keeping up with new horizons.
Reality shrank to the confines of my apartment and New Horizons fell into my lap at the right time. If timing is everything, then Nintendo did a damn good job of bringing ease to the claustrophobic anxieties walling us in.
Through the game, I got to speak to people from high school I never talked to before. Old pen pals. People in and out of my life, Connected and reconnected, all at once.
Let’s be real. Social distancing sucks. People need people. I’ve found that sometimes I need to hear people talking in the other room just to feel safe. Binge-watching Ozark, a podcast when I’m doing the dishes, hell, even before I sleep, I’ll talk out loud just to remember the sound of my voice. Reading Sally Rooney, wishing Ali Wong’s biography could be played as an audio-book.
Animal Crossing has been the hub of all my daily interactions. It started with a bunch of Facetime calls with friends I’ve missed and now has turned into voice calls with other players in smaller Discord communities. Complete strangers at first that all share the same interests outside of the game. It feels funny to say, but I think I’ve made new friends! Especially at a time where it’s more comfortable to meet someone on a digital profile than chatting up a stranger at a bar into a ‘someone’.
Running through weeds, walking through flowers, hearing footsteps pitter-patter outside, where day-to-day lives feel untouched. Seeing each other’s homes, at witness to different creativities. It’s like being inside and outside of each other’s heads, trying on each other’s personalities, borrowing quirks and traits to make up for our advances in the game.
People are kind. Trust is still tested, and I get that. It only goes to show that there are hurt people here, and I applaud them for seeking ailments for their maladies through a medium like this, one with a growing community of like-minded players looking for the same kind of comfort.
This isn’t to ignore the recent toxicity that has ruptured throughout the Animal Crossing community across different social media platforms that people use to trade materials, furniture, and even villagers. There’s a percentage of players that seem to complain about the loans you have to pay off for your home or bridges, but they’ll overcharge items on Nookazon. There’s also a couple of scammers out there, choosing beggars without any manners that think they can displace their anger in such a platform when this should be a game of comfort.
There is also the toxic nature that is grown organically. Island tours and custom designs flair a high sense of creativity that develops insecurities in other players, putting up halts in their advancements for their own islands.
I won’t even get into the opinions and viewpoints of some players linked to racism and homophobia. That’s uncalled for and has no place for the ACNH community. There’s enough hate in the world. Why would you bring it to a virtual one? Especially one dawned with such cute animals?
Amidst these issues, it’s all a lesson in learning to love yourself, love your friends, and appreciate the bounties that each player can share with each other. And if that can’t be found in other Crossers, it’s found in the delight and charm of our neighbors, who, for the most part, make you feel like you belong.
By the time this is posted, around 400 hours of game-play will mark my Nintendo profile. It’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s been an absolute blessing. New Horizons made nights easier, when I felt most alone or unfitting in my own body. Yes, I’ll look at myself in the mirror and think that I’ll go nowhere. It has made going outside easier for me. The rustling of the trees and flowers in game beg me to see them outside, for a walk in the park, a trip to the supermarket, to catch a sunset post-spring season. The beauty of the game has reminded me that the world at large is beautiful, too. Even amidst this mess of a time.
