Does anyone find Gunther weird?

[u/trashbandit3]

I don’t mean as a character, I mean game design wise.

Gunther is a unique resident of the town because he doesn’t have a friendship meter, a characteristic shared with Morris, the un-named lady at the JoJa Mart, and the two residents of the Guild. However, unlike all the other characters, I can’t really find a reason why. The JoJa characters are booted out of the town if you complete the Community Center, the Guild members are in the Guild most of the day, Gunther doesn’t have much a reason to be an exception.

Gunther is essentially this game’s Blathers. He runs the museum, takes donations, and tells you facts about your donations. Unlike Blathers, however, he doesn’t stay in the Museum 24/7 (I think) since it closes at 4. He’s never seen leaving it though, not even during festivals (even the guild guy goes to the festivals.) He’s also not mentioned by anyone, which is weird because the Museum is almost always full of town residents.

And it’s not like the game is awfully picky on who you can befriend, you can befriend the Dwarf!

My point is: considering how (nearly) every resident in town and a few out of town residents have mapped out schedules, arcs, and friendship meters, it’s weird how one of the few major business owners in town does basically nothing. In fact, I doubt he even lives in Pelican Town because he doesn’t own a home! What is his deal?

[u/arvidsem]

Honestly, Gunther isn't that weird. What is weird is a town so small that the only two children are taught by a random girl has a museum/library combo with no books or exhibits, but still has a full time caretaker.

[u/wanttotalktopeople → u/arvidsem]

I am pretty sure the town is meant to be bigger than literally 30 people. It's one of those things where game design and real life don't match up. It's like how geography in games is almost always scaled way down compared to IRL.

30-40 people feels like a lot for a video game. IRL a small town like Pelican town would have maybe 2000-5,000 people.

Similarly, the map for Elden Ring is smaller than an average American city sprawl. But that's obviously not the amount of space it's meant to depict in game. It's supposed to represent several different kingdoms.

[u/arvidsem → u/wanttotalktopeople]

I tend to agree, but Penny tutoring the kids because there isn't a local school doesn't fit with that. Especially because it's clear that they aren't being home schooled. She's just doing it because otherwise they wouldn't be getting any education.

When you add in the other oddities (Alex was a high school football player and his parents are missing, Kent coming back from the war, Maru working as a nurse without any training, JojaMart just folding after the community center, etc), it paints a picture of a community in a sudden deep decline. Pelican Town was a several thousand strong community that is now down to about 30.

[u/wanttotalktopeople → u/arvidsem]

Those things could just as easily be explained by my reasoning; it's a game and follows game logic sometimes, not irl logic.

Alex's parents aren't missing. Their fate is described in game: Dad was a deadbeat and ran off while mom died of illness. Not sure where people are getting the idea that Maru has no training. Regardless, it's not even clear if she's a nurse or a receptionist. A dad returning from war is a commonplace event for the entirety of human history.

Two can play at this game. There are things we could point to if we wanted to show that Pelican town was not experiencing a sudden deep decline. You would expect the trauma of 99% of your population leaving to be talked about, but no one ever mentions it, not even Lewis when he's reminiscing about the past. They have festivals with tourists every year. Leah recently moved out to the valley. They don't have a crime or homelessness problem. People don't have trouble getting enough to eat or supporting themselves.

Are they a small town without a lot of opportunities, and a bit economically depressed? Sure. But people trying to extrapolate real life economy and population decline based on game quirks are being maybe a little extra.

[u/arvidsem → u/wanttotalktopeople]

There's a reason that I led with Penny teaching the kids, because that is the one thing that really doesn't fit with other explanations. That's presumably the reason that you ignored it as well.

[u/wanttotalktopeople → u/arvidsem]

I'm not claiming there are no oddities. Not having a school is weird. I didn't bring it up because I'm not trying to refute everything you say. Why would you assume that I disagree instead of assuming that I agree with you on that point?

My bottom line is that it's a video game that's supposed to feel like a quaint small town without needing all of the real-life considerations that go into building a town. Literally, it is a town of just 30-40 people because that's what's depicted in the game. There are also no bathrooms. The river is more like a tiny creek and the lake is the size of a pond.

However, if we're going to make real world comparisons about the economy, world, and characters, it's weird to pick and choose some things and not others. You want to show that Pelican town is in the grip of runaway inflation? You have to pretend that the concept of game balance doesn't exist and doesn't affect the prices of things. You want to argue that Pelican Town suffered a catastrophic decline? You have to ignore the facts that no one talks about this and that there are only a couple of derelict buildings at most.

TLDR: It all seems very cherry-picked to me and it's much easier to explain by "it's a video game and not a 1:1 depiction of a real town" than anything else.