I've thought a lot about this and my biggest hope for the next game is that they totally revamp the Villagers. I think it's obvious the spectrum of play for AC players goes from those who like the immersion (life sim) aspect of the game and those who like decorating. I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle of those two ends. New Horizons mastered the decoration side of the game, and while the next installment could definitely have more sets of furniture (either new or bringing old ones back) and/or fill out sets better, I'm hoping they focus on villagers next game to help with the immersion/life sim side of playing AC.
The way I hope they do this is keeping in line with three key points:
1. Revamp the personality system.
I think the 8-personality system where the male and female personalities are counterparts to each other is really outdated at this point and has gotten to be limiting. They nailed it with player character customization in NH and getting rid of gender commentary/rigidness, and I think the gendered personality system should be the next piece of that to go. Instead of having 4 personalities for each gender, I think that they could do a 5-personality system, with each personality having 2 variants for a total of 10 personalities that are more diverse than what we currently have and that are not limited to gender.
For most of what I came up with, it's just merging the two gendered counterparts into one but finding a way to still have 2 distinct variations. Here is a brief rundown of some of the ideas I had:
Snooty - the first variation being like an upper-crust member of society who has very high standards, only uses expensive furniture (and will only be happy with expensive gifts), will only sell/buy for higher prices, makes comments when you're wearing clothes that don't match/are cheap/custom designs ("homemade" lol), and will criticize things in your house that aren't to their taste (if they even come over, because you know they don't just go to anybody's home); the second variation being big-headed where they think they've got high standards but in reality are pretty delusional, their homes have expensive things but don't really match well, and they can be easily fooled through dialogue options on what is "in-style."
Freeloader - the first variation being similar to NH Lazy villagers keeping the filthy aspect where they like bugs in their house and are very food-motivated, but could also now be seen with fleas more often, happily take hand-me-downs, will show up frequently at your house, and will only buy/sell for low prices; the second variation could be a hippy type villager who really takes it easy, likes the beach, is constantly seen in nature, and maybe even falls asleep more around town on benches/hammocks.
Nerd - the first variation would be a dork/uncool kind of villager who likes classic "nerd" things like RPGs, staying inside, isn't as good at sporty things, and maybe even has a higher interest in gadgets and tech; the second variation is more of a homebody who likes reading, crafting items, painting/drawing, and is more likely to invite you over rather than show up to your house.
Energized - the first variation would be simply athletic and be more likely to challenge you to a game or kicking a ball around, enjoy jogging around town, more health-conscious, ask you for or give you fruit/veggies more often, and will encourage the player to be more active; the second variation can be a sort of "off-the-wall" akin to Peppy but more eccentric and crazed, with a more heightened interest in different activities and almost having obsessions that could vary month to month.
"Age" - not sure what this group could be called, but I would love to see the childish elements of NH Lazys, Sisterly, and Cranky personalities to be better highlighted, and I think that can be done with one variation to this combined personality being childish who need guidance, utilize the kid-like furniture in their house, ask to come over a lot, and are generally very kind-hearted towards others; the second variation could be an elder who is wise with age, can be cranky to the player upon first meeting but as you build friendship they take the player under their wing, offer advice, invite you over a lot, offer tips for playing the game, and are more likely to give you things for free.
I know all of this is getting too into it, and that it's probably a very far-fetched idea, but some kind of system like this could really bright the villagers back to life and offer so many variations for villagers to fill your town, especially if they aren't limited to gender. I know a lot of people like the idea of being able to have more than 10 villagers, and this could allow for a lot more unique groups of villagers to have in your town.
2. Let Villagers "grow up."
You know how they introduced Flick, CJ, and Daisy Mae as "meet the next generation"? That gives me the impression that characters like Nat, Joan, etc. are "older" now. This is what I hope they do with villagers. Let them "grow up," with some more drastically than others. I think it would be really cool to see a villager like Stiches grow up and be a bear rather than a cub, and for him to even change personalities - under the system I outlined above, he could have the personality of a Nerd-homebody who is welcoming to the player and invites them over a lot, and could be like a big teddy bear that is familiar and "feels like home" for the player (I am personally turned off by a lot of the current Lazys who talk about bugs a little too frequently and feel like little children - compared to previous games, it feels a bit like they regressed rather than aged with the people who may have been playing these games for 10+ years)
I think doing a push like this with aging some villagers up could also allow for some new, "younger" villagers to be introduced. Especially if there is a better personality system with a personality type that can be more focused on a childlike personality rather than the NH Lazy version that has a mix of that plus the bugs and snack obsessions, lol. I also personally wouldn't be opposed to villagers also "aging out" and retiring in a sense. I know a lot of people hate this kind of idea, but I think many players can learn to enjoy new villagers once in a while and make some new friends in a game that's all about moving to a new area and building a little life for yourself. I think that's part of the core of this franchise that's gotten lost along the way as people have found their favorites and many mechanics across games are just rinse and repeat.
Lastly under this "growing up" idea, I think it could allow for some villagers to be refreshed and get some makeovers - even subtle changes just to show that these aren't static 3D models that essentially look the same 20 years on. It could help and handful of them to get some more love, too.
3. Bring back ALL previous Villagers AND introduce at least 50 more
I think this will sound like it immediately goes against what I just said regarding "retiring" some villagers, but I do think they could bring those ones back in a way that isn't them living in your town. I would love to see some of them have jobs and other functions whether that is in Nook's, Able Sisters, or entirely new game mechanics. If there is a Main Street-esque feature in the next game, these retirees could also be seen wandering around doing their errands and such - maybe even talking to them enough times as you see them week to week will allow you to get special items (maybe a way to bring back the Nintendo-themed furniture).
But to get to the main point, I think at this point and after they gave us those 8 returning villagers in NH's 2.0 update, they need to bring back all of the villagers that have been left behind in the Gamecube days. Some of them are so unique and have a ton of personality in their design, it's a shock that they've never been brought back. A move like this would appease so many old players and also bring a lot of freshness to the next game. In the same vein, introducing upwards of 50 new villagers would be a callback to everyone they introduced in New Leaf, which was really cool to see! Even 20 new villagers is better than just the 8 we originally got when NH released. To me that made the craze around a new villager like Raymond so much worse, because brand new villagers were in such short supply. From a sales point-of-view, a bunch of new villagers can also constitute a series 6 of amiibo cards since those became so wildly popular in the past couple years.
There are a ton of other things I'd love to see in the next game, but this type of villager overhaul is on top of my wishlist. I genuinely believe that the people working on this franchise hear us and know that NH really missed the mark for a ton of people in terms of villagers, so I have some hope that
something will come out of all the criticism NH received. Crossing my fingers that something is at least announced soon, since NH turns 4 next year and historically we get a major release about every 4 years (yes, I'm counting the WA update for New Leaf as a major release since it added so much content... and it fits with the timeline perfectly, lol).
