Five Darn Good Reasons To Love Lockwood
by johneboy1970, HSM guest contributor
As I took my first tentative steps into PlayStation Home back in March of 2010, I really had no idea what to expect. I didn’t even know what Home was. I clicked on the big blue, welcoming icon just to see what it did and – BLAMMO – I was transported into a virtual realm I didn’t even know existed. And I haven’t looked back yet.
Fast forward to today, and I’m still among the many who traverse daily into this world of wonder. I’ve seen a great deal of change since that first, glorious day; and one company has seemingly come along for the ride with me. That would be the ever-present Lockwood.
This is not said to take away from any other Home developers; I have seen and purchased/won/obtained for free many fine products, played games in the Midway carnival, defended the floating city of Aurora, drifted weightlessly in Novus Prime, and have traversed across the various incredible landscapes on offer, which have come from a variety of companies and developers. But Lockwood has been the most consistent force on Home in bringing new experiences, as well as pushing the envelope of what we think is possible in our Home away from Home.
I can come up with a plethora of reasons why Lockwood has left me so impressed, but I thought it best to narrow it down to the top five reasons (in no particular order) why I’ve lots of love for Lockwood.
A deserts-eye view of the main Sodium structures
1 – The Sodium Hub: This was one of the first spaces I visited when I made my initial foray into Home, and likely the one I’ve spent the most time in after the fact. The ambiance of the space is unique, and has even evolved over time. Not too far from where you teleport in, the curvaceous, robotic VICKIE is there to greet you. To the left of where you enter the space, there’s a ramp which leads to Scorpio’s, the Hub’s social hot-spot. You can have a drink at the bar or even bartend for a while.
Then there are the fields where you go to stomp robotic scorpions; to be sure, this isn’t the most fun game in Home, but I believe it may be the most cathartic. After a really rough day in real life, it brings an almost Zen-like pleasure to run around hearing the squish of flattened insectoids under you feet.
But the greatest bit about the Hub is that it’s huge. Not “Wow, that’s a pretty big pizza” huge, but “How am I supposed to remember where I parked my car” huge. I can’t think of any other public space in Home which covers nearly as much virtual land mass as this one. For those who didn’t know, there’s a vast desert to explore outside of the more populated areas as well. While it’s mostly sand, rocks and wind turbines – it is a futuristic desert, after all – there are plenty of nooks, crannies, and surprises which can be discovered by the intrepid explorer.
2 – Community Presence: In addition to their company website, Lockwood also has a Facebook page, multiple Twitter feeds, and their own section in the Sony Forums. None of these would be worth a passing glance if they were left unused, but Lockwood posts fairly regularly in all three places. And even more importantly, they answer questions and comments which come from the Home community. This dedication to staying in touch with their consumers (or potential consumers) clearly shows that they feel that they have a vested interest in fostering a relationship with Home users. A relationship, I might add, which makes them – at least in my opinion – the most trusted brand in Home.
3 – The Clothes and Furniture: We all have an individual sense of style. This is amplified within the environs of Home due to the variety of items which we would be hard pressed to find or afford in real life, or would feel a tad awkward wearing. I mean, how many of us would really go to the Mall on a Sunday wearing a lava-creature suit?
The author in front of a future personal space...I hope
No matter how you like to portray yourself, Lockwood more than likely has something to your liking. Items like animated clothing, raver glow sticks, faerie wings, roses, glowing eyes, hairstyles, elegant suits and snazzy dresses show that Lockwood has attempted to bring something for everyone to the table. Every fashionista I know waits for the Wednesday PS Blog update just to see what Lockwood is coming out with next.
Just taking one of the more recent Lockwood releases, the über-cool MechJets, it’s a fair assumption that not only does Lockwood have a great line of apparel products, but they also seem dedicated to pushing the envelope of what is do-able in respects to our avatars and how they relate to the environment.
This intrepid creativity extends into their range of items for your personal spaces. Glowing dance floors, ornate couches, pianos, water fountains, campfires, fishtanks, and a whole range of party lighting which would make a raver (or for us older folks, disco dancer) stand up and find religion.
One item I personally see in much use is the Teleporters. Not only do they allow for Star Trek-esque beaming around one’s personal space, but they have also become a mainstay for those with the talent and know-how to expand their personal spaces beyond the limitations of the virtual walls which surround them. In a similar fashion to their line of clothing, their personal space items showcase not only the diversity of their product line, but also the determination to break through the boundaries of Home itself.
Another item which deserves mention when speaking of innovation and consideration of what the community wants is the Gift Machine. Home users clamored for a long time about not being able to simply send a virtual item as a gift to their friends and loved ones. Once again, Lockwood stepped up to the plate and created an active item which does just that. Trinkets, hot tubs, and seasonal items have all been available so that you can spread the love, so to speak, among your friends and family. It’s items like this which shows that Lockwood is more than happy to deliver what the community asks for.
4 – Sodium2: Following up on the success of the Salt Shooter game, Lockwood recently unveiled its newest foray into gaming in Home – Sodium2. In it, one has the same fast-paced intensity of the earlier game, but now you’re in a high-speed, futuristic racing craft weaving your way through treacherous tracks in order to finish on top. Additionally, as you race you also level up and gain Sodium credits, which allow you to outfit your vehicle with a vast array of upgrades – purchasable with hard-won credits or real money. No doubt about it, it’s a fun game and best of all, it’s completely free to play.
What makes S2 special is that it allows for head-to-head competition between players. You have the choice of racing against the clock (and the pervious times of your friends who have also played) or racing against other players in head-to-head competition. This ability alone is a first for Home, and is very deserving of mention, as it blazes the trail for future games which will take advantage of multi-player competition.
5 – Salt Shooter: Although Sodium2 is the new kid on the block, one still has to give a great deal of credit to Lockwood’s first major gaming release into Home – Salt Shooter. Not only is it fun and blatantly addictive, one also gets an awful lot of bang for the buck for the purchase price. Fifty levels of pulse-pounding, futuristic vehicular combat; a small, yet cool looking personal space where you launch the game from; the ability to upgrade your vehicles weapons or shielding, and purchase goodies in exchange for credits earned within the game itself – instead of having to pay out of pocket after the initial purchase; and a snazzy pilot’s outfit which upgrades as you progress through the game. All for five bucks.
Helloooooooo Vickie!
For those who spend a great deal of time in Home, but don’t have a great deal of money to spend, earning credits for the Sodium store is an awesome way to get some new and cool – and, in some cases, animated – clothes or stuff to decorate your apartment with. If you’re really dedicated, then you can eventually get a Golden VICKIE (actual size) to show off in your personal space. Unless you just really don’t like this type of game, this is, by far, the most cost-effective purchase in Home.
After going through this list, one can certainly accuse me of being a Lockwood fanboy, slavishly devoted to whatever they decide to throw into the mix. This couldn’t be further from the truth. And, by way of disclaimer, I have never worked for or have been paid by the company.
But I do fully admit that I am a huge fan of innovation and dedication to the Home community, things which Lockwood has in spades. While I may not purchase everything they release (not even close; in truth, having a family of five, I don’t have all that much money to throw around on my hobbies) — I do applaud their innovation, as well as their drive to expand the Home experience as far as it can go.
Keep it coming, Lockwood. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
August 16th, 2011 by johneboy1970 | 6 comments
Johneboy1970 is a guest contributor to HomeStation Magazine.
couldn’t agree more. Lockwood is my favorite developer by far!
Great and well deserved praise for a company that has shown us all that they truly care about the people they serve. They have a wonderful customer service department that is easily accessible if you have a problem with a product as well. They will actually email you back in a short amount of time! The quality of service and dedication of their staff to making Home a more enjoyable and interesting place does make them stand out as a developer in my book. Kudos John on a good read and also to Lockwood and Outso for their fine work.
I believe that Lockwood’s willingness to communicate with the Home-community is the cornerstone of what makes them a legendary developer in Home. They don’t just drop in a public space or nifty item, and then disappear into the mists. They seem to actually WANT the feedback on their line of products, and are very willing to address any problems and concerns rather quickly.
A perfect example would be the recent re-release of the Gift Machine. There are some issues with the object not working correctly; even when something is thoroughly QA tested in a controlled environment, unforeseen problems do arise. To Lockwood’s credit, they responded on the Sony Forums and Facebook almost immediately, acknowledging there was indeed a problem and that they were working on a fix. I, for one, appreciate that, and it’s that very loyalty to their customers which weighs heavily on all my purchases.
And thanks for the complement, Burbie :>
I’ll never forget when one of my friends sent me that first e-mail introducing me to the world of Sodium One on the day of its release. There were so many prizes to be won, things to do and sites to see. When I started playing Salt Shooter for the first time, I accidentally went to close to the portal and got sucked in. Then I found myself in this chamber in the middle of the desert along with some kind of Launch Pad. At the time, I was wondering why I was the only one there. After playing a few rounds, I opened up my PDA to go back to Harbor Studio. That is when I realized that I just got the Salt Shooter Trainer free of charge (After just thinking it was a part of the Sodium One Public Space).
