July 29, 2024 • 23 mins
In part two of our update on gaming, we discuss two very different games we've recently played, the qualifications of a cozy game and women in the gaming industry.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Sandy and Samantha stuff. I've never told
your predictionure of iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And because I am me, I decided that was a
new part too about the games that I've been playing,
because I didn't mention one that I felt like need
to be mentioned, even though yes, Snuffkin moom and Troll
Stories moom and Valley is still one of my favorites. Uh. Christina,
our wonderful producer super producer suggested untitled a Goose game,
(00:39):
which people have suggested and the description alone does make
me think this is my game because all you're really
doing is going after humans to harass them.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Have you seen? No, I haven't, I think. Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Your co host from Savor, Lauren, friend of the show,
I want to say she was into this game for
a minute.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
I could see that.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I feel like her and my partner had a whole
conversation about it. And then we watched videos and I
was like, what is this? And you saw this goose
with a knife running around and like a like a
block kind of like scenario, just chasing people, honking at them.
That could be wrong, This could be in like a
dream I had, who knows, who knows? I was dreaming
(01:24):
about a game I didn't really know much about, but anyway,
so I feel like I do need to try that out.
It's apparently on cell right now, so I need to
go look at it on these things. Thank you, Christina.
I will. It's quite funny the description, and apparently it
was kind of like an inside joke at a company
that made it into an actual game from an indie game.
(01:46):
So that is something I do want to look into.
So if y'all had more suggestions like that at me.
But the game that I'm talking about is kind of
similar in that it harasses humans or just people in general,
and is called Donut County and it's an independent game
as well. The creator like right there named Ben Esposito,
and he did the entire thing, and it's also a
very short game. It's classified, according to their site as
(02:08):
a story filled physics puzzle game where you play as
a whole in the ground. And yes, you do have
to do like some trickery in the between this, like
you have to like if you swallow up because you're
about to swallow but everything and like you might swallow
up something that has fire, so you can't swallow everything up,
so you have to figure out, Okay, how do I
get rid of this fire? Or you have to use
(02:29):
that fire to get to something else. So it's a
whole thing, but it is quite satisfying because all you're
doing in Filly, all you're doing until you get into
the puzzle bits and you're like, oh, I have to
actually figure this out. So the creator bent Esposito created
a unique world that is somewhat controlled by raccoons. And
by the way, as I'm writing all this stuff up,
(02:51):
my outline is telling me, uh, because I did some
copy paste. I'm coming from article. I'm assuming it's like
they're English. I don't know because they only use one
C for raccoons, and my Google it's like, no, no, no,
that's a different version. You don't want to spell it
that way. Super odd. But I didn't realize there's two
different ways to spell raccoons.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Yes, I realize, Yes, I got in. I actually, hilariously
side note have audio podcast evidence that I didn't know
this because I was on movie Crush with Chuck from
Stuff you Should Know, and I was on there for
(03:33):
what we do in the Shadows, And there is a
visual gag at one point where they're spinning like a
chore wheel and the word vacuum is misspelled, but I
learned that not necessarily is misspelled, and from there I
learned about this this raccoon thing.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Well, I did not know this all in Google is
yellowing at mecause it's like, you're in America, Why are
you doing this? What's happening? So anyway, I've learned now
that there's two different ways to spell raccoons again, and
so I haven't made it to the end of this game, y'all,
because yeah, I got this at the same time as Snuffkin,
so it's really sidetracked with that. And this again is
(04:20):
apparently a short form game as well. So here's something
again from I guess she's English, the different spelled raccoons
person OMG, girlsgame dot WordPress and she writes, funnily enough,
there is a story in this short game, and it's
about as nonsensical as the title of the game might imply.
The story focuses around Donut County, but specifically around the
(04:41):
two driving characters, which are the girl human girl Mira
because there's definitely lots of different creatures in here, and
her raccoon friend BK. But it turns out BK and
Mira work at a donut shop where BK uses an
app to deliver donuts, and we're putting that in quotes
which are not really donuts at all. Anytime someone orders
(05:01):
a donut, BK uses a special tablet and APT to
deliver a hole which shows up and swallows up everything.
Mira is aware of these holes, but only seems to
care after BK destroys almost all of Donut County and
swallows her other friend Coco. Why our holes being deployed, Well,
(05:22):
it has something to do with the raccoon takeover and
the obsession with trash. The truth is that we are
never given a reason that is one hundred percent true.
