Back to Summer Camp

It was the summer of 02, and my sister and I played one thing and one thing only: Animal Crossing. For hours the two of us would hide away in the basement, away from the sun shine and warmth of the summer, content to toil away and run errands in our small town. We would return VHS tapes to frogs, deliver shirts for eagles, and collect bugs for cats; this digital hamlet was our summer camp, and we loved every minute of it. Now here I am, ten years later, and I have stepped off that familiar train again, returning to my summer camp.

Why am I starting a new game of Animal Crossing? To be honest, I am not 100% sure myself. Maybe it’s because the DS Animal Crossing never hooked me, and I never got another fill of those zany animal neighbours. Is this why I feel the need to return to the small town full of blocky little animals? Or maybe this is me trying to relive something that is gone, somehow try and hold on to the past and avoid the future. Maybe I am trying to recapture that magic I saw and felt when I first sat down with Animal Crossing, or maybe I am looking for a change of pace from everything else; I spend hours with Team Fortress 2 pounding people into the dirt, and the quite relaxed pace of Animal Crossing is a welcome relief. Whatever the reasons may be, and I have a feeling it is a healthy mix of everything I have just said, the smooth piano opening of Animal Crossing is a welcome tune to usher my return to summer camp.