nDreams Launches Aurora 1.2
Information courtesy of Patrick O’Luanaigh, nDreams CEO; commentary by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief
There just isn’t enough surrealism in Home.
No, really. Home is, at times, far too grounded in reality. And what I love about nDreams is that they drive through Home like the Merry Pranksters, their product lineup about as quiet and understated as the Further bus itself. It’s absolutely brilliant.
And, of particular note, they don’t treat their Home endeavors like a “fire and forget” project, either.
At HSM, we have written at length about the absolute silliness of dumping a whole ton of money into a public space, hyping it so far into orbit that the local Kuiper belt sees it, releasing it to great fanfare and much rejoicing…and then completely ignoring it. The end result is that you produce an “Eiffel Tower effect” — a ton of traffic all at one time, and then the space fades back into obscurity shortly thereafter. Only those spaces which offer something truly compelling tend to produce long-term traffic and revenue generation.
Unless, of course, you periodically update your space to bring people back for more.
Some parties are better than others at this. Lockwood periodically refreshes their Sodium Hub experience, and was very clever to tie in their subsequent projects to keep their core space relevant and dynamic. Hellfire Games updated and expanded Novus Prime not long after it was released. Heck, LOOT went back into one of their personal estates — the Amaterasu Yacht — and gave it free upgrades for everyone to enjoy.
These things make a difference. Home can, at times, feel awfully static. Change and growth are good, because they keep people coming back. Sure, such things incur more cost, so it has to be justifiable in terms of a measurable return. So the key is to set things up from the beginning so that people are predisposed to want to return.
nDreams, in particular, has a masterpiece on its hands with Aurora. The music. The visuals. OrbRunner. The hidden prizes. I mean, what’s not to love? Although I personally dislike having a level number strapped to my back — it brings out my inner Patrick McGoohan — I can understand why they chose to use such overt social pressure for the more hardcore gamers in the crowd.
nDreams is to Home what Terry Gilliam is to film.
Aurora, to me, is Home from the world of Baron Von Munchausen. It’s just delightfully vibrant, where the surreal seems wholly appropriate. Aurora is to Home what Lord Dunsany was to the fantasy genre: just better, somehow.
From Patrick O’Luanaigh, nDreams CEO:
We’re pleased to annouce that Aurora 1.2 launches tomorrow in EU, US and Asia. The update includes two key new features along with some bug fixes and tweaks.
First up, grab your rod and head over to the fabulous Sky Fishing game. Forty different mysterious creatures and objects are waiting to be caught (along with a few rewards), but will you manage to catch the fabled colossus?
Secondly, don’t forget to visit the Teller of Tales, where you can learn more about the rich history of Aurora. Teller of Tales will be updated regularly giving players new stories and tales about Aurora’s past, present and future as the space evolves.
Here, take a look for yourself:
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1eLq3rn94U
I mean, why not? Somehow, in the delightfully surreal world of Aurora, it all makes sense. Because this is the joy of living inside a video game: the normal rules don’t have to apply.
October 6th, 2011 by NorseGamer | 3 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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Wow you have me hooked!(pun intended). I love anything to do with fishing so you will find me there casting a rod for sure! This promises to be good, but I hope it is easier than the fishing game in EU at their shopping mall, I can’t catch a thing there, lol.
The fishing game is cool, I just tried it and I actually caught some stuff. What is the orb thing they rewarded me with for though? Can’t find it in my inventory anywhere but it says I was rewarded with it, anyone have a clue?
it’s a fishing lure for the fishing game