Animal Crossing - Why do people enjoy it?
- Thread starter Socreges
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Who cares? I just needed a relevant game to illustrate my point. And Skyrim is certainly relevant.
Cramoss
Member
I think this could be like the best answer to OP's question.
Haha I can't tell if you're being facetious or not but I mean, there's no push to be doing that stuff. It is definitely a leisurely game.
one thing I always say to these type of questions is it's fun to play.
you could figure that out by yourself just by observing the sales it's getting in japan. if something is fun to play people buy it and enjoy it. it's the simplest explanation there is. you don't need to question why people enjoy just because you don't. and you really don't enjoy it yourself then you can play other hardcore games you have, no need to bother those who are enjoying it.
you could figure that out by yourself just by observing the sales it's getting in japan. if something is fun to play people buy it and enjoy it. it's the simplest explanation there is. you don't need to question why people enjoy just because you don't. and you really don't enjoy it yourself then you can play other hardcore games you have, no need to bother those who are enjoying it.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Both. It's very pleasant.
What was your point? You said you find the things that Animal Crossing consists of to be empty. Many people listed off reasons why they like the game. Different people like different things. Fun things are fun.
Sorry for the snark, but I get the feeling that you're trying to look for some super deep meaning or message that isn't there.
Sorry for the snark, but I get the feeling that you're trying to look for some super deep meaning or message that isn't there.
Glass Rebel
Member
I was just kidding. I just haven't decided yet whether I want Animal Crossing or Monster Hunter physically.
The point is that Skyrim's (comparatively) poor handling of loot weakens your argument. It's not the core of your analysis but I'll be damned if I pass up a chance to shit on Skyrim.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
Oh god, now Monster Hunter, there's a series I don't get.
Art and music are top-notch.
I didn't understand the comparison since AC and Pokemon are different genres. I guess collecting pokemon counts.
Nihilistic Monk
Member
I've never really understood it because the realtime clock aspect really annoys me. I will be buying New Leaf in an attempt to get into it.
What's always annoyed me is due to the realtime & me probably only getting the chance to play it after work it'll always be dusk/evening in the game. Am I right in thinking you have to play it at other times of day (Mornings/Lunches etc) to get the most out of it?
Love the idea of it in principle, the slow burn of improving your town, paying Nook back & improving your house, but it's the time/realtime aspect that I just think will lead to frustration down the line for me personally.
What's always annoyed me is due to the realtime & me probably only getting the chance to play it after work it'll always be dusk/evening in the game. Am I right in thinking you have to play it at other times of day (Mornings/Lunches etc) to get the most out of it?
Love the idea of it in principle, the slow burn of improving your town, paying Nook back & improving your house, but it's the time/realtime aspect that I just think will lead to frustration down the line for me personally.
Robin64
Member
You're confused.one thing I always say to these type of questions is it's fun to play.
you could figure that out by yourself just by observing the sales it's getting in japan. if something is fun to play people buy it and enjoy it. it's the simplest explanation there is. you don't need to question why people enjoy just because you don't. and you really don't enjoy it yourself then you can play other hardcore games you have, no need to bother those who are enjoying it.
I owned the GC AC and thought it was fun. If you read my post again, you'll notice that I in no way dispute that it's fun to play. In fact, you can actually tell that I'm suggesting that it IS fun.
If I ask you "why do people enjoy AC?" and you respond "Because it's fun", do you not realize how incredibly circular that argument is?
go digital with AC, physical for Monhun
AC is just THE perfect digital game
also I think there's a lot of unnecessary or weird hostility towards the OP here. I love Animal Crossing since the original, but it's still a fair question to ask. The OP also seems to enjoy the game as well.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
edgardavids
Member
Theres just something which hits the human psyche that collectables and upgrading/ improving is fun. Grinding towards progress and an end goal. Ive always just been a sucker for simulation games like AC, the sims, tropico and football manager.
KillerTravis
Banned
Hey don't look at me, I just didn't want Mott to leave the village. The bastard ended up leaving anyway.
Glass Rebel
Member
but it's good!
Can you send me your recommendation via SwapNote? OH WAIT YOU CANT BECAUSE YOU DIDNT SEND ME YOUR FC ;_;
Robin64
Member
..you mean "because it's fun".
No, it doesn't.
"games like Skyrim where you're encouraged to collect 'loot' and there's something addicting and insatiable about that"
I'm obviously talking about a certain design philosophy. Don't let your dislike for Skyrim get in the way of your comprehension.
Yea, and it is actually pretty intriguing. What is it mechanically that makes it so fun? And it is! For a lot of people at least. I guess that combination of being able to do things at a very leisurely pace, plus playing on the hoarding addiction humans have keeps people coming back. The presentation is also integral particularly in attracting certain people. I mean, cute little animal people, its gotta be a little polarising
It's an experience bigger than the sum of its parts I suppose.It's a slowburner. Maybe it's the same kind of psychological thing as working out and seeing your body get stronger.
May I ask why?
michaelius
Banned
Why people enjoy The Sims and Second Life ?
