San Goiaba- A town reclaimed by the sea

[oranje]

San Goiaba: Theme Concept​

I've been playing New Horizons since it came out April and I've been busy mainly doing the basics (fossil/fish/bug hunting, Nook Mile Achievements, exploring, terraforming, and interior decorating). Lately I've been putting more thought on the theme of my island. In New Leaf, I had an Ottoman-era theme that I liked a lot and I've been racking my brain to see what I can do with all the items in NH. Originally, I was just going to have a basic tropical theme with a yellow/orange theme. But after experimenting with that, I quickly got bored and went back to the drawing board.

Ultimately, I went back to an idea I had before I even bought NH. The theme was a Northeast/New England fishing town. Lots of stone and more antique type items with a dark wood finish. A fish market would be the center of town, with a port, a pub, and a shipyard. I already had a market filled with stalls and a sailors' graveyard, so it made a lot of sense thematically. Plus I'm super pumped about sailor culture in general, so I think it'll be a lot of fun!

I think it'll be a lot of fun to have some Lovecraft-esque horror elements too. I want to put rusted items to make it seem like the town is a bit rundown and I'd like to put some sea creatures (cage-less ones like the horseshoe crab, the snapping turtle, and spider crab) placed around town to seem like the ocean is reclaiming the town and the townspeople are just passively accepting their fate. Maybe I'll even throw in a cult altar in the secret beach somewhere. I'm really looking forward to this project!

Signature art by Viridia.​

 

[eseamir]

this sounds incredible!! can't wait to see what you come up with

 

[oranje]

this sounds incredible!! can't wait to see what you come up with

Thank you! It'll be a long project but it's a nice feeling to feel re-energized about my Island again.

 

[oranje]

San Goiaba: Terraforming Plan
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Starting to think more terraforming! So this is a (messy) concept map I made using this map designer. The buildings are more for placement rather than an actual number count. So in E2 and D2, I have my current sailor's graveyard and my main villager's house. I plan on expanding the graveyard to include a sailor's chapel.

The museum is going to remain elevated but moved to include space for a marine biology lab ("The Institute"...maybe a source for their woes?).

I'm going to cut more land out around the main plaza to expand the fish market. The other main change will be relocating the villagers into the center of the island rather than centered around the main plaza like they are currently. I'm also planning to make the spacing smaller between them, to make them more like working class row houses. Thematically, I like the idea of them being in the center of the island like they're trying their hardest to try to escape the sea, but they can't because everywhere they turn is the ocean.

The last major change is to direct the two rivers to the center of the villagers' placement, with it creating a salt water lake in the middle. I like that the ocean "found" them and it slowly taking claim of the land, starting with the center of the island.

 

[Sheando]

Love this idea! My island is supposed to be a small seaside town, so not quite the same, but sort of similar—I’ll be following for light inspiration if you don’t mind!

 

[oranje]

Love this idea! My island is supposed to be a small seaside town, so not quite the same, but sort of similar—I’ll be following for light inspiration if you don’t mind!

Thank you! I hope my island can be a good source of ideas for you and others! I always love brainstorming ideas too, so if anybody has some suggestions, feel free to tell me!

 

[oranje]

San Goiaba: Finished Areas (For Now)

The Fish Market
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Here is my fishmarket, which I'm pretty happy with. I might move some stuff around but I'm pretty happy with the layout! Lots of fish, fish food stalls, and fishing equipment (you want sea monkeys? I got 'em).

Here I have a "catch your own fish" stall, with a net in the back. Not gonna lie, I wish I could do that IRL. Come here fishy!

 

[oranje]

The Loading Dock
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Here lies San Goiaba's other form of commerce, merchant shipping! I wanted to make a path through the dock, so I followed the contours of the beach, laid down the pattern, and used cardboard furniture, boxes, and oil barrels to form the pathway.

Here we have a little makeshift desk for the custom official (Raymond has so bravely taken on that duty) to inspect and approve of all incoming cargo.

Here we have the shipping dock with some gas pumps for incoming ships....seems like the salt water did a number on the metal. The locals also like to fish here from time to time.

There's quite a few spots to chill on the dock.