But the raccoon takeover bit is actually a fact. Raccoons
bought out the donut shop in Donut County and now
raccoons run most high end government functions like police, as
well as having a massive lab located in a giant
(05:45):
building that looks like a trash can. And that's just
the basic stuff. While we may not learn too much
about the raccoon conspiracy, Donut County does host a myriad
of colorful characters that end up learning a little as
we play through the game, so of course they do
have a whole Wikipedia page in which they talk about
(06:06):
the entirety of the story. There's a trash King involved apparently,
as well as like BK being like I want a
droid to fly over everything and get these things. And
then they all get swept up. Everybody gets swept up,
and they go like below the earth where there's nothing there,
and they're all around a campfire sharing their stories about
(06:26):
how they disappeared, and so it's like you have a scenario,
and you play that game, and it goes into the
audio storytelling part where they're sitting around and they're trying
to get BK to take responsibility about what's happening. And
it goes back up and they have like the different
scenarios of different people what happened, why they ordered the donut,
where they are all these things and all you're doing
(06:49):
is just sucking it up into the earth. I haven't
made it to the end because apparently there's a boss
fight with the trash King and BK has to make
some tough decisions about whether he's loyal to his friend
or his raccoon species and their whole you know, ploy
to take all the trash. I don't know, I don't know.
It seems like both a good and bad thing, right, yeah,
(07:12):
but it's not just taking Trash's taking everything. But yeah,
that's the entirety of the game. And apparently it's a
mobile game first, and they were nominated for a lot
of awards, and I think they did win Mobile Game
of the Year for the Southwest Southwest Gaming Awards. But they,
I mean, they had a pretty big following. I'm not
really sure if they have expanded on it. Obviously. Ben
(07:34):
Esposito is a fairly known name that I don't know.
I'm sorry, don't be kind at me, and their company
has done a lot for this, but this essentially was
just like a side project he was doing for fun,
and it got pretty big acclaims. But it's kind of
like if you have that like itch, I'm just like, yes,
I gotta get everything. This fills it. And it's also
(07:57):
a sasy literal back and forth conversation with them all
with all the trash animals. So there you go. You
should try it. Not as like I loved it, but
not as much as I love Snuffkin obviously, but it's
super neat interesting.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Well, this was comical because every time we do these
gaming episodes, it's hilarious to me. How You're like, oh,
I found this like really beautiful, peaceful, relaxing game, and
I'm like, well, let me tell you the complete opposite.
(08:47):
I haven't had as much time as I would like
to play games lately. I've really been enjoying. I have
some friends who are playing some favorites of mine. I've
got a friend playing Resonavil for i got a friend
playing Jedi Survivor. You know, the Last of Us two
is always on the table for me. Yeah, yeah, I did,
and I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but not really.
(09:09):
I there's a DLC for Animal Crossing, so I did
get that where you can basically design people's homes, and
I got it.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah, I got that.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I'm not good at it because I was mad where
my one of my villagers has like one of the
coolest homes, but it was because it was one of
the first ones. It was bland and born, so I
got it. I'm one painting away from completing the museum.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So I quit. I need to go back to it.
My island looks a mess, guarantee.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
No, no reason too there's tons of games out there.
I have so many games to play, and that's that's
the frustrating thing. And so many of them are like
really cool concepts. But one I played recently is called
Rental and it is described as Animal Crossing meets Silent Hill.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Oh my god, what yes?
Speaker 1 (10:13):
So if you don't know what Silent Hill is, I
have done episode. I did an episode Fictional Women around
World on Heather. I talked about it in Survival Horror.
Silent Hill is like a really messed up horror game.
It's like one of my favorite Silent Hill two is
one of the scariest games ever made in my opinion.
It's like eerie and unsettling and has a lot of
(10:35):
symbolism and a lot of it's uncomfortable. So I saw
I was like, wait, what Animal Crossing means Silent Hill?
So I of course went and played it. It's a
good twenty minute easy play. Well, it was easy for me.
