Is your island themed?

[ChanCake]

Just out of curiousity, does your island have a theme?

I'm currently stuck between the idea of creating a Ghibli themed town or my own vision of a cute little mountainy/forest hamlet. I'm actually already halfway through the process of creating Howl's Moving Castle's Flower Field but I keep going back and forth between the two. I just can't seem to decide between the inspiration that a Ghibli town has to offer and my own idea of a place where I'd like to live.

I like how cute, interesting and playful the Ghibli theme might become, but it could also become too theme-parkey. I enjoy the idea of living through the seasons in the little town I have in my mind; like a second home of sorts but I fear that if I don't get it right the first time (since there's no ref except my own mind), I'll just keep scrapping, starting over and scrapping again. Both have pros and cons.

So, did you go with a theme for your island? Do you still enjoy it?

 

[supernerd]

I'm making a theme for my island. It's not as cute as yours by any means - it's based on H.P. Lovecraft stories because why not.

I love your idea of having two mixed themes, honestly. I could very much see it being super "theme park"-y if you didn't mix it up a bit. It'll be nice, because those that know will visit your island and be like "ah! this is from Howl's Moving Castle!" and they'll appreciate it. The cute forest hamlet idea blends in well with a Ghibli aesthetic, so I think you can only make it gorgeous honestly.

 

[skarmoury]

I don't know much about Studio Ghibli movies (I've been meaning to find time to watch them kdjfhds), but I actually think you can pull off a Ghibli-themed island and mix it with mountain-y/forest vibe! You should definitely check out some refs for Ghibli themes and forest themes, I feel like it will help you visualize better (plus inspirations are cool!!) You could probably do some Ghibli-themed areas from the movies that remind you of nature.

The theme of my island is some sort of quaint Japanese/anime vibe! I've got the gist of the areas I have (neighborhood area, Japanese marketplace, school, and forest) but for the little details like the layout per area, it's still under construction. There's definitely nothing wrong with starting over again with areas, I feel like with each reconstruction of an area you have a better idea of what to do! I heavily revamped my marketplace and neighborhood area and they look better than the first time around. I feel like I'll be heavily revamping other areas as well, it sounds a little tiring but imo it's all part of the fun and thrill of seeing it the way you imagined it!

 

[Tinkeringbell]

I'm not sure if it's a theme or not, but my island is named after a real-life island. At first the idea was to make it a creepy and macabre island to refer to some part of the history of that real island, but the game is just too cute to really succeed at that. So now I've stuck with the part where the real-life island is supposed to be developed into a vacation place, and stuck with that as a 'theme' for my island as well.

I've lined up all the villager houses along the south beach. For the rest, my island is mostly 'natural' themed, with lots of free space, trees and flowers. It could certainly use more development, and I think except for the part where I keep the houses along the beach, the rest of the island may eventually get other themes. That's the lovely part about it though: 'deserted island transformed to popular vacation spot' can mean loads of different things

I do like the idea that the name of my island actually means something, even if it only means something to me.

 

[Livia]

My island doesn’t really have a theme. I wanted to make my island goose themed because it’s called “Goose Isle”, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. So far I’ve just put white decoy ducks in random places around the island.

 

[maria110]

Mine had a theme but over time, the theme has broken down somewhat because I need new things to do, new villagers etc. It was fun building it around a theme though.

 

[Your Local Wild Child]

My SH island is heavily based off of fairy tales, with a primary focus on the “dark but magical forest” theme that is pretty commonplace in those stories. My actual town area is a quaint(ish) visitor center at first glance but with a heavy recurring theme that hints to an odd background (also taken from fairy tales).

 

[annex]

A little. It's called Liberty, so I have a liberty park and liberty farm. The rest of the island is decorated with themed areas. Like an all yellow area and all pink, etc.

 

[CrankyCupcake]

My island's theme is "Rustic: Beginner Difficulty".

It's so natural and rustic, you'll think I never attempted to terraform or decorate it. A grand total of three bridges and one incline. Rivers that run here and there, paths that meander everywhere. My beaches look like beaches. Plenty of open spaces. A simple theme for a simple mind is best. I just like it this way. (Map here.)

 

[ChanCake]

Thank you all so much for your replies! ❤

You all have such amazing ideas and I love how many of you actually do keep a theme on your islands and in so many different styles too. From real life places, tales, and even just as simple as a style to build the town around. I don't know why, but I guess I thought most people just went with whatever came to them, haha.

And thank you for the suggestion to create a mix of both for mine. I'm still continuing the flower field with the lake as of now, and a mix does sound like a great way to solve my little debacle. It's just that I envisioned the foresty theme to be a lot darker than the Ghibli one. I'm not sure if the flower field with a bunch of pinks, whites, oranges and such is going to clash with the darker areas.

