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100 Things #4: Animal Crossing
100 of My Fandoms
4. Animal Crossing
I also have AC to thank for what was probably my first serious online community experience. In fifth grade (I think), shortly after discovering the game, I came across the website Animal Crossing Ahead (AXA), and subsequently discovered its forum. Naturally, I joined (username: Merit) and quickly became a very active poster. I didn't have any close friends there, but I had people who knew me and whom I was on good terms with. I was the one who introduced Werewolf/Mafia to the forums, with my original game spawning about 20 sequels. I must have been pretty popular, because I became a character in one user's fan story and was even one of the people included in the forum's murder mystery - which is a big deal, especially if you consider that some of the others in there were mods. Mods. @_@ Sadly, in time my interest waned and I stopped visiting the forum regularly, drifting in and out whenever new news came up in the fandom. And then one day I came back to discover the forum had crashed and everything had to be started over from scratch. I could have rejoined, but it wouldn't have been the same, and no one would probably remember me. And looking at the forums now, it seems they're somewhat less nice than they were before. :( Still, those were some really great experiences we had. I still miss you guys.
All right, moving on from nostalgiafest to talk about the actual game. So, Animal Crossing itself is... well, I don't even know how to describe Animal Crossing. It's not even a game in the strictest sense of the word. You're just living your life, except your life is populated by a bunch of awesome and kooky talking animals. And you can design clothes, and collect fossils, and catch coelacanths, and make your neighbors say weird stuff, and, pretty much anything. It may not sound that interesting, but that's part of its charm - somehow, despite that, it ends up being really engrossing anyway. I attribute a lot of it to the villagers; for having only six unique personalities, those little guys sure are easy to become attached to. And I can't wait for the 3DS version (note to self: acquire 3DS). Even after so many years of playing it, Animal Crossing still keeps you coming back for more.
(Also, for the sake of completeness, my towns have been Whatzup and Tails (AC:GCN), Heythere (AC:WW), and Sparta (AC:CF). I've got to start coming up with names for the 3DS one. My character is generally named Merit, except in Whatzup where it was my real name.)
Favorite character: BOB. ♥ You have to understand, man, Bob and I had something really special. If they let you date characters in AC, I'd be on him in a heartbeat. I'm not sure what exactly it is that sets him apart from the other lazy male villagers, but I don't really care. He's Bob. He's a sweetheart. ♥ He was one of my starting villagers in Whatzup, and it didn't take long for me to become attached to him. But despite my many declarations of love via letter, one fateful day HG brought his memory card over to visit, and Bob jumped ship to his town. ;_; I still haven't entirely forgiven him for that. :P Other favorite characters include Tangy, because she's cute and I like her, and Camofrog, because Camofrog.
Least favorite character: PATE. >:| Again, I'm not sure what made her any different from the other villagers with her personality (maybe it was the unibrow?) but for some reason my brother and I developed an intense dislike for her. We made signs that said "WE HATE PATE" and put them up around town. We also pushed her around and hit her with shovels a lot.
Recommended fanworks: The only Animal Crossing fic I've ever read (if you can call it that) has been the Let's Play The Horrible Secret of Animal Crossing, but I liked it well enough, so here you go. Despite the name, it's not that creepy (at least I didn't think so), just dark. There is gore and violence, though, so tread lightly. Also, on a more lighthearted note, pretty much everything in my Animal Crossing tag on Tumblr. Go back a few pages and you'll see my gigantic Bob fanart spam. c:
4. Animal Crossing
I also have AC to thank for what was probably my first serious online community experience. In fifth grade (I think), shortly after discovering the game, I came across the website Animal Crossing Ahead (AXA), and subsequently discovered its forum. Naturally, I joined (username: Merit) and quickly became a very active poster. I didn't have any close friends there, but I had people who knew me and whom I was on good terms with. I was the one who introduced Werewolf/Mafia to the forums, with my original game spawning about 20 sequels. I must have been pretty popular, because I became a character in one user's fan story and was even one of the people included in the forum's murder mystery - which is a big deal, especially if you consider that some of the others in there were mods. Mods. @_@ Sadly, in time my interest waned and I stopped visiting the forum regularly, drifting in and out whenever new news came up in the fandom. And then one day I came back to discover the forum had crashed and everything had to be started over from scratch. I could have rejoined, but it wouldn't have been the same, and no one would probably remember me. And looking at the forums now, it seems they're somewhat less nice than they were before. :( Still, those were some really great experiences we had. I still miss you guys.
All right, moving on from nostalgiafest to talk about the actual game. So, Animal Crossing itself is... well, I don't even know how to describe Animal Crossing. It's not even a game in the strictest sense of the word. You're just living your life, except your life is populated by a bunch of awesome and kooky talking animals. And you can design clothes, and collect fossils, and catch coelacanths, and make your neighbors say weird stuff, and, pretty much anything. It may not sound that interesting, but that's part of its charm - somehow, despite that, it ends up being really engrossing anyway. I attribute a lot of it to the villagers; for having only six unique personalities, those little guys sure are easy to become attached to. And I can't wait for the 3DS version (note to self: acquire 3DS). Even after so many years of playing it, Animal Crossing still keeps you coming back for more.
(Also, for the sake of completeness, my towns have been Whatzup and Tails (AC:GCN), Heythere (AC:WW), and Sparta (AC:CF). I've got to start coming up with names for the 3DS one. My character is generally named Merit, except in Whatzup where it was my real name.)
Favorite character: BOB. ♥ You have to understand, man, Bob and I had something really special. If they let you date characters in AC, I'd be on him in a heartbeat. I'm not sure what exactly it is that sets him apart from the other lazy male villagers, but I don't really care. He's Bob. He's a sweetheart. ♥ He was one of my starting villagers in Whatzup, and it didn't take long for me to become attached to him. But despite my many declarations of love via letter, one fateful day HG brought his memory card over to visit, and Bob jumped ship to his town. ;_; I still haven't entirely forgiven him for that. :P Other favorite characters include Tangy, because she's cute and I like her, and Camofrog, because Camofrog.
Least favorite character: PATE. >:| Again, I'm not sure what made her any different from the other villagers with her personality (maybe it was the unibrow?) but for some reason my brother and I developed an intense dislike for her. We made signs that said "WE HATE PATE" and put them up around town. We also pushed her around and hit her with shovels a lot.
Recommended fanworks: The only Animal Crossing fic I've ever read (if you can call it that) has been the Let's Play The Horrible Secret of Animal Crossing, but I liked it well enough, so here you go. Despite the name, it's not that creepy (at least I didn't think so), just dark. There is gore and violence, though, so tread lightly. Also, on a more lighthearted note, pretty much everything in my Animal Crossing tag on Tumblr. Go back a few pages and you'll see my gigantic Bob fanart spam. c: