About time we saw some competition in the Animal Crossing space.

[Xbob42]

As a fan of Animal Crossing since the Gamecube, I'm both surprised and not surprised at the reaction to the Youtube trailer. I always expect other Nintendo fans to be petty vindictive children, but at the same time, Nintendo has basically been doing absolutely nothing of substance with Animal Crossing since I played that first one on launch day all those years ago.

That, combined with the fact that we don't have a similar game on platforms outside of Nintendo's own, it only makes sense that someone would try and compete eventually.

You can have whatever opinion you want about that, but I decided to stop getting angsty about "clones" decades ago. The way I see it, if a single guy making a game via Patreon can make a game that comes anywhere near the quality and content of an entire AAA studio, that guy has nothing to be ashamed of -- the studio does. Nintendo's been resting on their laurels a long, long time with this. We're finally seeing them change up the formula with Zelda and Mario, but AC is still essentially exactly the same game it always was.

No, it doesn't look as polished, and it doesn't look as charming, but it does look to offer better customization and a slightly different experience, and the change to non-real-time is welcome to me.

I welcome competition in any genre, and I'm more than happy to see individuals challenging studios with similar games. If this succeeds, maybe we'll see a sequel that expands and polishes things up, or maybe it'll fail and we'll forget all about it. But in any case, I'm happy to see projects like this and Temtem. Don't waste your time and emotional energy getting offended on behalf of a multibillion dollar company. It's not worth it. This game existing can do two things: Provide competition for Nintendo so they do better, or nothing at all. It won't hurt gaming any more than years of "Doom clones" hurt the FPS genre.

[north]

this isn't competition, it's a poorly made clone.

[Xbob42]

Originally posted by north:

this isn't competition, it's a poorly made clone.

That's quite the conclusion you've drawn from a short trailer. Although I can already conclude it has better customization than Animal Crossing, which is one of the few areas Animal Crossing actually had gameplay, so that's a big plus for me.

[Hermit]

Originally posted by north:

this isn't competition, it's a poorly made clone.

Unless you have a better (legal) alternative for PC get lost.

[ArcticuKitsu]

+1 to the OP. Couldn't have said it better myself, especially at 5 am in the morning. Noted everything I would have said.

-----------

Originally posted by north:

this isn't competition, it's a poorly made clone.

Instead of reading poorly made clickbait from Kotaku you should make your own opinion instead of parroting someone else. If you actually took the time to study the short trailer you'd notice a few things..... Yes, it may look like Animal Crossing, you will however start seeing differences. You would have noticed we have control over where villagers go, how we customize (in greater detail), how we can farm & explore, while having greater options than the Nintendo verison.

With it being on PC you can also get modding into play, as well as constantly keeping Hokko Life fresh throughout the years. Find something hanging behind? Just update it and modernize it for that current year. This is something you can't do for the Nintendo version. What is out, is out and its stuck in that current version without being able to be patched.

Always nice to have choices and variety....

[labskaus]

I'm just glad that someone finally did it. I'm not much of a Consolero, but i love AC. So i'm happy that it's finally happening.

[2d0x]

Originally posted by north:

this isn't competition, it's a poorly made clone.

This is better than nothing (I mean the developer’s attempt to realize his vision of Animal Crossing). Even if the clone turns out to be bad, I won’t lose anything. Personally, I see no reason to a priori deprive this developer of a chance. If I don’t like something, then I just won’t buy it.

[Tejan]

Originally posted by ArcticuKitsu:

Yes, it may look like Animal Crossing, you will however start seeing differences. You would have noticed we have control over where villagers go, how we customize (in greater detail), how we can farm & explore, while having greater options than the Nintendo verison.

With it being on PC you can also get modding into play, as well as constantly keeping Hokko Life fresh throughout the years. Find something hanging behind? Just update it and modernize it for that current year. This is something you can't do for the Nintendo version. What is out, is out and its stuck in that current version without being able to be patched.

Unless the people behind the marketing are absolutely idiotic, trailers will never showcase the negatives of a game. All they've shown it moving objects on objects, nothing like recoloring the object, resizing, or anything else. It's effectively the "accessories" tab in character creation with no access to the rest.
And that's an awful lot of assuming you have going on there. Not every game will be Stardew Valley, in fact most will more closely mimic Wild Season.
There's no promise of mod support.
There's no promise of updates once the game is launched.

Originally posted by Hermit:

Unless you have a better (legal) alternative for PC get lost.

Emulation is legal though.

Since you were probably talking about Steam games here's a few that are very inspired by Animal Crossing (and Harvest Moon) while not being rip-offs:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/304950/Castaway_Paradise__Town_Building_Sim/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/666140/My_Time_At_Portia/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/730050/Verdant_Skies/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/432010/Worlds_Dawn/

[ArcticuKitsu]

Originally posted by Tejan:

Unless the people behind the marketing are absolutely idiotic, trailers will never showcase the negatives of a game. All they've shown it moving objects on objects, nothing like recoloring the object, resizing, or anything else. It's effectively the "accessories" tab in character creation with no access to the rest.
And that's an awful lot of assuming you have going on there. Not every game will be Stardew Valley, in fact most will more closely mimic Wild Season.
There's no promise of mod support.
There's no promise of updates once the game is launched.

Originally posted by Hermit:

Unless you have a better (legal) alternative for PC get lost.

Emulation is legal though.

Since you were probably talking about Steam games here's a few that are very inspired by Animal Crossing (and Harvest Moon) while not being rip-offs:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/304950/Castaway_Paradise__Town_Building_Sim/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/666140/My_Time_At_Portia/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/730050/Verdant_Skies/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/432010/Worlds_Dawn/

Alright, what do we have here.... Let's see......

