ACNH and social media

[katineko]

So I dropped NH for awhile before the update probably for the same reasons as others who did so as well. But, I picked it back up again when 2.0 finally came out. I really like what they have done with the game to revive it, especially how you can call villagers to the cafe and get some more dialogue etc. I guess my question would be, for you, has this update brought NH up to the same level as NL with the QoL changes, extra dialogue, villager visits, etc.? Does the dialogue still seem shallow as before the update? Has it been enough for you to start to love AC again?
I do wish mini games would come in at some point, but I guess I'm neutral.

A big reason I think that NH is not as loved as previous titles is social media. There has been a lot of negative comments, complaints, rumors, etc. since day one for NH, whch has made it seem less charming, relaxed, and less like the other AC games. Is it really less charming or less relaxing to you? And does it really not seem like a real AC game? Is it all social media's fault? And perhaps the time it came out? The only thing I can think of that is less charming is the soundtrack in my opinion.
Anyway, I would love to hear what you guys have to say.

 

[Spooky.]

I don't think NH will ever compare to NL for me. While it has a ton more features and a lot of things NL didn't have, especially in terms of convenience, it doesn't give me the same feeling NL gave me, even after the update. The dialogue seems to have improved, but I never felt the same bond with my villagers in NH as I did in NL - though the visiting feature coming back has helped. NH to me feels more like a decorating game than a 'run your town and be friends with your villagers' sort of game. It just is an entirely different feeling game. It's not as cozy and involved as NL felt. In NL I felt like I ran the place and formed bonds, in NH I just feel like I'm the decorator and that's it really. Friendship with villagers feels like it meant more in NL, since things like public works projects relied on you being friendly with your villagers. In NH you may get a reaction sometimes but meh, big deal.

I wouldn't say NH feels relaxing really, terraforming can be tedious and stressful (though it's optional, it still feels like an obligation). It also lacks that relaxing and calming music while playing. NL has got NH beat on music on so many levels. NH feels like the same song 24/7. If I could disable the music on NH and only hear sound effects, I would.

I don't blame social media for much when it comes to NH. Social media does contribute to a lot of people feeling like NH is a competition or feeling like their island isn't good enough, and it takes a lot to break out of that feeling. You have to remind yourself that a lot of posts on social media are heavily edited and that you can't expect that 'perfect' look. I've tried to copy areas item-for-item that I've seen on social media and it never looks as good. Why? Because it's not my creation. It took some time to stop comparing myself to social media posts but it helps. Now I use social media for inspiration but never to take ideas entirely. It's more useful for 'hey I didn't know you can do that' and try to work with it yourself, if that makes sense.

Timing has a lot to do with it too, the game came out as lockdowns were starting and people had nothing to do but binge the game, resulting in burn out. It also doesn't help that you can unlock the majority of the features in a very short period of time, whereas in New Leaf, it took a long time of dedication to unlock things - and unlock things that NH doesn't have, like shop upgrades and new shops. When I restarted I unlocked everything in less than a week. In NL it could easily take a month or more because you can't as easily time travel yourself through it without still actually playing a lot.

 

[cocoacat]

I think social media has only been a negative in that it's much more in-your-face about what other people's islands and such look like, and comparing one's island to others (that are often staged or filtered or simply the best of the best) makes the game seem more competitive or less enjoyable to some. It's pretty easy to stay off ACNH instagram or pinterest, though. I don't think negative comments should effect how people see the game... maybe for some they do, but it's just opinions. People can rant about something I like all they want, but it won't change how I feel about it. I can see how it'd be annoying though if you just want to enjoy it in peace.

I'd say if anything, social media really hyped the game up. Everyone was playing it.

I think what holds many people back from loving ACNH as much as ACNL are less variety in furniture and lackluster npcs.
By less variety I mean specifically less sets/themes. When you have sets that have been in the game for decades, and you cut them out, that's going to disappoint people. Imagine if they did the same with the villagers (like Pokemon.)
They've done a good job imo of improving some items and making lots of recolors which is awesome, but it doesn't take away the fact that styles were very limited. HHP helped tons with that, but it's still quite not what it was. I still feel ACNL did a better job of offering complete sets and more variety in terms of themes.

