Thematic Island vs Au-naturel

[sicHighbeams]

I got into an argument with a friend of mine over which of these are better, and so now I’m asking you!

Have you spent HOURS curating your island to fully encompass a specific vision you have?
Do you time travel to get items and villagers you need to accomplish this?

Or do you have flowers wherever they have chosen to populate, trees wherever they want to go, and villagers that are not carefully hand-picked? Just like it used to be in older Animal Crossing

Or maybe a bit of both?

What is your reasoning for where you landed? Pics welcomed

 

[Serabee]

A little bit of a mix of both, I think. I actually spend a lot of time crafting my island and making it perfect, but I also designed it to fit the island map I had (i.e. I did minimal terraforming). My "theme" is also probably best described as retro AC because I try to keep that laidback vibe, even if it's more developed than it was in previous games (kind of "what the towns would've looked like if Nintendo put more effort into them, lol") And, of course I time travel. I ALWAYS TT- it's been a big part of the Animal Crossing for me since the GC version, I was SHOCKED when I found out some people don't! And even more shocked that some people actually judge those who do

But, I HIGHLY disagree with the idea that either approach is better than the other! The point of ACNH is that there are tons of ways to play, and there's literally no "wrong" way

 

[JKDOS]

Maybe a little of both. After giving up on Terraforming, I've settled for a natural looking town minus some added furniture, like streetlights. Of course I still pick which villagers I have, and where their houses go. Since flowers overpopulate on their own, I do have to clean them up.

 

[Chris]

Both. I mostly decorate using carefully placed flowers, trees, and hedges.

 

[Corrie]

Both! I like the natural look that looks clean and organized but not as "man-made." I definitely time travelled because if I didn't, it would've taken forever to accomplish.

 

[Etown20]

I think a mix of both. I have a few developed areas, but I also try to leave grass and natural areas too, even if they are kind of designed too.

 

[moo_nieu]

definitely both. my island is supposed to be mostly natural (i guess the theme would be cedar forest) to resemble the feel of past animal crossing games, but i have paid extreme attention to detail to the location of every weed, mushroom, flower, tree, etc. xD im sure you wouldnt realize this by touring my dream address, but everything is very meticulously placed and terraforming was carefully done to maintain the natural feeling of the map (the river is basically identical to my original map, but ive added some cliffs, ponds, and waterfalls)

 

[xxcodexx]

for now both for me as well. i would Love to have my island all bougie though, but they just dont offer enough cool items in the game to allow me to do that the way that i would like too.
i love both styles though, if someone has a lovely well kept campy sort of island i simply adore it, and if someone has a totally exacted gorgeous uppidy island i love that too.
both styes are awesome...and i do enjoy seeing the creativity that goes with all styles and it doesnt matter if your island is 100% incomplete, or youve got everything scattered everywhere or youve got it all shiny decorated to me.

 

[Bluebellie]

There’s nothing natural about my island. Everything is very planned and constructed.

 

[princess.looking.for.frog]

mine is overrun by flowers-

 

[maria110]

When I started, I liked natural looking islands then I got tired of that, and now I'm terraforming and waterscaping to make the islands. I've been playing for over a year and it's getting boring, so I'll try different things to liven it up. I love the game. Like today, I felt like razing the front of my main island. I was tempted to reset but that player character has nearly all the DIYs and a good catalog and the museum is coming along nicely. So instead of resetting, I razed. In the past, I tried extreme terraforming and hated it and ended up resetting because I'd gotten myself into a bind. But this time, I'm being more realistic.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

Basically, like @Serabee I strongly disagree with the idea that there is one way to play that is objectively better or worse than another. It’s part of the beauty of this game that there is no right or wrong way. I feel the question sets up a false dichotomy, which can make people feel like there is a right and wrong way to play. I think these two alternatives are far from the only ways to play the game and I would guess both represent only a small minority of player experiences.

Having said that, to answer your questions - Like probably the vast majority of players, I am somewhere in the middle. I have spent a lot of time on my island (I’ve played somewhere around 2000 hours and counting). I don’t aggressively terraform, and I don’t have a specific theme for my island, though I enjoy decorating my island a lot. I time travel if and when I want, which for me is not often, because I find it a bit stressful and am not generally in a rush to do or get anything (but totally see how some may not like to wait)I don’t have any rules for myself either for or against time travel. I don’t see time travel as a virtue or a vice, it is just a way to enjoy the game that some people like and some people don’t.

as for the villagers part it seems like this is also something that is purely personal preference. I guess my villagers would be carefully handpicked, because I like to island hop and spend a lot of time looking at villagers and thinking about who I might like to have on my island, even if the criteria is just villagers I think I will like having around. But on the other hand, I personally am not in a rush to get a specific set of 10 villagers, and have enjoyed gradually discovering favorites as I go. I don’t think there is a wrong way to choose villagers, as different people are getting different enjoyment out of them.

I really love this game and consider it my favorite of all time, and I think the openness, freedom, and flexibility (plus my beloved villagers, of course) are a big part of why.