Animal Crossings, My Guilty Pleasure on Off the Wall Friday

 

Me in Sewing Studio on my island

They say the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem.  Now, I wouldn't say I have a problem so much as  a guilty pleasure...it's Nintendo's Animal Crossing New Horizons game.  Early this year, I decided that TV and social media had become toxic to my life so I made a change.  We cut our ties with Direct TV, bought a new smart TV that streamed easily and I got myself a Nintendo Switch game console. So now if we do watch TV it's usually something on Discovery Plus or I'll spend time relaxing on my virtual island.  (for the record - I bought the TV, Switch, Game and still saved us a bundle by stopping our cable TV)

The other side of my studio

 

muted colors late afternoon

I've always been a casual gamer....since...well... they had casual video games (yes we're talking pong, space invaders, mario brothers, sim city etc etc).  If you haven't heard,  the premise of Animal Crossings New Horizons, is that you move to a deserted island with two other animal "villagers".  Starting out in a tent you fish, chop wood, grow plants and hunt bugs to grow your island into a  place to live.  As the game progresses, up to 10 animal characters come to live on the island with you. Sounds like a kid simple game right?  Well it can be but you can create you island paradise as complicated as you want.  I mean you can literally shape and design every aspect of your island.     I think that is what appeals to so many creative adults.

Rain storm during Early Spring - notice all the blues and no grass

That's where I stepped in.  The minute I found out that there were countless ways to create my island I was in.  The thing about the game is that it runs in real time.  So when your sun is raising, the sun on your island is rising.  The seasons are the same, the phases of the moon are the same etc etc.  The colors on the island change as the time of day changes just like in real life.  

So little by little, I've been working on building up my island.  Villagers come and go (there are nearly

Sunny Day 

400 animals that can move onto your island - all with their own personalities and themes).  I've decorated my house starting with - what else - a great quilt studio.  I've never seen anybody else have their own sewing room in their house but on the other hand, I don't play with  a bunch of 55 yr old women...lol.  

I bring this all up because art wise, I have really been noticing things on my island.  Colors are a huge part of the graphics.  The colors are constantly changing due to the weather and time of day.  I play with palettes and designs.  I create my own unique designs to customize the items they give me.  I love the challenge of  coming up with new compositions and making visual decisions visually.  It's really satisfying to take  the rules of design that I've learned and apply them to my island.  

 Ohhh and did I mention that I have my very own museum complete with a  fine arts wing?  So little by little, I'm amassing a wonderful collection of masterpieces....this week I added Vermeer's The Milkmaid.

Just Another Winter Day on the Island  notice dusty colors are used

1st day of Spring

The nice thing about Animal Crossing New Horizons is that you can play as much or as little as you want.  There is no competition, no killing and no dying.   It has totally served the purpose of helping me relax and forget about the troubles of the country.  There are countless ways to have fun with this game which makes it great from ages 7-99.  It's so fun to get on youtube and see how people from all walks of life play and how they use the game to relax and create.  I would highly recommend it to anybody who wanted to dip their toes into the gamer world.

With all of that said though, I'm thinking it's time to put myself on a ACNH time limit so I get more real sewing done less virtual sewing on my island.  Sooner or later spring rush  has to end at work and I'll have more brain power to create.  Yes ladies are still buying a ton of clothing...seems like they were just waiting for the country to open back up....sigh....  I have a ton of ideas I want to get to my sewing table for sure.  

Easter Sunday ( or they call it Bunny Day)

(And in case you're wondering...yes you can take photos with your in game virtual phone to post to real life social media.  I don't do that though I just keep some for a sorta journal as I progress through the game)

So that's my guilty pleasure.....what's yours?

  

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