Let's talk about aesthetic!

[kemdi]

Now that we've got the random dream hopping ability back, I wanted to talk about this! What do you like to see in an island(other than your own, lol)? And what design elements can you do without?

For me I love to find islands that are easy to move around! Pretty, but not cluttered or claustrophobic! I like being able to take my time and explore, then move from one section of an island to the next without getting stuck with pathways that are easy to navigate. Also, I LOVE cohesion! An island with an overall cohesive design just kinda says to me that this island designer put some actual thought and care into bringing their island to life! And flowers are always a plus too!

Design choices I can do without? hmm...Cluttered spaces. Its so distracting to me. I don't like getting lost, I don't like feeling frustrated trying to find the right(and sometimes only) way out unless its a maze on purpose. I'm also starting to push away from like 'cottage' stuff, not because it's a bad idea(its not), but because I'm seeing it a lot I guess? Something else I can do without is like when pics look really nice in instagram, but when you dream, the whole island feels really disjointed.

I can't talk too much though because my island is a wasteland, so.

Anyway, what aesthetic do you like to see, and what do you not? Also, PLEASE DO NOT POST PICS OR DREAM CODES, OR SPECIFICALLY CALL OUT ANYONES ISLAND!! This is NOT supposed to be a mean or bullying topic, I'm just asking in general, what design choices do/don't you like. Not looking for specifics islands!

 

[Xara]

what i like: this might seem a bit weird but i really like when the creator has their designs set to “public’ so that visitors can see what designs were used! granted, i hardly ever save any of them, but they’re still nice to look through. i also like easy navigational islands, too! while the heavily terraformed and jam-packed ones are gorgeous, they’re almost impossible to navigate through, which is a bit stressful aha.

what i dislike: other than crowded islands, there isn’t really anything that i dislike. however, i do find myself skipping over outdoor cafes; with how many there are, they don’t really interest me anymore ^^

 

[Vintage Viola]

I really like islands that are easy to navigate through too. I’ve visited dream before that were so cluttered with items, I had to just stand in place for like 3-5 seconds before walking forward; just so the items could spawn in and I could see where I was going. I really like “island aesthetic” too, or like a mix between modern and island. It seems like it’s harder to come by, since everyone seems to wanna do cottagecore, modern Japan, or feudal Japan. Which is perfectly fine, but it’s honestly something I got tired of seeing a long time ago lol.

Aside from clutter, and the themes I’ve mentioned above, I don’t like when people block off entry to their player’s house. I get they probably do it because it isn’t complete yet, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see what you have. It could just be one piece of furniture, I still wanna look.

 

[Bugs]

I absolutely love themed islands! When an island has a common theme I find that very interesting and fun to explore

 

[Pintuition]

I really love aesthetic or highly themed islands, as long as they are still accessible and functional. I'm not a huge fan of things being over-crowded to the point where the frame rate drops and things get slow. It's bound to happen in spots, but it shouldn't be the whole island, you know? I also like islands where there is a clear way to go- there's nothing worse than getting stuck in places with no way out. I've stranded myself on a lot of dream islands that way!

All style no substance is never the way forward, it has to be a bit of both! At least, that's my approach to decorating!

 

[StarlitGlitch]

Dislikes: I agree with others, I don't like cluttered islands either for a few reasons. Besides being hard to navigate it's also hard for the game to load. I don't like having things be slowed down or not spawn right away. It can be difficult to take in everything and appreciate what they're trying to do. Like over-reliance on the simple panels. It can end up looking too fake for me. Also, it's just my personal preference but I'm not a fan of islands that don't feel like AC anymore or don't seem very functional. When they don't have enough trees I think, "but how do they get acorns? Or catch bugs on trees?" Or if it's very gimmicky it feels like it's fun to look around once but not actually play in. Obviously there are many play styles and none are better than any others but that's how I see things.

Likes: I like islands that decorate effectively and feel immersive. My favorite island of all time is based on being in a nostalgic Japanese small town in summer. It used the natural landscape and water well and enough patterns and decorations meticulously placed to make it feel like I was in a real town and not just visiting an island. They were able to use the characteristics of AC and manipulate them in a way that make a while new experience. For example, they hid cicadas in some of the rooms so that you could hear their calls from inside, just like in real life. Unfortunately it seems that they have changed their town now but I'm still searching for something that gives me that same feeling.

 

[JKDOS]

I'm a fan of cottagecore. I like towns that are woodsy, forest-y, and cozy. Especially now with the fall atmosphere, and soon to be coming winter.

I don't really care much for the overly done outdoor cafes, market places, outdoor libraries, or zen guardians, or over developed towns in general.

 

[absol]

dislike:
- cluttered islands (in general)
It takes forever to load and I easily get lost, if there's a clear path that you have to follow for the story line then that's alright ofc but a "chill" foresty island with 100 items in the way is kinda overwhelming

like:
- islands that make you feel like the creator isn't even playing ac anymore, it's so crazy what people manage to do (although I gotta say that these islands in particular often have a lot of items and take forever to load )
- islands themed after stuff like like the ghibli movies, atla, harry potter, ...
- 'dark' islands, horror ofc but also islands that just have darker color palette in general, apocalyptic themes

 

[meggiewes]

I don't really like cluttered islands. The islands that are cluttered to the point of you getting massive lag spikes.

