How do you feel about 'Insta-lands'?

[kemdi]

lol, You know what I'm talking about. Those islands that are super mega developed, with a cast of all all-star popular villagers, and everything looks like an instagram story where all everyone ever does is have a great time in their super 5-star mega futuristic city, while tumbleweeds and roaches blow through your 1-star dirt hovel with plague rat Rodney as your only good villager. Yeah, those. What's your take on them? Like do you try to find ideas from them, or do you think getting inspiration from them is a good idea?

I dunno. On one hand I actually really like them! I wanted to take some tours of some well developed 5-star islands since mine is a dirt hovel(lol, I don't have Rodney or roaches though). Maybe see if I could get a spark for ideas on my own island.
But on the other hand...I don't want my island to look too much like everyone else's. I still want mine to do its own thing, ya know?

What do you think?

 

[Mairen]

I don't have anything at all against the people who create them, but I do find a lot of those islands to be bland and a lot of them all look and feel the same, especially when they all have pretty much the same popular villagers, the same outdoor cafe, the same beach decor...etc

On the other hand, I don't compare my island to them and feel inferior or anything. I acknowledge that those islands, designer islands or not, took a lot of work to put together. I'm personally going for an aesthetic for my island that I like, for myself. I'm not trying to create something with the intention of getting a bunch of clicks and likes. I'm not decorating my island to try to impress others, you know?

 

[Minimasher]

Whenever I see their islands I tell myself that I wish my island looked like that. I try to take ideas from other people's amazing islands but honestly I enjoy having my own touch on my island and having what it look like what I've come up with and not other people's. It's great to get inspired by other people's designs but I also think it's good to have some creativity and see what you can come up with!

 

[Kyneria]

I like to see the creativy of some designs, take inspirations or sometimes even copy to some extent (like the forced perspective with the lighthouse, it's so cool!). I wouldn't mind having similarities with other islands, I don't think it means anything (lack of originality and so) but that's just my take on that.

I try to not compare my island to be honest, because that would make this a competition in a sense, and I don't want that.

 

[Cadbberry]

If that is what someone wants to create, I don't see a problem with it! It can be a bit off-putting since I don't know how to make my island look that good, but that's on me!

 

[tajikey]

I don't interact with social media. My exposure is limited to the islands I travel to for trades and watering. I like what I've created, and couldn't care less to compare my dock to any other dock out there.

 

[seularin]

i don’t try to compare my island with theirs, because everyone has their own sense of style. i don’t want the same villagers as them, i want villagers that appeal to me. i don’t try to snatch some ideas from them, even if they’re free to take, because it doesn’t sit well with me when i have something on my island that i didn’t come up with.

 

[meggiewes]

Some I really like because they are well thought out and decorated wonderfully. I don't like others because they don't look well thought out even if they are decorated wonderfully. And some just aren't to my taste, but are really impressive just because of the amount of work that is put into them.

Overall, I know the "best" island is my island because it is mine! I can't wait for a Dream Suite of some kind to explore other islands. I am 90% sure we will be getting something like that and I am excited to see all the islands from around the world.

 

[Khaelis]

Doesn't matter how they got to the ending goal, their island is no different from anyone else. Unless it's hacked, then it's different.

 

[Imbri]

I appreciate the work that went into them, and they are fun to tour. I wouldn't want to live on them though. They seem more like art exhibits, beautiful to look at, but not something you can dig into and play with.

 

[Dormire]

I prefer natural and peaceful-like aesthetics. While the "grand" ones look good it feels like not really a place to live in but rather just a piece of art to enjoy. Like horror-themed towns. It's just there to express art.

It's why I don't mind them as much.

 

[Hirisa]

I think those kinds of islands are typically boring and formulaic. But if that's what makes the player happy, that is all that matters. Thing is, sometimes those islands don't seem to make the player happy - instead they sometimes seem to be very insecure. Maybe that's the risk of playing the popularity game: a constant fear of not measuring up, that someone, somewhere is doing it better than you. Who knows?

