Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Eduardo T Otero | 200411-N-KH151-0001 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (April 11, 2020) Screenshot of Nintendo...... read more read more
At the time of this writing, almost every nation in the world has been in one way or another under some sort of restriction of movement, quarantine, lockdown...house arrest (whatever you wanna call it) for about a month. This, in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, which has become a global pandemic and a general pain in the...as you probably already know. That being said, when it comes to me, I guess I have always been a bit of a rebel.
During the past couple of weeks, I've gone to the museum a few times, went fishing, got into bug catching and even tried my hand at flower breeding--all of it outdoors! *gasps* I did some Easter egg hunting for--you guessed it--Easter, threw a few dance parties with other people at my house, enjoyed some cosplay, chilled with neighbors, and have pretty much ignored all warnings and recommendations about this thing that other people out there are scared of.
The entire planet could be on lockdown for all I care. Because there's no quarantine on Avalon, my Animal Crossing Island.
For the non-gamers out there, Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo and created by Katsuya Eguchi. In the game, you play as a human who lives among adorably anthropomorphic animals. Your goal in the latest entry, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, for the Nintendo Switch, is to develop an initially deserted island into the best place to live.
The player has free reign to modify the island as they please and most of the time is spent doing tasks such as fishing, bug hunting, socializing with other villagers, gathering resources to improve the island and the player's home, etc. The series is known for taking advantage of the console's internal clock, so that events happen in real time. That is to say, if it's night time in real life, it's night time in the game, and vice-versa. The weather matches the seasons. Different events happen during specific holidays...you get the point.
Now, in my opinion, most gamers would probably agree that video games serve as a means to escape real-life, if only for a few hours at a time. Through video games, you can be anything and do anything. Your life can be whatever you want it to be. The setting of whichever game you choose to play becomes your world. Your home can be anywhere your player character stands.
The villagers on my island don't need to wear face masks. They're not confined to their houses. They suffer no stress except for the occasional flea, wasp nest on a tree, or tarantula bite--and even those are quickly taken care of with a swift swing of a net. One of the villagers on my island actually got sick a few days ago. I went to the only shop in town, bought medicine for 400 Bells, delivered it to him, and that was that.
Life in Avalon (a name I was able to choose myself) is simple. Ironically, your goal as a player is to make your island a place others would want to live on. But who in their right mind wouldn't, considering the alternative at this moment in time.
So yes, the prevalent concept of video games as escapism is in full display during these times. The Nintendo Switch is currently out of stock worldwide except for the Lite variant. That, to me, is as strong a sign as any. I spend most of my free time in Avalon now, haven't smoked a cigarette in more than two weeks, and my obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms have been in check for a pretty long time now too. I don't know how much of this is because of video games, to be honest, but I'll take it.
I've been an on-and-off gamer for pretty much as long as I can remember. Escapism through video games is not something I'm just discovering now. However, what I have found out recently is something I hadn't thought about before.
Most video games nowadays have online functionality, which means players around the globe can play together in real-time. This is pretty common stuff, but with Animal Crossing, at least in my experience, it provides something I honestly never considered.
As a Sailor, being away from loved ones is my bread and butter. During this pandemic and consequent lockdown, even interacting with local friends is off limits. Loneliness and homesickness can strike hard. Relationships can struggle and friendships can fade.
But here's the thing: remember all those fun activities I mentioned I was doing while virtually rebelling against COVID-19's worldwide lockdown?
Well, one of my museum trips was actually a date with my girlfriend, who happens to be another Sailor stationed in Japan. The other museum visit was with my best friend from my college years--he lives in Colorado and I haven't seen him in real life in almost a year. He was also at my island's dance party, along with my sister with whom now I've been able to hang out in-game a few times after a long while without seeing her too.
A good part of my flower breeding was at a garden I built with my friend on his island, which I visited simply by going online. During the Easter egg hunt, both my sister and friend helped me collect the eggs I was missing. And the cosplay thing? That was with my girlfriend too. We designed Jedi costumes and posed for photos in front of one of my island's buildings.
I should count myself lucky that they all happen to have the same video game, I suppose. Interacting with them almost as if we were occupying the same physical space definitely makes these times a lot easier to bear. But the real value of this whole thing has been something I hadn't realized before and won't soon forget.
Sure, video games are a solid way to kill time, and an even better source of that escapism we all need sometimes. But every now and then, I guess they can offer more than just a chance to "get away." Because as I've learned through my experience with Animal Crossing: New Horizons during this lockdown, they can also be a way to come back home.
| Date Taken: | 04.23.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2020 07:12 |
| Story ID: | 382404 |
| Location: | ROTA, ES |
| Web Views: | 123 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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