When you spend enough time around a person or a place or even a thing you begin to notice your surroundings. You pick up on mannerisms, dialects, and lifestyles. You draw conclusions that make for useless but interesting observations, and that is exactly what happened to me after playing hours of Animal Crossing one afternoon (I do my homework, Mom and Dad. I swear).
Anyway, I began to notice that Denison University and the lovely video game franchise that is Animal Crossing have some cute similiarities, with the most glaring being...
1. The Swasey Chapel Bells vs. The Clock Tower Bell
Every hour on the half hour, Swasey Chapel bells ring a number of tunes ranging from Amazing Grace to Part of Your World from Disney's The Little Mermaid. I hear their resounding chimes as a distant alarm clock if I am still in bed, from the window in a classroom, or on the way to my next class. I always like figuring out if I can guess what song Denison's secret society of bell ringers decided to play. My enjoyment of listening to the chapel bells ring true (no pun intended) to the clock tower bell in Animal Crossing games, which ring every hour on the hour.
2. Small College vs. Small Town
Animal Crossing may have updated gameplay mechanics over the years, but if there is one part that remains constant, it is the size of your town, which just big enough to pull all of your weeds in one day if you have not played in months (guilty). In the same way, Denison remains a small campus, perched on a hill with no off campus housing. Speaking of off campus...
3. Going Off Campus vs. Leaving Your Town
Unless you own a car on campus, trips off campus are far and few between. Travelling requires someone else who has a car or renting a ride through a carshare program. The struggle remains in Animal Crossing, as oftentimes to go into another town, someone else has to have the game, and you both have to be in close proximity to each other in order to maintain a strong connection signal.
4. Occasional Returning Visitors
Every now and then, special characters will visit your Animal Crossing town and (typically) sell you goods or services. Redd sells (typically) counterfeit paintings and overpriced furniture, and Saharah who sells wallpapers and carpets for your home. Like Animal Crossing, Denison also welcomes frequenting visitors, such as the Bohemian jewelry and clothing tent set up either near the flagpole or inside Slayter.
5. The Roost vs. The Nest at The Roost
Both Denison University and Animal Crossing have a place called The Roost. Well, Denison had a place called The Roost until the place was renovated and renamed into what current students call The Nest. Petition to rename it back to The Roost so to strengthen my case.
6. The Best Coffee Around
While The Roost at Denison is no more, The Roost in Animal Crossing is very much alive and thriving as the best (and only) place to buy a cup of coffee. The drinks are cheap and apparently very tasty according to my villagers, and because I can't take a sip of coffee made from code I will have to take their word for it.
Denison's coffee on the other hand I can taste, have tasted and loved. Whether I order a frozen hot chocolate from The Commit Grounds in Slayter (remember to bring you own mug for a discount), to Village Coffee lattes to a River Road mocha, I know I cannot go wrong.
7. Tom Nook's vs. CVS
Need Medicine? Low on cash? Looking to renovate your space? Well, both Tom Nook's and the CVS in Granville can provide. Being in a landlocked town among the thralls of the Midwest, options are pretty limited in terms of places to go (see number 3). Forgot something from home? Chances are I will be headed to CVS.
Tom Nook's is the only place to shop for home decor, save for the expensive GracieGrace Boutique in Animal Crossing: City Folk. He is also the only seller who provides medicine for those annoying bee stings. So yes, I will pay 400 bells for medicene and yes, I will pay $12.99 for an 8 capsule box of Nyquil. What other choice do I have?