Do you think the characters are adults or children?

[MelloDimensions]

For a little added context I am the only one of my group of friends outside of here that plays animal crossing. It's often said to me that the game is for children since the characters look like children. This is aided by how smash decided to make the representative of the games look also childish at least when paired with actual child characters like Ness for instance which is something they do play. I don't disdain that kind of judgement. I'm prone to just go home, and play animal crossing if the discussion does get tense, which it doesn't. It has made me curious though, and I decided to give it some thought myself when told by my friend here that the wetsuits make us look like cute adult baby pears. Being told that while looking at Tortimer realizing that the character is the same size as the old man. Same size as Kapp'n who has a child. Same size as really any adult character, with a house, responsibilities, and an in game mom that even references when our character was a child. So I've concluded that the character is an adult, just chibi sized. I'm curious however to what you think. Are the characters adults or children?

 

[Lavamaize]

I think they are diffintly adults. First of all, some of my villages will tale about when they were a kid and at their parents house. If they live in another town, they diffently must of grown up and moved. I see why some people might think they ae kids becuase of therr looks, but they are designed to look friendly and cuteish as it is part of the Animal Crossing Series!

 

[Stalfos]

My character has white hair, a huge beard and chest hair. I'd say he's an adult. lol

I think the beauty of it is that you can decide for yourself if your character is an adult or a child.

 

[LadyDestani]

My character has white hair, a huge beard and chest hair. I'd say he's an adult. lol

I think the beauty of it is that you can decide for yourself if your character is an adult or a child.

Yes, I agree with Stalfos. The character model is the typical chibi design, and if you've ever watched any Japanese animation you know that the chibi design can be applied to characters of all ages. Just because they look cute and pear-shaped does not mean that they have to be children. You can make your character whatever you want it to be because chibi is one size fits all.

 

[MapleCake]

Whoever your friend is who compared us---
I mean.. The characters bodies, to pears is literally a visual genius.

Also adults.
Since I'm assuming they don't expect literal CHILDREN to move far away from home and forced into almost SLAVERY amongst animal neighbors, to do tedious and sometimes dangerous tasks such as catching scorpions and sharks to display in their town museum. If so, I hope they have in-game child labor laws against it. Hmph.

 

[MelloDimensions]

Whoever your friend is who compared us---
I mean.. The characters bodies, to pears is literally a visual genius.

Also adults.
Since I'm assuming they don't expect literal CHILDREN to move far away from home and forced into almost SLAVERY amongst animal neighbors, to do tedious and sometimes dangerous tasks such as catching scorpions and sharks to display in their town museum. If so, I hope they have in-game child labor laws against it. Hmph.

A scholar and a poet you are- I mean they are.

 

[NebulaNights]

I agree with everyone else. I believe they are adults and just look like a chibi character. Chibis can both be adults and children and I have seen pictures of both. Also, comparing the characters to a pear? I never thought of that. That's very interesting.

All in all, the game isn't just for children, it's for everyone and sometimes I don't understand why people think it looks like a game for kids only. Any game is for anyone.

 

[CasualWheezer]

This is something that I don't really think about, but I think the characters are adults. They're living independently and sometimes taking about their childhoods and their parents. Also I remember one of my villagers mentioned he had a niece or something like that.

 

[Laconic]

I'll go against the grain and say children.

The game is marketed towards them and caters towards following rules for a younger audience, in the previous games prior to NL the characters really resembled children. Them being similar in height to villagers doesn't matter, if anything shows moreso they're children, they're the size of a dog. xD But forreal, I think their height just has to do with how the game design works and them being proper height to fit in the environment and still be able to have custom clothing and stuff. I do agree they're in a chibi type artstyle though.

Villagers talk to you as if they're the adults, and frequently give advice about the game, or in life in general. They speak in a condescending/patronizing way, really spelling it out for you. They will call you a kid and similar variations too, and talk about their childhood compared to yours. Uchis, Snooties, Normals and Crankies all show this. Not sure on the others, as I don't remember much of their dialogue.

This would indicate that either the player is a young adult and the villagers are forty year olds, or you're a kid and they're a 10 year old dog who think they know something.

Also, all the items you put on to make yourself look older, are "wigs", "costumes", it's more likely you're just a kid playing dressup. What would be more interesting to me is, are the people saying "adults" adults themselves? I think AC is immersive and anyone can project onto it and enjoy it, so thinking of the characters as "yourself" makes sense. When I play NL, I think of my character as me, an adult, but from an objective perspective I think they're meant to be children.

