Month: November 2017

Overheard Conversations

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Have you ever been sitting somewhere, just minding your own business and you unintentionally over hear someone’s conversation? I don’t mean if you are out people watching or stop what you are doing with the intention of listening in on someone’s conversation. I mean truly just minding your own business but the conversation is so loud, and the participants are so animated that you, and everyone around you, can’t help but notice?

I remember one such moment while in college. To set the stage, my first year or so in college I really didn’t spend much time on campus, so the fact that I was sitting in the cafeteria when this all took place is amazing in its own right. And then that I wasn’t wearing headphones to block out all the noise is another miracle, but I digress. So, there I was sitting in the cafeteria. I honestly don’t recall what I was doing or why I had decided to eat on campus that day but I do know that the short conversation I heard that afternoon made it all worth it.

So, here is the short, but amazing conversation that took place between three people. As best I could tell the premise of this conversation was this guy and girl explaining to their friend how they met. I could be way off, but for the sake of the story, lets go with that. And so we pick up at the end of the conversation, where for some reason, unknown to me, I suddenly found myself captivated by what was unfolding before me.

Guy: “Its the red hair right?”

Girl: “First time he walked by he kept going so I did this…” *flips hair a couple times* “…Now we talk a lot.”

Guy: “I did like a triple take.

And then, just as quick as I found myself captured by this brief moment, I no longer could make out any of the conversation and moved on with my day.

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp is Animal Crossing

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Animal Crossing Pocket Camp is here, and I can’t stop playing it. There isn’t a great way to check how much time one has spent on an Android app, but I’ve easily put in 6 hours over the last few days (maybe it is a good thing there is no timer for how long you’ve played).

If after playing Super Mario Run and Miitomo you were worried that Nintendo would not figure out how to make Animal Crossing work on a mobile device, you’ll be happy to know that from the moment you launch Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp you’ll feel right at home if you are familiar with the Animal Crossing series. For everyone else, the game does a good job of getting you in the game and quickly explaining that you’ll be spending your time collecting furniture and helping the visiting animals. The tutorial is short, explains everything you need to know about the game, and has the right amount of direction without feeling overbearing or slow.

But I’m not here to tell you about the game. Instead, I’m here to tell you that I can’t stop playing the game. It is exactly what I wanted when Nintendo announced a free-to-play Animal Crossing was coming. The game has the right balance of letting you do everything without spending any real money, but always reminds you that you could speed up the time it takes to craft by using some leaf tickets (which are reward for leveling up or you can purchase). The fruit from the trees can only be harvested every 3 hours, but if you need more, you can always check if any of your friends have some fruit for sale.

2017 has turned out to be a great year for Nintendo with the release of the Switch, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, a steady stream of 3rd party support from AAA and indie developers, and now the release of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Here’s to hoping that they can keep this pace going next year.