Designing or Building a Community?

[VanitasFan26]

I really want to know and since ACNH has been out for long time why do you play Animal Crossing? To build a Community or you just want to Design. I know when the original Animal Crossing game out on GameCube it was all about building the community and it has been that way for the past AC games Wild World, City Folk and New Leaf. When New Horizons came out I noticed that there seems to be a lot of focus on Designing. Which don't get me wrong its not a bad thing but, what if it becomes too much?

I feel like there is unbalance between designing and building a community. Its like how much do you want to focus on and what is more important to you. Me personally I think building a community is good when you're trying to connect with your villagers and you want to understand their personality more. On one hand I can appreciate designing in ACNH when I feel like I can make things on the island more open and more easy to explore. That was something that past AC games didn't have that really makes ACNH stand out so well.

Please Note, this is not a hate post but a rather an open and honest discussion. Do you play Animal Crossing because you want to build a community with your favorite villagers or do you like designing so much that you can't help but do it more. Also are there any other reasons why you play Animal Crossing?

 

[FlimsyAxe]

I'm in it for the designing and completionist aspect. I cant comment on the older AC games since Ive never played it but Ive always thought the villagers in ACNH/ACNL to be too one dimensional. It may be too much to ask for every single villager to have their own unique backstory and dialogue lines but I'd rather they cut down on the number of villagers of it means they're able to flesh out personalities even more. Most of the time I dont even talk to my villagers because the repeat conversations annoy me

 

[TheWildShadow55]

Building a community was the most important aspect of NH for me in the beginning, but as I become happier with the villagers I had in my island and decided it's "good enough", that was when I started to care about the design aspect a tiny bit more. I'm kind of with FlimsyAxe on
the completionist part though, that also was important to me right from the start too

 

[dizzy bone]

I started with ACWW but I consider ACNL the first AC game that really got me into the franchise, and that was mostly because of the designing aspect. I’m really into building games, so my villagers were more like characters to live in the world I create (as much as I love some of them individually, dialogue/villagers/personality and whatnot wasn’t such a huge factor to me in the long run). ACNL was a really special game to me because that was when I played online with other players the most, either trading or visiting each other to hang out. I do that in ACNH as well, but not that often. After a long hiatus, I could probably easily get back into ACNH by spending hours on end just designing and landscaping on my own, whereas a game like ACNL I would only return when there was an opportunity to connect with players online again. I’m not a completionist at all so playing just to design and maybe do some dailies is enough for me (the new island newsletter feature on the Nintendo app really made doing dailies enjoyable for me lol, they are hilarious to read).

 

[Pyoopi]

I don't really know what building a community means, lol. Is 10 villagers considered a community? Honestly, I just like building a story, designing and decorating the environment. I have an island journal that I should hopefully be continuing soon because it's fun to add more personality to my villagers or draw dumb doodles of happenings. I think with the addition to HHP, I can create more story for them.

I also like the multiplayer portion. That what makes birthday parties, catalog parties or island tours fun and alive. I haven't visited others islands in awhile, but when I did, I liked gathering DIYS, candy or attending a fun catalog event. I do it more with friends now, but I will always check out the Airport section and see what's going on.

 

[Nunnafinga]

I play Animal Crossing because it's fun and relaxing.I don't put much thought into it beyond that.I will say that in my experience with this series,the community in a town or on an island kind of builds itself as I go on playing the game.

 

[Rosch]

Similar to Nunnafinga, my island/town builds itself as I play.

I just go along what the tells me to do, and what the game allows me to do. I befriend the villagers, pay off my loans, unlock buildings, interact with NPCs, participate in events, decorate my house, do gardening, do landscaping, build a neighborhood, etc.

Though I admit that with NH, a huge part of it was mostly designing.

 

[Tindre]

I play it to collect nice things and to chill in a place that feels like a second home.
Sometimes I design things (like earlier games you could draw patterns and such) and sometimes I interact with the animals. I dont particularily fit into any specific role.

 

[Mick]

Neither, I guess? I don't think a small selection of NPCs could ever qualify as a community (I barely even talk to them anymore, they're just kinda there to wander around and look pretty.)

And while I do like designing and taking screenshots in ACNH, the only thing that really keeps me playing this game is sharing things or playing with people online. The rest just kind of happens and develops over time. I do have a sort of completionist playstyle, but I'm not in a hurry to complete anything.

