Animal Crossing Wii ideas, part 2

Wednesday, January 3, 2007 » gaming thought

Here's the second part of my Animal Crossing Wii brainstorming. As I mentioned in part 1, this covers how you interact with the game and everything relating to wi-fi.

One of Animal Crossing: Wild World's biggest shortcomings is the interface itself. For a game involving so many frequently-repeated tasks and interactions, the interface was painfully unwieldy and slow. I won't get into too many specifics about what I'd like to see in the Wii version's inevitably streamlined interface, but at the top of the list are fewer unnecessary, repeated conversations (such as the little raccoons' explanation of what the top floor of the shop contains, every time you go upstairs), the ability to cycle through tools with a single button, and a less laggy interface overall.

There's the question of how the Wii remote might be used to control the game, and an obvious option would be to have the pointer mimic the DS's stylus control scheme. However, just as Wild World offered several control options, so will the Wii version. Besides the pointer mode, there'd be a hybrid mode that would use both the classic controller and the wiimote, almost simultaneously. (Finally, a reason to have the wiimote just hanging off to the side.) Basic control would be done using the classic controller and would be similar to using the DS buttons in Wild World, but at the touch of a button you could drop into a first-person perspective and manipulate things like the fishing rod, net, and watering can with the wiimote. Or you could just look around, or take photos using the new camera tool.

By the way, the camera would have an option to take a picture of your character, so you could send friends your photo to put in their house, complete with a custom motto on the back.

When Nintendo first announced the Mii Channel, almost instantly rumors spread that the next Animal Crossing would use miis for players' characters. This will be true to a point; miis will be used as template for new characters, but they will be rendered with Animal Crossing's traditional look. Of course, you'll still be able to visit the shops and get a new outfit, hats, haircuts, etc. This will actually yield the most intriguing interaction between AC Wii and miis—you'll be able to export certain accessories to the Mii Channel to use in other mii-supporting games.

The game's online mode will be designed to take advantage of the always-on nature of WiiConnect24. If you opt to leave your gate open and then put the Wii in standby mode, friends will be able to visit even when you're not playing. During one of these unaccompanied visits, visitors will be limited to the central village area which will be stored in RAM. (They'll be able to explore the outskirts when you're playing along with them, of course.) In order to stave off potential vandals, you'll be able to customize a "safe mode" setting that will limit visitors from chopping trees, trampling flowers, picking up items, etc.

Finally, what sorts of mail gifts can we expect from Nintendo this time around? Beyond the occasional gifts, you'll see new items added to the catalog, new fish and bugs, new villagers, and even new events and gameplay elements released in periodic patches. With genuinely new content constantly added, Animal Crossing Wii will stay interesting longer, even to veterans of previous versions.

So, those are my ideas for now. Some may be a bit farfetched, but I'm just throwing stuff out. As far as Animal Crossing goes, I see the Wii as a DS on steroids, meaning it's free of the handheld's technical limitations and has the potential to be expandable. I can't wait to see what the developers decide to do.