SpiritofAce
The Barista
Before I start, yes I realise this game has only just came out, and trust me I will continue to be playing this daily for many years time with the amount of content there is with it - I was playing New Leaf up until a few months before New Horizons came out. However, with the amount that is in the game already, along with the content updates that we are going to be getting which hopefully will add what seems to be missing so far... I have to wonder, how can Nintendo take this series to new heights for the next mainline entry? New Leaf and New Horizons are both critical successes - they both elevate the series in terms of customisation and how they differentiate from previous mainline entries. Let's Go to the City/City Folk was perceived as a disappointment because it wasn't seen to change the formula - it was seen by many as Wild World with a new coat of paint and a City added in there.
How can the next installment avoid this? Here are my somewhat muddled thoughts...
First of all, there's probably going to be a spin-off game inbetween New Horizons and the next installment. Maybe in 2-3 years let's say. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a sequel to Happy Home Designer. They could do a much better job of it this time with the graphics and the engine of New Horizons. The camera function would work perfectly with it! Here's what I was thinking though to get more people interested - have the spin-off connect with New Horizons. For example, new furniture and special items in the spinoff should be able to be received in New Horizons. Also, new features that improve the quality of life in the spin-off should be added to New Horizons via an update. That would be an incentive to convince mainline players to purchase the spin-off game, and not just see it as a waste of time because it doesn't contribute to their main game.
Now, onto the mainline game. Here's what I think they should do. New Leaf and New Horizons have both focused heavily on the customisation aspect - being able to control the world and change it as you will. That, for me, is not my favourite aspect. I think that they need to focus on something else, whilst having the customisation aspect in the next game, so that those who, like me, are not creative and are more interested in interacting with the villagers can get really excited about. Here's my idea - have the next game focus largely towards villager interaction and depth to the experience. My problem with the past two entries (though I would say it has been improved to a certain degree in New Horizons) is that the villagers lack depth. The dialogue feels... politically correct, too safe, and the cranky personality in particular just feels like it has had its whole depth stripped away - the villagers feel shallow. This for me is a huge shame. I love interacting with the villagers, and in Wild World the villager dialogue was brilliant. It was funny, sometimes sassy, and you actually felt like you were more engaged with the animals in my experience because, especially with the cranky villagers, you had to earn their respect. Once you had earned their respect, they would be nicer to you. I just feel that the eggs have been placed too much in one basket - and the game has geared towards people having an island full of the cutest villagers, the perfect island layout, at the cost of the experience becoming less magical as a result of the amount of control the player has. I understand that this control does not have to be taken into your own hands, however the game does, in my opinion, seem to be pushing that aspect more than anything else - and it's clear that the developers were more focused on customisation than improving the dialogue of the villagers.
To sum up, have the next game feature the best of the customisation options from New Leaf and New Horizons, but place a much larger focus on villager dialogue and depth. Oh, and have it set in a village again. There's something in my view more magical about arriving in a village with people you don't know and have to make a friendship with as with the earlier entries than just being told that you can make everything you want, control who comes in and out, at the cost of the immersiveness of being in a village full of unknown villagers. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree/disagree with my interpretation of where the series could go next? Or do you just think that customisation should always be the focus, and villager depth should be an afterthought?
How can the next installment avoid this? Here are my somewhat muddled thoughts...
First of all, there's probably going to be a spin-off game inbetween New Horizons and the next installment. Maybe in 2-3 years let's say. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a sequel to Happy Home Designer. They could do a much better job of it this time with the graphics and the engine of New Horizons. The camera function would work perfectly with it! Here's what I was thinking though to get more people interested - have the spin-off connect with New Horizons. For example, new furniture and special items in the spinoff should be able to be received in New Horizons. Also, new features that improve the quality of life in the spin-off should be added to New Horizons via an update. That would be an incentive to convince mainline players to purchase the spin-off game, and not just see it as a waste of time because it doesn't contribute to their main game.
Now, onto the mainline game. Here's what I think they should do. New Leaf and New Horizons have both focused heavily on the customisation aspect - being able to control the world and change it as you will. That, for me, is not my favourite aspect. I think that they need to focus on something else, whilst having the customisation aspect in the next game, so that those who, like me, are not creative and are more interested in interacting with the villagers can get really excited about. Here's my idea - have the next game focus largely towards villager interaction and depth to the experience. My problem with the past two entries (though I would say it has been improved to a certain degree in New Horizons) is that the villagers lack depth. The dialogue feels... politically correct, too safe, and the cranky personality in particular just feels like it has had its whole depth stripped away - the villagers feel shallow. This for me is a huge shame. I love interacting with the villagers, and in Wild World the villager dialogue was brilliant. It was funny, sometimes sassy, and you actually felt like you were more engaged with the animals in my experience because, especially with the cranky villagers, you had to earn their respect. Once you had earned their respect, they would be nicer to you. I just feel that the eggs have been placed too much in one basket - and the game has geared towards people having an island full of the cutest villagers, the perfect island layout, at the cost of the experience becoming less magical as a result of the amount of control the player has. I understand that this control does not have to be taken into your own hands, however the game does, in my opinion, seem to be pushing that aspect more than anything else - and it's clear that the developers were more focused on customisation than improving the dialogue of the villagers.
To sum up, have the next game feature the best of the customisation options from New Leaf and New Horizons, but place a much larger focus on villager dialogue and depth. Oh, and have it set in a village again. There's something in my view more magical about arriving in a village with people you don't know and have to make a friendship with as with the earlier entries than just being told that you can make everything you want, control who comes in and out, at the cost of the immersiveness of being in a village full of unknown villagers. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree/disagree with my interpretation of where the series could go next? Or do you just think that customisation should always be the focus, and villager depth should be an afterthought?
