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Volume 14, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 1757-191X
  • E-ISSN: 1757-1928

Abstract

Interdisciplinary game studies have long been fascinated by video games and their potential to improve mental health. Despite this interest, there is not yet a cohesive rhetorical framework to connect conversations about mental health with specific types of games. Following Waszkiewicz and Bakun’s (2020) call to adopt the term ‘cosy’ for games which inspire feelings of safety in players, encourage self-actualization and utilize soft aesthetics helps clarify discussions of the games suited to help improve mental health and allow players to process complex emotions. This article uses a close reading of the Nomada Studios game to argue that considering cosiness when studying the connection between games, emotion and mental health will help researchers find a connection between game aesthetics and the types of psychological issues that a game can address effectively.

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2023-02-22
2024-05-02
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The visual and narrative rhetoric of mental health in Gris
Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds 14, 249 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1386/jgvw_00061_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw_00061_1
/content/journals/10.1386/jgvw_00061_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): aesthetics; cosy games; game studies; grief; mental illness; therapy games; video games

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