Looking for Cosy in All the Wrong Places. Cosiness and Tamed Sublime of "No Man’s Sky"

Tomasz Gnat

doi:10.18778/2391-8551.12.03

Autor

Tomasz Gnat University of Silesia in Katowice https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9740-8314

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2391-8551.12.03

Słowa kluczowe:

game studies, cosy, sublime, retrofuturism, spatial aesthetic

Abstrakt

In this article, I argue that some games may elicit cosy sentiments even if they are centred on a premise not usually associated with cosiness – for example the infinity of the universe. They do so not by a fluke, and cosy spaces in these games do not only appear as designated spaces apart. Evoking a cosy feeling is done by specific game mechanics or design choices, “taming” the sublime premise of the game discussed. The architecture and mechanics of this unexpected cosiness may offer a new look at the fringe cases of cosy aesthetics, perhaps broadening the understanding of this phenomenon.

Biogram autora

Tomasz Gnat - University of Silesia in Katowice

Tomasz Gnat, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of English Cultures and Literatures, University of Silesia. He researches interactive entertainment – both from the theoretical and practical design perspectives. His main areas of focus are the digital material culture of games and the rhetoric of interactive entertainment.

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