Villagers preferences

[Figment]

Honestly, I don't care what's in their house or what they're wearing (as long they never wear anything inappropriate). I also don't care if they are one of the lesser popular villagers (the ones people seem to hit with nets and push to get to leave). I'll let them move out if they want but I won't attack them or anything lol I just feel bad if I do.

Always viewed villagers in NH as those who wanted to get on this getaway package for a reason so I let my villagers do whatever. I also don't treat my character as 'superior' so my house is bunched with my neighbours.

I really agree with this. It sort of bothers me seeing videos of people bully villagers into leaving and seeing people responding positively to that. Especially considering it's not really an effective tactic to have them move out anyway. It just seems unnecessarily mean spirited.

And I think about it the same way. They're just trying to "get away from it all" so I let them do their own thing.

 

[Le Ham]

I think what makes this dynamic much more interesting in NH is that now you can just freely gift your villagers anything and they don't ask for specific requests very often. So, in a way, Nintendo has made villagers more into just another thing you can customize. Or at least it's a step in that direction. Back in earlier games you had no say in any choices the villagers made and you were just a part of their village. Now you're like their dictator. AC seems to have evolved to fit a different play theme - like the blend of customization and settling into a village life getting to know your animal friends has shifted much more toward the customization side from NL on.

So the different emphases appeal to different players in different ways. That would affect how some people choose to deal with their villagers - whether you would rather them keep their aesthetic or maybe you would sacrifice some of that to have a more lively experience of them.

 

[N a t]

I can't really explain why but when I play a very "sandbox" kinda game like this, I do get very controlling of the aspects of my game. I don't mind my villagers wearing different clothes or changing furniture. I still love to give them different clothes and items that they ask for, I buy the stuff off of them when they ask me to, etc. I like to befriend them as much as you probably could with a virtual animal I guess, but when they start to do weird things with their furniture it gets on my nerves. Seeing animals place strange objects like plants or toasters on a stove, or putting a computer on a desk but making the monitor face a wall instead of the correct way, really bugs me. I like to immerse myself in these games and while it's silly to say this, I want it to feel as realistic as it can get, considering that this game is fairly unrealistic anyways. So I guess I only have a problem with it, to a degree. I'm okay with giving my little critters whatever they want or need within my own reason. I wasn't happy when Static wore a baby romper because he isn't a baby... so I gifted him multiple new outfits that he must actually love because he hasn't used the romper once since I did that. I gave him cool clothing since he's a cranky lol. Hopefully my perspective makes sense but idk. I consider this game to be something like an escape from real world troubles so it's kinda weird when I walk into a villagers house and see that they've got a board game on their gas lit stove or something like that.

 

[SheepMareep]

I think what makes this dynamic much more interesting in NH is that now you can just freely gift your villagers anything and they don't ask for specific requests very often. So, in a way, Nintendo has made villagers more into just another thing you can customize. Or at least it's a step in that direction. Back in earlier games you had no say in any choices the villagers made and you were just a part of their village. Now you're like their dictator. AC seems to have evolved to fit a different play theme - like the blend of customization and settling into a village life getting to know your animal friends has shifted much more toward the customization side from NL on.

So the different emphases appeal to different players in different ways. That would affect how some people choose to deal with their villagers - whether you would rather them keep their aesthetic or maybe you would sacrifice some of that to have a more lively experience of them.

You have always been able to gift things to villagers whenever though by mailing them gifts. In NL people would buy multiples of a single item and send them to the villager constantly until it was in the house or they wore it.
In NH it's easier with the "here's a gift" option but? They can still choose not to wear the shirt/hat/glasses or to not put the furniture in their home.
Prior to NL there werent dream addresses and people were less concerned as to what their towns looked like compared to others. Like when I played CF and WW I'd be amazed at some of the custom paths and designs people made but it wasnt so competitive.
Since NL people have been a LOT more into their aesthetic and what things "should" look like that's for sure
But I dont think NH really made this any worse compared to NL.

 

[Altarium]

I find the fish and insect tanks hideous so I don't like my villagers littering their houses with them... like picture Julian's gorgeous house with a black bass tank sitting in the middle... yeah no.

