To my fellow indecisive and anxious ACNH fans, how do you stay productive?

[Sid]

I have a bit of a confession: I've been playing ACNH since launch but I've never completed an island. I've tried many, many times but I always give up for a while or restart. Some thought creeps into my head and before long I can't get over it. On my last island it was my orange airport. I had originally considered doing a spring island and I thought I could make it work. But one day I realized orange only makes sense for summer or fall. It's going to look out of place on a spring island.

My other problem... I start projects around the island. Landscaping , decorating, etc... I finish them and like them on their own. But I am terrible at making flow on my island and making everything connect and feel natural. So after many hours of work I broke down and restarted because I was convinced that was the only way I was going to be happy.

So I found my yellow airport that I wanted. Nice RS placement. Ready to start collecting my spring villagers. Then a couple days ago I realize I'm actually kinda feeling autumn farmcore now...



I think this is my rock bottom guys, I need your support.

 

[Croconaw]

I only completed one part of my island, and that was the hockey rink. After that, I didn’t do much in terms of terraforming or design. I’ve always wanted a completely designed island, but I wasn’t sure what else I wanted.

It’s a shame because I loved things about my island. I liked the blue airport. I liked the fact that I managed to acquire all of my dream villagers. I liked the residential area and yards I designed for the villagers. I just couldn’t expand on these ideas.

 

[catwing]

you sound so much like me.. i'm a perfectionist and i'm never ever happy with my island. i got the game on release date, and i've played every day since - the longest i've kept an island must have been for a week? i spend all my time constantly restarting, playing for a day, then restarting again! i constantly want to change my theme, and then realise that my island name doesn't fit (or i think of an even better one) and start all over again. it's exhausting aha

 

[Sid]

you sound so much like me.. i'm a perfectionist and i'm never ever happy with my island. i got the game on release date, and i've played every day since - the longest i've kept an island must have been for a week? i spend all my time constantly restarting, playing for a day, then restarting again! i constantly want to change my theme, and then realise that my island name doesn't fit (or i think of an even better one) and start all over again. it's exhausting aha

wow , you are like me! Poor you lol.

All through last winter all I wanted was springcore but now I've wasted so much time with it I'm burned out I guess. Farmcore is something I've never attempted. And Roscoe fits well into that theme, which is a major plus.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I said this is in a different thread so I'm going to say it here. Ever since when people started sharing how cool their islands are on Social Media I feel like this has led to people feel peer pressured to make their islands perfect like theirs. Like I have nothing against the people who post how their islands look but Its creating this trend where people have to try so hard to make their islands perfect.

Let me just say this, I feel like sometimes people take designing way too seriously with their islands which is one of the reasons I've seen people get so mad and frustrated with the game. I mostly blame Social Media for trying to compare who has the better island. The reality is there is no such thing as a "perfect island" your island can be just as good as long as "you" are happy with it. You don't need to let people tell you otherwise. I know from experience what it feels like to feel "pressured" to have a great looking island, but at the end of the day, just make what stands out to you.

 

[WaileaNoRei]

I said this is in a different thread so I'm going to say it here. Ever since when people started sharing how cool their islands are on Social Media I feel like this has led to people feel peer pressured to make their islands perfect like theirs. Like I have nothing against the people who post how their islands look but Its creating this trend where people have to try so hard to make their islands perfect.

Let me just say this, I feel like sometimes people take designing way too seriously with their islands which is one of the reasons I've seen people get so mad and frustrated with the game. I mostly blame Social Media for trying to compare who has the better island. The reality is there is no such thing as a "perfect island" your island can be just as good as long as "you" are happy with it. You don't need to let people tell you otherwise. I know from experience what it feels like to feel "pressured" to have a great looking island, but at the end of the day, just make what stands out to you.

Could not agree more with this.

I’d add that though it may not seem like it if you are looking at social media - I think these x-“core” theme islands, where you ‘finish’ successive islands represent a very specific and narrow game play style, which a majority of players probably do not follow. It puts a lot of pressure on the island decoration that is guided by a hypothetical external audience. For some people that is fun, but it is definitely not for everyone! It’s your game, and the ultimate point should be for it to make you happy.

