behind the frame

Over the past few years, but especially since the pandemic began and has gone on, an emerging trend has appeared within the games industry: cosy, wholesome games. These games have existed long before 2020, but in a time where the world has become a lot more cynical and scary thanks to outside events and in need of something comforting while we’ve been stuck inside for the better part of two years at this point, they’ve become a lot more prevalent.

But outside of games like Animal Crossing or other bigger games within the area, a subspace of smaller games in the wholesome space from independent developers was mainly overlooked. That was until a Twitter account started profiling these titles and grew a following off the back of it to the point where it now hosts online showcases showing them off, including its yearly annual Direct presentations during E3.

"I think that's like so one of the best things about the online showcases is that sort of accessibility," said Wholesome Games co-founder James Tillman on the advantages of hosting an online showcase like its headline Wholesome Direct event.

"It costs a fortune to come from Ireland or anywhere else to the US and there are passport issues and all these other things for showcasing in-person. Online, it's a way more level playing field - like there are language gaps sometimes, there's definitely time zones that are a problem. But it's something we really try to be mindful of."

Adds Ben Wassler of Ooblets developer Glumberland, itself a key game within the scene, on how Wholesome Games has helped shine a spotlight on these games: “That group of folks has been super supportive and kind to us and they work really hard to uplift game developers and support the community.

“We've been participating in their events and stuff since the beginning, but the key pillars of the movement are the individuals on their team”

In a special 90 minute long episode of Press Play, developers of wholesome games as well as key figures within Wholesome Games the community including co-founders Matthew Taylor, James Tillman and Wholesome Direct host Jenny Windom talk to Play Diaries on delving into the area, its growth, what comes next and a movement that could arguably become a full-blown genre in its own right, if not already.

Links: Play Diaries|Twitter|Facebook|Patreon

When Behind the Frame debuted for the first time earlier this summer during E3 and the summer showcases held during it, it had an immediate thing in its favour: a massive influence from Studio Ghibli. It wears on its sleeve what the Japanese animation powerhouse has brought to the world with glee.

But art director and lead writer Weichen Lin wants Behind the Frame to be more than its Ghibli-inspired looks. It wants to provide something cozy, something challenging and something that is endearing to the player.

Ahead of its release today as of this episode going out, this is how Behind the Frame intends to show it’s a lot more than what it appears to be on the surface.

Links: Play Diaries|Twitter|Facebook