Crossing the Animals: New Horizons players create crazy magazines

Melissa Pearson shares it Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island with four other people: three children and her husband. A family of five uses one version of Nintendo in their lot, each taking turns collecting fossils and fish, chasing bugs and paying back the loans. After all, Nintendo multiplayer performance is limited.

The number of players on the island means that Pearson and his family have to be creative in the way they play. Not only do they share time, but goals, too. Pearson, 37, created the program – literally. A lifelong graphic designer, Pearson told me he was new to the Franchise, but he invested in learning all the different things he had to collect and explore. New Horizons.

"(The children) came and needed help to build houses for people, I jumped and smoked," Pearson said. “After seeing so many friends who had been playing for weeks, I started learning the tricks and secrets, and I said, & # 39; Catch! I need to write it down. & # 39; ”

Pearson is not alone. Hundreds of players have posted New Horizons Newsletter spreads on social media, including YouTube creator Amon Lee (better known as AmandaRachLee on YouTube, with about 2 million subscribers). There are many pages New Horizons and Animal Crossing-themed journals, editors, and other items listed on sites such as Etsy. And in Planners Gone Wild, the biggest Facebook community of people planning, there is no shortage of posts about the game – people who want a new organizational stream, but also others to play with.

Lee told me that the connection between the two makes sense. His channel, which mainly shows videos in bullet journaling, doodling, and calligraphy, is sometimes described as relaxation or therapy. I find that to be true: It is satisfying to watch him draw lines on the page, filling in the spaces with small drawings and doodles in different colors. Everything is neat and orderly, but his videos always feel unnecessary headaches – as if they were easy. (And I know it's not; I've tried to write a journal bullet before, and left with 10 broken pages of a hand-delivered calendar, each one more confusing than the last.) Most of the words used to describe Crossing Animals over the years, but reach a whole new level with New Horizons.

"I think there are similar aspects to (New Horizons), ”Said Lee. "At Animal Crossing where everything is well-balanced and organized … a satisfying feeling. And of course, there are so many things to follow – at first when I was playing the game, I was frustrated."

Indeed, there are a ton of things to follow New Horizons. Nintendo keeps track of the majority of this game, but to access that information, you'll need to log in to the menus page. With your Nintendo switch in hand, it's easy to browse through the physical journal to look at what K.K. Slide slides you have before you buy more. Lee is not fully engaged New Horizons tracker, but it has a list of "personal lists" for its island – which includes local people like Raymond and Rosie.

Pearson uses his editor to schedule his time on the crowded Switch; his main goal now is to get a three-star rating so K.K. Slider will come to play, but he keeps track of his home needs. There is also a checklist of fish and bugs as they are caught, fossils as they find them, and flowers planted.

"Having goals & goals for & # 39; my opportunity & # 39; s makes my time so miserable," Pearson said. "Also, who doesn't want to skip things and put stickers on the floor to make it come true?" She also comes with a dry erase sheet and a list of things to do daily, something that can be wiped and restarted each day. Did you plant flowers? Look. Your whole mine? Look. Chat with all the locals? Look.

Noticing things sounds great. Dr. Matthew Barr, a sports researcher and lecturer at the University of Glasgow, told me that some people are "highly motivated" to track things – it gives them a sense of accomplishment. Video games are a great way to break things off the to-do list; in fact, many video games are full.

Photo: Alison Cline

"I find it very rewarding and I have my own list of things to do here, but nothing is forbidden," Barr said with a laugh.

“But if I sit down and play a game for an hour, I can check things like you do. It's a supplement to what's happening in many games, where you've achieved achievements and gameplay journals that track your needs and everything else. "

But there is an element of innovation, too – whether that is the journal's use of problem solving or documentary progress, which Barr's own daughter does. As part of her home study program, Barr's 9-year-old daughter is also attending and her father's progress on Mobius Digital & # 39; s Exotic wildlife

Said Barr New Horizons, however, is one of those games that is completely optimized for players to interact with the game even without it. "Crossing the Animal Kingdom is more than a sandbox (game,)," Barr said. "But God knows that Tom Nook has put some property in it – you have to pay those expenses.

“There are some small rewards there to get Nook Miles and all the rest, but most of the fun of the game is on social media, which can be tracked by Tom Nook,” he adds.

Of course, Tom Nook tracks the bigger things, like catching 100 fish or cutting down a certain number of trees. But it can be beneficial or relaxing for some players to keep track of other progress, such as how your island structure changes and leaves.

It sounds so exciting that people find themselves so desperate for these things now, in the midst of a pandemic. There are so many things we can't control: How long will we be away from home? When will the business open? The thought of New Horizons what attracts you to other people is that you are the whole world can control, which you can design to be your perfect find. Most of the game is left to the player. (Of course, it can be very stressful, too.)

There is no proper way to play Animal Crossing; I think that's why it started now. At least, that's what I've heard from many of the players I've talked to. And I said New Horizons, there are so many different ways to write – as complex or as simple as possible. For those who just want to keep track, there are digital editors where you just plug in the details. If you want to get rid of a notch (and that doesn't stress you), you can go for a full, bullet journal with systems over the programs you can enter.

Photo: Melissa Pearson

"My island is a way to relax from the stress of real life," said Jade Jones, an Etsy salesman New Horizons escort, you told me. "It's a work-in-progress, but there is so much I can do that I don't think it will ever end in my eyes." Started a daily workbook, like many others. Jones keeps notes on fossils and herbs, recipes and guests. You follow Turnip prices with guests. When others saw her magazine, they were looking for their own. She poured digital files into her Etsy store, and they started selling. (Other Etsy sellers have told me similar stories, that their Animal Crossing journals quickly become their main shopping items.)

"I've seen a great need for (Animal Crossing) organizers," Jones said. "Not just from my own experience, but (and other & # 39;) stores as well – and especially with COVID-19. With such a large community of people using daily editors and magazines as an escape route, you can relax and get through the day's events."

Most others agree. Alison Cline, a YouTube designer, he told me he was looking forward to picking up his journal. "The biggest complaint in the creation of the Animal Crossing journal was to look forward to these extraordinary times and to follow the limits of my contributions to the museum," Cline said. "It's a great way to reflect on the things I've accomplished that week, the residents I've met, and what some of the best things are."

I get that, too. It's a weird time, and if the best thing I can do all week is go out and sell my turnips for a good price, I take it.