But hearing all of your own beautiful and creative themes, I feel like maybe I am being too hard on myself in terms of having every area cohesive with the rest of the island.

 

[Paperboy012305]

I tried to go for a theme, a white elegant garden themed island. But after I realized how hard it is to set it up I decided against both it and having themed island.

I’ll just be having a regular themed island instead.

 

[meggiewes]

I was going to do a lovely rustic cottagecore theme, but I decided that I didn't want to. I don't have a theme for my island and I really like it that way. It gives me the freedom to use whatever sorts of bridges and inclines wherever. I can use any decoration I want. It makes it so much more fun and I love the way my island is shaping up so far.

 

[Peach_Jam]

yeup I do c: I'm trying to stick to my concept of a royal garden + some small cozier areas scattered around. I'm loosely basing it off of Elfhame from the Folk of the Air trilogy :>

 

[niko@kamogawa]

Mine has a theme. It's called "me."

 

[Halloqueen]

My island's theme is world history and the cultures that either have existed throughout it, continue to exist, or might exist in the future. I find the theme fun and enjoyable, though unfortunately some cultures I wanted to include just didn't make the cut due to the 8 player character limit.

I managed to squeeze in:
- Ancient Egypt (Ankha and, due to her house, Diva)
- Ancient Rome (Klaus)
- Arabia (A player character)
- China (Pekoe and a player character)
- India (A player character)
- Ireland (A player character)
- Japan (Kabuki and a player character, but might replace Kabuki)
- Mexico (A player character)
- Prehistory (Tucker)
- Russia (A player character)
- The Future (Ribbot)
- USA (A player character, African-American culture specifically)
- Viking age Scandinavia (Vic)

The last two are Annalisa and Bella. It's a bit dark, but my island's name is Poveglia, which is the name of a real island in the Venetian Lagoon of Italy. I chose the name because it was the first thing that came to mind that sounded good and because we were in the middle of the initial chaos of COVID-19's outbreak. Poveglia ties into that because the real island was used both as a quarantine zone and dumping ground for victims of the bubonic plague centuries ago. As a result, I chose Bella as my Peppy to represent the rats that carried the fleas which spread the disease, while Annalisa became my choice for Normal resident since her design's simplistic white anteater design always gave me the impression of a plague doctor's mask. I find the reference to such things a bit uncomfortable now all these months later (though we're still in the middle of the pandemic) and sometimes wish I could change the island's name (though, to date, I've never come up with a different one) both because of that and because I've seen other Poveglias. That said, it sort of works out in the end because, while I could keep or replace Annalisa, I have no idea what Peppy would fit with my theme other than Bella. None of the other Peppies jump out at me visually. As grim as it is, I guess it also serves to show that history isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Other cultures that I wanted to include but couldn't fit due to the 8 player character limit included Korean, Native American (would have to research tribes, though I'm interested in doing so anyway), and Polynesian (either Māori or Hawaiian). Maybe French or German too. I guess we're fortunate that we could make 8 characters this time instead of just 4 like before.

Regarding Kabuki since I listed him as replaceable, I might or might not replace him with Olaf who would represent Spain. I might also replace Ankha with a different Snooty since I really hate the Golden Toilet they gave to Ankha in New Horizons in place of the Throne in New Leaf, but I don't know, Ankha seems like the postergirl for Ancient Egypt in these games so it's difficult to figure. If I were to replace Ankha, it would be either with Monique for her Marilyn Monroe-inspired design, or either Mathilda or Yuka to represent Australia.

 

[charlie_moo_]

My island is Rainbow themed. Just because I like Rainbows. My New Leaf town was called Rainbow too but its been so much easier to make it themed in New Horizons by placing furniture outdoors

 

[Imbri]

I don't have a specific theme, at least, I didn't set out to do so. I like natural/more rustic settings, so I kept to that. Mainly, I tried to put together an island that looked like somewhere I'd want to live and that incorporated my interests.

A friend of mine said she gets Anne of Green Gables vibes when she comes over, which is as good a description as any.

 

[Roxxy]

My theme is “random rubbish ideas” . It’s very me

 

[Snek]

Yes! It is currently an adventure island. Its not complete yet but still in the process. I think the new Halloween decorations might change it to mystery/supernatural island. My player characters are ALL themed and so part of the island is a resort with 2 of my characters' houses as hotels.

 

[Tinkeringbell]

The last two are Annalisa and Bella. It's a bit dark, but my island's name is Poveglia, which is the name of a real island in the Venetian Lagoon of Italy.

I was about to write a very enthusiastic reply at finding another Poveglia, until I read you might not be as excited about its name anymore because there are others out there... It almost makes me feel as if I'm ruining your fun I love how you described how your theme relates to the name though!