Fetch quests occupy a strange space in video games. They aren’t strictly great quests; you talk to an NPC, and then they have you get something for them, or bring something somewhere else. They’re usually uninspired and are a transparent effort to pad out the game’s length. Mass Effect: Andromeda mines hours upon hours of gameplay by having the player go to a different planet, talk to someone, and return (for a reward!). Point is, they ain’t great.
And yet, there’s Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.
I downloaded the game to my phone cuz a lotta people were downloading it, knowing nothing about the Animal Crossing games except there are animals that crossed and something about decorating houses. I fired up the game and found myself put in charge of a campsite (which I can decorate!) and told to befriend visiting animals and invite them over to said campsite.
Simple enough.
Befriending these animals, however, is a matter of talking to them and… fetch quests. Jay wants two squids, Filbert wants an assortment of fruits, and Apollo has developed an affection for butterflies. If you bring their desired items to these animal crossers they in turn give you bells (money) and resources like wood and cotton you can then use to craft new furniture for tour campsite. This furniture, besides looking nice, is also used to lure invite animals to hang out at your campsite.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is all about fetch quests. Just going somewhere, getting something, and giving it to someone.
And yet, it is such calming fun.
Part of this is due to how gentle the game is. Pocket Camp doesn’t have you fighting monsters, you just shake fruit off trees or tap butterflies to catch them with your net. It’s easy enough to amass such a stock of items that more often than not, you’ll already have what your animal friend is looking for.
But there still a sense of accomplishment upon completing a task. The animal smiles and claps, thanking you profusely. It’s a bit of an overreaction, but you still did something. There’s the idea that you’re getting stuff done, and that getting said stuff done is appreciated by people, er- animals, who call you friend.
What really makes Pocket Camp work, though, is summed up in those darned cute animals. Pocket Camp’s simple mechanics are delivered with a very friendly theme. There’s no fighting monsters, but nor is there much in the way of any conflict whatsoever. You’re all just kinda get along. It’s utterly non-threatening, presenting a harmonious world where idyllic days are spent fishing and foraging and thinking about food.
And so it’s wonderfully calming. There’s no frenetic need to get stuff done, you can do stuff at your own pace and still have that sense of accomplishment. Like The Sims, you’re able to set your own goals within the parameters (do you want to upgrade your camper? Make a dope hangout? Stockpile a horde of Bells?) and go after them (though without the threat of starvation and/or setting yourself on fire). Again, Pocket Camp is a game to relax. Not blow off steam: just chill out.
I think it’s, in that way, a kinda important game. Sure, it’s not saying Something Bigger About The World, and it’s hardly a brain-bending puzzle game. It’s a game where you do stuff, simple fetch quests though they may be, and be rewarded and affirmed for it. Without deadlines or consequences, Pocket Camp feels very much like a safe space to escape to in the middle of the day. Proof that you can get something done and that Ketchup the duck is really happy you did.
Essays, Not Rants! 