I’d recommend just living with your island as it is for a bit. See what parts of it you like, and get inspired by how you want it to look in the moment. If you can’t stick to a strict seasonal theme, make a section for every season. Maybe you’ll like it like that, maybe you won’t.

There’s no actual end of the game, so you don’t have to think of it as trying to ‘finish’ - think of it as ‘for now’ or ‘playing the game’

If you look at the island journals in here, you also can see some really fun different approaches to island design and gameplay - some design heavy, some not.

Finally, I’d just say, if you find the whole ‘blank slate’ that seems to be popular online intimidating…I recommend not flattening your island. I know that is popular, but it feels like it would really put a lot of pressure on the whole terraforming process which it sounds like you are not enjoying.

 

[-Blue-]

I said this is in a different thread so I'm going to say it here. Ever since when people started sharing how cool their islands are on Social Media I feel like this has led to people feel peer pressured to make their islands perfect like theirs. Like I have nothing against the people who post how their islands look but Its creating this trend where people have to try so hard to make their islands perfect.

Let me just say this, I feel like sometimes people take designing way too seriously with their islands which is one of the reasons I've seen people get so mad and frustrated with the game. I mostly blame Social Media for trying to compare who has the better island. The reality is there is no such thing as a "perfect island" your island can be just as good as long as "you" are happy with it. You don't need to let people tell you otherwise. I know from experience what it feels like to feel "pressured" to have a great looking island, but at the end of the day, just make what stands out to you.

Yeah launch year or rather the first few months was just gross with how much of a rat-race everyone made it out to be. It was a race to get your island a certain way, a race to catch all the bugs/fish that month, and so on. It was really a 180 turn to how Animal Crossing was played by the majority and social media definitely played a huge factor in it. It wasn't until the Switch that people could easily share screenshots and videos of their games/NH.

I wasn't really overwhelmed by it, but just simply going onto media sites that I followed at the time and seeing nothing but NH and how the majority were making it out to be a race and their job was kind of off-putting to me.

I barely touched designing and terraforming until way after the final update when mostly everything came back. Every now and then I will come up with a small idea to implement onto my island. It's by no means complete and the top half is still a void, but I don't care. I do it at my own pace and enjoy it. If you're not having fun, why bother?

Ultimately it's up to you how you want to play the game. Don't let others dictate and gatekeep how you can play or can't play NH. Play it the way you want and have fun.

 

[Bluebellie]

It’s never rock bottom, my advice is to just keep trying until something sticks. I’ve never actually reset, because I made sure to pick the layout, colors and fruit well before I started the game ( I had a whole year to plan). However everything else is up for changing all the time. Sometime I think and area is complete, then I build another one, then come back to the last one and start all over. When I first started I thought I wanted all my villagers next to the airport. I built their neighborhood. After a while I decided maybe I want them all the way on the back of the map, so I moved them all. Then I decided maybe I want some scattered, so I kept moving them.

Same with villagers. I was moving them all in and out until I finally found the 10 I thought were for sure. Then I decided I needed them all in order so I had to move them all out and back on in order. I’m still not even sure that’s the order I want. I redo a villager house, and if it comes out great, it has me doubting the previous ones aren’t good enough. I know for sure I’ll probably never be done decorating, but there are areas where I think for sure they are compete. These areas have been remodeled many times and it gets to a point where eventually they just stick. I recommend to instead of restarting, change some areas around.

 

[-Mars-]

People above have some really good advice
For me I've never actually "completed" an island but I've never reset before either, I really like re-decorating whenever so nothing ever gets "completed" as others already said it's social media's fault for making people feel like their island needs to be "perfect" when your island is already "perfect" as long as your happy with it there's no real definition of a perfect island
if you'd like ideas for your island there's no stopping you from looking at social media but try and stay away from it if it's making you feel like your island isn't good enough, this game is just suppose to be for fun, nobody should ever feel obligated to make their island like how social media depicts them, there isn't any time limits of how fast or when your island needs to be done(if ever) I know people like feeling like they've gotten progress on their island but everything takes time so I think it would be best to follow what others have already said and remember it's just for fun to relax so take your time and remember whatever you do with your island if your happy with it that's all that matters you don't need validation from others.