As for clothes, I always try to find something that's akin to their preferences and style that I think will look good on them and match my aesthetic better. So I gave Julian a golden noble coat to make him an astronomer, and I got Ruby a cute layered dress because I don't really like her default tee. I don't really force them into anything because I only gift them things they like lol

 

[Le Ham]

You have always been able to gift things to villagers whenever though by mailing them gifts. In NL people would buy multiples of a single item and send them to the villager constantly until it was in the house or they wore it.
In NH it's easier with the "here's a gift" option but? They can still choose not to wear the shirt/hat/glasses or to not put the furniture in their home.
Prior to NL there werent dream addresses and people were less concerned as to what their towns looked like compared to others. Like when I played CF and WW I'd be amazed at some of the custom paths and designs people made but it wasnt so competitive.
Since NL people have been a LOT more into their aesthetic and what things "should" look like that's for sure
But I dont think NH really made this any worse compared to NL.

All fair points, it's still ultimately at the villager's discretion what gets displayed and where stuff goes. I gifted Ursala a wooden bed, because I thought it was sad for her to use her sleeping bag when she has a house now, and now she's just got both displayed lol. I didn't think of the effect dream addresses had, that's a good point, and it's especially more relevant since the rise of social media and since AC has become more mainstream. The main idea I had was just that I feel like NH's design made it a little more at the forefront than even NL with even that small step of the dialogue option.

Definitely, especially in this forum, I see the obsession with aesthetic pretty often. I was there for NL and it was strong then too, I remember the whole gifting a shirt 20 times to make them wear it thing believe me. Guess I'm just trying to offer an opinion as to why people get into that or what makes it their preferred style of play? But I can't get into people's heads lol - it probably just boils down to "play how you want" like a lot of things do

 

[thatveryawkwardmayor]

i think a better question to ask is: do villagers have rights?

im not sure, but i know i don’t treat like my villagers like im playing Sims 4 torturing them and violating Geneva Convention laws but some people do

 

[N a t]

i think a better question to ask is: do villagers have rights?

im not sure, but i know i don’t treat like my villagers like im playing Sims 4 torturing them and violating Geneva Convention laws but some people do

I would say I'm occasionally strict with mine as in, I'm not afraid to tell them no on occasion, but I still treat them with empathy. Even if this is just a game I could never be mean to them or raise a tool at them. They're so cute and innocent and sweet... so I definitely feel ya there. I might tell someone in real life "no", but I wouldn't smackem if I though they were "ugly". Can't do it to virtual people either.

 

[Khte]

I'm usually not too strict about it and won't report my villagers because I just simply don't care enough to.

However, if I see my punk girl Cherry running around in a frilly pink dress with laces and flowers, I might give her something else to wear. if she decides to wear it again, ok fine, she's feeling girly that day, whatever. I do like my villager's main style to match, but at the end of the day, it doesn't bother me to a point where I will take action.

As far as villager house interior/exterior goes, I still don't have much opinion about it for this current island, but when I go to make my haunted island, I ideally want them to not be pink/beige/white and whatnot.

 

[Twinsouls1145]

i do like to be very controlling with my villagers but i think maybe i wouldnt if they did have actual personalities. my villagers trashing the **** i give them does not count as "more personality" to me. that just counts as annoying. if they had unique dialogue and TALKED about their personal preferences and had preferences that made sense then maybe the way they treat clothing and furniture would make sense! id probably actually want to give them the **** theyd like bc theyd feel like real villagers! but atm they just feel like dolls that have the same 2 sentences programmed into them. so, if theyre going to be presented like dolls, i should be able to dress them up how i want to bc thats what dolls are for.

 

[SheepMareep]

i do like to be very controlling with my villagers but i think maybe i wouldnt if they did have actual personalities. my villagers trashing the **** i give them does not count as "more personality" to me. that just counts as annoying. if they had unique dialogue and TALKED about their personal preferences and had preferences that made sense then maybe the way they treat clothing and furniture would make sense! id probably actually want to give them the **** theyd like bc theyd feel like real villagers! but atm they just feel like dolls that have the same 2 sentences programmed into them. so, if theyre going to be presented like dolls, i should be able to dress them up how i want to bc thats what dolls are for.

