This article is from the WeChat public account: 爱 范 儿 (ID: ifanr) , author: Musi, title figure: original courtesy
In the past week, you will inevitably see screenshots of an idyllic game on Weibo and the circle of friends. The questions we have discussed are also surprisingly consistent and full of realistic meaning: How much is left to pay off the mortgage? What’s the bargain price today? Has the house been renovated? How about the style of clothes design? Have you caught a catfish?
This may be the first time that Animal Friendship Society has raised such a high level in China, but in fact, even if we look at the whole world, this heat still cannot be underestimated. According to the forecast of the distribution of works of the past dynasties, Millions of players around the world have apparently been on the island, in order to start a new life in another world.
The onlookers wondered why a game with cartoon graphics and boring mechanics would attract so many people. After all, after entering the game, players just go to plant, mine, fish, and interact with their neighbors every day. They exchange the harvest for money to buy furniture and furnishings, dress up themselves and pay off mortgages. It ’s all repetitive work. You have to watch the sunrise and sunset in sync with the real time .
But what many people overlook is that for those players who have not been able to go out recently and are trapped indoors, the “Animal Sen Friends” game gives them an opportunity to “escape from cruel reality”.
“Because of the epidemic, my fiance and I were forced to cancel the planned wedding, but my good friends gave me a surprise in the” Animal Friendship Society “: held on the island A virtual wedding. “
This is what the player ashmush wrote on the Reddit forum. With pictures, you can see the simple scene laid by roses and love. At present, the post has become one of the hottest content in the Reddit forum: a total of more than 2,800 likes and 225 comments, most of whom sent sincere blessings to this special “wedding”.
Simon Parkin, author of the New Yorker, said after experiencing the game, that Dyson connected him with a girlfriend who is far away: “My girlfriend is not a keen gamer, but even her , Now also found a place to live in this virtual world. We now often give gifts and notes to each other in the game, to a certain extent, they are as precious as a necklace or a bottle of perfume. “
More people will pursue simple fun in the game, for example, go fishing on the island together, or go to the museum to admire the dinosaur fossils just dug out yesterday; of course, some people will be addicted to costume making and DIY hand-drawn drawings; Others will open their own island as an online gathering place among friends, just like when children were young, they always used the wasteland near a swing in a park as a secret base.
In a way, The introduction of virtual identities, coupled with the online social mode that can gather players, will definitely make Tengsen more closely related to the real world than other types of games. . Compared to the slightly mechanized gameplay itself mentioned above, players will value the opportunity to interact and interact with NPCs and other players in the game.
Not to mention that at this particular time, for many people who have been affected by the epidemic, or even already injured, an excellent cure can indeed bring healing to the game.
If you browse reviews on the rating site Metacritic, many media or users will compare the harmony, serenity and carefreeness of moving forest with the cruel reality caused by the epidemic.
Exaggeratedly, This is exactly a space that players now need urgently. It allows you to temporarily forget everything about reality and not be bound by complicated worldly rules. You can do whatever you like. Find fellows and friendly exchanges.
Of course, do n’t worry about getting a virus.
The producer of the mobile game, Hiroshi Nogami, also mentioned in an interview that he did not expect such a thing to happen before the game was released. (referring to Outbreak) :
“The bad news I see every day makes me feel frustrated, but that’s why I hope that the players of” Dynsen “can treat the game as an escape and let themselves be here. Enjoy the game in the most difficult times. “
According to his understanding of the current real environment, rather than players actively entering the moving game, they might as well “escape” from the past. After all, only in this virtual world can I enjoy a valuable free life in the moment.
He also added that this will be a game that you want to enjoy with other people. Everyone will get together to talk and share experiences with each other: “So this time we have made the game available in the global market simultaneously, in order not to let The players are out of touch. “
The reality is indeed the same. Whether it is a comment under a screenshot of Weibo or a circle of friends, or a face-to-face communication with two or three friends in reality, everyone will share some interesting experiences in the game: which fish or insect is sold The highest price? What are some surprising new actions? There is another question as cruel as reality. How much worse is your mortgage? Oh it’s okay, there is a higher one to finish this, you can’t finish it.
Dongsen is not the only fire game recently. As the epidemic has spread to many countries and regions around the world, the home phenomenon caused by leaving home has also indirectly driven players to play almost all online games. Potential demand for the platform.
The statistics from the third-party database SteamDB shows that Steam, the most mainstream gaming platform on the PC, has set a record of 20 million players online at the same time for two consecutive weeks, and the number of people who actually play in the game is Six to seven million people are also numbers that the platform has never achieved before.
On the console platform, the “Eating Chicken Mode” of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” recently came online, attracting nearly 6 million players to enter on the first day, and exceeded 30 million after 10 days, which also surpassed it. Last year’s “Apex Hero” has become the fastest growing “eating chicken game”.
Of course, this situation of “contrarian rise” has been staged once in China in February this year.
According to App Annie, an analysis agency, the average weekly downloads of mobile games in China have increased by 80% compared to the average annual downloads of 2019; of which, the average weekly downloads of the App Store have reached 63 million times, a 25% increase compared to January 2020.
Some worry that the epidemic may have an irreversible impact on human collective social life. When more and more people choose to shrink back into their own world and get used to shrinking into quilts and small rooms full of games, they may naturally fall into a state of social isolation.
But at the moment, whether it ’s moving or calling and other games, they are all in order to maintain the communication link between people and even the community relationship. ——After all, the place where you stay is not a real “island”. In the virtual world, nothing is impossible.
This article is from WeChat public account: 爱 范 儿 （ID: ifanr) , author: Moose