Look, we're well aware of the risks so we're willing to take them. Smart people read the disclaimers of early access while taking actual leap of faith to follow a game through. Yes, a trailer does show the "good side" of a game, though not all are perfect. You can still see through the cracks. If recolouring isn't there then suggest it. If the developer cares they'll find the time to add it. If not, mod it. If you have the ability to mod the game then use your ability to add what it lacks... That's the beauty of this game over Animal Crossing on Nintendo. You can't even mod stuff on Nintendo, or from what I'm aware.

No promises, though there is interest to add more as time goes on. That's enough for me (and others) that we're willing to give Robert & the other developers a leap of faith. If it fails, it fails. That's the risk we're taking. Again, any smart gamer would research a game they have interest to make sure what they're getting is actually what they desire in a game. I poked around, I snooped. I asked questions and I got respectable responses in return.

There is an opening for both mod support & more updates. Not promised, though an interest from the developer. We accept the struggles because we're aware of it so we're following this while also being cautious.

================

Hokko Life is still unique enough so I can't see it being a "rip-off" or a "clone". Don't wear those words out to mean nothing please. We indeed do see heavily similarities though there will be differences. Its just harder to see right now because of trailers & screenshots, among first glance takes on things. I'm aware you didn't aim this list at me, though still going to note it.

- Castaway Paradise: I'm sure the gameplay is nice, the art-style doesn't attract me into it. It seems like a solid game, not my style. If it had a smoother texture DLC or mod I'd grab it.

- My Time At Portia: It looks like a very rich and deep game, though misses some of the points here and there. Very busy, which is nice, though misses that Animal Crossing charm. It has a lot of things in the RPG, decoration & etc, it however seems to miss the simple charm of village life.

- Verdant Skies: Seems like a nicely detailed game, now REALLY missing the point of both Animal Crossing & Hokko Life (I'm aware Harvest moon is focus in your point). Nice that you can settle and everything, romance isn't something both games should fiddle with. Each to their own and variety is a good thing. Love interest (same as 'My Time at Portia') appears to to miss the point while being on a teen cringe side of things.
(Verdant Skies would be way off my radar for how cringe it appears with teen stuff in trailer.)

- Worlds Dawn: Neat actual comparison to Harvest Moon & Stardew Valley. Even if you make the same thing it will still be different with different strokes and vibes in various areas.

---------

This game appeals to people who do not have a Nintendo device, or simply struggle to keep playing it. Again, modding will be a thing one way or another, even if developer may enable it or not. If people love this game enough they will alter it enough to be highly different or exactly the same as Animal Crossing New Leaf. I'm sure people will find a way to add in various logos and emblems into Hokko Life for the amusement of it.

[Chriziel]

Tbf I've played castaway paradise, my time at portia, verdant skies, and the only closest thing to animal crossing was castaway paradise while my time and verdant skies are more stardew valley/harvest moon type of games and not as laid back as ac.

[labskaus]

Originally posted by Atomic88:

Tbf I've played castaway paradise, my time at portia, verdant skies, and the only closest thing to animal crossing was castaway paradise while my time and verdant skies are more stardew valley/harvest moon type of games and not as laid back as ac.

Exactly. I laughed a bit when i saw these recommendations. I played Castaway too. Imho feels more like a mobile title and the overall "charme" wasn't really there. mTaP (I'm a baker) and Verdant Skies are great games, but both aren't close to the AC-Experience.

I joined the Hokko Life Discord yesterday and there are many points that makes Hokko Life different enough from AC so that these "clones" Cries should die down quickly.

[rincewind]

Originally posted by labskaus:

Originally posted by Atomic88:

Tbf I've played castaway paradise, my time at portia, verdant skies, and the only closest thing to animal crossing was castaway paradise while my time and verdant skies are more stardew valley/harvest moon type of games and not as laid back as ac.

Exactly. I laughed a bit when i saw these recommendations. I played Castaway too. Imho feels more like a mobile title and the overall "charme" wasn't really there. mTaP (I'm a baker) and Verdant Skies are great games, but both aren't close to the AC-Experience.

I joined the Hokko Life Discord yesterday and there are many points that makes Hokko Life different enough from AC so that these "clones" Cries should die down quickly.

Castaway Paradise is originally a mobile game, that explain the 'feel' of the game.
Still, it's pretty nice, and they removed the microtransactions.

My Time at Portia is another beast entirely. Not exactly and Harvest Moon clone either. With being a builder, not a farmer.

And I played World's Dawn too. It's an Havest Moon-esque game. But while lacks the diversity and mechanics of Stardew Valley, compensates with lots of heart. It's probably the coziest game ever. The town and the people are just lovely.
It's an Havest Moon, with much more emphasis in the social aspect.

Can't talk about Verdant Skies, because I never played it.

Anyways, hope that this game will join the rank of the good games and not fail like the infamous Wild Seasons.

[2d0x]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/824000/discussions/0/1745644671663971342/?tscn=1581360712#c1745644671663977977 - Is this a discussion again?

[ArcticuKitsu]

Oooo, 2d0x caught something interesting. I guess we caught actual legit NPCs parroting the same thing over and over again. NPC people are fun unable to be willing to think for themselves. or maybe I'm just misreading something in my haste to read up on all the threads. We'll see which one it is.....

This on top of weirdo people going "you need help" when they're the ones needing help.

Fun stuff.

[north]

Originally posted by ArcticuKitsu:

Instead of reading poorly made clickbait from Kotaku you should make your own opinion instead of parroting someone else..

I never read sh!taku articles thanks...

[ArcticuKitsu]

Originally posted by north:

Originally posted by ArcticuKitsu:

Instead of reading poorly made clickbait from Kotaku you should make your own opinion instead of parroting someone else..

I never read sh!taku articles thanks...

If that's true then that's a slight redemption to that other posting hmm.