Animal Crossing (series)



"Yeah, living on your own, being free. It feels great. But living by yourself can be a real drag, too. Still, if you've got some really tight friends somewhere nearby, then you know it'll all work out."

- K.K. Slider

The Animal Crossing (どうぶつの森, Dōbutsu no Mori, lit. Animal Forest) video game series is a series of communication adventure games exclusively for Nintendo consoles. The game is non-linear, in the sense that it has a somewhat set beginning, a middle, and no end. The player takes the role of a human in a village of animals. The game is non-violent and is rated 'E' for Everyone by the ESRB and 3+ by PEGI. The player may take on tasks from villagers, pay off their mortgage, garden, fish, catch insects, and more.

Objectives of the game
As an open-ended life simulation, the Animal Crossing series does not have a set objective - as such, after an introductory sequence at the beginning of the games, players are free to do as they like. The only 'objective' in the game, if any, is to pay off the mortgage placed upon the player's house - but, like most things within the game, this is entirely optional and does not incur any consequences other than having less space to store items.

Villagers
In every town in the Animal Crossing, the village itself is entirely composed of a populi of animals (excluding the player, who is the only human child in the whole series). Villagers serve as interactable characters who are assigned personalities and traits, and this affects the way they communicate with you and among themselves. Villagers are capable of speech (despite being animals), and live in their own domains within the villages. Villagers, in the later games, are also capable of playing games such as hide and seek, and most often than not they will usually ask you to perform tasks for them (which ranges from delivering presents to sending a message to another human player), which can incur a reward if executed in the set time. Villagers are also anthropormorphic, and as such, they are able to walk in a humanoid state, and can also wear clothes. Villagers move in and out regularly due to certain factors (e.g. because the player has exchanged animals with another village over Wi-Fi or simply because they are not satisfied with their current life). It is also said that they enjoy receiving letters, and if sent a gift they will usually send one back.

Customization
Although the earlier games offered little or no service in terms of customization, more recent games feature the ability to not only customize your own clothes, but also wallpapers, flooring and even paintings in your home. It is also possible to decorate the ground in-game with your own patterns. The term 'customization' can also include the variety of items and furniture available to collect, allowing the user, in a sense, to "customize" their houses and themes.

Activities
Despite being an open-ended game, Animal Crossing does provide some activities to pass the time and help 'complete' certain aspects of the gameplay (such as completing the bug exhibit within the town museum). Some of these said activities include bug-catching, fossil-hunting and even item-collecting (the latter an objective to complete the player's catalogue). Players can also interact in games of hide-and-seek with villagers, participate in festivals and town events, and generally do as they like within the game.