Back then, I was still pretty new to Home and haven’t purchased much beyond two Street Fighter IV Statues, a Ninja Costume, Ryu Costume, Leather Jacket, Sunglasses and a Katana set. Also, I downloaded that free Chamber Apartment. However, the Sodium One Pilot’s Jacket was the first truly worth while purchase I made in Home. $4.99 for a 50 Level game was a no brainer for me. After I purchased the jacket, I started taking Home purchases more seriously. You could say Salt Shooter actually enticed me to get the Neptune Suite (Which still stands in my top 5 Personal Spaces). I say this because Sodium One opened my eyes up to the world of Meta Gaming. Although I played mini games in other games like Shenmue and Yakuza, they were never as engaging without the social aspect of Home.
As Lockwood started to expand the Sodium Universe (Literally a day after I beat Salt Shooter for the first time… This was right before the upgrade that made the game a little easier), I found myself hanging out at Scorpios a bit more (Just became a gold customer a few days ago) and stomping out Scorpions. I visit Sodium One at least once a day when I am not doing other things in Home.
Then I was thrilled when Blaster’s Paradise was released. The only sad thing is that I purchased Blaster’s literally one day before the outage. For all that time we were waiting for PSN to come back out, I was going through some serious Tank Top 1.0 withdrawal and that was after playing the game for just one day. Yes, its that good and for any arcade enthusiasts reading this that have not purchased Blaster’s Paradise yet, friend request me and I’ll gladly show you around.
Sodium 2 is a great game that integrates well into the Sodium Universe. I say this because Sodium 2 will actually make you play through Sodium One several times just so you can quickly build up credits to trick out your racer. Its good that the credits transfer over from game to game. Its rare that you find two completely different genres that mesh well with each other and Lockwood has accomplished exactly that with Sodium 2.
I can go on about all of the really cool free and purchasable items that Lockwood has released but they all speak for themselves. Its no secret that items like the Mechjet suits were created based on user input. Which brings me to Lockwood as a company. Every so often, if I find an issue with one of their products or have a suggestion, I drop a friendly message over to LockwoodVoice on the forums. Every time I have spoken to this person, he (or she) has been very professional and candid. If Lockwood cannot do something or they are unsure, they never gave me the runaround. If you know me as a customer outside of Playstation Home, customer service is everything to me.
If I go to Game Stop and they have a game I have been looking for, if the cashier is snood, I have no problem taking my business to another Game Stop or another store. However, stores that are honest with me will always get my business. By Lockwood having a presence on the forums, they have created a very personalized form of customer service that quite frankly could be better than what you find in stores at times. That level of dedication has gained my respect.
Now the Silicon Lounge is incredible. One of the people on my friends list gave me a tour. The place is ginormous. Coming from a huge Konami fan, the Silicon Lounge actually rivals the size of the Konami Penthouse. Even though we have had Night Club themed Personal Spaces in the past, I think once the word gets around about this, more people are going to taking the party home with them. The light up, two level musical dance floor is brilliant, the hidden cave is a great place to set up a bar or a game room and the built in Lockwood Gift Machine means that we will not have to waste an active item slot on the machine since its a part of the space. Even with all of those nice details, the place also comes with plenty of built in furniture to start you off. This is great because the problem with most large Personal Spaces is the fact that there is all this space an not enough item slots to fill it up. Lockwood has made this task easier by providing built in lamps, chairs, cushions and carpets. Add in your own touch and space goes from “Cool Space” to “How the hell did you get this!?!”.
The future is certainly bright for Lockwood and I look forward to what they have planned for us in the future. Sony gave Lockwood the tools and Lockwood gave Sony a world. Even if you are not an avid Home user, any gamer casual or hardcore would be hard pressed to not like Sodium in one way or another. Their games are simple, highly polished and fun. To the folks at Lockwood and their affiliates, keep up the good work. And John, great article bro. Its difficult to not say a lot when the topic is about Lockwood.
“Sony gave Lockwood the tools, and Lockwood gave Sony a world” – That’s the quote of the week, as far as I’m concerned
Indeed, it is very hard to have a conversation about Lockwood’s accomplishments and retain any sense of brevity (I had to whittle down my article a LOT). Great reply, Lord_Rinja, and thanks for taking the time to read and respond.
I love Lockwood! They support us Asia while most (if not, the majority) publishers would prefer to kick it aside.