No Worries

No Worries: An Uncozy Escape Room Experience 

Designed by Tori Smith

Take on the role of a young woman as she tidies, decorates, texts her friends, and solves a puzzle or two on a time crunch in this 15-minute solo multi-media experience.

Developed as a thesis for the NYU Game Center MFA program, No Worries ventures to take the associated aesthetics and mechanics of digital “cozy” games.

Cozy games are typically defined as being approachable and stress-free experiences, often conjuring for the player a fantasy of simplicity, safety, abundance, and softness. Examples might include Unpacking (Witch Beam, 2021), Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe, 2016), or A Little To The Left (Max Inferno, 2022). 

No Worries ventures to take the associated aesthetics and design mechanics of these digital games and push them to the point of being “uncozy” to explore the relationships and tightly wound anxieties of emerging adulthood and intimate space. 

While a 15-minute, multi-media, solo,  immersive installation, this itch.io page exhibits photos of the installation and a link to interact with the texting element on your devices here.

Follow the creator Tori Smith for updates on upcoming exhibition dates. 

Collaborators include:

• Music Composition by Cassiel McEvoy
• Set Design by Vicky Butler
• Lighting Design by Alexandra Palocz
• Special Thanks to: Doors of Divergence, Lee McGirr, Beau McGhee, Nyusha Iampolski, Rook Liu, Beckett Rowan, Logan Clare, Karl Horn, Danny Hawk, Lawra Clark, mattie brice, and Naomi Clark