Gameplay Journal Entry #1

For this journal entry I’m analyzing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Compared to other video games, Animal Crossing is very relaxing to play. Everything from the interface of the game to the activities the player completes makes everything feel interconnected. As a life simulation game, players have different tasks they have to complete in order to advance through the game, much like one would have to complete tasks in real life. This is the kind of game that makes someone escape their own reality, and I believe this is why Animal Crossing is so successful. If someone is having a hard time in their real life, it’s much easier to spend time in an ideal society. Dovey and Kennedy state, “technological imaginary … bringing us ever closer to the sense of completion and wholeness which day to day reality so painfully lacks…”. I also think Animal Crossing doesn’t fall under the category of hegemony because this game is popular with younger children and females. Since many children don’t have control over their own lives, playing games like Animal Crossing gives them something they are able to control. Evaluating Animal Crossing has shown me a different side of video games and their great effect on society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8IezE3wXa8

Source

Dovey, Jon, and Helen W. Kennedy. Game Cultures: Computer Games as New Media. Open Univ. Press, 2011.