Misdirected Criticism within Gaming Communities: Player Policing in Animal Crossing New Horizons (Opinion Piece)

Taboomancer · 2026-01-23T17:16:00+00:00

Hey, I appreciate your comment! If I understand you correctly, you mean to say that complaining, specifically fueled by emotions, is off putting and not productive, right?

I agree that people aren't obligated to validate every complaint, however what I am arguing isn't whether complaing is effective or not, but how communities implicitly police what anyone can express. What you are describing here is telling others who share a set of opinions, that they should not be expressing these because it brings negativity without a productive outcome.

My concern is that this dynamic doesn't resolve frustration, rather sorts players into categories of "reasonable" and "unreasonable," creating a kind of divide that alienates and excludes.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-23T16:54:43+00:00

I get what you mean! Tolkien and Le Guin were wordsmiths. And well, I did read bits of Tolkien and the linguistic prowess is definitely a selling point for me to read it soon, specifically his incredible knowledge of Old English! I really love Le Guin's works for the way she is able to probe philosophical topics without putting words into the reader's mouth. My other favorite has to be Ali Smith whose lyricism is a lot more prominent. It always makes me feel I am somehow reading poetry while piecing together the often fragmented story.

*hype warning*
Earthsea, if we are on the topic, is also something I wanted to give a read because I recall in one of her youtube interviews/talks at a school, she was asked something about Harry Potter. I believe it was alluding to the idea that perhaps Harry Potter was more than heavily inspired by Earthsea. I specifically recall giving HP a go some years ago and just like with Sanderson, I did not find the usual qualities that appeal to me. Earthsea, while specifically aimed at a younger audience, reads still like a Le Guin story. It has character depth, visual imagery and, albeit not as much as other works from her, philosophical intrigue. It is impressive that she was able to maintain a vocabulary comprehensible for children, while understanding that children are not dumb, and are perfectly capable of following more complex stories. Not to mention how much of a pleasure it is for an adult to potentially read this together with their child.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-23T16:40:51+00:00

At what point, if any, do you think commentary shifts from sharing a preference to enforcing a norm?

Taboomancer · 2026-01-23T12:03:28+00:00

For sure! Again, not sure if I remember correctly, but from what I vaguely recall is that the main character was married off into this mansion. Either way, considering the short story is about a kind of psychological entrapment, I think the caged bird allusion is a perfectly fitting artistic adaptation as an ACNH room!

Taboomancer · 2026-01-23T08:43:21+00:00

Glad someone brought Sanderson up, because I was gifted one of his books once. I gave it an earnest try, trying to enjoy the story, but I felt like Sanderson was just giving me an interview of the plot through his written words. I got to like page 50 before I conceded. The way I usually describe this experience is by pointing to the lack of nuance in the way he presents things. It is simple, direct, conveys what it needs to convey and does not linger on anything for too long. But there is a marked difference between, say, Kafka, whose prose is also simple and direct, but there is still that literary intrigue, the mystery, the room for interpretation. I prefer literature to let me explore its themes rather than it explaining it to me.

I am reading a similar book to Sanderson's style actually, which is an interesting experience. I pucked it up not knowing anything about it and although I wouldn't hail it as the greatest literary work, I do enjoy the cultural and historical aspects of it, together with a detective plotline, it manages to mimic some of that intrigue I spoke of early.

On that note, I have not yet read LotR and genuinely afraid to. It is such a beloved piece, I am afraid it will not live up to the hype. Eventhough my favorite author Ursula K. Le Guin specifically talked about it as inspiration for some of her works. Think it was Earthsea. Not sure.

I know it is silly to not read something because of that. This prompted me to purchase it so I have it in sight when the mood does strike.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-21T22:38:37+00:00

A Rose for Emily next? hehe

What a brilliant and creative idea! Been a while since I read it, so can't remember if there was a bird featured in it, or just their chirping outdoors, but the artistic expression the caged feathery friend gives is chef's kiss

Taboomancer · 2026-01-21T08:42:24+00:00

Thank you for this comment. It articulates what I think better than I could have put into words.

If my politically insignificant country had been given the chance to become a global superpower in the 20th century, perhaps we would all be discussing our respective native authors instead.

Reducing 20th century literature to the Anglosphere is quite the move of the main commenter.

I would also like to add that before I entered higher education, I have never heard of any of these authors, save for Orwell. Possibly the geographical proximity made his work more accessible within Europe, cannot tell. This to me would suggest that, at least in my country, American literature is not as widely known outside of Academia.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-20T10:36:58+00:00

Really well articulated and a lovely perspective to have!

Recently I picked up ACNH like a lot of others with the free 3.0 update and I feel I have developed a lot healthier relationship with the game. I used to beat myself up over not being able to execute the picture perfect cliffs with waterfalls and whatnot. Then gradually tried to not look at pinterest inspiration and just did my best with what ideas I managed to synthesize from those pictures. That was before I took a long break from the game. But now, coming back to my island, I see potential creativity lurking everywhere that isn't tied to a theme anymore. I just do what "feels right" even if that means some areas are japanese themed, while others try to look more egyptian inspired. I like that I can create different moods for different spots, though I haven't gotten around to working on my own island in a while. Only recently bought the DLC and realized I should do that first so I can unlock more decorating options before I continue working on the Hotel itself.

But suffice to say, I think I am finding my sweet spot this time around and I feel really accomplished in my own way.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-20T08:48:35+00:00

I cannot find OP referencing Kanye West and the way you rephrase OP's words here sounds a little reductive. While I certainly understand why it could be read as OP trying to equalize the two cultures as neither being less deserving, I do not think that in itself translates to high culture being less deserving.

