Coming back to Animal Crossing after an extended period of time away can bring about some unexpected consequences in this week’s new Focal Point!
I gotta tell you, breaking the habit of Animal Crossing was hard. Funny enough, it’s something I covered a few weeks back in a previous Focal Point, back when Xenoblade (and The Last of Us Part 2) were able to help break the strange hold the game had on me. Since then, I stopped playing completely for a few weeks. With the latest Summer update, however, I finally decided to hop back and check on my island….
Obviously it didn’t go down like this, but to be honest, I did feel a twinge of anxiety at loading up the game again. Some of it boiled down to knowing my island would be a complete mess, but another part was being worried about getting sucked in so completely once again.
As someone who hasn’t played a previous AC game, it was interesting to see how the residents on the island reacted to your time away. From asking where I’ve been, to telling me how much they missed me, and some even saying they were about to move!
The game does a solid job of making it seem like life on the island goes on even without you…and making you feel like crap for being gone. It’s both an ingenious game design to keep you coming back and incredibly evil at the same time.
Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to take those aspects to the extreme and envision the lawlessness of the island that seems forever on the cusp of happening without the players’ guidance. On a personal note, I really enjoyed putting this one together and drawing it. Some of my favorite backgrounds I’ve done and might even have to find a way to frame this one up!
I hope you enjoyed this week’s Focal Point, and if you did, be sure to check out the previous ones! Have a great, and safe, Fourth of July!
