How a briefAnimal Crossingobsession provided theMythic Queststar a deeper understanding of Poppy Li.
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COVID-safe interview protocol, Nicdao suggested playing the Nintendo Switch gameAnimal Crossing.
Look at their little ghosts!
Nicdao says when the first bug is squashed.
A tiny, blue bug-shaped cloud floats up into the air and disappears.
Do you see the life leaving them in little wisps?!
Im genuinely ashamed to admit that my main understanding of the gaming community was Gamergate, she tells me.
But then, as happened to so many of us, the pandemic hit, and so didAnimal Crossing.
I was like,I freaking get it.
It wasnt difficult for Nicdao to find her way into Poppy in season one.
I feel like this was very informed by … yeah, by playing this game.
Like,I am making the island!
I am the god of all things!!
As she says this, I hear Nicdao slide straight into Poppys voice.
By season two, she is fully empowered to be a creative genius but also a real jerk.
They grow and they learn, and you see both Poppy and Ians vulnerability and insecurity underneath.
But its still like, how much do you let a creative genius get away with?
How do they use the people around them in service of their art?
Her mom and dad both bought Switches so they could play at the same time.
Look at your hose reel!
I exclaim in appreciation of a particularly effective gardening setup on Nicdaos island.
She is half-pleased, half-rueful, as she says it.
Its been vital for her work.
She leads me around a back corner: So, this is the museum gift shop.
