Animal Crossing
Most important development in Animal Crossing is the formation of WhatsApp group of all the cousins currently living the AC life. Some of them had started long before me, and got really excited for a new edition. Most of the family with Switches already have it. We just need to convince the rest of them to get it and bring the rate to 100%
As far as the game goes, I’m pretty close to paying off my house. I have donating most of the things to help build Nook’s Cranny. Nook gave me a complimentary ticket which I used to go on a vacation on a random island. I got a few coconuts and mined some iron. I came back to my island and planted the coconuts to have some variety to my island’s flora (or fauna? I forget which one is which). Maybe I should get another ticket to go mine more iron. That should help me finish Nook’s Cranny a lot quicker.
Money is easier to come by this time around. And that is without investing in the turnip market. The tools breaking down is annoying, but after the success of Breath of The Wild Nintendo will be leaning on this game mechanic pretty heavily. Breaking of the tools does allow the economy of the game to move along. There are points players can earn for doing different chores. Sometimes building tools can be one of the tasks that can net points which are then used to buy things from alternate market.
Time travelling is the most common form of cheating in Animal Crossing. Players can move the system clock to quickly earn more money and unlock recipes. It also lets the player catch bugs and fish that appear at certain times of the year. I am not too keen on doing that. It seems like too much of a hassle to deal with the clock. Messing with the clock may cause problems with other games. If I do decide to invest in the turnip market, messing with the clock may cause me to lose my investment.
I have been planting trees every day. The aim is to have at least some fruit to pick every day. As an added bonus, I will have some fruit every day. If anyone decided to come to my island there will always be some fruit for them to pick.
Not much else to do except decorate the house. I don’t really have enough recipes to go for any kind of theme. Also not creative enough to decorate a house in a meaningful way. Maybe I can convince my wife to help me with it. She has almost zero interest in video games though.
5/30/20
I’ve spent the last few days playing A Link to The Past but have been logging in to Animal Crossing just to keep the streak going. My house is still one room, but now it is a bigger room. So is my loan. There is quite a lot of things strewn about in the name of decorations. Even more things are just sitting in my storage because I have yet to figure out what to do with them. I have been planting trees everywhere. The thought of cutting them down when more people move in bothers me. I truly wish there was more space on the island.
Speaking of moving in, Tom Nook has confided in me that at least three new residents will be moving in on the island. He wants me to make a bridge so they can move in the suburbs. Nook is a diehard capitalist when I ask him to make renovations to the house. Nothing gets done until the loan is paid and a new loan is accrued. But he suddenly becomes a socialist when he needs me to do something for him. All of a sudden helping him is for the good of the island. This bitch needs to pay me for putting down a bridge or making things for his customers’ houses. I have been trying to convince my wife to play this, too. Hopefully she will be moving in on the island soon.
Once Nook’s Cranny has been completed (and it is oh so close to completion) I will be able to trade in Turnips. And not a moment too soon since I will be needing to do that to pay Nook off. Fruit sales are barely making a dent in my loan payments.
I can see the appeal of the game. Especially when talking to my friends about it and sharing what I have learned, helping others while playing. But I still think I will be bored of it pretty soon. I also have a feeling a big reason I keep playing this is to avoid playing Resident Evil. I know there is sunk cost fallacy at work here, but recognizing it is not the same as avoiding it. It isn’t as if I don’t enjoy it. It is hard to justify being stressed for fun at the end of the day after being stressed for work during the day. I’d much rather be on my island (which is literally named garden) with bright colors and mindless fun.
06-01-2020
