Favorite villagers: why the sheep syndrom is in full swing?

[satine]

You're making my observations into what they are not. It's not an axiological debate and I'm not looking into making people feeling bad for liking Julian, Marshal or Marina. I'm trying to look into what drives those very real, yet subjective patterns here.

It is an interesting pattern. However I feel like the term "sheep syndrome" should not be used in the case of preferential trends. Calling people "sheep" or just claiming that they fell into the "sheep syndrome" in reference to their opinions on which AC villagers are cuter than others can easily be read as an invalidation of their opinions. This term that I am referencing is mentioned in the title of the thread and in the body.

Of course there are patterns. And they are interesting. But just because the patterns are subjective, and perhaps possibly swayed by Nintendo and popular opinion does not mean that they are not valid. They are just as valid as somebody preferring a villager which might not be on that list of "popularity". Absolutely no less. To dismiss them as "sheep syndrome" is to invalidate them. This term makes it sound like people who are "falling for" the trend of enjoying a more well liked villager over another is "under the influence" of persuasion and is merely mindlessly following a trend. It equates them to being "malleable to influence" instead of just genuinely enjoying that character. For example, to go back to Julian -- it completely dismisses the possibility that that person could actually, maybe, just really enjoy the color blue, and makeup, and horses, and mythology, and so their enjoyment of Julian is just as genuine as another player's enjoyment of Carmen or Annabelle.

The use of this term is what I am arguing against. Not the idea of there being a trend, or the idea of said trend being swayed by a certain community member or used for marketing advantages by Nintendo, or whatever else. If you are not arguing against what I said above then I think that the term "sheep syndrome" should be replaced with something that does not implicate these things.

And my argument was more targeted toward John Wick's language of "not being one of the sheep", just for reference. But I did want to expand on what I mean.

 

[Boccages]

Satine. I get what you mean. But again. Not an axiological debate. Valid or not isn't what I'm looking for. English is not my first language, and I reckon that there may be colours to the words used to describe the phenomenom, but it's not my goal. Rest assured, no virtue signalling here.

It is an interesting pattern. However I feel like the term "sheep syndrome" should not be used in the case of preferential trends. Calling people "sheep" or just claiming that they fell into the "sheep syndrome" in reference to their opinions on which AC villagers are cuter than others can easily be read as an invalidation of their opinions. This term that I am referencing is mentioned in the title of the thread and in the body.

Of course there are patterns. And they are interesting. But just because the patterns are subjective, and perhaps possibly swayed by Nintendo and popular opinion does not mean that they are not valid. They are just as valid as somebody preferring a villager which might not be on that list of "popularity". Absolutely no less. To dismiss them as "sheep syndrome" is to invalidate them. This term makes it sound like people who are "falling for" the trend of enjoying a more well liked villager over another is "under the influence" of persuasion and is merely mindlessly following a trend. It equates them to being "malleable to influence" instead of just genuinely enjoying that character. For example, to go back to Julian -- it completely dismisses the possibility that that person could actually, maybe, just really enjoy the color blue, and makeup, and horses, and mythology, and so their enjoyment of Julian is just as genuine as another player's enjoyment of Carmen or Annabelle.

The use of this term is what I am arguing against. Not the idea of there being a trend, or the idea of said trend being swayed by a certain community member or used for marketing advantages by Nintendo, or whatever else. If you are not arguing against what I said above then I think that the term "sheep syndrome" should be replaced with something that does not implicate these things.

And my argument was more targeted toward John Wick's language of "not being one of the sheep", just for reference. But I did want to expand on what I mean.

 

[satine]

Satine. I get what you mean. But again. Not an axiological debate. Valid or not isn't what I'm looking for. English is not my first language, and I reckon that there may be colours to the words used to describe the phenomenom, but it's not my goal. Rest assured, no virtue signalling here.

I get what you mean. But again. I am referencing John Wick's response.

Maybe if you don't intend to virtue signal then you could change the terminology that might read as such to a less hostile and accusatory sort. "Sheep syndrome" has absolutely no other possible implications than what I referred to. I use terminology that has implications like that all the time without realizing. Even as a native speaker. But as soon as I do realize what it implicates, and I did not intend it, I change it. Because I don't want people to get the wrong idea. If you don't like people getting that idea, then maybe there should be a different term used.

