My Personal Opinion of Happy Home Designer

[ComradeSch]

Now, seeing as I'm a huge Animal Crossing fan, I decided to pick up Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, and seeing as everyone I know on Tumblr loves it to death, I decided to give it a chance.

Personally, I don't like it very much at all. In my opinion, the game doesn't reflect what an Animal Crossing game should be. It feels almost like it was a totally different game with Animal Crossing characters slapped onto it, with some ACNL features. Things that are intrinsically Animal Crossing, such as fishing, catching bugs, digging for fossils, filling the museum, and working on making your home nicer, aren't possible in this game.

There is also absolutely nothing related to money in the game- There's no buying and selling, and every item you use in the game is given for free. Expanding animal's homes is free. Building local businesses and structures is also free. And you only have to design one thing before the game decides you're done for that in-game day (Yes, they deleted the day-night cycle too).

But some things I just couldn't take seriously? For one, build a hospital, and I swear on Resetti's mother's grave, the place will instantly fill with patients, as if there was an anthrax attack on the town that somehow got missed. That, and when I built a department store and put a "furniture exhibit" where a restaurant was supposed to be, they still had the restaurant dialogue.

Overall, this game gets a rather substantial seal of disapproval from me. Feel free to discuss or debate this at your own leisure below.

 

[fink]

the game doesn't reflect what an Animal Crossing game should be.

It was announced as an Animal Crossing Spin off. Spin offs are not meant in any way to redo the original idea, spin off literally is defined as a type of corporate transaction forming a new company or entity. I think you had a completely wrong idea in your mind whenever you purchased this game.

Imagine they made a harvest moon themed cooking game and titled it Harvest Moon: Cooking Master or whatever. I would expect that game to be about cooking and would do research before buying it because I'm not interested in cooking games but I am interested in Harvest Moon. The same could have been done with this title.

 

[Hirisa]

Hm, I disagree. I entered into the game with low expectations, completely aware that it wasn't going to be a regular AC game, and was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying more than I had expected to. The game lies at the murky intersection of a game (directive, rule and goal oriented, "beat"able) and a toy (self-determining, creative, non-linear) and I appreciate being able to play in that gray area. That said, if you don't loooove interior decorating, there is less to recommend.

Things that I love: It strikes a good balance between creative and restrictive play. While ultimately I can design any kind of environment that I can imagine, at first I am constrained by lack of resources. But instead of cramping my "vision," I am forced to either come to a creative compromise using what I have(that can actually lead to whole new avenues of inspiration) or I can admit defeat and abandon the client. And at no point am I punished for these choices.

The item-villager interactivity adds a much needed dimension to the somewhat diluted ACNL personalities. I love that villagers cook when you put a stove in their house, or bust out a tambourine when they listen to music. The ability to clothe and accessorize them adds even more customization and expression.

The mechanics of decorating is more fluid, and makes better use of the DS. The ability to customize windows, doors and the addition of ceiling decor makes interior design even more rewarding and challenging. Again though, if you're not keen on decorating, these points will not change your mind.

I've also noticed that my affection for a wider range of villagers has increased in HHD. Instead of seeing the 400+ cast of villagers through a boring, binary lens of "dreamy" or "tier rock bottom" I find myself anticipating a wide range of characters, in hopes of uncovering more unique design requests.

Also, they didn't do away with the day-night cycle. They changed the implementation of it. At the end of your work day, it becomes night, and you can then visit villagers and facilities. The next day rolls in when you punch the clock and "go home." I will concede that they could have developed the "downtime" aspect of the game a little more fully, maybe through added minigames etc.

The lack of any explicit exchange of currency for services isn't really a drawback for me. Game mechanics are always symbolic abstractions of world interactions, so it's not difficult for me to imagine that Lottie handles payment and resource acquisition during the initial consultation. Maybe it's just me. Dunno.

Ultimately I think the success or failure of the game will depend on 1) how clear you are about your expectations of a spinoff, and 2) which qualities you valued most about the original and how OK you will be with the absence/modification of those qualities in a spinoff. Sorry you didn't like the game, but me? I have an appointment with Cally to create her dream laundromat.

Which reminds me: another thing I love about the game is the resolute eccentricity of some of the design demands. It injects the game with a ton of personality and reveals a sly sense of humor that I think was missing from ACNL.

Things I don't love: Agree 100% that dialogue could have been less general and more reflective of the specific features of what you built. And yeah, after decorating so many great houses, and with so many new design elements, it would have been hella sweet to go home and decorate my own house!

Hopefully since they are using telemetry this time around, they will take note of the various features and how they are succeeding/failing, and fine tune them for the next installation.