anyone else never happy with their island?

[Sudsofsplash]

i keep looking at other ppls islands on twitter, tumblr, and youtube and im just like AaaAAAAAAAAAAAAaa im so unhappy with my island...I already flatten the whole place once and I dont wanna do it again....
this happened a lot to me with new leaf,,,i always hated my new leaf town even tho everyone who visited would be like "omg so cute"

no matter what i do, i just dont like my island lol

 

[meggiewes]

Why don't you like it? What is one thing you do like about it? Is it just the "but someone else did it better" or "this doesn't feel like me"?

 

[DarkSlayer1331]

To be honest, I don't even try. I already know my limitations with creativity in landscaping and all that. There's no way I could ever come up with something on my own that's oh so adorable. I've only added a pond and done a tiny bit of work with my river. But I don't have paths, I don't have everything all nice and neat, with trees done perfectly so and all that. But that's not why I play the game anyway. I would rather look at other people's islands and gush over them than make mine look like a work of creative genius and beauty. xD

 

[Sudsofsplash]

Why don't you like it? What is one thing you do like about it? Is it just the "but someone else did it better" or "this doesn't feel like me"?

ahhh its a mix of both of those and i just don't ever plan ahead so like cliffs and waterfalls end up in places i think they look bad lol

 

[jelibear]

I feel the same way. I realized like one or two weeks in that I didn't like the general layout, like where my river mouths are or where my little island jut it. I also want bigger/cooler rock formations on the beach.

Looking at youtube and reddit makes me feel inadequete so I just avoid it, haha. At this point, I'm just like, what feels the least bad and go for that.

 

[meggiewes]

ahhh its a mix of both of those and i just don't ever plan ahead so like cliffs and waterfalls end up in places i think they look bad lol

So, can you do something about that? You could try planning ahead using the island designer web app and see what you come up with.

 

[RooftopsRevolution]

I think that's the problem this game has created: Everyone has been so set on creating the perfect island they've forgotten to just take things one step at a time.
The trick to making an island you like is to focus on one section at a time and not the entire island. For example, start with the airport area. Work with it until you find something you like and don't forget to just enjoy the things you usually do in AC. Then move on. Don't work in large chunks, find something you like and it'll start to come together

That's how we learned how to map in game design haha you just take things step by step and if you're unhappy tweak small parts little by little until you get something you like!

 

[Sudsofsplash]

So, can you do something about that? You could try planning ahead using the island designer web app and see what you come up with.

OH i didnt know about that app!!!! i might give that a try

 

[Reaper_Flower]

I feel you on this, I like my island than I see someone elses and go oh I am hoping the coveted bushes help.

 

[Imbri]

Honestly, as amazing as some of those NL towns and NH islands look, I want mine to look like something you could live in. If I only wanted a showpiece (and that is not a criticism; I'm truly impressed), that would be one thing. But I want a simple little island that has fun aspects, and resembles a real living situation.

You know, if your neighbors were talking animals.

 

[Rave]

oh OOF, i absolutely feel this! Even when taking inspiration from other islands it can feel like your own work sucks. I think the important thing is just taking everything slow, and making sure to plan it out! Even if you mess up, everything can be moved.

 

[meggiewes]

OH i didnt know about that app!!!! i might give that a try

You should! I've been having fun with it and I have a plan that I love. Now to see if I can pull it off!

 

[Mairen]

I think the best way is to explore the possibility of changing the whole way you think about this game. Animal Crossing isn't a beauty contest. It's not about who has the best designer town, or who has the most popular villagers, or who has the most bells. It's very much a personal experience for each of us. One of the things I absolutely love about this game is that no one's game is going to be exactly the same.

Even if you see beautiful towns online...you shouldn't look at your own town and think "oh mine isn't as good as theirs, so I want to wipe mine clean and start over." Who exactly are you competing against? Who are you competing for? Those people have specifically designed their towns around the aspect of creating something that will gain them clicks and likes. Which is fine if that's what you are going for...but it doesn't sound like your intent here.

Why not just focus on your own town and see what you can create for yourself? You can even take inspiration from those towns you are seeing online and see if you can make something similar in your own town (similar, yet with your own unique take on it).

It can be very difficult to fall out of the spiral of constantly comparing everything in our lives to that of others, especially with the prevalent use of social media. But I promise your town probably isn't as bad as you think it is. Maybe you just need a few ideas to spruce things up!

 

[sierra]

Its a never ending story. Islands change and progress over the span of time. It's never like "OK done now " It's okay to be discourged, a lot of people with these amazing islands feel the same that you do and also comparing their islands to others. Just don't be afraid to try things and garner inspo.

 

[Momo15]

I feel this. However, I am playing the game genuinely, and my rule of thumb is to not restart my first town (with New Horizons - my only town) until the game is 10+ years old. As a result, I'm working with what I got. My advice: Do not worry too much about it, many islands out there are absolutely trashed yet people will find it fascinating. For me, I'm just adding little quirks to my town (like a section of my beach being nothing but phones) Friends who come and visit love it!

 

[tajikey]

If I relied on the design of other islands to dictate how mine should be, I'd quit the game 3 weeks ago. I suck at design, plain and simple. I also suck at drawing, but I don't look at a famous painting and give up.

Design what YOU want, where you'd want to hang out. Don't let the God-given talent of others discourage you from doing what you want. I mean, of the how many islands you see on social media, how many don't you see?

 

[Mairmalade]

I ran into the same thing originally tbh. When I first unlocked terraforming I was on the verge of crying with how stressed I was trying to make everything perfect. I saw all these cool spa-like towns and perfectly landscaped towns. Then I looked at my abandoned wasteland and was like, "well then."

I later realized it's MY island - not SOMEONE ELSE'S island. I put more thought into what I wanted and focused less on what 'perfect' actually was. I enjoy having some empty space on my island (especially with the new and future updates) and I'm super happy with some of my natural areas. It'll always be a WIP just like any other place. Nothing is set in stone!

 

[BaileyEloise]

I think that's the problem this game has created: Everyone has been so set on creating the perfect island they've forgotten to just take things one step at a time.
The trick to making an island you like is to focus on one section at a time and not the entire island. For example, start with the airport area. Work with it until you find something you like and don't forget to just enjoy the things you usually do in AC. Then move on. Don't work in large chunks, find something you like and it'll start to come together

That's how we learned how to map in game design haha you just take things step by step and if you're unhappy tweak small parts little by little until you get something you like!

This!! I've found peace with my island by developing it tiny bit by tiny bit. Sometimes I'll made big changes every day; sometimes I only put out 1 new piece of furniture, and sometimes nothing changes for an entire week. Enjoy what you have and try to find the natural beauty in your island before you worry about terraforming and paths! I had such a fun time decorating with fences and random furniture before I ever had the island designer app!

 

[michan]

i have this feeling sometimes. But i've learned to take my island one section at a time. I'm not the type to plan out my entire island at once. I feel like that ruins the fun and leaves little room to adjust easily.

 

[Loreley]

I think I'm happy with about 60-70% of my island at the moment. I hope I can up that to 90% eventually, but I'll probably never be happy with all of it. It was the same in New Leaf. I had 500+ hours in my town, lots of hybrids, I loved the overall layout, all my PWPs and stuff, everything but two tiny areas that just didn't really make sense to me. I put multiple different PWPs in these spots and removed them again, because nothing spoke to me.

I'm curious if other people can see the difference between my areas with a lot of effort put into and the ones that I just scrambled together.