Felt pressured to get into the Pathing aspect, now I feel unsure about my island.

[SuperK98]

I'm the same way. I really don't have an eye for design so I've always stuck with super natural-looking towns because I can't even begin to count the amount of times I've tried to copy the kawaii and zen towns that it seems like literally everyone did with New Leaf, only for it to turn out a mess. I find it hard not to feel like you're doing it "wrong" when you see the kinds of things that other people are capable of but the point of the game is that you can do whatever you want at your own pace so I try to remind myself of that when I feel that way.

 

[Shinon]

Honestly I felt a lot more negativity and pressure during the heyday of New Leaf because that's when the whole "dreamies" obsession became rampabt. All of a sudden, AC was full of TT'd cookie-cutter "kawaii" towns inhabited by the same cast of (usually auctioned) uber popular villagers picked from a tier list. I eventually just stopped playing because the whole culture of New Leaf felt stiflingly conformist, not creative, to me. Happily, I got over it and now I'm back to enjoying the series again.

Practice two things: trusting and valuing your own taste, and avoiding comparing your game to other players' games. It is hard, because we are social creatures, but it is possible and worth doing!

I hear stuff like this and it makes my mind go down a rabbit hole about how parents structure their kids time way too much these days and schools teach to the test instead of for problem-solving and creavity. So now we're left with a bunch of kids who are given a game about creative freedom and doing whatever you want, and they still find a way to pigeon-hole play into some rigidly defined ruleset and tier-system

 

[jozial]

Don't get down on yourself. No matter how cReAtiVe I feel I get with my town/island, there will always be someone out there to humble me. You should have seen my New Leaf town, paths, bushes, intricate flower patterns, trees, EVERYTHING was mindful and where it was supposed to be... and my brother's town, after years and years of playing? No paths, no bushes. No intricate nothing. The SAME villagers he had since he started.

Play the game the way you want. In some ways, I respect people who leave their towns natural more than ppl who get creative. I feel like it takes a lot of self control lol.

 

[tajikey]

Originally, I scoffed at the idea of altering the landscape of ExIsle. However, once I unlocked the option, curiosity got the best of me. Time consuming as it may be, I've found it oddly satisfying, and very therapeutic for the OCD side of me.

Now, if only Nintendo would push out an update that allowed for the addition of a structure permit, removing the one installation or demolition limitation. That's the only thing slowing my progress, and I refuse to time travel.

 

[Argent]

I wouldn't feel too beaten up over your creative skills, or lack thereof! Personally, I am really not artistically gifted and don't do the best with visual creativity, yet I'm still able to find enjoyment in playing around with different styles around my island to let my ideas shine. Sometimes they work out great, sometimes they don't! That's just part of it. I would encourage you to try different paths, you don't have to stick with one - maybe try blending a couple around the island? If the layout is the problem, see if buildings could be moved to allow a greater area of movement so the flow of traffic is smooth. If you have trouble thinking creatively, maybe try thinking logistically.

Good luck! No matter what, be proud of anything you accomplish when it comes to being creative with your island. It takes a lot of trial and error, but taking those first steps to get things going is half the battle.

 

[alpacac]

Maybe try to cut up the removal in sections so it won't be so boring to do it all in one go! And then by the end you'll have it all gone?

I feel like New Leaf was less stressful (at least for me) because I wasn't on the internet back then and didn't compare myself to crazy perfect towns. Take inspiration from what you like but don't feel pressured to achieve the same level, if anything lots of people time travel and do extensive trading to get their towns that way (even though the game has only been out for 2 weeks...) Just enjoy the game for the aspects you like it to be, I'm sure the devs never wanted animal crossing to feel that way for you!

 

[tybalt_cake]

Why don't you show an image of your current map? Maybe it could be easier to give you advice to make your town look nice!

 

[SpiritofAce]

Why don't you show an image of your current map? Maybe it could be easier to give you advice to make your town look nice!

Good idea! Here is a picture of my map as current. The bottom left with the path circling around it is where I have my Fruit Orchard, which used to be where my Museum was. I changed the Pathing over to Stone Path from Terracotta and changed some of the layout. Please let me know if you have any tips, or how I should change it. I also attached some other pictures I took in game to give a better idea.