4 Reasons why Danchi Days is a "Post-Cozy" Game
Learn about this cute adventure where a girl revives a Japanese summer festival, inspired by MOON, Hamtaro, Earthbound
Hello, Melos Han-Tani here - Danchi Days (hereon DD) programmer/designer/composer. I'm here to explain what I mean by DD being a "Post-Cozy" game!
What do I mean by "cozy"?
The "Cozy" in "Post-Cozy" refers not to 'cozy' the adjective, but to the historical category of Cozy Games which has grown substantially over the past few years. Why call Cozy Games a "historical category?"
Let's look at this recent Wholesome Games Twitter Post:
It asks for "a common feature in wholesome or cozy games that you think doesn’t fit the vibe." Responses include:
Time pressure
Combat
Tough dexterity mini-games
Endlessly-growing farm/business management
If you categorized these, would you call combat and time pressure 'cozy?' Probably not! Despite this, there are many widely-loved Cozy Games that contain these. That is, Cozy Games and cozy (the adjective) are distinct. As Cozy Games matured and expanded, many mechanics became common, whether or not they were cozy.
So, when I say DD is Post-Cozy, I mean that it's in conversation with Cozy Games, and arguably even a Cozy Game itself, BUT, distinct enough in certain ways that are worth noting by also calling it “Post-Cozy”. The game appreciates what Cozy Games have accomplished for the gaming community, but also wonders where else the category might be able to go by drawing in other influences.
Is Danchi Days a Cozy Game?
So yes, confusingly, Danchi Days IS a Cozy Game (in some ways). It has a slice of life setting, there are colorful and bright aesthetics, there's a lot of emotional warmth and humor… but there's a lot that distinguishes it from the popular notion of Cozy Game that's worth mentioning.
Yet, DD is also (confusingly, I admit) a Post-Cozy game.
Here's 4 reasons!
1. The Narrative Themes and Setting
The game's internet, characters, dialogue get at themes and moods that are arguably not cozy. Everything in the game is based on something or someone encountered in everyday life or reading, and of course that includes darker aspects. A large portion of the game is exploring webpages, and the internet, after all, is a complex place!
Furthermore, the game has a more historically situated setting than usual, taking place in real-life Japan, so I'd pin it as historically situated in a more realistic way than an idyllic rural setting. For example, DD's Japan has the same history of danchis (mass housing) and the society's aging problem.
Of course, realistic settings and darker themes do exist in other Cozy Games! But I would say that, like in Danchi Days, that is not the case on average.
2. Game Influences
Cozy Games have generally incorporated influences like Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, The Sims, My Time At Portia, Stardew, Slime Rancher. There's arguably an overlap with so-called "Casual Games" for phones/browsers in the way many progression or quest systems work (E.g. Disney Dreamlight Valley.)
In DD's case, we are working from other influences, which I’d loosely described as "off-beat adventures". Games like the Japan-only Uki-Uki Carnival, (about inviting people to a festival and exploring the internet), or Doki-Doki Poyatchio, a '90s PS1 Japanese game about delivering bread to a fantasy town. Or the wildly popular Mother series.
There's also influences like Opoona, MOON, Attack of the Friday Monsters or Boku no Natsuyasumi and Hamtaro which have seen some mild popularity in the West, but are not common influences on Cozy Games.
sandy powder, the other game design lead, is from Asia, and so draws on a different cultural background in terms of books, manga, life experiences. For myself as game designer, I'm drawing on a lot of other games as well including my own games (e.g. Sephonie, Anodyne 2) which are unique spins on the ideas of adventure and puzzles.
With all that in mind, from the game design standpoint, it feels like we're working from a different source of influences than average, hence why Post-Cozy feels like a good description of DD. While we play and enjoy Cozy Games, there's a lot more that we need to account for when describing the game accurately.
3. Mechanics we don't have
Cozy Games often tend to have some of the following
Farming, Gardening
Growing a small business/town
Gathering Resources to Craft via exploration/combat
Loosely-tethered-to-real-life Setting (in the sense of Animal Crossing)
Creature Collecting/Raising
Sandbox Mechanics
Friendship/Dating Point Mechanics
Cute Graphics
Quirky Characters
DD has a few - Cute Graphics, Quirky Characters, but not really any of the others.
4. The Sensing Games
There's also the Sensing Games (above - song is placeholder BGM, Encantamiento by Chancha Via Circuito), which are a kind of novel game mechanic meant to tactilely convey different things you 'sense' in the world. It’s like ‘flavor text for your fingers.’
In the above video, you’re sensing the scent of trees. By pushing around the trees, you can smell the trees faster. You lose Focus (the star bar) as you move, so you need to be economical.
This system is influenced by my work as a designer on Sephonie's Linking Puzzles (which try to convey creature relationships through puzzle language), Anodyne 1&2's 2D levels (which convey emotion or character through action-puzzle langauge), and the level design philosophy of Angeline Era (conveying emotion/lore through enemy layouts and spatial design), as well as some other ideas I've had, such as the "Fastgame" (a 2D action-platform game, inspired by emulator fast-forward, where you must sometimes play at 4x speed, which creates much different tactile textures.). It’s also inspired by some similar games like Warioware.
With the Sense Games, I really want to ask: what are minigames we can use to characterize the sensory experience of real life, other than e.g. literally making a game about bringing your nose close to trees? Much like how abstracted pixel art can make our minds fill in the blanks as to what the game world is like, I wonder if the same can happen with ‘abstract’ games like the Sensing Game.
In Conclusion
In short, you can think of DD as a game that is a Cozy Game in some respects! Certainly you'll feel right at home if you're looking for a game to wind down or chill out with. But, at the same time, we're exploring in other game design directions as well. In other words, Danchi Days could, confusingly, be called a "Post-Cozy Cozy Game."
Now, if that sounds interesting… wishlist the game on Steam!! Keep an eye out for some things later this year…