When the Honeymoon is Over
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
Turn out the lights
The party’s over
They say that
All good things must end
Call it a night
The party’s over
And tomorrow starts
The same old thing again
When we find something new that we love to do – a sport or game or some other activity – it’s hard not to spend every free moment doing it, especially for gamers. It’s new; it’s fun, it’s special, and it will never grow stale.
Or will it?
Recently, some friends and I were talking about Home from the time it was new to us to the present day – from the “honeymoon to the now” – and why we keep coming back. Here’s what VioletWinds, RuskyDongmu, Negative_Creep86 and I had to say about this.
VW: I bought my PS3 in late May of last year when there were tons of them on sale. I’m not much of a gamer, but I wanted something more for my friends to do when they came over to visit. Then I was laid off from my job and I found I had a lot of time on my hands when I wasn’t looking for a new job. I ended up feeling pretty lonely, and I knew about Home from a friend, so I went there looking for people to talk to during the day.
What I found was a bunch of kids being little smartypants and I almost didn’t come back. I did try out the games, though. I liked the zombie game that they had in that [Central] plaza place, and the pool tables in the bowling alley were fun. I spent a lot of time trying out all of the games there that I could find. Salt Shooter was a blast, too.
I was more of a gamer than I knew. But I was pretty broke, and I didn’t think I would spend any money there then. Also, I planned to be working soon and getting back to my regular life.
RD: I first started Home in May of 2011, right after the blackout. I found myself roaming around Central Plaza one day, full of curiosity and fascination, seeing people in all sorts of outfits (both real life and fantasy styles), chatting, standing on the bench, dancing at the dance floor, playing games and running around having fun. Then I discovered about the rewards, clothes, games, public and private spaces, oh and of course, at that time the free items you could get at the Kiosk or in the menu pad from the “Welcome Back” package.
I immediately fell in love with Home. After getting my free items, I was amazed at all the people standing on the bench at Central Plaza. I viewed them as the “Cool People”. I remember seeing two people teaching others on how to stand on the bench in which I watched/read how and finally found myself up on the bench and it felt great to be up there with the rest of the “Cool People”. I was only a noob with no friends and I was mostly alone on the bench, learning and discovering new things each day I was on Home. I never really cared about buying items, nor did I ever feel the need to in Home, until one day I saw an outfit that I really liked and which I could not resist and so I thought to myself, “Why not?” Since then, I would no longer be a noob and pretty much fit in with the rest of the crowd in Home.
Throughout the first weeks on Home, I’d find myself up all day and night and when I got some rest, it would usually be about 4-6 hours at max, and sometimes less to none but, I’d always be on Home. The addiction I felt within myself – I knew right then that Home was where I belonged. During the summer last year, I met and made some great friends, some of whom I still see and hang out with even to this very day. We would chat and share stories, go from space to space (personal and private), etc. but most importantly, we’d be at Central Plaza, enjoying the day and having fun.
NC86: I’ve been a Home citizen for almost three years now. I started in early 2009 and have been a part of the community since. My first year was an off and on thing, as I didn’t have my first PS3 for very long due to financial complications. After waiting almost a year, I got my second PS3 and was anxious to get back into playing games and maybe visiting Home once in a while.
Things changed drastically for me in May of 2010; this was the first time I decided to buy something on Home. I bought my first personal space, the Waterfall Terrace, and a couple outfits to get me started and get out of those terrible default clothes. After this, I started getting on Home on a daily basis and the addiction started.
I no longer had to walk around in default clothes feeling like a noob, although I’ve seen some folks who have bought non-noob attire who still act very immature. I made a few friends after this, but still wasn’t very impressed with what Home had to offer. That would all change in July of 2010 when I bought the Home Starter Pack bundle from the PlayStation Store, which included the Hamster costume. By the end of July, I had become a member of the club Hamster Freedom and was ready to dedicate a lot of my time to being on Home.
KM: I discovered Home one day in early summer of 2010 while looking for something new to do. After that, every day I couldn’t wait to get on line to get to PSN – to be Home!
I don’t think I slept more than four or five hours at any one time for months. Every day there was something to look forward to. The exploring, the shopping, the decorating, the games and my friends were all there waiting for me in this shiny new virtual world. I wanted to explore every inch of every space and take hundreds of pictures of them, shop in the mall stores over and over, buy and decorate every personal estate that appealed to me, and dress up my avi “doll” in something different every time I went to a new place. I loved to cosplay with my best friend. We were Alice and the Mad Hatter, swash buckling pirates on the high seas or Hammie guards to the Queen, sworn to protect her by sacred oaths! Our imaginations took us to places that I hadn’t been since I was five. I would never have guessed it would be so much fun to “live” in a virtual world. Someday I expect the joys of the real world will replace the joys I experienced there, but I will never forget that warm, happy summer. It was the summer of my honeymoon with Home.
VW: I didn’t find a new job for months and months and there were days I was too depressed to even look for employment. But it was during that time that I met some really great people on Home. These were older, or at least more mature, people than I had met before. At least two of them were out of work, too, and we could really understand one another. These people are still my friends, even though I don’t spend as much time on Home as I used to.
For me, even though I still enjoy an occasional new game or the quests they are offering now, I come back to Home to see these people, and these friends.
RD: It was the beginning of fall when I heard people talking about Central Plaza being removed and replaced by a new space, and right then and there it felt as if everything was being taken away from me because of how much I enjoyed being at CP every time I was on Home.
