As the Animal Crossing series looks to grow following Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it could find success by studying some of the indie games the series has inspired. Many of the indie titles in the life-sim genre have expanded upon the mechanics introduced by the Animal Crossing series to great effect, and it's time Nintendo take notice and build upon them in turn for its own franchise. One way the successor to Animal Crossing: New Horizons could accomplish is by pulling a page out of Dinkum's book and introducing underground mining to the Animal Crossing series.