10/06 Update: Since we no longer write for the Edmond Sun, this section is temporarily housing our podcast links for our iTunes feed. All of the columns are in the archives menu if you feel like exploring.

These columns (as well as the 'releases') come from weekly content that we write for the Edmond Sun, out of Edmond, OK (though we live in Chicago). This page contains the archives for said column, many of which are in their pre-published, unedited state. Some titles and editing by Brendan Sinclair.

Column Archives:

It's a Wild World
Saturday, December 31, 2005

Animal Crossing: Wild World for the Nintendo DS is all about vanity, consumerism and friends with benefits. But by all means, buy it for your children. This little life simulator (of living in a town with moody talking animals) as about as charming and innocently addicting as you can imagine. Fish, catch bugs, dig for fossils, grow fruit, write letters, create constellations, design clothing, decorate your house, forge relationships, support the local economy, donate to the museum - and then do it all over again.

It's all relatively mundane, but your persistent progress and indelible impact on this tiny community is profound, to say the least. How I can go from killing Nazis on my Xbox 360 to lying on my bed designing a new carpet pattern in the same evening is a testament to Nintendo's amazingly universal game design philosophies, and speaks volumes about untapped potential in the gaming industry. They've focused on the best elements of the Sims (socializing, shopping) and left all of the unsavory ones behind (taking out garbage, urinating).

Even more inviting and compelling is the games' grasp of space and time. Not only does the in-game day/night/time cycle mirror real life - your actions have lasting, long-term impact in the world. Design a constellation? You'll see it in the skies above on clear nights. Plant a peach? The resulting tree can populate your entire world, and fuel your personal economy if need be. Miss a dinner date with an emotionally unstable elephant? You'll hear about it weeks later if you don't buy them some nice wallpaper to make up for it. It all sounds a bit silly (and it's fun to play up that fact), but it's very maturely executed and completely charming. Kids will get a kick out of filling their houses with octopus tanks, and adults will appreciate the tongue-in-cheek stereotypes of some of the animal buddies.

And then there's the online multiplayer mode, in which one could easily be lost for months. With someone's friend code in hand (of which there are reams of online communities sharing them), you can pop into the town of whoever leaves their gates open, find new fruit, swap for new items, leave them messages, and forge entirely new (and long-distance) relationships. It can be a surprisingly accurate microcosm of a pen pal relationship, and it's almost overwhelming how many people are clamoring to let you into their town. The more everyone partakes, the more robust and interesting each community becomes - in a tiny talking animal kind of way.

- Nick


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