Video Games, Art, Minimalism, and Where the Middle Ground Is - Part 7

Hello! I hope that you're enjoying my Video Games, Art, Minimalism, and Middle Ground series regarding Animal Crossing: New Leaf. If you care to see all previous posts, click below:

Part 1 - Interior Design
Part 2 - Patterns and Designs
Part 3 - More about Patterns and Designs
Part 4 - Introduction to Town Decor
Part 5 - Pattern Design in Town Decor
Part 6 - Gardening in Town Decor

Onwards!

***

I've been talking about a lot in this series; interior design, pattern design, town design . . . there are so many elements to this game. However, these posts do take time, and I am aware that not everybody may be interested in them. Oh well . . .

Regardless, when I first started off this series, I knew there was a place that I wanted to visit, simply because it's so contributing to the discussion of if any of this is considered art or not. I had even written the posts for it all before deciding to talk more about pattern design and all that other stuff first! Still, I wanted to keep coming back to this, explaining more . . . so I decided I would save this until the end.

My friends . . . we're going into Aika Village.

My character, T.J., in front of the Dream Suite.

There are two things I want to mention before I get too much further. One - because I originally compiled these posts far before any of the others (besides Interior Design), these photos are actually from more than a month ago. Time traveling at its finest!

The other disclaimer is about the time on the clock. While I am unable to show the time during my visit in Aika, I can promise that the time you see in the above picture is accurate. I started at four o'clock on June 3rd in the middle of the afternoon. Keep that in mind.

Uuh - I guess we'll just have to call it Aika?

I was first led to Aika by seeing a video's title talking about it, then by seeing a series of posts done by Dette64 on his tumblr. I then went myself, at four in the afternoon . . .

The plaza - covered in a layer of noisy design.

. . . and appearing in Aika at 4:00AM.

Clearly, the person who uploaded Aika Village chose to do so in the middle of the night, with some of the creepiest music in the game. Great way to set the mood, huh?

As much as I want to begin by covering every single detail in the village, I think I'm going to go ahead and just give an overview of the houses for the most part. I don't want to take away anything from those who have the game and want to visit the town themselves. Those of the more delicate persuasion, be forewarned.

A tiny glimpse at the environment surrounding house number one.

The first part of Aika is fairly peaceful - tons of carnations and perfect peach trees. There are also these PWP statues that I'm standing nearby, and they were littered all around the plaza area I woke up in. As you can see to the right in the picture above, there was also a house. But before I went inside, though, I changed my clothes - preferring one of my personal designs - and searched for its owner.

A fellow player - and the owner of the first house.

Part of the thing that interests me as I grow up is language, and naturally, this has led to an interest in Japanese. That being said, I know next to none of the language, so I have to rely on the video source linked to above to translate what this girl was saying: "I love my mommy." Context? We'll get to that in a little while, I guess.

House number one - "Happiness"

The first house is pretty standard - just from the outside, I can tell it has two stories. In we go . . .

First floor looks pretty normal, besides the creepy (naked) mannequins.

Color me impressed - it's not easy to get these mannequins. Although I do wish that the mom and dad mannequins had been distinguished.

What's obvious from the start (at least to me) is that this whole story has been planned for a long, long while, because those mannequins take an extremely long time to get, and there's only four obtainable for each player character. From the looks of it, it's a typical birthday party - the girl in the middle, obviously, represents the girl we saw outside, and the mannequins next to her must be her parents. And while it's clear now that there's a backroom, there's no way to go in. It's been blocked off by a ranch dresser and a lovely doll.

Isn't the girl downstairs a little old for toys?

Upstairs, I found this room. A typical kid's room, obviously; little drawings, a dollhouse, and even some dolls. In fact, while I didn't show this off earlier, that red doll is an item called "dolly", which is something I picked up at the plaza in the beginning. Coincidence? Maybe.

Typical drawings for a little girl. Looks kind of like my art! *self-deprecation*

Here's an obvious demonstration of pattern design and usage; looks like the girl has made these pictures of herself and her family (including the family dog). Seems like they're pretty crudely-drawn, though . . .

OH WELL!

An Easter egg I was unable to investigate . . .

I left the house after that, since there was nothing more to see, but via a hint from the video source mentioned above, I chose to go west first before following the intended path. Not only do the carnations extend all the way to the edge of town (seemingly), there's also a grave on a section of beach impossible to get to without one of the game's tools, the wetsuit. I looked around later to see if the dream provided one, but it unfortunately didn't, so I was out of luck to see what was there, although I will provide my guesses later on. In the meantime, I might try to figure out if it would be possible to hack myself down there, although I'm not entirely certain. I might know one way, though . . .

The owner of the second house. The same person? I can't tell what she's saying . . .

Moving right along, I continued east through town and then south across the river, only to be led into sort of a creepy maze with tons of pitfalls (think of the classic Team Rocket traps in Pokemon. I might show one off later, if I have the chance). This was a great way to look at gardening design, especially since the village was uploaded in the fall and clearly used the nature to its advantage. It took a little while to make my way to the next house, where I found the next owner, who is identical to the first. I don't know what she says here, so I'm probably wrong, but my best guess is she's saying, "I love my daddy." I'm not sure; the first word/phrase is identical to the previous, but not the second. Hmm.

