy
Was going to bring up Monk and Robot, but then it was in the video almost immediately. Work simulators, unlike real life, give me immediate feedback about how good I'm doing and how I'm growing. Which is also why I I can't stop reading LitRPG, even though most of them are...less than great. If I could get a notification that I had gotten .2% stronger ever time I finished a set of pushups I would be jacked. I love splicing cozy fics in as breathers between other works, in particular I've got a steady drip feed from an online novel called Beware of Chicken which is primarily about a guy escaping the Cultivator rat race to go be a farmer.
Your channel IS my cozy fiction ❤
My current cozy fiction obsession is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. It's a manga/anime about an elf, searching for connections to other people after the passing of (most of) the party of adventurers she saved the world with.
thank you for highlighting DDV when talking about bad and dirty cashgrabs. I 1000% agree. and I have...too many hours in that game than I like to admit.
One thing I find interesting about so many of these cozy fictional worlds mentioned here is how many of them could actually be described as crapsack worlds. Breath of the Wild is actually set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic Hyrule with Link trying to put things back together after failing to defeat Ganon 100 years ago. For my own experience, I get a lot of this from Final Fantasy 14, a world overrun with dangers and constantly facing down one world ending threat after another, not to mention a deep sense of melancholy for what once was and is now lost, never to be reclaimed. I think a lot of it ties back in to Tolkien, whose work has a lot of the same themes, but there's always that undercurrent of hope you don't get from dark edgier settings.
My favorite Cozy Fiction is Osamu Tezuka's Unico series. Sure there's dark moments and a few villains that are genuinely threatening and occasionally irredeemable. But the main protagonist is an adorable young unicorn who has the ability to spread happiness and encourages kindness and love. While this sounds cheesy, the themes and stories is super charming and heartfelt. Even the main protagonist is able to see some goodness insides a few antagonists and is able to befriend some of them depending on the storyline.
The reboot series that begun August 2024 manages to stay true to Tezuka's intentions for Unico while still feeling fresh for a modern audience.
the calmness of this video made me feel like I was gonna cry during all of it
For a sadist a cozy game would be the most violent game.
We all need a good cozy fic sometimes. It's healing for the soul ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I’m only part-way through this but, of all things, collecting scraps of food, finding a nice little hiding spot, chucking (or gently placing) shiny or useful baubles at scavengers to earn their trust, and exploring an ecosystem that refuses to die, while bringing old colorful pearls to the nice blue robot to learn about the everyday lives, politics, and beliefs, is why I think I like Rain World so much, aside from the specbio aspect. Especially Saint, since the snow means you’re more finding as much warmth as you can until you find shelter, and being an herbivore means you’re simply looking around for fruit.
My cozy games are the original Spyro trilogy and the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. I do not game as much as I used to, and when I do it is usually one and done experiences since I treat games more like books/shows these days (just wanting to get the narrative and move on). However, the Spyro and DKC games manage to actually make me feel immersed in a pleasant/cozy world where I can just retreat into it and vibe out for hours.
"I finally broke down and made a Twitter Account"
My condolences.
My go to 'cozy' fantasy stuff lately have been the Atelier games; they're proper JRPGs, and some of them can get a little stressful with time limits but they still have a big 'cozy' element and the stakes are usually lower-scale and more personal to the character (trying to pass your alchemy exams, finding their missing sister, trying to help their new talking book friend regain their memories by learning alchemy recipes, saving their hometown, etc.) and I just generally love the aesthetics of the different entries.
I never really thought my forced usage of entertainment as a child growing up was an escape. I’ve always preferred being out hanging with my dangerous amazing friends but my mom was so overprotective I thought I might as well investigate why people are always saying I’m creative.
My dad was early to explain autism and my diagnosis was even quicker. But he never explained why I was creative or funny or beautiful. So i spent twenty years confused about doing the right thing.
I finally made a new Twitter yesterday, my official feed is from summer 2018. Elon has changed a lot there since last time I was there, before the X logo change but after he already won the bet.
Hayao Miyazaki must have understood why people are in love with boredom and despise entertainment. Meditation is the easiest for people who anchor and sacrifice 24/7 it seems. Education is never boring, entertainment is at least respected in the long run. But conflict is humbling for different reasons. Most people seem to want conflict to cause non insanity, interest and worthiness. Some others are like I said in love with boredom, and meditate like it’s second nature.❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉
One of my favourite games for this was Oblivion. It was the first time I really felt like I was a character in a lived-in world. And what I find most interesting is that in the story, you aren't the main hero who is destined to save the day; that character is Martin Septum, and your quest is basically to support him in saving the world. So you can kind of justify wandering around the forests and mountains for hours.
