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xyzzysqrlSo I have a bunch of stuff from the island, and a few thoughts on game design. I'll just have to space one between the other, neh? Srs Mode on. If you're just here for the jokes, mouseover the pics and skip the text.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about the Island and how it affects the pace of gameplay. It seems pretty clear that stuff in New Leaf is, to put it mildly, freaking EXPENSIVE. You can also pull enormous amounts of big cash money off the Island.
So you're obviously meant to set up a big ol' money farm on the island and start pulling down the huge sacks of cash so you can pay all your loans and whatnot, right?
Well. Maybe. But I think also maybe not.
There's only a few ways the Animal Crossing games really PUNISH you. Resetting the game gets you screamed at by Mr Resetti, a very angry mole who dislikes you for casually wiping out a day of experiences by powering off the game without saving. Usually people do this when something goes wrong, or they're about to have a bad experience of some sort in-game.
Meanwhile, playing around with the system clock can cause weird "paradoxes" that destroy your stalk investments, make villagers move away, or fill your entire town with weeds.
That said, it's my opinion that the single most destructive thing you can do to your town is something the game doesn't really mention except in passing. Running around (holding a button to sprint) is amazingly bad for your town. It scares away bugs and fish. It creates ugly worn paths in the grass. If you're sprinting through a patch of flowers, you just obliterate them with your big clumsy body. You can even trip and fall and lose items in your hands.
The common theme between them, kind of, is hurrying. Rushing. Trying to get something for nothing, not treasuring the moment. Which is kind of what the game is about, not to get all preachy on you. (It may be kind of late for that I guess.) Like I said, though, the game doesn't tell you about it. Because it's your choice, if you want to walk or you want to run. It's your town.
With the Island I could set up a bug farm. There's guides on the internet to maximizing the profit by setting up the island so only desirable beetles spawn. I could sit around all day fishing up sharks and snagging beetles like crazy. I'm probably not gonna do that.
I don't want to get ahead that badly. What would I be getting "ahead" of? I'm not racing anyone here. I'd like to see stuff unlocked, but it can wait. Y'all don't seem to be getting real bored. Maybe by this post you are, but not in general.
I like that this is a game about living as the mayor in a small town surrounded by animals. I don't really want it to become a game about living on a small island by yourself and occasionally visiting a town with animals in it that you nominally run.
Neither do I want to spend the entire rest of next month paying off my house loan. So, I'm still going to visit the island now and then in my off-hours... but I'm trying not to focus too hard on it.
You play at your own pace, and mine is sort of a slow jog.
A slow jog with a long audiobook playing, clearly.
Thanks for reading. The new bridge is -very- nearly paid off, just a thousand bells or so from complete. I'll show that off tomorrow.
I've been doing a lot of thinking about the Island and how it affects the pace of gameplay. It seems pretty clear that stuff in New Leaf is, to put it mildly, freaking EXPENSIVE. You can also pull enormous amounts of big cash money off the Island.
So you're obviously meant to set up a big ol' money farm on the island and start pulling down the huge sacks of cash so you can pay all your loans and whatnot, right?
Well. Maybe. But I think also maybe not.
There's only a few ways the Animal Crossing games really PUNISH you. Resetting the game gets you screamed at by Mr Resetti, a very angry mole who dislikes you for casually wiping out a day of experiences by powering off the game without saving. Usually people do this when something goes wrong, or they're about to have a bad experience of some sort in-game.
Meanwhile, playing around with the system clock can cause weird "paradoxes" that destroy your stalk investments, make villagers move away, or fill your entire town with weeds.
That said, it's my opinion that the single most destructive thing you can do to your town is something the game doesn't really mention except in passing. Running around (holding a button to sprint) is amazingly bad for your town. It scares away bugs and fish. It creates ugly worn paths in the grass. If you're sprinting through a patch of flowers, you just obliterate them with your big clumsy body. You can even trip and fall and lose items in your hands.
The common theme between them, kind of, is hurrying. Rushing. Trying to get something for nothing, not treasuring the moment. Which is kind of what the game is about, not to get all preachy on you. (It may be kind of late for that I guess.) Like I said, though, the game doesn't tell you about it. Because it's your choice, if you want to walk or you want to run. It's your town.
With the Island I could set up a bug farm. There's guides on the internet to maximizing the profit by setting up the island so only desirable beetles spawn. I could sit around all day fishing up sharks and snagging beetles like crazy. I'm probably not gonna do that.
I don't want to get ahead that badly. What would I be getting "ahead" of? I'm not racing anyone here. I'd like to see stuff unlocked, but it can wait. Y'all don't seem to be getting real bored. Maybe by this post you are, but not in general.
I like that this is a game about living as the mayor in a small town surrounded by animals. I don't really want it to become a game about living on a small island by yourself and occasionally visiting a town with animals in it that you nominally run.
Neither do I want to spend the entire rest of next month paying off my house loan. So, I'm still going to visit the island now and then in my off-hours... but I'm trying not to focus too hard on it.
You play at your own pace, and mine is sort of a slow jog.
A slow jog with a long audiobook playing, clearly.
Thanks for reading. The new bridge is -very- nearly paid off, just a thousand bells or so from complete. I'll show that off tomorrow.
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no subject
Date: 2013-06-24 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-25 01:42 am (UTC)I have to agree with Sqrl that the fishing-and-bug-catching does not seem like the most interesting part of the game. n_n
no subject
Date: 2013-06-25 03:12 am (UTC)If I WANT to catch weird little creatures, the 3DS Pokemon comes out in October. (Ohman people are gonna hear EVERY DETAIL of that one.)
no subject
Date: 2013-06-28 10:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-28 10:36 am (UTC)