The Cutteridge Estate: It’s Dangerous To Go Alone
by Johneboy1970, HSM team writer
“Now clear your minds. It knows what scares you. It has from the very beginning. Don’t give it any help, it knows too much already”. – Tangina from Poltergeist (1982)
There was a lot of anticipation last October when new Home developer, Juggernaut Games, released their first foray into Home – the Cutteridge Estate personal space. There was a great deal of promise for the then yet-to-be released space, but many adopted a wait-and-see attitude knowing full well that some ideas look better on paper than in their implementation. Fortunately, the Cutteridge not only lived up to the hype, but surpassed it.
A sprawling, eerily beautiful two story mansion with a variety of rooms begging for décor would have had most of us virtual real-estate moguls happy to plunk down a few bucks for the space. But Juggernaut took things a few steps further by baking in a few bits of furniture, random ghosts which pop out of thin air to take a swipe at your fleshy form or cried forlornly in the shadows, changing weather outside of the space, an actual outside of the mansion which was very much worth investigating, and creepy noises which would startle you as you milled about the haunted old structure. Add to that a mini game where you could earn a nifty ghost costume for your avatar, and we most certainly had ourselves a winner well worth the money, attention and accolades.
It would have been easy for Juggernaut to rest on their laurels and move on to the next virtual project; indeed, the Cutteridge had already surpassed in fashion and finesse the vast majority of other personal spaces with its creepy yet elegant style, ghoulish flair, and incredible attention to detail. But laurel resting was simply not in the cards, as the developers promised that there was more to come for the space.
And, a few months later, they very much lived up to that promise.
NOT off to see the wizard.
Word began to circulate that the space was going to be updated, adding new content to the already wonderfully busy mix. Even better, and much to my surprise, the add-ons were coming to us with no additional cost attached. As the mansion had become one of my favorite haunting grounds (pun intended), I was looking forward to whatever goodies Juggernaut had in store. When it was rolled out I was about as far removed from disappointed as I could be.
When you first enter the newly updated space, you receive your very own copy of the Necromicopedia (pocket edition), a hand-item for your avatar which has glowing, unearthly lettering scrawled on the cover. Also included is a baked-in Poltergeist Puzzle Box, which allows you to place furniture items – like plates, knives and even skulls – around the space which will then jump up and fly at you and your visitors as you pass by (as a side note, this unique contraption is also being sold as an active item so you can put a scare into your friends in any personal space). Also, you now have the ability to control the weather to an extent. While you can’t make the sun shine – who ever heard of a ghost with a tan anyway – you do have the ability to toggle between rain and no rain or to automatically switch between the two. While these are big changes, there are a few more surprises – but in the spirit of exploration, I’ll leave them for potential ghost hunters to find.
While all the bells and whistles of the space – both in the original and in the update – are enough to warrant a round of applause, the biggest ovation should go to Juggernaut Games for actually updating the space in the first place. Although they are a new kid on the block when it comes to Home developers, there’s little doubt that they are taking the contentment of their customers – and, in turn, the Home community at large – very seriously.
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
With the release of other Home items in the Juggernaut stable (like the Party Machine 9000, which ranks among the coolest companions in Home) one has to wonder if there would be any more work done on the Cutteridge itself. The present iteration of the estate holds up just fine as is, but could we expect more of the mystery to unravel in the future?
I posed just that question to the creators of the space, to which they replied: “We do have long-term plans for the space, there’s definitely a deeper story about Cutteridge we’re planning to tell,” said George Cochrane, representing Juggernaut Games. “Right now we’re working on some other projects, but I expect we’ll be back in Cutteridge soon. There’s some interesting theories on the forums about who the ghosts are, the ‘mouse hole,’ and what’s behind the locked door and how to open it. We think Home revolves around its social interaction, that’s going to be a big part of what happens next. It’s dangerous to go alone…”
She just found out she could have saved more money by switching to Geico.
While we may have to wait for a bit to see more of the Cutteridge story unfold, this is very good news for fans of the space. Interestingly enough, Mr. Cochrane touched on how Home itself is not just a gaming platform, but also centered around social interaction, a notion which many of the denizens of Home – as well as here at HSM – share as well. It will be interesting to see what Juggernaut comes up in the way of social interactivity concerning their spaces and other items. If that aspect is to be a “big part of what happens next”, then one could easily assume that Juggernaut Games has its finger on the pulse of the Home community.
And that is always good to hear.
March 1st, 2012 by johneboy1970 | 5 comments
Johneboy1970 is a guest contributor to HomeStation Magazine.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Cutteridge! I would totally live in this house for real if I could
I checked out Cutteridge after the update, and there are some interesting changes. The ghost in the mirror effect is nicely done, and the possessed furniture is a genuinely unsettling touch.
One of the intangible elements that brings me back to a space over a period of months or even years is the sense of *story.* A pretty setting is a pretty setting, but if there’s something deeper going on, it holds my attention longer.
Case in point: The 7th Guest. It’s basically just a collection of puzzles to solve. But by placing it in a haunted house and weaving in a narrative, it became much, much more memorable.
Developers seem to be catching on that periodic updates to spaces, both public and private, is a great way to induce residual traffic. Here’s hoping it continues.
I read somewhere that if you own Cutteridge and also purchase Pandora’s Box, that you get twice as many objects to place (10 instead of 5)from the baked-in version. Unfortunately, I bought the Box before confirming this information, so does anyone know for sure?
By the way, I believe there are three different weather types you can select from the portrait -- calm, light rain, and heavy rain.
Another item added with the update is a glowing green ball you can kick around the grounds. It also seems to move around on its own every now and again.
I like the fact that this new company knows what we want already. They have upgraded a space and given us some really cool effects to play with. This shows a real commitment to their clients, and I am glad they decided to come to our community. Good read Jon.
Thanks Burbie!