House building and horse dicks, respectively.
peanutbutterlatte
Member
It's always on your 3DS. You can just boot it off, right from the system and don't have to worry where your cart is. That's the thinking anyway. I'm only going digital 'cos I'm getting Animal Crossing free muhaha.
Because with the power of walls The Sims becomes a god game.
I sometimes like to play Animal Crossing for just minutes, sometimes between other games. This way I can have something else inserted on the 3DS and just pop off and into animal crossing for a bit
it's a silly little thing, but it certainly puts it above others
Well in New Leaf, you get to be the Mayor. So you can enact different town ordinances. Such as Night Owl if you can't play during other hours of the day.
Glass Rebel
Member
I know what you're trying to say but I disagree about Skyrim encouraging players to collect loot. It does a very poor job and I'm obviously not the only one who thinks that.
I get the core of your argument though.
I'm an inpatient gamer. I buy loads of games, usually enjoy campaigns on medium, but I don't bother with completion percentages, trophies, DLC or different modes. I just don't. It's not about quality either, I really like most games these day. It's just my short attention span. Once I finish a story, it's on to the next game for me.
Animal Crossing is one of the sparse few games that can't be treated that way and that's what makes it compelling. It's the type of game I just play for half an hour each day, discussing my findings with my girlfriend. It's not working towards a goal the game sets for you, you set your own goals. It's not about tasks, but doing what you'd like to. It's about finding the little easter eggs and the special events. It's as easy to pick up as it is to put down. I guess to me, it's just a nice change of pace.
Animal Crossing is one of the sparse few games that can't be treated that way and that's what makes it compelling. It's the type of game I just play for half an hour each day, discussing my findings with my girlfriend. It's not working towards a goal the game sets for you, you set your own goals. It's not about tasks, but doing what you'd like to. It's about finding the little easter eggs and the special events. It's as easy to pick up as it is to put down. I guess to me, it's just a nice change of pace.
Nihilistic Monk
Member
SOLD! Wow, yep, that'll sure fix the issues I've personally had with the franchise. Superb!
I appreciate you being conciliatory, but the bolded simply makes no sense to me. Of course Skyrim encourages players to collect loot, by the very fact that it has an internal economy where if you want good stuff (especially early on) you'd better pick up practically everything that you see. Again, it may be a poor system, but players absolutely have strong incentives to collect loot and the designers knew that many players would enjoy this part of the game.
Visualante2
Member
Someone explain the appeal of Animal Crossing games? from last month...
Mauricio_Magus
Banned
Yea, and it is actually pretty intriguing. What is it mechanically that makes it so fun? And it is! For a lot of people at least. I guess that combination of being able to do things at a very leisurely pace, plus playing on the hoarding addiction humans have keeps people coming back. The presentation is also integral particularly in attracting certain people. I mean, cute little animal people, its gotta be a little polarising
Why do people waste lots of money and time pulling the lever on slot machines? They are having fun. It's because they get rewarded at a variable ratio schedule. A random number of lever pulls will earn them a reward.
Fixed Ratio: Reward comes after a fixed number of actions.
Variable Ratio: Reward comes after a random number of actions.
Fixed Interval: Reward comes after a fixed amount of time.
Variable Interval: Reward comes after a random amount of time.
Variable Ratio is the strongest schedule of reinforcement. It has a high rate of response and is very resistant to extinction. This is why gambling addiction is so strong. Animal Crossing uses variable ratio and interval schedules very well. You have to play the game to see if the rewards are there, similar to pulling the lever on a slot machine. The rewards come with a random number of times you play the game.
It also fades reinforcement over time. When you first start the game almost every thing is a reinforcer. As you play and collect things you are essentially removing reinforcers by making them not worth anything after you collect them. This helps make the gameplay itself elicit the feelings the reinforcers elicit.
As for why it's fun, it's fun for the same reason any behavior is fun. Getting reinforced triggers the release of dopamine. The behaviors become associated with the dopamine and begin to trigger it even without reinforcers.
Why do I like Animal crossing games...
The setting:
I have to admit that the setting touch me. Many says that Animal crossing is a kiddy game but the setting is all but kiddy. In AC, you start a new life away from your family in a place where you know no-one. You have to get your first job, find your first crappy small apartment and brace yourself to get to know more people because this town is your living place now and you have to learn how to live there. For someone like me who moved from her small village and from her parents in her early twenty, this setting REALLY hit a chord.
Then you start living in this new town, you get to know your neighbors, get a better job, a better living place. You buy some furniture to make your place feel a little more at home. After a while you even make some friends! But even your dearest friends may move one day, teaching you how to deal with departure and loneliness. At least, you have the constant thread, your mother's letters, reminding you that friendship may be fragile but family is always here even if they are far away and that you don't get to see them anymore. A little bittersweet but so charming in a way.
The music.
I love AC music. It's so relaxing. There are many game that I play without the sound but definitely not AC.
The pacing
No need to stress or run. In AC you can do everything at your own pace. You can play one minute or 3 hours, there will always have something to do and you will never feel like you are FORCED to do anything. There's always tomorrow. You are free to do whatever you want, set your own goals. It's not build-in, you have to imagine your game and thus, do what you enjoy.
Packed action!