This was so aptly timed! Me and my boyfriend got excited seeing our favorite games mentioned by our favorite creator. We've been so burnt out by trying to get our degrees to make the world a little better. I'm doing biomedical engineering to help people with faulty organs and he's trying to make cheaper stronger technology to replace the current stuff we use for science and stuff. Watching your video is our second of pause from studying and well existing. It's really calming. We eat, and watch and comment our thoughts. I don't comment usually but I decided to today cause I felt it hit especially now. I'm sleepy, since I had finals I crammed for, so idk if it makes much sense. To take some time to feel okay and pause to recharge Is something I hope I do more of.
Never have I thought someone would understand my thoughts on cozy games. But man you seriously explained it perfectly
I absolutely love simple happy games like minecraft and stardew valley and I hate that those are really the only good cozy games cause about everything else is just shovelware chore simulators
I also would like to mention that about any game with a hint of coziness can boost its greatness tenfold.
Theres a VR game I play called "Into the radius" it is a horror shooter where you go into a dangerous foggy zone that is filled with deadly entity's and anomaly's and the game is absolutely terrifying. But in between every mission you return to your home base to stock up on supplies and chill for a second. And even thought your home is cold, bleak, and sad. It is incredibly comforting and nice to be able to return from the radius and simply sit next to the fireplace and load your magazines with ammo or play the guitar (I also need to say. Best guitar I have ever seen in VR)
I enjoy a good slice of life read from now and again.
Nichijo.
The cozyest i ever felt.
Maybe beaten by my memories of the painter who lives in the forrest from the withes delivery service by ghibli.
0:52 nightmares like the continuous genoside of marginalized groups
Let’s always remember to stand against injustice and support honorable causes
Deleting twitter was the best mental health decision i ever made back in 2021. i don’t even think about it anymore and i was way too obsessed before dropping it. do as you please mr. foundry, but twitter really ain’t it. stay safe :)
Man, I really like your voice. It's smooth, even when talking about jagged topics, and you do a good job of modulating it when you're talking as someone else. I found your channel a few days ago, but I'm definitely subscribing for your great narratives, analyses, editing, and animation. Keep it up!
I really want to write cozy fiction but I don't want to try without being able to make it worth reading. I often have ideas for things based on bedtime fantasies before falling asleep and a lot of it is just comfy cozy stuff.
Well, just try then. Everyone has to start somewhere. First drafts are always bad, but they are simply a direction for better stuff. I once wrote something I hated so much that I rewrote the entire thing. It was much better, but if I didn't write the bad draft, I'd be stuck with only vague ideas rather than the start of a world.
For me, the game "traveler's rest" is the perfect example for this kind of fantasy and the perfect game if i wanna relax. Can recommend full hearted
I never even knew cozy fiction was a thing or needed defense.
What do you mean fishing in the Shire or farming in Stardew Valley are perfectly valid forms of fiction?! Of course they are! And the best fictions is the kind that transitions from Cozy to Dark Fantasy and/or Zombie Apocalypse like that one zootopia farming game whose name I cannot remember, or Small Saga.
What if the Hero has to face the big bad evil guy not just to savethe world, but preserve their cozy fiction home.
It's 2 jn the monring. But I digress, cozy fiction sounds cozy and it's making me crave coffee and Night in the Woods. Or building a snow golem army when winter hits
Zoochosis?
Unfortunately, *many* people are ready to hate on cozy fiction for the simple reason it exists.
Night in the woods is surprisingly cozy despite some weighty themes and a twist that has to be seen to be believed. You play as Mae as she returns to her decaying home town after dropping out of college. The game is mostly talking with townsfolk and hanging out with friends. It’s slice of life yet, I connected with her struggles on a far deeper level than I expected. It’s a must play.
A game that treats time as a primordial mechanic is Outer Wilds, there is an inevitability that always happens, regardless of your decisions or actions, simply fantastic.
5:22 you thought you could just slip that in and no one would notice
Highly recommend Coffee Talk 1 and 2, awesome cozy vibes, cool story, bring a hot drink
This is how I feel whenever play Minecraft. It’s just cozy :3
I stumbled i to the 90s moomins cartoon a bit ago and it quickly became a comfort show for me, like their just some kids playing around in nature and live in a comfortable home with caring parents, somrimes some small stakes come in but they always get quickly resolve.
I feel like its just a safe comfort that i need rn so imagen glad i found it :]
(It's on TH-cam btw if anyones intrested)
No! Twitter is toxic. Leave it.
I became aware thanks to Wee Lass Reacts' recommendation of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree.
After reading it, I became addicted to the "subgenre" and ended up collecting up to a dozen titles
Weirdly Subnautica is one of my cozy fantasy games. I can stay in the safe shallows and if i do venture into the scary depths, I know the fear isnt my fault. The leviathans still scare me, but its not something I can change. The leviathans are just living their lives, the same as me.
It cozy in the sense of just being with nature, even if can be intense and scary. But hey nature can be scary and brutal.
Rune Factory 4 Special is in my opinion the best cozy game. Mixing the cozy with adventuring, and having an emotional rollercoaster of a story all blends so very nicely.
