Why Do We Even Care About Animal Crossing?

[Dragonbums]

I have to disagree on the premise this time, Yatzhee. Animal Crossing is not unique. Its unique in the same way that each and every Mass Effect game is unique, but chances are you're the same god damn Shepard saving the same god damn Galaxy from the same god damn Reapers. I played Animal Crossing on a friends handheld and he kept gabbing on about how everything was different each time. And yet, he always knew exactly what to do, when to do it and which kinda creepy mutant animal thing to talk to. There I was roleplaying as the town mayor and my friend was able to, without looking at the screen 'cause he was playing Magic on PS3, tell me exactly what to do to proceed. It didn't feel all that random and unique; I mean fuck, you can read online guides on how to be a good mayor. How is it unique if there is a formula to this?!
To me unique means more than "Oh the fish pond is North instead of South." or "The duck mutant man sells sea shells by the sea shore on Tuesdays, not Thursday! See? unique!"
Maybe the game is too campy and friendly, but I'm not having fun doing the gardening in a game even while i'm neglecting my own garden! Animal Crossing is simply the Sims for toddlers.

This is a game where you have to set goals for yourself.
If you don't have anything in mind for your village then you will find yourself bored out of your mind.
Catching fish, getting fruit, and nabbing bugs are the basic and most prominent feature of the games.
It's what you DO with it that makes it different.

Case in point I recently visited a town in the Dream Suite that basically turned their village into a ghost town where you have to find out why all the animals are "decapitated" and the mystery behind some girl in a red hood.

This is where the charm of the game comes from.

 

[Dragonbums]

Just out of curiosity, do you have to take out loans? I always hear people complaining about some loan-shark (I think it's a raccoon), but a free money rock seems to solve that problem.

Since New Leaf is my first Animal Crossing, I don't know about the other games, but in New Leaf, you have to take out a loan for when you first get your house, and then another one whenever you want to upgrade it. The money rock helps out a bit early on, but it's not nearly enough to fully pay for the loans + there's only one money rock per day.

The thing is is that you DON'T have to.
You won't have Toom Nook banging on your doors requesting you update your house.
The game makes you WANT to do it because your house is small and crappy. So you get a bigger house. It's a torture of your own desires and actions.

 

[PH3NOmenon]

But it also creates catharsis rather underhandedly by sticking you with the same monotonous activities in the same unchanging environment for so long that when something new happens, like a new shop opening, it's like a glimpse of daylight after being in solitary for a month.

I had a serious WoW flashback here.

I always assumed Farmville and Animal crossing were the exact same thing, seeing it talked about in a serious fashion by some people, it's interesting to note how different they turn out to be.

On a slightly related topic, did Mr. Croshaw ever do anything specifically about Rogue Legacy? I could probably look this up myself, come to think of it; I only ask because the poor design choices in that game make my hair stand on end. It's a game that comes so close to my "perfect" game that the near misses feel like billiard balls to the nuts.

 

[DiamanteGeeza]

I haven't played the latest one yet (I know I will though...), but the first one gave me a huge amount of enjoyment. For months I would fire it up every single day, do a bit of fishing, catch some bugs, wander around delivering stuff for people. I think I can say that it held my attention longer than any other game ever has. And yes, I'm a grown man!

I remember the first time I visited a friend's town - it was really was something almost magical. And then I noticed he had different trees to me (orange trees, if I remember correctly), and I was overjoyed to take it back to my town and start growing orange trees. I think I took a weird-looking fish back, too, which I sold for a small fortune.

It's a bizarre concept that Nintendo has executed absolutely brilliantly.

 

[Blachman201_v1legacy]

I'm sorry Yahtzee but it's too late. I just spent the last half an hour catching bugs. There is no hope for me, save yourselves!

