Bling and Things
by Terra_Cide, HSM Editor
Square cut or pear shaped,
These rocks don’t lose their shape.
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
What is it about diamonds that makes everyone go completely mental?
Musicians from nearly every genre out there have incorporated them into songs. Legends and tales of curses have been woven around them. Wars have broken out over them. They’ve even been the plot device and title to a James Bond movie. And in our Western culture – in large thanks to DeBeers – diamonds have been a symbol of betrothment between two lovers.
A couple I’m friends with recounted a story to me of the time they first met with the DJ they had hired for their wedding. He took one look at the 1.5 carat headlight of an engagement ring on her finger and without and forethought or hesitation, said, “Damn, let’s go skating!”
Needless to say, diamonds garner their fair share of attention when flashed about.
And – trust me on this – those home shopping channels have got it wrong. Nothing can compare to the real thing, no matter how expertly manufactured in a lab it may be. Girls do not go giddy over cubic zirconium, and nor will they drape themselves over you, wearing only just enough to cover the important bits, for it. Watching any modern rap video ought to tell you that.
So then – when diamonds are crafted in a virtual world, how well do they stand up?
Sony’s in-house design team decided to give it a shot.
You probably have already seen on the Sony forum the preview video our podcast editor, Jersquall created with his fellow HCVs, displaying both the furniture collection and the his and hers outfits. If you haven’t, take a moment and check it out:
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZn6KD1jBsY
Now, this isn’t completely unfamiliar territory we’re dealing with; recall earlier this year that Sony came out with the gold gifts, clothing and furniture items to compliment the Mansion multi-space. And to be quite frank on the matter, I did wonder just what was in the coffee at their offices the day they thought making a bunch of bright yellow, sparkly-looking virtual items was a good idea.
Let’s just come out with it – we here at HSM aren’t really fans of the bling. We prefer the understated Aston Martin DB9 look over the neon underpinnings and chrome rims on a “tricked out” Cadillac Escalade. We prefer the quiet beauty of nature (or at least in Home, a decent facsimile of the real thing) over the bustle of the Vegas strip. Aesthetically speaking, bling just ain’t our thing.
That said, there is something about this new diamond collection that makes it a little less in-your-face than their gold counterparts. Perhaps because their color scheme doesn’t make you think someone’s preschooler dumped a whole bottle of glitter glue into a bowl of Kraft macaroni and cheese. It’s far more subdued – thankfully.
You may perchance have seen GlassWalls or Magnus_Keynes gallivanting about in the animated diamond suit these past few months, sporting the matching cane; so you have an idea of what I’m going on about. Imagine the look of the the sharkskin suits of the Rat Pack era. Dean Martin would be right in his element in an outfit like this – just swap out the cane for a martini glass. Swanky.
The furniture set works surprisingly well in some places that, at first thought, one would think as a bad pairing. Naturally, more modern looking settings, such as the City or Tycoon Penthouses, or even the Sunset Yacht, are perfect backdrops to these twinkling pieces. But when I had the chance to preview this collection, I saw it being used in the most unlikely of spaces – the Lakeside Log Cabin.
Now before you typically quiet, reserved types who love this space’s atmosphere of solitude go from zero to DEFCON One in nanoseconds and start screaming, “sacrilege!” I swear to you, I’m not making this up when I say it actually does work in that space. Perhaps it’s the dark and rather uncluttered backdrop, or even the color scheme of the stone masonry and spartan interior design, but there is a definite je ne sais quois that makes these two polar opposites actually work together. It’s rather like the Odd Couple of interior design.
There are other personal spaces in the roster that would make an interesting pairing with this furniture collection. Personally, I’m kind of curious to see how it would look in the Batcave.
And oh, the fun you can have. Just because diamonds are generally identified amongst all things elegant and sophisticated, doesn’t mean you can have good fun with them, especially with this furniture set. Why else would there be a diamond encrusted toilet?
So with all that said, here comes the part where the rubber meets the road – would I buy it?
The retail value of these items are $34.99 which includes all furniture items and the suits for both male and female, and $24.99 for just the furniture set. The individual furniture pieces will sell for $2.99 apiece and the suits are $14.99 apiece. In all fairness however, I cannot base my decision upon money alone, despite the rather steep price. While I do understand – on a basic level – the amount of design work, programming and testing required to bring these items to life, judging whether or not the hours invested into such creations is worth their respected price tags is not my area of expertise. Furthermore, were I a collector of the rarer and more exclusive items in Home – there wouldn’t be a storefront marked as “Exclusives” if there wasn’t a market for it – the price tag would be irrelevant. What would matter is do I have a use for it, and does it suit my tastes?
And, well, the answer is no.
Even though it is far less an eye sore than the gold collection is, and the furniture does fit in a far greater variety of personal spaces, it’s still just a little too much over the top for me. I’m not a footballer’s wife, I’m not a Las Vegas showgirl, and my name’s not Elton John or Dame Edna Everage; nor is my surname Gabor or Liberace.
