In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players have one goal: start their island life alongside a cast of animal neighbours. The videogame’s release date was 20 March 2020. This marked the very start of lockdown and social distancing for a range of countries. Since then, the game welcomed those in isolation with open arms (and paws). The game became a vital space for maintaining creativity, social connections and a sense of routine during an uncertain time. The Animal Crossing Diaries records the diverse ways players interact with the game during the COVID-19 pandemic. It documents how players create their own meaningful experiences through the game. Players were invited to contribute via an ongoing open call.
This online exhibition stemming from this collecting presents a selection of the stories. It focuses on players’ experience of the game in the span of a year influenced by the pandemic, from March 2020 to April 2021. Browsing the Diary Entries invites you to explore different themes surrounding players’ experiences. Keeping a Routine explores the way players found a sense of everyday stability in-game during an unstable time. Making your Space reflects players’ shaping of their virtual space during a time of lockdown and limited travel. Representing Yourself shows ways the game is used to reflect players’ identity, experiences and culture. Sharing Creativity showcases the range of artistic and cultural responses created both in the game and influenced by it. Finally, Staying in Touch shows the powerful ways players have both maintained social relationships – and created new ones.
These diaries reflect the everyday experiences of a historic time and how we all responded to it in different ways – in Animal Crossing and beyond.
This project is made possible via the Sustaining Engagement with Collections grant awarded by The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund run by the Museum Association, funding projects that develop collections to achieve social impact. More information here.
The National Videogame Museum celebrates videogame culture and allows the public to play most of its exhibits, which include nearly 100 games consoles, arcade machines, and other interactive experiences, including games designed exclusively for the Museum. The Museum holds one of the UK’s largest collections of nearly 5,000 videogame objects, and nearly 100 exhibitions, including arcade machines, technology, game memorabilia, and ephemera. Formerly the National Videogame Arcade in Nottingham, the Museum has welcomed over 160,000 visitors, including hundreds of school visits, since it opened in 2016. The Museum presents a mixture of permanent and temporary exhibitions, some of which tour the UK. The NVM is run by the BGI, a registered charity number 1183530 that educates the public about the art, science, history, and technology of videogames.
For more details about the NVM, please visit http://www.thenvm.org.