I also don't care for cohesive themes. They are lovely to look at. But they always feel a bit more on the performance side than anything. That being said, I do like islands that look like they are put together and not a haphazard mess.

 

[nightglow]

When Island hopping, I am just happy to find one you can easily navigate. Like some Islands I have landed on are so full of just stuff... (to me alot of it is just randomly placed) Every color of every item. Maybe they were a seller/trader or something but you couldn't walk across the island without doing that shuffle animation constantly and the stuff was scattered everywhere.
I also don't care for the excessive cliffs that are meant for decor rather than use or excessive waterfalls. They are loud and make frame rate drops.
I do like it when I find an island with more than one house decorated. I like to try to figure out what they are doing with it or admire how they put items together. I also like when I see flowers that look like they were deliberately placed instead of randomly/overgrown in in spots. I know it is their island and they can do whatever, which is fine. I just like seeing that. Flowers can be tough to deal with.
I also think it is fun to see islands that have a theme or have sections that are themed.

 

[visibleghost]

at the moment i am really into kidcore, to the point that i bought a second switch to have another island dedicated to the aesthetic...

 

[Mezzanine]

Deleted

 

[oranje]

I love islands that have a theme or story behind them. I like both obvious themes but also ones that you kind of have to guess on what it is...I like figuring things out like a puzzle!

I don't like islands that just have random things placed around (although I'm assuming they're just figuring their island out and that's okay!) and I don't like when islands are completely flat or have a bunch of random tiny cliffs with one or two objects on it. Just not my aesthetic.

 

[--Maya--]

I really love islands that are easy to walk through, and look nice. I also like themed islands.

I don't like cluttered islands or houses with mismatched furniture *cough cough rhonda cough cough* though in some cases it can be nice *cough cough hornsby*

 

[ForbiddenSecrets]

I try not to be judgy. People like different things and I just like visiting and seeing what other people have done. For sure there are ones not my style but I find them interesting all the same.

That said super laggy or very hard to navigate islands will make me leave before exploring everything.

 

[Mairmalade]

I love islands that have a theme or story behind them. I like both obvious themes but also ones that you kind of have to guess on what it is...I like figuring things out like a puzzle!

I don't like islands that just have random things placed around (although I'm assuming they're just figuring their island out and that's okay!) and I don't like when islands are completely flat or have a bunch of random tiny cliffs with one or two objects on it. Just not my aesthetic.

Agreed! I love islands that tell a story about the land and its inhabitants. It makes it so much more exciting to explore, and fun to play.

I like seeing defined neighborhoods, whether residential districts, small themed areas, or unique yards for villagers. Could be foresty, fairycore, cottagecore, or based on real-world places. Seeing how people design with perspective in mind is cool too. For example, including lakes with trees or homes in the background, creating a lookout point with a forest or "fake" neighborhood below, etc. It adds so much depth to an island. I recently watched an island tour that had a portion sectioned off with a water feature and nature in the background. You couldn't physically get there, but there was beauty to admire. Any island that creates stunning photo spots is one I would enjoy visiting! I'm able to travel and go on adventures without actually traveling.

That said, there are design choices I don't like (pastel, kidcore). They're beautiful in their own right, but I don't like the aesthetic.

 

[TheSillyPuppy]

I keep an open mind while visiting dream addresses. If I don't like a particular island, I will simply spend less time exploring it.

Likes:

• Creative use, placement, or combinations of items
• Having featured areas for villagers' "use" or giving each villager a unique yard
• Having a couple of options to decide between which area to visit next

Dislikes:

• Forced perspective
• Long stretches of 1-tile wide paths or areas full of items
• Too much terraforming that is non-functional (i.e. cannot walk through the area)
• Having only one way to get into and out of an area

 

[Your Local Wild Child]

I’m actually fairly lenient on most things (I’d be throwing rocks in a glass house if I criticized hard to navigate islands-just make sure the difficulty makes sense (most of my island is a feral forest)). One thing that I’m not too keen on is smashing so many items together that you cannot interact with anything.

As for what I like, I tend to enjoy more natural, woodsy islands.

 

[eseamir]

I like most islands that I visit and I'm really not too picky because I enjoy seeing the creativity and aesthetics that people put into their individual islands, theres usually always one item or element that I take away as inspiration

that being said, I've left several islands before I finished exploring because they were too confusing to navigate or there were so many items it caused everything to massively lag

 

[SirOctopie]

Things I like: Islands that revolve around a central theme and are pleasant to look at. Islands that are easy to navigate and aren't cluttered to the brim to the point that the game's frames chug like crazy (seriously, how can play with all that lag?) If it has a good aesthetic, I usually like it. Also if they have designs to share at kiosk in the residential services plaza. I love checking those out! <3

Things I don't like: Impossible to navigate islands. Oml these islands are so mainstream on the reddit page for NH. Small cliffs and pockets of water EVERYWHERE. Also massive water features. It all just looks so bizarre... As stated above, extremely cluttered islands drive me insane with all the lag. A shame because they tend to look amazing... That all being said, it *is* their island and they can decorate it however they please.