I thought it was pretty It's easy in terms of
(10:57):
the controls, Like it's just like a a up side
side You're controlling your character. So the plot is you
who's like a cute bunny rabbit from my Animal Crossing
are going to this like airbnb rental for a vacation,
(11:19):
and when you get there, the guy who owns it
is like, it's just somethings ass and you go in
and then of course the door slams and locks, and
you're you're in there without your family, and so you've
got to you're you walk through it's like a straight hallway,
you know, but it's got all these branching rooms and
(11:41):
pretty much in every room you go in there's some
kind of like horrific flesh of something. It's got a
lot of like I would call them jump scares, but
I guess they are kind of jump scares, and you
have to find a list and it tells you like
these items and you've got to find items like two
(12:01):
candles and I don't know, haunted picture like all this stuff.
So you had to search through the rooms and find
these things. And all the time you're seeing this like
figure with red eyes. They'll just pop out like and
you're like, I think I.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Know about this game. I think I saw have like
a TikTok video.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I mean it must have, because I think it was
free for a while and there was a lot of
press around it, so I was like free horror game, silent. Yeah,
let's go. So, yeah, you go, and you're you're finding
all these things. You're kind of learning about the house
(12:46):
and what happened in there. And then one of the
once you get all the items, one of the doors
opens up that you couldn't get into before, and it's
just a hall. It's a whole warehouse of mirrors. It's horror.
You can't it's so hard to keep track of where
you are and what you're doing, and you have to
find all these certain things and oh I can see
(13:12):
you can get stuck in there for a hot second.
Oh and it's really unsettling because like the music is going,
there's like missed. You know, there's this creature there and
you might be lost. You have to find all these
things and you can't get out until you find all
the things. Then you find them and you do like
(13:32):
a little a little ritual and I won't say what
happens after that, but that's how you win.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
That's interesting. I might get frustrated.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
This is so funny to me, though, because you're like
this game so nice. I'm like, I found like animal crossing,
but if it was a horror.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yes, I mean I've seen more and more like they
will talk about like horror level of games but still
call it cozy games. Yeah, because like that, I'm like, oh,
is it? I mean, it's kind of like it is.
Like also people saying Zelda is a cozy game, was like,
so there's like a debate on that. I feel like
(14:11):
because there's so many like battle levels of this that
it's not as like relaxing to me. And of course
I would say that about some of the other games
are like this is just frustrating. I don't like it.
I guess which have been classified as cozy gaming because
I am super bad at gaming. But like, yeah, again,
like I would help like making pies and doing certain
(14:32):
things like that that's to me, like it's cute. Yes,
I would rather not be this way and then having
a ghost telling me what to do because I have
that pie game that I love that has the ghosts
helping me get it together in this pie place. While
they are also adopting cats, which by the way, found
into the game called Fit My Cat, which is essentially
a block game of cats. I don't know why, but
(14:56):
I liked it, but you know, like I found that
interesting because a cozy game. I guess it is like
when we talked about the original intent and the name
of it sounds very different than horror games where you
can get a jump scare or there's several of this,
like cult games, you know what I mean. But that
also has that. But it's not to say that it
(15:18):
can't be cute and cozy.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah, this is actually something I've been thinking about recently,
because you know, when I played that game, it didn't
really scare me. We've talked before about how some people
like me use horror to relax, right, But and this
is a whole separate thing, but it is related. I
(15:42):
recently watched a film in a violent nature. I have
been working up to watch it, but i'd heard all
these stories about asking like make you vomit and stuff
like that, but people kept saying like, it's really kind
of comforting until it's not. So if you haven't seen it,
it's just a horror. It's got a lot of problematic tropes.
(16:03):
I did like it, but it's got a lot of
problematic trips. But it's like you're seeing it from the
killer's point of view and he's just walking through the woods.
So a lot of scenes there's no music. All the
scenes are just really pretty and he's just walking through
the woods and I was kind of relaxing during it.
I was like, and then he killed someone and the
most violent way I've probably ever seen. Okay, well that's
(16:26):
saying a lot. It was very violent. I see one
of the vomited.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, yeah, really.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
But then he's back walking in the woods and I'm like, oh, pretty,
pretty pretty. So it's interesting because a lot of people
called it like the cozy gang version of like a
horror movie, of a horror movie.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
We already kind of had a conversation about people don't
take women seriously in gaming. Gaming kind of opened the
door where this specific genre, which is a very new genre,
has allowed for more and more women to come in
to be like, I know about gaming, let me talk
(17:13):
to you about this, and found a way that they
can also get paid and be paid attention to. But
then that also is like, if you're cozy gaming, they
want to specify that you're not gaming, like and I'm
not saying that's the case. I'm just saying that a
lot of sexist people will use that rhetoric that's not
really gaming. But again, it's kind of that level of
like a lot of the gamers, And I think this
(17:34):
is where maybe some of the complication happens, is that
a lot of the gamers cozy gamers are have already
most likely been gamers and then they found this game.
