What’s Your Thoughts On Gatekeeping?

[Raz]

Time travel

Time travel, often shortened to "TT", is when the player manually changes the time of their game to benefit from seasonal events, bugs, fish, moving villagers out, moving villagers in, upgrading shops, progressing story, etc, in their Animal Crossing series games. It is also used to manipulate...

animalcrossing.fandom.com

Like I said, we used to have a phone in our house where we could call and change the time inside the game while your save file was already loaded.

I guess the mechanic is more about changing your timezone, but it is still technically considered time traveling.

Both Wild World and New Leaf added the possibility to change the in-game clock without the need to change the system's clock for two reasons: they're on portable platforms, so they expected people to travel between places with different timezones (as you stated), so that makes it easier for people to play synced with the timezones they're in. Also, and probably more important than that, it was implemented as a way for people to be able to adjust the game's clock to account for Daylight Savings Time without spoiling turnips and other things (this is clear in NL, for example, as you can do that when you load your game and talk to Isabelle).

But it was never there as an intended game mechanic. The devs later on added dialogs joking about TTing because the players would still do that and for the devs, it wasn't a problem at all, and this is why they never prohibited TTing even if they could do it if they really wanted to.

I have no problems with people who TT, the same way I never had a problem with people using the Konami code to beat Contra back in the day. I just call it what it is, a cheat, or in AC's case, an exploit (would be the correct term).

There's a lot of ways to exploit games, and AC has it's fair share of exploits, like TTing and duping items. The problem I have is when people abuse these exploits to harm the community and it's players (often by scamming, as I don't think making more items available on the market is a bad thing, as it makes items more affordable since the supply gets higher than the demand).

 

[mayortiffany]

It's frustrating to me when people say that new players don't understand how the community works or are introducing new playstyles that go 'against the spirit' of the community. I for one, am pleased that so many people are enjoying Animal Crossing and hope that increased demand will show Nintendo just how much this game means to so much of us, and perhaps encourage them to develop the game in new ways and release new merchandise. It is only natural for communities change and evolve over time.

Hot take, but maybe it's not that new players don't understand the Animal Crossing community. Maybe it's that we veterans don't understand that it is changing.

 

[N a t]

Spoiler: Been holding this in for a little while now

I don't like any form of "gatekeeping". I want people to be able to do what makes them happy without unnecessary judgment or ridicule, as long as you're not hurting anyone else and hopefully not yourself either, do what makes you happy.

This is so far the best community I've been a part of when it comes to the animal crossing Fandom but it does indeed feel different from when I was active here back during the New Leaf years. I feel like both old players and new players are so vocal about this game right now and sometimes as much as I like coming here, I still find myself uncomfortable because there is more hostility now then there was back when I started here years ago (unless I just never noticed it back then).

I'm a sensitive person in general and I also have anxiety issues. I get carried away with my emotions on occasion although I typically keep my issues to myself because I hate confrontation and don't wanna cause trouble.

Sometimes though, coming here still doesn't feel as nice as it used to. Even some of the "nicer" opinions that people have on here today hurt my feelings, and it takes time for me to forget about the things that other players have to say about play styles that I would consider similar to my own. I'm just trying to be happy, and I know that it's an opinion and not an attack on me or how I play my game but my brain perceives it in a negative way because the things that used to be treated so normally by almost everyone here, aren't treated that way anymore, from my perspective at least. Some people have changed over time (so have I), and there are new people here too, and things that were rarely or never fought about are a very big deal now. Unlike before, I actually feel like I have to be careful about what I say and do now.

Maybe the internet isn't a safe place for someone like me. I'm trying to stay positive though because I wouldn't have as many nice things in my game if I didn't have an online community to help me, many of the people here are amazing, and I really like what this game does for my mental health. I definitely want to stay here for many years to come but either I've gotta toughen up or the community needs to soften up a little bit more. Please feel free to comment. I wrote a lot and may have said something confusing or contradictory, and if I said anything somehow offensive I apologize. I have many feelings right now and just wanna vent I think.

TLDR; The overall feeling of the site has changed for me and I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it yet. Feel free to read my essay if you'd like.
(I started halfway through the New Leaf Era, for reference.)