 

[moon_child]

I do reset a lot myself but it’s not because of indecisiveness or other reasons. In fact, it’s because the part of the game I enjoy the most is the beginning of the game. I’m not much into decorating. I just like playing the life sim part of the game more and I feel like the moment KK visits, that takes a huge step back and the focus of the game shifts to decorating. Plus the horrible in game music starts. This is why I reset a lot. I’m waiting to get a new charger for my 3DS and I’ll just go back to primarily playing New Leaf as I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere there more. And the music!

 

[kemdi]

Could not agree more with this.

I’d add that though it may not seem like it if you are looking at social media - I think these x-“core” theme islands, where you ‘finish’ successive islands represent a very specific and narrow game play style, which a majority of players probably do not follow. It puts a lot of pressure on the island decoration that is guided by a hypothetical external audience. For some people that is fun, but it is definitely not for everyone! It’s your game, and the ultimate point should be for it to make you happy.

I’d recommend just living with your island as it is for a bit. See what parts of it you like, and get inspired by how you want it to look in the moment. If you can’t stick to a strict seasonal theme, make a section for every season. Maybe you’ll like it like that, maybe you won’t.

There’s no actual end of the game, so you don’t have to think of it as trying to ‘finish’ - think of it as ‘for now’ or ‘playing the game’

If you look at the island journals in here, you also can see some really fun different approaches to island design and gameplay - some design heavy, some not.

Finally, I’d just say, if you find the whole ‘blank slate’ that seems to be popular online intimidating…I recommend not flattening your island. I know that is popular, but it feels like it would really put a lot of pressure on the whole terraforming process which it sounds like you are not enjoying.

This so much. I used to try and get a lot of inspiration from those perfect islands you see all over social media until I noticed that they were all doing the same things, had the same looks, the same villagers, etc. It honestly left a pretty bad taste for me, and is also the reason why I can't stand the whole "cottage-core" aesthetic with islands, because for a while that was all I saw. I mean, they're great for people who like them, but not for me. I had to tune out from all of those and just start playing. I stopped TTing because it was starting to make me anxious. I started enjoying my island and the villagers I had, and changed it little by little according to what I wanted, and not following social media trends. My island is the same one I got on launch day, but it finally became mine.

 

[Wickel]

The beauty of ACNH is that you don't have to settle for one type of island. In spring, my island becomes more colourful and spring-like. In autumn I bust out all the autumn seasonal DIYs. Winter comes around? Tear down that outdoor pool and plop a giant light-up christmas tree in its place. The island is ever-changing: someone new moves in? Now I have to give them a nice garden that fits their theme and move their house somewhere where it matches their personality. I get a cool, new DIY? Well now I have to craft it and put it somewhere where it can shine.

In other words, my island will never be finished. I can never settle for one theme. And there's no need to do that either. Just do what you want when you want to do it. I would be super bored if I decided my island was "done" and from that point on it'd just be super static. Instead, I break down bits and pieces when I feel like it and redecorate some other way, otherwise the game would just become boring with nothing to do.

Yes, half of my island is still completely in shambles and I've had this island since launch day. I don't care, it's my island. Nobody will see it or judge me, the villagers are happy. I'm just slowly bringing everything together the way I like it. It has no core theme. I'd also be unhappy and anxious if I had to chase something perfect all the time...

Sidenote: the airport colour... who cares. You don't see your airport 99% of the time so it really shouldn't affect your island at all?

 

[Sid]

Sidenote: the airport colour... who cares. You don't see your airport 99% of the time so it really shouldn't affect your island at all?

I know it's not a huge deal, but I see mine quite often because I visit friends so much. And when friends come to mine I want it to be the best expression of me and my island.

thanks everyone for the awesome feedback. I already knew in my heart what you guys were saying is right. I still want to follow through with some ideas I have, but I think I'm going to go back to being more organic with things and taking a chill pill.

