[tw for discussions about anxiety and mental illness]
I started playing Animal Crossing because I find it really soothing and pretty, but recently I've been busy I haven't had the time to play a lot. And I've found that I actually get a lot of anxiety about it because I feel so bad about things such as missing my villagers' birthdays and events, paying back my loans etc.
I also feel kind of bad because I really want to make my town pretty and save up millions of Bells like everyone else, but I get fatigued very easily.
Does anyone else have any suggestions for how to cope with these bad feelings? I want to go back to feeling at peace when I play the game, like I used to do.
you said like "everyone else" but you need to realize:
there are no obligations in animal crossing!
you can spend all your BTB money or get moneyar whatever pace you want to...most people who have saved millions of bells have been playing for a LONG time! as for prettying up your town, that takes a very long time also...you seem to be a bit rushed and that's probably why you feel anxiety.
this is YOUR game, you don't have to make your town look as good as someone else's or save up 999,999,999 bells...it's YOUR game to play it however you want it...but i suggest taking it SLOW because it may seem like all these people got their towns so quickly...but it's a really long process c:
What I do is to freeze time: When I save the game I make a note of the date & time.
When I can play again I change the time - on the 3ds itself, to a time after I last played - this may mean just moving the time back or also moving the date back as well.
I then load the game which picks up the time from the console.
I do not go back over a past save, just move slowly forward in time.
You could do similar by changing the time with Isabelle at the front screen. I prefer to do it on the console itself.
Disadvantages: you will probably be playing in the past unelss you can spare the RL time to play a bit of catch up.
The activity log might look a bit odd but I've had no problems.
You would have to change the time again if you were playing other time sensitive games (& some don't allow you to do this - eg Nintendogs).
Pros: it does not affect DLC, turnips (but don't go back over a past save), you can visit other towns on different dates, including to sell turnips.
Another solution: wait till you get a villager asking to move - say yes or no to them and then save. (it will prevent a villager from moving/entering the town). Have beautiful ordinance set so that flowers remain OK.
Go back to the town without playing the missing days (ie you are not changing the time at all).
Edit: I didn't pick up about making the town look good & making money in your post: - I just play the game in an easy going way, no stress, purely for relaxation - I do have fair amount of money ingame but then I've played since game release.
But my towns are no where near like some of the Dream towns I've been to. For me its just the pleasure of making my towns look nice for me. I suppose you could say I'm interested in the journey not the destination.
Once you have all those bells and a totally fixed up town - what do you? (some players restart!).
Animal Crossing is a game that is best played with a really relaxed approach. no one does things the same way. I resetted and have been taking things extremely slow so far. no town decorating really, haven't built any pwps aside from a second bridge and the campsite... I'll do more when I feel like it/when I decide where things should go.
as for missing events/villagers' birthdays... don't worry about it! if there's something you really feel you shouldn't miss, time travel back a bit! shouldn't be a problem. paying the house off takes time. if you need money for that, definitely consider exchanging some bell tree bells for in-game bells. I might do that myself.
but yeah, it's just a game. no big deal if you miss out on things, really. paying off the house doesn't have to happen instantly. take it easy, and play when you wanna.
Remember that nintendo has set it up so mistakes don't hurt you too much. I feel awful when I forget to show up to a villager's house etc. But at most they will say one line about it and then be happy again next time you talk to them! That's the beauty of Animal Crossing I think. It is very forgiving.