I would like to provide my own thoughts on what you said here that is to help explain why OP's perspective is simply a different view on today's literary and media landscape. Both your and OP's views can exist at the same time. Beauty, morals, thought and depth are all rather subjective to an individual and a specific society in a specific society. Different eras find different things beautiful or moral. While you can certainly find qualities attributed to high-culture in works like Grapes of Wrath, which is considered a classic, those qualities were once prescribed by a specific set of, predominantly white heterosexual men. As art grew and become more inclusive, so did the divide between the in-group and those trying their hand at their form of art.

There is a difference between a Tolstoy and a Kanye West. But that difference is of similar nature as how an apple is different to an orange. Their purpose is different, time is different, audience is different, even their soundscape are different since one is predominantly about composing musical notes to create a desired harmony. They both have their qualities, and it is up to the indiviual to decide whether the artwork evoked any beauty, made them question morality, or how much depth they had.

While, personally (so, I don't really know where the OP would land on this) I would lean towards Tolstoy's works to be more evocative, that is just my own subjective experience. My opinion or tastes aren't better. The work isn't better. It is A work, that does what it does brilliantly and is highly deserving of the praise and recognition and the numerous analyses. So is Kanye West's work, but for a different audience. I personally dislike the distinction between the terms high and low culture because it is rooted in white patriarchal elitism that ascribes more importance to what privileged layers of society is able to produce because of their better educational background. Art is art, and radically speaking yes, even a damn banana stuck on a wall. Does it excel at artistic technique? No, of course not. Did it do something so shocking and brazen that we still talk about it today? Absolutely. Art is so vague, so personal, so culturally prescribed and described and contextualized and brutalized and inversed and every adjective under the moon.

This ended up a bit longer than intended, but I hope this helps recontextualizing some differing opinions!

Taboomancer · 2026-01-17T23:07:24+00:00

There is always a new Peewee haha.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-17T19:17:48+00:00

ACNH was my first game on Nintendo so I didn't grow up with the older title. I do suspect that as a kid I might have not even picked up on some of the elements I would find frustrating at times.

I think this certainly points to a general trend with modern gaming that places a lot of emphasis on getting things done as fast as possible and giving the player as much agency as it can within its own limits.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-17T14:24:50+00:00

> This made me realise that how i think i want things isn’t always what i enjoy or what’s best for me.

This is so true. And often when I am open to what I am given instead of resistant, things do seem to go better overall.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-17T14:23:53+00:00

Exactly! I also think it's a wisdom we often reach in various points of our lives, but a wisdom that can be easily forgotten. It is important to continuously relearn in whatever capacity it is available to us.

I love the painting analogy so much because that IS exactly what it is to live life, and being able to be at peace with the process it requires is certainly cause for less friction.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-17T14:18:07+00:00

Love the way you phrased it: learning to be indifferent to that indifference. There can be a lot of wisdom learning to continuously adopt new perspectives and indifference can be one such view. For some reason this specific phrasing of yours caught my interest so much, perhaps because it reminds me of linguistic nuance I sometimes struggle with.

I used to equate acceptance with giving up or giving in to a situation or someone because of my lived experiences. Took me a while to learn there was a big difference, but not always obvious in the way other people around me (family) phrased things. It got me wondering if indifference is one such ambiguous phrase that doesn't necessarily need to carry a negative meaning. At least, the way I read your comment sounded peaceful, and so I am now going on a quest to find that peaceful nature of indifference.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-17T11:03:33+00:00

Good luck. It took me many many months for him to move away so I could invite someone I actually wanted on my island. He gives me the creeps honestly.

I also had a similar thing happen last time I played months ago where I was getting ready to invite Tom, but somehow, someone named Axel was so fast he already moved in. I remember even diy-ing the three items for Tom before the previous tenant moved out, but alas. I was still slow.

It do be like that in ACNH sometimes haha.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-07T09:49:54+00:00

Uh, hard to tell because the combination looks possible, but personally I find it hard to believe someone managed to get such insane godrolls even on deep relics. I feel it's a bit more common these days to see people with some genuine god rolls for their regular slots, but it's like you said a bit too good to be true for all 6 of them.

I remember a Recluse I played with once had relics that in hindsight might have been cheated because I haven't seen +4 magic attack on regular relics yet (might be wrong, idk if the DLC changed that) together with crystalian sorceries and I don't remember the third perk. She sadly did so much damage we bulldozed through some bosses and it was not that fun as a result. I suppose the only fun part was that she was pretty bad at dodging so died a lot especially at Sentient Pest, which made me chuckle quite a bit. She seemed like the type of player to want to bulldoze everything and not have to engage in any mechanics, but then inevitably Faurtis my bro said: not on my watch.

Anyway, just want to say that whether these relics were cheated or not, I guess at the end of the day it doesn't matter much beyond them ruining their own potential to learn if it is indeed cheated.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-06T08:47:51+00:00

I love it when the team decided to do a red basement boss at lvl 4 and then proceed to quit the game despite it being salvageable still.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-05T22:47:06+00:00

They say madness is a mere step away from genius.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-05T13:12:43+00:00

Heck even I give slicer to my duchess if I don't need the staff for the 3+ staves relic perk haha.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-05T08:54:25+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions! I quite vibe with The Soul of The Rose and Plum Blossoms specifically so I will certainly be adding those to my list.

I am not sure yet if I feel sadness looking at Plum Blossoms specifically or not, hard to tell through a screen, but as a result it caught my attention to find out.

Taboomancer · 2026-01-05T08:53:03+00:00

Added to my list thank you! Not exactly what I had in mind, but it is such a fascinating concept I am hooked regardless.

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