User talk:Eugenia de Conde

Although non-gamers usually think of violence and fast action in terms of games, there are many games that do not contain any violence at all. Among them are Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing and Sims games.

Comprehensive guides have been written by Freyashawk for these games and are published by IGN.

Animal Crossing is a game that is appropriate for children and adults alike. During the Summer holidays when children have more free time, it might be a good idea to introduce them to the world of Animal Crossing.

In Animal Crossing, a player must buy and furnish a house, interact with other villagers, improve his/her village and donate items to the local Museum. Museum Collections include exhibits of Fish, Insects, Fossils and Paintings, thereby combining a Natural History Museum with a Museum of Fine Arts. Blathers, curator of the Museum, will share interesting facts about every donation.

In order to play Animal Crossing, you must engage in the ancient art of correspondence by writing letters, as well as finding ways to pay off your house mortgage. Harvesting fruit, fishing, hunting for insects, collecting shells from the seashore and performing tasks for Animal Neighbours are only some of the ways to earn money in this game.

Players of the original GameCube Animal Crossing game can send items to other players through the use of codes given by the local entrepreneur, Tom Nook. In the new DS 'Wild World' Animal Crossing game, players actually can visit other villages using a 'wi-fi' connection.

If you neglect to 'visit' Animal Crossing for a few days, your Animal Neighbours will notice your absence and complain about it. In this sense, you really will feel that you are living in another Universe when you play Animal Crossing.

Animals will remember and acknowledge your birthday as well, so even if no one celebrates your birthday in the 'real world', you always know that a cake is waiting for you in Animal Crossing.

Harvest Moon games can be even more addictive than Animal Crossing. The basic premise of Harvest Moon is farming. Your character either buys or inherits a struggling farm and must make it successful. Your success is not simply a personal matter, however, but affects the entire village. Friendship in Harvest Moon is as important as any financial success. If you do not raise friendship levels of every person in your village, you will lose many benefits.

Many Harvest Moon games allow the player to court a girl or bachelor, marry and have a family. Depending on the specific game, you may have a choice of 10 different bachelors/girls from which to choose.

There is more to Harvest Moon than growing crops and raising animals. You can explore two mines for gems and ores, fish in different locations, gather wild items and in some cases, enter contests at Festivals.

Both Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon allow a player to engage in the natural rhythm of the seasons. In Animal Crossing, you actually experience the different phases of the Moon. In Harvest Moon, crops are seasonal and can be grown and harvested only in the proper season. Many of the Festivals involve a celebration of Nature's beauty.

Of all these games, it is the Sims games that are the least realistic, even though the protagonists are human. (Actually, there is an occasional Alien involved as well.)  Despite this, they are fun and addictive, placing players in bizarre and hilarious situations and allowing them to advance socially and financially.