How is Tom Nook Helping Anxiety Levels?
How is Nintendo's hit game series Animal Crossing helping people cope with anxiety? This article suggests that during a widespread year of fear, Animal Crossing helped her kids feel more secure, motivated, and less anxious about the state of their lives. What could this mean for more forms of anxiety and care based games?
Playing Animal Crossing to Cope with Anxiety?
" When schools first closed and the word “pandemic” became a frequent topic of conversation, my 7-year-old daughter started to develop some serious anxiety. She isn’t generally an anxious kid but this whole situation has her worried." (Busy Mommy Media, n.d.)
When the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic flipped the world as we knew it into a free fall of uncertainty, many people found themselves consumed by the fear of the unknown. The same year, Nintendo released New Horizons; a new development in the Animal Crossing universe. I remember struggling during that time as well and when I saw a new Animal Crossing game, I decided to order it. Much like the blog poster, I was having difficulty sleeping, focusing on classes, or looking forward to anything.
" She is having trouble sleeping and tells me that she lays awake at night worrying about “all the scary things in the world”. I don’t want her to live in a constant state of anxiety so I’ve been desperately looking for ways that she can relax during the day. When we were sent the new Animal Crossing game a few weeks ago, I didn’t originally have my daughter in mind for the game because most of the video games we have are a bit beyond her skill level. Animal Crossing surprised me because my whole family has enjoyed it. My teenagers jump on and play throughout the day and my anxious 7-year-old has been one of the games’ biggest fans at my house." (Busy Mommy Media, n.d.)
So how is Tom Nook helping anxiety levels? The Animal Crossing New Horizons game is played in real time. The days and nights are synchronized to the game system and give the player a calming break from the fast paced, chaotic, and often distressing world around us. Tasks in the game include collecting new bugs, fish, and fossils for the museum or to sell to the Nooks who run the island store. The daily activities center around talking to your neighbors and building a community. Calm music, relaxing pace, and adorable graphics make this game the gentle break many people need.
For the family written about in the blog, Animal Crossing gave the kids something peaceful to look forward to as a reward for school work. The island built provided accomplishable goals to handle without adding to the stress. An island escape provided a soothing world that wasn't all bad when kids needed it most. How can similar style experiences be designed to help bring kids a safe escape when they feel overwhelmed by the world? Is there a way to bring the calming whimsical world of an island far away to everyday commutes?
References
Busy Mommy Media. (n.d.). How Animal Crossing is helping us cope with stress. Busy Mommy Media. https://www.busymommymedia.com/how-animal-crossing-is-helping-us-cope-with-stress/
Unknown author. (n.d.). Untitled image [Photograph]. Googleusercontent. Image Link!
