Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) provided benefits to players' mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research found that over a third of ACNH players reported that the game's daily routine of tasks helped them feel stability and provided an escape from pandemic-related anxiety. Additional studies showed positive correlations between video game play time, well-being, and feeling happier. ACNH encouraged routines, creativity, and social connection through online play that substituted for lost in-person interactions during isolation.

1. Animal
Crossing
& how it can improve wellbeing
during the pandemic
Abby Jones
ENGL 470
Dr. Guler

2. LET’S TALK…
Before we discuss gaming,

3. Isolation,
Loneliness, &
Decreased social
interaction

4. National Alliance on Mental Illness calls it a
“Loneliness Epidemic”
Cigarettes a day
15 47% 56%

5. Average Share of Adults Reporting Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder and/or
Depressive Disorder, January-June 2019 vs. January 2021
(The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use)

6. Since the Pandemic, the U.S.
is overall more anxious
and lonely

7. ?

8. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
(ACNH) may be a coping mechanism
for heightened anxiety and loneliness
& can substitute some complex
face-to-face interactions during
self-isolation

9. Older research & stigma says…
● Aggressive
● Addicted
● Negative effects on
cognition & psyche
STEREOTYPICAL THOUGHTS ABOUT VIDEO GAMING

10. New Research says….
“Technology use during periods of social isolation has
positive effects on loneliness, anxiety, and depression”
Social Isolation Physical Isolation
So what about video games?
Video games that have a social element, like
interaction with other live players and
programmed characters do have positive effects on
psychological well-being
TECHNOLOGY

11. ?

12. ★ Social simulation game for the
Nintendo Switch
★ Single player
○ But have online features & can
play with others
★ Nonlinear timeline ➞ player-set goals
& freedom
★ Guided objectives ➞ routine-based
★ Customize your island, house, & closet
★ Buy, sell, trade, and gather items
★ Build/manage a community with
anthropomorphic animals (that make
cute noises)
ALL ABOUT ACNH Nintendo Switch
ACNH was released March
20, 2020

13. A FEW OF MY FAVORITE FEATURES
BUYING
CLOTHES
DEEP SEA
FISHING
CHATING
WITH
VILLAGERS

14. ACNH & RESEARCH
● 2020 study explored the association
between objective video game time and
well-being
● Andrew Przybylski, the lead researcher, and
his team used actual play-time data for their
study
○ They concluded that games can be
good for mental health
● Findings supported a correlation between
positive wellbeing, increased hours of play,
and overall desire in the game
● In other words, if you play many hours of
a game you like, it can make you feel
happier
● Chris Comerford used a sample of 1,898
players to investigate the physical routine
substitution and social connectivity ACNH
provided during the COVID-19 lockdown
period from March to July 2020
● Players shared perspectives and experiences
playing ACNH during lockdown
● Players gave their primary and secondary
motivator for playing
○ ~ ⅓ of all players said“daily
routine of tasks”, as it allowed
them to reclaim stability and
became an escapism from anxiety
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG

15. Primary Motivators for Playing
Daily
Routine
Comforting
Aesthetic
Game routines
reinforced
stability–which
was something
many player’s lost
in real life due to
COVID-19
The characters,
sound effects,
music, and overall
design are all
subjectively cute
Self-
expression
Participatory
Community
The game allows
for custom
furniture building,
house placements,
villagers, and even
terraforming. It
encourages
imagination
In-game
alternative for
social connection
with other players
(and characters)
through the game
and social media
communities
33.03% 22.87% 18.85% 15.51%

16. AMAZING THINGS ABOUT ACNH
FREEDOM OF PROGRESSION
No end & no deadlines, players
are free to play how they want
& sets the game at a
comfortable player pace
SELF-GIVEN GOALS
The player creates their own
agenda & fulfilling their own
goals provides the player
ongoing gratification
TIMEBOUND MECHANISMS
Real-time activities: some only
occur once a day, game-mail
takes a day to arrive, store open
and close at typical hours
NO RULES… NO FAILURE
There’s no way to play the game
incorrectly due to lack of rules… no
one dies or starts over so there’s
no negative feedback loop
POSITIVE MENTAL BENEFITS
Through creativity, control,
routines, commitment and goals,
the player can feel psychologically
empowered
ENCOURAGES ROUTINE
Ritual of activities gives an
ongoing sense of regularity and
stability

17. “ACNH is a soothing, welcoming
experience, bereft of failure and
replete with opportunities for
stability, comfort, and leisurely play”
—Chris Comerford, 2020

18. References
Comerford, C. (2021). Coconuts, Custom-Play & COVID-19: Social Isolation, Serious Leisure and Personas in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Persona Studies, 6(2),
101–117.
https://doi.org/10.21153/psj2020vol6no2art970
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, February 16). Anxiety and Depression Household Pulse Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved
March 16, 2022, from
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm
Gaming may not be as bad as you think – oxford research. University of Oxford. (2020, November 16). Retrieved March 16, 2022, from
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/arts-blog/gaming-may-not-be-bad-you-think-oxford-research
Lewis JE, Trojovsky M and Jameson MM (2021) New Social Horizons: Anxiety, Isolation, and Animal Crossing During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front. Virtual Real.
2:627350. doi:
10.3389/frvir.2021.627350
Johannes Niklas, Vuorre Matti and Przybylski Andrew K. 2021Video game play is positively correlated with well-beingR. Soc. open sci.8202049202049
MacDonald, K. (2020, May 13). 'it's uniting people': Why 11 million are playing Animal Crossing: New horizons. The Guardian. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from h
ttps://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/may/13/animal-crossing-new-horizons-nintendo-game-coronavirus
Nirmita Panchal, R. K., & 2021, F. (2021, July 20). The implications of COVID-19 for mental health and substance use. KFF. Retrieved March 16, 2022, from
https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/#:~:text=In%20a%20survey%20from%20Ju
ne,worsen%20due%20to%20the%20pandemic