spookwaves

[spookwaves]

Dream - 7/2/20

• Can’t remember what lead up to it (if anything), but I do recall being in my elementary school. And apparently, I had aged back almost fifteen or so years, so I’d be a kindergartner at this point.

• There was this aura of hostility that I initially couldn’t place my finger on, but I somehow later had it in my head that we were in the middle of a lockdown. Weird thing was how the majority of students were being evacuated (I guess) to somewhere safe, yet I was “voluntarily” left behind.

• It was at this point my teacher (who’s features I couldn’t recognize in the haze of the confusion) told me that I needed to- for some dumb reason- paint the windows of our classroom door white, and she immediately handed me a small can of almond [color] paint and a sponge brush. So when everyone disappeared from my sight, I just quietly got to work painting over the windows.

• Throughout the whole process of painting the windows, I couldn’t get over the sense of being watched. I kept looking behind me, but I didn’t see anyone. Still, I was pretty scared out of my wits; and again, I just kept painting. At some point, the anxiety became too great to handle, and when I thought I heard footsteps, I dropped everything, bolted into the classroom, and locked the door.

• I recognized the layout of the classroom pretty quickly: it was my old kindergarten classroom. A bunch of colorful posters and shit adorning pastel blue walls; an old, dark green chalkboard; tacky rugs on a dark green/black checkered vinyl floor; colorful chairs tucked neatly under oblong tables, etcetera. While looking around, I noticed a small reading loft, and my attention quickly focused to the underside, where I noticed a small stack of blankets. In my mind, I thought this would be the perfect hiding spot, so I walk over to the pile and nestled my way into the blankets. At this point, I remember feeling exhausted, so for a moment, I closed my eyes under the stack of sheets.

• And not long after, I woke up. I’d say it’s a weird dream, but if anything, felt a bit more like a weird nightmare.

[spookwaves]

Golly gee, been feeling that Animal Crossing burnout, huh?

TL;DR: Manchild is getting bored of Animal Crossing, but doesn’t want to admit it.

-Anyway:

• I mean, given current circumstances, it’s kinda the perfect game. Building your own little corner of the vast world- your own little slice of paradise, though you‘ve got to work for it. Come back day in, day out, to chip away at that marble slab. That much I relish, slowly watching as each little piece set into place starts coming together, and even when I find myself in a rut, some time passes when I realize that instead of thinking too hard about what I could do, I could just work with what’s around me. Going in to Animal Crossing: New Horizons with the mentality that it would be some time before I ever settled on an overall “aesthetic” was just- it would actually take some time to earn the privilege to change the very landscape itself. Time to plot out how the island itself would take shape once I unlocked the Island Designer app, and how I would actually go about it after getting it.

• Well, now as my island “nears its completion”, I find myself incapable of finishing my project, as in I still have much left to refine, but beyond that, the overall shape has taken form. As of late I found myself in a similar rut of too many ideas converging, with no harmony to each other, nor what I had already established on my island. And- entirely my own fault- my laziness had been stopping me from achieving any actual progress. And even when I can finally manage that little bit of motivation, I’ll always end up seeing someone else’s progress on their own island projects, and be completely blown away by the caliber of creativity on display. And suddenly- just like that- any steam I had quickly dissipates.

• So what’s a fellow to do when he’s run all out of ideas? Well of course, Animal Crossing has many other distractions, such as fishing or bug catching, or shopping for that particular variation of furniture just perfect for your home’s theme or for that lovely seasonal ensemble to spiffy up your little avatar. But then the furniture starts to repeat, the clothing selection repeats, and once you’ve successfully logged the season’s newest catches, and donated them to the museum, there’s the tedium of catching the same fish/bugs over and over. It’s not as if the grind is actually that bad, right? CJ and Flick both respectively buy any of your fish or bugs, and with a 50% markup too! Spending some time with your nose to the grindstone can pay dividends in the end. Although, turnips can net you even more, and with little to no effort as well. Even then, the stalk market isn’t so exciting anymore when you’ve earned far more Bells than you’re ever likely to actually spend. Museum progress can grind to a halt, as you’re left to the mercy of the game deciding if Redd should EVER visit (which, in my experience, is almost never) for a chance to get a new piece of art to donate, or assessing fossil to try and get that final fossil, only to leave disappointed with four or so shiny pieces of coprolite (fossilized dung).

• So when all else fails, then what? The villagers, of course! The neighborly cast of colorful characters with whom you spend every day on the island. While the other special characters some level of interaction every day, the other residents fill island with life, from fun little activities like watering the flowers, exercising, or singing, to pantomiming bug catching or fishing. Every day, you can talk with your villagers, and if you’re feeling extra generous, give them gifts, building friendship with each passing day.

And it all just loses its luster when I hear the same repeated dialogue over and over again. “Oh, you dug up fossils yesterday! Did you have Blathers inspect them?” “Hey, that special NPC you probably already noticed is visiting today!” This dialogue interspersed with the same cookie cutter villager “personality” dialogue gets old quick. And if you talk with your villagers too often, they can become upset about you bothering them. I never thought I’d really miss having to do menial chores for my villagers each day, but here I am, just hoping to have some kind of activity to do beyond the same repetitive text. But what really disheartens me is the inability to join villagers in their day-to-day activities. Can’t join in and exercise, or sing, or even just sitting down with villagers. Even walking with your villagers actually triggers a negative response from them, as if you were forcefully pushing them around (even though you aren’t). I wish there were more interactive options with these characters who are supposed to be our “friends”, because even my real friends can’t always be there to humor me. They have their own interests and business to attend to, and by now, they’ve probably stopped playing New Horizons long ago, while I voluntarily place myself in this cutesy Limbo.

• But that’s not as if to say there isn’t hope for more activities down the road, as after all, the AC team did confirm long-term support for the game, potentially seeing the return of older, revamped features, and perhaps maybe even newer features too? Time will tell, but for now, I find myself in a rut, not just for a lack of progress, but even for motivation. Every morning I’ll boot up the game, do the daily chores, check in with the villagers, browse the shops, and then quit, because I know there’s nothing left for me. I love Animal Crossing to death, and New Horizons has so much potential, but as it stands, there isn’t much that I’ve already seen.

I don’t want to admit that I’m bored. But it’s the truth.

[spookwaves]

Help.