Jump to content

Hokko Life (Animal Crossing-like Game) Coming to PC [Early Access June 2]


Keyser_Soze

Recommended Posts

I'm almost never bothered by the similarities people here tend to blow out of proportion.  This is about as shameless as it gets though.  Animal Crossing's formula pretty much is its content. 

 

It looks like they just remade it with a dash of Harvest Moon's planting and more furniture rotation options.  Supposedly the real-time clock cycle is gone, which is more of a negative, but hey, it's something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fine by me. Nintendo won't put AC on other platforms, and no one else is even trying to compete, so it makes sense that someone would fill the void. Looks less polished than AC, but also more ambitious in terms of customizability, which is good to me.


Also I appreciate this image on the developer's website:

 

WhatIsGame-p-500.jpeg

 

At this point, I say if you can clone a high profile game, fucking go for it. If those products are so limited and stuck behind the curve that an amateur can successfully reproduce the entire formula, then you're just asking to be left in the dust.

The only clones I'm not okay with are like what happened to Threes, where that shitty, inferior 2048 rushed to market before it and got all the credit and success. But again, if your concept is that easily copied, maybe have the game ready to go when you show it off. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

 If those products are so limited and stuck behind the curve that an amateur can successfully reproduce the entire formula, then you're just asking to be left in the dust.

 

He's not an amateur though

 

Quote

I am a developer with over 10 years professional experience at various studios such as Sony and Lionhead, and around 3 years experience as an independent developer.

I've been lucky enough to work on some pretty big franchises like Fable, Wolfenstein, Killzone and Gauntlet too, and over the years I've gained a lot of experience in taking a project from start to finish; knowing what to focus on, and how to build enjoyable experiences for players.

Hokko Life is my first solo project, and I'm hoping to bring everything I've learnt from my past together to make something truly special.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even better, it'll have some quality to it then. But it's still 1 guy vs. all of Nintendo, so if he can match them, that's not on him, that's on Nintendo. Consumers should never get upset on behalf of a developer who has been matched by someone who shouldn't be able to match them. Demand more from Nintendo, or accept that people can take Nintendo's concepts and run with them, and that's a good thing. Sane people call that "competition," because sane people don't get angry on a developer's behalf.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

Fine by me. Nintendo won't put AC on other platforms, and no one else is even trying to compete, so it makes sense that someone would fill the void. Looks less polished than AC, but also more ambitious in terms of customizability, which is good to me.


Also I appreciate this image on the developer's website:

 

WhatIsGame-p-500.jpeg

 

At this point, I say if you can clone a high profile game, fucking go for it. If those products are so limited and stuck behind the curve that an amateur can successfully reproduce the entire formula, then you're just asking to be left in the dust.

The only clones I'm not okay with are like what happened to Threes, where that shitty, inferior 2048 rushed to market before it and got all the credit and success. But again, if your concept is that easily copied, maybe have the game ready to go when you show it off. 


Aren't you the one who said Geinshin Impact (the supposed BOTW clone) is disgusting?

Filling the void can be good, don't get me wrong.  I'd be glad to have more games like Animal Crossing, on more platforms.  But as I said, the formula in this case is the content.  Animal Crossing kind of auto-generates its fun.  So for another game to stick so close to it, tonally, while also aping this much of the mechanics is just lazy.  There's very little new design work here.  And that just makes the on-the-nose stuff come across worse.

 

bug_catch.gif?t=1581330081

It looks to me like they spent all their creative energy on the furniture and room editor, and then threw in the towel after that.  Like they're okay with being a relatively charmless knock-off otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:


Aren't you the one who said Geinshin Impact (the supposed BOTW clone) is disgusting?
 

Yup. That's me.

On 8/6/2019 at 5:15 PM, Xbob42 said:

What's wrong with Zelda clones? Unless it's being disgusting like Genshin Impact, I'm all for more games HEAVILY influenced by Zelda! One of the best ways to develop and mature a genre! Surprisingly, there are only a tiny fraction of games that lean heavily on Zelda influences, and fewer still that are influenced by the 3D titles.