With the update a lot of NPCs were brought back, but it seems like a total afterthought. They've all been bunched up in a campground with their roles greatly reduced and very little to no progression. It's fine, the game doesn't need them, but NL did a better job at feeling like you were an important part in the expansion of the town and unlocking things gradually and seeing things actually grow and change.

 

[Stikki]

Not a fan of social media at all anyway. I do have an instagram just to see acnh designs and ideas etc, but never engaged in the communities or even posted anything myself. But from the outside looking in...boy is it nasty. Grown adults doxxing each other and starting witch hunts based on one side or other's version of events. Grown adults doxxing CHILDREN.

Always seems to boil down to someone with decentish size following gets a bit of an inflated ego when people like their designs. But when that ego goes full Bloaty Head Syndrome and they start sharpening their pitchforks ready to sling at any who dare to use their path designs and upload a pic to their instagram without "crediting" them...or crediting them "disrespectfully" (meaning their credit was at the end of their post and not at the start).

Full on flame wars over "art theft" ffs hahahaha. Sorry to disappoint but you lost any right to it the moment you used Nintendo's software to draw a pic to be used in Nintendo's game and uploaded to Nintendo's server, which you know is for public use. Also "art". No mate, that's some cleverly placed pixels that you made the best of with what materials you had. It's not gonna be in a gallery. It's not even gonna be on a t shirt. It probably won't even make it to a novelty cushion that your aunt gives you at Christmas, looking all proud of herself. Get over yourselves, gosh.

Who the hell made these people "influencers"? I despair of the world sometimes, I really do. If anyone came for my child the way some of these behave, over using one of their custom designs, they better hope they can afford it.

 

[tinysaiph]

The media definitely sways views, but I've come to realise that people are going to complain no matter what. For example, if we had gotten all of this content from the start of the game, instead of as an update, people would complain that there's no update and that the creators of the game don't care.

New Horizons is its own thing. It is so very different from previous animal crossing games because you have so much creative ability and freedom. You can change things you don't like, move things you don't like, place furniture down, and so much more, all whenever you want. I don't want to say it ~takes away~ from the game, but I know that terraforming can be quite stressful, especially when controls don't do what you want them to, or something doesn't look exactly how you were hoping. That being said, the end result really is quite wonderful, and seeing the progress made as you learn and build more is really rewarding for some players.

You do not have to terraform to enjoy the game, though. I know that social media pressures are everywhere, but it is your own copy of the game, and you are able to play it how you want.

I think it still feels like an animal crossing game, as I'm still talking with villagers, doing my daily tasks (finding fossils, fishing, bug catching, decorating, etc), and feeling like no time at all has passed, when it has been five or so hours. Though this game brought many changes compared to older versions, the game remains a safe space, where I feel I can leave my brain for a while and get cosy and enjoy the game.

Both NH and NL have their "perks" and the things that make them unique and loveable. The update did bring back a *ton* of NPCs that had gone missing since NL, and that's been wonderful to see. The new update (and the DLC) bring a lot to the game, in my opinion. New (old) NPCs, more furniture and clothing, the ability to cook, and a few more things I know I'm missing. It still feels like an animal crossing game, but refreshed, and new? (change can be horribly scary, so I get not liking all of the new changes-that is very valid). I think it works well for the system it's on, and for it being 2021 (if that makes sense). It feels like the game as a series is growing and evolving as time does. From having pretty much no control in the first game to almost complete freedom in the latest, it's been wonderful to see.

I do hope you're still able to enjoy the game, and find things you like.

