Animal Crossing: New Horizons brought the series to new heights during 2020 as it served as a great way to connect the population trapped indoors during quarantine. After the Animal Crossing series skipped having a mainline entry on the Wii U, the island-building simulation game was a fresh change of pace that many gamers had desired, but after a while, many players thought the interactions the title offered felt a bit lacking and stale after a while.
While Nintendo tried to keep things interesting with frequent updates that added holidays and events, which gave villagers something new to talk to, the Switch Animal Crossing title left many players yearning for more interactions from their island neighbors. While it's hard to have a social simulation game that doesn't run out of dialogue at some point, there are ways to make things interesting that Nintendo seems to be avoiding to keep players comfortable. However, this might be something the next AC title could benefit from.
Animal Crossing Villagers Aren't Rude Anymore
It may surprise newer Animal Crossing fans who aren't aware of how the cute, cuddly, customizable series started, but in the first game released for the GameCube, the villagers players got to know could be rude depending on when they were spoken to and how fans interacted with them. They would be incredibly blunt and say that the player was looking "awful as ever," asking if they don't understand sarcasm, and even saying things like "I hope you go through life with the same drab furniture" when angry.
However, over the years of Animal Crossing being around, the interactions between the villagers were gradually made nicer and nicer to where they are now. It's understandable why players would get tired of the interactions in New Horizons, as the desire to focus on the series' customization and interior design aspects even takes away the NPC's chances to make decisions for themselves. In every game except New Horizons, it was up to the villagers how their house was decorated, where they lived, and when they moved out. In order for the player to make their perfect, pristine island, none of those choices belong to the non-playable characters in towns anymore.
How Animal Crossing Could Benefit From a Little Rudeness
While making it easier for fans to control how their islands looks is a welcome change, as the days of Animal Crossing characters ruining flower beds are over, that doesn't mean that the villagers should lose their independence and attitude on the way there. Animal Crossing when it first began used to be about the player being on their own for the first time and making connections with the strange animals in the town.
The best way that AC could possibly get its more negative interactions back while still offering players the chance to customize everything their island or town has in the end would be to add a friendship mechanic as seen in other simulation games such as Stardew Valley or Disney Dreamlight Valley. There's plenty of room for friendships with Animal Crossing villagers to be rather dynamic as personalities like cranky or peppy could affect starting friendship levels.
Letting villagers be rude could also allow the series explore more venues than just an island or a small town. Many players might expect a true city-based Animal Crossing game to feature a bit more rude base of villagers to go along with the assumption that big cities are often cold to people who don't live there regularly. In general, allowing the villagers to reflect their personalities by being a bit more mean if bothered, hit with nets, or when told to move out could bring some life into the game, with negative Villagers actually encouraging Animal Crossing fans to keep coming back for more.