This is.. definitley an aggressive opinion lmao.
Technically yes they arent real and I guess you can look at them as dolls If you have 0 connection to them? But... they have preferences and that's prob why they dont wear the things you give them. Just google it if you really want to know what they like if its bugging you that much?
Nintendo should make it so they tell us, yes, but the dialogue doesnt dismiss their own personal likes/dislikes existing lmao. Part of someone's personality is their interests and if I dont like something I'll definitley get rid of it.

You seem very stressed about this o uo;;

 

[Le Ham]

i do like to be very controlling with my villagers but i think maybe i wouldnt if they did have actual personalities. my villagers trashing the **** i give them does not count as "more personality" to me. that just counts as annoying. if they had unique dialogue and TALKED about their personal preferences and had preferences that made sense then maybe the way they treat clothing and furniture would make sense! id probably actually want to give them the **** theyd like bc theyd feel like real villagers! but atm they just feel like dolls that have the same 2 sentences programmed into them. so, if theyre going to be presented like dolls, i should be able to dress them up how i want to bc thats what dolls are for.

I really like and respect how upfront and unashamed you are about your opinion. You don't need me or anyone to tell you it's perfectly reasonable to hold that view. It is a game after all, the animals just can't fully substitute for real people with communicated interests, and it makes a lot of sense to view AC as like playing dollhouse, like a physical toy, because in many ways that's what it is. I can kinda see it, the villagers as essentially walking Barbies that say some stuff when you walk your player up to them. Thanks for sharing!

I'm curious though - what makes you enjoy and stick with ACNH? Do the villagers having wills of their own sometimes bother you or do you see it as like a challenge to overcome?

 

[Twinsouls1145]

This is.. definitley an aggressive opinion lmao.
Technically yes they arent real and I guess you can look at them as dolls If you have 0 connection to them? But... they have preferences and that's prob why they dont wear the things you give them. Just google it if you really want to know what they like if its bugging you that much?
Nintendo should make it so they tell us, yes, but the dialogue doesnt dismiss their own personal likes/dislikes existing lmao. Part of someone's personality is their interests and if I dont like something I'll definitley get rid of it.

You seem very stressed about this o uo;;

I really like and respect how upfront and unashamed you are about your opinion. You don't need me or anyone to tell you it's perfectly reasonable to hold that view. It is a game after all, the animals just can't fully substitute for real people with communicated interests, and it makes a lot of sense to view AC as like playing dollhouse, like a physical toy, because in many ways that's what it is. I can kinda see it, the villagers as essentially walking Barbies that say some stuff when you walk your player up to them. Thanks for sharing!

I'm curious though - what makes you enjoy and stick with ACNH? Do the villagers having wills of their own sometimes bother you or do you see it as like a challenge to overcome?

i think you both misunderstand my point a little bit! (also im not upset, thats just how i talk)

i so very desperately WANT the villagers to feel like real people. more personality types would be amazing! im honestly disappointed there werent any this time around. it makes me so sad that i feel like ive already run through most of my villagers dialogue because i do have a lot of connection with villagers like pietro ruby and muffy. i just wish i could feel more connected to them but the game just wont let me. i can 100% say that the dialogue in acnl was way deeper than it is in nh. i feel like nh has a lot less of a focus on the villagers themselves.

what im trying to say is that if nh is not gonna put in the effort to make these villagers feel fuller and bring them to life then why are they putting restrictions on them? them having preferences in clothing seems like the thing you would program into them AFTER they have a genuine personality, not before. it just doesnt make sense. im kinda asking the programmers to pick a lane. are they cardboard cutouts or are they characters i see as my friends and genuinely care about? i can deal with either but this middle ground of cardboard cutouts with restrictions is really annoying me.

and i enjoy acnh for a billion reasons, and the villagers are a huge part of it. i just feel like the game is trying to stop me from truly connecting with them at every turn.