 

[mirukushake]

Why... does it matter? Animal Crossing is about playing how you want, after all. If they want an island that has a certain look, why not? If the look is popular, it's probably popular for a reason. They still had to terraform and collect furniture and cycle villagers like everyone else out there making an island. They're just as entitled to share the product of their time and creative effort as anyone else.

 

[sleepydreepy]

You know, I'm actually not very impressed by the recent ones I've seen. They don't fit my personal style, so I am looking forward to more people completing their islands and posting pics/videos! The 5 star islands I've seen recently are also very repetitive and frankly not that creative. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place! But I have seen a few good ones. For me I see it as inspiration. I know I'm not going to have a finished island for a while (didn't complete my town in NL until a few years after the game came out..) but I'm also in no rush. I'm going at my own pace and I don't mind it!

 

[Chris]

I would gladly live in a hovel with Rodney. He is the victim of far too much hate.

I think they're very pretty, but they're not for me. I like simplicity, and the 'cutesy' aesthetic a lot of these islands have just isn't my style. Having a cast of all-popular villagers is also a little dull, but to each their own.

 

[raqball]

People can build their Island and get the villagers they want, not a big deal to me at all... I put a lot of time and effort into getting the villagers I currently have and it was not an easy task. Some were easy'ish as they were amiibo but the ones without an amiibo were hard.... Real hard!

The 1st post makes it sound like people sat back and got everything they wanted while doing nothing.. I can assure you, that's not the case at all...

 

[Darcy94x]

I started terraforming today .. after 180 hours of gameplay ... it’s sooooooo time consuming. My island this morning literally looked like the starter island but covered in flowers, I’ve managed to decorate my plaza area and move a villager but honestly it gets tedious. I’m hoping to be done in a week or 2 considering I want every building relocating

 

[R. Planet]

Well ANY of us can have a village that looks like those if we just put in the work...

Now about the same cast of villagers...

I saw this as a potential problem the day I got Raymond on a Mystery Island Tour That's Yours (MITTY). When I got back from the mitty I said to myself "Self! You just landed the most popular character in the game. It sure does feel good! We ought to get some more characters like that on subsequent mittys."

But then I started to think what my island would look like. An all-star cast of mitty stars and campsite lucky scores. It would look like...a LOT of other islands. Every one of them having a Raymond. Snore. Snoooozzzzzze. Boring.

So I totally allow myself some of these top tier guys. But not just because they're top tier. Because I like them. I have Raymond, Julian, Lucky and Skye. Though Skye was randomly picked as my first normie. So not my fault.

But I have a rule now. It's called the 50/50 rule. Half my villagers can be dreamies or highly tiered/coveted villagers but the OTHER half must remain characters that I'm giving a chance to because they're new/underappreciated/looked over, at all times.

Right now I have four very highly ranked and sought after villagers. Maaaaaybe I'll allow myself one more. But that's it. If I want another I'll just have to let one of those 5 go because I want a fun island of cool characters but I also want Calla Bryn to be unique and different from other islands you might visit. Maybe a place where you can meet a cool villager you've never even seen before.

Not just some Mitty town...

 

[Hirisa]

I would gladly live in a hovel with Rodney. He is the victim of far too much hate.

Yes, this. Rodney is actually precious to me and doesn't deserve to be the poster boy for "bad" villagers. No one does, really.

 

[kemdi]

Why... does it matter? Animal Crossing is about playing how you want, after all. If they want an island that has a certain look, why not? If the look is popular, it's probably popular for a reason. They still had to terraform and collect furniture and cycle villagers like everyone else out there making an island. They're just as entitled to share the product of their time and creative effort as anyone else.

Uh...did you read my op? I wasn't hating on them. I'm actually interested in getting inspiration from them. I was just asking what everyone thought of them, not putting them down...