 

[jiojiop]

Satine. I get what you mean. But again. Not an axiological debate. Valid or not isn't what I'm looking for. English is not my first language, and I reckon that there may be colours to the words used to describe the phenomenom, but it's not my goal. Rest assured, no virtue signalling here.

I do get the impression you're a little bit fed up with some of your art getting the appreciation it deserves while other drawings, which might even reflect more technical skill and knowledge gained from practice, don't get anywhere near the traction. I actually kind of hate reddit so I hardly blame you for being annoyed.

The problem is that by saying that other people only like certain characters because those characters are popular/overexposed, it can lead into exactly the kind of response it got: well I'm not one of the sheeple! I like villagers for valid reasons (as satine pointed out). Now I get that you're just trying to understand why people like what they like, but looking at it like that can hide the truth from someone because they won't see their own biases if they're so convinced they're not under the influence like everybody else. Who is the most susceptible to advertising? It's the person who believes that they couldn't possibly be influenced by external factors! For example: what if someone likes a villager just because they feel sorry for it that it has been called ugly by others? What if the popularity of some villager is driven primarily by being iconoclastic! And maybe some villagers get a lot of hate just because they seem to be popular somewhere or at some point in time, and not any inherent hateable trait? Maybe all things being equal, they should be more liked? Maybe a lack of preference for that character is a sign of bias?

I can't say that I'm offended or anything. I personally dismiss the preferences of people who say they just favor the villager because it was one of the first they met, etc. I consider that an arbitrary attachment and not a good judgment of inherent adorableness! Especially since they don't have unique personalities. But who can really tell which opinions are inherently more valid and less arbitrary? If someone forms a preference for a villager because they were exposed to that one arbitrarily from a blog, is that any different from someone forming a preference for a villager because they were exposed to that one arbitrarily from the game's mechanics? Do you see what I mean?

And before you say "well I'm not trying to say some opinions are more valid and less arbitrary or making any judgment", actually you have to. Because by suggesting that the popularity of X villager over Y villager is driven merely by exposure, you're asserting that without outside influence the popularity of X and Y villager would be equal. So any preferences for popular villagers must be suspect and due to some outside influence. But I think some characters really would be more popular "in a vacuum". I don't believe that if you took a kindergarten class from a remote town and showed them pictures of all the villagers, they would all come out with equal levels of support. So maybe some popularity is natural. And maybe there are all sorts of cultural and social influences that affect those preferences, but they're harder to analyze and affect all of us in our villager preferences.

Anyway, here's my logic for why I like the "blue goat boy": I love light blue + I love goats + this goat has a cute face where you can see the mouth so it doesn't look as weird as some other goats + it has a cute pink nose unlike the others = I like him. I'm a simple mayor - I see a cute goat, I must pet it.

 

[John Wick]

I think all are valid.
Who cares why someone likes a certain villager?

I don't think it has anything to do with what others think.

Like Wolfgang. My reasons were he's a cartoon ringer for my german shepherd I lost over 20 years ago. I always have a Wolfgang in my town because it's like having a small part of my dog with me.

 

[Boccages]

Very valid point. I can refer to that myself, though. Why are my top favorite villagers indeed - my favorite villagers. I'd say Pate, Olive, Roald, Broffina, Friga, Ozzie and O'Hare we all met in-game (since 2001) and liked them for the memories I have with them. But as far as Canberra goes, I once saw a cartoon comics online where the author of the comics treated her as garbage - as one of the ugliest character ever. And I subsequently met her (months later) in-game, and felt horrible for her. I still do. So outside interference was the source of me taking a liking to her. You are right.

The reason I started thinking about what makes some characters more popular than others was the HMV Japan new characters spoilers. People started gushing about the bicolour bear, the orange wolf, the blue goat boy, etc. and I told myself : "Well, well ! Lookie here... I've seen that phenomenon before... I bet these will oust Julian, Marina and co. as soon as New Horizons releases... and their popularity will far surpass those new characters that were not discovered with the HMV Japan stickers".