The true nature of Animal Crossing; Yahtzee has known about it for years: http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/reviews/animalcrossing.htm

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

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Not to belabor my point though; That's not unique! That happens with a lot of players and therefore, not unique. And maybe its just me, but that also sounds intensely uninteresting. But then again, I never understood the appeal of Minecraft. Any game that has the gall to openly ask me why I'm playing this game isn't going to last long. "Good point, Animal Crossing! Why AM I playing your crap game? Thanks for pointing this out so soon." Then I go off and play something else with a plot. It doesn't really feel like a game if I'm sitting at my screen, scratching my head while trying to come up with another reason to keep playing. At least WOW offered purple named weapons- not that I ever played that far. Gameplay got too repetitive- but Animal Crossing's appeal seems to be that if you harvest all the crops and sell all the fish then your reward is being able to do it all again tomorrow!

Plus its not unique; Did I mention that?

If you enjoyed this game, great! But I honestly can't see the appeal in a game where you have to come up with a reason to play it.

 

[MeisterKleister]

I've never played Animal Crossing, but this kinda reminds me of Harvest Moon, which I played a lot on the GBA.
But after I had a wife and child and my house and farm fully upgraded, I didn't know what to do anymore.

 

[geldonyetich]

Good topic all around, "Animal Crossing, how does it work?!"

Yahtzee's three pillars of game design aside, I do want to point at the elephant in the room: the grind.

Earn bells! Unlock these fantastic prizes!

• * Furniture!
  * Clothing!
  * Tools!
  * Wallpaper and flooring!
  * More rooms for your home!
  * Bigger rooms for your home!
  * And more!

But, funny enough, you don't want to say Animal Crossing: New Leaf is a grind when you play it, because it does not feel particularly like an MMORPG would. AC:NL doesn't dangle the next level as though it's something you really must have now. Instead, it acts really laid back about it. "No, take your time, feel free to procrastinate all you want, you don't have to earn bells unless you really want to..."

Somehow, that works even better. Maybe it's because we're sick of being dragged along by a leash, but at the same time, we want something to strive for. In other words, we all like progression systems (whether we know it or not) but we don't like feeling forced to progress, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf nails that: it offers the progression system without any sense of being forced to do it.

 

[Olas]

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Not to belabor my point though; That's not unique! That happens with a lot of players and therefore, not unique. And maybe its just me, but that also sounds intensely uninteresting. But then again, I never understood the appeal of Minecraft. Any game that has the gall to openly ask me why I'm playing this game isn't going to last long. "Good point, Animal Crossing! Why AM I playing your crap game? Thanks for pointing this out so soon." Then I go off and play something else with a plot. It doesn't really feel like a game if I'm sitting at my screen, scratching my head while trying to come up with another reason to keep playing. At least WOW offered purple named weapons- not that I ever played that far. Gameplay got too repetitive- but Animal Crossing's appeal seems to be that if you harvest all the crops and sell all the fish then your reward is being able to do it all again tomorrow!

Plus its not unique; Did I mention that?

If you enjoyed this game, great! But I honestly can't see the appeal in a game where you have to come up with a reason to play it.

Are you really saying you have so little sense of self-guidance that you literally cannot enjoy an activity unless someone else (real or fictional) is ordering you about? That the experience is somehow diminished by it being an experience you've chosen to undertake?

You must not have enjoyed playing with toys as a kid, because those completely lack structure and plot, except that which you create on your own.

Honestly, I'd hate to be you if that's the case. To me it's the exact opposite, the tasks I feel most engaged in are the one's I'm doing of my own free will in the game because it doesn't feel like I'm simply walking down some path laid at my feet.

Also, I don't understand what you mean when you say the game is 'asking you why you're playing it'. Your reason for playing should be the same reason you play any game, because you enjoy the experience. You shouldn't ever need any justification other than that.

 

[Solo-Wing]

I'm sorry Yahtzee but it's too late. I just spent the last half an hour catching bugs. There is no hope for me, save yourselves!

