Face in Animal Crossing and Face in Real Life

Looks is a big factor when we evaluate someone, not only others, but also oneself.
It will be an eternal probrem as long as humans exists, I have thought.

Some people do cosmetic surgery, and some people even get osteotomy to elongate their heights even though those treatments are expensive, time consuming and painful.
It is perhaps, partly because they want to move to upper hierarchy in lookism, and also simply want to materialize their ideal self regardless others' opinion, though it could be said that they internalized lookism. But whether it is their true wish or internalization of other's value, who can distinguish it?

I also wished to have double-eyelids, to get orthodontic treatment, or to inclease breast size, etc., when I was young. Though I didn't do any of them.
As for the face, firstly I considered whether I will get my ideal face only by the double-eyelid surgery. My answer was NO. In addition to double eyelids, I need to change the shape of upper and lower jaws, and, philtrum shortening operation and a nasal osteotomy. Then what would I get? It was unlikely that I would become a pop idol since I was not a good singer and was already in my 20s. Getting a beautiful face don’t improve intelligence, so it wouldn’t help me to get my dream job. I might be able to obtain a handsome millionaire who only loves my appearance -- then I will live my life with fear that someday the truth will be revealed to him that my current face is not the original (designed-by-DNA) face?… well, I admit I am pessimistic. And I wondered, to make money for the treatments, how long I have to work? Do those surgeries worth it?
Anyway, my desire was not so strong as I willingly pay the cost of a lot of treatments and take the risk of surgery.
(I might be better to have had at least orthodontic treatment from the point of health, though.)

Then if I could change my looks as I want without any cost, what will I do?
When I was young, I wished to live in Science Fiction so that I can change my looks.
But I'm not sure now.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (どうぶつの森　ポケットキャンプ)

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (ACPC;ポケ森) is a social-network game on smartphones. I have been playing this game for more than four years, from its release date.
ACPC(ポケ森) differs in many point from former games in Animal Crossing Series, in fact, it is an other type of game borrowed the world and characters from Animal Crossing.

ACPC have a big difference in related to the appearance of a player character (called “camp manager” in ACPC) from former Animal Crossing Series. In ACPC, a player can choose its face from 24 types*1 and can change it at any time.
In traditional Animal Crossing, a player couldn't choose its face and the face couldn't be changed through the game.*2 (Exactly, players could select its face if they know how to do it. I will explain later.) 

In ACPC, I chose this face (ref. Fig.1.) since this is most similar to my real face.

Fig1. My player character in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

Though I hesitated a little in choosing it because this face was not the one I felt prettiest. Well, I can change the face when I want, I thought. (I’m not saying this face is ugly. I feel this one is also cute, but not the best.)

In ACPC, other players visit my game screen.*3 The game program selects who will appears and they do nothing. (So, exactly saying, they are non-player characters on my game screen.)
Every time I see another player with the face which I thought prettiest, I felt unreasonable envy. I also felt a slight bitterness when pretty clothings do not suit my character’s face (Important notice: This is my subjective impression.)
I think I could enjoy girly clothes much more if other players don't come, because I don't compare with them.

Fig.2 Other player and me. This player has a face which I regard the prettiest one. I intentionally selected the same clothing with the friend before taking this screen shot.

These are uttery unnecessary emotion because I can change the face at any time. Outside of the game I don't know anyone in my friend list, so there is no worry of being said something about the face-change.*3 But I am still sticking to that face. Why?
If I try to rationalize, the face type in question is so popular that many players uses that face, and I don't like to have same face with so many people. But, I think it is an excuse to resolve cognitive dissonance. The reason why I stick to this face is a status quo bias, I suppose.
As more time passed, I feel something like, more sunk cost effect. I spent a lot of time to wring out many excuse why keeping the face, I cried sour grapes (such as, kimono styles suit this looks), in order to accept my character’s looks. If I got better looks now, all my distress until now becomes wasted time.

