I Had A Home Dream
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
I dreamed about Home the other night.
I’ll wait and continue after you finish laughing.
It was a very vivid and detailed dream. A lot of my friends were there and we were all traveling around looking at the “new” Home together. We went from space to space viewing all that was offered and we never wanted to leave. In my dream there were about ten new or revised public spaces, and all of them were themed and had a real purpose. Everyone there had so much to look at and to do in these spaces; there was no trolling, swearing or inappropriate conversations.
My favorite space there may have been an improved and expanded Southern Island Hideaway (Granzella Inc. beach). There was much more sandy beach space and the underwater area was expanded too. The area passed the cave-like tunnel was about five times as large and offered several semi-private areas with seating and another beach area where you could lie down and sun bathe. The personal watercraft race was located there at the end of the small cape.
The space was larger in part to make room for the new tropical fruit-juice “bar” mini-game, where you could sit and talk with friends at several tables. The store was further from the beach area and a bit smaller, but I was eager to buy new suits and accessories to wear there. The chapel was there (as it is in Japan I understand), and it was available to reserve for private use.
The personal estate located there was open for viewing and as soon as I saw the size of this space and the views from it, I knew I wanted to buy it too. There was more seating at the top of the cliff for viewing the spectacular fireworks display every “night.”
Another expanded area was Pier Park. The dance floor was enlarged and the speakers were on either side of the floor. The entrances to the “Cinema” and bowling alley had been moved to somewhere else. The Hub, maybe?
I could hardly believe it when I saw the fountain from the old Central Plaza with Saucer Pop available to play. One of the best things was the first person view from the Ferris Wheel, where you could now look in all directions. The yacht was accessible to everyone with a large hot tub to enjoy and cruises went out into the ocean every half hour for whale watching. Watching the whales was an incredible experience. There was a larger gaming area here now and I could hardly wait to see what games and rewards would be offered there. There were seasonal decorations everywhere and it was snowing, by the way!
One of the spaces had a Western theme. The scenery was open country side, with streams and woods and hills in the background. There were several buildings where you arrived at the space, and in one of them you could shop for Western wear and accessories. You could also buy a new western style personal estate there and your own horse.
Included here among the buildings was a stable. There you could view the statistics of each horse and then select one to ride. The Appaloosa was my favorite. There were two riding choices: racing and free roam. In the races you were pitted with other gamers, in a similar manner to a vehicle racing game. The winner was based on “riding” skills: speeding the horse along the straightaways, slowing for the curves, and timing the hurdle jumps correctly. In the free range mode you could ride your horse through the countryside. There were trails to follow and beautiful scenery to enjoy everywhere. There were several places where you could gallup for moments at a time.
Another space had a winter theme. This one was a small Alpine village, set in the mountains and decorated for Christmas. The main street had several shops where you could buy Christmas accessories, winter clothing and color coordinated ice skates. There was even a place where you could have your picture taken with Santa and his elves.
On one side of the town there was a frozen pond where you could wear your skates. Once upon the ice, you could glide, twirl and leap with special commands. Among the other mini-games offered was a snow ball fight with groups of five to ten people battling in out with other groups. Just choose the Red Santa Gang or the Green Elf Gang.
I wouldn’t say that the gamer’s arena was a personal favorite, but I knew it would give some people a chance to work off the aggression that they felt when coming into conflict with other people in Home. There you could purchase weapons (swords) and armor and challenge other players to “duels.” The action took place in real time and required good hand and eye coordination.
Once a month the top gladiator was announced. This would be the person who won the most fights for the entire month.
At the Pet Park, we all brought out our favorite animal companions to play together. There were walks, benches, grassy areas, a fountain and soft music there – everything you could imagine for a relaxing time with good friends. There was even an ice cream vendor where you could purchase cones and Merry-Go-Round that you could really ride. The time of day changed in a two hour cycle. It was fun to watch the sky darken and the park lights come on in the evening. All of the walkways had glowing lights at our feet.
The fifties diner was a “bash.” I loved the old-fashioned decor there. Who were those old movie stars in the posters along the walls? You could actually order food from other players who were acting as waiters and waitresses and have it brought to your table. Or play as one of the short order cooks! The marbles mini-game was a “kick!” There was a jukebox, and you could select songs from the Rock and Roll classics available. The best part was the new dance moves that you could do with a partner on the small dance floor.
The first of the new “Visit other Countries” spaces was India. You could tour the beautiful Taj Mahal in Agra or the incredible Golden Temple in Amritsar. You could shop in stores of the representation of a New Delhi street market filled with exotic items. There you could buy saris, salwar kameez, lehengas, kurta’s and sherwani or a lotus blossom for your hair. Colorful wall hangings and decorations were available here for purchase also. The views of the Himalayas, the Ganges River and Arabian Sea from various locations were breath taking.
There was a medieval castle space also. As you would expect in a castle from this area, there were built-in chess games to play here. In the courtyard, you discover merchant stalls, reminiscent of the old Irem Square, filled with items and costumes for sale appropriate to this era. There were shields and flags for your walls, suits of armor and courtly outfits, not to mention a whole suite of castle furniture, including a huge fireplace with a wild pig roasting in it. The grounds had a complex hedge maze with a reward for finding the center within three minutes.
The Roaring Twenties public space was the “cat’s meow.” This was New York City in its heyday. I loved the streets filled with old cars and trams. The stores on Broadway were filled with flapper clothes and Art Deco items. There was a jazz club to visit where you can dance and listen to tunes from the era when this type of music blossomed. There was also a “movie palace” where you could see old silent “moving pictures” set to music.
You may not believe I dreamed all this… but I never said I was asleep.
January 7th, 2012 by Kassadee Marie | 7 comments
Home is endlessly entertaining to this California girl. Kassadee has been in Home for about four years, and loves almost everything about it (with a few notable exceptions). She spends way too much money there, and perhaps too much time... Someday she will travel the world and write about the people she meets and the places she sees.
WOW i wish home really was that amazing. I would never leave my tv!! I usually go on home for hours before i go to bed, but my dreams consist of me & my home friends hanging out in real life, and still being able to go to all these amazing places. Oh and i look like my avi with the perfect skin & hair & a size 2 lol. The way you described the western space reminds me of Red Dead Redemption with more social interaction than game play. That would be AWESOME to be able to ride around the area with your horse (with no one shooting you like in the game)with your friends. The castle space would also be a huge hit. Thanks for sharing your dream, hopefully some of these ideas make it to the developers.
Expertly done Kassadee. Very well written and paced. There are a lot of great ideas here for Home. Hopefully Home will move toward some of these directions… someday.
Love the article Kassadee! You are a very talented young lady, I liked the way you pieced all of this together and I also like many of the ideas. The castle would be my first pick,one with a defend the castle mini game as I suggested in my Home Dream Spaces article awhile back. The pet park as well would be a favorite of mine. I like the idea of foreign spaces to explore, and Granny and I have been asking for a western RDR type space for a long time. Well thought out article.
They should TOTALLY make your dream a reality. Home would be so much more fun if that came to life. I hope that they read your story and get started with a few changes.
Thank you for your kind comments.
When Home had been in open beta for a few months, and I had been playing every night for several hours, I had a Home dream for real. Never since. To bad.
Great Piece Kassadee :)…I immediately thought of the Roaring Twenties space you mention as being similiar to Bootleggers(I abhor that game btw)… Maybe Sony will kind of steer in that direction with home….I love the pet park idea