Turning Over a New Leaf

It's amazing I've gotten any work done.

As a wee lass, I never had any video game consoles to speak of. I think my neighbors had a Playstation, my other neighbor an Xbox, and an assortment of Nintendo 64's littered the houses of my various friends.

I had a computer.

Obviously that didn't stop me from gaming. I'm 23 now and the past decade of my life has involved some pretty intense dedication to video games of various kinds, but the fact that I couldn't really call myself a "gamer" until my teen years meant I missed out on some of the very foundations of gaming our generation was built upon.

One of these games was Animal Crossing.

I remember, vaguely, when it came out. Ads in my Nickelodeon magazine, Disney Adventure, I remember seeing the cardboard cutouts in toy stores while I gazed longingly at Gamecubes I would never be allowed to have. I didn't quite know what it was about, but elementary school aged me, immersed as I was in every Redwall book Brian Jacques could spit out, knew the important part: 

Talking. Goddamn. Animals.

But I never played it, and I in fact don't think I knew anyone who actually owned it. So the years passed, and while I never forgot these games existed...they didn't exactly stay on my radar. 

Fast forward to 2013, where I purchased a 3DS XL in anticipation of the new Pokemon Games this October.

I'm much more aware of gaming news at 23 than I was at 12. Release dates, reviews, trailers, I tend to be exposed a bit more to it in the *meager* time I spend on the internet. So when I first stumbled across the news of the release, it was like I had been transported a decade back in my life, staring at that glass case of games in Wal-Mart that I would never own, with only one thought in my mind.

Talking. Goddamn. Animals.

I am an adult, and I will buy whatever cute game I want.

I didn't know anything about Animal Crossing. I'd said this before. So I decided to do a little research before I dropped a hefty sum of blood coffee money on a game I didn't even know if I wanted.

"You can do all kinds of things! You can fish, collect fossils, collect bugs, collect furniture..."

I'm a Pokemon gal. I'm not really a stranger to collecting. I also didn't really need ANOTHER game that I was only going to have fun with for about five minutes before getting bored and moving on.

"You can dress yourself and decorate your house!"

I sighed when I read this. I was interested, I really was, but I also have 1GB of Sims 3 mods on my computer. I'm not really in short supply of decorating games.

"It's a really good game to just pick up and play five minutes and then set down again for the day. It's not a real commitment and it's a great way to just relax and chill!"

That...seemed reasonable, I supposed. I was a busy person, working 40 hours a week, editing a ~300 page manuscript, trying to sleep at some point. A relaxing little game I could play during my scarce moments before work in the mornings, during my lunchbreak, maybe if I had trouble falling asleep at night...

And somewhere, a cracked and tarnished bell tolled, a knell so deep and mournful that the crows roosting in the rafters of the tower it was housed in took flight, scattering in a flurry of wings of and harsh cawing.

That bell, ladies and gentlemen, tolled its heavy note, and signaled the end of my productivity.

I bought Animal Crossing.

WHO NEEDS REAL LIFE ANYMORE? I SURE DON'T.

I've never called something charming before, not once in my entire life. But Animal Crossing: New Leaf, is just that - charming. From the second I popped into my town and found myself being ushered into the Town Hall to be inaugurated into a mayoral position I was fairly certain I never applied to, I was in love. The music is perfect, the atmosphere enchanting, and overall I find myself stopping to smell the roses in my silly little virtual town more than I do in real life.

I sent a letter to my neighbor, Lolly, the other day. She's a cat, and the best way I can describe her is "sweet." She's a darling and always has a kind word to say to me and running into her is literally a delight. This is all weird, because she is a video game character. I've always been the type of person who reads quest dialogue, or doesn't skip cutscenes. But never, ever, have I found myself going out of my way to communicated with NPCs for any reason other than game progression or trying to recognize a voice actor. In Animal Crossing, I care about what these silly little talking animals have to say, and even the most rough and gruff citizen of Truffle Town will be stopped by me for a quick chat.

I can't even tell you how much of this game has surprised me. Down to little jokes, dialogue options, music cues, this game is so tightly packaged and presented to you that you almost forget that there were games that came before it. I'm so glad that this is my first Animal Crossing game, so even the most basic features in the franchise are turning out to be exciting and new. I just upgraded my house to a second story, and gosh am I excited!

It's been a week since this game came out, a week and a half, to be more precise, and every day I'm turn on my 3DS excited to see what's going to happen to my town that day. I've met more people in the multiplayer in my first 10 days of playing than I have in any other multiplayer game I've ever had, and I'm in love with the customization features - particularly the Design tools that let people around the world share their clothes and tiles and paintings with each other through QR Codes. I made a dress already, and people actually want to wear it! How cool is that!

Talking. Goddamn. Animals.

I love everything about this game, and there's something about staying up during a thunderstorm, lying in bed, thinking about what I'll edit in Halfer and watching the fish I've caught swim by.

I have a lot more to write about - cafes and software and worldbuilding and things my friends have suggested to me - but right now, I need to go water some flowers.

Sincerely, 

Mochi, Mayor of Truffle Town