 

[oranje]

Lore & Backstory​

I went into some detail about my Island's backstory and lore in another thread, but I decided I'd post it here too:

Backstory: The story of my town is that it used to be a thriving fishing/industrial port, but due to overfishing and a slumping economy it's fallen on hard times. The Marine Institute (a.k.a. the museum) has promised to revitalize the town and give jobs to the villagers. So far, they've seen a boost in tourism but they can't help but notice that things are becoming a little...strange since The Institute was established. Strange shrines have cropped up, nightmares of drowning are frequent, sea animals keep crawling inland, and villagers often find themselves waking up on the bitter cold shores of the island with no memory of how they got there...

My villagers' roles in the story:

Del- A retired Navy Officer, Del harbors some suspicion about The Institute and does some undercover work to get to the bottom of the strange events.

Tiffany- A former Madame that has retired from that line of work and is now Del's detective partner. She has her ways of getting information and really relishes the thrill and danger of the mystery.

Doc- A Junior scientist at The Institute. Not the greatest at his job and doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut... a perfect resource of information for Del's detective work.

Rod- A dock worker and runs odd jobs here and there for anybody that needs hired muscle. He is the ears and eyes of the dock.

Tybalt- Rod's best friend and sometimes rival, Tybalt also works as a dock worker and fisherman. He's considered the eligible bachelor of the town and very popular due to his easy-going nature and good looks.

Jacques- Piper's boyfriend and a recent hire from The Institute, specializing in their electronic equipment. He really wants to be a music producer some day, but he took the job after having money troubles. He's often kept in the dark of The Institute's going-ons, but like Del, he also wants to get to the bottom of what's been happing to the town.

Piper- Jacques's girlfriend and aspiring pop singer. At first she was thrilled to be moving to a town where she could focus on her artistic endeavors but now she's not so sure after suffering a series of nightmares. She tries to upbeat and happy in an effort to hide her anxiety.

Eunice- The kindly spinster of the town. She runs several of the market stalls and provides wool for the Able Sisters.

Deirdre- She's lived in the town her whole life and yearns for something more. She helps run the education stalls for the Institute, but she hopes that the experience can help her find a job offshore somewhere.

Ronan (Player Character)- Owner of The Rusty Anchor, the oldest and only pub on the island. When not busy running his pub or fishing, Ronan is usually playing pranks on unsuspecting animals.

Rachel (Player Character)- The caretaker of the Sailors' Chapel and graveyard. As the island Rep, she's usually running around busy with tasks.

Patrick (Player Character)- The head scientist at The Institute. Seems like a nice enough guy but he does run experiments very late into the night...

 

[oranje]

Just wanted to share this commissioned art piece of my Island Rep made by the talented Peachmilk_!

The Island Rep is basically me but she's also bolder and more adventurous! You have to be if you're living on a cold and spooky island!

 

[oranje]

The Sailors' Chapel
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The Sailor's Chapel isn't 100 percent ready yet, but I am proud of it so far! Here's a little tour:

This is the reception area where tourists and villagers can relax and drink some tea. Everyone is welcome, no matter the hour!

Here is the chapel's kitchen with some scenic vistas.

This is the chapel's garden/greenhouse. The caretaker of the chapel loves to garden and plants are honestly a good form of therapy, so why not?

A strange shrine area and the oldest room in the chapel. The current caretaker doesn't know much about it, except that maybe the skull is real?

My favorite room in the chapel! The backstory is that the casket houses the body of a saint that drowned 200 years ago. The current caretaker makes sure to keep everything tidy for the tourists that visit and pay their respects. Also Stale Cupcakes sounds so good on a phonograph!

 

[oranje]

Sailors' Chapel (Update)
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I did a few updates to the Sailors' Chapel. The major one is my island resident's bedroom!

I wanted to make my room a little nautical looking (hence the blue color scheme and light colored wood) but I also wanted it to remind me of one of the first seafaring empires and one of my favorite countries, Portugal! Everywhere you go in Portugal there's this beautiful tile murals called Azulejo and often times the tiles are in blue and white. So the floor tiles and porcelain in this room represent that beautiful tile work. Another thing that I saw in artwork there were swallows, so the bird pattern was perfect for the bathroom dividers. Lastly, fish is an important part of the Portuguese cuisine and heritage, so I have a fish carpet and some fish door plates decorating the bathroom.