 

[Starboard]

-Ignore this, I somehow ended up on the wrong thread, sorry-

 

[StarlitGlitch]

For me personally, I've felt pressured to like NH more than I do and decorate my town because of social media. I enjoy making online content about AC like YouTube videos and random posts but since NH has come out there's a lot of pressure to specifically make content about decorating and to be good at it. I'm not very interested in decorating and like the life sim aspects of the games more but most recent players aren't as interested in that. There is also a perception of the more you decorate your town the more into AC you are. Ofc people's opinions online shouldn't matter but I really enjoy making online content and want to make people happy through it.

I think too that in part the pivot in the game towards being more decorating focused is because of social media. There are more people now who care about making something cute to show off on social media rather than having their own experience with villagers so things have changed to become more shareable.

It feels weird to me when I heard people on Twitter say things like "I hope that a new decorating game like AC comes out soon!" It's totally fine to only like NH for the decorating but reducing the entire series to only that makes me a bit worried that the next AC game could go even further down this line. There are also plenty of games solely based on decorating but much fewer life sims and I would hate to lose that. I prefer leaving some parts to chance and not having control over everything (eg I let villagers cycle through naturally and let them go I don't use Amiibo cards or NMT) but I feel that the games will keep forcing me to do things by myself instead of just chilling in a town which is much more fun to me.

(part of that pressure to like NH also includes very carefully choosing my words when talking about it to avoid people trying to dunk on something I said when it should be fine for people to like/dislike things. Also, I'll add that the other reason I try not to be too negative about NH on Twitter/YT is because if people are enjoying the game I don't want it to seem like I'm trying to take that away from them.)

 

[michito]

I don't have social medias, so my experiences are a bit different. Most of the online content I saw were stuff filtered by my sister and friends, so it ended up being pretty positive (just pics of pretty towns and videos of animals singing), and I only lurked around for funny drama like the whole Raymond chaos.

But regardless of my social media distancing, my opinions seem pretty similar to people from it. Game after game, I noticed AC started to be more inclined towards the decorating part of the game than the social one, and that culminated with ACNH. And somehow, even tho ACNH focuses mostly on decorating, it managed to lose charm with most of the furniture being minimalist/too pleasing to the eyes (where are the tacky collections, like the lovely series?) & the huge cut on series. And as someone who doesn't like decorating much, I couldn't get fully into the game; I just let my sister decorate the whole town and I play normally, fishing and talking to the villagers as if it were ACWW xD

I'm very grateful for the last update since it gave us some things I was really asking for (finally we can refurbish furniture again!), but villagers seem to still have like 5 dialogue options as much and they're all very dull and overly sweet, and lots of tiny & made-up eand tiny events are lost too. I know in some time I will get hocked up to the game, the few times I have booted it up I have fallen in love by how cute everything looks and the tiny interactions villagers do around town, but it still feels empty without the tiny village feel other games had; villager dialogues are my favorite things about AC games.

 

[VanitasFan26]

I have to say this but 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.

 

[EMLY]

I do follow content creators for ANCH pattern codes, and designs on social media - I'm not sure I've seen the same amount of posts that grant the game negative reviews. I don't know if it's just the differences in our media circles or if I've been lucky - but I don't think I've been impacted the same way you have.

I do acknowledge and admit, I have compared myself to other creators though social media (twitter, instagram, and youtube to be specific) and that has diminished my gameplay at some points. There were times where I didn't think my island was good enough or my ideas were individual enough. There really is nothing that new under the sun, however, and I've come back to play after a fresh start inspired by new items and new villagers.

Animal Crossing in general has been a part of my life since I was very young - playing on a gamecube and experiencing it all for the very first time. I don't think I would listen to anything too harsh or negative even if I did encounter it online, because the franchise has adapted and changed to the times and the new consoles more ways than I probably need to list here.. but the core of it is what keeps me enchanted. I love being able to escape into a place where my animal friends are so excited and happy to share a new day with me, and until I'm 80 and can't, or until Nintendo doesn't make another, I'll probably find myself playing the newest version of this game to my hearts content.

