the pressure to play?

[beffa]

So, I'll admit. I haven't played ACNL properly for about 2 weeks. I haven't played at all for the last 3-4 days too. Now, don't get me wrong, I still love the game to pieces; I've played all the games since childhood and I've never become bored of them. It's just? I don't really have time. And when I do, I can't be bothered. It's mainly a same daily routine kind of thing honestly.

And you know what scares me? Now I've got all my 'dreamies' it's hard for me to go back to playing after even missing a day 'just in case'. And I feel guilty. I've done all this for my town and now I'm kind of abandoning it. I've unlocked everything and now I've just? left it.

Anyone else feel like this? I don't know how to make the game interesting or worthwhile for me anymore.

 

[Mokuren]

I stoped playing a while ago foe about 3 months. After that I started to play the game again and I still do. I was so done with the game it was just boring... the break was the best thing for me maybe it helps you too

When my town is all finished - full catalogue, complete town, all pwps, full museum and beautiful houses I will start at my second copy of the game

 

[VioletsTown]

I know what you mean. Even if i dont play fully, i feel pressured to check in and at least walk around, just to see what is going on. I think to keep the game fresh, you have to find a new goal. Now that i have let go of the dreamie obsession, my next thing might be landscaping. I have been really focused on my museum so my town is just random. Lots of flowers everywhere, no paths.

 

[beffa]

I stoped playing a while ago foe about 3 months. After that I started to play the game again and I still do. I was so done with the game it was just boring... the break was the best thing for me maybe it helps you too

When my town is all finished - full catalogue, complete town, all pwps, full museum and beautiful houses I will start at my second copy of the game

That may be why. I exhausted everything so fast. I played every day constantly and I guess I'm just bored.

 

[Gizmodo]

I always feel guilty too, its so so exhausting, im up to my neck in a level work and its just frustrating!

 

[harvington]

i hit that point before too a while back, honestly if its boring just take a break! its funny, my brother plays on and off (not nearly as much as i do) and he once described it as "chore crossing" because he said that when he plays he feels obligated to find things for his museum, go fishing, work on the town, etc. i think if you have a daily routine in the game its really easy to get burned out. there are some good hiatus guides out there though if you're worried about losing your dream villagers that really help if you want to take a break, what i've done in the past is just make sure to deny a villagers request to move the day before I stop playing (can't find the specific guide but its on tumblr, basically just TT until someone pings you to move, say no, and then close the game) and I've had good success with that- I took a break for a few months and when I came back everyone was still there.

There's also this one http://animalcrossingus.tumblr.com/post/69131083206/this-guide-makes-extensive-use-of-the-nintendo but it involves messing with your 3DS's clock which I don't like to do, but if its not a big deal then that one seems more reliable. It's helpful because I feel like villagers moving out is probably the most frustrating worry when you stop playing for a while, or at least for me!

Sorry this was so long winded lol

 

[cheezu]

I know what you mean.
Just getting all the villagers outside by re-loading the game multiple times to check for any movers takes me up to an hour.
And I'd probably stop playing for a few days every now and then if I wasn't so scared of some villagers moving out.

Not to go off topic but, harvington, do you know of any other hiatus guides?
I don't really like meddling with the in-game clock much.

 

[Gizmodo]

I'm pretty sure if a villager asks to move out, and you prevent them, you can save and quit, and as long as you dont go back on the game, no-one will try to move

 

[Neriifur]

If you're bored, it's going to feel like a chore. Until you find ways not to bore yourself, to set new goals, you'll continue to be bored--because yeah the same routine all the time sucks. It's boring to have the same routine IRL, so it would be boring to have it in a game as well. I'm not sure how I would keep up with this game if I was an extremely casual player O_O It does take some time out of ya.

 

[Saranghae]

I got bored of NL when I started college and I didn't play for like 3 months but then I started up again and got really into it A break is always a good idea.

 

[VioletsTown]

That "chore crossing" line made me lol. So captures what this game feels like sometimes

 

[Neriifur]

That "chore crossing" line made me lol. So captures what this game feels like sometimes

Lol that'sf unny xD Yeah it kind of does. I can see why people TT now, because after a while the things you gain are just very few and far between as opposed to when you first started the game.

 

[jolokia]

The slowness is part of the appeal for me. I'm a dedicated non-TTer and I freely admit my town's grown at a snail's pace, but I've played every single day since I got it in September and I'm not bored of it yet. Although, I didn't go for a set of permanent residents, so I've always got people moving in and out to keep things fresh.

On topic for the OP: You could stop playing as long as you want, then when you come back, check your 3DS's activity stats to see when you last played. Use Isabelle to set the clock to that date and you've lost nothing!

Otherwise,
a) put Beautiful Town on
b) find a villager who is moving and tell them not to
c) save and quit

Now you can basically leave it as long as you want to and nothing bad will happen.

 

[Siren137]

It's a shame that the game doesn't have a built in function to stay roughly the same for a while. So for example you could speak to Isabelle and tell her that you are going on holiday and will be away, she can ask how many days and then you can switch off with nothing bad happening while you are gone!
It could be like a town ordinance or something that bans move outs and weeds etc.

 

[Jinglefruit]

I hit this point back in October after returning uni and suddenly having no time I was playing just to water flowers and check no one was moving out. (didn't have beautiful ordinance on cause I was only playing late at night back then) Then I took a week off because of a deadline and when I went to play again my data corrupt. 3= But because of the corruption it rekindled my interest in the game because I had to start anew, I suddenly had gardening still to do and PWP to unlock again and I could play without making the same mistakes I did before.

This town I got my sort of-dreamies about a month ago, but some of them aren't my favourite villagers which is actually making me enjoy the town more. And I've gotten decently far with landscaping now but since the corruption I still have bugs and fish to catch and the museum to recomplete and badges and all sorts of other things to do. So I guess I'm suggesting getting a second copy to play?


You can also guarantee you don't lose any villagers by making a new human character when you want to replay and using that to check no one has left, seeing as that is the only real issue with abandoning your town for a while. (assuming beautiful ordinance) ~ might ease your guilt.