I also updated the chapel garden to have more plants on the wall (utilizing the wedding flowers!) and switched some plants around to have a more earthy tone.

 

[Raz]

The flooring really resembles azulejos, I didn't even know they were in the game! Here in Rio, there's a famous tourist attraction called Escadaria Selaron. I think you would like it. Also, not sure if this is something that you would use on your island, but a few months ago I posted a code for a design that mimicks the Copacabana beach walkways. They weren't made by me. Let me see if I can find them.

Edit: here it is! https://www.belltreeforums.com/threads/copacabana-beach-walkway.509219/

 

[oranje]

The flooring really resembles azulejos, I didn't even know they were in the game! Here in Rio, there's a famous tourist attraction called Escadaria Selaron. I think you would like it. Also, not sure if this is something that you would use on your island, but a few months ago I posted a code for a design that mimicks the Copacabana beach walkways. They weren't made by me. Let me see if I can find them.

Edit: here it is! https://www.belltreeforums.com/threads/copacabana-beach-walkway.509219/

Thank you! I appreciate it. This is why I wish we could have two copies of the game. There's just so many themes to go with!

 

[oranje]

Sailors' Chapel (Update #2: Tragedy at Sea)​

One more update to the Chapel, this time to the alter room! While I did like my last alter room, I felt like it didn't have a story telling element that I wanted, so I went ahead and changed things up a little!

I like to leave it up to the visitor's imagination! But I'll tell you my personal interpretation:
In this room, "Farewell" is playing in the background. A seasoned sea captain, along with his crew were hunting for treasures overseas (as symbolized by the treasure map rug). Something happened, maybe their ship ran aground on some rocks. The captain informs his crew that they are sinking, with only one life ring to save them.

Currently I'm constructing the main cemetery, but you can find the captain and his crew's gravestones in the older part of the cemetery, overlooking the lighthouse and sea.

 

[oranje]

The Rusty Anchor Pub
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Today I'll introduce you to the island's first and only pub, The Rusty Anchor. It also acts as an inn for the island's port workers and sailors that visit. Our host will be the pub's owner Ronan:

Here we have the outside portion of the pub, with seating, phone booths, and a firepit for cold nights.

Moving on to the main room of the pub: the pub! Here you can grab a nice dark beer, cider, tea, or soda, all prepared by Ronan.

In the back, we have a spotless kitchen:

A bathroom/storage/laundry room (I had fun collecting teal things to mix and match):

The pub's dining area, where you can relax with some baked goods and a cup of piping hot black tea:

Next is the inn portion, mostly just bunk beds for the workers along with some sentimental keepsakes from home that they took with them. Here they mostly hang out until they board the next ship out.

Lastly in the basement there is a live music venue! Jazz, folk, and Celtic punk are all very popular here on the island.

That concludes our tour of The Rusty Anchor! I wanted my island to have a nice place where the villagers could come over and relax if they wanted to. Plus I love pubs! They're such lively and fun places to be and I wanted the pub here to reflect that.

 

[oranje]

Just wanted to share this commissioned art piece by chocosongee of Elmer! He's recently moved into my town and I think he's the cutest little horse.

And if you wonder why he's in a little sailor uniform, in part it has to do with my theme but it's also a reference to Bojack Horseman!

Thankfully he's not as sad as Bojack, but his resemblance to Bojack is also why I like him so much! Also like the show, there's a little bit of dark humor about his name (Elmer as in the glue company and that glue used to be made from horses) so I like that about him too.

 

[MartyFromCherryfall]

Adorable! Love that show too, just finished a couple of weeks back.

 

[queertactics]

stumbled across this thread while looking for ideas for my beach, and i just wanna say, this is amazing!!! i love how you've given all the villagers roles in a story! i can't wait to visit the dream and explore! thanks for sharing!!

 

[oranje]

stumbled across this thread while looking for ideas for my beach, and i just wanna say, this is amazing!!! i love how you've given all the villagers roles in a story! i can't wait to visit the dream and explore! thanks for sharing!!

Thank you so much! This island has been a lot of fun to create, so I'm happy that you like it! It's still a work in progress, but feel free to visit it at DA-3859-4642-0297.