You grow, girl!

Rebooting is a newsletter about how we can use technology to take better care of ourselves.

I’ve been thinking a lot about The Leftovers lately. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about this scene from season one, in which the protagonist Kevin somehow loses the bagel he’d plopped into a toaster moments earlier. He searches for it, even returning to the toaster later that evening to tear it apart for further inspection. Eventually, he finds the bagel, though it’s gross, crispy, and burnt. In a show that’s centered on how the world copes with the trauma of two percent of the world’s population suddenly disappearing, it’s meant to show how Kevin is grasping at whatever remnants he can of his life from before, while realizing just how irrational he’s being. 

I’ve been stuck inside, like most of you, for over three weeks now. I’ve worked from home for over two years, so I’m sort of used to being a homebody, but social distancing has still manifested itself in weird ways that I’m not totally cool with. I’m finding myself irrationally angry with nowhere to point it, I get unbelievably jealous when my dog goes to my girlfriend instead of me, and I’ve suddenly gotten about a thousand times worse at texting than I’ve been in years. And that’s to say nothing of the looming fear I have that every time my phone rings, it’ll be another notification that things are about to get worse. As this carries on, I’m feeling less in control of things I thought were stable:my diet, for one. Like how Kevin desperately needed to know that random disappearances wouldn’t start touching the things that were keeping him grounded, I’m trying to figure out how to gain some sense of that control back. To do that, I’ve been using video games to give some sense of normalcy to the stress and anxiety I’m feeling.

By now, you’ve probably heard something about Animal Crossing: New Horizon. If not, it’s a delightful game that’s part farm simulator, part interior decorator game, and part escapist fantasy, all in a world packed with adorable, talking animals that just wanna be your pals.

In any other year, this game still would’ve generated plenty of buzz simply for being a really good game. But because Covid-19 and social distancing are keeping everyone cooped up inside looking for literally any reason to smile and not panic, Animal Crossing has been a saving grace for thousands of us.

For its players, it’s an escape from the woes and nastiness of reality, swapping vicious tweets and depressing headlines for cheery letters from your mom and cute facts about old fossils from a wacky owl. The plant lovers among us may also find a particular comfort in the game’s gardening simulation.

For me, it’s actually been the parts of the game where I’m most prone to failure that bring me the most relief. I hate the idea of being in any sort of debt, but Tom Nook and the allure of his real estate empire are too strong to resist, so I constantly owe the greedy little racoon more money than I can quickly accrue. If it’s not that, it’s that I accidentally sold the pears my mom sent me instead of planting them, so for now the only fruit I have to sell is apples, which aren’t worth much on my island. As long as I’m not making money, I can’t pay Tom Nook back, and the cycle continues.

While it’s shamefully true that Tom Nook’s debts are easier to pay off than those most of us face in the real world, it’s still a pressure point that follows you throughout the game as you try to achieve your dream of getting a bigger house full of cute decorations. What makes Animal Crossing’s biggest hindrances more joyful than those of our world (read: a pandemic that gets scarier every day) is that I can walk away from them if they’re getting to be too much, and the world won’t fall apart if I drop the ball on some of my responsibilities.

Sure, there’s some comfort to be found in the idea of escaping to a utopia, but what makes games like Animal Crossing so relieving in such a trying time is that my character’s responsibilities are pretty similar to mine, but even if I do make a big mistake, things will still be okay and even Tom Nook and his goons will forgive me for being a bit late on the mortgage.

In the News:

How a Barbie Polaroid camera is helping me shelter in place (Wired): Being quarantined in my childhood home has been weird, but one of the nice things I’ve been doing is digging through all my old stuff. I found an old GameBoy Micro, which I’d totally forgotten about, and it’s awesome. Old gadgets are cool, and revisiting them is a good way to pass some time right now.

The best thing I saw on Twitch today was a bike messenger riding around Manhattan (The Verge): Even though it feels like this has been going on forever, we’re all still adjusting to this weird new life we’ve been thrown into. While we can’t all go about our days the way we used to, things like Twitch can help us get a glimpse at pieces of the lives we had before Covid-19 struck. Right now, tiny moments like that matter. 

Something Nice:

Stardew Valley: Animal Crossing is an incredible, cheerful game, but you probably won’t be able to get your hands on it for a while if you don’t already have a Switch. That’s okay, though! While it’s not exactly the same, Stardew Valley is a beautiful farming simulator that gives you that same sense of agency, tied with a cast of lovable characters that you can get to know and build a life with. If you’re looking for a tasteful blend of escapism and realism, wrapped in a beautiful retro aesthetic with hours of gameplay, Stardew Valley is worth a look, especially at $5. 

As always, if you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hello, feel free to drop me a line on Twitter.

My thanks to Medea Giordano for editing this issue.