Well, I wouldn't have used that roof with that door, but who am I to judge?

One of the best mazes you can expect to find in Animal Crossing.

So we enter into the second house . . . and find a maze? Tricky. I tried to figure out what music was playing while I went through, but I couldn't reach the radio, so that's unknown. What's obvious from a glance is that there are both sliding posters and stools, but there are also solid black pillows that you can't walk over. So you're basically walking blind except for where the moon gives you a solid clue-in.

I'd meant to look at the radio and see what music was playing, but unfortunately, I couldn't read it from that angle. Pooh!

Personally, I really like the maze the artist has set up. It helps build suspense, especially since you have to traverse it in the dark. Not only that, but it's a great example of how interior design can be used for your benefit. Creepy or what?

The backroom. Well, this is eerie.

I made it to the backroom and immediately found this bare room with all of these stuffed animals, toys, and dolls - including the aforementioned dolly. But they're all facing away - how come?

Maybe if I turn the camera . . .

AHHH!

HOLY JESUS ON RYE!

Eyeballs staring at you without your knowing?! Voyeurism, or WHAT?!

Okay, I'm pretty easy to spook, I'll admit that, but those are CREEPY! Thankfully, I knew about them ahead of time due to one of my sources, but GAH! As you can tell, I did NOT appreciate that little surprise. No wonder those dolls aren't looking - I don't want to look either! Let's get the heck out of here and look into that upstairs room . . .

Aw snap, did I just fall into Eden?

Okay, this is a lot more peaceful . . . although it might be more so if I was religious.

My mama's bible always warned me about this shit . . .

Now, I'm not a big religious-y person (as I might've mentioned before, I'm actually an atheist), but this is a pretty obvious depiction of Adam and Eve. What else has a man, woman, apple, and snake? If this didn't set the mood for paradise, then the music certainly helped - K.K. Chorale sets a very regal tone for this room. A lot more peaceful than what we've seen - probably the least worrisome room we've seen thus far.

Or . . . is it the most worrisome?

The basement. A party?

I finally opted to check out the basement, which wasn't actually too bad at first glance. Looks like a dolly feast - chocolate cake, perfect peaches, fortune cookies, the works. The player obviously used a lot of furniture modifications to make this room, because the dolls are lots of colors, which you can't get otherwise. Again, great work with interior design.

Again, the wedding cake is a sign of just how much devotion was put into this. It's hard to get!

Regardless, it's certainly an interesting set up. A little feast, some cheery music, even a wedding cake in the corner! Nothing too bad about this, right?

DID I JUST STEP INTO AN EPISODE OF HANNIBAL LECTOR?!

I WAS WRONG. I WAS TERRIBLY, TERRIBLY WRONG.

If this seems creepy now, know this: this isn't even the end of it. This is just the second house out of FOUR. And there is so much more to explore . . .

If graves could speak . . .

So much more . . .

Next part coming soon . . .

Video Games, Art, Minimalism, and Where the Middle Ground Is - Part 3

Hello! I hope that you're enjoying my Video Games, Art, Minimalism, and Middle Ground series regarding Animal Crossing: New Leaf. If you care to see all previous posts, click below:

Part 1 - Interior Design
Part 2 - Patterns and Designs
Part 3 - More about Patterns and Designs
Part 4 - Introduction to Town Decor
Part 5 - Pattern Design in Town Decor
Part 6 - Gardening in Town Decor

Onwards!

***

I can't breathe through my nose, and my energy has run away and taken a nap somewhere. Sounds like a perfect time to make another post! *loudly blows nose*

Ahah, look at that dork! . . . wait a sec . . .

So the last time we talked (in Part Two, linked above), I explained about the basics of designing stuff in Animal Crossing as well as discussing Pro Designs and some of the ways to share your designs. That turned into a really big post, which surprised me, so I had to break it off early! Now is when you get to see the other half, which is about A) what you can do with those designs, and B) what I think about the whole process.

Before I could talk about that stuff, though, I had to go nab some more pictures. But for the sake of showing you a new face, I decided to show off another of my characters: Jeanne.

Evidence of time travel? What do you mean, evidence of time travel? That headdress was earned fair and square!

Jeanne's a jerk. So just ignore her.

Now, as I talked about last time, the downside to Pro Designs is that there isn't much you can do with them beyond wearing them as designed, i.e. a hat, shirt, or dress. But those basic designs that you can make without the Able Sisters? Oooh, there is so much you can do with them. For my example, I'm using a "CRY" template I made, which Jeanne is modeling for me above. Not quite her style, but she'll get over it. I think.

Above: The town hall and, in the background, the police station where Jeanne needs to be taken for unruly behavior. Below, the train station, from which Jeanne needs a restraining order.

So what can you use your designs for, you ask? Great question. First off, you can use your design as your town flag, which hangs outside of the town hall and in the train station. Neat, huh? I could've changed it to the CRY design I made, although I actually no longer have the design shown on the flag, and I'd rather keep it . . .

Welcome to Sandhall. Now cry.

