Overview
This research project examined how Animal Crossing: New Horizons (AC:NH) supported players' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through survey responses from 135 players, we explored motivations for play, key game elements that provided emotional recovery, and the role of AC:NH in promoting well-being.
Problem Statement
The study aimed to understand how AC:NH helped players manage stress and maintain emotional well-being during a period of global uncertainty. Specifically, we explored player motivations, the game’s mental health benefits, and how metadata could improve game recommendations for emotional support.
Users & Audience
The primary audience included AC:NH players who engaged with the game during the pandemic. Participants were recruited from online gaming communities, including Reddit and The Bell Tree Forums. The study also provides insights for game designers, researchers, and digital content curators interested in the intersection of gaming and mental health.
Roles & Responsibilities
I co-developed the research questions with the lead investigators and was responsible for designing and distributing a Qualtrics survey in online communities. After obtaining community approvals, I facilitated survey deployment and later managed response cleanup to ensure data integrity. I also mentored a junior researcher in the coding process, co-developed a codebook with the research team, and contributed to intercoder reliability testing. Additionally, I authored portions of the literature review, discussion, and findings. The research was conducted remotely with a four-person team.
Scope & Constraints
The project had a limited sample size, primarily composed of self-selected participants from gaming forums, which may have influenced the findings. The study was conducted during a specific time window (September 2020), capturing experiences unique to the early pandemic period. Additionally, while we aimed for diverse participation, the respondent pool skewed female and predominantly U.S.-based.
Process & What You Did
Survey Development & Deployment
As part of the research team, I assisted in crafting the 35-question Qualtrics survey, which explored participants’ Animal Crossing: New Horizons (AC:NH) gameplay behaviors, motivations, and experiences during the pandemic. I contributed to refining the survey’s wording and formatting to ensure clarity.
Once finalized, I was responsible for identifying and securing distribution venues for the survey. After obtaining community approval, I deployed it in Reddit’s AC:NH community, The Bell Tree Forums, and the University of Washington’s GAMER group on Facebook. To encourage participation, we offered a raffle for five $20 Amazon gift cards as compensation.
Data Cleaning & Participant Screening
After collecting responses, I conducted data cleaning, which involved removing incomplete or ineligible submissions based on our screening criteria. The final dataset included 135 valid responses. I also helped analyze participant demographics, which revealed that most respondents were female (71.1%), White (61.5%), and from the U.S. (68.9%).
Qualitative Coding & Analysis
I collaborated with the research team to develop a codebook, ensuring consistency in our qualitative analysis. I also coached a junior researcher on the coding process. To ensure rigor, we conducted intercoder reliability testing on a subset of 40 responses, achieving a Kappa coefficient of 0.79, which indicated strong agreement.
The team used NVivo 12 for thematic analysis, identifying key themes related to social motivation, escapism, emotional support, and game mechanics. I actively participated in coding discussions, refining definitions, and aligning findings with existing research on emotional resilience and gaming behaviors.
Synthesis & Reporting
Beyond the analysis, I contributed to writing portions of the literature review, discussion, and findings. My focus was on contextualizing our results within broader research on gaming, emotional recovery, and resilience during crisis situations.
Outcomes & Lessons Learned
Emotional and Social Roles of AC:NH
Our study provided valuable insights into the emotional and social roles of Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data revealed that players were primarily motivated by:
Social connection (314 references) – Many participants emphasized the role of AC:NH in maintaining relationships, whether through in-game visits with friends or the broader online community. The ability to share experiences and create memories with others was a significant draw.
Freedom and control (134 references) – The game offered a structured yet open-ended experience where players could shape their islands at their own pace, creating a sense of autonomy and escape from real-world stressors.
Creative expression (109 references) – Participants valued the game’s extensive customization options, from designing homes and landscapes to creating custom artwork and clothing.
Additionally, many participants reported that the game provided emotional support (192 references), helping them cope with stress and uncertainty during the pandemic. The calming atmosphere, routine-based gameplay, and lack of external pressures made AC:NH an ideal refuge for emotional well-being.
Metadata for Emotionally Supportive Games
One key takeaway from this study is the potential for metadata to enhance game discovery and classification, particularly for emotionally supportive and cozy games. Parsing environmental qualities into structured metadata elements could help players find games that provide similar benefits.
From our findings, some potential metadata elements include:
Atmospheric descriptors: “cozy,” “warm,” “soothing,” “pastoral,” “idyllic”
Environmental settings: “island,” “village,” “countryside,” “seasonal change”
Emotional impact tags: “relaxing,” “nostalgic,” “comforting,” “meditative”
Interactive spaces: “museum,” “aquarium,” “gardening,” “crafting”
Participants frequently praised AC:NH’s relaxing island setting and real-time temporal aspect, suggesting that metadata on game settings and in-game spaces could be useful for game recommendation systems. Similar titles, such as Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Flower, and Harvest Moon, share these cozy aesthetics, reinforcing the need for standardized tags that highlight emotional and atmospheric qualities.
The growing popularity of cozy games—evidenced by communities like Wholesome Games, which has over 88,000 followers—further supports the need for structured, emotion-focused tagging in game databases. This could help players more effectively search for and discover games that align with their emotional needs.
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