Well, kidding a little there but there is always something happening in Animal crossing, the festivals, the weather, here! a shark! A UFO! A balloon! Move-in, move-out, new furniture in store... There is something new everyday and I can't wait to see what will happen next!
So, yeah, what I like about animal crossing is the feeling of freedom you get while playing it, its therapeutic effect (Fishing in wild world was the only thing that allowed me to fight insomnia at one time
) and the "there's always something new".
The setting:
I have to admit that the setting touch me. Many says that Animal crossing is a kiddy game but the setting is all but kiddy. In AC, you start a new life away from your family in a place where you know no-one. You have to get your first job, find your first crappy small apartment and brace yourself to get to know more people because this town is your living place now and you have to learn how to live there. For someone like me who moved from her small village and from her parents in her early twenty, this setting REALLY hit a chord.
Then you start living in this new town, you get to know your neighbors, get a better job, a better living place. You buy some furniture to make your place feel a little more at home. After a while you even make some friends! But even your dearest friends may move one day, teaching you how to deal with departure and loneliness. At least, you have the constant thread, your mother's letters, reminding you that friendship may be fragile but family is always here even if they are far away and that you don't get to see them anymore. A little bittersweet but so charming in a way.
The music.
I love AC music. It's so relaxing. There are many game that I play without the sound but definitely not AC.
The pacing
No need to stress or run. In AC you can do everything at your own pace. You can play one minute or 3 hours, there will always have something to do and you will never feel like you are FORCED to do anything. There's always tomorrow. You are free to do whatever you want, set your own goals. It's not build-in, you have to imagine your game and thus, do what you enjoy.
Packed action!
Well, kidding a little there but there is always something happening in Animal crossing, the festivals, the weather, here! a shark! A UFO! A balloon! Move-in, move-out, new furniture in store... There is something new everyday and I can't wait to see what will happen next!
So, yeah, what I like about animal crossing is the feeling of freedom you get while playing it, its therapeutic effect (Fishing in wild world was the only thing that allowed me to fight insomnia at one time
) and the "there's always something new".While some of what the OP says is probably true with collecting and such, to me Animal Crossing is the video game equivalent of a nice relaxing afternoon outdoors.
Probably most games today use violence as our primary form of interaction with the game world. Animal Crossing allows us to step out of the carnage and into a nice peaceful escape where we're free to just hang out and do whatever. On top of that there's usually no rush to get things done, and not too much micromanaging (unless you're a digital hoarder like so many of us are.) You also get to collect loot in unconventional ways in order to grow your character without having to slaughter hoards of enemies or collect rabbit spleens or whatnot as is common in many character progression based games.
tldr; nice peaceful relaxing escape with loot thrown in for good measure.
Probably most games today use violence as our primary form of interaction with the game world. Animal Crossing allows us to step out of the carnage and into a nice peaceful escape where we're free to just hang out and do whatever. On top of that there's usually no rush to get things done, and not too much micromanaging (unless you're a digital hoarder like so many of us are.) You also get to collect loot in unconventional ways in order to grow your character without having to slaughter hoards of enemies or collect rabbit spleens or whatnot as is common in many character progression based games.
tldr; nice peaceful relaxing escape with loot thrown in for good measure.
POWERSPHERE
Member
I played the Gamecube one, and whilst I had fun I never knew why. I never knew why I was coming back, checking in on things, and seemingly enjoying myself. But I could never really tell if I was enjoying myself, or just having a nice way to pass time. Wandering around, pulling weeds, finding little things out. Its the micro adventure of life in game form, and its charming for that. Would I play it again? Probably not, but I think if I got a taste, i'd like to have a play for a while. I do remember wishing it was online so you could receive mail from friends, invites to other towns and to do group activities with friends, which I guess would be in this one, right?
Glass Rebel
Member
I feel we're looking at it from two different perspectives. I agree that it was the developer's intention but if it doesn't have the desired effect on the player that doesn't really matter. It's true that there is incentive but it isn't good incentive, so to speak. You collect loot because you have to, not because you want to. To me it seems that most people play Skyrim for the quests rather than the loot. You might disagree but that's just how I see it. But as I said, I was just nitpicking and I apologize if it came off as a personal attack.
The irony here, and I'm not all that surprised this has happened, is that I'm now actually kinda interested in New Leaf.
Saying it's fun for the same reasons that anything is fun is true, but I still feel like other games at least have some enriching aspect (testing your abilities, problem solving, telling a story, requiring strategy, etc) whereas AC is strictly 'fun' and 'a way to pass the time'. That might be unfair to say, but then again I really haven't fleshed these thoughts out so go ahead and trash me.
I never saw that thread and admittedly never did a search, but with this thread I was really interested in getting to the 'true' reason. I appreciate posts like Ragnarok's, articulate, clear and substantiated to the point where people can't really dispute it.
Saying it's fun for the same reasons that anything is fun is true, but I still feel like other games at least have some enriching aspect (testing your abilities, problem solving, telling a story, requiring strategy, etc) whereas AC is strictly 'fun' and 'a way to pass the time'. That might be unfair to say, but then again I really haven't fleshed these thoughts out so go ahead and trash me.