Feeling jealous and might tear down my island again

[HappyTails]

I don't know whatever i do to not compare my island to the others i see on Twitter or YouTube i will always feel my island looks bad and just jealous with everyone i see on YouTube tours or Instagram/Twitter etc. Did anyone feel the same thing? Like having the items and you cant execute it? Also looking at pinterest YouTube Twitter or Instagram is not an inspo for me, but instead makes me feel bad and down. *Sigh* thanks for coming to my Ted talk sorry if i already post this earlier

This the the very reason I avoid Animal Crossing Twitter or social media at any cost (and barely on here anymore) because I too have a habit of comparing my island to others. I know my island is good enough but it can be hard to keep that mindset when you see islands that are magnificent personified.


Also if it makes you feel better the overly decorated islands look nice in pictures but when you visit the DA they tend to be very laggy where you can barely walk without lag. They are nice yes but very laggy.

 

[dragonair]

I've completely felt the same way and honestly had to stop looking at any social media for a while. I feel this way about my art as well, it's really easy to compare yourself to others.

A mindset that's helped me is remembering that my island is mine and theirs is theirs. I used to try to replicate things that I saw on social media and I'd get incredibly frustrated with how everything turned out. I never felt like it looked the same or could never bring that one concept into other areas so things would look really out of place and then I'd get frustrated over that. A good thing to remember is that a lot of the times when you see things on social media it can be faked. I've seen so many intensely photoshopped islands, ones where they photoshop in items that don't even exist, or ones where they remove anything that could affect how the screenshot looks. I would look at the comments and so many people would be down on themselves because they couldn't replicate what was in this photoshopped photo. A lot of the times as well people don't realize that these screenshots can be just one small part of the person's island and the rest is completely barren. People get overwhelmed and think "How can I make my whole island look like this screenshot." when the other person hasn't done that yet. There are also other people that post their islands that have worked on it for thousands of hours. Your island goes through such an evolution over time so resetting it while it's in that process can hinder that.

What I started doing is a LOT of experimenting. A lot of looking for different paths, different items that go well with those paths, a lot of planning out what areas I want, and then focusing on one area for a while before moving onto the next. When you move to the next area, think of what you liked about the last one you finished and try to incorporate that if you can. If you want to look at social media or tour other islands, try not to think about how you can replicate the island as a whole. Just write down different elements that you like, different things that you want to try out, and when you're ready mix your style with those elements and make it your own. Like I said, your island is yours. It doesn't have to look like everyone else's and it's not bad if it looks completely different.

I'm not sure if this is very helpful to you but it's a thought process that really got me back into the game so I thought I'd mention it. ;; v ;;

 

[Kalle]

I don't know whatever i do to not compare my island to the others i see on Twitter or YouTube i will always feel my island looks bad and just jealous with everyone i see on YouTube tours or Instagram/Twitter etc. Did anyone feel the same thing? Like having the items and you cant execute it? Also looking at pinterest YouTube Twitter or Instagram is not an inspo for me, but instead makes me feel bad and down. *Sigh* thanks for coming to my Ted talk sorry if i already post this earlier

You should probably stop watching those island tours. No matter what you do, you're going to negatively compare your work to other players, similarly to how people negatively compare themselves to other people's personas on social media. It's not worth the stress it's giving you.

If you want to start fresh, do that if you feel that you really need to but certainly try to approach it with an open mind on what you really want to do. There is no right or wrong, good or bad, etc. Like any genre of creativity, what looks good in this video game is all subjective.

 

[boring]

I used to struggle similarly but I found myself in a cycle of hating what I built. I tried just going with it and surprisingly I feel better now. I hope you get past that bad feeling, I know its a pretty crippiling one and I hope you find the solution you need.

 

[Anj2k6]

A lot of those "showplace" islands, houses, and rooms are done for the sole purpose of taking a few pictures or a video and then they are torn down. I've seen some online that looked really nice, but when I went to dream them, they were horrible. Not because they weren't decorated nicely, but because it was overdone. I couldn't move or had to go on a set path, as if I were in a maze. And rooms had so much furniture you couldn't react with it.

It's nice to get inspiration and ideas, but you have to find the balance between incorporating them and what your style is. Make your island and house the way you want, so you enjoy moving around and you'll come up with something stellar.

It is normal to get a bit stale with our own places, though, because we see them every day. Try taking a few pictures or putting up a dream and see what someone looking at it with fresh eyes thinks. You may be pleasantly surprised.

This is exactly how I feel about those islands. Even though I'm someone who loves to decorate like crazy, I always "playtest" my areas so it's not too obnoxious to get around. The new permanent ladder setup really allows for more flexibility/paths/ and shortcuts to different areas without having to spend and extra 30 seconds running around everything else.

