Brewing Happiness Design Aspects of Coffee Representation in Cozy Games

Krzysztof Chmielewski; Jakub Majewski

doi:10.18778/2391-8551.12.05

Authors

Krzysztof Chmielewski Kazimierz Wielki University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8927-1207
Jakub Majewski Kazimierz Wielki University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3183-8119

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2391-8551.12.05

Keywords:

cozy games, coffee, brewing, game design, game analysis, qualitative analysis

Abstract

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

Author Biographies

Krzysztof Chmielewski, Kazimierz Wielki University

Krzysztof Chmielewski is Senior Lecturer of Game Design and Game Studies at Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland. His research interests revolve around cultural symbolics in video games, game production studies, analog game studies and gaming law. Krzysztof has been a serious games producer since 2008 – from military simulators, through LARPs, board games, finally landing in the video games industry (for two reasons: passion and mortgage). For the past decade, his main objective has been teaching video game adepts at various universities in Poland, France, USA, and India. Lawyer and political scientist by education, coffee addict by choice.

Jakub Majewski, Kazimierz Wielki University

Jakub Majewski is Assistant Professor of Games and Digital Culture at the Kazimierz Wielki University (PhD, Bond University). He teaches game and narrative design, as well as game studies. His research interests include game history, game narrative, worldbuilding, open-world role-playing games, and the intersection of games and cultural heritage. Outside of academia, he has two decades of experience in game development, across many genres and platforms.

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