In every town in the Animal Crossing series, the village itself is entirely composed of a population of animals (excluding the player, who is the only human being in the whole series along with other players).

It takes a minimum of 14 days for most features to become available in New Horizons. In New Horizons, the first player starts with a deserted island, builds up a small residential society there with the help of Tom Nook, and upgrades the entire island into a small village consisting of a several key buildings plus the residential houses of at least three villagers and the player themselves. Once the player reaches their mayoral approval goals, they will be able to gain access to Public Works Projects, and now can place any Public Works Project outdoors to expand gameplay and allow a limited decoration of the town outside of planting trees, flowers, and custom path designs. Isabelle guides the player along the way by introducing basic skills of the game. In New Leaf, the first player will eventually become Mayor once they create their town. Exploring different areas outside of town is possible too, which grants access to certain aspects of gameplay that are not available on the main island. The player can also plant trees and flowers to make their town look appealing. Afterwards, Tom Nook begins to introduce the player to paying off house loans, and tells them to pay off his loans at any given pace, all without any backstabbing of any sort. Prior to New Leaf, the first player moves into a town of a designated name and randomized layout, supported by the help of Tom Nook to settle them to any available house of their choice.

Customization of the player's own house and their surroundings can be done to improve their environment. Items can be used to assist the player with gameplay interaction and/or decorative purpose. The player may also interact with other characters in the game to build social relationships with each other, positive or negative, with no dramatic consequences. The only 'objective' in the game, if any, is to pay off the mortgage placed upon the player's house. But, like most things within the game, this is entirely optional, and does not incur any consequences other than having less space to store items. As an open-ended life simulation, the Animal Crossing series does not have a set objective - as such, after an introductory sequence at the beginning of the games, players are free to do as they like.

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