It has been over a week since Animal Crossing: Pocket
Camp was delightfully released worldwide for iOS and Android devices [1]. Many fellow
animal crossers may have downloaded the app in order to relive the good old
days of a previous Animal Crossing title while there may be plenty of mobile
gamers who were just introducing themselves to the world of Animal Crossing on
their modern mobile device. So far, becoming a campsite manager for
anthropomorphic animals seems like the next big thing in mobile gaming for our
fellow Nintendo nerds since being an RPG hero with the Fire Emblem crew [8] and
running automatically for a kingdom’s popularity with the plumber in red [14]. It
also seems like the perfect opportunity to unwind after a few months of
celebrating the first anniversary of the highly successful Pokémon GO [16].
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| A campsite manager has made some wonderful progress so far [12]. |
The basic control system is very practical for a
smartphone or tablet. The player simply needs to tap the screen to make their
campsite manager walk. The little red-nosed hero or heroine’s direction will
depend on the position of the player’s fingertip on the screen [12] [15]. As for catching
fish and insects, the player can tap a nearby insect in Sunburst Island to make
the protagonist approach it slowly or tap the river in Lost Lure Creek or the
ocean in Saltwater Shores to begin fishing [12] [15]. To successfully catch a critter, it
is all about the timing, fellow animal crossers. After all, the little icon
that will remind the layer to tap the screen at the right time sure helps [12]. Arranging
the furniture on the campsite or in the protagonist’s camper is also very easy
as the player can drag an item with their fingertip and rotate it by tapping on
it [12] [15]. It feels rather tranquil to be catching insects and fish with that small
source of challenge, along with freely arranging furniture, thanks to the power
of tapping the touchscreen.
 |
| Indeed. It is all about the timing. [12] |
 |
| Arranging furniture. Now that escalates quite quickly. Well, in Animal Crossing. [12] |
The camp can be basically styled in any of the four
themes:
- Natural
- Cute
- Sporty
- Cool
Perhaps many gamers who briefly remember playing MySims
for the Nintendo Wii or the PC would be familiar with how essences match the
interests of residents, as well as the aspect of the protagonist building
friendships between the supporting minor characters while playing the app [5] [6] [10]. The
same feeling of discovering the familiar aspect may apply to those who remember
playing MySims Kingdom or MySims Agents [7] [10]. The types of furniture that the player
will need to order from the talented Cyrus in order to make the animals
willingly visit the camp will depend on their preferred theme. By the power of
three thousand coins, a tent of any of the four main themes can be levelled up
and increase friendship levels. For example, the animals who prefer cute and
adorable items will be fonder of the diligent campsite manager once the cute
tent’s level goes up. One of the Animal Crossing minor characters will be up
for the first guest, depending on the theme of the camp that the player has chosen.
 |
| The four bottles of each beginning theme are known as "essences". [12] |
 |
| Rosie's profile hints that her favourite theme is the cute theme. [1] [12] |
More themes that can be discovered in the clothing and
furniture sections include:
- Hip
- Rustic
- Civic
- Elegant
- Modern
- Historical
- Harmonious
- Special
Perhaps sometime in 2018, there will be an update for
the app that surprises the app’s community with new tents that match the other
themes that are only seen in the information about clothing items and furniture.
However, some animal crossers may assume that the tents that are styled in the
other themes could be eventually unlocked and available for purchase at quite a
high level. Speaking of an update for the app, it would be brilliant if there was
a way of expanding the campsite efficiently in the future in order to make room
for a few more tents and furniture. The aspect of the furniture revealing their
theme in the craft catalog and which of the themes each animal is mostly into
makes the new chapter of Animal Crossing quite refreshing for helping the
player learn more about the supporting minor characters, other than their
personalities that were portrayed in the main Animal Crossing games.
