I don’t understand why the majority of cozy games have a calendar system and or time limits. I already have a limited time on earth and I don’t want game devs to artificially restrict how I spend time in game.
I have to drop games like Stardew Valley because of the calendar system. I know there is no strict time limits and I can just wait for the following year if I miss an event. But that just makes the game stressful. Also the day/night cycle is extremely quick. Every action I take I have to look at the time and consider the duration.
Similarly in Persona series, why do they have the calendar system and restrict how much you can do with social interactions? When I play an RPG I like to take my time to explore as I want.
I am writing this because I finally found a game that feels cozy, which is Fantasy Life i. No calendar, no time limits, live as many different lives as I want. I prefer games to be games.
I’m ambivalent about day clocks, unless they’re too short. Stardew’s day is about twenty minutes, so is Minecraft’s, and about on par with old Harvest Moon games. When I played My Time at Portia, though, I had to go straight for the setting that doubles the length of the day. Now there’s a game with time pressure.
Calendars, though, I think are very important to a certain style of game. With Stardew, it reinforces the feeling of rhythm, ritual, and repetition that is what makes the game so cozy to begin with. A farming game needs a calendar. A cozy village life sim needs a calendar. Even The Sims is better with seasons.