Edit: OH AND, the reason living on your own makes sense is for the same reason it makes sense within the Pok?mon Universe lol. Japanese games aren't uncommon to have this theme, nor to have children being able to hold casual jobs in games.

 

[dizzy bone]

I've thought of it as "they are the same age as me" when I'm playing it. I played Wild World when I was still in high school and since I was a teen, I interpreted my character as a teen as well. However, the thought of me as a "kid" moving into a strange town by myself seemed weird to me. So I actually imagined we as players were dead and our Wild World town was some kinda heaven/afterlife where we're surrounded by cute animals and relaxing nature XD There's actually a theory of animal crossing being some sort of purgatory with darker themes but I never got the darker vibe from it (other than the "dead" part ) But that was then. Obviously in my New Leaf town I'm an under appreciated adult mayor who apparently has to pay for everything herself ahaha.

 

[MelloDimensions]

I'll go against the grain and say children.

The game is marketed towards them and caters towards following rules for a younger audience, in the previous games prior to NL the characters really resembled children. Them being similar in height to villagers doesn't matter, if anything shows moreso they're children, they're the size of a dog. xD But forreal, I think their height just has to do with how the game design works and them being proper height to fit in the environment and still be able to have custom clothing and stuff. I do agree they're in a chibi type artstyle though.

Villagers talk to you as if they're the adults, and frequently give advice about the game, or in life in general. They speak in a condescending/patronizing way, really spelling it out for you. They will call you a kid and similar variations too, and talk about their childhood compared to yours. Uchis, Snooties, Normals and Crankies all show this. Not sure on the others, as I don't remember much of their dialogue.

This would indicate that either the player is a young adult and the villagers are forty year olds, or you're a kid and they're a 10 year old dog who think they know something.

Also, all the items you put on to make yourself look older, are "wigs", "costumes", it's more likely you're just a kid playing dressup. What would be more interesting to me is, are the people saying "adults" adults themselves? I think AC is immersive and anyone can project onto it and enjoy it, so thinking of the characters as "yourself" makes sense. When I play NL, I think of my character as me, an adult, but from an objective perspective I think they're meant to be children.

Edit: OH AND, the reason living on your own makes sense is for the same reason it makes sense within the Pok?mon Universe lol. Japanese games aren't uncommon to have this theme, nor to have children being able to hold casual jobs in games.

What do mean by are they adults themselves? I am an adult. I'm sure it's why I get questioned at all. It's actually more of the general consensus of kiddie game vs adult game than it is just a blantant judgement to AC alone. Though AC is really one of the only game series I play, so when the discussion involves me its safe to think my friends do refer to it.

 

[Laconic]

What do mean by are they adults themselves? I am an adult. I'm sure it's why I get questioned at all. It's actually more of the general consensus of kiddie game vs adult game than it is just a blantant judgement to AC alone. Though AC is really one of the only game series I play, so when the discussion involves me its safe to think my friends do refer to it.

Perhaps a misunderstanding in my tone or something Not sure what you're referring to in the later part of your reply with being questioned and your friends, sorry.

But I mean, are they adult themselves--- as in, they're more inclined to see their character as an adult because they are ! Whereas, a child playing would be more likely to see it as a child too, because they project themselves onto the character and get immersed. So, I was asking if the people who commented/voted were at the stage in life that they picked. Just for fun data reasons. lol
I see my character as adult because I am one, but I know when I was child and played, the characters looked like children to me.

LadyDestani made the point of saying the chibi artstyle made it so that any age could latch onto the characters, because child and adult chibis look the same. I agree with that, and think the cutesty artstyle is purposefully for that reason.

But I think the dialogue and series is catered towards children, so that's why I went with they are overall suppose to be children.

 

[MelloDimensions]

Perhaps a misunderstanding in my tone or something Not sure what you're referring to in the later part of your reply with being questioned and your friends, sorry.

But I mean, are they adult themselves--- as in, they're more inclined to see their character as an adult because they are ! Whereas, a child playing would be more likely to see it as a child too, because they project themselves onto the character and get immersed. So, I was asking if the people who commented/voted were at the stage in life that they picked. Just for fun data reasons. lol
I see my character as adult because I am one, but I know when I was child and played, the characters looked like children to me.

