So, unlike most people, I have actually played Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. I don't blame those of you who didn't — it's a weird little spin-off that peters out pretty quickly, and lacks a lot of the liveliness of Animal Crossing itself, but... well... there's something special about it all the same.
Admittedly, I played Happy Home Designer because I was paid to. Back in the day, I reviewed it for The Guardian, and here's what I had to say:
"It’s a vast improvement on the home designing elements in the otherwise excellent Animal Crossing: New Leaf, with more stuff, more options, more features – and a much better interface for actually positioning the furniture, moving from fiddly sofa-dragging to a simpler top-down grid that allows you to select, drop and rotate with the stylus."
But, unfortunately, the home decor aspect without the life sim aspect gets a bit boring, after a while:
"Just like the numpties on Grand Designs, Happy Home Designer doesn’t really know what it wants, and it suffers for it. It can’t possibly be the newest Animal Crossing – it’s far too small. It’s a pretty good, if simple, home decorating game, but not as a full, standalone release. It’s a life simulator that doesn’t let you have a life.
If this were an episode of Grand Designs, and I was Kevin McCloud, I’d turn to the camera right now, and say: “Well, it’s not quite what we all wanted, but … I guess it’ll do.” Roll eyes. Roll credits."
(Don't worry too much about all the Grand Designs references. I was going for a theme.)
To summarise, though: Happy Home Designer was pretty much a testing ground for New Horizons' vastly improved home decoration stuff, although it was also retrofitted into Animal Crossing: New Leaf, too. And, much like HHD, ACNH is almost entirely focused on the interior design aspect, and not much on the life simulation stuff, which is part of the reason why so many people are a bit bummed about the game, almost two years after launch.
But here's an idea: What if we got Happy Home Designer abilities in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?
While writing the "What Would You Like To See From The Animal Crossing Direct" article earlier today, I saw a couple of people online talking about how much they'd like to decorate other villagers' houses. I hadn't even considered the idea, until suddenly it was all I could think about.
Imagine that Tom Nook, one day, starts telling you about a pal of his. They used to run a business together, and now that pal wants to move to this gorgeous paradise of an island to set up shop again. That pal's name? Lyle. His business? Decorating homes.
But your home is already decorated... so what's his job? Decorating OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES. FINALLY. I've visited enough villagers' houses to know that their sense of style is absolutely pants, and I would have given anything to help my starter villagers get something a little nicer than their starter houses. Also, I keep giving Kyle instruments, and he keeps putting them in stupid places, like an idiot man. LET ME HELP YOU, MY SWEET, STUPID FRIENDS.
So, Lyle and Lottie move into town, and maybe even Digby, Isabelle's brother, and they help you to tear down and build up other people's houses from the inside out. Maybe we could even add rooms on to the villager houses, since we all have way too much money and nothing to spend it on! I don't mind paying other people's mortgages! I'm loaded, and generous!!
I know that people are asking for more pressing additions to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and I get it — and I agree. I'd like to see more fish, bugs, and furniture too. But imagine how much of a gamechanger this would be — the ability to decorate every house on the island! A use for all that furniture we've been hoarding! And, best of all, a way to bring all the other houses up to an acceptable standard!
What do you mean, "Kate, are you the kind of person that has issues with control"? No. Shut up.
Do you agree with me? Would this be a good idea, and would it pull you back in? Let us know in the usual place!
(it's the comments)
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Comments 38
No, thank you. I never liked Home Designer.
@sanderev then Animal Crossing is not for you tbh
I would like a Happy Home Designer feature... as long as it isn't the only new feature.
We need HHA to makeover villager's house with Digby, Lottie and Lyle (Do shut up, Lyle!) as employees of HHA.
I'd love to edit the villagers homes. Especially the ones where the interior isn't even like a house like Raymond's and Lucky's.
Didn't think I'd ever see or hear anyone call Kyle a himbo...
Also I think his house is fine, the only reason why I'd want to have a feature like this is to remove horribly placed clothing or fossils. They completely ruin rooms sometimes.
I would enjoy such an addition so much!!!!!
@CodyMKW Maybe not, but I've been having fun for 1.5 years now soo...
@sanderev
But there is HHD aspect already featured in ACNH (Arranging your house interior, Photo booth)
Also, you need HHD save data to unlock Lottie and more storage for ACNL 3DS.
i would love to see the feature of letting us customize the villager's homes. (and the items from HHA to ACNH, i need that resettie furniture and the villager trophy when you use the villager amiibo from super smash bros.)