Waiting for Nintendo to figure out a new path forward to Zelda was an agonizing damn near multi-decade wait of disappointment after disappointment until they finally stumbled into something interesting with BotW. How long until we see another step forward? I want competition to keep this genre interesting! 

Time to expand on more than an absolute statement, I guess! My problems with Genshin Impact are more about it being a direct clone (at least what we saw early on) of a very specific single game in the Zelda series, aping every single mechanic, from a properly sized studio, in a country where no one respects copyright law. I noted no improvements or changes or additions. Also a full studio just copying another full studio with a very specific kind of game that JUST came out comes across more like shameless cloning rather than competition. Decay of Logos, for example, was not just a BOTW clone, it had similar elements, but was very much its own game. It wasn't a good game, but I wasn't immediately thinking "Wait did they steal BOTW assets or code?"


Maybe it's hypocritical, I guess, but I'm also not offended on behalf of Nintendo or anything. I just think that that very specific kind of cloning is not interested in expanding the genre. Although looking at more recent footage Genshin Impact looks to be more different than I initially believed. It's adding little things here and there, which is the most important part to me. If this game was just "Animal Crossing but worse," and had no new or separate features, I probably would've shrugged at the trailer and moved on. But I'm liking the changes I do see, like the more in-depth town and house customization, which is one of the few actual "gameplay" elements in Animal Crossing, so additions there are very meaningful. It's also not a realtime clock, which is an option I've wished for Animal Crossing for years.

 

22 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Filling the void can be good, don't get me wrong.  I'd be glad to have more games like Animal Crossing, on more platforms.  But as I said, the formula in this case is the content.  Animal Crossing kind of auto-generates its fun.  So for another game to stick so close to it, tonally, while also aping this much of the mechanics is just lazy.  There's very little original design work here.  And that just makes the on-the-nose stuff come across worse.

 

bug_catch.gif?t=1581330081

It looks to me like they spent all their creative energy on the furniture and room editor, and then threw in the towel after that.  Like they're okay with being a charmless looking knock-off otherwise.

It's also one dude with a Patreon making $205 a month vs. an entire AAA studio with both decades of top-tier industry experience and virtually unlimited cash. I completely understand what you're saying, but would having all that super high-end polish that Nintendo offers suddenly make everyone okay with it? I don't think it would. In any case, polish, especially UI polish, is one of the last things to get put into a game, and since this is early access, I'm assuming that'll get fixed up at some point. I think the character and art outside of the UI is mostly fine, could use some animation polishing, but other than that I think it's okay.

 

I dunno, I just don't think it's worth being upset about. As lazy as you think this is, I think Nintendo has been far more offensively lazy with Animal Crossing itself over the last two decades, and the same can be said about Pokemon. This is one dude making pocket change, what the fuck is Nintendo's excuse?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Brick said:

This has cease and desist written all over it. 

Nah, Nintendo has no power over projects like this. It's exactly why Genshin Impact is coming to the Switch. If they're not using your name, your code or your art assets, you ain't got shit. Concepts, as far as I know, absolutely cannot be copyrighted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

Yup. That's me.

Time to expand on more than an absolute statement, I guess! My problems with Genshin Impact are more about it being a direct clone (at least what we saw early on) of a very specific single game in the Zelda series, aping every single mechanic, from a properly sized studio, in a country where no one respects copyright law. I noted no improvements or changes or additions. Also a full studio just copying another full studio with a very specific kind of game that JUST came out comes across more like shameless cloning rather than competition. Decay of Logos, for example, was not just a BOTW clone, it had similar elements, but was very much its own game. It wasn't a good game, but I wasn't immediately thinking "Wait did they steal BOTW assets or code?"