They love these games, and they talk about these games
because it is also a niche and an interesting topic
and it's more accepted for women to be in that narrative,
(17:56):
and so they may get boxed in and they're using
this box then to finally be in the industry, Like
I don't and I don't think that's better or we're
good either way, because I hate that women who are
gamers are already like classified as not being true gamers
if you don't do these things or if you just
(18:16):
don't have a penis, which a lot of times is
that conversation. And I think, like that could be part
of that mystery, because yeah, again, like I said, there's
several gamers who will put Zelda Breath of the Wild
and say this is their cozy game slash but more
difficult because I could never like I would throw throw
(18:37):
the remote.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Oh I got stuck. I love Zelda and I've got
stuck in it because I accidentally killed that old guy,
and now I don't have to cope, and I keep
dying and everyone tells me it's not possible, but I
will give you my safe file that gud died and
it was not my fault.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
So all not to say, I think this is an
interesting narrative because the conversation again like the horror of
cozy gaming, or the dark cozy gaming, or like you know,
like all of these things, and because they want so
quickly to classify this so they can keep it sexist,
like keep a sexist narrative in there, that could be
a problem. I for me, yes, a part of this
(19:25):
is the fact that I'm not stressed out. So if
I'm stressing about it, which is most games in general,
I'm gonna throw something to me that's not cozy.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Yeah, And I think that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
That's a whole different conversation because also, just like Overcooked,
is that considered a cozy game.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I would never call that a cozy game.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
But I have played it and I do enjoy it
to a certain extent to I'm like, I'm annoyed.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Oh you know. That kind of goes back to the
because I have some friends who will watch a certain
show it's the Bear and they're relaxed, and I'm like,
this is the most stressful. I hate this. I like
the show, but it's stressful. But from them, they find
it relaxing for whatever reason. Usually it's their job. Usually
(20:12):
it's what they work in.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
And I think it's funny.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
But that's the thing, is like one person's like stress relievers,
another person's stress causer. Right.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
And also there's that question again and classification because The
Bear was classified as a comedy and everybody's like why.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Well, I have a lot of theories about that.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Oh so that is this conversation has gone right, But
that is kind of what we were like in this
conversation when it comes to gaming, because it is like
bigger depth of like, Okay, these people consider this gaming.
This people consider this gaming. And then there's a huge crossover.
We've seen more and more crossover when it goes into
like who which system has it? Just saw one of
(20:56):
my favorite games, Cozy Grove. I've talked about this game
a lot, and you'll play it. I think it's really fun.
I think the missions are just perfect. Apparently they have
a phone version. I haven't seen good reviews about it.
I think there's a lot of bugs we'll see. And
I think Netflix bought the actual game, which again, now
we see other companies that you were never a part
of the gaming industry suddenly going oh money maker.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Yeah, let's go. Every time I go on Netflix, I
see Oxen Free, which is one of my favorite games,
and it's like, oh, it's Invata, and I'm like, what,
I play Oxen Free on Netflix? Right? Yeah, And I
going back to several of our conversations, I do think
when you can get outside of the big studios, like
(21:39):
a cozy game is a great way to enter the
industry without that, and they are still games people love
and people will buy, and you can do all these
creative things, like I love so long a game has
been defined by the way you win is some kind
(21:59):
of violence. And I love how many women creators, especially
are like, what have we made a different game where
the way you win isn't that, it's something else. I
love that. So I'm all about this. I love the
interesting takes on games, horror or not. Like, I like
to see this creativity. I'm glad that it's happening and
(22:21):
that they're finding audiences for it well as always listeners.
If you have any suggestions, we do take them into account.
We love getting them. Please let us know. You can
email us at Steffania mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com.