@CodyMKW Not entirely. I didn't like Happy Home Designer, but I enjoyed New Leaf. Designing, while being a pillar of the series, isn't the only pillar. The games, up until New Horizons, pretty much balanced both the design aspect with the life sim aspect. Happy Home Designer separated from the Life Sim aspect, but it was alright to me because it was a spin-off. New Horizons separated itself from the life sim aspect, almost entirely, and I despise that given it is main series.
You should play the Style Savvy games.
I personally wouldn't mind Happy Home Designer continuing as it's own series, but I don't really want it to bleed into New Horizons. The main series should stay separate.
However, this doesn't mean I wouldn't welcome ceiling furniture, or more house upgrades, since the game lacks both.
I'll be honest, Happy Home Designer is my favorite Animal Crossing outside of the original.
It's obviously not the best game, and that's probably obvious by most standards. But it was the chillest of chill games and I love it for regular, simple 15-20 minute play sessions.
So depending on how they did it, I'd highly appreciate it in New Horizons. I'd even appreciate if it was entirely separate from my own villagers, if its just chill home designing as a side mode. That'd be plenty for me.
By itself, those would be good additions, especially how the starter villager houses kinda stink.
Looking at the bigger picture though, one of ACNH's biggest problems for me is in the design itself- its hyper focus on customization and decorating at the expense of more depth, interactions, and characters with the villagers themselves. Don't get me wrong, terraforming is cool and placing household objects outside was very welcome among many other good additions. It just feels like the balance between customization/decorating and "living+villager interactions" is completely jammed up to the wall on the former.
I loved this game, but I haven't played regularly in so long and I know so many have burnt out. For some people including myself, user-created content cannot single-handedly carry a game especially this one.
@ChameleonBros Exactly. The balance in New Horizons doesn't exist like it did in past games. It prioritizes player creativity over anything else.. forgetting the fact that there's two sides to the fanbase, and not just one single side.
The one thing I would really love about Happy Home Designer being implemented in the main games is all of the community lots you got to design.
You see that regardless of if people notice it, they would adore this feature. NH towns people have built are very often full of faux community lots by using the alt houses or trying to build them outside. Imagine being able to have all of the different buildings, like in HHD?
Sadly, Nintendo has taken a very minimalist approach with buildings in NH. We see that direction continuing with Brewster being in the museum instead of being a separate building.
@Harmonie I feel like the minimalist building thing is mainly due to the island customization. They probably don't want too many buildings in your design space, which sucks since there's other ways and better ways to actually handle that than how they're handling it.
Hm. More so than all other Animal Crossings, this one is focused on complete player control and customization. When I feel originally it was about you moving into this existing space, and settling in, seeing the world change around you. Sometimes villagers you'd grown close to would leave without a word. Houses would pop up in different locations. I guess this feature makes sense with the new direction AC is taking, but I don't play the game much anymore. I miss interesting villager dialogue and ways they felt unique. Their home design is kind of all they have.
My god they get those horrible clothes gifted from other villagers AND THEN THEY JUST DISPLAY THEM in their houses since they don't have cupboards, I give them cupboards AND THEY DONT STORE THEIR CLOTHES I wanna die!! I'll go through all the hoops to gift them stuff and then rearrange then just please please let me do this Nintendo
i thought this article was meant like adding the features and tools for outdoor decorating to NH too cause im all on board for that
but this sounds like a nice aesthetic option, it could give characters like lottie/digby new roles for NH too. Harvs island already brought back the spirit of HHD, id love if they went the extra mile and bring back the online challenges associated with it as well
Happy Home Designer was a very fun activity set that was hampered by a lack of actual feedback or evaluation.
The player's own home is scored in the main games, but in a way that rewards hoarding or collecting than an actual sense of style or theming, so I understand why they maybe wanted to avoid that.
Personally, I think that all Happy Home Designer needed was a secondary progression system, whereby the player can work on designing their own personal home that they can showcase.
It was strange that you could design hundreds of homes and even high street buildings, but not your own home.
My 9-year-old daughter still plays this game over other choices when I pass her my 3DS.
Apollo gave you the gift of prophesy
Happy Home Paradise is happening and it looks great.
WELL WELL WELL
@KateGray Congratulations, you're a prophet.
They've done it. My god. Exceeded my expectations by 100 times with this lol
I really like Eunice. She's very sweet. But she lives in a laundromat! Give her a bed and nada, it's still a laundromat.
I will give her a home to make a sheep proud.
It actually happened.
what’s it like being a prophet kate?
Kate, how.
What else are you hiding?!
@carrotcakehater I am very sleepy
@Wolfenpilot687 all I'll say is: don't buy eggs any time soon
Wow a prophet
I came back to find Kate's gloating and I was not disappointed.
It's nice to hear people's requests about a game come true just hours later
I came back to this article to compliment its prescience, but good to see everyone else is already at it!
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