LadyDestani made the point of saying the chibi artstyle made it so that any age could latch onto the characters, because child and adult chibis look the same. I agree with that, and think the cutesty artstyle is purposefully for that reason.

But I think the dialogue and series is catered towards children, so that's why I went with they are overall suppose to be children.

I mean by the common view of those things when it comes to kiddie games and adult games. If the main character isn't a brooding musclebutt that has beard that reaches his feet, a forearm the size of his waist, and can bust through concrete like it's a flash paper bag then the demographic is obviously directed to children. That's just my improvised hot take though. In ACs case however you delve into more adult centric task like owning a house, paying debt, and tending to others all while those others, who presumably are adult animal folk, are the same size as you. I think in some dialogue choices, it's made to indicate that the particular personality is older than you in a way that they are older as fellow adults as opposed to you as a child. Uchi means "big sister" afterall.

 

[Laconic]

I mean by the common view of those things when it comes to kiddie games and adult games. If the main character isn't a brooding musclebutt that has beard that reaches his feet, a forearm the size of his waist, and can bust through concrete like it's a flash paper bag then the demographic is obviously directed to children. That's just my improvised hot take though. In ACs case however you delve into more adult centric task like owning a house, paying debt, and tending to others all while those others, who presumably are adult animal folk, are the same size as you. I think in some dialogue choices, it's made to indicate that the particular personality is older than you in a way that they are older as fellow adults as opposed to you as a child. Uchi means "big sister" afterall.

Night in The Woods is a game clearly not marketed at children, but everything is cartoony and everyone's an animal. Stardew Valley was not marketed at children either, which is why it has similarities to AC but has a lot more adult themes that the AC franchise has never introduced and would never. Neither of these videogames depict a hyper masculine man, I don't think that's needed to be "for adults". AC was made with children in mind, and has taken precautions to ensure that it's always a safe game for children. Along with all of it's original advertisements being marketed at children. That's not to say adults can't play AC, or children can't play Stardew or Night in The Woods, just that it wasn't the focal audience in game design.

NL is certainly a more inclusive game than the previous in the series, and I'm sure the player's model being bigger has to do with that. They definitely did want to incite other demographics too, as their advertisements started to show young adult/teenage age people, and they allowed mixing of the gendered items. If people told me the player in NL has to be an adult, I could believe that. But not the player in general, throughout the entire franchise, it just doesn't make sense to me...

I never left out the option that the player is a young adult and villagers older, so I do agree with you on everything ! I also think you can just be a kid with some aged animals around nagging on you about life ! Even with the Uchi example, your big sister can be close to you in age or not, it's ambiguous. If you're 5 and she's 20, or you're 20 and she's 21, she's still a big sister. Villagers also made comments about me not growing up, doing certain things to grow up strong, how I can't understand things because I'm too young, to not get older and that aging is scary (got this in birthday messages). Yea, maybe you'd say that to an adult, but it doesn't read that way to me personally

Another thing on the changed demos, is that most people who play AC currently are female and nearing mid20s, that's not me and it doesn't have to be. My player doesn't have to reflect that. Ambiguity is great, but I've played all games and the post asked for an answer, I'm sticking with kids. Also, the smash bros character used as an example in the original post, was modeled after villagers PRE-NL when first introduced. Where they look waaaaay more like kids, so maybe that's why they argued. :/ You can always bring up that the majority of players, TAKEN BY NINTENDO THEMSELVES, are female and mid20s since NL to shut them down if they insist it's a kids game ! Sorry for the spam reply, my username has always been ironic.

 

[MelloDimensions]

Night in The Woods is a game clearly not marketed at children, but everything is cartoony and everyone's an animal. Stardew Valley was not marketed at children either, which is why it has similarities to AC but has a lot more adult themes that the AC franchise has never introduced and would never. Neither of these videogames depict a hyper masculine man, I don't think that's needed to be "for adults". AC was made with children in mind, and has taken precautions to ensure that it's always a safe game for children. Along with all of it's original advertisements being marketed at children. That's not to say adults can't play AC, or children can't play Stardew or Night in The Woods, just that it wasn't the focal audience in game design.