 

[QueenCobra]

This is my first Animal Crossing game and I am liiiiving! I don't post much about my journey online though. I actually thought it was a wholesome community, but it breaks my baby weeb heart if some people are being nasty to each other. And about such minuscule things...in the long run.
As far as social media and gaming, some creators have inspired me to be more creative with my Miis. I don't make the exact ones they do, but funny, famous ones along a similar vein.
Social media and gaming can be a positive combo, if used by the right kind of people.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I agree with almost everyone who is on here who has played past games but I just wanted to say that I know 100% for sure that the next AC game will divide the fanbase. All of us who are here for the actually AC goodness are still giving Nintendo a chance. The designers as well. All the designers want MORE design features while the game players want life sim. I truly think there is no possible way to make a perfect Animal Crossing. I know what we would want buts its just not plausible to have it all. Unless the next game does a whole good 180 like City Folk to New Leaf then I just dont think I will play it for very long. The change made EVERYONE satisfied to some degree and brought many new players like Me into the series! I hope Nintendo plays their cards right for the next game.... AND MAKE A BETTER CHOICE FOR THE MAIN THEME. I LOVE NH'S MAIN THEME TO DEATH BUT SINCE THE HOURLY MUSIC IS LITERALLY MULTIPLE REMIXES OF THEM MAIN THEME PLEASE MAKE ONE THAT HAS LOTS OF INSTRUMENTS SO WE CAN ENJOY MOREEEEE VARIETYYYYYYYY

 

[Sarie]

It's honestly really interesting seeing the difference between NL and NH in terms of social media having so much more of a swing. I mean, back in my day we didn't even have wifi! Lol

It's interesting seeing the parallels between real life social media jealousy, posting your best and not your worst and presenting your life as something so much more positive and exciting than what it really is. Compare that to all the people who basically make Instagram posts of their islands. It's definitely caused me to have some jealousy, as though there's an expectation that my island should be developed and covered in decorations. In reality though, I prefer to have my island simple and natural. Some development, sure, but I'm never totally happy with it.

But man, when I see those really pretty fairy islands... I get some kind of envy. I have to remind myself that it only looks good from certain angles though, or it's a pain in the butt to move through.

Whenever the next AC game comes around, I'm sure there'll be a big fandom fight over it. I fear the day the AC community becomes toxic like the Pokemon community did when SwSh came out. It never really recovered from that and it took away something from the fandom imo. I don't want that to happen to AC.

 

[VanitasFan26]

Whenever the next AC game comes around, I'm sure there'll be a big fandom fight over it. I fear the day the AC community becomes toxic like the Pokemon community did when SwSh came out. It never really recovered from that and it took away something from the fandom imo. I don't want that to happen to AC.

Yeah that goes the same for all communities in general and from what I understand they seem to be scared about change. I know some people in these communities want change, but the problem is that they are scared of change when its done in either a good way or a bad way.

Since you mentioned Pokémon I remember there was a lot of heated debates and controversy about Pokémon Legends Arceues not looking good because of the graphics but when the actual game came out they enjoyed the gameplay despite the issues with the graphics. So I wanna give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt that they might be doing something new that will change Animal Crossing in the future for better or for worse.

 

[Corrie]

Yeah that goes the same for all communities in general and from what I understand they seem to be scared about change. I know some people in these communities want change, but the problem is that they are scared of change when its done in either a good way or a bad way.

Since you mentioned Pokémon I remember there was a lot of heated debates and controversy about Pokémon Legends Arceues not looking good because of the graphics but when the actual game came out they enjoyed the gameplay despite the issues with the graphics. So I wanna give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt that they might be doing something new that will change Animal Crossing in the future for better or for worse.

It's so true. It's great to raise a stink with something with a game you don't like, but to whine and then buy the game anyway? Lol I don't get it.

 

[VanitasFan26]

It's so true. It's great to raise a stink with something with a game you don't like, but to whine and then buy the game anyway? Lol I don't get it.

Yeah its a common issue in the Pokémon Community but thats a topic for another thread.