Can you find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff when I Never
Told You or else on YouTube. We have a t
(22:42):
pellet store and we have a book where we talk
a lot about video games you can get wherever you
get your books. Thanks as always too a super produced
Christina or executive Christma, and our contruder Joey. Thank you
and thanks to you for listening. Stuff I Never Told
You is protection of by Heart Radio. For more podcasts
on my heart Radio, you can check out the heart
Radio app, Apple podcast wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Hey, this is Sandy and Samantha stuff. I've never told
your predictionure of iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And because I am me, I decided that was a
new part too about the games that I've been playing,
because I didn't mention one that I felt like need
to be mentioned, even though yes, Snuffkin moom and Troll
Stories moom and Valley is still one of my favorites. Uh. Christina,
our wonderful producer super producer suggested untitled a Goose game,
(00:39):
which people have suggested and the description alone does make
me think this is my game because all you're really
doing is going after humans to harass them.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Have you seen? No, I haven't, I think. Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Your co host from Savor, Lauren, friend of the show,
I want to say she was into this game for
a minute.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
I could see that.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I feel like her and my partner had a whole
conversation about it. And then we watched videos and I
was like, what is this? And you saw this goose
with a knife running around and like a like a
block kind of like scenario, just chasing people, honking at them.
That could be wrong, This could be in like a
dream I had, who knows, who knows? I was dreaming
(01:24):
about a game I didn't really know much about, but anyway,
so I feel like I do need to try that out.
It's apparently on cell right now, so I need to
go look at it on these things. Thank you, Christina.
I will. It's quite funny the description, and apparently it
was kind of like an inside joke at a company
that made it into an actual game from an indie game.
(01:46):
So that is something I do want to look into.
So if y'all had more suggestions like that at me.
But the game that I'm talking about is kind of
similar in that it harasses humans or just people in general,
and is called Donut County and it's an independent game
as well. The creator like right there named Ben Esposito,
and he did the entire thing, and it's also a
very short game. It's classified, according to their site as
(02:08):
a story filled physics puzzle game where you play as
a whole in the ground. And yes, you do have
to do like some trickery in the between this, like
you have to like if you swallow up because you're
about to swallow but everything and like you might swallow
up something that has fire, so you can't swallow everything up,
so you have to figure out, Okay, how do I
get rid of this fire? Or you have to use
(02:29):
that fire to get to something else. So it's a
whole thing, but it is quite satisfying because all you're
doing in Filly, all you're doing until you get into
the puzzle bits and you're like, oh, I have to
actually figure this out. So the creator bent Esposito created
a unique world that is somewhat controlled by raccoons. And
by the way, as I'm writing all this stuff up,
(02:51):
my outline is telling me, uh, because I did some
copy paste. I'm coming from article. I'm assuming it's like
they're English. I don't know because they only use one
C for raccoons, and my Google it's like, no, no, no,
that's a different version. You don't want to spell it
that way. Super odd. But I didn't realize there's two
different ways to spell raccoons.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Yes, I realize, Yes, I got in. I actually, hilariously
side note have audio podcast evidence that I didn't know
this because I was on movie Crush with Chuck from
Stuff you Should Know, and I was on there for
(03:33):
what we do in the Shadows, And there is a
visual gag at one point where they're spinning like a
chore wheel and the word vacuum is misspelled, but I
learned that not necessarily is misspelled, and from there I
learned about this this raccoon thing.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Well, I did not know this all in Google is
yellowing at mecause it's like, you're in America, Why are
you doing this? What's happening? So anyway, I've learned now
that there's two different ways to spell raccoons again, and
so I haven't made it to the end of this game, y'all,
because yeah, I got this at the same time as Snuffkin,
so it's really sidetracked with that. And this again is
(04:20):
apparently a short form game as well. So here's something
again from I guess she's English, the different spelled raccoons
person OMG, girlsgame dot WordPress and she writes, funnily enough,
there is a story in this short game, and it's
about as nonsensical as the title of the game might imply.
The story focuses around Donut County, but specifically around the
(04:41):
two driving characters, which are the girl human girl Mira
because there's definitely lots of different creatures in here, and
her raccoon friend BK. But it turns out BK and
Mira work at a donut shop where BK uses an
app to deliver donuts, and we're putting that in quotes
which are not really donuts at all. Anytime someone orders
(05:01):
a donut, BK uses a special tablet and APT to
deliver a hole which shows up and swallows up everything.
Mira is aware of these holes, but only seems to
care after BK destroys almost all of Donut County and
swallows her other friend Coco. Why our holes being deployed, Well,
(05:22):
it has something to do with the raccoon takeover and
the obsession with trash. The truth is that we are
never given a reason that is one hundred percent true.