I think you need to add a new leg to that stool: creativity. Games like Animal Crossing wouldn't be as addictive if you couldn't do things like plant flowers all around the edge of your town.

Boom. Creativity is without a doubt a big factor in Games nowadays. From Sandboxes to simulations. The best example of this is probably Minecraft. That game would not exist if it were not for the creativity of its players. Games that let players play how they like are big factors. Hell another example is Dishonored. I would have been bored shitless if that game had no open environments like it did. The open environments let me choose how to do what I wanted to do and be creative. It did not matter if I chose to violently kill everyone in sight or go by unnoticed the game let me be creative with how I did it.

This same sort of creativity lets Animal Crossing hold me by the balls and never let go. On top of all the stuff people have said with flowers you can also go nuts with Designs. You could make actual roads and paths between everything if you wanted to. I personally think those that do it have something wrong in their heads cause there is no way in hell I got the patience to do that.

 

[Dragonbums]

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Not to belabor my point though; That's not unique! That happens with a lot of players and therefore, not unique. And maybe its just me, but that also sounds intensely uninteresting. But then again, I never understood the appeal of Minecraft. Any game that has the gall to openly ask me why I'm playing this game isn't going to last long. "Good point, Animal Crossing! Why AM I playing your crap game? Thanks for pointing this out so soon." Then I go off and play something else with a plot. It doesn't really feel like a game if I'm sitting at my screen, scratching my head while trying to come up with another reason to keep playing. At least WOW offered purple named weapons- not that I ever played that far. Gameplay got too repetitive- but Animal Crossing's appeal seems to be that if you harvest all the crops and sell all the fish then your reward is being able to do it all again tomorrow!

Plus its not unique; Did I mention that?

If you enjoyed this game, great! But I honestly can't see the appeal in a game where you have to come up with a reason to play it.

If it is not your cup of tea then fine.
However keep in mind that as much as I love game with plot, I also like games where I'm not pulled by the ear to do this and that. I like a game that simply boots up and let me do what I want, how I want, when I want.
Which is the appeal of a game like Animal Crossing.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

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No I didn't enjoy playing with toys as a kid. I think it was right around my second toy starship that I realized I wasn't really going into space. I consider myself very lucky I had older siblings who were playing games by the time I was older enough to remember things. They let me watch and when I was too young to read they read the dialogue boxes out to me.
Perhaps this calls for an explanation. The first game I ever played was FF6 on the SNES.(I think I was 6 at the time.) And I grew up with the N64, playing Ocarina of Time, Perfect Dark, Hexen, Conker's Bad Fur Day, etc...
Games with plots. With characters. With reasons beyond...well...simply being there. When I play a game, I want it to tell me that I am a hungover squirrel who wants to get home and get some sleep, or that I'm the Hero of Time. If a game tells me i'm just a normal dude and i should go have a normal life...well, I already am a dude. I don't need the game at that point. Games like Animal Crossing, Sims, and Minecraft where the game is in and of itself not fun unless you contrive a reason to have fun are lacking to me. I'm with Yatzhee when he said in the Scribblenauts review "When I have everything, I can't think of anything."
If the game's premise is that you need to come up with a premise, then there is something wrong with that game. In the same way a blank canvas is not a painting, a game that doesn't have a game to it isnt a game.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

If it is not your cup of tea then fine.
However keep in mind that as much as I love game with plot, I also like games where I'm not pulled by the ear to do this and that. I like a game that simply boots up and let me do what I want, how I want, when I want.
Which is the appeal of a game like Animal Crossing.

Fair cop, but does Animal Crossing count as a sandbox? I can do a sandbox well enough. I don't need to be pulled by the ear all the time either, but I do like that when I'm done goofing around there is a plot to come back to. An objective. If they released Saints Row and instead of being a gangleader, you were a NPC and instead of leading cops on exciting car chases you just take meetings and do grocery shopping...I'm not sure I could stand that. I already do shopping and clean my house.