Maybe it's hypocritical, I guess, but I'm also not offended on behalf of Nintendo or anything. I just think that that very specific kind of cloning is not interested in expanding the genre. Although looking at more recent footage Genshin Impact looks to be more different than I initially believed. It's adding little things here and there, which is the most important part to me. If this game was just "Animal Crossing but worse," and had no new or separate features, I probably would've shrugged at the trailer and moved on. But I'm liking the changes I do see, like the more in-depth town and house customization, which is one of the few actual "gameplay" elements in Animal Crossing, so additions there are very meaningful. It's also not a realtime clock, which is an option I've wished for Animal Crossing for years.

 

I felt from the first trailer that Genshin Impact's combat design was more action oriented, the townships looked more developed, and that (anime) story would play a larger role.  On the surface, it was always obvious it wasn't just going to be BoTW, even if it was taking inspiration.

There's less nuance with this Hokko game.  I'd expect the moment-to-moment gameplay in Genshin to feel substantially different than BoTW, due to the combat.  From this trailer, I don't see Hokko to changing anything about item collecting, doing chores for villagers, capturing bugs, etc.  Interior design is a key part of animal crossing, but its still a trophy room for the 'work' you do elsewhere, which is arguably the primary gameplay loop.

 

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

It's also one dude with a Patreon making $205 a month vs. an entire AAA studio with both decades of top-tier industry experience and virtually unlimited cash. I completely understand what you're saying, but would having all that super high-end polish that Nintendo offers suddenly make everyone okay with it? I don't think it would. In any case, polish, especially UI polish, is one of the last things to get put into a game, and since this is early access, I'm assuming that'll get fixed up at some point. I think the character and art outside of the UI is mostly fine, could use some animation polishing, but other than that I think it's okay.

 

I dunno, I just don't think it's worth being upset about. As lazy as you think this is, I think Nintendo has been far more offensively lazy with Animal Crossing itself over the last two decades, and the same can be said about Pokemon. This is one dude making pocket change, what the fuck is Nintendo's excuse?

 

I don't want to defend Nintendo for being so conservative with AC and Pokemon, although there have been some strides forward with some entries.  But it also shouldn't take an indie sticking this close to comfort to wake Nintendo up.  There's plenty of other games to do that.

As for this guy, polish isn't the real issue.  It's stubborn adherence.  Why are the fishing and bug catching mechanics the same?  Why are we still playing as a human in a village of animals?  Again, it seems like he made the furniture and decoration tools, and said, okay, now I'll make the rest of Animal Crossing from here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely agree at least about it being a human in an animal town. The rest I can kind of chalk up to trying to bring an Animal Crossing style experience to non Nintendo platforms, but specific themes like that do come across as either not having the motivation to make it at least an original setting or just not caring. Hopefully there's a romance system with full frontal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Xbob42 said:

I definitely agree at least about it being a human in an animal town. The rest I can kind of chalk up to trying to bring an Animal Crossing style experience to non Nintendo platforms, but specific themes like that do come across as either not having the motivation to make it at least an original setting. Hopefully there's a romance system with full frontal.

 

Yup, even Nintendo's seen the need to try to vary up the setting.

I'm much more partial to how Temtem is trying to shake up Pokemon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I also really want people to just clone 3D Zelda games(not botw). Like, I don't want something unique that makes it stand out from the Zelda series. Take everything from OoT-SS and then make a game based of all of that. I want it to feel like I am playing an new Zelda game. I don't mean I want it to feel like I am playing OoT, WW, TP, or whatever. I want it to feel like I am playing a brand new Zelda game that has never been created. I hate waiting 5+ years for a new Zelda, especially after BOTW. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, JPDunks4 said:

Just checked this out.  While it looks really promising, it also shows as Single Player only.

 

Games like this need some kind of multiplayer component.  

 

I'm sure it will make it's way into the game at some point. It's just one guy right now.

 

Here's what it said on the Discord

 

Quote

Will there be multiplayer?

The game has been built as a single-player game from the beginning, and as a result does not have multiplayer. The game will however, support sharing of user-creations such as furniture and clothing

 

That's about as much multiplayer as you need.