But the raccoon takeover bit is actually a fact. Raccoons
bought out the donut shop in Donut County and now
raccoons run most high end government functions like police, as
well as having a massive lab located in a giant
(05:45):
building that looks like a trash can. And that's just
the basic stuff. While we may not learn too much
about the raccoon conspiracy, Donut County does host a myriad
of colorful characters that end up learning a little as
we play through the game, so of course they do
have a whole Wikipedia page in which they talk about
(06:06):
the entirety of the story. There's a trash King involved apparently,
as well as like BK being like I want a
droid to fly over everything and get these things. And
then they all get swept up. Everybody gets swept up,
and they go like below the earth where there's nothing there,
and they're all around a campfire sharing their stories about
(06:26):
how they disappeared, and so it's like you have a scenario,
and you play that game, and it goes into the
audio storytelling part where they're sitting around and they're trying
to get BK to take responsibility about what's happening. And
it goes back up and they have like the different
scenarios of different people what happened, why they ordered the donut,
where they are all these things and all you're doing
(06:49):
is just sucking it up into the earth. I haven't
made it to the end because apparently there's a boss
fight with the trash King and BK has to make
some tough decisions about whether he's loyal to his friend
or his raccoon species and their whole you know, ploy
to take all the trash. I don't know, I don't know.
It seems like both a good and bad thing, right, yeah,
(07:12):
but it's not just taking Trash's taking everything. But yeah,
that's the entirety of the game. And apparently it's a
mobile game first, and they were nominated for a lot
of awards, and I think they did win Mobile Game
of the Year for the Southwest Southwest Gaming Awards. But they,
I mean, they had a pretty big following. I'm not
really sure if they have expanded on it. Obviously. Ben
(07:34):
Esposito is a fairly known name that I don't know.
I'm sorry, don't be kind at me, and their company
has done a lot for this, but this essentially was
just like a side project he was doing for fun,
and it got pretty big acclaims. But it's kind of
like if you have that like itch, I'm just like, yes,
I gotta get everything. This fills it. And it's also
(07:57):
a sasy literal back and forth conversation with them all
with all the trash animals. So there you go. You
should try it. Not as like I loved it, but
not as much as I love Snuffkin obviously, but it's
super neat interesting.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Well, this was comical because every time we do these
gaming episodes, it's hilarious to me. How You're like, oh,
I found this like really beautiful, peaceful, relaxing game, and
I'm like, well, let me tell you the complete opposite.
(08:47):
I haven't had as much time as I would like
to play games lately. I've really been enjoying. I have
some friends who are playing some favorites of mine. I've
got a friend playing Resonavil for i got a friend
playing Jedi Survivor. You know, the Last of Us two
is always on the table for me. Yeah, yeah, I did,
and I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but not really.
(09:09):
I there's a DLC for Animal Crossing, so I did
get that where you can basically design people's homes, and
I got it.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah, I got that.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I'm not good at it because I was mad where
my one of my villagers has like one of the
coolest homes, but it was because it was one of
the first ones. It was bland and born, so I
got it. I'm one painting away from completing the museum.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So I quit. I need to go back to it.
My island looks a mess, guarantee.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
No, no reason too there's tons of games out there.
I have so many games to play, and that's that's
the frustrating thing. And so many of them are like
really cool concepts. But one I played recently is called
Rental and it is described as Animal Crossing meets Silent Hill.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Oh my god, what yes?
Speaker 1 (10:13):
So if you don't know what Silent Hill is, I
have done episode. I did an episode Fictional Women around
World on Heather. I talked about it in Survival Horror.
Silent Hill is like a really messed up horror game.
It's like one of my favorite Silent Hill two is
one of the scariest games ever made in my opinion.
It's like eerie and unsettling and has a lot of
(10:35):
symbolism and a lot of it's uncomfortable. So I saw
I was like, wait, what Animal Crossing means Silent Hill?
So I of course went and played it. It's a
good twenty minute easy play. Well, it was easy for me.
I thought it was pretty It's easy in terms of
(10:57):
the controls, Like it's just like a a up side
side You're controlling your character. So the plot is you
who's like a cute bunny rabbit from my Animal Crossing
are going to this like airbnb rental for a vacation,
(11:19):
and when you get there, the guy who owns it
is like, it's just somethings ass and you go in
and then of course the door slams and locks, and
you're you're in there without your family, and so you've
got to you're you walk through it's like a straight hallway,
you know, but it's got all these branching rooms and
(11:41):
pretty much in every room you go in there's some
kind of like horrific flesh of something. It's got a
lot of like I would call them jump scares, but
I guess they are kind of jump scares, and you
have to find a list and it tells you like
these items and you've got to find items like two
(12:01):
candles and I don't know, haunted picture like all this stuff.
