Arctictopia' and its Cozy, Casual Climate Catastrophe

Abstract

This paper uses the puzzle game Arctictopia as an example to problematize how cozy, casual video games frame the climate crisis through cute aesthetics and easily accessible gameplay mechanics. While this strategy might work to raise awareness for ecological degradation, it also turns navigating precarious environments into a pleasurable activity. Concerning the conference theme of "Intersectional Pleasures", this paper focuses on who gets to experience imagery of melting polar ice as a pleasurable diversion, rather than as an existential threat. Based on an analysis informed by both ecocritical and postcolonial approaches, I read Arctictopia's narrative, audiovisual elements, and gameplay mechanics, as well as the reception of the game as emblematic of a type of cozy eco-aesthetics, that gestures towards addressing the climate crisis while simultaneously encouraging wholesome feelings in consumers - thus, making visible the ambivalences and contradictions inherent in how cozy games can represent the climate crisis and its effects.