NL is certainly a more inclusive game than the previous in the series, and I'm sure the player's model being bigger has to do with that. They definitely did want to incite other demographics too, as their advertisements started to show young adult/teenage age people, and they allowed mixing of the gendered items. If people told me the player in NL has to be an adult, I could believe that. But not the player in general, throughout the entire franchise, it just doesn't make sense to me...

I never left out the option that the player is a young adult and villagers older, so I do agree with you on everything ! I also think you can just be a kid with some aged animals around nagging on you about life ! Even with the Uchi example, your big sister can be close to you in age or not, it's ambiguous. If you're 5 and she's 20, or you're 20 and she's 21, she's still a big sister. Villagers also made comments about me not growing up, doing certain things to grow up strong, how I can't understand things because I'm too young, to not get older and that aging is scary (got this in birthday messages). Yea, maybe you'd say that to an adult, but it doesn't read that way to me personally

Another thing on the changed demos, is that most people who play AC currently are female and nearing mid20s, that's not me and it doesn't have to be. My player doesn't have to reflect that. Ambiguity is great, but I've played all games and the post asked for an answer, I'm sticking with kids. Also, the smash bros character used as an example in the original post, was modeled after villagers PRE-NL when first introduced. Where they look waaaaay more like kids, so maybe that's why they argued. :/ You can always bring up that the majority of players, TAKEN BY NINTENDO THEMSELVES, are female and mid20s since NL to shut them down if they insist it's a kids game ! Sorry for the spam reply, my username has always been ironic.

I don't know any of those games myself to really comply properly. I'm not aware of any gaming scene beyond Animal Crossing, and some Zelda to really be any kind of shining example on the matter. Thats honestly how any kind of judgement has ever been esculated because in any sense that I don't really like any other gaming that's what offsets the presumption at all. Though if it really does concern you know that's never any argument that was ensued. I like to say that I dig having some dignity, and like with what I had originally said in any case that something of an argument does happen, especially over video games, I would just leave. Pull an old fashion Irish goodbye if you will. So there's no argument to speak of. I was just curious of what others thought. Especially in a community that do like, and play the games. As for the representatives in smash I know why they choose them. It's honestly fine. I mentioned it solely from how it does add to the circumstance in the end.

 

[BluebearL]

This is an interesting thought and something that had not really occurred to me before! I think that the design of the mayor character is made so that it is not distinctly an adult or a child, there are no defining features that make it distinctly one or the other. I think it is very much up to the player who will probably (although not everyone) want to imagine the mayor character as being their age to make the game that little more relatable and personal. However, the idea of a child running a town is a little bit daunting I will admit so... I voted adult just out of concern for my fuzzy villagers whom I love

- - - Post Merge - - -

Oh lol, I only just saw that this applies to all characters and not just the mayors I would say that the villagers are adults and we know this for sure for the following reasons:

1- Katie is a child character and she is smaller and less mature in her speech~ The normal villagers are much bigger and while they may say some pretty odd stuff, it is more mature and they give advice (like an adult would)

2- Sometimes when you talk to them, villagers will mention that they spent the entire night partying and other little hints that they are adults (and making subtle jokes for the adults playing to understand lol)

 

[Sweetley]

...Both? Or more like you can decide it?

I mean, I always thought that your character is either a kid, teenager or adult depending of how you see your character yourself. Like, that the game doesn't pretend the age of the character, but more like that you can imagine the age. It's the same with the villagers, some may have a more childish look and therefore could be called kids, others looking more like adults. Because of this, I think it's up to you what you think. I for myself always imagine my character as a young adult, although the characters looking in previous games more like a kid, but I guess that's because of the "chibi look". Since New Leaf, it's easier to see them now as "older".

 

[Hanif1807]

I'm gonna go with the third unlisted answer; they're vary from children to adults. Katie is one of the examples of children in the game, while Kaitlin, Tortimer, Isabelle or other special characters who have a job, and old-looking villagers like Dobie are few examples of adults. Although if you think about it, it's uncommon to see children already having their own house and manage it themselves in real life. Or maybe the game doesn't have to be logical just like it. I mean, seeing animals that unusually standing with their feet for the rest of their life is already not logical, right?

But that's just what i think

 

[Ossiran]

It's implied that the Villagers are adults or at least high school age teenagers. In Japan, it's not uncommon for parents to send their kids to high schools out of town and have them live on their own. I'd say villagers who are not explicitly children like Katie are at least 16.

 

[Corrie]

Adults. There's no way they'd be living on their own if they were kids.