I guess its just not my thing. I never understood the Sims either...

 

[Kapol]

I'm sorry Yahtzee but it's too late. I just spent the last half an hour catching bugs. There is no hope for me, save yourselves!

Pssh, only a half hour? I would spend hour-long trips on bug-catching tours of the island to farm bells. It's thanks to that that I got my house fully upgraded and paid off within two weeks. Each bug is worth ~8,000 bells. Given the total cost is 7,595,800 Bells, and you can only get 40 bugs per visit, I must have spent a full day worth of playing just to pay off my house... for some reason. I'm sure why.

I will say that the house payments are one of the glues that holds the game together. I really like my townspeople. But there's nothing much to do after you pay out your house. I have almost all the fossils, a lot of the bugs and fish I can currently get, and you can only get 1 art per week or so (if you don't fall for a fake). There's just nothing for me to really do now. And I decided I'm either going to play every single day anyways to do everything... or not play at all. Cause I don't want to see the disappointed looks on my villagers faces when I don't log in, or risk seeing my favorites leave without me knowing.

 

[TheZooblord]

I always thought it was cathartic because it takes you out of the depressing, morally ambiguous chaos of the real world and provides a quiet, peaceful little alternate universe where everything is always A-OK.

No wars or disasters or murders or people falling out of love and fighting one another and wasting every waking moment slinging shit at each other, everyone dragging everyone else into the dirt.

Just flowers and friendly smiles and gentle rains. It's peaceful .

Honestly. Some games really can be engaging just for how relaxing, soothing, and heart-warming they are.

You engage yourself in the world, roleplaying a little, and you can imagine for a little while that everything is alright.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I don't care about Animal Crossing. I find games like that incredibly frustrating. I don't even own a handheld gaming system.

 

[SiskoBlue]

I don't think Yahztee's usual three-pillar anaylsis will work for every "game". To me it's like having a critique method for fiction literature. It works really well for books where there is a story, beginning, middle and end. But you couldn't apply the same method to an illustrated book on gnomes could you. It could be a book you love but it's not in the same genre as most fiction.

You could almost argue that it's almost a different medium. Yes it's a video game but no one doubts there is a severe distinctions between things like Farmville and Animal Crossing compared to The Last of Us or Call of Duty. The appeal for the first lot is the old doll house/fort building joy you had as a child. You've made something and it's yours to do what you want with it, doesn't matter if you've done it well, or "the best", the goal is getting what YOU wanted.

Personally I can't play these types of games much any more. Management system games. If you really get into them you typically strip away the facade and start looking at the bare mathematics and mechanics of gameplay. When I reach that point it occurs to me I'm try to play a spreadsheet, and not a spreadsheet that has real numbers or rules, but one made up by some developer. It's a bit like a series of puzzles but once you have a method to solve it, it no longer holds any appeal. Like Sudoku, it's grinding numbers.

I suppose all games could be called that but the randomness of physical game play where minor adjustments and movements from me can vary the consequences wildly, then the numbers are beyond my reach. It's not work, it's like playing sport.

 

[carpathic]

Just out of curiosity, do you have to take out loans? I always hear people complaining about some loan-shark (I think it's a raccoon), but a free money rock seems to solve that problem.

Also, Related: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHmIYMFM7AQ. Maybe Animal Crossing is so addictive because it makes you a citizen.

I think you may be right - I think that is why Fallout is so addicting, that chance to try and make things better for the other characters - to in some sense partake in community as a citizen. I think that is why we are so happy to go do idiotic quests for characters.

I was born tough enough to brave the supermutants but that person was not, let me help you and be a part of your community!

 

[Al-Bundy-da-G]

Speaking of animal crossing anyone wanna come to my town

Spoiler: my friend code

2723 - 9170 - 0938

Anyone can come... Except you Daystar you stay the f**k out of my town. Forever enemies are we...