 

[Wickel]

I know it's not a huge deal, but I see mine quite often because I visit friends so much. And when friends come to mine I want it to be the best expression of me and my island.

thanks everyone for the awesome feedback. I already knew in my heart what you guys were saying is right. I still want to follow through with some ideas I have, but I think I'm going to go back to being more organic with things and taking a chill pill.

I understand, but to be fair they're 4 very generic colours. I'm having a hard time seeing how they would represent anyone's personality . I don't think I even notice the airport colour when I go to visit someone, I just run off to their actual island.
But if it makes you feel any better, I think yellow is still a very good colour for autumn? Yellow/orange/red are the autumnal colours in my mind.

My advice would be to just stick with an island for a little while. The longer you have it, the less likely you'll probably feel like resetting because you get more attached and build-up a bigger catalog, museum etc. If you keep resetting than I see why it's easy to reset again and again and again.

 

[Sid]

I understand, but to be fair they're 4 very generic colours. I'm having a hard time seeing how they would represent anyone's personality . I don't think I even notice the airport colour when I go to visit someone, I just run off to their actual island.
But if it makes you feel any better, I think yellow is still a very good colour for autumn? Yellow/orange/red are the autumnal colours in my mind.

My advice would be to just stick with an island for a little while. The longer you have it, the less likely you'll probably feel like resetting because you get more attached and build-up a bigger catalog, museum etc. If you keep resetting than I see why it's easy to reset again and again and again.

I get very caught up with airport colors don't I?

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm gonna forget about making a big huge extraordinary island and just go with the flow and create something simple.

 

[QueenCobra]

I like designing, but my main thing has been completing the museum. It's been a goal of mine, yes, even completing the art gallery. But you can't have a good game without a conflict. (Thanks, Redd!)
I also like talking to the villagers, even though they have typical NPC responses. They're pretty funny, and I like overhearing their goofy arguments. The game makes you a therapist, fisher/bug-catcher, paleontologist, civic leader, curator, designer, gardener-- all at once!

 

[VanitasFan26]

I know it's not a huge deal, but I see mine quite often because I visit friends so much. And when friends come to mine I want it to be the best expression of me and my island.

thanks everyone for the awesome feedback. I already knew in my heart what you guys were saying is right. I still want to follow through with some ideas I have, but I think I'm going to go back to being more organic with things and taking a chill pill.

Take it from me as someone who has spent like over 4,000 hours on this game. Do not force yourself to play it just because you have to. Like others have said, learn to know when to take a break when you feel like you're overplaying this game so much. I used to do that last year and it really affected my mental health. Since I have a 2nd switch I can always restart and pick out whatever map layout I want. I am not sure if you are thinking of restarting but if you do, you still have all the skills learned from when you first started out playing the game and you start to do things differently that you would not even think of doing the first time.

I would just take a step at a time. There is no need to rush through stuff quickly. Animal Crossing is a game that is meant to be a chill experience and it was not meant to be like some sort of design completion, since I've seen people compare their islands so often and they always get depressed whenever their island is not good enough. You make whatever stands out to you and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Play how you see fit and if you find yourself getting bored with the game again, then take a break or play other games. Thats what I do whenever I feel burned out with New Horizons.

 

[dizzy bone]

The thing always puzzled me about the latest update was why they didn't add the option to customise exteriors of public buildings, especially since it's such a design heavy game. And with the ability to recolour items whenever we want, colour-locked items to airport colours, etc. are a thing of the past. So, I kind of understand when someone envisions a certain theme but feel like they can't execute it properly because of something as simple as the "wrong airport colour". There'd be a lot of times I'd think that an area would be perfect if I could just change the colours of Nook's Cranny. But personally, this stuff never bothered me to the point of resetting, maybe because I've always been content with my usual city-vibe that I've stuck with this whole time and the things that are out of my control don't affect my island vision. I also don't feel affected by social media - I don't mind taking inspiration from different islands and I don't feel pressured to do things a certain way. My play style up until now revolved around me trying to create a chill island for my original villagers (only changed 3 villagers since I made my island on launch day), working around their weirdly designed houses and colour schemes... it was a fun challenge for me to "work with what I have" and make the best of it. Of course, things became so much easier with the 2.0 update and I was finally able to complete an island I was super happy with for my little original island family.