I wasted no time enjoying the last days of the plaza. Halloween, in my opinion, was by far the best CP set up, since it was the first time I’d ever see CP during the night. Much of Home has changed until this very day. A few favorite spaces have been removed and replaced by the new, events and activities have been added, items and much of Home are updated from weekly maintenance/updates. I’ve been busy with work and real life situations or personal life; however I still make time to be on Home and see my friends without any interruptions.
Even though Home is not how it once used to be, even after the first thrill died, I still end up coming back on Home for the same reasons, like exploring the new spaces, buying new items, doing quests and receiving great rewards. Seeing my friends and continuing to do what I normally do when the thrill was still around is what keeps me coming back, and I can say that it will keep me coming back to Home.
NC86: Of course there are times when I feel uninterested in Home. I like hanging out with my friends and fellow Hammies, but sometimes it feels like the fun part isn’t there as much as it once was. I have some really great memories from my Home experience, but also, I go there sometimes and wonder why I’m there.
I’m not having as much fun as I used to, so why am I here? Being a Hammie is my main reason for coming back to Home each day. Sure, I have great friends who aren’t Hammies, but since joining the club I feel like I have a reason to come back more than I used to.
I think Home is kind of like a marriage. I have good times and bad times, but in the end it’s something I enjoy more than I don’t enjoy it. If you can get past the not-so-good times you’ll find that Home is actually quite a fun experience.
KM: That first year, the autumn came – as it inevitably does – and soon after that, the holiday season began. I was busy with my real life and I didn’t spend as much time on Home. I had real world shopping to do, parties to dress up for and my real home to help decorate. There were days I didn’t get on line at all.
When that happened, at the end of the day, I would realize that I missed my friends there and I would be sure to find a little time the next day to check in with them. My friends were the best part of Home to me. After the holidays, I returned to Home on an almost daily basis. And even now, a year later, I return many times a week to see these friends, these very real and close friends.
It’s not really surprising that people are the main reason we coming back to Home, even after the newness wears off. They can call Home a gaming platform or try to make it a game itself, but it remains a social network at heart. Yes, the games can be great fun; the spaces, both public and private can be interesting and entertaining. The clothes and costumes can be enjoyable to see and to wear. The views can be even be stupendous, but it’s the people there that we want to see again and again. It’s the friends that we make there that turn Home into a home.
February 9th, 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.
Very nicely done Kassadee. I agree with much of the sentiment here. I love the social aspects of Home, the gaming is secondary to that. I like to find new and interesting people in Home and we occasionally play games together, though I had actually never played a game with others til I found friends in Home to play RDR with.
Home has added a lot to my life, friends, fun, laughter and a different take on what is truly real in life.
This is a great point. I agree! I think in life you get sick of things, even stuff you love. One of my favorite albums is blood on the tracks by Bob Dylan, but if that’s all I had it would get old. Thank god there is many more Dylan albums to keep it fresh. For me Home keeps it fresh by changing it up and that keeps me coming back after that first wow factor is over.
Great article Kassadee. The cycle I’ve observed where people get bored with Home has been pretty similar.
They start out visiting Home frequently, often multiple times a day. They buy clothing and personal spaces and chase every new reward.
Next I notice that they stop getting on Home to chase rewards, but they still do buy items and spaces.
Next they stop buying spaces, and stop visiting Home every day.
Then they stop visiting Home frequently and I sometimes see them playing games, but rarely logging into Home.
Then inevitably they just disappear from PSN for long periods of times. Sometimes they send a farewell note to friends before they delete everyone, but sometimes they don’t and just disappear.
I don’t know if there is anything the Home team can do to retain these people because it seems that life changes frequently lead them to stop visiting Home.
I can only believe the people you mention who disappear must not have made the kind of friends that I have. It would take a major life change (like the inability to talk or type) to keep me from coming back to Home to see my friends.
Two people in particular I’m thinking of drifted away after major life changes. The first had a baby when she was 20 and moved in with the father. When she left she said that she felt that she really needed to grow up and be as responsible as possible as a Mom. We exchange email and XMB messages every couple of weeks but she doesn’t feel like she has time to spend in Home. She gave her account to her younger sister.
The second friend was the nicest funniest guy I met on Home. He was on Home all the time and for the first year I knew him he didn’t have a job. Let’s just say he wasn’t a highly ambitious person. He met a girl where he lives and she uhh… persuaded him to get a job. Since then they’ve moved in together and he just doesn’t get on Home. I have to assume he’s spending all his time with his (now) fiance.
We’re still friends and exchange messages, but I doubt if either of these close friends will ever come back to Home and spend the amount of time that they used to.
I think we have to accept that in Home as in real life people’s circumstances change and with those changes the way they use Home will change.
My love of my friends on Home is the main reason I come back. But helping stranger, meeting new people and the randomness of Home also keep it fresh for me. You never know while Home is loading, just what will be waiting for you. To misquote Forest Gump… Home is like a box of chocolates… but I would add it like a box of chocolates that you eat while riding a roller coaster in the dark and you are wearing thick mittens and are on Nyquil.
Each piece of chocolate that you think you are reaching for may have been mixed around and the mitten keep you from know by feel if you grab the piece you were hoping for. And the NyQuil, I threw that in just for fun… heck the whole thing sounds fun or something you would see on Fear Factor and the pieces of chocolate would be replaced by bugs… Now I forgot where I was going with this… Oh yeah, Home will always be fresh as long to me because every time it is something new! Forget the whole Fear factor part. Oh, and mmmmm chocolate.
I could write a tome
About the fun in Home
This story never ends
Because of you, my friends
Each week there’s something new
To meet, to try, to do
I know I’ll never quit
I can’t get over it!