Just an Island - or an ISLAND!!!

[Fey]

What direction will you take your Island:

A town that just happens to be on an island OR an island-themed paradise?

Does the location somehow hamper or inspire your ideas for the game?

If you already had a plan in mind, will you stick with it or make changes now?

For Context:
When New Horizons was first shown I was initially disappointed - tropical beaches aren't necessarily my favorite location, and I would've much preferred a more "generic" setting that could be altered to my aesthetic.
Over time I've gotten more interested in playing off of the island theme, but I still hope the map is big enough to get away from the island feel if I want to

 

[Maiana]

I'm actually not sure yet ;m; I already figured out my town's name and whatnot, and I kind of wanted it to be city-like. But it would seem so weird to create the type of city look I'm going for on an Island.

 

[BungoTheElf]

I'm not sure yet but this reminds me that I should probably start thinking ahead lol

I really enjoyed seeing people's fully coordinated towns in new leaf and I always wanted to do that myself
Since it's an island I'm thinking a marine/nautical theme would be cute!

 

[Stevey Queen]

I'm not going for the whole island paradise theme but I definitely want the beach to feel like a resort and maybe there will be a bar item (doubt it) so I can pretend to drink pina coladas on the beach.

 

[Speeny]

Not sure. But probably a town-themed island.

 

[Boccages]

Generic. After all, it’s not a tropical island, it snows during winter

 

[Jacob]

I’m gonna go full tropical, I really hope there will be new furniture to match an island aesthetic

 

[Ossiran]

I'll have to see what can be built before I decide exactly what kind of island I'll go for, but probably something townish-themed.

I don't want to go heavy industrialized (if that's even possible), but I don't want to leave it barren.

I won't be going tropical-themed, as that just seems too obvious to me when you hear the word "island" and when we had Animal Island and Tortimer Island from the previous games.

 

[DJStarstryker]

The island/resort theme might be cute, but I have a feeling that's going to be an overdone theme for NH and will get boring quickly.

Also, just because it's an island doesn't mean it needs to be "island resort" themed. For example, the entirety of Japan is a group of islands. Some of those islands are really large, sure, but it's not like Japan is all island themed. Tokyo is super urban, more than most cities in the US, with lots of buildings and concrete and has less plant life, proportionately, than New York City. (I have to specify proportionately since Tokyo is a much bigger city square mile wise than NYC is.)

I feel like you can do whatever you'd like, same as New Leaf. New Leaf has beaches on 3 sides after all, pretty similar to New Horizons. New Horizons may be an island, but it doesn't seem like you can access any beaches on the north side.

 

[Cheybunny]

I'm unsure for now! ;w;

 

[Mokuren]

I don't stick with a island theme. For me it's not that much different from the regular map? Only difference is you have more beach. You also have seasons and stuff... I am not sure why everyone makes a fuss because it's an island

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I might change it from some uncharted island with no inhabitants to a metropolitan island in the middle of the ocean, where everyone lives. I would not follow the island theme. But I could follow the US theme or the Sci-Fi theme.

 

[Pellie]

Gonna turn this island into a simple, little suburbia like town. So yeah, a town that just happens to be on
an island I guess.

 

[Fey]

Sure, islands don't have to be tropical (the British Isles are far from that lol), but depending on how much space we have it might be difficult to avoid constantly seeing or running into the beaches - and sand beaches just read as tropical to many people.
Other details, like the Nooks' Hawaiian shirts or the design of the new logo, add to that association even more. I'm not saying that's a bad thing though. Just something unexpected in my case.

I'm actually surprised so few people are planning to go for a tropical aesthetic/resort vibe. Yes it'll probably be done often, but I don't think that should deter anyone from choosing that theme if they'd have fun with it!

 

[Wickel]

Sure, islands don't have to be tropical (the British Isles are far from that lol), but depending on how much space we have it might be difficult to avoid constantly seeing or running into the beaches - and sand beaches just read as tropical to many people.
Other details, like the Nooks' Hawaiian shirts or the design of the new logo, add to that association even more. I'm not saying that's a bad thing though. Just something unexpected in my case.

I'm actually surprised so few people are planning to go for a tropical aesthetic/resort vibe. Yes it'll probably be done often, but I don't think that should deter anyone from choosing that theme if they'd have fun with it!

They... do? That makes no sense ahha, they have sandy beaches all over the world.

I'm not going to plan ahead, but I will probably give my island the more natural vibe I also give to my towns. Just because it happens to be an island doesn't make much of a difference to me. It's exactly the same thing as all the towns we ever had, just with a lot of beaches.
I'll probably place my house on the beach though.

 

[Fey]

They... do? That makes no sense ahha, they have sandy beaches all over the world.

Again, I'm not saying that islands or sandy beaches are limited to tropics - just that it is a very common association. I would bet good money that if I asked 100 people to draw an island, at least 3/4 would draw a stereotypical "tropical island" with palm trees.

This article addresses the stereotype: ?I know that many people DO think of only tropical biomes, sandy beaches, and perpetual summer when they hear the word ?island,?"

 

[cornimer]

I for one am pretty excited to maximize the "island" in my town. It's not every day you get to live on an island!

 

[Garrett]

Probably tropical for me, with lots of plants and every resident with a fenced garden.

 

[Boccages]

Just a picture to help inspire people with what "Tropical island" really means when done right : Windwardside on the Dutch island of Saba.

 

[Wickel]

Yeah, you're totally right. I haven't read the article but I totally believe you. It's what I think of too when I think of an island.

But at the same time, I think of the (sandy) beach 30 minutes away from my house in cold the Netherlands XD