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I had a question about Tom Nook. I felt that in some ways, playing this, he almost seemed kinder. I was curious if you felt that way about him. You know, in the way that the island becomes about crafting and not entirely about buying things at the store. The communal feel felt stronger, like we were all doing it together.
Nogami: Well, I do want to make a note that Tom Nook has always been a great guy, he's always been a good dude. Maybe you felt that way because his role in this game has changed a little bit. Tom Nook has always played a key role in maintaining the motivation of the player to continue to play the game. But then as a host character, we've always had somebody else.
And because New Horizons is set on a deserted island, and the first person you see is Tom Nook introducing you and welcoming you to the island, and then he continues to support your life on the island -- maybe because he's taking care of the player a little bit more than the previous series, maybe you may sense that he's gotten nicer.
Kyoguku: Even if the player didn't have any money, he would offer you a new home. And he'd even offer you a loan. And then if you can't pay him back, then he'll wait forever without really bothering you, and he'll never get angry that you've never paid him back, either. That said, he's always been a pretty good guy. But then in the past games, players may have only interacted with him when they were making big purchases, like buying a home, and then once that's paid off, Tom would just go ahead and expand the home without even checking in with the player, so maybe the impression that the players got back then was that he was money-hungry and he was always out to get your money. But he is a really caring guy, a bit of a busybody. And so he might give a wrong impression. But I do want to mention that he's had a self-reflection since the past series. Now, he actually asks the player whether the player wants an expansion to their home or not. I want to encourage the fans to pick up on a good side of Tom Nook when they play the game.
You're not crazy: Tom Nook is nicer in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The creators of the Nintendo Switch's island simulation escape talk about Tom Nook, the NookPhone and the game's sense of community in strange times.
www.cnet.com