 

Also this and maybe it could get modded in (he said mods might come)

 

Quote

I think if I were to add some kind of multiplayer to Hokko Life, it would initially be the ability to "view" other player's towns, essentially load another player's save game

you wouldn't be able to do anything other than just run around and look at stuff

that would be the easiest potential thing to do I think

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I'm sure it will make it's way into the game at some point. It's just one guy right now.

 

Here's what it said on the Discord

 

 

That's about as much multiplayer as you need.

 

Also this and maybe it could get modded in (he said mods might come)

 

 

I understand its one guy, and what he's doing is impressive.  

 

My thing is, I want someone to take the concept of Animal Crossing, and just push it forward, not bring it back.  I don't care to just have another single player Animal Crossing on PC.  I want something a little more social, a little more in depth than the simplicity of AC.

 

My Time at Portia was a game I actually thought did a lot of things really well, but it was ultimately just Single player and made me eventually lose interest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

I also really want people to just clone 3D Zelda games(not botw). Like, I don't want something unique that makes it stand out from the Zelda series. Take everything from OoT-SS and then make a game based of all of that. I want it to feel like I am playing an new Zelda game. I don't mean I want it to feel like I am playing OoT, WW, TP, or whatever. I want it to feel like I am playing a brand new Zelda game that has never been created. I hate waiting 5+ years for a new Zelda, especially after BOTW. 

 

Oceanhorn series is a great Zelda clone, if you haven't played it already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

37 minutes ago, osxmatt said:

 

Oceanhorn series is a great Zelda clone, if you haven't played it already.

I have the first game on steam but that is 2D style Zelda, and it really isn't that good. Especially the ocean parts. Like, it feels like I am playing a shitty version of Phantom Hourglass. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Bacon said:

I also really want people to just clone 3D Zelda games(not botw). Like, I don't want something unique that makes it stand out from the Zelda series. Take everything from OoT-SS and then make a game based of all of that. I want it to feel like I am playing an new Zelda game. I don't mean I want it to feel like I am playing OoT, WW, TP, or whatever. I want it to feel like I am playing a brand new Zelda game that has never been created. I hate waiting 5+ years for a new Zelda, especially after BOTW. 

 

Ever played Okami?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I don't really get why people compare Darksiders to Zelda all that much. They feel nothing alike to me.

Okami is probably a better comparison, but I honestly didn't play all that much of it.

 

Hob could probably draw some comparisons to 3D Zeldas quite a bit, but I find the game kind of a bore.

 

EDIT: I felt I should note that I got into the Genshin Impact beta on iOS. Not exactly my choice gaming platform, but I decided to give it a whirl.

 

It takes a lot of nuances from BotW like it’s stamina system. Being used for climbing, swimming, running etc. Other things like burning grass around you when you fight a fire enemy or using fire arrows. The gameplay though is more like Nier Automata than it is BotW. Pretty much hack n’ slash with an evade button, sprinkle in some magic. 


There is multiple characters, you unlock the second one in the first 30 minutes. They all have different equipment. Your starting character uses a sword with magic, the second is an archer. The story is, well, pretty anime. A unknown “god” that kidnaps your sibling (depending on which gender you choose) and you’re on a quest to get them back. All of the names sounds like the local LARPing group near me named everything in the game so... yeah. 
 

It’s pretty fun on iOS, pretty impressed that they included graphical options for the mobile version. It looks pretty good as well. I’d really like to test it with a controller though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Keyser_Soze changed the title to Hokko Life (Animal Crossing-like Game) Coming to PC [Early Access June 2]
28 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

I'm not being an asshole here. I'm genuinely asking this. How can anyone be interested in this if you're not 12 yrs old or below? 

 

19 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Thanks for explaining the appeal @Keyser_Soze you punk! :)

 

Surprised that a self proclaimed, "Guy with declining gaming skills" would frown upon a game made purely to have fun and not worry about having skill to play.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...