 

[JellyBeans]

i suppose the designing aspect of the game is what keeps drawing me back in and keeping me playing the game (not so) regularly. back in the WW/CF days I was probably more in the game for the 'community' aspect and finding comfort in my villager friends, but I suppose back then there was less of an emphasis on making your area look nice. between NL and NH the game has naturally opened up more possibilities for designing and so I've adapted to that play style. I've hardly been talking to my villagers recently to be honest, although that's because i've either not been playing, or only playing to decorate certain areas of my island

 

[cornimer]

Animal Crossing is all about that community feel for me, which is why New Horizons hasn't been able to hold my interest long-term. It has the driest dialogue of all the games, and I'm not really into designing, so there's nothing that really hooks me.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Animal Crossing is all about that community feel for me, which is why New Horizons hasn't been able to hold my interest long-term. It has the driest dialogue of all the games, and I'm not really into designing, so there's nothing that really hooks me.

Yeah it has a hard time keeping my interest, but I try to enjoy the game at a slow pace.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I get more out of the designing aspect of the game than I do the community part of the game. I don't talk much to my villagers unfortunately, unless I actively play the game for days in a row, then I'm more likely to converse with the villagers.

 

[Croconaw]

I’m honestly not sure. I play it for different reasons that I guess are similar to what you are describing to be community? I treat this series as a stress reliever. I play at a relaxing pace and don’t fuss over any of the achievements. This game in particular doesn’t feel like a stress reliever, though, with the crafting and terraforming. This game is heavily focused on the design aspect which can be stressful. My little cousin plays this game and she struggled with the tutorial. That’s unacceptable for a game like Animal Crossing. Nobody should be struggling with a tutorial phase, especially since this was a lot of people’s introduction to the series. This game got a lot of new fans during the lockdown. I think this is a poor introduction to the franchise. My first game was Population Growing, and I loved that game. It felt like a community. I loved the little things like kicking the ball around with Goldie and having fun with her. You can’t interact with much on New Horizons. The community feel is gone, and I don’t feel like it’s returning anytime soon, if at all. This series is sadly changing.

 

[rubyrubert]

Designing. I don't talk to my villagers that much because of the repeat dialogue, but I still enjoy them (if that makes sense). I just make headcanons

Hoping for a 2100 Animal Crossing release with villagers with actual personalities who will remember your name irl and shame you for time traveling like a Black Mirror episode

 

[LambdaDelta]

not really sure what the difference is or more specifically how one negates the other

feels like both things go hand-in-hand for something like animal crossing, imo

 

[VanitasFan26]

I get more out of the designing aspect of the game than I do the community part of the game. I don't talk much to my villagers unfortunately, unless I actively play the game for days in a row, then I'm more likely to converse with the villagers.

I feel like the only time I talk to my villagers is to only give them gifts just to get their photo after when I do that I have no use for them and let them move out on their own or sometimes I may want to change them out using an amiibo.

 

[Bluebellie]

I prefer the designing aspect of the game more. I have a particular theme I’m trying to achieve, and I like my interior and exterior, characters, villagers, names, all to match. It’s something that keeps my playing since it feels like a never ending task. I’m always tearing down and rebuilding.

Having said that, I also want to include that I do have some sort of Community aspect as well. I work really hard to bring into my island specific villagers that I think fit into that theme. I don’t think I would be happy having random villagers to interact instead of my specifically chosen ones.

I feel like both aspects of designing and community are important for me. They are all part of me trying to build a story in my town.

 

[Manah]

I only started with New Leaf so I don't have a lot of experience with the series, but compared to that the villagers feel more like additional design elements this time around. They interact a lot more with each other, yet it feels like they all kinda live in their own little bubble and just occasionally happen to be in the same space.

The life sim aspect was why I loved NL and NH unfortunately fell really flat for me in that aspect. I'm not that big on outdoor designing either... so right now it's honestly mostly collecting stuff and completing my catalog. And desigining the houses when I get to it at some point, that's the original reason I made several characters.

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I feel like the only time I talk to my villagers is to only give them gifts just to get their photo after when I do that I have no use for them and let them move out on their own or sometimes I may want to change them out using an amiibo.

I can relate. Although there are a few villagers for me that I don't think I could ever get tired of. Like I've gotten Punchy's photo twice now! (Still gonna move him out even though he's cute and I'm not tired of him)