I actually tried sending Nintendo my idea for a new Animal Crossing game once...let me find it...here:
"The other day, I sat down and began thinking about some of Nintendo's more successful franchises in the last few years, and which ones are most in need of a graphical facelift for their next addition on the Wii. Obviously Pikmin deserves a new title for the Wii, as it's already established itself as an original entry worthy of a position on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl fighter roster, but Pikmin is really one of those games that works well with its graphical style, and as far as enhancements go it will surely retain its Mario-esque character look for future installments. There's Eternal Darkness, a title that really garnished a cult-following last generation on the Gamecube - certainly its eerie and suspenseful environments would benefit from a graphical update, but fans of that series would already be expecting enhanced visuals for a game of that nature. What I think Nintendo is in need of, is a graphical enhancement so unexpected, so surprising, that it makes mouths drop like The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker did a few years back...except with a realistic-looking take on a more cartoonish-looking series.
And then it hit me. What is one of Nintendo's most non-linear, open-ended games that is in serious need of a graphical overhaul? Animal Crossing. Reportedly, an Animal Crossing title has been rumored to be in its early stages for several months now, and would do a great job of taking advantage of the Wii's wiiconnect24 and online capabilities. At first you're probably saying to yourself, "A realistic Animal Crossing world...What do we need that for? Animal Crossing is a fun and happy place with memorable characters! We can't possibly ruin the formula we've put into place..."
But what if instead of looking at Animal Crossing as just this playful world of animal neighbors, we were to really add a touch of the human element into the mix. What if we were to immerse players in an animal village that looks and feels fantastical in every way? Picture this - you enter a strange and mystical forest village, never before seen by human eyes, and you find yourself in this strange new world with animal friends that you never knew existed before. What will you do? Will you brush it off as some sort of dream or hallucination? Will you exploit this village of humanoid animals for your own greed and profit? Or will you be curious and altruistic, and decide to develop a diplomatic friendship with your new found animal brethren?
Instead of an overhead camera and solid colored environments, what if the Animal Crossing world was set in a third-person perspective, in a village of such wonder and beauty reminiscent of the fantasy town from Peter Molyneux'sFable universe? This would be a great opportunity to show off the Wii's technical capabilities, by rendering realistic-looking fur for the animal characters, and beautiful (or not so beautiful) sprawling landscapes for the village. By talking and interacting with the villagers, and possibly even joining the town senate board, you could make decisions that affect your fantasy village to make it become either more prosperous and futuristic, or else dreary and withering. Animals would either delight and move into your village happily, or fearfully run from their destroyed sacred homeland, respectively.
Take this scenario for example. Tom Nook comes to you one day with a look of regret on his face, he wants to talk to you about something. "I was wondering if you could give me a few more days to finish adding that addition onto your house...it's just my little girls, I need to send them to school...or if you need the addition now I can understand..." Now you have to make a decision - will you greedily force Tom to spend his money on building supplies for your home, or will you be understanding and give him all the time he needs to get his children into school? Next Crazy Redd appears in town and wants to know if you'll pledge loyalty to his black-market tent - are you going to support him and his illegal business or call Officer Copper to take him down-town? These choices you make will determine whether Tom Nook becomes a successful merchant with educated children, or a homeless man with a penniless family.
Fans of the series would also like to see some other changes, that would now be possible in the games. Now, instead of things you say being the only way to determine your character's looks and gender, you could create your own character at te beginning of the game - as short, tall, old, young, large, skinny, or bald as you want. Decisions you make in the game could then also affect your appearance, either by making you look mischeivous and scary or upbeat and honest. And those bee-stings - if you don't use medicine and get some rest soon then they might leave a scar!
A more realistic Animal Crossing world, I think it would be a great change for the series. What do you guys think? If you think the developers behind the series would be interested in any of my ideas, feel free to pass them along since the game might already be in early development.
Thanks for taking the time to read yet another one of my messages!
~ Ovi"
Let's read it together, shall we? I don't remember what all I wrote, lol.
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