Why do you play Animal Crossing?

[punyparker]

For me: I've always had a soft spot towards animals. I had a chameleon, leopard gecko, two dogs and now I have three cats! I wanna become a vet tech and work at Animal Kingdom in the near future. I just love hanging out with all the animals in my town. It calms and relaxes me.

Why do you play? What's your reason?

I'd love to know! <3

 

[HopeForHyrule]

Partly the same as you: I love animals. I've been playing New Leaf more than any other game in the franchise and the reason why is because I was struggling with depression for over a year and this game...I dunno, helped me through it, as weird as that sounds. A town full of cute little animals who are always happy to see you? That'd make anybody smile.

 

[punyparker]

Partly the same as you: I love animals. I've been playing New Leaf more than any other game in the franchise and the reason why is because I was struggling with depression for over a year and this game...I dunno, helped me through it, as weird as that sounds. A town full of cute little animals who are always happy to see you? That'd make anybody smile.

Aw ;-; this is soooo sweet.

 

[ButterflyWings]

I play for a few reasons. I love animals, I don't have to think too much when I play, I can set all sorts of different goals for my town, you can't ever really "beat" the game it goes on forever.

 

[Feraligator]

I see Animal Crossing as an escape from the real world. It's just so much better...
It's just such a relaxing, laid-back game.

 

[Auri1898]

I use it to escape reality.

 

[marthaxrae]

I was very very ill when I was younger, and played Wild World to remind me that life can be fun. I play acnl now since I have post traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety and find it difficult to the converse or go outside. So I can still have a life in my little acnl town

 

[Mekan1]

I actually have a pretty sad story about why i play animal crossing. I have very little friends in life and animal crossing allows me to make virtual fake friends but it makes my life a ton more easy.

 

[Chipped-Teacup]

I've been through a lot of tough times (as have we all), and a few hours playing AC never fails to cheer me up and make me ready face the day

 

[Soda Fox]

I play for a lot of reasons. I love video games, I love designing things. I love customization and setting my own goals. I like how the game can be very complex with hard to reach goals, but there are also very easy goals and easy rewards to be had to keep a person going. Plus, the game never ends- there are hundreds of ways to customize a town, and with the wi-fi capability, there's an endless amount of towns to visit. Plus, this forum makes it easy to connect with people and trade items.

Not to mention the animals are adorable and the game is funny sometimes.

 

[Sanaki]

I love the design factor and the villagers. I really like to be able to create my own town and I like the way it passes by in real time.

 

[ams]

It's just so much nicer than real life.

 

[Dunquixote]

I forgot how I got interested in the game or who had recommended it to me. I love animals but I don't think that had anything to do with why I started playing the game, or if it did, it only was a small part of the reason.

I know I picked up this game again in February of this year because I played too much Dragon Age: Inquisition and needed to take a break from it, and I needed something fun to do to help me cope with depression.

 

[Valliecat]

I play Animal Crossing because it seems like a perfect world, with sweet villagers and pretty towns. I also love animals, and I enjoy talking to villagers and reading their conversations. It's just a wonderful game overall; with amazing graphics, villagers, and features.

 

[Plum Pudding]

I play to relax, I love the music. My son remarked that it's a simpler version of life, and a good friend of mine remarked that I play the role of the mayor in my household, but that's a lot more stressful than it is in Animal Crossing LOL

 

[Voluptua Sneezelips]

I too live with depression and anxiety. One of the things that's appealing about AC is that you can set a routine for yourself. My fave-ever MMO, Glitch, which closed in 2012, also gave me an opportunity to set a routine. Both are gentle, are lovely to look at, funny and charming, plus there's the opportunity to interact with others as much or as little as you like. You can visit people like crazy or you can just keep to yourself, all at your own pace.

Here's some radio coverage of a concert of Glitch's music and what the game meant to us (featuring yours truly!!), if anyone's interested. There's a "listen" button just under the photo gallery at the link.

 

[MissyChai]

I started playing because I was REALLY stressed out, and needed a relaxing hobby. Now, I play because I've made so much progress in my town, and I'm kinda proud of how far I've come in the game.

My next challenge is to create a second town, and get it to thrive like the first! (I'm still working on this. lol)

 

[shannenenen]

I really love that I can make this town MINE. I can have certain people in my town, I can customize the outdoors to my hearts desire, I can design clothing and customize furniture, I can tear everything down if I want to and start over if I don't like it! I've always loved games where I don't have to follow a strict story line, which I why I really love Animal Crossing as well as the Sims.

I, like a few others who have commented, also use it as an escape from reality. My life can be particularly unpredictable and stressful, and I can always put my anxiety at ease when I play. Everyone is so cute and so kind in my town, and they're always happy to see me. I can also really get down to business and renovate my entire town over the course of a week if I want to.

The way I play, I can have a relaxing day of fishing, or I can rigorously time travel and do Mayoral Things and get my town looking the way I want it to. It's always a great game regardless of my mood and I love it.

 

[Shay10]

I love animals, I've been playing animal crossing for too many years to stop now, and it's nice to hear villagers rant about random things.

 

[LittleMissSpooky]

Helps with my depression