 

[moonchu]

as many have said, we are receiving an influx of new players who are entering the community heated and fired up. that being said, i've seen just as many long time fans of the game being averse to nintendo's 'new' approach with content updates and patches etc.

you know i guess that's just life - people will always have strong opinions about stuff that other people are doing, regardless of whether or not it's affecting them. i just think it's pretty funny when it comes to a nice game where we're just tryna be best friends with animals on an island. all of my friends tout that ac has a 'wholesome' community and that's also funny to me, because i've been seeing a lot less of that lately. not to say that it doesn't exist - especially on here, i like our community. it's just a little weird rn.

animal crossing, along with this forum, helped me through a really bad part of my life. just can't wait till the forums get back to that point lol like even this post i'm kinda worried someone's gonna take the wrong way and be upset about it? so idk. anyways.

 

[starlightsong]

Well, I think people gatekeeping what villagers someone wants is ridiculous and I absolutely hate what I keep seeing both here and on other sites where people call you boring if you want Raymond because he's just sooo bland and the worst like it's cool to hate him, which is something I feel like I used to see with NL and Marshal years ago but I thought it stopped and I'm really surprised it's resurfacing. I hate that I see some people get treated like they aren't real fans because they started with NL or even NH. And I hate the fact that so many people insult others for TTing and say you're a cheater, a bad person, not a real fan and such when the devs don't even consider it cheating themselves and there are now less consequences for it than ever?? (ETA: Just wanna add, if you really truly feel that TTing is wrong and/or cheating then go ahead and think that, I'm more talking about people who are hostile and insulting to TTers over it. Which is something I rarely if ever saw when NL was still the newest game!) And all the people arguing and being super hostile if someone has different opinions on NH than them, like, it wasn't on this site but I got called stupid for being upset that classic furniture sets aren't in the game because "NH is a new game, it doesn't have to have all the old stuff!!" when I didn't say it did have to. And in general I feel like the entire AC community is more hostile lately, not just here but on twitter and reddit and other places.

It's really frustrating and I feel like most, but definitely not all of it, is coming from new players even though I've also interacted with new players who have been really sweet! I guess it just seems that everyone, even series veterans, is just extra on-edge right now due to the current state of the world lol. I know I've been reacting way more harshly in my head than I should to some of the things I see people say. I think things I would never actually say and know that I probably shouldn't be thinking. I hope soon things will settle down a bit and people will start remembering that anyone can play however they want as long as they're not hurting anyone, and that it's okay to be bothered by something in the game (or by something that isn't in the game) while still enjoying it. I used to have a lot more fun on here in the days when NL was still super popular and I'd love to go back to that.

 

[Red Cat]

Animal Crossing wasn't a competitive game at all when it was released on the Gamecube. You could literally enter cheat codes in-game to get free items and no one cared because the game was basically about running around your town doing whatever you want.

As online play in AC has expanded and more customization options have become available over the years, the game has taken more of a competitive tone as people try to 1-up each other to have the "best" town as quickly as possible. It seems like trading used to be pretty simple as people would give something someone else wants for something in return, but now people are constantly worrying about the AC "economy" and how the value of things fluctuates from day to day because AC has kind of devolved into an arms race for dreamies, items, IGB, etc. This is why people get upset over others TTing, duping, etc. because they believe these things give people an unfair "edge" in a competitive marketplace. I don't care what other people do on their islands because at the end of the day, I'm going to do my own thing on my island and I don't give a **** about what other people think about my island or my villagers or how my island stacks up compared to others. My island is for my enjoyment and I don't have any problem with other people doing what makes them happy whether that involves TTing, duping, hacking, etc. If I wanted to compete with other people, I'd play literally any other video game besides AC.

 

[Raz]

@Red Cat

Just wanted to point out that those codes in ACGC weren't cheat codes. They were released on AC's website and we're intended to be used that way to distribute items when it wasn't feasible to do that without internet access (like they did with more recent iterations of the game).