I have no problem with self-mockery or eccentricity – and if you spend any time with me in Home in private, you’ll quickly find out this is true – so it’s not as if I think the concept is too silly for Home.
Here’s the main thing – I don’t buy furniture all that often in Home, especially seating furniture, and there’s a very specific reason for that. I have a hard time reconciling buying a piece of furniture – say a lounge chair, for example – that I am resigned to sit upon like there’s a cattle prod stuck up my avatar’s nether-region. Even the redesigned “lounging” sitting postures of the Harbour Studio and Cucumber furniture lines aren’t precisely adequate either, due to the fact that once your avatar is in the lounging position, as soon as you start talking, it appears as if the conversation is being held with Ceiling Cat.
Developers were on the right track back when the Waterfall Terrace was released and they gave the bed a custom action of climbing atop it in order to sit on it. It’s a shame they haven’t taken it further yet and added such custom motions to furniture objects like chaise lounges and other furniture items that are designed – not only in real life, but in our virtual one too – to be reclined against.
There's a reason why they're sitting by the hot tub and not on the lounge chairs
Sure, you can quasi-glitch an object – like a bed – and walk up on top of it and sit upon it the way you want. However, in the case of furniture of the lounge chair variety, you look odd, no matter how you sit upon it.
And what’s the sense of having a footstool if you can’t prop your feet up on it?
When these items are released for sale and you see it and you like it and you want to buy it, and you thoroughly derive pleasure from your purchase of these items, then that’s great. I really do hope you never suffer buyer’s remorse over them, and that they’ll be amongst your favorite items in Home for a long time.
As for this girl though, I’ll stick to the real ice, thanks.
(Special thanks to Jersquall for showing off his mad interior decorating skills for these photograhs, as well as he and Sophronia for modelling, as well as Sue and Olivia for posing as their “girls.”)
October 14th, 2011 by Terra_Cide | 16 comments
Terra _Cide is the former Community Manager for Lockwood Publishing and Editor Emeritus for HomeStation Magazine.
Twitter
I agree with you, the gold furniture and clothing was very gaudy. The diamond collection though, is not much better. Exclusive items like this are an interesting phenomenon, that tend to really play on peoples psyche. There is a reason why people tend to buy them at the price they are sold, knowing full well that the value of the items by no means justify the price. There are many methods of creating these suits, but a couple of texture maps and a particle effect for the sparkles does not justify the price range, considering they are using recycled models. A price so high would actually hurt it if it were anything but a luxury item being developed. If it were set at a cheaper price, maybe more people would get it but then how exclusive would it be? It says a lot to pay that much for so little, and something that carries the value of an idea. First of all, if you had the kind of money to throw around would you spend it on virtual goods or on real items? This is the type of content that feeds on a fantasy and an idea of luxury. It feeds the desire for opulence and elitism, but it also exploits it. Home sometimes tends to mirror real world social perspectives when it emulates social caste. I have encountered players whom refuse to wear the same outfit more than once in the same month, some that refuse to wear any FREE items or as they put it Noob items, and some that can not stand to have their friends own a property they don’t, the proverbial “Keeping up with the Joneses” In a real world setting the donning of abundance of jewelry has always been associated with wealth, or the illusion of it, and our media perpetuates it. We see it often with award shows, and celebrities being reported on wearing thousands of dollars in jewelry and clothing, Pop culture and of course Mtv and shows like Cribs. These ideas are driven into the minds of impressionable viewers which just perpetuates materialism and excess, and this is just another example of that exploitation. So is it worth it? Not to me, but if it augments the fantasy for someone more power to them.
I will never buy this stuff though many might. The price is way too high and it is not my style. I agree with you Terra about the sitting in chairs thing 100%. I am at the point now where I won’t buy chairs or couches unless you sit back in them and the outdoor furniture like chaise lounges look silly when all you can do is perch on them like you are going to jump off a cliff. Some of the newer things are being made with the sit back option now, I hope that one day we can actually lay down. The way our avatars are constructed won’t allow us to actually touch each other anyway, we more or less bounce off, so what is it they are afraid of anyway? They had a place in the Irem beach in Japan where you could lay down if there was a mat there, so I know it is a possibility to interact differently. Maybe someone can tell me why this is such a big deal, as I can’t fathom it.
And great article Terra, it brought up some good points.
I just don’t get the appeal of virtual “bling”. It all just seems to be a reason to get people to pay extra for things that cost no more to make.
To each his own I guess.
Hell, I don’t even get the appeal of real world “bling” -- I mean, seriously, spending $500+ on a SINGLE RIM for your car, just because it’s chrome plated? Really? All it’s going to do is have a tire circumference it and collect brake dust, just like any other rim.
There’s an internet meme I’m thinking of right now that fully describes what’s going through my head when I see instances like that, only it’s not PG-rated, so I can’t share it here.
Laying down exorbitant money on something that doesn’t depreciate in value -- like a real diamond, for example -- now that’s something I can do with a clear conscience.
