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Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

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Re: Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

#51

Post by mcphage »

SkyBelow wrote: post #17
ginko wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Both have something at stake with both a win and loss condition. All that's at stake is you fainting and respawning in front of your house. The only thing that's lost is your opportunity to catch the tarantula that time.

But that opportunity is rare enough, at least for some (in my time playing I've only seen two, though I did capture one so I don't need it for the museum). It is also surprising enough of an occurrence that it can cause stress. There are studies monitoring cortisol levels when a person hears their phone make a normal noise (incoming call and incoming text). Those create a noticeable spike in cortisol. While I haven't…

> If I spend 3 hours looking for a tarantula and it wins, that is a cost of 3 hours compared to many games were losing a battle cost only a minute or two.

Why just the tarantula, then? If you see a rare beetle on a stump, you can re-interpret trying to catch it as a "battle" with a "winner" and a "loser".

Re: Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

#52

Post by numpad0 »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #23

These pictures all make me want to play these games REALLY BAD. Anyone know the easiest way for a non-gamer without a console system in the USA to get any of em, that might be figure-out-able for a non-Japanese speaker?

Neko Atsume is on Play Store and App Store. Animal Crossing on Switch is being sold and trending worldwide to the point Financial Times had a short article on bank interest rate in the game as well

Re: Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

#53

Post by hex12648430 »

ajmurmann wrote: post #8

a few pieces of media that fit the bill really well and are available easily in the West: Attack of the Friday Monsters - it's a short 3DS game about children's fantasy merging their small town reality with a TV show Barakamon - anime about a calligrapher who gets banished to a small island in the inland sea and comes to embrace rural life and playing with the local children. (Pictured but not mentioned in the articl…

I'll add a few that I enjoy

Flying Witch - A witch goes to live in the countryside with her relatives as part of her training. Lovely world-building.

Girls' Last Tour - Two girls on a journey through a gigantic post-apocalyptic city. The setting is quite bleak but the story mostly focuses on how the main characters are finding joy in their world.

Aria - The daily lives of apprentice gondoliers in Neo-Venezia, a replica of Venice built on a terraformed Mars.

The manga and anime for all of these are available legally in English. Unfortunately you may have to jump through some hoops if you want to acquire their OSTs, which is a shame because they're all excellent.

Re: Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

#54

Post by ajmurmann »

Bukhmanizer wrote: post #21
ajmurmann wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually stopped playing Stardew Valley because of the mining. At some point to progress meaningfully you gotta mine. I found that part very stressful and not fun, especially once you get to the mine in the desert.

I actually liked the mining part of stardew best. I view pretty much all the other parts as a way of supporting my mining habit.

Given the mechanics, seeing mining as the main game isn't unreasonable. Most progression hinges on it. Unfortunately I find the fighting part not well done and quite punishing given how bad the gameplay of the fighting is.

All the fighting in the mines also makes it clearly not a experience that fits the type of game we are discussing here.

Re: Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

#55

Post by partomniscient »

hmhrex wrote: post #28

I started playing this game called "It's literally just mowing"[1] and I would say it's in this genre. I've been playing it a little bit each day and have my found my stress level goes down when I do. [1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/its-literally-just-mowing/id14...

Wow. We're pretty much at: "I wanna go on the"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g4SCdox_pI

Re: Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

#56

Post by SkyBelow »

mcphage wrote: post #51
SkyBelow wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that opportunity is rare enough, at least for some (in my time playing I've only seen two, though I did capture one so I don't need it for the museum). It is also surprising enough of an occurrence that it can cause stress. There are studies monitoring cortisol levels when a person hears their phone make a normal noise (incoming call and incoming text). Those create a noticeable spike in cortisol. While I haven't…

> If I spend 3 hours looking for a tarantula and it wins, that is a cost of 3 hours compared to many games were losing a battle cost only a minute or two. Why just the tarantula, then? If you see a rare beetle on a stump, you can re-interpret trying to catch it as a "battle" with a "winner" and a "loser".

I think you are right. It is even less of a battle in some aspects, but at least for very rare insects it can be more of a battle in that the cost of messing up is higher.

When you break down a game into these many sorts of conflicts and see which ones the player feels joy for winning and which ones the players struggle against with no benefit even when they win, it hints at an interesting framework to evaluate games by. It feels deconstructionist almost to the point of absurdity, but so far I don't think it crosses that line.

Re: Iyashikei: Japan’s Genre of “Healing Games” (2018)

#57

Post by hadem »

munificent wrote: post #44

Minecraft is so open-ended that it can be molded into almost any genre. But the way I play fits entirely within this. I play in survival mode mostly to make the world feel more grounded, but I sleep every night and rarely explore caverns. The game is mostly me building living spaces, mining for supplies, mapping the world, and collecting items. It's really satisfying.

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by "mapping the world"? I haven't played Minecraft in a very long time, but I thought there was a built in map of some sort? I'd like to hear more as it sounds like we have similar play styles!
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