 

[ProbablyNotJosuke]

Gatekeeping sucks, like if anyone gatekeeps what’s their problem man? You don’t have to play every Animal Crossing game to be a fan of the franchise, and if anything gatekeeping just drives away new fans

 

[moonolotl]

People can have whatever opinion they want on time travelling but as soon as they either insult people or belittle their hard work because they TT then i absolutely can't stand it

 

[Llunavale]

Conflicting opinions and conflicts of interest aren't really new or exclusive to New Horizons, I remember the same faff with New Leaf (especially when everyone jumped on the villager tier / ranking "system" and hacking their towns using save editors - some of the absolute worst I've ever seen the community, even on this forum which has a reputation of being one of the nicest communities).

It happens, is my point. You'll always have people fighting for what they think is the right way to play, or whatever, it's just how it is. Loads of games have this problem, it's just "surprising" with Animal Crossing because of the kind of game it is. Ignore it and move on, no point taking it to heart and contributing to it.

 

[Aleigh]

Anyway, if you don't think pears are the worst fruit, you're a fake fan and doing AC all wrong /s

Okay oranges are the worst, but pears are a very close second to worst, and I was PISSED when I got them as my native fruit. I wanted apples.

 

[Hesper]

Okay oranges are the worst, but pears are a very close second to worst, and I was PISSED when I got them as my native fruit. I wanted apples.

oranges are great!! i'm combining them with apples for my town bc some scholars think the mythical garden of the Hesperides' "golden apples" actually referred to citruses due to their rarity at the time. c: i just spent an hour uprooting all the other foreign fruits besides coconuts that i had.

welp i guess we have to fight about this now

 

[Aleigh]

oranges are great!! i'm combining them with apples for my town bc some scholars think the mythical garden of the Hesperides' "golden apples" actually referred to citruses due to their rarity at the time. c: i just spent an hour uprooting all the other foreign fruits besides coconuts that i had.

welp i guess we have to fight about this now

guess so

 

[Zura]

Idk about you personally but there's a lot of people out there and even here that argue others are gatekeeping while gatekeeping opinions themselves. If you even utter a word that can be seen as negative to the TT community you'll get blasted for it. I don't understand how a group of people that constantly preaches opinions and different playstyles can be so hostile towards opposing mindsets. Not all of them of course but the loudest of groups often seem to be the worst ones.

 

[thatveryawkwardmayor]

something thats kinda ironic that i see on this forum is that a lot of people are really averse to conflicting opinions. anytime you disagree with something or someone the conversation turns to “lets stop fighting let people play how they want uwu” which is like mad annoying because thats a given?? its like gatekeeping gatekeeping

I think its important to remember that this is a discussion forum and its okay to discuss, debate, and disagree. TBT users aren’t a monolith and I like this site because I get insight on the game and play-styles I’ve would have never thought have before. if a convo is getting to heated for you, then it’s okay to leave or not participate. people are allowed to disagree with you!

 

[Meowria]

I hate gatekeeping when it comes to anything tbh.

imo so long as the person isn’t ruining the game experience for everyone else then what’s the issue? I dislike tting but if someone does it then that’s cool with me. They’re playing the game how they want to and none of it is affecting me. Same with how people treat villagers and want certain ones on their island. Just play how you want to play.

imo. There are better things people can do with their time than be mad about how others enjoy their pixels.

 

[moonolotl]

guess so

im joining the fight oranges are BEAUTIFUL
im covering my town in orange and peach trees, they go pretty well together

 

[Aleigh]

im joining the fight oranges are BEAUTIFUL
im covering my town in orange and peach trees, they go pretty well together

HOW COULD YOU
apples and cherries for the win :'(

 

[moonolotl]

HOW COULD YOU
apples and cherries for the win :'(

honestly i dont hate any of the fruits, theyre just fruits and theyre all pretty
but oranges and peaches are clearly the superior choice

 

[Aleigh]

honestly i dont hate any of the fruits, theyre just fruits and theyre all pretty
but oranges and peaches are clearly the superior choice

I do have all the fruits in my town just because I like having everything, but all the orange trees stay in my mom's corner of the island
At least no one has praised the pears

apples will forever be the god fruit