Perfect town obsession?

[M_Rat]

Why does it seem so many people seem obsessed with getting their 'perfect' town, with the exact villagers they want, exact layout, right fruits, right colour buildings, etc?

I have never reset in an AC game, I just go with what I'm given. A town is a town, not my personal perfection project. I want to feel like my town could be real, and that means I go with the flow, because the town would, IRL, exist before my character. So, can someone please explain to me, what is the appeal of the 'perfect' town obsession, because I just can't compute it.

 

[AppleBitterCrumble]

I guess it has to do with creator preference and the creativity aspect. For me, I always go into AC with a general theme I want to stick to, so for this game I wanted a map with a south and east river outlet, my res center in the middle-ish, any fruit except for oranges and pears, and I didn't really care much for the color of my airport.

I think people just like to have control over aspects of the game, because to me at least this is my creative outlet compared to drawing/singing/painting/etc.

 

[Vintage Viola]

Some people already planned in their heads what they want, how they want it, and who they want living there and are just trying to bring that to fruition. That’s it. Some people have that type goal in mind, and others don’t.

 

[Khaelis]

Because it gives us a goal to achieve, basically and end-game. Going for the perfect town gives us a reason to be as creative as possible.

 

[momayo]

If you could turn it into a town that you like, why not?

 

[Fey]

A town is a town, not my personal perfection project. I want to feel like my town could be real, and that means I go with the flow, because the town would, IRL, exist before my character. So, can someone please explain to me, what is the appeal of the 'perfect' town obsession, because I just can't compute it.

Simple. People play AC for a few different reasons, one of those being as a creative outlet. Having a vision for your town, building toward that and seeing it completed is extremely satisfying, and adds to my experience and attachment significantly. I like going with the flow or being inspired by what I am given to some extent, but certain features are just required for my long term plans.

Calling it an obsession is wrong imo, unless any plan you’re working toward is one ;ェ;

 

[M_Rat]

If you could turn it into a town that you like, why not?

I'm not fussy when it comes to towns though. Obviously I do have some sort of a preference, I have to pick 1 of the 4 I'm shown. But, outside that, I'm not really fussed, and probably won't terraform much.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Simple. People play AC for a few different reasons, one of those being as a creative outlet. Having a vision for your town, building toward that and seeing it completed is extremely satisfying, and adds to my experience and attachment significantly. I like going with the flow or being inspired by what I am given to some extent, but certain features are just required for my long term plans.

Calling it an obsession is wrong imo, unless any plan you’re working toward is one ;ェ;

Well, when I say obsession, I mean people who reset 50 times to get that 1 villager type obsession.

 

[Romaki]

Because different people enjoy the game differently. I'll make my island suitable to what I find either good looking or practical. I'm already planning to reroute a river because it's taking away too much space on the other side for example.

 

[Xara]

i guess it’s because people want to love their islands as much as they can and that includes having certain villagers/plants/etc lol

 

[ScaryGhosts]

Basically what everyone else said. Animal crossing alows for a ton of different play styles and i think that’s wonderful. I like having villiagers that put a smile on my face and i like having my town exactly how i want it. I dont think theres a right or wrong way to play the game, and if people enjoy it then they’re definitely playing it right.

 

[Rosewater]

I can see where you're coming from as someone who started out with GC. This was what bothered me with New Leaf when it was released. It no longer felt chill like the previous AC games but you know what, I ended up falling under the same spell as almost everyone else.
It's a creative outlet and gives a rewarding, satisfactory feeling when you're finished with a project that you envisioned. People love aesthetics, especially nowadays and adding their own personal flair to things - absolutely nothing wrong with that. Seeing all your ideas finished and coming together to make the final picture is a really accomplished feeling at the end of it all.

With internet connectivity and town visiting, it's very interesting seeing other peoples towns too that they worked really hard on. On that note, it's also a matter of the franchise starting out as it did and taking a totally different direction since then to appeal to today's market. There's more of a demand for sandbox type games than ever, especially compared to 20 years ago. People just simply wanna do their own thang, have more liberties, and more things to do.

 

[meo]

It comes down to what gives you enjoyment with the game. None of those aspects may appeal to you or affect how you enjoy the game. However, for others, getting those things makes them enjoy their game more. Not really much else to say.

I'll say I wasn't really fussed with an airport color/building because I know that building appearances and additional unlocks would come similar to town hall/station updates in New Leaf. However, I did reset for a specific fruit and for no reason other than I like that fruit and I wanted it to be my "native" passport one. If it makes me happier playing then objective achieved.

 

[Kurashiki]

it just depends on what you enjoy! some ppl are gonna want animal crossing as a 20 minute/day relaxing break kind of thing, other ppl like grinding for hours. personally i have a pretty obsessive personality, spending 100s of hours getting everything exactly right is genuinely fun for me, but it would drive others crazy - we are all different!

 

[tajikey]

I didn't reset, and got the worst of all the starting things. Other than the airport color, I'll get what I want, including villagers. I love this game because I can make it whatever the heck I want.

 

[SaltedKaramel]

Well, when I say obsession, I mean people who reset 50 times to get that 1 villager type obsession.

To be fair, there are almost 400 villagers available in the game. Getting the one you want can take an extremely long time for some people, especially if they don't have a lot of currency for the popular ones or amiibos that they can scan in. New Horizon's is still new, but if villager trading is as intense as the early days of New Leaf, then resetting multiple times can actually pay off

 

[rezberri]

idk when im planning on sticking with a save file for literal years then i kinda want to have the best start i can and id be willing to reset multiple times for that. its not really an obsession, just a want/need to get the best start possible for something that ur sticking with for the long haul. and people have been like that with animal crossing games for a while. i think things like map resetting, plot resetting, etc. all started to gain traction with new leaf because we had more control over our town. and when u give people more freedom to do what they want creatively, they're gonna try to make their visions come to life. getting the best map u can at the start helps with that.