These games, called “cozy games” in English, a term that could be freely translated as “light games” or “friendly games”, include titles like Animal Crossing, Unpacking, Pokémon and Stardew Valley.
“It is especially at the level of playability where we see that the main activity will be relaxing and very little stressful on the individual,” explained doctoral student Laurei Mei Ross-Dionne, whose thesis she is preparing at the The University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières focuses in particular on these friendly games.
“But the idea of ’cozy games’ is really at the level of feeling, because for an individual, a game can become ‘cozy’ because it gives him that feeling, it becomes a zone of comfort or warmth. We’re at the other end of the spectrum.”
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that fans of the Animal Crossing game began to multiply.
At a time when confinement deprived us of our usual social contacts and where the uncertain evolution of the health crisis was a significant source of stress, Animal Crossing stood out from the crowd, said Ms. Ross-Dionne.
“(The game) was able to help reduce stressors, to some extent, because it had an online feature. People were therefore able to come together, join together and create new virtual communities.”
— Laurei Mei Ross-Dionne, doctoral student at the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
Up to four players can live together in one of Animal Crossing’s virtual villages, and the villages can communicate with each other. “There is something very warm, very communal. We are here to build together,” said Ms. Ross-Dionne.
“There’s not really any violence or fighting or anything,” she said. That’s really the idea of running a community.”
Several games allow virtual socialization, continued Ms. Ross-Dionne, but Animal Crossing lends itself particularly well because it is, at its core, a “cozy” game whose goal is solely to decorate one’s home. island, to make it pretty, or to catch fish. “There’s definitely this idea of routine setting in,” she said.
“By the very nature of the game, we are not at all in violence or opposition,” underlined Ms. Ross-Dionne. We are in a community of exchange and kindness.”
Scientific literature
If friendly games represent a very specific category of video games, we still find in the scientific literature more and more studies which highlight the benefits of video games in general, in particular socialization, improvement of concentration , multitasking, working memory, cognition and emotional regulation, to name a few.
A 2021 study published in the journal JMIR Serious Games showed that video games may have beneficial effects on mental health by treating symptoms of depression and anxiety. The researchers in this study concluded that video games may be a promising resource for alleviating depressive and anxiety symptoms in the absence of or in addition to traditional therapy.
The United Nations published a study in 2023 of some 13,000 players from 12 countries, including Canada. The survey found that 71% of participants saw video games as a stress reliever and 55% as a way to combat isolation. About two-thirds of participants revealed that they turn to games to help them cope with daily challenges.
Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of European gamers felt that their gaming experiences stimulated their creativity, sharpened their problem-solving skills and improved their cognitive functions.
On the other hand, a study published in 2022 by researchers at the University of Oxford concluded that video games have no impact on mental health, one way or the other.
It is only when gaming becomes excessive ― that is, when one spends more than ten hours per week ― that it can potentially become harmful to mental health, particularly with regard to stress, anxiety and anxiety. quality of sleep.
It is estimated that between two and three billion people play video games regularly across the planet.
