A good cozy game ideally provides a low-stress gaming experience where players do not feel pressured by limiting factors like time or strict rules. Cozy hobbit life simulator Tales of the Shire is no exception, as the team at Weta Workshop wanted to make the game a relaxing experience for its players.
As a result, Tales of the Shire‘s home decoration mode operates using a philosophy of complete freedom; players decorate their hobbit holes using a grid-free system and can put (almost) any item in any room or even outside. In an interview with Game Rant, game designer Catherine Booth shared some of the challenges and triumphs of creating a grid-free design system and giving players as much freedom as possible when it comes to decorating their hobbit holes. She also expressed that she and the rest of the Weta Workshop team are excited to see players’ decorative creations shared with them once the game comes out.
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How Tales of the Shire’s Hobbit Holes Provided Artistic Challenges
Hobbit holes are famously round. This proved a bit of a challenge for the team, Booth revealed, as they wanted Tales of the Shire‘s hobbit holes to be lore-accurate.
With a wide variety of paintings and other wall decorations for players to unlock, Tales of the Shire boasts a ton of customization, even in spaces that are oddly shaped. When asked about challenges faced when creating a grid-free system, Booth wanted to ensure that “paintings or things that go on the wall snap nicely onto the wall without clipping through it” given that hobbit holes are circular.
Tales of the Shire Players Can Truly Make Hobbit Holes Their Own
Players have total freedom about what goes where in their hobbit holes. Booth described seeing other team members’ decoration choices and comparing them to her own: “It’s like a different game.” Without the confinement of a grid, players can put items nearly anywhere, including stacking them on top of one another, in order for Tales of the Shire hobbit holes to achieve a cluttered, homey aesthetic without devolving into total chaos.
Very few items are exclusive to indoor or outdoor furnishings and the few that are, such as flowerbeds, are limited solely for practical reasons. Booth outlined just how much freedom players will have in Tales of the Shire‘s home decoration mode:
“You can bring most of your items outside. There’s obviously indoor furniture sets, but there’s outdoor furniture as well. You can have your deck chair and stuff. It’s really fun to see people in that “Wow!” moment where they’re decorating indoors, and then you just go, “Okay, I’ll pick up that rug and just walk outside.”
“Anything can go in any room. You can have your bed in the kitchen if you want … You can put your table outside. You can even put your bed outside!”
The result is a low-pressure, extremely expansive decoration mode that Tales of the Shire‘s players will certainly enjoy exploring fully when the game launches. Booth describes Weta Workshop’s approach to home decoration as different from what has been seen in previous cozy games such as Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley and is excited to see players make unique, fully customized hobbit holes to populate one of fantasy fiction’s most iconic locations—the comfortable and welcoming Shire.
- Released
- March 25, 2025
- Developer(s)
- Wētā Workshop