 

[xxcodexx]

im jealous of other peoples islands too. it seems they always have the best looking paths *that i cant find* or the nicest items *that i also cant find* sooo its lead me to just take all the time in the world to build my island. i do tiny bits at a time. i think it will take me 5 years to complete at this rate LOL!

 

[Serabee]

I sometimes get that feeling. Whenever I do, I go to my favorite spot(s) on my island and just admire them. I also talk to villagers, do some cooking, or just do other things in general while looking at how my island looks. Also, NGL, sometimes I like going to random DAs because I guarantee at least a few will make me feel BETTER about mine.

I also remember I can't do EVERYTHING on my island. Like, I'll see a cool spooky island, a city one, a fairyland one, a country one, etc. and I remember I only have one (or, these days, two) island. The things I really like, I think of how I can incorporate them into my island. But I also weigh them against what I have. Like, okay, that person has an awesome shopping area. But if I wanted to do something similar, I would need to remove/scale down my carnival... and that doesn't seem worth it. Or sometimes it will be worth it, and then I change area by area.

Lastly, I remember ACNH is not a competitive game. If someone had a magnificent island guaranteed to make jaws drop? That's great for them! I'd love to see it! But it doesn't make my island any less in comparison. Just different.

 

[peachycrossing9]

I have a terrible habit of doing this as well... It's so easy to compare your island to other people's, especially the ones on social media that are picture perfect.

It's so easy to look at someone's island and then look at yours and say "ew mine is terrible". But in reality it's not. It's YOUR island and you decorated in a way that suits YOU, which makes it just as good as the fancy looking ones on social media. Every time I visit a dream address or look at a picture on Instagram, I just have to remember that. Which has helped a little bit with me comparing myself to others.

Keep going with your island, don't reset it! I'm sure whatever you have created is amazing.

 

[Bizhiins]

I just admire their dedication. I think my island would be a lot farther along if I just stayed focused and really dedicated my time to finishing it. I think I’m too lazy.
It took my like 4 years to finally finish my New Leaf town, and by that time New Horizons had already been out for a little while too, lol.
Visiting dream islands makes me feel better than seeing the ones on YouTube. There’s a lot more realistic, unfinished and partially finished islands on there.

 

[annex]

I've seen so many beautiful and unique Islands online. I love how creative they are.

However, tons of people see them. They copy ( nothing wrong with that. It's nice to get ideas.) Then before you know it, certain things that were once so amazing are in almost every town, thus making them not so special anymore.

I like making my town simple, but unique. Using my own ideas and not what's trending or what's online. That can be kind of hard because we all have the same items and I do use other peoples patterns.

I suggest decorating, using ideas of things that interest you. For instance, I like farming, camping and fishing, anything retro, bright colors, and anything cute. My town has all of those things. What are your hobbies? What interests you? Favorite colors? Etc.

Also, there's nothing wrong with a simple town. I've seen some really nice random towns in the dream suite that were simple, and I could tell that they weren't influenced by the ones online. They're just enjoying the game and decorating however they like.

 

[DarkMyst]

I've felt that, and thought about tearing my own island down to try and make it 'better' after also seeing all the really cool island tours on YT/twitter/etc. But I also know, if I were to do that, I'd probably lose interest and feel overwhelmed. In the end, I probably wouldn't even get halfway down with the island if I were to tear it down and instead, just work with what I have. It's not the best nor is it super creative, but it's my island and its somehow really comforting to know that "I started here" and now I'm "here". Like an evolution of sorts.

Also, something that drives me up a wall about some of them is the lack of freedom. Like, I dont like being forced to walk in 1-size spaces and really like wider areas. There are some items that kind of force that and while it may look nice, it would drive me up a wall to have to walk a certain way around my own island. I also dont like sticking to one theme so it all ends up looking like a mish-mash, but Im happy with it.

Thats the important part. If you like pink flowers and want to drown your island in flowers, do it! I have a ton of flowers and notice alot of those islands have their flowers and such placed a certain way. Its aesthetically pleasing, sure, but its not 'me'. Do what you like and be proud of it. You can continue to look at all those pretty posts, but ultimately, dont put that pressure on yourself if it stresses you out. Its a game after all, so only do what makes YOU happy and have fun!

 

[Bilaz]

Oh I second visiting dream islands! Have fun visiting random islands most of them are decorated in a simple but nice way and I enjoy them way more than the very decorated ones

 

[rainadash]

This happens to me quite often, and trying to think "don't compare yourself, your island is great" is easier said than done. Some advice that I've started to follow is looking for inspiration through other means, such as pictures of real places or even other video games that have a similar aesthetic to what I'm going for, instead of scrolling through the #acnhinspo hashtag or going on Pinterest. I've found it helps a ton! There's lots of inspiration to be found out there without having to look through Animal Crossing content that may end up discouraging you from playing in the first place.

I'm having difficulty trying to find inspiration outside of the game , like I'm not sure where to them.