By the way, I have 100 friends in my friend list (and about 20 of them are active user.) I didn't choose friend by their looks, at least consciously. While writing this article, from curiosity, I counted how many each face appears in my friend list. Fig.3 is the result.

Fig.3. Girl’s face types and boy’s face types in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Numbers written above each face types are the number of friends who have its face in my friend list.

Much to my regret, the prettiest face for me seems also the prettiest for many people. (I assume here, that usual players would choose the face which they feel prettiest even though I didn’t do so!)

How it was in former Animal Crossings

Before ACPC, I had played "Animal Crossing: City Fork(ACCF)/街へ行こうよ どうぶつの森(街森)" and "Animal Crossing: New Leaf(ACNL)/とびだせ どうぶつの森(とび森)".
In ACCF(街森) and ACNL(とび森), player charactors were called "villagers(むらびと)". Villager's face was decided depends on player's answers to questions in the opening of the game. So a player can select the face by rerolling, or by reading a game strategy guide in advance.
Though I didn't know it when I played my first Animal Crossing, ACCF(街森), so my villager's face was decided by the game.
When I played ACNL(とび森), I knew that the face was decided by my answers but I accepted the chosen face without reading guides. Because we cannot choose our faces in the real life and I liked the game’s resemblance to the real life.
Honestly I don't remember which face type was my villager's face in ACCF and ACNL. I suppose I liked those faces.

Animal Crossing: New Horizon (あつまれ どうぶつの森）

In “Animal Crossing: New Horizon (ACNH)/あつまれ どうぶつの森(あつ森)”, like in ACPC(ポケ森) and unlike in ACCF(街森) and ACNL(とび森), a player can choose its appearance in the opening and becomes to be able to change it at any time as the story progresses.
I didn’t expected that. After a moment’s thought, I chose this. (ref. Fig. 4)
Because I wanted to feel being pretty at least in the game. If I choose the same kind of face with the one in ACPC, I will feel strange inferiority in this game too… I thought.

Fig.4. My player character in ACNH, in early phase of the game.

But I don't know if this was a right choice.
During three years, I felt sometimes that this is not my face, she does not represent me. For example, I enjoy dressing-up my villager and I am satisfied that girly clothings suits her. But I think, in previous Animal Crossings, I felt that clothing suited “me”, not suits “her”. This difference spoils my game experience a bit. I prefer to feel like living in the game when I play social simulation and RPG (btw, l had a little frustration in Dragon Quest XI. I can adapt myself to being a male in the game, but his personality is so far from my own that it was difficult sometimes to empathize with him. It was not the game's fault, though.)
This feeling could be caused by that I still play ACPC everyday but not play ACNH so often, and, in ACPC I use another face as I mentioned above.

How will I do?

I am wondering that I must try another eyes here in ACNH, similar to my character's ones in ACPC. I share the island only with my husband and do not have friends who visit our island, so I wouldn’t have inferiority complex about looks by comparing with others.
And moreover, using this prettiest face (in my view), make me feel that as though I am dispraising my face in real life.

In the end, I am not comfortable with changing the face. Face is an important part to identity.
Though, if I change my character's face frequently, I may become to regard that a face is just a changable parts such as hairstyle, hair color, and clothings.
And I will lose attachment to any face.
Maybe I will get used to changing the face once I experience it.
Then I may be able to feel much better in waring prettiest face in ACNH.

*1 In ACPC, there are 12 types of girls’ and 12 types of boys’ faces. Player can also change gender, skin color, eye color and hairstyles at any time. See also fig.3.

*2 In ACCF, player can change its hairstyle and hair color when the game proceeds. In ACNL, player can wear colored contact lenses in addition.

*3 In ACPC, each player has a campsite where they can decorate and a bazaar where the player can sell limited items.
The player cannot communicate with other players verbally. The player can see others’ names, appearance and some activity information within the game, or can visit their campsites, or can shop at their bazaars.
Basically ACPC can be played solo but there are some functions you need other player's help.

(End)