 

[Bilaz]

Social media definitely made me feel the pressure to create something beautiful with my island, but on the flip side it also gave me ideas and skills. I've now already completed my island once and I'm currently in the process of remodelling. I think my new island design will be everything I could have ever dreamed about
So in the end it's a net positive, it also gave me more things to do as I wouldn't be much into decorating without it.

 

[Jaco]

So I dropped NH for awhile before the update probably for the same reasons as others who did so as well. But, I picked it back up again when 2.0 finally came out. I really like what they have done with the game to revive it, especially how you can call villagers to the cafe and get some more dialogue etc. I guess my question would be, for you, has this update brought NH up to the same level as NL with the QoL changes, extra dialogue, villager visits, etc.? Does the dialogue still seem shallow as before the update? Has it been enough for you to start to love AC again?
I do wish mini games would come in at some point, but I guess I'm neutral.

A big reason I think that NH is not as loved as previous titles is social media. There has been a lot of negative comments, complaints, rumors, etc. since day one for NH, whch has made it seem less charming, relaxed, and less like the other AC games. Is it really less charming or less relaxing to you? And does it really not seem like a real AC game? Is it all social media's fault? And perhaps the time it came out? The only thing I can think of that is less charming is the soundtrack in my opinion.
Anyway, I would love to hear what you guys have to say.

I'm not really involved too much on with the online portion of the game, beyond occasional trading. NH is probably one of my favorite video games of all time and I agree is very relaxing, but there are still a few areas that I wish were improved upon. (I've defended the soundtrack a bunch as pretty sophisticated and interesting, but I'm a minority on that and everyone is allowed to have an opinion).

I have noticed that a lot of social media is really negative. Some of it's fair criticism, some of it is a bit silly. I think most of it comes from place of attachment to the game though and wanting to keep it a part of their life.

 

[moon_child]

They’re two very different games, NH and NL and both have their own sets of appeal and setbacks. When I first started playing NH I was so happy with all the new features and the control and freedom given to the player this time around. They seemed to address all the little things that irked me in NL. Everything seemed easier, faster, and more accessible. You choose which villager gets to live in your island. You choose where to put villager houses. Furnitures are so cool. The graphics and effects are great. You can decorate to your hearts content. As long as you have money and the items you need, you can finish as many builds as you want in such a short span of time. You don’t need to wait around for villagers to request PWPs or go to Leif to buy one bush a day. You can move things wherever you want. You can make different themes. You can change almost everything in your island to whatever you want. Add social media and well…you have the most Instagrammable game ever.

After playing for so long though I started missing the “feeling” that NL gave me and I realized that those things that used to irritate me before are the exact things I actually miss. I wanted control but when it was given to me, it messed with the spontaneity of it all and that’s why I believe NL made us feel so many range of emotions that NH can’t seem to replicate. NL had so much randomness in the game and we as players had so little control over what happens in our own games that it gave us endless excitement, fun, anger, fun, frustration, fun, sadness, fun and just…there’s something about logging on in the game and not knowing what you’re gonna log into that’s just so unbelievably…well, fun. Is your fave villager still there? Oh no what if they moved out and you missed stopping them? It’ll make you cry…please don’t move. Did flowers die? Did someone new move on top of that beautiful hybrid garden you’ve been trying to work on for months? How dare they! What will you do that horrible being who dares to do so? Will they be an enemy or a best friend? Will a villager finally request that police station after two years? They better do. What’s on sale at the store? Leif better sell you that one bush he’s been refusing to sell for weeks. Did grass finally grow over the areas you deteriorated while running the past week? It’s all those things. Add the mini games at Tortimer’s and the excellent music and NL is just so unbeatable when it comes to charm.

Basically to me, NL is more a life sim game and NH is more like a bigger upgraded Pocket Camp and Happy Home designer hybrid. NH is a good game and I’ve played it for more than it’s worth definitely. But it just doesn’t give me the same feelings that NL did and still does until now. The charm and the soul of the older AC games in the franchise are just unmatched.

 

[TeaBiskit]

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