So you had to search through the rooms and find
these things. And all the time you're seeing this like
figure with red eyes. They'll just pop out like and
you're like, I think I.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Know about this game. I think I saw have like
a TikTok video.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I mean it must have, because I think it was
free for a while and there was a lot of
press around it, so I was like free horror game, silent. Yeah,
let's go. So, yeah, you go, and you're you're finding
all these things. You're kind of learning about the house
(12:46):
and what happened in there. And then one of the
once you get all the items, one of the doors
opens up that you couldn't get into before, and it's
just a hall. It's a whole warehouse of mirrors. It's horror.
You can't it's so hard to keep track of where
you are and what you're doing, and you have to
find all these certain things and oh I can see
(13:12):
you can get stuck in there for a hot second.
Oh and it's really unsettling because like the music is going,
there's like missed. You know, there's this creature there and
you might be lost. You have to find all these
things and you can't get out until you find all
the things. Then you find them and you do like
(13:32):
a little a little ritual and I won't say what
happens after that, but that's how you win.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
That's interesting. I might get frustrated.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
This is so funny to me, though, because you're like
this game so nice. I'm like, I found like animal crossing,
but if it was a horror.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yes, I mean I've seen more and more like they
will talk about like horror level of games but still
call it cozy games. Yeah, because like that, I'm like, oh,
is it? I mean, it's kind of like it is.
Like also people saying Zelda is a cozy game, was like,
so there's like a debate on that. I feel like
(14:11):
because there's so many like battle levels of this that
it's not as like relaxing to me. And of course
I would say that about some of the other games
are like this is just frustrating. I don't like it.
I guess which have been classified as cozy gaming because
I am super bad at gaming. But like, yeah, again,
like I would help like making pies and doing certain
(14:32):
things like that that's to me, like it's cute. Yes,
I would rather not be this way and then having
a ghost telling me what to do because I have
that pie game that I love that has the ghosts
helping me get it together in this pie place. While
they are also adopting cats, which by the way, found
into the game called Fit My Cat, which is essentially
a block game of cats. I don't know why, but
(14:56):
I liked it, but you know, like I found that
interesting because a cozy game. I guess it is like
when we talked about the original intent and the name
of it sounds very different than horror games where you
can get a jump scare or there's several of this,
like cult games, you know what I mean. But that
also has that. But it's not to say that it
(15:18):
can't be cute and cozy.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah, this is actually something I've been thinking about recently,
because you know, when I played that game, it didn't
really scare me. We've talked before about how some people
like me use horror to relax, right, But and this
is a whole separate thing, but it is related. I
(15:42):
recently watched a film in a violent nature. I have
been working up to watch it, but i'd heard all
these stories about asking like make you vomit and stuff
like that, but people kept saying like, it's really kind
of comforting until it's not. So if you haven't seen it,
it's just a horror. It's got a lot of problematic tropes.
(16:03):
I did like it, but it's got a lot of
problematic trips. But it's like you're seeing it from the
killer's point of view and he's just walking through the woods.
So a lot of scenes there's no music. All the
scenes are just really pretty and he's just walking through
the woods and I was kind of relaxing during it.
I was like, and then he killed someone and the
most violent way I've probably ever seen. Okay, well that's
(16:26):
saying a lot. It was very violent. I see one
of the vomited.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, yeah, really.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
But then he's back walking in the woods and I'm like, oh, pretty,
pretty pretty. So it's interesting because a lot of people
called it like the cozy gang version of like a
horror movie, of a horror movie.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
We already kind of had a conversation about people don't
take women seriously in gaming. Gaming kind of opened the
door where this specific genre, which is a very new genre,
has allowed for more and more women to come in
to be like, I know about gaming, let me talk
(17:13):
to you about this, and found a way that they
can also get paid and be paid attention to. But
then that also is like, if you're cozy gaming, they
want to specify that you're not gaming, like and I'm
not saying that's the case. I'm just saying that a
lot of sexist people will use that rhetoric that's not
really gaming. But again, it's kind of that level of
like a lot of the gamers, And I think this
(17:34):
is where maybe some of the complication happens, is that
a lot of the gamers cozy gamers are have already
most likely been gamers and then they found this game.
