So, you basically tell a stranger your name and where you're going to live

[HappyTails]

So Animal Crossings just glosses over the fact that you tell a complete stranger all your personal information like where you are living and your name. Aren't we taught as children to not do that? But this game makes it seem like it's something people just do. For all we know, Rover can be a 'cat' burglar. Haha see what I did there?


I should be watching Dragon Ball Z Kai, but instead I'm here making random threads.

 

[Becca617]

I guess this can be taken multiple ways, but the difference is that ACNL is just a game, whereas in real life it'd be a lot different and an absolute no-no. Rover is just a fictional cat that determines your characters name and town in the game, but in real life it'd be a lot more serious. With young kids though, it may give them the wrong idea... I will say that.

 

[Jeannine]

lol I guess after playing Animal Crossing for 10 years I'm kinda used to it What's less realistic is being forced into a mayoral position because you stepped off the right train

 

[TykiButterfree]

Rover secretly lives on the train. He's not going to leave the train to steal from us. He might miss his ride. I do question tne mayor thing. Especially since they even send you a letter. I was hoping you'd get to meet the mayor who's job you stole at some point. lol

 

[BigMikey]

It's like Halloween. Parents spend years teaching their children not to accept candy from strangers... then on Halloween, they send them out to do that very thing!

 

[Nenya]

I know you are basically just kidding, Happy Tails, so my comment may be a tad too serious, but as a grandma I'm very thankful that my daughter is very deliberately teaching her son to differentiate between what is real life and what is fantasy (games, cartoons, most of what you see in media of every kind, in fact.)

Got the "cat" burglar thing right away...clever! like Rover!

Oh, just thought of something else to be thankful for. Most kids are not constantly resetting like many of us adults do, so they would have only a brief exposure to Rover when they start the game. Good thing, he is such a bad influence! A cat masquerading as a good guy! Lol!

 

[Sweetley]

Well, it's a videogame. And as long as the kids know that they shouldn't talk with strangers
in real life and also know that it's fantasy, then everything is ok. I mean, if you think about
it: Animal Crossing in general is just weird. Talking with Rover, a stranger which is a tall blue
cat, seem to be not such a big thing when you know that you end up becoming the mayor
of a town full of human acting animals.

 

[Chick]

To be fair with you, I hope young kids don’t get a bad influence from this. I actually first played Animal Crossing ALL the way back when I was seven, and for now I’ll say that Animal Crossing kinda did put an influence on me. It’s actually really funny though, but I guess the storyline couldn’t be anything better, to be honest.

Spoiler: if you haven’t played AC:PC yet and don’t want spoilers, don’t click this

Also, in Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, you get to the campsite and you end up being the camp manager, just like you being the mayor in Animal Crossing New Leaf. To be honest, the storyline is getting pretty repetitive to me. I mean, they should have another storyline because this one just ends up getting a little boring. I know Animal Crossing isn’t really meant to be a story game and just meant to be pretty freestylish, but I don’t like this theme.

 

[katysu]

I'm an older adult & when I was child there were no video games, so I've no experience.
But I would have thought a lot of children understand the difference between a game/talking with a blue cat and real life.
But I do see that Chick says when very young the game did influence them.

As games go, ac games are very gentle & mild, so with a little bit of interaction/explanation from an adult, ac would make a good game for a young player who can read, (as its text based).

I've just got to post this, it made me smile so much - game doesn't just affect children.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalCros...other_playing_ac_for_the_first_time_tried_to/

 

[Nenya]

I've just got to post this, it made me smile so much - game doesn't just affect children.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AnimalCros...other_playing_ac_for_the_first_time_tried_to/[/QUOTE]

That is a great link, thank you for the laugh! I had no problem giving Rover my chosen game name and town destination, lol.

I did mention I'm a grandma, right? In my sixties, too. My grandson, seven now, introduced me to acnl about 18 months ago. We played together on his town then I started playing his town, with his permission, of course, then he gave me his cartridge. I bought a used 3DS, eventually got another cartridge and so did he, so we still play together. Just went fishing together yesterday and had a ball jumping off the pier at the same time!

I have two DS's now, and two towns. I believe I am on the slippery slope that TBT member named Hoodathotit talks about, on my way to multiple towns (he has seventeen!). Wheee!

PS Up until around the age of about seven, children don't have the cognitive ablility to distinguish between fantasy and reality. I've seen my grandson beginning to come to an understanding of this for a while. (I have a degree in early childhood education...learned this in my twenties. It was helpful when raising my own children.)

Thanks for this thread, Happy Tails!