Happy 15th Anniversary, Animal Crossing!

Though I may be a bit late on celebrating this, it's now been 15 years since the incredible world of Animal Crossing was brought to life.

Personally, I've been playing since around 2006 (first with Wild World) but I decided to take a trip back in time and try out the GameCube version too, as the obsession had grown enough to do so.

It's been such a lovely experience since the beginning and turning on any Animal Crossing (maybe not Amiibo Festival...) lets me feel at home. I hope we will hear soon about another Animal Crossing game coming to an upcoming Nintendo console...?

Happy Aniversary AC!

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 8: Deirdre's Autumnal Atmosphere!

Deirdre the deer requested an autumn themed home, which I was happy to take on! The mush furniture has always been my favorite; adding that to a whole fall colored room sounded great! It's great when villagers request seasonal themes as they work well against wood or stone.

Inside, there's lots of books, as they match with the forest/leafy atmosphere throughout. I kept with using wooden furniture to match pieces of the mush set. The mushroom table makes a great centerpiece, of course, and the other various mushrooms as nice decorations! The new leaf chairs are sweet, and I like the stump rugs a lot!

On the exterior, I chose a river-bank location surrounded by trees right in the middle of their autumn season. There's a spot for her to invite a friend over for tea. There's plenty of trees, leaves, and flowers to wander amongst. Ah, is that the house I built? Or just a giant mushroom...? (maybe it's friendly??)

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 7: Chrissy's Pretty Polka-Dotty Home!

I'm very proud that I was able to design a home for a bunny featured in one of K.K. Slider's albums: Chrissy herself! She requested a home with lots and lots of polka dots. She's good friends (or I believe they may even be sisters) with Francine, so added in a few accents of blue.

I really love how the exterior turned out. I chose a location with cherry blossoms for that extra pink polka-dotty feel and included pink bushes and white tulips in the design! There's also a picnic blanket with a tea set (I can imagine Chrissy would be a tea lover for some reason) and a swinging chair set. The two bunny balloons like to dance along with the wind!

The interior was where polka dots really shined through - I'm not crazy about the red dot furniture itself, but I tried to add in pieces of it alongside other pink furniture without the design looking too busy. There's a kitchen, a small siting area, and a place for Chrissy to rest her head after a busy day - I couldn't forget to place a copy of her and Francine's album on the wall!

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 6: The Town's New Café!

My next project in town was the café. Things with brown/coffee/green tones are my favorite things to work with in Animal Crossing (as I'm sure you'll soon be able to tell) and this was a lot of fun to design. I love love love the wallpaper, even though it's blue and might not quite match.

There's lots of room for seating and the place has a relaxing atmosphere so you can come here after a busy day at work to sip coffee and snack on some cake! I love the new counter-seating options - it helps the place feel like a real coffee shop. I also love the new tables that have been added in the game, as they really do look like ones you'd find in a little coffee shop like this.

Soon after opening, the place was abuzz with new animals and some were even eager to take up a job there as waiters! I included a small kitchen to brew coffee in and to place deserts at the counter so customers could see and choose what they were in the mood for that day. I'm sure the villagers at the counter tables were also enjoying the new wall TV... I mean, what better way to enjoy a cup of coffee?

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 5: A Home For Carrie's Joeys!

Next, I stumbled across Carrie on the street, and she told me she'd love a new home with lots of room for her kids to play! I agreed - sounded like a fun task to carry out. This was the first house I was able to design an exterior for as well, so that was exciting! I've been looking forward to this part of the game, especially being able to place flowers on half-blocks like the furniture inside.

I don't know how safe the location I chose was for kids, especially having the slide so close to the edge of the cliff... though I'm sure there'll be fine! There's lots of room to play, including the sandbox, and there's a picnic blanket so the family  can see out in the sunshine! There's also a swing seat for guests and a clothesline (children like to get messy!) The new option to have rugs outside is a lot of fun to use, especially the cobblestone pathways!

When decorating the inside, I definitely kept the kids in mind but also Carrie herself. There's even more room to play inside, with toys and coloring books, and a quiet place to take naps. Carrie has her own relaxing sitting room and place to sleep, so hopefully she can get some relaxation done when she's not busy looking after and playing with her joeys!

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 4: It's School Time!

My fourth task as a designer working for Nook's Home was to help design the town's school! I tried my best to make it somewhat like an old schoolroom - with the supplies I was given. 

Everyone seems to be enjoying a quicky at the new lunch tables, so that's a good sign... Though I think Roscoe might have mistaken it for nap time. Also: a cup of coffee?! At school?? There's a cubby hole behind them for storing anything they might need for class, and a bulletin board for any upcoming school events.

Ms. Pecan was teaching today. Though she's meant to evenly distribute the class time up, seems like a lot of it was spent on history... she was quite passionate about it! I made sure to include science lab tables nearby, as some reactions might be dangerous to do on wooden desks. There's also lots of books for studying and craft supplies for those upcoming projects!

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 3: Very Ornate!

The third home I took on in the game was for Muffy, who requested a very 'gothicly' styled home with lots of Roccoco furniture throughout. Though I'm not a big fan of having lots and lots of ornate furniture together at once, I gave it try...

Here, we were discussing some of her favorite Gothic time period Literature. She was certainly enthusiastic about it! Then, as a thanks for my work, she invited me to stay around for a cup of tea and a bit of movie-watching to relax.

I visited her again a few days later, and came over to find her dancing along to some of her favorite music. I wouldn't say the music was particularly dance-able to, but I went along with it...

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 2: Casa di Lopez!

The second home that I designed (and most other people) was for an antelope: Lopez! Or as he preferred to call it: Casa di Lopez!  He wanted something reminiscent of a modern, stylish home, and set out some preferred furniture pieces.

Once it was complete, he got right into relaxing on his new minimalist couch with his laptop, set in front of a wall-TV. I hope he's actually getting some work down, rather than just playing games... (Just like me, ha... haha... things don't get done when AC games first come out.)

He also went on to make himself a cup of coffee, but ended up falling asleep before he even took a sip. Yikes, Lopez - it's really quite tiring just watching your home designer design your place for you! Don't leave that egg cooking on the stove too long, either...

I'm not too keen on the wallpaper choice, but it was the only one out of the current options that I felt actually matched in some way. Maybe I'll go back and edit it some time!

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer 1: Goldie's Home!

Hooray! Happy Home Designer is finally here, and so far, I'm honestly having a blast.

I've decided to create a new character for this game, and her name is Seren! The game starts out with you creating a practice 'lovely' home for Lottie - a new character, and Lyle's niece - who's completely adorable. You can't deny that. I didn't manage to get any pictures, unfortunately, (Miiverse was acting up a bit!)

Then, you go onto your first real job, with the lovely dog, Goldie! She requested a room themed with a 'mountain of books' Here's how I decorated her home:

We shared a cup of coffee together on her new seating area, and I made sure to add in plenty of boos and bookshelves for her to relax and read with. I also added in a secluded bedroom area, free of noise and any distractions.

Goldie also took the opportunity to try out her new desk and laptop... She must get a lot of writing inspiration from all of the books she reads, so it's only appropriate she's a writer too!

I know I'm not that far into the game yet, but I heard this game get so many bad reviews - I get that it's only one feature of Animal Crossing expanded into somewhat of a complex(er) minigame, but it's really cute to design animal's houses in a way you think, based on their personality, they'd really enjoy.