It's also possible to lay your designs on the ground. This might lead to the question of "why would you do that", but it's actually a function of the game that lots of people take advantage of. For example, the people of Bumbury have some really awesome town designs, one of which I used . . .

Flashback, where T.J. gets a nasty surprise.

. . . so that Jeanne could make a moat around T.J.'s house earlier in the month. The idea was "You have to celebrate summer somehow!" but, of course, T.J. was ticked. I mean, at least Jeanne made a bridge for her, but still. Rude.

Of course, I've already shown off how you can use your designs on yourself - as a shirt, hat, umbrella - so I'm going to skip those parts. Instead, let's move on to what you can do inside your house, in which Jeanne shall demonstrate using her modern wood room.

I get the strange feeling that Jeanne is really unamused . . .

First off, you can paste designs on the wall. And besides putting them on the walls . . .

This is from the perspective of God, as Bo Burnham would say.

. . . you can also put it on the floors. Those with eagle eyes will notice that the design is actually rotated on the floor as opposed to the wall, but you actually have both options available no matter where you paste it in your room. Unfortunately, it's really blocky with a design like I have, but I've seen lots of designs used to great effect on the walls, especially, of one's abode. Again, look at Bumbury, linked above, for more info.

Oops. I guess the flooring and the displays were overboard, huh? 

Jeanne looks way too calm for this. Are we sure she's not a little sociopathic?

In addition, you can also display your design in your room just like you would any other item of furniture, as well as showing it off as a painting on a tripod or on the wall. For those who want their designs on display in their homes, this is a really great way to do it, especially since there's so much variety. Again, the possibilities are really endless.

Where's the Neighborhood Watch when you need it?! Or for that matter, the cops??

Of course, if you'd rather use your design on your furniture, that's also an option! There is an option in the game that allows you to customize your furniture with different finishings and patterns, although it has to be unlocked first. Once it's unlocked, though, you can pretty much go crazy. Jeanne, unfortunately, hasn't taken advantage of that option - she's preferred to leave her high-end furniture alone. Instead, she's opted to break into T.J.'s home to give you an example. Uh, Jeanne? Your mayor isn't going to appreciate that . . .

So I've already discussed exterior and interior design, but what about the sharing capabilities I mentioned in the last post? Well, QR codes aren't the only options, of course. You can also take advantage of the Able Sisters to display your designs.

So much timetraveling. At this is legal. I mean, uh . . . nope! No illegal timetravel here!

You get eight slots in the store to display your own work, although the downside is that anybody can take down your design and display their own in turn. Still, it's a great way for people visiting your town to yoink it. There's also another way to get these designs, but those involve the Dream Suite, so I'll try to talk about that later. Spoiler Alert: It involves a being not unlike Jamie Hyneman.

Still, is that the only use of putting your designs up there at the Able Sisters? Isn't there more to it? Yes there is, my friend, because when you put up your designs in Able Sisters . . .

Carmen, stop staring at me, you're a rainbow.

. . . other animals can wear it.

(Although don't ask why they feel the need to wear clothing. Most of them don't even have pants.)

Those, then, are some of the many ways that designs can be used to customize your town, your character, and the rest of the Animal Crossing world! It may not seem like much, but really, there's so much that you can do with it all that it's sort of surprising. That being said, I certainly do have some thoughts on it, and considering the nature of our question "is it art?" that I've been pursuing with this investigation, I feel the need to share them.

It's T.J. again! Uh, yeah, she grew out her hair and dyed it black. And she's back to her time-travel basement. Wait, stop bringing up time travel!

First off, it can let you make something cool in the game just by copying from real life. What you see above is probably one of my favorite designs, but it was largely inspired by a dress I found online a while back. That dress is this:

Apparently this is an Anthropologie dress. Dunno if they still sell it, but hey, it's cute.

Of course, I didn't model the dress entirely off of it, but the dress did serve as inspiration. That's how a lot of the designs started out for me, was from other things I had seen.

What else? There's clearly a lot of customization you can do, whether flat-out within your designs or on a larger scale. You can also share the designs with others which might be the bigger perk of all. Although the sad thing is that not only are the collaborations with the designs fairly limited, but you don't get the best colors all the time, i.e. the darkest red is HORRIBLE. Besides all of that, though, it's a great add-on to the game. Actually, it may be one of my favorites.

But the question stands: can we consider this stuff to be on the level of real-life art? Is it art at all?

Let's look at the evidence:

• It's creation, plain and simple. Nothing more to it than that.
• There's a way to share it with others, whether with QR codes (view Part 2) or via other means.
• It has artistic elements, such as the elements found in fashion design.
• It's extremely customizable and versatile, enhancing the way you can play.

Does this answer the question yes or no? Do these really prove anything? Can we take all of this and still say it's not art, or not on the level of real-life art? And if so, why?

I think we need to dig deeper into this, and to do that, we'll need more parts. Stay tuned!

***

PS: Just for the record . . .

The Gorgeous Series, aka "Screw you, time, I have a TARDIS in my 3DS".

Oh my god, Jeanne, you DID time-travel! You can't get that set until winter! Geeze, where are the cops when you NEED them?!?!