But you’re right -- to each their own. Maybe this is just another sign I’m getting old and I don’t “get it.”
You’re not the only one, and you are not old you just have common sense.
Terra made me dance >.> Diamonds fell, not my fault.
Great write up (Jers ”charlie” Angel) Terra.
And it was an super fun photo shoot, too.
The success of the gold suit is I think largely due to basic behavioral economics: some people just want to have stuff that others can’t acquire, and the perception of status that goes with it.
Home has a remarkably homogenized economy, wherein all commodities of any particular type are priced fairly similarly. Most pieces of clothing cost anywhere from one to two dollars. Most estates cost about five to six dollars. And so forth.
So the gold suit comes along, and it’s outrageously priced — because some people will buy it just to stand out.
Assume a typical virtual item sells 5,000 copies at one dollar apiece. Now assume the gold suit sells 1,000 copies at fifteen dollars apiece. Even with any additional costs associated with its development, it almost certainly generated a far greater ROIC than practically any other piece of virtual clothing deployed up to that point.
To me, personally, the gold suit is revulsive. Money without taste is…well, gauche. And yet I can’t deny that it did quite well for Sony, which is why they’re pursuing the same formula until it breaks. Is it blatant commercialism? Sure. But ultimately the market will decide whether they’re willing to tolerate more aggressive pricing strategies.
The diamond suits are, at least, a bit more subdued. And I don’t begrudge anyone for purchasing it and enjoying it. I’m just curious to see how long this formula of precious-metals-inspired classism can be maintained.
It’s kind of like the concept of the “halo car” in the automotive world.
Volkswagen -- when they chose to resurrect the Bugatti nameplate and create the Veyron -- actually lost money on every model they sold. And this is a car that sells for a million dollars a pop!
That said, they have since come out with limited edition, more exclusive variants -- the Pur Sang, the Fbg Par Hermès, the Sang Noir, the Bleu Centenaire, the Grand Sport, the Grand Sport Sang Bleu, the Grand Sport Grey Carbon, the Grand Sport L’Or Blanc, and the fastest production car in the world, the Super Sport -- all of which are, in essence, the same exact car, but each with a certain “exclusivity” that places upon it a much higher price tag (and in the Super Sport’s case, practically doubling the original asking price). And keep in mind that these limited editions are very exclusive; in the case of the Pur Sang, for example, only five were ever made. For production cars, that’s unheard of.
It’s a safe bet to say Volkswagen earned their money back, despite the fact that the market has turned south. When you can afford to spend a million-plus dollars on an automobile and the maintenance that goes along with it (bear in mind, this is a 64-valve, quad turbo, W16 engine with ten radiators, for crying out loud), there really isn’t such a thing as a budget.
The same goes for the people who will be buying such items like the diamond collection. Whether or not they have a higher net worth than you or I is irrelevant in this instance; what matters is that for them and their enjoyment of Home, money is no object.
For me personally, I can think of other ways to spend $35.
Yes! Dead on….monthly contribution to ASPCA for me
Whenever I see someone in a gold suit in my mind their head disappears and a giant sucker replaces it,like in some old cartoon.I like some of the Gold stuff from the mansion but the suit just makes my head shake.Also what’s with all the cash falling from it’s pockets onto the floor?To me it says”this person is such a fool with money they don’t care that it’s getting lost.” But then it is their money to do with as they please but I agree,there alot of better ways to spend that kind of cash.At least in my mind.
Whenever I see the gold or diamond outfits I think, “There goes a person with more money than brains.”
Its all about status, I watched a bunch of Fam members bragging to other Fam members about purchasing the diamond suit, Sony has created a market niche when it comes to these Fams and their one-up-men-ship. Since they can’t throw down they have to show up one another.
Like I said on the forum, “It’s all so tacky looking”
Well I’d suggest that any fam that thought buying higher priced items than other fams made them somehow superior is a fam that has some serious self-identity issues.These groups do provide a ready market for Sony and developers as some require their members to buy certain items(clothes items being the most widespread),which is 1 big incentive for Sony not to do much about them.I certainly agree that some ppl lack the ability to “throw down”,either physically or mentally/verbally,and think out-buying others in items somehow compensates for this but to me it just seems like a waste of cash.Do ppl really care if you’ve spent more then they have?Maybe someone somewhere does but I haven’t met them yet.
Dunno bout the diamonds. I have little thoughts on them.
As for the gold suit, it’s amusing to see it occasionally when someone is wearing it. Too much of a good thing though… nah.
Haven’t heard of any gold club yet with many peeps wearing gold suits or diamonds.
Wouldn’t that be something?
As for the mansion when the price came down to eithe $4.99/each or average each with the gold garage giveaway, I went for it. It’s a bit of fun that allows me to go back in time to a Buddy Rogers/Mart Pickford type residence (or my idea of one) plus it comes mostly furnished. And we get a free helicopter and auto for the Tycoon and Winter Villa space.
Gold or diamond furniture in a log cabin? Now there’s an amusing thought.
But whatever puts you on.