I guess what I'm saying is maybe try to focus on something you can control rather than what you can't. The customisation options in this game are huge. A lot of autumn islands probably have a similar colour scheme, so why not try an autumn island with some yellows to match your airport? (if cohesiveness, airport included, is important to you) Even if it's not typically an autumn colour, it would surely make for an interesting spot colour. Keeping your mind open to things and being flexible is probably the key to ~island longevity~ as well as patience to keep trying out different pathways and solutions to find a good flow. I like problem solving and I find a lot of satisfaction in that moment when I think "wow, I finally got it to work!", so this aspect of the game makes things interesting for me.

Also it's completely fine to keep restarting. If you're still playing ACNH after doing all that all over again, at least you're still playing and trying out new things right? :'D

 

[Sid]

The thing always puzzled me about the latest update was why they didn't add the option to customise exteriors of public buildings, especially since it's such a design heavy game. And with the ability to recolour items whenever we want, colour-locked items to airport colours, etc. are a thing of the past. So, I kind of understand when someone envisions a certain theme but feel like they can't execute it properly because of something as simple as the "wrong airport colour". There'd be a lot of times I'd think that an area would be perfect if I could just change the colours of Nook's Cranny. But personally, this stuff never bothered me to the point of resetting, maybe because I've always been content with my usual city-vibe that I've stuck with this whole time and the things that are out of my control don't affect my island vision. I also don't feel affected by social media - I don't mind taking inspiration from different islands and I don't feel pressured to do things a certain way. My play style up until now revolved around me trying to create a chill island for my original villagers (only changed 3 villagers since I made my island on launch day), working around their weirdly designed houses and colour schemes... it was a fun challenge for me to "work with what I have" and make the best of it. Of course, things became so much easier with the 2.0 update and I was finally able to complete an island I was super happy with for my little original island family.

I guess what I'm saying is maybe try to focus on something you can control rather than what you can't. The customisation options in this game are huge. A lot of autumn islands probably have a similar colour scheme, so why not try an autumn island with some yellows to match your airport? (if cohesiveness, airport included, is important to you) Even if it's not typically an autumn colour, it would surely make for an interesting spot colour. Keeping your mind open to things and being flexible is probably the key to ~island longevity~ as well as patience to keep trying out different pathways and solutions to find a good flow. I like problem solving and I find a lot of satisfaction in that moment when I think "wow, I finally got it to work!", so this aspect of the game makes things interesting for me.

Also it's completely fine to keep restarting. If you're still playing ACNH after doing all that all over again, at least you're still playing and trying out new things right? :'D

Thank you! I think fall themed with yellow would be nice. I would be excited to see your island and villagers , when you said you've only switched three since launch that really interested me.

 

[Sheep Villager]

I personally started enjoying making builds again by completely ditching any solid island theme plans I had and just building what I want, where I want. At first I felt like I was doing something wrong and just making a mess, but the more I've built the more I think my island is the best it's ever been. Maybe my mishmash of surreal horror + carnival + abandoned city isn't the most cohesive thing ever, but it makes me happy to be able to fit all my aesthetics on one island.

If you feel like you're constantly wanting to swap between themes maybe you could also have a "multi theme" island. Make the yellow air port area in to a spring build and then do the fall stuff you want to do somewhere else on your island. In the case of you ending up not liking the results you can just bulldoze it down, it's not permanent... and hey, if you do later decide you want that red airport then you can always screenshot the areas you like and rebuild them.

Regarding island flow, that is something I do struggle with a bit. I've decided it's something I'll handle once I'm out of building space. Just do some tweaks to my builds to connect them together a bit better, maybe work on the small transition areas.