Animal Crossing started life as a dungeon crawler

Despite the convoluted journey between concept and finished product, despite all the many things that change between initial prototype and whatever ends up in players' hands, something always remains of the initial feeling that inspired a video game. If you know what to listen for, it's easy to hear the echo of that original idea. Pokémon was born from a fascination with creatures, Zelda from nostalgia for the freedoms of childhood. Animal Crossing, meanwhile, was born from loneliness.

Katsuya Eguchi left his home prefecture of Chiba...