 |
| Cherry's favourite theme may be the cool theme, but perhaps her second favourite might be the hip theme [12]. |
 |
| According the craft catalog, a cup of tea perfectly fits the elegant theme [12]. |
Some lovely surprises will await the beginners. Let’s
not forget about the outdoor-fun starter pack from a certain diligent doggy. Although
the player will have to pay for more throw nets and tasty honey with leaf
tickets, they will get one of each type of throw net and a jar of honey, along
with three packs of fertilizer for making fruits grow much faster on trees at
the beginning of the game to see what the usage of them is like [12]. What a
charming sweetheart Isabelle is. The player can also get some more throw nets
and jars of honey from a day within the daily login bonus system, similar to
how a game ticket for Miitomo Drop can be earned in a few days within the daily
login bonus system in Miitomo [13]. The player can also completely little missions
in the My Nintendo section to get enough points for little prizes, just like in
the My Nintendo sections Miitomo and Super Mario Run [13] [14]. It looks like the results
of completing Timed Goals, Stretch Goals and requests from the animals are not
the only ways to be rewarded once the player digs a little deeper.
 |
| Thank you dearly, Isabelle! [12] |
Shovelstrike Quarry is a fairly interesting new
location that unfortunately cannot be accessed without any of the two
requirements. It turns out what the player will need to pay about twenty leaf
tickets in order to enter Shovelstrike Quarry [12]. If the player is up for saving
leaf tickets for perhaps a new special paint job for the camper, it would be
recommended to ask for the help of five fellow animal crossers who are on the
list of friends [12]. It is a little unfortunate to see that it is the only area
that requires leaf tickets or co-operation from other players in order to be
accessed, but it is quite fun to shatter rocks with a shovel to gather nuggets
jewels, including rubies and sapphires. Just listen to the catchy music once
the protagonist enters the quarry.
 |
| 20 leaf tickets?! But I REALLY need to get that specific reward. Oh, very well then. Five of my fellow animal crossers are too busy anyway. [12] |
Once again, there are many loveable Animal Crossing
characters to meet. Within every three hours, an animal outside the campsite
will be hanging around in an environmental area. If one of the animals within
the contacts is not shown on the map, the player can call them and invite them
to hang around for the next three hours, as long as the red-nosed protagonist
is in one of the environmental areas and that the player has a blue calling card for
the progress [12] [15]. The player can receive calling cards by completing a stretch
goal, the daily login bonus system or for a certain amount of leaf tickets, as
well as another type of ticket. The other type of ticket in the game is known
as the “Request Ticket”, which is orange and can unlock additional requests to
make friendship levelling slightly more efficient [[12] [15]. Becoming a campsite manager
would indeed be a great opportunity to move on from only referring the many
Animal Crossing minor characters as “clients” in Animal Crossing: Happy Home
Designer [11].
 |
| How to use the Calling Card. [12] |
 |
| Brosephine? Not a bad nickname, camper! [12] |
The aspect of meeting and greeting the animals, then
constantly doing favours for them can be quite repetitive. However, it is
pretty cool how the red-nosed hero or heroine can get another shirt when the
friendship level between an animal ranks up to seven. Even though it is great
to build friendships with the animals, all of them seem to be a little too needy
when it comes to requests. They seem to have it so easy, just standing there while
the hero or heroine does the exploring. But nevertheless, they will sometimes
engage in lovely camping activities, such as crafting shell necklaces and
making tasty fruit juice. Furthermore, when the hero or heroine asks for a
conversation, they sometimes can give him or her some extra bells or materials.
