Breakfast with Amber

May 2020: Where's My Game?

Ah, May. This is where those flowers they were talking about came in. I wish I could see them, but I was still trapped inside. I was just a lonely gamer with no one to accompany me except for Splatoon, Miitopia, and...Miitopia. Miitopia's a pretty great game. Sure, I've got my parents, but can they shoot fireballs? Actually, dumb question. I made my mom a mage.

But in early 2020, the hip game that was all the rage was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a cozy simulator game where you could run around outside catching bugs and fish, tending to flowers, and talking to your animal friends all from the comfort and imprisonment of your home. I just have to draw attention to the accidental marketing genius of releasing a game about being in nature at the start of a global pandemic when people were craving the outdoors. (I know the "global pandemic" part wasn't planned, but it's the 14th best selling video game of all time for a reason.)

And I wanted that game. Actually, I wanted to play any Animal Crossing game. When I went to Target in September, I searched the rack of 3DS games for New Leaf but didn't find it. (I would get to play it eventually.) I just heard that it was like Tomodachi Life, and Tomodachi Life is a banger game. With New Horizons, however, I'd be playing it while the game's still fresh. For context, here are all the other games I had played for my YouTube channel thus far. Tomodachi Life: released in 2013; I started playing it in 2017 and started my YouTube let's play in 2018. Miitopia: released in 2017; I started playing it in 2018. Pokémon Moon: released in 2016; I played it for a few days in 2016 but didn't play it for my YouTube channel until 2019. Doki Doki Literature Club: released in 2017; I played it in 2020. This would be the first game I'd play while the hype train was still going. I also needed something to fill my YouTube schedule now that I had beaten Miitopia, a game that had occupied me for a year and a half.

Previously, I'd have to wait until my birthday or Christmas to get a new game, and both of them were at the end of the year, but shortly before the end of the school year, my mom asked if there was anything she could get me to celebrate a year well done. I told her, "Well, there's this game called Animal Crossing: New Horizons..."

I think it was May 10 when Mom placed the Amazon order, set to arrive in three days. May 13 came and went, and the game never came. Well, most of May 13. It was the evening, and I was already in the shower when Mom decided to pop in and tell me that my game had come in the mail. It was definitely a little weird, especially now that I was a grown woman who could shower herself, but my game was still here.

I finished my shower, put on my pajamas and my Turbie Twist, and came running down the stairs. I asked, "Where's my game?" Mom handed me the game, already out of the packaging, and I immediately went back upstairs. I got my Lazy Neck Phone Holder, sat down on my bed, and booted up my Switch.

I didn't know what I was going to see when I started the game, so I started filming the moment I saw something on the screen, which was a sign that said, "Deserted Island Getaway Package (Paquete de escapada a islas desertas)." I also decided to tell my viewers, "Hey, everyone. This is Daphne Tett. It's 7 pm, I'm sitting on my bed, just finished showering, I'm in my pajamas, and it's time to play some Animal Crossing."

At this point, Timmy and Tommy were both already on the screen. I had a whole speech prepared about how I got interested in this game, but Timmy started talking, and I decided that reading the dialogue took precedence. "I'm Timmy with Nook Inc."

Then I brought my voice up an octave. "And I'm Tommy! My voice is high and annoying for no real reason!" Timmy gets a normal voice. He's special. Or is Tommy the special one?

Then they asked me to enter my name and birthday, which I decided to speed through while editing the video. There was a disclaimer saying to pick an appropriate name. I responded with, "Oh, I'll pick something appropriate, alright." Then I hit the X key by mistake. What can I say? It was my first time using the Switch touchscreen.