The world is always on fire somewhere, it has even littereally done so even before humans arrived/have no influance.
Just remember while one part burns a larger number of others are growing from the ashes. Just not many people click on all the small wins and nations that have had decades of peace and comfort without seeing massive wealth and growth/are simple and happy.
Not saying we need to be complacant, just reenforcing your message that will not be ready jump on an oppertunity to take action make a difference if we burn ourselves out observing.
Your first minute is an apt example of why not to engage with social media at all. It's a cancer and it does bad things to people, on multiple levels, not just what you already observed. It is the worst thing to come from the internet so far. I swore off it in 2020 and never looked back. (I do consider TH-cam different, because it is, although I'm also trying to cut back on that 😅, and real time chat is very different - one of the key differences being the immediacy of social feedback, as well as the scale.)
I do enjoy cozy games from time to time but not my bread n butter, so to speak. One game that I find kind of weirdly cozy in spite of being about trying to help a settlement survive in a hostile environment is Against the Storm.
My debut novel "the Witch who Chases the Sun" is a cosy fantasy novel that's publishing in summer of 2025 by Asteria Press (an indie Press that specialize in publishing cosy fantasy). But it is very much a story with a lot of darker elements (necromancy/war etc), the story takes place after a typical fantasy war and dives into the aftermath of the hero characters who survived ("won") the war but yet still having to deal with the consequences of it about 10 yrs after their victory.
I am usually a horror writer but I wrote that story very much in the darkest time of my life, and writing it made me create hope that I didn't see irl during that period of time. When I got in contact with my publisher, I was actually a bit apprehensive about labeling the book a cosy fantasy as it contains a lot darker elements. But that apparently like you said in the video was what grabbed my publisher's attention.
Cosy fiction is about escaping into sth nice and warm when around you the world is kind of burning down. But personally it's more about the hope of having faced a lot of horrible things but the cosy atmosphere of these stories provides a counterbalance - a sense of hope that we can survive the dark times in our lives.
Dredge skirts between cozy fishing game and terrifying cosmic horror survival game mostly tied to the time of day and it works surprisingly well
After watching James Tulios' video that mentioned cozy fiction/fantasy, its nice seeing a take on this that isnt completely unhinged
Most of the Wizard of Oz series of books are this. L Frank Baum's stories are just kinds of a piece of life in magical lands. Some of the books have literally no antagonist at all. I'd love to see you cover those book sometimes, I love them.
One of my "non-cozy but actually cozy for me" game is Valheim.
It's really one of the case of routines and having the ability to just enjoy a beautiful scenery in between fighting trolls and draugr.
To me cozy fiction can have conflict and stakes but I imagine the conflict to be more down to earth and the tensions and stakes to be low.
Why would you make a Twitter account when Bluesky is right there?
12:10 I would have to disagree in regards to power washing; it is immensely satisfying to watch the water erasing months or years of grime, and like in the game I feel compelled to scrub every inch.
it's always interesting to me to see what games people find cosy and relaxing.
like. my mother enjoys Skyrim and Fallout, and most people seem to find Minecraft relaxing. personally, i've been enjoying Dredge and animal crossing.
Cozy fiction is glorious. Cozy Grove - the game - manages to capture both comfortable and spooky is my personal recommendation. Ghost bears, yo.
So your channel just got super cooler because you combine thought-provoking content with my favorite series ever, The Legend of Zelda!
6:04 I was just thinking to myself, "Fallout 4" is my cozy game, lol
Another settlement needs your help. Here, I'll mark it on your map
Thank you for releasing this episode.
I love cozy fiction
Cozy games are a nice break from my chaotic life
Come to Bluesky!
When I write, I get out of the stress of the real life, and go into the stress of my main character's life. But it's calming for me. I may get interrupted by my family cuz I'm talking to myself, but that's okay, I don't mind. I am my character and I want to know what he's doing that minute or hour or whatever days I've put him into. I get inspiration through music nowadays. The calm ones give me a sense of my character in a peaceful setting. The more upbeat ones, could be like he's in battle or something. All in all, my books make me calm.
I love playing video games too and yes, while grinding for materials seems like a chore to do, grinding for those materials is calming to me. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor shall my little base even though I really could build it in a day, maybes less than a day from all the grinding I've been doing. LoL!
I do like your videos too, they are calming. So keep doing what you're doing and thanks for sharing! Have a great day!
I think that there need to be more video games with a focus on wildlife conservation. Off the top of my head, the only good ones that I can think of are: Wild Earth: African Safari (2008), Endless Ocean: Blue World (2009), Safari Adventures: Africa (2009), Beyond Blue (2020), and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (2020). They're fun and teach you more about the world. 🦁🐋
I know that you are really interested in that genre, but I'm glad that it's not horror again. This type of content was very repetitive imo, so something different is good change of pace