The aspect of friendship building remains rewarding as levelling up from
increasing friendship levels will introduce new animal characters and allow the
player to see more items in the craft catalog, so that the player can still have some motivation to carry on letting friendships evolve.
 |
| Move over, Claire's Accessories. Our awesome necklaces will be the next big thing in adorable fashion [12]. |
 |
| Mmmmmm...perfect.orange [12]. |
The option to make wonderful designs of clothing items
for the protagonist will be coming soon. So apparently, according to the
chapter of Animal Crossing for iOS and Android, red blazers and yellow ties are
so 2015 [11]. The upcoming feature of creating designs for clothing and possibly
umbrellas that might be released in the app’s next update can further enrich the
experience of pocket camping by allowing the player to express creativity in
some way. It is without a dang doubt that the creative animal crossers who
adored putting some effort into making splendid pro designs in a main Animal Crossing
instalment would be thrilled to freely craft clothing in the app. It still might
cost some bells [2], but it would still be worth it for the sake of helping the campsite
manager evolve into an adorable fashion icon or even a cosplayer. Perhaps the
player can choose which theme would suit each completed design. It would be
cool if the player will be able to create a few nice designs for socks and shoes
too.
 |
| Who can resist the Able sisters' lovely clothes crafting service? [12] |
With many fellow animal crossers doing their duties as
adventurous campsite managers right now, it seems like Animal Crossing: Pocket
Camp could be a source of drifting away from the pressures of reality for a
little while. It seems like the names of each location, from Sunburst Island to
OK Motors cannot be changed. While they are practical and lovely, an update
that could allow our fellow animal crossers to give each location a unique name
would be awesome. The option to change the colour of furniture that debuted in
Animal Crossing: New Leaf could return in a future update of Animal Crossing: Pocket
Camp [3]. Or perhaps an update in the middle of 2018 can introduce the campsite
managers to a new local area that will feature other special characters who had
a specific purpose in the main Animal Crossing games. Animal Crossing: Pocket
Camp is really bringing the Animal Crossing spirit to modern mobile devices
with some new aspects and a practical premise. Please do not forget to protect
your data with your Nintendo accounts, fellow animal crossers and Nintendo
nerds.
 |
| Perhaps we could visit that island over there someday in 2018. Maybe it can be named "Seabreeze Island" [12]. |
References
1. Animal Crossing
Wiki. (2017). Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Available: http://animalcrossing.wikia.com/wiki/Animal_Crossing:_Pocket_Camp. Last
accessed 28th Nov 2017.
2. Animal
Crossing Wiki. (2013). Designs. Available: http://animalcrossing.wikia.com/wiki/Designs. Last
accessed 29th Nov 2017.
3. Animal
Crossing Wiki. (2013). Furniture Customization. Available: http://animalcrossing.wikia.com/wiki/Furniture_Customization. Last
accessed 28th Nov 2017.
4. Animal
Crossing Wiki. (2013). Villager. Available: http://animalcrossing.wikia.com/wiki/Villager. Last
accessed 29th Nov 2017.
5. Electronic
Arts. (2007). MySims. Nintendo Wii. California. United States.
6. Electronic
Arts. (2007). MySims. PC. California. United States.
7. Electronic
Arts. (2008). MySims Kingdom. Nintendo Wii. California. United States.
8. Fire
Emblem Heroes Wiki. (2017). Basics. Available: https://feheroes.gamepedia.com/Basics. Last
accessed 29th Nov 2017.
9. MySims
Wiki. (2017). Essences. Available: http://mysims.wikia.com/wiki/Essences_(MySims). Last
accessed 28th Nov 2017.
10. MySims
Wiki. (2017). Interests. Available: http://mysims.wikia.com/wiki/Interest. Last
accessed 28th Nov 2017.
11. Nintendo.
(2015). Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. Nintendo 3DS. Kyoto. Japan.
12. Nintendo.
(2017). Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. iOS. Kyoto. Japan.
13. Nintendo.
(2016). Miitomo. iOS. Kyoto. Japan.
14. Nintendo.
(2016). Super Mario Run. iOS. Kyoto. Japan
15. Nintendo.com
(2017). Beginner's Guide. Available: https://ac-pocketcamp.com/en-GB/site/guide. Last
accessed 30th Nov 2017.
16. Pokémon
GO Hub. (2017). Pokemon GO Anniversary Event. Available: https://pokemongohub.net/events/pokemon-go-anniversary-event/. Last
accessed 30th Nov 2017.
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