I do get the impression you're a little bit fed up with some of your art getting the appreciation it deserves while other drawings, which might even reflect more technical skill and knowledge gained from practice, don't get anywhere near the traction. I actually kind of hate reddit so I hardly blame you for being annoyed.

The problem is that by saying that other people only like certain characters because those characters are popular/overexposed, it can lead into exactly the kind of response it got: well I'm not one of the sheeple! I like villagers for valid reasons (as satine pointed out). Now I get that you're just trying to understand why people like what they like, but looking at it like that can hide the truth from someone because they won't see their own biases if they're so convinced they're not under the influence like everybody else. Who is the most susceptible to advertising? It's the person who believes that they couldn't possibly be influenced by external factors! For example: what if someone likes a villager just because they feel sorry for it that it has been called ugly by others? What if the popularity of some villager is driven primarily by being iconoclastic! And maybe some villagers get a lot of hate just because they seem to be popular somewhere or at some point in time, and not any inherent hateable trait? Maybe all things being equal, they should be more liked? Maybe a lack of preference for that character is a sign of bias?

I can't say that I'm offended or anything. I personally dismiss the preferences of people who say they just favor the villager because it was one of the first they met, etc. I consider that an arbitrary attachment and not a good judgment of inherent adorableness! Especially since they don't have unique personalities. But who can really tell which opinions are inherently more valid and less arbitrary? If someone forms a preference for a villager because they were exposed to that one arbitrarily from a blog, is that any different from someone forming a preference for a villager because they were exposed to that one arbitrarily from the game's mechanics? Do you see what I mean?

And before you say "well I'm not trying to say some opinions are more valid and less arbitrary or making any judgment", actually you have to. Because by suggesting that the popularity of X villager over Y villager is driven merely by exposure, you're asserting that without outside influence the popularity of X and Y villager would be equal. So any preferences for popular villagers must be suspect and due to some outside influence. But I think some characters really would be more popular "in a vacuum". I don't believe that if you took a kindergarten class from a remote town and showed them pictures of all the villagers, they would all come out with equal levels of support. So maybe some popularity is natural. And maybe there are all sorts of cultural and social influences that affect those preferences, but they're harder to analyze and affect all of us in our villager preferences.

Anyway, here's my logic for why I like the "blue goat boy": I love light blue + I love goats + this goat has a cute face where you can see the mouth so it doesn't look as weird as some other goats + it has a cute pink nose unlike the others = I like him. I'm a simple mayor - I see a cute goat, I must pet it.

 

[jim]

i think you're overestimating the strength of those few bloggers who got early access to animal crossing: new leaf. the vast majority of fans will not remember or even know about those days from almost ten years ago.

people have already mentioned how unique themes and designs tend to stand out and become fanvorites, which applies to many of the examples you brought up. not to mention the fact that of course new villagers will garner more attention and buzz versus old villagers we've had for generations.

also... sheep syndrome? really? they're cartoon animals. people like cute animals so it's unsurprising the cute designs will gain lots of fans. if that makes people "sheep" the word has lost all meaning.

 

[returnofsaturn]

i love fauna and i will not be shamed

 

[John Wick]

When I first started playing Wild World in 2005, I had never heard of any of the villagers.

I knew nothing about the game, and learned as I went along.

The only thing I ever googled, was how big you could make your house.

 

[Michelangelo]

I think all are valid.
Who cares why someone likes a certain villager?

I agree. People should be able to like whatever kind of villager without having to explain themselves. It's just a video game.

 

[Boccages]

People are free to like, and prefer whatever characters they want. It’s not a legal question (I have the right to !) nor an axiological question (Who are you to judge!).

Question is not ? who is better ? or ? is it right to like character X ?, but ? Why are these characters more popular ?. Please discuss...

 

[satine]

People are free to like, and prefer whatever characters they want. It’s not a legal question (I have the right to !) nor an axiological question (Who are you to judge!).

Question is not ? who is better ? or ? is it right to like character X ?, but ? Why are these characters more popular ?. Please discuss...

The "sheep syndrome" terminology is what is making it seem like this post is asking those questions. It is an invalidating and accusatory term. It means that the person who is the "sheep" has no validity to their preferences and is easily swayed and gullible to ploys by society, advertisement and propaganda. There is no other way this term could be interpreted.