They love these games, and they talk about these games
because it is also a niche and an interesting topic
and it's more accepted for women to be in that narrative,
(17:56):
and so they may get boxed in and they're using
this box then to finally be in the industry, Like
I don't and I don't think that's better or we're
good either way, because I hate that women who are
gamers are already like classified as not being true gamers
if you don't do these things or if you just
(18:16):
don't have a penis, which a lot of times is
that conversation. And I think, like that could be part
of that mystery, because yeah, again, like I said, there's
several gamers who will put Zelda Breath of the Wild
and say this is their cozy game slash but more
difficult because I could never like I would throw throw
(18:37):
the remote.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Oh I got stuck. I love Zelda and I've got
stuck in it because I accidentally killed that old guy,
and now I don't have to cope, and I keep
dying and everyone tells me it's not possible, but I
will give you my safe file that gud died and
it was not my fault.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
So all not to say, I think this is an
interesting narrative because the conversation again like the horror of
cozy gaming, or the dark cozy gaming, or like you know,
like all of these things, and because they want so
quickly to classify this so they can keep it sexist,
like keep a sexist narrative in there, that could be
a problem. I for me, yes, a part of this
(19:25):
is the fact that I'm not stressed out. So if
I'm stressing about it, which is most games in general,
I'm gonna throw something to me that's not cozy.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
Yeah, And I think that.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
That's a whole different conversation because also, just like Overcooked,
is that considered a cozy game.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
I would never call that a cozy game.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
But I have played it and I do enjoy it
to a certain extent to I'm like, I'm annoyed.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Oh you know. That kind of goes back to the
because I have some friends who will watch a certain
show it's the Bear and they're relaxed, and I'm like,
this is the most stressful. I hate this. I like
the show, but it's stressful. But from them, they find
it relaxing for whatever reason. Usually it's their job. Usually
(20:12):
it's what they work in.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
And I think it's funny.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
But that's the thing, is like one person's like stress relievers,
another person's stress causer. Right.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
And also there's that question again and classification because The
Bear was classified as a comedy and everybody's like why.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Well, I have a lot of theories about that.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Oh so that is this conversation has gone right, But
that is kind of what we were like in this
conversation when it comes to gaming, because it is like
bigger depth of like, Okay, these people consider this gaming.
This people consider this gaming. And then there's a huge crossover.
We've seen more and more crossover when it goes into
like who which system has it? Just saw one of
(20:56):
my favorite games, Cozy Grove. I've talked about this game
a lot, and you'll play it. I think it's really fun.
I think the missions are just perfect. Apparently they have
a phone version. I haven't seen good reviews about it.
I think there's a lot of bugs we'll see. And
I think Netflix bought the actual game, which again, now
we see other companies that you were never a part
of the gaming industry suddenly going oh money maker.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Yeah, let's go. Every time I go on Netflix, I
see Oxen Free, which is one of my favorite games,
and it's like, oh, it's Invata, and I'm like, what,
I play Oxen Free on Netflix? Right? Yeah, And I
going back to several of our conversations, I do think
when you can get outside of the big studios, like
(21:39):
a cozy game is a great way to enter the
industry without that, and they are still games people love
and people will buy, and you can do all these
creative things, like I love so long a game has
been defined by the way you win is some kind
(21:59):
of violence. And I love how many women creators, especially
are like, what have we made a different game where
the way you win isn't that, it's something else. I
love that. So I'm all about this. I love the
interesting takes on games, horror or not. Like, I like
to see this creativity. I'm glad that it's happening and
(22:21):
that they're finding audiences for it well as always listeners.
If you have any suggestions, we do take them into account.
We love getting them. Please let us know. You can
email us at Steffania mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com.
Can you find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast,
or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff when I Never
Told You or else on YouTube. We have a t
(22:42):
pellet store and we have a book where we talk
a lot about video games you can get wherever you
get your books. Thanks as always too a super produced
Christina or executive Christma, and our contruder Joey. Thank you
and thanks to you for listening. Stuff I Never Told
You is protection of by Heart Radio. For more podcasts
on my heart Radio, you can check out the heart
Radio app, Apple podcast wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Stuff Mom Never Told You News
Hosts And Creators
Anney Reese
Samantha McVey
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.