What’s in a Name?: Animal Cove Player IDs and Story Names

Animal Cove’s latest update is improving how we handle your in-game Player ID. To provide players the greatest chance at getting the name they want for their general gameplay experience, we’ve split up your story name and your Player ID. Read on to learn more about the differences between the two! 

Your Story Name 

When you first start the game and play through the cut scenes, you’ll be asked your name. 

This is your story name. It’s the name that Winston and all of the other inhabitants on your island will call you by.  Previously, your story name also served as your Player ID which meant that there could only be one person with that name in the system. If the name “Jane Doe” was already taken in-game, anyone named Jane Doe in real life would have to use a variant or go with another name.  

With the latest update, your story name can be anything, even if another player is already using it. Nobody else can see this name other than you as you play the game. Existing players can update their in-game name at any time by navigating to the settings menu, then clicking Edit Profile.  

This will bring up the following page, where you can update you Story Name and your player icon: 

From there you can change your story name, which will NEVER change your Player ID. 

Your Player ID

Your Player ID for the Leaderboard event and the Club system is now separate from your story name. The Player ID serves as a unique ID for global events, which means that only one person can use a particular name. If a Player ID (not a story name) is already in use by another player, you won’t be able to use it and will have to choose something else for your Player ID. You cannot change your player ID once it is set. Please choose something that is easy for your friends to search for you by! 

You can set up your Player ID at any time by opening the settings menu, then clicking on “Create a Player ID” at the top of the menu. 

When you unlock the Leaderboard event at level 45, you’ll be prompted with this menu to set up your Player ID if you haven’t done so already: 

If you exit out without setting up a Player ID, don’t worry! You’ll be prompted with the same menu each time you click the leaderboard event icon on the main game screen. 

Note: the game will still track your Leaderboard event progress but you won’t get your rewards or show up in the rankings until you set your Player ID. If you set up your Player ID in the middle of a Leaderboard event after playing a few levels, the progress you made while playing those levels will count towards the Leaderboard event that’s live when you set up your Player ID. 

If you haven’t set up your Player ID and unlocked the Club system at level 50, you’ll be prompted with this menu to set up your Player ID if you haven’t done so already: 

Just like with the Leaderboard event, you’ll see that prompt every time you click on the Club icon until you set up your Player ID. 

If you have any questions about this system or any other systems in the game, we’d love to answer it here in the comments or through our usual support and social media channels!